Iron Stars - ezra

@Witch and @Ezra Lockley we'll do the exploration mission here and I'll write something to connect us) Ezra Lockley is working, sifting through books on the reclaiming of Saliv from the null breaches occurring after The Scream. These are the first books to be written on this period of history but will no doubt be the last. Saliv was a shining example of a prosperous world once, and will be so again. The pieces are out there, and little by little lost settlements are having their arcane resonators repaired. In most cases, the locals are long gone either already dead, or suffering from Terminal Breach Exposure and hardly even are human anymore. This does not stop the wave of settlers coming in after, eager to inhabit places with more space, further from the overcrowded capital city of Dremlas. Money and vehicles, and stipends of skilled help have been steadily flowing to these exploration departments for months now, and it seems that your application has finally been submitted. A micro-light flyer recon is planned, with your pilot being someone named Thia Nightbreeze. You are to meet her on the southern landing fields outside Dremlas in the morning , and have been advised to pack what you need for some work on the ground as well. Said work might be dangerous both from the elements, and the wild things that might inhabit the ruins of whatever you find.

5

Ezra was so excited to be back out in the field that she could hardly sleep. She double and triple checked she had all her gear packed and ready, and she was out and on the way to the landing fields just after dawn. She was a tall woman, long dark hair shaved close to either side of her head and tied up at the crown, in practical, hardy travel clothes and a jacket over her undersuit, all her gear slung over her back in a waterproofed bag, save the pistols holstered under either arm. In the growing light she checked everything again, a little anxious in her excitement, and scanned the field, noting the flyer she guessed would be theirs. Now she just needed the pilot.

2

The microlight looks to be a robust but compact prop driven plane with a host of camera equipment worked into its nose, and under its chin on a gimbal. A door on each side of the vehicle allows the pilot and passenger to get in, and a cargo sled that extends down the rear of the plane allows for stowing larger items that would be uncomfortable to keep on a passenger or on their seat. Technicians are finishing getting the large Type B cell and its battery reserve connected.

@Enver Valle (We can toss you in here! A technician would help a lot)

2

((i'm a tinkerer

/j))

(if you find a resonator you're going to need all hands)

11:05 AM

The pilot looks to be taking a few moments in coming, and a simple ghost driver module has been installed in the plane to allow it to handle some of the more complex maneuvers for you. it looks as though the two of you have clearance to depart if you wish, mandated to explore any of the undiscovered country to the north west or northeast of Dremlas

(man, a high-risk field work already? The academy did lie!)

1

((genuinely just jokes

did we lose Thia?))

Amidst the various technicians fixing up the battery to the microlight, a young man slinks out of it and heads to what they assume to be the head of this expedition. He nears Erza and catches her attention before pulling out what seems to be an ID from his overalls and showing it to her "Ms. Lockley? Good day, I'm your designated Technician. Names' Enver" (I am right? or do we have other npc technicians too?) "Nice to meet you, and I'll be in your care" (edited)

Ezra is pulled from her examination of the field and immediately brightens, glancing at the badge and then holding out her hand to the young man with a smile. "You can call me Ezra, Enver. It's nice to meet you."

(ah Erza, we wait for Thia?) Enver grabs the hand and gives it a brief shake, then grunts in approval. "When are we departing?" He asks as he just got the files for the head of the expedition. He wasn't even in the files there too! He briefly shakes his head at the memory.

((i'm not sure either, seemed like maybe no from Neko's post?))

(should i buy supplies before we leave? Enver would definitely be buying meds for his first field work. Neko can I do this retroactively?) (edited)

(she'll be there soon, just wrapping something for work then I'll bop her in)

2

Enver Valle

(should i buy supplies before we leave? Enver would definitely be buying meds for his first field work. Neko can I do this retroactively?) (edited)

((i've been assuming bc it's like a sanctioned mission that some basic supplies would be...well, supplied?

))

(Ghost driver is just useful in general, we technically need a co pilot but dont have one so that covers it. Basic supplies are provided, I'll let you know if we're running low on something) (edited)

2

Snuggled into her bed Thia yawns and rolls over, peeking at the time display as she moves. She yelps at what she sees and tosses her covers back, cursing as she scrambles for her clothes. "Gods be damned I shouldn't have answered his message," she grumbles as she tosses on one of the jumpsuits she had bought and dashes into the bathroom. "Just come out for an hour, I haven't seen you in weeks," she says, mimicking the voice of her friend Chent as she continues to get ready. "I'll drop you off by eleven, no problem. It'll be a fun time." "3am I finally get in and I swear by the gods I set an alarm! I swear I did!" She checks her device only to discover she set it for 6pm instead of the morning and she impatiently shoves it into her bag with annoyance. Still muttering and grumbling she laces on her boots and snags her bag, thankfully already packed, and books it out the door. Arriving to the landing field she heads for the readied plane at a quick pace, bright blue hair easily marking her out as she approaches. (edited)

11:52 AM

----- (Thia is humanoid [Taros] with pale skin and bright blue hair that is shaved on the sides with designs, and the longer bit on top is chin length. She's wearing a simple gray jumpsuit with boots, a thigh holster with a revolver, and has a backpack slung on her shoulder.) (edited)

When a new figure approaches across the field, Ezra turns and smiles, sliding both hands into her pockets. "We'll leave as soon as--ah! I believe that would be our pilot now."

Enver blinks at the shift in attention before seeing the bright blue hair of the pilot. "Guess they are" He wryly comments before catching himself as he was about to wisecrack. "Do we wait for more? Didn't really get a list of personnel for this"

"That's all of us," she said, and then raised her voice in greeting. "Thia Nightbreeze, isn't it?"

"That's me!" Thia replies, her cheerful voice entirely due to the container of caffeinated beverage in her hand. "Had a bit of a mix-up with my alarm, sorry I'm late. Have preflight checks been done yet?"

"I believe they're finishing up now," she said, though she glanced at Enver for confirmation.

Really putting him in the spot there huh. But fake it till you make it. "We're all ready to go. A ghost module is already set up so we don't need any more personnel." He then points to a screen (surely there are announcement screens in the hanger right?) "Looks like we have clearance to depart"

"Well then. If you're both ready, I certainly am," she said with an eager grin. "Let's get in the air."

(I'll probably be a one or two post a day person, just fyi)

2

The plane is launched from a small rustic hangar to a dirt runway that has been combed of rocks but is still not paved. Takeoff is as smooth as Thia can manage and the plane is in the air, circling the city once before the you make the decision to head either northwest, or northeast.

"I think we'd be best served to head Northwest," Ezra says from her seat behind the pilot, looking over the maps loaded on her dataslab. "Unless anyone has any objections."

Enver looks up from his dataslab. "Fine with it, I think we have enough fuel if you guys wanna explore both directions" Wonder how the logistics work on that.

"Sure thing," Thia says, listening to their chatter as she focuses on flying to the northwest. It's been ages since she's had this sort of vehicle under her control and she can't stop the grin on her face as she takes it through some gentle basic maneuvers. "I snagged a navcomp too before we left Dremlas, if that's useful to you nerds," she says teasingly.

