Mandalorian Onslaught: Aurek

[AvatarVecna]

Viim shrugs and follows Brock - better to keep close to somebody who seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, at least.

[Talespinner]

More explosions followed the first, closer and closer, regular and sequential. Bombing runs.

Between the teeth-rattling detonations, the whine of engines grew louder and louder. Refugees huddled beneath the tables and flattened themselves against the floor, covering their heads. "It's just us, Lieutenant," the young trooper replied, swallowing hard. "We're stretched thin." Four Republic troopers in the entire compound - it wasn't much to stand against a determined invasion force, the kind of massive fleet that had been accumulating at the protective corridor's edge.

The troopers moved to barricade the doors, pushing tables and stools in front of them, but it was slow going; the occasional refugee was still streaming through them. The engine noise grew almost overwhelming. Brock pushed his way through the front doors and was immediately given reason to regret it. Hovering just above the middle of the compound, about to set down in the gap between buildings, a Mandalorian troopship was descending. In the sky behind it, dozens more. Perhaps hundreds.

Hovering around the dropship were half a dozen Mandalorian troopers, their jetpacks keeping them aloft like insects buzzing around a bantha. They spotted Brock and Viim as soon as they opened the doors and immediately began to descend, raising their blaster rifles. They were the vanguard, ready to clear the landing zone. Behind them would follow dozens and dozens of Mandalorian warriors, savage and well-armed, determine to kill or capture every man, woman, and child present.

Past the grim scene, Brock and Viim spotted a lone freighter on the outpost landing pad. They'd seen it around the aid station before, ferrying around rations from the Republic fleet. It was probably the only hyperdrive-capable vessel in a hundred kilometers that wasn't presently being crewed by dozens of bloodthirsty Mandalorians. But as they watched, a hulking, clanking, bug-like metal form descended from the sky and landed in front of it - a Basilisk war droid.

That terrifying machine was now blocking the only avenue of escape, pinning everyone down until the troop ship landed.

For now, the occupants of the mess hall faced more immediate problems. Blaster bolts streaked down around the two who had poked their heads outside as the jump troopers opened fire, working to clear a path for the dropship. Most pinged off of the building, but a well-aimed blast caught Viim in the hip, searing through his clothing in a blaze of agony. Inside, the Twi'lek frantically turned to Valik, answering her questions as best she could.

"We've got a couple of kitchen droids in here, but all the mining droids are in storage in the warehouses. If you want to get to them, you'll have to get through... all that out there!"

[Miltonian]

As panic begins to fill the room, Valik remains outwardly untouched. However, the quickly approaching threat of being blasted to smithereens (or at least through the heart), a certain haste overtakes her. It is like panic, but without the screaming, crying, and abject terror. That may still come, if things deteriorate further.

"Kitchen droids," she repeats, "Lots of knives, sharp point things. Those can look dangerous, if nothing else." And she shoots off towards the kitchen to find them.

"Congratulations," she says once she does and begins pulling out her tools, "You've been drafted into the Republic Army."

[Thundercracker]

Brock Handor

Brock let out a wordless cry of anger and frustration and fired a single blaster at the incoming jump troopers before ducking back inside, taking cover within the building.

Spoiler

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standard attack: (1d20+5)[22]
damage: (3d8+2)[11]
move just inside the doorway so he can still peek around the corner to take a full attack next round.

[Hazuki]

With the sound of explosions in the distance, Ara has to steady herself. The Mandalorians are here and it's time to fight them. She makes her way towards the source, knowing that she can't confront them just yet as one man who pokes his head out eats a barrage of blaster bolts for his troubles. She approaches the door, but doesn't get within line of sight from the outside, hiding herself from the Mandalorians. Her lightsaber ignites with a green glow and she brings a finger to her lips as she looks around at the others ready to fight, lest thy suddenly start announcing 'Jedi' and giving her presence away before the Mandalorians fall into their bottleneck.

Spoiler: Action

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I'm going to Ready the Move Light Object action of Use the Force, readied to catch a grenade if the Mandalorians throw one and throw it right back at them. Feel free to make the roll to do so for me if they do throw one.

[FoxWyrd]

Lieutenant Adira Delarra, Republic Navy

"Fight with everything you've got people! I know you're scared, I know you're afraid, but this is life or death now and I need you all to give everything you can," she screamed at the soldiers and refugees as she scrambled for cover.

From her cover, she fires at the same one that Brock fired at.

