Project Freelancer:

[Blaknic]

The room you are in is perfectly circular and unambiguously modern. Chome details the corners of the rectangular table, as well as other surfaces and features. Most of the rest of the material, including the somewhat uncomfortable chairs that sit discarded at the table in front of you, is made of a reflective metal. Aside from the all-purpose sheen on just about everything, though, the room is spartan and functional-clearly a briefing room. A deceptively gentle looking dark-skinned man is projected from an emitter at the head of the table, and an aide/technician stands nearby. After a moment, the man speaks in a thoughtful manner, pausing occasionally to select his next word.

"Hello, gentlemen. As I am sure you are aware, I am an employee of this organization. You may call me the Counselor. The Director is unable to speak with you today due to last months...tragedy, so I will be acting in his stead. Freelancer agents have a history of preferring to operate on their own, or in pairs. The five of you are a bit of an experiment in teamwork and cooperation, so do try to behave.
Now, you are not being assigned to the same mission as your predecessors. They were experienced operatives, and while I maintain no doubts about your talent, it would be a mistake to send recruits where more.... veteran employees failed. As a result, you are instead being sent to assist a Recovery agent who is experiencing mechanical problems with his ship. While what amounts to a repair mission could appear to be a waste of your training and our equipment, the real purpose of this assignment is to test your capacity to work as a unit.
You will be given transportation to your mission objective, and your performance will reflect on the...prestige of your future missions. You can find more information in these packages."

An aide of the counselor hands each of you a package containing datapads, an extra clip of ammunition for your chosen weapon, and a small oatmeal cookie.

Should you read the datapad:

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The datapad contains information on Hat Yi, an Outer Colony world mostly abandoned during the war. The Recovery Agent is stated to be Agent Oregon, sent in after receiving a beacon from Agent Hawaii.

The datapad also contains infromation on the Van Barfoot, a Pelican-class ship that you surmise is going to be your mode of transportation.

[Eric Scott]

Nevada stows the cookie in his Tactical/Hard Case... and does a quick skim of what's on the datapad... then looks over clip of ammunition and says, So, if your giving use some munitions... does that mean we should be expecting a fight? Or is it just a precautionary measure? He then stows the ammunition in one of his Chest Pouches.

[Lordofbunnyz]

Alaska quickly slides the extra ammo into an outer pocket of his medical kit before regarding the cookie in distaste and promptly starting to scan the datapad as he ran a armored hand through his peppered black and white hair.

"Counselor, are sever injures possible? If so I would like to requisition a surgery kit, I can only do so much with this Medkit." He said with a gesture towards the box he slipped the ammo into.

( I like the cookie)

[Blaknic]

"Agent..." the Counselor glances at a pad in his hand "Nevada, I am not expecting you to face hostilities, but it is best to be prepared. After all, something had to have activated Agent Hawaii's beacon."

Requisition Roll!

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(1d20+6)[26] DC 16 (Nice natural 20!)

The Counselor looks at Alaska with a hint of incredulity in his voice.
"You weren't given one as part of your equipment? We will need to remedy that. Harris! Go get a surgery kit for Agent Alaska. Don't worry about returning it, Agent."

The aide practically runs out of the room and returns shortly, bearing a surgery kit and panting slightly.

[Lordofbunnyz]

Alaska nodded his thanks to the aid as he took the kit and placed it along side the other one. Turning back to the projection Alaska snaps a quick salute "Thank you Counselor."

(Do the members of the team know each other? Or is this the first time meeting?)
If it's the first time:

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Turning to the other armored man Alaska extends his hand in greeting "Agent.. Nevada, right? Names Alaska, trained field Medic. I'm the one who puts you back together!" He said with a chuckle.

[Comissar]

Jersey flicks through the datapad that had been put in front of her. She'd chosen to remain helmeted for the meeting and was mildly amused that she'd been passed a cookie. Did they expect her to be eating inside her helmet or something?

"Do we have any idea what took down Hawaii sir?"

[Ulm11]

Massachusetts smiled as he saw the cookie. It was nice to be able to actually get something to eat during a briefing as chances were that this would be it for the next six hours. Now time to figure just who is leading this expedition.

"Sir, who will lead our squad."

As he finishes speaking he loads his extra assault rounds into his chest pock whilst taking a moment to look around the room.

[Blaknic]

The holo of the Counselor nods in response to Alaska, then replies:

"I am afraid we do not, Agent New Jersey. I am confident that Agent Oregon could have handled it on her own, but with her ship out of operation, Agent Oregon has not been able to locate Hawaii. To the best of our knowledge, Agent Oregon's ship was disabled as a result of instrument errors, not hostile activity. As far as the question of a leader goes, I will repeat that your group is an experiment in cooperation. Nominally, you are all equals. Whether a leader develops from your group, how, and who it is are of great interest to us. Naturally, we have...estimated guesses, but they will not be disclosed at this time."

For those who read the datapad:

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Further examination of the mission reveals that Hawaii's beacon comes from the mid-northern part of the continent, in what appears to have been once a tropical climate. The location of Oregon's ship is on the equator.