Ezra snorted at that. "Hopefully it'll be useful for you. If I have to navigate we're all in trouble."

(D10, anyone can roll that )

((got a 4))

Enver lets out a whistle as Thia relays in having a navcomp. "That would definitely make mapping the places we're heading to much easier" He pipes before chuckling at Erza's comment. "Don't worry Erza, your the Boss so just do Boss things"

10:45 PM

(got a 5 if that matters)

The plane heads northwest and begins high level overflight of the area. Leaving Dremlas you pass over Hilltop first , it’s arcane deflector shield still strong, and still mysterious. The locals there are growing warmer with the Alliance especially now that the general who used to lead them has been replaced by her son who has been shown love and courtesy by Dr. Artemis especially as he grew into a leader. From there it is silent for another hour without much to see out the window before the ruins of Northfields comes into view. A large battle was fought here to exterminate a nest of tens of thousands of terminals, with the terminals being defeated to the tune of thousands of Alliance soldiers lives. The subway tunnels below the city especially became a nightmare of a fighting zone. The ruins will one day be rebuilt and for the moment efforts continue in hunting down and exterminating the last pockets of the mutated once humans. A brief chime shows you are now off what has previously been explored here and the Orion pattern resonator belts you’ve all been issued begin to vibrate ever so gently as they begin working to protect you from background levels of null breach. The woodland below you is loose with many of the trees looking young. A fire must have passed through here once and to that end you see a small mining operation nestled in a clearing. It looks empty now but tire tracks in the mud seen even from up here shows someone has been here recently - someone with enough of their mind left to drive.

(are we over old foresthal? or much north than that?)

(We are between old Foresthal and northfields)

7:28 AM

(the hexes are about 200km each so when we roll a feature, its the major one in the hex and not all of them might be on the map, but the nice thing about doing this on inkarnate is if you discover something I can add it )

"Nah, it's not for that exactly," Thia replies, lifting a hand from the controls to gesture with as she speaks. "It may not be the most useful from up here but it'll make a basic map of the lands and buildings we travel through if/when we go down to the ground." The group is quiet, small chitchat only, as they reach the edge of the explored lands and continue on. Thia takes them a little lower to pick up better detail and frowns when she sees tire tracks. "Most people out here aren't stupid but they are desperate. I'm going to circle and see what I can." She banks the plane and blinks rapidly to bring her panspectral optics online, scanning around for thermal signatures, radio waves, and anything else. (edited)

(You folks can land near the mine if we want to check it out, or we can keep going)

Enver nods along at Thia's blurb about the navcomp, nothing really to contribute in the convo as he's still a broke academy student. As the quiet ride then gets broken by the area on the ground, Enver also readies his tools in case they're landing. "Point of interest?" He pipes up to the Thia, leaning near her to see the mining clearing. "Got visual?" He asks before turning to Erza "Are we far enough from Dremlas to start exploring?" He points to the ground

(We are)

"We are," Ezra said, peering out the window. "And part of our directive is to look for survivors--which those tire tracks might indicate." She looked up finally at the others, flashing Enver a brief smile. "With any luck, friendly survivors, and not the mutated kind. But they usually don't drive. Thia, do you see somewhere we can land? At. the very least we should do a ground survey, add it to the maps properly."

"Technically I could land anywhere, but getting back in the air is the big concern." She looks back over her shoulder with a mischievous grin, an orange haze emanating from her eyes that wasn't there before, the tell-tale sign she's using her optics. Still circling she widens out, looking for an area she could use as a landing strip while continuing to scan with her panspectrals. "And Termies don't drive, true, but most survivors out here aren't friendly in my experience. Not necessarily hostile, but not welcoming either."

Enver flashes Ezra a thumbs up (also i hate that i read your name wrong smh) "Heading down but proceeding with caution then?" He asks as he joins in the convo "Unless we have a way to scout remotely?" Man, I want a drone he briefly thinks.

"Oh I'm all familiar," Ezra agreed. "But they're part of why we're here--and we should always approach with caution. Just in case. Don't worry too much, Enver." Not her personal favorite part, of course, but that was besides the point. "Re-securing our resources and our population is important. Assuming we can find any of either."

9:56 AM

((i am largely spitballing since I accidentally got myself in a leadership position xD pls correct if I assume wrong Neko

))

(No one is above anyone else, we're all specialists working to accomplish a goal , with you deciding how to best do that as a committee)

(your the boss now

jk its because its yer exploration mission so we're turning to you for decisions, you can do that to us too!)

((i just meant lore-wise i'm making some guesses, still working thru the wiki and such

))

"I'm just the pilot and, by the looks of you two, probably the only one who's left the safe areas before." She quickly adds, "No offense meant! Just should know our skills and experiences before I set this plane down into what could be a mess." "I've ran on three missions for the Alliance, this being my fourth. I went exploring along the coast and dealt with Termies, bounced over to Psalairon to assist some rebels, then came back to our moon and helped the Mosks clear a field for food. Some wild experiences, for fecking real, but my main skill is piloting. I don't fight if I don't have to, I hate talking to people in a formal setting, and I'm still trying to figure out how best to help the IA. So there's the summarized version of Thia." Flying in ever widening circles around the mine site she continues to look for a landing area.

Enver snorts at the last sentence. "Sorry Sorry, I got bad humor" He then calms himself before continuing the convo. "Is this normal? Doing introductions before encountering a point of interest? Didn't really learn this in the academy" "Enver, Apprentice Technician, well not an apprentice anymore but you get the gist of it. Versed in repairs and energy logistics. This is my first fieldwork sooo don't expect heavy lifting from me" He then catches himself before saying something that would jinx us all

11:07 AM

(the staple on mission introductions

)

"Ezra Lockley. And I know I look the part of the scholar, but I was a field researcher before the Scream. I promise I'm not totally green." She hadn't been outside the city with the termies and the breaches, not yet, but she could handle it. Surely. "I'm an anthropologist, with a focus in magical studies. And a decent shot," she added with a little smile. "Though hopefully I won't need to show off."

"Normal is an illusion, boyo," Thia snickers. "But it is good to have an idea of what everybody's skills are so I don't ask you to take aim and Ezra doesn't expect me to talk to anybody we find." Spotting a reasonable landing area she puts one eye back into normal vision, the orange gaze gone, and begins their descent.

As they descended Ezra checked her gear--both pistols holstered under her jacket, dataslab packed away, gear organized and easy to access in her bag, and she flashed Enver a smile. "Don't worry. I think you'll catch on quick."

There is a cleared area 500m from the mine, where the trees have been felled by a large windstorm. There is enough space to get the flyer down, and enough to turn it around so it can take off again.

Thia descends into the landing site, brows furrowed in concentration. "Bit tight but it'll do," she murmurs, all her attention on the controls. They touch down surprisingly gently and she maneuvers the plane around so they're ready to leave when the time comes before shutting down the engines. "Honey we're hoooo-ooome," she singsongs as she snags her bag and clambers out, stretching upwards as her spine pops several times. She adjusts the backpack and scans the area as she puts a hand reassuringly on her revolver.