Spoiler: Actions

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Standard Action: Blaster Pistol Attack

Attack: (1d20+2)[10]
Damage: (3d6)[4]

Swift Action: Born Leader

All allies within Line of Sight gain +1 to Attack Rolls

[Talespinner]

Within the mess hall, the kitchen droids directed their blank stares at Valik. "Madam," one of the gangly, multi-limbed units buzzed in reply, "I must protest. I am a chef, not a soldier." Still, it was clear to the technician that the two droids' many knife attachments could definitely serve as improvised weapons. The depot would likely need all the weapons it could get just now. There was no telling how many soldiers were aboard that one troopship, or how many more were behind it.

Adira and Brock crouched at the front doors, pulling Viim to safety back inside the mess hall before opening fire at the onrushing jump troopers. One of them twisted past the Lieutenant's shot, his jetpack taking him out of its path... and right into the gunslinger's blaster bolt. Brock's shot punched cleanly through the gap between the Mandalorian's helmet and breastplate; the marauder died instantly, his suddenly uncontrolled jetpack sending him careening into the side of a building.

The four Republic troopers took up positions just behind the doors; they couldn't fit in to shoot past Brock and Adira, who were taking cover on either side of the doorway, but they could open up on the Mandos once they tried to force entry. Among them, Ara's lightsaber sprang to life, its emerald beam reflected in dozens of desperate eyes. There was a general gasp, but nothing further. The young Jedi waited, trusting in the Force, suspecting that a different mode of attack was on its way.

With the two shooters ensconced in the cover of the doorway, the Mandalorians quickly realized that they didn't stand much chance to taking them down at range. They descended rapidly, trying to close the gap and negate that advantage. Two of them lobbed grenades at the doorway, trying to force its defenders back and cover their descent, while the others continued to open fire. One of the shots nearly hit Brock, but he ducked back behind the doorframe just in time, feeling the heat of the shot.

The of the shots went wide - far more dangerous were the grenades. But Ara had been waiting for that to happen. Feeling the small objects in the Force, she seized one of them midair and sent it streaking back at the descending Mandalorians... just as it exploded. The grenade ripped through the descending squad. There was a grisly confusion of armor, jetpack fuel, and blood. When the cloud cleared, the jump troopers were gone.

The other grenade exploded against the doors, and bits of shrapnel made it through, cutting bloody furrows into Brock and Adira. Outside, the dropship continued to descend. Its main boarding ramp began to ease open early, and standing on it were what could only be a Mandalorian second wave. There was a moment to prepare, but soon even more enemies would be flooding the depot. If there was a plan to get past the Basilisk and reach the freighter, it was time to put it into action.

[Thundercracker]

Brock

Brock let out a whoop at the lightsaber, which turned into a grunt of pain as he caught the edge of the grenade's blast.

"Anyone got a plan, now would be a good time to figure out how we're going to get past that Basilisk!" he shouted.

He leaned out of the doorway and fired a pair of shots at the second wave of Mandalorians on the drop ship then ducked back behind cover.

Spoiler

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attack: (1d20+2)[18] +1 born leader oops
damage: (3d8)[13] +2 weapon spec I forgot, sorry.
attack: (1d20+2)[16] +1 born leader oops.
damage: (3d8)[19] +2 weapon spec I forgot, sorry.

What's the range to the Basilisk and the Freighter? Is there any cover in between? Does Brock know anything about how tough Basilisks are and what their capabilities are?

[Hazuki]

Ara nods imperceptibly as her suspicion proves correct and the initial Mandalorian squad is destroyed by their own grenade. She feels each life flit away from the Force as they're torn apart, but forces that feeling aside as the dropship opens its doors to deploy another group of the vicious monsters attacking an aid station. She holds position, not suspecting them to throw another grenade after how their comrade's just turned out, but prepared should they decide to. As soon as they have a chance to breathe, they can start making real plans, so for now she just tries to get a sense for how many people are present - and how many Mandalorians they're facing.

Spoiler: Once more readying an action just in case of grenade.

Show

Also, using a Swift Action to use Sense Surroundings with Perception.

(1d20+8)[12]

[Miltonian]

Within the mess hall, the kitchen droids directed their blank stares at Valik. "Madam," one of the gangly, multi-limbed units buzzed in reply, "I must protest. I am a chef, not a soldier." Still, it was clear to the technician that the two droids' many knife attachments could definitely serve as improvised weapons. The depot would likely need all the weapons it could get just now. There was no telling how many soldiers were aboard that one troopship, or how many more were behind it.

"And we don't need chefs right now. We need soldiers," Valik replies evenly, "Please enter shutdown mode for a moment. This won't take long. I will return you to your primary functions afterwards."

