Free-Spacers, The Gravity Age IC

[The_Snark]

Saela

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Maybe he's trying, but Ortinez is not managing to make her feel at home. Saela's never really given much thought to childbearing, but she knows that when she does, she wants it to be in a context that doesn't put her in mind of some kind of breeding pod. She wasn't an incubator on legs. "I'm a mechanic," she mutters, "but we ain't sure we're going to stay. Not just yet, anyway," she adds, not wanting to antagonize Ortinez. There was an odd implication to his last words, like they wouldn't be allowed to leave. God damn, I really hope I'm just being paranoid. "We just came in to see if it was true. The colony rumors, I mean. I don't feel ready to settle down just yet, but... I've got parents back on Medura, thought they might want to know."

"Not a lot of Mutates back there," she adds, shifting in her chair again. The more time she spent here, the more she just wanted to get out.

[jagadaishio]

Jane

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Upon finding the node, Jane immediately tries to access the station's door controls, alarm controls, and sensor controls. Being in control of any or all of these systems could be of enormous use to their endeavor on the mutate colony. Physically, Jane remains standing still, staring off into the distance, looking like nothing more than a tool of Saela and Koriel awaiting commands.

Computer Uses:
0 - (1d20+17)[19]
1 - (1d20+17)[30]
2 - (1d20+17)[29]

[Boggs]

Tex

Tex holds the slip of paper in his hand. He looks back to the door and thinks of the small girl who ran from the room. Looking to Suvar, "We've got to find a way to slink around this station. There's something... odd at work here."

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Spot - (1d20+2)[17]
Action Point - (1d6)[3]
Also, Searching the room for anything of notice (secret doors, a breeze between wall cracks, etc.)
Search - (1d20+5)[22]

(OOC: Sorry for the delay, it has been a busy couple of weeks.)

[TwoBitWriter]

Seala, Jane, and Koriel:

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Halo claps his hands and laughs. "Of course, I understand. But surely you are in no hurry to leave. Your friends have already been given quarters for the evening and you will be welcomed to the same hospitality. Please, come with me and I will show you to your room. In the morning, you will be free to leave, naturally."
He stands, and beckons you to follow him. He opens a side door in the office, revealing a long hallway with Glasteel windows running down its length. As you step down the hallway, you can see out into the rest of the colony, at least into one of the work areas.
You see hundreds of Mutate men and women toiling in their work. Some are shuffling into and out of a dark tunnel, entering with Gravity-Shovels, and emerging with carloads of a strange ore-like substance.
Halo seems to notice you observing the work. "This planet still has rich ore reserves, which we use to turn a profit on the Galactic Market. We always have needs for mechanics for our Shuttle Carts," he says to Saela, before turning to Koriel, "and we have an opening for a new guard captain..."
You eventually reach the end of the hall and enter a door labeled "Worker's Dormitory."
Halo stops in the room, which is lined with empty bunks. "All the workers are on-duty, but this would be a good way for you to meet some of the colonists before you leave tomorrow... I must give my leave, I have several Administrative matters to attend too..."
He leaves, and the Door quickly slides shut behind him. You hear the unmistakable sound of a Magnetic lock engaging. You try the door, but it won't budge. There is one other exit to the room, which appears to lead to a another hall which links to a restroom, shower, recreation commons, a locker-room, and the entrance to the mines.

Jane:

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You are able to gain Administrative Access to the entire Colony Network. You now can control doors and other security protocol.
You also happen across an interesting communique from Halo Ortinez to an individual known only as "Inari."
"The last shipment of "colonists" you sent me spend more time whining about their homes than doing any actual work. Just yesterday I had to Nerve Staple a half-dozen just to get the rest of the workers back in line. I demand better quality workers on the next shipment. I will meet with you on the Human Disraeli Outpost on Salabrax to personally inspect the Mutates you have rounded up. Only then will I authorize the credit transfers."
- Halo Ortinez

Mkanu:

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The doors open, and the two Mutate Guard see you. They gape in surprise before yelling out. "We got a damn MAT in there! Blast him!" They open fire.
(Roll Initiative and take your attack action.)

Suvar and Tex:

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Suvar peeks out into the hall, and sees no trace of the Mutate girl. He does notice two Mutates armed with Laser Rifles heading toward your room. You slink back inside. You don't think they noticed you, but this does not bode well.
Tex snoops around the room and discovers a maintenance tunnel in the ceiling, large enough to accomodate an adult male Human. He pulls the hatch off, and a ladder slides down, allowing you to access.