Enver double checks his pack, reading the ammo count on his laser pistol then holstering it beside his blade. Hefting his pack, he heads out of the mircolight, scanning the area as he pulls out his dataslab and looks to the group "Adding you all here, just in case we got to be quiet or separated" Adding ya all to the GC

The woods look quiet. The engine sounds have scared away the animals and if there are people they’re not here or keeping their heads down.

Ezra was out the door as soon as it opened, eyes bright as she took a deep breath, scanning the clearing around them. Finally. "We should probably start with those tracks we saw."

(notice/wis or survive/wis. your choice)

(for Ezra or for everybody?)

((hopefully for somebody else

)) (edited)

(Everyone can attempt this, just let me know which check your rolled)

3

9:13 AM

(We'll put together the scene based on how everyone does)

!roll 2d6 !notice/wis

Thia Nightbreeze Roll: [6, 3] Result: 9 Reason: notice/wis

(lawd. 2)

2

!roll 2d6-2 !notice/wis

Enver Valle Roll: [3, 2] Result: 3 Reason: notice/wis

((thank god for Thia xD also, are we supposed to roll here, or in the dice channel? just wanna make sure I'm doin it right

))

(If you roll in dice channel just report the results here, I know its an extra step but it makes things flow much better for me)

1

10:41 AM

(some folks didn't like dice rolls clogging their channels so we made the dice one for those with that preference. Some don't care. I personally don't mind either way )

Thia notices the tracks lead from the mines through a trail in the woods that cuts across this clearing from the east, and continues through the woods on the western side. There are boot prints accompanying the wheeled vehicle prints and Termies are not known to wear shoes generally, especially not ones existing out here this long after The Scream

"What the ..." Thia trails off as she moves over to the tracks, gently touching the footprints before comparing the size against her own average female size 8 boot. "Look at this, guys. Definitely not Termies and definitely recent."

Enver, being solely focused on his dataslab gets broken from his revelry at the sound of Thia's voice. "What did you find?" He asks before seeing what caught her attention. "Definitely not Termies" He then processes the info, for now, assuming some details. "Boot tracks, meaning they have some form of proper clothing. Vehicles prints mean they're traveling?" He then pauses "Maybe a nomad settlement? Or Raiders"

Ezra's expression was bright as she examined the tracks as well, though she was hardly a tracker. "We have to try and find them. This is part of why we're out here! Can either of you follow the tracks? Maybe we can figure out where they're staying."

"As long as they're moving with the vehicle it would be hard to lose them. Do we want to check towards the mine we saw, or follow the tracks back to wherever they might have set up camp?"

"I think perhaps it would be better to go for their camp, first. It seems more likely we would find their leader, and not potentially appear to be encroachers on a resource they've laid claim to."

"You have high expectations of civility from them. I don't," Thia says dryly as she pulls her revolver free of the holster. "This way." She lifts her chin to indicate then begins walking that way, moving with care so she doesn't fall in the woods.

"I am being optimistic, Ms. Nightbreeze. These people were once part of our community--they could be once again, and I would prefer to approach them as such." She did not pull out her weapons, though the appearance of Thia's made her pat her jacket, reassuring herself both weapons were still holstered under her arms as she followed the pilot.

(did we want to move toward the mine? or west toward wherever they went?)

(toward where their probable camp is, away from the mine)

Quietly, you make your way west across the trail. You estimate at least ten people accompanied the vehicle, and they've not bothered to hide evidence of their operations here. You see a few discarded emergency ration wrappers, and a discarded type A power cell where the contacts are far too corroded to ever be useful in anything again.

Thia makes a muffled "blegh" sound at being referred to as Ms. Nightbreeze but continues to guide them, pointing out the signs of their passage. "I count 8 or so people and they're not even trying to be stealthy. In all likelihood these are armed and dangerous people to have survived out here this long. Be cautious and aware," she murmurs to the others as they go.

As Enver quietly listen on Ezra and Thia's convo, he also notes down on his dataslab every detail they encounter in this incursion. At Thia's warning, Enver decides to pipe up a thought. "You reckon they stopped to scavenge for supplies?" He points to the power cells "I figure they're running low since they are using a vehicle"

Shrugging Thia looks back. "Could be. Maybe they're mining for rudimentary materials like coal, or maybe they were scavenging like you said. Understanding people isn't my forte."

Pressing on further up the trail you can see another place where the trees are missing against the skyline, indicating some kind of clearing. Thin smoke beads skywards from there

"That's almost certainly their encampment ahead," Ezra said, just a little more spring in her step.

Enver, reversing what Ezra is doing, slows his steps "You two got something to scout that? I don't have any scope or drone here and I'm not that willing to go out in the open" Cowardice in this economy? You betcha, well on the first early missions tho.

Ezra blinked in surprise, looking back at him, and then at Thia. "...well, I don't mind going ahead. If you're uncomfortable."

"That sounds worse than just going all together not gonna lie" Enver quips back, Ezra is technically a clientele, and we don't let the clientele go onto potential danger on their own "Eh, just wanted something safe to fall back on" He backtracks like the peer-pressure fool that he is

One of her brows rose at that, head tipping. "You said you wanted someone else to scout ahead," she said with a shrug. "I don't see how it's worse if it's me. But it's up to you, I'm going on ahead." (edited)

(Im caught up, just not sure who is doing what then I guess)

((i'm def gonna continue on, and I think @Enver Valle was too?))

As they near the place Thia switches to panspectral, looking for thermal signature, radiation, lasers or the flare of radio signals. "I'm not keen to go marching in, so I'd like to hang back myself. It's an unknown situation and we have no easy way out of things go wrong."

1

"As you wish. Coming, Mr. Valle?"

"Sure then" Enver gives a brief salute, then follows along Ezra into the assumed clearing.

Thia is able to see some radio signals. The woods foul thermals due to the efficient heat trapping nature of the soil at this time of day. They don't seem to be using tightbeam communications or any kind of laser as far as a security measure. You can also see the form of the front loader and the chained cargo skid it drags behind it when moving to and from the mine.

"They're definitely ahead, radio signals are bouncing around. Be careful. If everything goes well just radio me in, and if it's going back I'll listen for shooting." Stepping back she looks for a shadowed area to crouch in and stay out of sight, tugging up a hood from her jumpsuit to cover her hair. (edited)

Thia spends a moment concealing herself, ensuring she’s far enough from any potential trouble to get the plane going quickly if it is needed.

Enver gives Thia a thumbs up and then turns on the dataslab mic so at least Thia might hear the potential encounter. Following behind Ezra, he then points at the vehicle that made the tracks. "We found the vehicle we're following" He comments, trying to take a good look at the cargo skid if it still has anything on it. (edited)

(Supposed leader being Ezra? Or something in the camp? We haven't really been watching long enough to figure out who is who at the camp)

(OHHH FRONT LOADER not Front Leader, would be editing then) (edited)

Observing from the edge of the wood you can see the skid is empty right now but is covered in rock dust, and it looks like they used it to haul products from the mines home. Their settlement has a low stone wall at waist height being built around it, though it is far from being completed. You can see where space has been left for a few gates, including a large one for the loader to get in and out.