[Eric Scott]

So, we aren't to expect hostiles, we do have medic, and we don't know exactly what happened to Hawaii... Correct? If so, I suppose we shouldn't waste too much more time and, get out there and get this done... assuming, there isn't anything else that might be even remotely important that you can tell us.

[Blaknic]

"That would be correct, Agent Nevada. Now, I believe Agent New Jersey will be your pilot for this mission. You should know that the vehicle we have provided contains an....experimental version of the standard slip space drive. It is able to enter slip space on its own, but may require some careful piloting. That being said, Agents Oregon and Hawaii await your arrival, I suggest you let them wait no longer."

The holo fizzles out, assuming nobody interrupts it before it does so. The datapad's specs on the pelican reveal a wealth of information:
D77H-TCI-X3

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Defense: 8
Hardness:20
Hitpoints: 320
Speed: 7 squares in space (3500 ft)
Max Dex bonus from Pilot: +2
Max Dex bonus from Gunner: +2
Length: 30.7m
Wingspan: 25.1m
Height: 10m
Armament: 1 Nose-Mounted heavy chaingun (+0) 6d8
Crew Capacity: 4 (trained +4, partially trained +2)
Passenger Capacity: 4
Cargo Capacity: 35 Tons
This unit cannot carry Warthogs/missiles/whatever due to modifications.
This unit can enter slipspace as a full round action. Calculating jump coordinates takes 1d4 rounds, calculating coordinates by hand takes 1d4 minutes and a successful int check. Jumping randomly is possible.
+2 required on certain Piloting checks, due to modifications.

The curiously quiet California behaves in a normal manner, accepting his orders quietly and processing the information in that 14 INT head of his.
(If you want to do anything, now is the time)

[Comissar]

"You heard the man, let's get to it, plenty of time for talk on the journey there."

Jersey rises to leave, heading to the hangar bay. She pauses at the door to allow the rest of the squad to walk with her.

[Ulm11]

Massachusetts only nods slightly as the holo fizzles out.

"Time to get this show on the road."

After making sure he had everything he needed Agent Massachusetts boarded the experimental ship, hoping that nothing would go wrong.

[Lordofbunnyz]

"Right, Anyone have any medical problems, such as being allergic, that I need to know?" Alaska questioned the group as he made sure his M7 and M6C and strapped down tight, before grabbing both kits and hooking them onto his combat belt.

[Comissar]

Jersey moves up to the pilots cabin, stowing her Sniper and Rifle in two of the side compartments. As she sat down, she turned on the intercom to talk to the rest of the team, "Just an allergy to bullets here, I'd appreciate it if you got them out as soon as possible."

Starting to run through the pre-flight checks, she continued "Everyone strapped in back there?"

[Eric Scott]

Nevada walks silently with the group to the hanger, No allergies here... and I'm as strapped in as seems safe...

[Ulm11]

"I am all set now."

Massachusetts hollers out as he finishes strapping himself in.

[Blaknic]

With everybody (including California) safely strapped in and ready to launch, Jersey elegantly and effortlessly maneuvers the Van Barfoot into deep space.

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Out of a completely harmless idle curiosity, who is the co-pilot?

Jersey- In the pilot's cabin. Everything seems normal enough, as far as controls go. The instruments look normal, and everything is green on the pre-flight checklist. The only abnormalities, so far as you can tell, are a few gauges and a large, red-handled lever labeled "Slipspace Drive". When you boot the onboard computer, it opens, but the user interface is non-existent, simply a black screen with white text reading "Welcome to ERIS" and a blinking cursor below. It aids you functionally in the running of the ship, but it does nothing special, aside from retaining an apparent capacity to use a slipspace drive.. You feed ERIS the coordinates for Hat-Yi, and it accepts them without returning any errors. Everything ready to go, you prime the slipspace drive and...

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You know what? I'm going to let Commisar make this roll. Piloting check, please.

[Comissar]

Jersey eyed the lever dubiously, something that important as a big red lever was just tempting fate in her opinion.

"Alright folks, engaging Slipspace drive."

Keeping an eye on the other instruments to ensure nothing went wrong as they jumped, Jersey pulled the lever for the Drive.

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I'm the only trained Pilot, I can't see any of the others being overly helpful as co-pilots :-/

Anyway, Crashing Piloting roll - (1D20+5)[20]

[Lordofbunnyz]

(Cail has the highest mod at +3, the rest of us have just +1s)

Just as Jersey reaches for the red level an old movie line floats through Alaska's head, which he promptly gives voice to.
"Do you remember the little red button? Push the little red button. And you may want to put on a seatbelt..."

[Blaknic]

As Jersey pushes the lever, a light blinks on the ERIS console-the ship shudders and begins to jerk under the pressure and strain of changing dimensions, however temporarily. With a lurch, the entire ship heaves forward, and the entire crew feels a shockwave fly through the ship, then calm.