She pauses and considers something. "Pretend the Mandalorians are uncultured, but very vocal, food critics."

With that out of the way, she begins a quick and dirty reprogramming of the droids. It lacks the usual elegance of her work, but there is little elegance in being blasted by bloodthirsty savages. Aesthetics must bend before expedience at times.

[AvatarVecna]

Viim hisses and gets behind cover. He searches mentally for something to maybe throw at it, or use as Cover. "How much punishment can those things take? We got a chance doing anything but running and hoping it shoots us last?"

Spoiler: OoC

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UTF for Sense Surroundings (Swift): (1d20+10)[30]

If there's something he can throw/use for cover, he's probably going to do that for his standard, depending on whether Brock thinks we can take it or not.

[FoxWyrd]

Lieutenant Adira Delarra, Republic Navy

Adira's stoicism faltered for a moment at the sight of the Basilisk. For a fraction of a second, a look of terror washed over her face before it flashed with a look of clarity. "Jedi, can you hold off the Basilisk while we get the refugees to safety?"

[Hazuki]

A chill runs down Ara's spine at the prospect of facing off against a Basilisk alone. Her eyes flick to overturned tables, the refugees. "I can distract it for a time. You should separate the weak from the strong, those who know the land, get the former to the freighter and scatter the rest. Not everyone will fit."

[FoxWyrd]

Lieutenant Adira Delarra, Republic Navy

"How many can we get in there?"

[Talespinner]

Brock's expertly-aimed shots punched through two Mandalorians, and the armored warriors dropped soundlessly from the ramp to land in crumpled heaps on the ground far below. There was a scramble behind them as their fellows react to the sudden appearance of resistance, and a moment later the dropship adjusted its angle of descent... bringing its guns to bear. A heavy turbolaser battery and concussion missile launcher pointed themselves directly at the mess hall's front doors, charging to fire. A full volley would likely vaporize the entire face of the building, along with anyone standing behind it.

A moment later, as Valik finished reprogramming the two chef droids, she noticed hot white lines burning their way through the kitchen's rear service doors, where food was normally brought in. Fortunately, it seemed they had been locked as a precaution against starving refugees, and that now gave her and the modified droids a moment to ready themselves. The door burst inward in seconds, and a trio of Mandalorian warriors charged into the kitchen, brandishing blaster rifles. They looked surprised to see anyone ready for them, and their surprise cost them the opportunity to shoot first.

The mess hall was long, with about 30 meters between the kitchen and the central doors. Anyone who wanted to help Valik would have to dash back there, but at least they would be temporarily out of range of the dropship's heavy weapons. Ara couldn't sense much about the situation beyond the fact that pandemonium was raging outside; the Force rippled with emotions all around her, fear and anger, clouding her sight. Viim had more luck. He could sense that a second wave of Mandalorians, probably from another ship that had landed nearby, was advancing from the back of the compound.

Some of them seemed to be switching to stun blasts; rumor held that they often conscripted the conquered.

The squat freighter on the landing pad could perhaps take fifty passengers, if they were really crammed in. The window of opportunity to seize it, though, was quickly closing. Unless its shields were raised, the dropship could easily obliterate it on the landing pad if it looked like a threat; it was probably only being left alone so that the Mandalorians could capture it and add it to their invasion fleet for the next world they came to plunder. The Basilisk stalked around in front of it, its durasteel body plugging the alley between two large warehouses stacked with heavy mining explosives.

[Thundercracker]

Brock

“That’s three,” he thought as the bodies fell to the ground.

Brock’s eyes widened as he saw the dropship’s missile launcher and turbolaser adjusting to aim right at his face. With the troopers having pulled back because he’d just killed two of them, there was a brief window of opportunity.

“Run for the warehouse, now!” he yelled to whoever around him could hear.

He followed his own advice, sprinting for the nearest building before his cover vaporized into plasma of its component atoms.

[Hazuki]

Ara sprints after Brock.

[Miltonian]

Valik draws her pistol as the white lines burn their way through the door. It is only a sporting model, but you go to war with the army you have, not the one you want. When the Mandalorians appear, she does what is necessary and fires a single blaster bolt at the first one to enter her sight and takes some cover behind the kitchen counter.

"Attack," she orders the two droids.