"And so too, hopefully, the people," Ezra said with a grin. She checked one more time that her guns were in place and made sure that her hands were empty and visible before finally breaking from the treeline, moving slowly but with purpose towards one of the open spaces where a gate would one day stand.

Two sentries with battered looking semi-auto rifles begin to approach. Their weapons are held low, but ready, and one raises a hand indicating that you should halt. "Hello! We don't get many things coming out of the woods that look so human. Who are you, and what do you want? "

She stops immediately at the gesture. "I'm Ezra Lockley, with the Inheritor Alliance, and this is Enver Valle. We're surveying. I never expected to find a settlement so near--and so intact!"

"At great personal cost. The alliance, you say? What do you intend to do now that you've found us?"

"We're only explorers, we don't mean you harm," she says with a smile, hands still held where they can be seen to be empty. "We'll make note of your location, of course--but more so, we would like to bring you back under the Alliance's banner, if you would be amenable. All of us are more capable of surviving this new world together."

"The Alliance Banner? Something survived of the old world then. We have comfortable homes here, maybe you could give us a hand with something, and we'll consider joining if it seems like you can help. What do you say?"

He also follows behind Ezra, keeping his hands empty same as her. As they get stopped by the sentry, Enver is inwardly relieved that they found a settlement and not something hostile. He gives a polite nod at being introduced, then snaps his attention on the sentry's counter offer. "I'm a technician, I might be able to help on that." He then sideglances Ezra "But as she said, we explorers so we might not stay too long here" (saying this not sure if we be staying here for too long)

"But we can help--it sounds like you have something in mind?" she said.

"You think you can help us down in the mine with some equipment that's not functioning? We think we dug into a termie nest,or near one, and things down there have been breaking ever since. We don't have the skills or the fighting strength, but you look like you can handle yourselves"

Ezra glanced at Enver, looking just a little worried for the first time. "I'm certain between the two of us we can fix your equipment--but the termies do give me pause."

"And they should, they're terrifying, but that's the way it is. We could use your help with that, and once the mine is safe and ours again and the gear is working you'll have proven working with you is the smart move"

Enver nods along, he does have some capability to repair equipment so this is right up his alley. "That does sound promising." He then pauses, pulling out his dataslab and showing it to the sentries. "Do you mind if we patch in our pilot? Just letting them that we stay here for a while" He ask, already drafting a text to Thia if calling is prohibited.

(Ezra already has a comm link open, I think?) Thia has been quietly listening, not speaking during this encounter. Truth be told she's almost fallen asleep until she hears the word 'pilot' and her head pops up, blinking a few times. She's unsure if comms go both ways so she quickly types a message to them. Text: Not the easiest project. Termies are harsh and fixing is hard on its own. It's doable though. (edited)

Text: Enver is an able technician, and I'm not bad for a quick repair. But I'd feel better if you were willing to come with us. "If a bit of repaired equipment is all it will take to bring you back into the fold, I'm more than happy to attempt it," she said to the man with a smile. "Can you give us directions, to where your gear is now?"

"the mines. Everything is down there, scattered in a few of the largest chambers, and outside it. We think terminals might have tunneled into one of them, but we haven't been able to organize a patrol to check without leaving ourselves seriously under-manned here"

Enver seeing the text from Thia and seeing that sentry didn't refuse too, he sents out a text. Text: You hearing this right? As Ezra just mentioned, looks like we need all hands on decks for this. "Would it be okay if we wait a bit? We need to regroup with out pilot before we head to the mines" He then pauses, pondering. "You got a list on that equipment? Can't have us fixing up the wrong one and all"

Sighing Thia stands up and stretches, dropping her hood and heading towards the encampment and her companions. Her revolver is placed back into the holster as it's apparently not needed at the moment. Breaking from the treeline she pauses a moment for Ezra or Enver to wave her in then goes to meet up with them, several minutes after the text exchange.

(They’re going to send people to help too. They just don’t have enough people or skills without your help)

"I believe we are ready, then," Ezra said with another smile at the guard as Thia joined them. "Let's take a look at this damaged equipment."

(Anyone need to do or prepare anything before we head into the mine?)

((i believe i brought all my stuff with me so i'm good!)) (edited)

(same) Enver gives Ezra and Thia a thumbs up as he's ready to go. (edited)

(I’ll get a map together )

(Starting outside where its green)

7:52 AM

The miners are a 10 strong group, and it looks to be most of the men in the camp, though a few women also have hefted picks and donned hard hats to lend their own expertise to the job. This is a contingent of most of the able bodied people here and if something befalls them inside the community may not survive.

7:52 AM

The doors have been boarded and are being opened now, and you can hear the sounds of scurrying and shuffling within.

Ezra swallowed just a little nervously at the sounds within, frowning deeply as the miners pulled away the boards. Now at the entrance she finally unholstered her mag pistol from under her jacket--an arcane thing, covered in carefully engraved markings--and dropped open the chamber to check the loaded rounds. Just in case.

The door creaks open, and the miners begin sticking glowbugs to their helmets to proxy some kind of official mining headlamp. For most, this profession was not the one they were born into.

(thia is going to be in the background for a bit so if you guys want to push on, go ahead)

Enver tenses for a bit, hearing the scurrying sounds inside the mine doesn't really offer confidence. He pauses and steadies himself, letting out a breath, he looks at the other 10 with them. "Anything you guys want to prioritize over anything else? Or we just go by encounter?" (like what equipment seened first wiould be fixed like that)

"Anything we find, we're just going to have to hope everything is in the same place, and recover what we can. We won't need to worry about extracting anything if we figure out where the Terminals are coming from"

"Do you have any thoughts on that?" Ezra asked as the miners geared up and worked to pull away the boards. "Where they might be coming from, I mean."

"Won't know until we get in there and explore" the lead miners says, donning his helmet and turning on the light. He gives a short 'shall we' gesture, as they begin to get moving.

The team begins moving into tunnel 1, and will be splitting off into smaller parties from here. Hallway 1 looks to be empty, with drained oil lamps on the walls in place of the electric lights that once provided light to this mine. You can see boot prints on the ground along with the impressions of something clawed.

(I think I'm good to come back as long as we don't move too fast) Thia checks her revolver as Ezra does, noting the glaringly apparent difference about the weapon. Ask later, you need to focus she thinks as she lowers her hand so the firearm hangs casually beside her. Taking a moment as the group filters inside she touches her ring and activates Oracle with the question, "Which path achieves our goal with the least bloodshed?" (Hope I did Oracle right, let me know Neko. She's up to a day's vision now) (edited)

Nekosmash pinned a message to this channel. 8/12/2022 8:14 AM

The entire mine will need to be examined for the missing machinery but when you encounter the deepest chamber in Room 7 the vision turns dark and becomes violent

8:15 AM

(Its hard to gauge since encounters can be somewhat random, we can only do so much without the guidance of the dice, but something pre-determined is in that room)

1

As the last miner comes in Thia steps in front of them all, cringing inwardly as their attention comes to her. "The worst of the danger lies further in. If we take this tunnel," and she gestures towards it, "it's to the right after the rails end. I don't know exactly the details but anyone going that way needs to be on high alert and absolutely should not be on their own."