The Van Barfoot enters slipspace.
Anybody not properly secured falls and takes 1d2-1 damage.
(The co-pilot's seat serves the following function: During battle, if a character in the co-pilot's seat beats a 10 on a piloting check, they may add their dexterity modifier(up to two points) to the pilot's piloting and attack rolls. In addition, should the cabin be damaged in battle, they will split damage with the pilot. They make take actions (repairs, communications, programming, whatever) during their turn instead of assisting the pilot. These actions take at least a standard action, so if the pilot were to do them instead of his normal job, the ship would be at a disadvantage. On larger ships, similar roles are served by other members of the crew, with varying bonuses to overall performance of the craft.)

(Any actions that crewmen want to take over the two or three hours of flight may be done, just put them at the top of your next post.)


When the Van Barfoot exits slipspace, Hat-Tai is a massive globe above. Mostly blue from oceans, the planet looks like a floating gem-but one badly tarnished. Lush green forests are carved by scorched scars in the ground, not fully healed. Some of the clouds are black and orange, and look as deadly as the scattered landscapes of glass that peek through the clouds covering much of the southern part of the continent, and part of the north. Two moons, one with the remnant of a military base on it, orbit the sphere, and your ship-board radar shows two beacons-one from the northern end of the continent, and one from Oregon's reported location, on the glassed part of the north side of the equator.

[Eric Scott]

Nevada cleans his guns and makes sure they're in good working order for what ever might be around the next theoretical corner...

Upon seeing the glassed part, Nevada says, I don't suppose it's supposed to look like that... do you?

[Comissar]

Jersey glanced down at the planet through the viewscreen.

"Can't say I'd want to take a holiday there myself, but I guess we wouldn't be here if everything was right."

As she began to bring the ship in on the landing zone, she continued over the comms, "I'm thinking we do a flyover of the landing zone, get an idea of what's down there, before we land. We'll lose any stealth advantage but we won't be going in blind."

[Eric Scott]

I never was one for stealth... says Nevada as he get his Assault Rifle in hand.

[Ulm11]

"That sounds like a plan. I prefer up close and personal fighting then just sneaking around."

As Massachusetts finished speaking he began to check both his guns to make sure they were operational.

[Lordofbunnyz]

"Sounds good to me, just remember if we hit hostiles that I can patch you up, but if you get a bullet through the brain there is not much I can do at that point." Alaska states as he pulls out his M7 and hovers his hand over the restraint release button.

[Blaknic]

Jersey- As you drop under 75,000 ft, you notice your altimeter pause for a second, then resume. at 50,000 ft, you see it happen again, but your artificial horizon and airspeed indicator also freeze- and your altimeter doesn't unfreeze. As you continue decent, your other instruments begin going haywire.
On the plus side, the landing zone looks clear. You can see a damaged ship-probably Oregon's- a few hundred feet away from where you intended to land. The glass below looks hard, but rough from being in the elements for quite some time. There is little in the way of rubble.
Also, I need a piloting check.

Everyone else-During re-entry, you notice the ship shaking and jumping maybe a tad more then normal. A short time later, the PA turns on, and you hear "WELCOME TO--THIS IS ERIS--HOW MAY--IS ERIS--ASSIST--ERIS--PLEASE--FILE SAVED--WELCOME--WRECK--AIM IS--IS COMPUTATION--WELCOME TO--" in a digital-sounding voice, intermixed with static. After rambling for some seconds, the PA cuts off as abruptly as it started.

[Comissar]

Jersey cursed under her breath as the instruments started going haywire. Nothing she did seemed to fix them.

"I guess now we know why Oregon crashed..."

Turning the intercom back on, she continued "Things might get a little rough here, hope you're all buckled in properly."

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Piloting check time - (1d20+5)[12]

[Lordofbunnyz]

Alaska quickly jerked his hand away from his release button as the ship jerked violently in the air.

[Blaknic]

Jersey- as you take the ship down, the ERIS console starts giving you nonsense feedback-you see something about a "landing gear", and "airbags", but nothing that has any bearing on your situation. You struggle to bring the ship in manually, and, in a few moves that would have made your instructors proud, maneuver the Pelican into a mostly normal landing sequence. A landing sequence that is promptly shattered by ERIS informing you that "All-Range Mode is engaged." Your forward thrusters cut out, and the ship drops, nose-first. Wrangling the controls, bring the nose up in time for the Van Barfoot to slam into the ground with a rather sickening crunch.

Results of system damage roll in OOC Thread- Having the engines on the bottom of the ship seems silly now that they are damaged. They will take a Repair Check, and at least 8 hours to fix. At least the slipspace drive is up.

Everyone Else-The ship jerks and moves, and the PA comes on once again, but the sound is too distorted for you to comprehend. Not being idiots, you strap into any and all safety gear you can find. The ship settles down, then pitches forward suddenly into a nosedive before leveling out. You look around in worr--CRUNCH. The Van Barfoot slams into the ground, and you are thrown against your restraints for [roll]1d4[\roll] damage.

Alaska-Smart move. That is all.

[Ulm11]

Massachusetts quickly opened his visor to cough up some blood. " "That could have gone a lot better."" Massachusetts chucked lightly as he got out of his harness.

"So, whose ready to see whats waiting for us outside?" He emphasised his point by coking his shotgun as he reached for the button to lower the hatch.