[AvatarVecna]

Viim curses and calls on the Force to protect him before rushing across the battlefield after the others, even as he knew it wouldn't hold up against ship cannons if they targeted him.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Force Shield: (1d20+10)[30]

[Talespinner]

As Viim, Ara, and Brock sprinted out the doors of the mess hall, making for the nearest warehouse, the dropship opened fire. The three of them felt the heat of the explosion on their backs, though Viim's Force shield kept the debris from pelting them. The mess hall was half-destroyed, its front wall simply vaporized, revealing the confusion of tables and chairs now scattered around inside. The trio stumbled through the warehouse doors, reinforced durasteel intended to contain explosions. Before them, stretching some twenty-five meters to the high ceiling, were dozens of pallets stacked with supplies.

A great many of those supplies turned out to be fist-sized mining charges, each intended to pulverize a dozen square meters of rock at a time. Reinforced doors or no, a chain reaction would level this warehouse and probably turn the entire center of the supply depot into a smoking crater. The charges would probably slice through Basilisk armor like warm nerf butter, provided that the ragtag group could find a way to use them against it. They were timed charges, carefully designed not to detonate on impact, though the timer could be set to any length the user desired.

There were enough charges in the warehouse that the party could have used one a minute and not run out all day.

Back in the kitchen, Valik's serving droids followed their new programming. "YOU REQUESTED YOUR STEAK RARE," one robotic chef trilled as it surged forward, "AND THEREFORE SHOULD NOT COMPLAIN OF UNDERCOOKING!" The pair ran at the startled Mandalorians, their vibro-knives humming to life. One of them leapt full on at the lead Mandalorian, bearing him to the ground. "THE. FISH. WAS. NOT. DRY." it buzzed angrily, punctuating each word with a vicious stab that wormed its way between the warrior's armor plates. The Mandalorian had only time to gurgle in shock before he died.

The other two pulled back slightly, raised their rifles, and riddled both droids with blasterfire. The two chefs, vengeance served at last to their imagined food critics, tumbled into a smoking pile. As the Mandalorians prepared to take aim at Valik, the Republic troopers leaned around the door and opened fire, their blaster bolts glancing off of heavy armor but providing cover. "Get back behind the wall!" the freckle-faced trooper yelled at Valik, trying to pull her into cover behind the divider that separated the kitchen from the serving lane.

Outside, the dropship continued its descent. It would land soon.

[Hazuki]

Ara stares over the oodles upon oodles of explosives that stack the shelves, silently wishing that there had been more food stockpiles than there were explosives. But at least they offered a chance.

She looks to the gunslinger who she ran in with. "If we activate some explosives and strap them to a pallet, I can throw it at the droid."

[Thundercracker]

Brock

“I was thinking we could set them all to blow up as a distraction while you use your laser sword to cut through the wall facing the freighter. We run, the warehouse blows up, the basilisk looks that way, and we blast off of this rock before they know what happened. Anything we don’t destroy is going to taken by the damn mandalorians anyway,” Brock replied.

“I’m not very good with explosives though, are either of you?” he asked.

Realizing they didn’t have much time, he started stacking mines on a pallet anyway, and looked for windows or doors facing the basilisk.

[Miltonian]

In a less 'life or death' scenario, Valik would be amused by their rage. However, they go down far quicker than she was hoping for. The Mandalorians are no joke, even if one did die to the maddened droids.

She looks at the trooper and decides that he probably knows what he is talking about. Probably. She gets behind cover, as he suggests, and says, "I have a pistol, but we could really use some grenades right now."

[AvatarVecna]

Brock

“I was thinking we could set them all to blow up as a distraction while you use your laser sword to cut through the wall facing the freighter. We run, the warehouse blows up, the basilisk looks that way, and we blast off of this rock before they know what happened. Anything we don’t destroy is going to taken by the damn mandalorians anyway,” Brock replied.

“I’m not very good with explosives though, are either of you?” he asked.

Realizing they didn’t have much time, he started stacking mines on a pallet anyway, and looked for windows or doors facing the basilisk.

Viim takes a moment to recover from the blast a little bit. "Not really," he puffs out. "Tinkering around with explosives always seemed a good way to get blown up, y'know?" he chuckles, despite the situation. "...think we're lucky enough these are the type that explode on impact?"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Taking the Recover action, and talking.

[Thundercracker]

Viim takes a moment to recover from the blast a little bit. "Not really," he puffs out. "Tinkering around with explosives always seemed a good way to get blown up, y'know?" he chuckles, despite the situation. "...think we're lucky enough these are the type that explode on impact?"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Taking the Recover action, and talking.

“Unfortunately no,” Brock replied as he hefted some explosives onto a pallet, “they’re set with a timer.”