Ezra's eyes settled on Thia, one brow raising. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did tend to trust her companions--and there would be time later to ask for details. "In that case, perhaps we ought to go that way first, together. Face the worst of the danger as a group, while we're fresh."

(the miners can try to secure the left galleries if you folks decide to do that, and an let you know if they need help)

Enver gets nervous at the suggestion but does understand the merit of the idea. "That does seem reasonable" He pauses and looks at the miners "Would the equipment here that can we fixed up be useful for potential danger?" He asks, silently hoping that a piece of very convenient machinery is lying around that would be helpful later on. "If not, then lets go with Ezra's plan"

“It’s useful for mining and processing ore, vital for our way of life. If it was just weapons we lost in here we wouldn’t risk the expedition and the Termies would just have them.

"It's logical but fecking hell I hate the idea. I'd rather just stay away from the area entirely," Thia replies, her voice rising lightly at the end to make it almost a question, asking if that's an option. In her heart she's sure it's not but gods above she can hope.

At the thought of taking the more dangerous route, the puzzle box you carry on you seems to flicker and glow for a quick second, before it changes to its inert state once again.

The miners look to be filing in, one after the other, and after a moment it is just the three of you standing outside alone.

Thia gives the box a testy little shake then focuses on the mission once more. "I'd prefer to avoid that area entirely but if there's machinery in there the miners need we may have no choice."

"Even if there isn't, our activity seems likely to draw its attention. I would prefer to surprise it, rather than the other way around."

Enver nods, both considering Ezra and Thia's point "We head toward that area, finish what ever is in there, then come back to safer areas then" He then grumbles "Really wish I have a drone right now"

"Put it in the list for next time? Maybe we could snag one at an outpost as we travel," Thia says reassuringly as she carefully steps inside the mine. To her companions she adds, "I think we take a few miners to guide us as we go deeper, but keep them back from the area I saw danger in. They can check any equipment we find too."

Ezra nods as well, and she moves forward again too, pistol in hand and pausing just a moment in the doorway to let her eyes adjust as Thia moves forward. "Perfect. They can make a tally of what needs done while we head deeper to take care of the threat."

(sneak/dex for everyone)

((8))

!roll 2d6 !sneak/dex

Thia Nightbreeze Roll: [6, 4] Result: 10 Reason: sneak/dex

!roll 2d6-1 !sneak/dex

Enver Valle Roll: [6, 4] Result: 9 Reason: sneak/dex

!Roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 2] Result: 7

(Not noticed ). Entering the mine you begin to spread out heading down the gallery to room 7. You see three humanoid shadows 40m in front of you that don’t seem to have noticed you

Flicking her vision to panspectral in the dim light she narrows her eyes at the shapes, trying to make out further thermal detail as she taps Enver and Ezra and gestures ahead, slowing her already careful steps.

Ezra slowed in tandem with her, peering down the hallway through the dark at the figures. Had some of the miners gotten ahead of them? Or had they already found the Terminals? Her grip shifted on her pistol, finger shifting onto the trigger guard, tension grabbing her spine and tightening her fluttering stomach.

These are not miners. They are hunched, and do not look to be carrying tools. They are also not lit up,

Enver furrows his brow at seeing the shadows, following Thia's lead he also slows his steps. He palms his holstered pistol, pausing for a moment to steady himself, and looks towards Thia and Ezra, mouthing: "Engage?"

Thia whispers back, "Maybe we could sneak around them? Don't want to alert any others by firing."

"I am not very sneaky," Ezra warns, eyeing the figures and then her companions, also whispering. "But we could try."

"Let's try. We'll fire only if we have to."

(We'll get a surprise round if we do decide to engage)

((tbh we could probably use the surprise round, we oughta take it))

1

Ezra hesitated then, and caught Thia before she could move forward. "...but if they don't know we're here, we could minimalize damage, taking them out now."

(Agreed, if we're engaging its your best bet, enemies don't often fight to the death in this system either, killing a couple might be enough to scatter them)

1

"I hate fighting," Thia grumbles, holstering her revolver for a moment to swipe the sweat from her palm. "Let's do this then. I'll take the one on the left, Ezra you take center and Enver you've got the one to the right." Dropping to her knee she takes a more supported stance and raises her firearm to shoot.

((hey quick request before we get into combat, would y'all mind if we did rolls in the roll channel? i find it kinda distracting

))

)as long as the results get reported here still)

9:03 PM

(I’m gonna be traveling again soon so folks might pile up in that channel before I can find yours, would help me a ton)

((oh absolutely))

(Everyone gets an attack and a move if they want to make one, then we roll initiative )

(22) (and she'll move into range if needed but otherwise keep her distance) (edited)

(22 hits, kjust need the damage)

(10 I think, still learning attacks)

(7, and sorry for Inactivitiy was dealing with Grad stuff)

10:40 AM

Enver nods to the overall plan, trying to confident but ultimately failing. "Gotcha" He replies to Thia as he shakely draws his laser pistol and aims toward the right shadow "Ready whenever you guys are"

Ezra flipped open the cylinder and spun it just a couple clicks with her thumb, to the correct runeshot bullet, and then she eyed the three, taking aim for the center and mentally lining up the one on the right as her secondary target, only then finally sliding her finger onto the trigger to squeeze. ((runeshot Trickshot, 15 and 16, 8 damage))

(7 is your hit roll enver?)

(sadly yes, rolled a 9 then -2)

Two of the terminals are downed before they realize they are being attacked, with Thia and Ezra providing support fire. Enver's shot goes wide, sparking off the ceiling as they re-double their grip on their weapon.

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 4] Result: 9 Request: [2d6]

The terminals keep their head, and the remaining solitary foe brandishes a mining axe, ready to charge and strike. (initiative)

(6 for initiative)

(3 fr init)

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Roll: [6] Result: 6 Request: [1d8]

((also 3 for init))

(Thia. our remaining termie, enver, and then Ezra )

Willing her hands not to shake Thia lines up a second shot, aiming squarely at the Termie still standing.

10:45 AM

(attack roll = 12)

(hits)

(5 damage)

Wounded, the terminal begins to recoil back, returning fire with the crude shotgun they carry. Instead of a trigger the shell looks to be fired by having a rock slammed into its back.

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Roll: [6] Result: 7 Request: [1d20+1]

The crude weapon sends smoke and fire everywhere, but none of the pellets have struck anyone in the group

3:19 PM

(Enver)

Enver scrambling slightly at the return fire holds his pistol tightly and aims at the last Termie that didn't run "Crud Cakes" He mutter while firing

4:47 AM

(rolled 13 to hit)

(hits)

7:57 AM

(just need damage)

(2)

The terminal is wounded, but does not die yet. The shot has taken it low in the gut, but like people, they can live through worse

10:10 AM

(Ezra)

Just the one left, and its shot had missed. Focus. Ezra shifted her shot, both hands on the grip, eyes zeroed in on the target, thumb shifting the chamber around to a normal round, and then she squeezed again. ((21 to hit, 13 damage)) (edited)

The charging terminal stops mid run towards you, the improvsed shotgun clattering from its hand and hitting the ground. The tunnel a second ago was filled with the percussive sound of multiple gunshots. Smoke billows from the barrels of weapons and forms hanging clouds in the tunnel, and three bodies now carpet the ground. This scouting group won't be reporting back , ever, but no doubt others in the mines have heard.

"We should keep moving," Ezra said, casting a look around the tunnel. "Before more come looking for the shots."

"Might it be better to wait here for a few minutes? Any Termies coming this way won't know exactly where we are and we'll see them before they see us." Eyeing the other two she adds, "And I can see in the dark, no lights needed so they wouldn't notice us immediately."

"We made a lot of noise, I think if we move deeper now we might run right into the other termies and we don't know how many they are" Enver points out, silently in favor in staying and hope to an ambush like this again (Btw, the IA alliance descision is in effect now right? So it wouldnt be weird to take some termies alive?)

(Yeah would have been made right before this mission. There's no way to non-lethally shoot someone though, the only ways to knock people out are fists, martial arts, kinesis wraps, stun batons, or for ranged, all we really have is the flop rifle)

"That's two votes to stay, one vote to move. Let's give it five minutes. I don't think Termies are very tactical minded so that should be enough time." Thia moves forward to quickly scan the bodies for anything useful before retreating back down the hallway and dropping to one knee to wait.

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Roll: [2, 1] Result: 3 Request: [2d6]

Three more terminals begin inching down the tunnel from 50m away, their animal instinct taking over for tactical sense, like wolves drawn to the sound of fighting prey. Each of them has some kind of crude pipe-gun, and natural adaptions to make close combat something horrific for you. The first of them has a mole like nose, and is sniffing the air.

(if we're still in initiative order, is Thia next?)

(If we're going to shoot, we're in initiative order, so Thia is up!)

Can't save them, they're here to fight she thinks to herself as she takes aim at the one nearest to her. (9 to hit) (edited)

The shot is a thunderclap in an enclosed environment like this. The terminal is missed, but they are now surely aware you are here. They begin to move, keeping low with their crude weapons held low, not yet in range. (30m from you now, end Enver is up)

Enver gets startled at the gunshot since he was focused on the incoming Termies. Grimacing slighty as this isn't exactly a good time to remind about the Reclaimed thingy, he aims his gun again.

10:26 AM

(9 too, and can I move back? After shooting?)

(Yes, you have a 10m move)

12:19 PM

The shot misses, as Ezra prepares to make their own move

(I know you're still recovering Ezra, no problem, I did see the thread though)

1

((should be business as usual tomorrow. sorry everyone

))

(No worries!)

"Hell." Ezra stood her ground, and she was quick to again adjust her cylinder around to a different runeshot. Then she took aim down the hallway at the approaching terminals. ((Trick Shot: hit: 16, dam: 9, second target: hit: 8, dam: 9))

The first of the enemy is hit and killed, the shot deflecting from the body before striking the ground, unable to hit the second target.

3:41 PM

(thia)

"Fecking hell," she curses, mentally counting her shots. With rounds still in the chamber she lines up her sights again, one eye in panspectral and the other in standard vision, and fires. (attack = 15, damage = 11)

The second terminal is knocked back a step before stumbling like a drunk into the tunnel wall. It collapses, blood pumping from a mortal wound in the side of its head.

11:59 AM

(one remains, Enver is up)

Even though Enver kinda skedaddled a few meters away from the others, he still hears the scuffle going on and aims his pistol again, slightly relieved as he only sees 1 termie left "C'mn C'mon" (edited)

5:35 AM

(-1 rolled to hit, ya know I should stop shooting)

(It’s d20+dex mod+shoot level+ attack bonus. All that and you still got a -1)

(rolled a 1 on a -2 modifier

)

There is another explosion of rock and dust as the improvised shotgun fires.

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [1d20+1] Roll: [2] Result: 3

The powder and scent fills the tunnel, but none of you are harmed by the blast

7:46 AM

(Ezra)

There was another click as she turned the cylinder--running out of loaded shots. Needed to reload, but not now. She aimed up the hallway at the final terminal, free hand braced at her side as sighted down the barrel to fire again. ((oof. 8 to hit, 13 damage. didn't realize I'd been stiffing myself on my attack rolls, not that it helped this time

))

The shot misses, blowing a hole in the tunnel wall and sending rock dust into the air.

2:32 PM

(Thia)_

Fighting against the tremors in her hands she rises from her crouch and aims at the last Termie, muttering a fervent wish for all of this to be over. (attack 22, damage 9)

Almost as if you've made a wish, the shot connects, and the violence in the tunnel comes to a swift end. The final terminal has fallen, leaving an open tunnel head of you towards whatever machinery they were guarding.

"Be free," Thia murmurs a little sadly as she looks at the corpses. She takes a breath then sits on a nearby rock as she begins to shake slightly, taking slow deep breaths to calm herself as the adrenaline begins to recede. Four deaths on my soul she thinks, blinking back the moisture gathering in her eyes. There will be time for that later and now she needs to be practical, cold even, as the mine is not yet safe. Moving with almost mechanical precision she reloads the revolver and checks it for any buildup or damage, and finding nothing of concern she holsters it again. Her hand hovers near it as she looks to Ezra with a ghost of a smile. "That was some fancy shooting." (edited)

Ezra didn't seem nearly so shaken, also reloading her revolver when Thia spoke. She flashed her a smile, though her eyes were quick to return to the rune-laden gun. "Good tools help. But thank you. Do you still want to wait? see if we've drawn out more?"

(From here, the sound in the surrounding tunnels has gone down. We don't hear much shifting around in the direction you were heading)

"I think we've drawn out enough, but I'm also pretty sure that wasn't what I was warned about. I feel like there's still something ahead. Enver, you okay to move forward? It doesn't look like any of us were injured."

(We can all reload from our ammo stocks now if anyone needs to as well so we won't burn a round during any future combats, just don't forget to reduce ammo/power cells accordingly)

3

Enver shakily nods at Thia, him reloading his pistol too even tho he didn't hit an enemy. "I'm good, I just think I need to take lesson in shooting again" he says while shaking his head. "Moving on forward then? If we do encounter what you warned about Thia, we can just repeat what we just did right now"

6:09 PM

(Can I salvage the Termie weapons?)

(What do you mean by salvage? Essentially, for what purpose )

(scrap or to test if my psionic would repair it, oh wait are they just primitive weapons or like a patchwork of a primitive weapon?)

)they’re scrap weapons. Like pipes and planks. They’re not really actual guns)

1

It does not seem like any more termies are going to come this way now that two patrols have gone missing, and the amount of gunfire in the tunnel.

"Let's move on but carefully, alright? I'll be up ahead since my vision is better, then Enver you come behind and Ezra can you take the rear?"

"Of course," Ezra said with a nod, glancing back behind them. "Let's get moving."

Advancing to the end of the tunnel, the choice becomes circling left to try to link up with the miners, and pushing right to the heart of the mines where the most sensitive and important of the machinery was stored.

"I believe the right is the way to the heart of the mine, isn't it? To our target."

Thinking back to her vision Thia nods as she frowns and looks that way. "I'm concerned about this, but I think we have to do it. It won't be safe for the miners otherwise."

Coming to the junction to turn right you can see light coming from within that room. It is inconstant and flickering reminding you of fire but there is no heat. A large, horned , spindly shadow adorns the wall , giving you an image of what might be around the corner

(anything city girl Thia might recognize? Maybe from school classes or movies?)

(Nope)

Thia swallows hard as the shadow comes into view, biting her lip nervously. I really really really don't want to deal with this she thinks with a lot of apprehension. Pointing to the shadow she whispers softly, "Best to keep your distance I think. Let me see if I can do something..." Fishing in her bag she pulls out her toiletries and grabs a small mirror, palm sized, and attempts to peer around the corner with it sneakily. (It's not specified in her inventory but it's something she could logically carry. I can edit the post if you rule she doesn't have it, just let me know.)

6:35 AM

The creature looks to have its arms spread as though mid some kind of ritual. You’re not sure what exactly it’s doing. It is currently not being attended by any terminals.

1

"It's not a Termie but it's doing something hella creepy," she whispers, putting the mirror back in her pocket. "Standing in there, arms spread... Do we shoot first and figure it out later?"

"Probably best to take advantage of the element of surprise again,". Ezra says with a little nod. "Especially if it somehow didn't hear us coming."

Thia gives a quick nod, glancing to make sure Enver is following the plan, then lifts the revolver. She steps out and takes aim, letting off a round before ducking back around the corner and letting the next person shoot. (attack 18, damage 5)

The attack looks to be stopped and robbed of its momentum by some kind of telekinetic shield. The creature has not stopped its meditation, yet.

(oops, was gone for too long) Enver would be shadowing Thia as the marching order from before is okay to him. As they then encounter something once again and this time more concerning than the usual Termie, he shudders slightly before nodding in approval at the surprise attack plan (Can Enver recognize if that's some form of psionics?)

(if Enver has metapsionics, there is a technique for that) (edited)

1

((could I try like a know magic check to see if I can id that field/a way to fuck with it?))

(sure, know magic/int)

((7))

You believe that there is a telekinetic technique at play here called Impact Sump.

Ezra peered past Enver's shoulder into the room at the creature, fairly certain she recognized that shielding. Revolver still in hand, she shifted with a silent questioning look at Enver to take his place, turning their barrel to a regular round, and taking aim to test her theory. ((if @Enver Valle is OK with me switching spots with him i'll take another shot at it))

Enver slightly jumps at Ezra peering on his shoulder, he quirks an eyebrow at her then notices her look, blinking abit he finally gets the message and switches spots at her while whispering. "I'm a bad shot so I think I'll refrain from shooting until we that invisible shield is down. Good Luck" (I'm okay with it!)

(We did shoot it, so it knows you're here and the chance for a surprise round is over.

((OK, that's fine

do we need to roll init?))

(Yes, lets get intiaitive)

((5))

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [1d8] Roll: [2] Result: 2

(9)

(4)

Thia, Ezra, Enver, Terminal Psychic)

8:01 AM

(it is 10m away)

Knowing her revolver to be useless at the moment Thia looks to the others and shrugs helplessly, revolver still in hand.

(like all psychic techniques, impact sump costs effort, so they do not have a limitless ability to stop attacks)

(Thia wouldn't know that though, so I'll leave her turn as is.)

(We can hold until the end of the round if you like)

Ezra shook her head just a little at the shrug but perhaps it would be better to show them. From her spot on the other side of the entrance she took aim, sighting down the barrel to fire at much the same place as Thia had. ((4 to hit

‍♂️))

The shot strikes the ground, deflecting and sparking off the telekinetic barrier in a shower of rainbow sparks.

8:06 AM

(Enver)

Enver seeing that we're committing to shooting the enemy, he'll follow along in shooting the shielded enemy "Hope I hit now"

12:07 AM

(6, still no hope)

The being begins to hover ominously , and with a blast of telekinetic force heading in your direction. (Tk ram goes off at the end of next turn at the spot you’re standing at , if you move you won’t be hit)

(so we'd be back to Thia, double posting because I forgot to officially move the turn)

Thia darts across the doorway to the other side, using two hands to steady the revolver as she takes aim again, following Ezra's lead. (18 to hit, 4 damage)

This time the shield does not seem to be present, and you see the floating psychic knocked back slightly by the shot. You're rewarded with a spray of red-black blood in the criss-crossing light of your searchlights.

(Ezra is up)

"Good shot!" Ezra also shifted from her previous position, into a clearer shot, revolver pointed through the opening, taking aim and firing again. ((8 to hit, 11 damage))

The shot deflects off the ground, breaking into fragments. You dive out of the way of the incoming telekinetic wave, marking yourself safe for the moment. (Enver)

Enver seeing Ezra getting blasted by a telekinetic wave he decides he needs to relocate to a much more safe distance. "Oh crud" he exclaims before aiming and hoping for the best once again. (6, also what's with me never rolling above 10 istg)

(I know! I feel bad, these arent designed to be rough combat or for me to mess with you folks and I feel like the dice are making it frustrating)

9:10 AM

The telekinetic ram blows a massive chunk of rock and dust out of the ground where you had all just been standing a minute ago. Another one is directed at the ceiling of the room, hoping that in a few seconds everyone will be harmed by some sort of falling debris. (they've used 3 effort so far, Thia is up)

Staying at the doorway Thia peeks around the edge again and makes a mental note to do some research and purchase a few more weaponry options if she can. The blast blows her blue hair into messy disarray and leaves a grainy powder on her skin as she narrows her eyes. "What the feck are you?!" she cries as she takes another shot. (14 to hit, 8 damage. And Thia is not in the room but outside using the doorway for cover)

The shot looks to get through the barrier, and a blossom of fast pumping blood begins running down the Terminal's psychics scrap of clothing

10:12 AM

(ezra)

Ezra shifts to plant her feet more firmly underneath her, taking more careful aim this time as she fires at the Terminal again. ((22 to hit, 8 damage))

The terminal psychic takes a ponderous step backwards, heavily wounded now as a trio of shots have now found home.

6:41 PM

(Enver)

Enver still believing he doesn't suck that much at shooting, lines up his pistol once again. Taking aim at the now defenseless Termie, he shoots at its body.

6:14 AM

(0, Enver would be learning how to use a sword after this)

(evasion save everyone)

7:16 AM

The stones in the room begin to float, and soon dozens of small bullets fill the air as the psychic sends a blast wave in all directions.

(18 evasion save)

((is that just our score? mine's 14))

(I was told in #help to roll a d20 for it.)

((OK so I got a 17 compared to my 14 so I think that means I passed?))

(Yep, so for saves you roll a d20 vs your score, for example for Ezra it would be (17v14, passed), so you guys did it right)

2

((thanks Suko!))

(rolled 18 vs 15 for me) (edited)

(none of you are hit by the incoming stones)

7:47 AM

The stones and rocks are fired in all directions but you each take cover, dive out of the way, or twist around the incoming stone projectiles leaving each of you unscathed.

7:47 AM

(Yep, saving throws are on I beleive page 52 of the core book, if you want to know how they work)

7:47 AM

(Thia is up)

Diving back behind the cover of the entryway Thia dodges the incoming stones, coughing at the dust they raise. It's the first time she's seen another Psi use their talent and for a moment she wishes her own gift was something more useful. Pushing off the wall she steps out and takes aim, firing again through the dust clouds. (10 to hit, 4 damage)

The shot misses, aim obscured by the swirling dust and darkness in the chamber

8:54 AM

(Ezra)

((shit, sorry, my notifications don't seem to be working the last couple days x___x))

10:25 PM

The creature was flagging. And that was good--Ezra had been worried it's psionics would be a problem but if they can take it down before it hits them...She takes one more shot, both hands steadying the gun as she steps out of cover around the doorway again. ((10 to hit :/))

10:25 PM

((the dice do not like us lol))

The shot punches into the wall just short of hitting the terminal psychic. It cackles madly as it tries to harness whatever power it might have left.

6:47 AM

(Enver)

(Should hopefully be able to end this with a hit)

4

(Hoping)

11:38 AM

Enver seeing that the termie is doing a final stand, aims his pistol at it again. Keeping his hand steady now, he lets out a prayer and shoots.

11:39 AM

(No dice, rolled a 5)

11:39 AM

He scrambles away after shooting

The terminal sets its feet and arms itself with what looks to be some kind of telekinetic bow, and begins to gather power. (Main action for telekinetic armory. Thia is up)

"Feck, feck, feck," she yells as everyone misses in various ways, her rising temper and fear making her cheeks red and blotchy. With no other recourse she aims again and shoots, nervous as the cylinder is nearly empty. (16 to hit, 8 damage) (edited)

The psychic takes a step toward you as the shot punches into its heart. Gasping for air, it falls onto its back to bleed out. As it falls, the cloud of shadow around it vanishes and the mines seem to get a bit lighter. You can see that there are mining machines here, as well as a few smaller handcarts to process the ore.

(out of initiative now?)

(yes)

Thia stumbles forward a few steps then sinks to the ground, the shakiness in her knees making walking impossible. Fine tremors run through her hands and she turns her head away from the corpse as she focuses on her breathing. In, pause, out, pause she coaches herself as each breath steadies her. After a few moments she's calmed enough to reload her revolver again, noting the need for more ammunition in a distant corner of her mind as she glances to the dead Termie to see if there might've be anything of note on the body.

This was a psychic once, still wearing the tattered scraps of academy uniform, but those days are long departed now. It looks like it was controlling the other Terminals down here in the tunnel, and with it gone, the miners are having an easier time clearing the other tunnels. They report their work is three quarters of the way done.

Enver slumps down as the battle adrenaline leaves his body. Looking at his pistol he grumbles and turns to the group. "Let's not do that again" Turning to the now relatively safe area, he scans the mining machines. "We continue? Or we call the miners, I think this machines would be enough for them for now"

"I'd be happy to never fire another shot but it seems the Universe has other plans," Thia responds as she pushes to her feet. "Let's look around in here, make sure nothing and no one is hiding, then we can go find the miners, see if they need help."

(I'm sure we're all keen to get into something else, so we can end it here, with the miners having worked through the other tunnel. The psychic would have smoked them easily, so you ripped the heart out of the termie plans here) As the psychic falls and their body begins to break apart as caged feral psychic force is released, the cube that Thia carries begins to glow just a bit brighter, and some the gears on its outside turn just a bit faster before it shuts down again. The cube is fractionally bigger at rest than it was before, and a few letters written in the arcane language of spellcrafting are now visible.

As they walk away from the psychic Termie Thia feels a vibration in her thigh pouch, reaches in and fishes out the cube. Her eyes widen as it changes then narrow as it goes still again, turning it over and tracing the start of the arcane script as she continues to walk. It seems to like it when I help people she muses, giving it a last look before putting it away with plans to think about it later. "So what's the plan now?" she asks Enver and Ezra. "Go check in with the leader of the camp then take to the skies again? How long are you both expected to be gone?"

(3xp, 5000 credits everyone. This should level those of us who were at 1 to level 2, and I can help with that if needed. We can handle that in our own threads )

3

(I don't have a thread yet) Enver raises an eyebrow at the Thia's cube but shrugs it off as it's not his business to pry. "Going back to the leader sounds great, I don't think we're really equipped to go deeper right now." He does a thinking pose "They didn't say a time frame for us, but I guess sundown would work? Not that we know what time it is" He says while checking his data slab for time

((sorry y'all it has been a rough few days, i should be back in and at this tomorrow))

(sounds good! This mission is complete, the miners will have their equipment and this ltitle settlement will join IA)

5

((OK damn soz))

12:26 PM

((i believe I've done the level up correctly but this is my channel so here's my request for someone to eyeball it

))

12:26 PM

((are we all staying here to continue in this vein?))

(I think we're splitting up from here, mission is over and the wrap of of the miners getting their lives back together doesn't necessarily need to happen on screen. We can figure out whats next for our characters from there. I will eyeball the level up when you've got it ready )

((i believe it's done on my sheet?

))

(post what you changed here as well, we have a level up template that we like used, I don't really hve a way to tell if what you did is mechanically right just by looking at the sheet and guessing what you changed)

((ohhh OK, lemme go find the template, sorry))

((

**Level Up**
Level:  2
Focus: Specialist (know) 
Old HP: 6
HP Roll: 2
New HP: 8
New Skills: know, shoot, use magic
Current AB: +2

)) (edited)

(The new skills you’ve raised from -1 to 0?)

((uh, i put one more in shoot, and know I got thru the foci))

(It’s two skill points to go from 0 to 1, so if use magic is 0 and know is from the foci, then this is right. )

2:16 PM

(Know would be 1 if it was at -1 before )

((the skill increase blurb said a skill from a foci was the equivalent of 3 points, so I mighta fucked that up, should be 2 then?))

2:18 PM

((wait no, it looks right, yeah))

(yeah, you were at 0, its at 1 right now, with 1 skill point banked for future use on that skill, since the leftover 1 isn't enough to go from 1 to 2)

1

(I'd be happy to continue our flight, or split ways. Whichever.)

(I'm up for whatever the group prefers. If we stay together I'll make a group thread

(I'm happy with either too)

(Let's do one more mission together, then part ways. If Ezra is agreeable?)

((sounds good to me

))

1

(just for note taking purposes, group mission has ended, if you wanted to do something solo your character would be back from that now to pick something up. )

(Will archive for now. We don't delete anytihng so just reach out when you're ready to continue!)