[SurlySeraph]

Mkanu

Mkanu bellows "Deceitful cowards!" and sprays the soldiers with his chaingun.

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Initiative: (1d20+1)[20]
Attack (autofire attempt): (1d20+3)[13]
Damage: (5d6)[24]
10 rounds expended

[The_Snark]

Saela

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"Sure, there's no hurry," Saela answers, not wanting to sound suspicious. One night couldn't hurt any. Unless their cover was already blown, in which case it didn't matter what they agreed to.

In the dormitory, though, she looks at the locked door with suspicion; she's already on edge. Either he suspects us, or... the workers are routinely locked in at night? Sh**.

She slips her communicator out of a pocket, activates it to contact Tex. She does her best to keep her apprehension out of her voice, along with anything that might be incriminating if they were being bugged. No mention of her suspicions; no indication that she was a longstanding member of the ship's crew, not a passenger. "Hey, Captain. We talked with the Leader. Sounds like they want us to stay the night before we head back out again—does that work for you?"

[jagadaishio]

Jane

"You may want to hear this first, Saela," says Jane, after Saela whips open her com unit. She quietly recounts the message which she intercepted to Saela, Koriel, and the captain if their com units aren't jammed. "I believe that this is a slaving operation. Ortinez is luring prospective colonist here, then forcing them to mine or selling them to others."

Then, even quieter and hopefully more cryptic, in case the coms are being monitered, "Oh, and I am currently 'fully enabled' here, in case you need my assistance with anything.." Hopefully that's enough to tell everyone involved that she has security systems control.

[Sicarius]

Suvar

Suvar and Tex

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"Great...Tex, we have company..." Suvar climbs up the maintanence hatch after Tex.

[Meshakhad]

Saela

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"****."

Koriel's mind raced again. There went his plan to convince Ortinez to come peacefully. Along with any desire to do so. In fact, "blow Halo's head off with a railgun" jumped to Plan B.

He quickly concluded that staying the night was out of the question. There was no way he would be able to keep his railgun, or any other gadgets. Hell, they might even try to disable his cybernetics!

Koriel shunted any thoughts of this being a Mutate haven out of his head. This was a slave colony. He was dealing with slavers. Like the people who had gang-raped his mother to death.

The kind of people Koriel lived to kill.

He began to form a plan in his head. Fortunately, Halo had neglected to confiscate their weapons. Which meant Koriel was fully armed and armored, and there was nothing between him and the mines - the mines full of slaves he intended to turn to their side.

He also had Jane. The bioreplicant gave him a huge edge. He could turn their security systems against them, cut off access to key locations. And they would have no idea what was happening.

Just one thing he needed to check.

"Saela, you armed?" he whispered.

[The_Snark]

Saela

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"I was about to ask the same thing," Saela says softly, worst-case scenario confirmed. Or perhaps not the worst case; at least she wouldn't be torn about what they should be doing this way. She shrugs her shoulder, and then opens her hand, revealing a smallish device that covers her palm and most of her fingers. It doesn't look like a weapon Koriel is familiar with, but given the context it probably is one. "It's only good for a couple shots, point-blank range. You?"

"Captain, you getting this?" she adds.

Tex

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I just realized my message to you was inside a spoiler, so you might not have seen it. Saela's using the communicators, and they're probably transmitting their conversation, but this was the first message he got:

"Hey, Captain. We talked with the Leader. Sounds like they want us to stay the night before we head back out again—does that work for you?"

Followed by Jane's message. The communicator is still on, so Tex might be able to hear the conversation between Saela, Jane, and Koriel in its entirety, too.

[Meshakhad]

Koriel

Saela & Jane

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To answer Saela's question, Koriel unslung his railgun.

"They probably figured that we bought their whole facade - which we did - so they didn't bother to take it. Idiots."

Peering at her palm, "What kind of weapon is that? Never mind. You'll be needing to fire more than two shots." He handed Saela his Colt Python and the ammo to go with it.

"Anyway, we need to move fast." He raised Jane. "Jane, I need you to initiate a security lockdown. Seal every door on this station except those between us and the mines." He paused before giving his next instruction. "And if you can, hack into their life support and kill everyone inside their security substations."

[The_Snark]

Saela

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"An emergency one," Saela replies to his question, slipping it back up her sleeve and taking the Python, although she holds it a little awkwardly. She listens to Koriel's instructions, then says, "Countermand all that, Jane. Just disable any bugs they might have in the room. First we're gonna talk about the plan, maybe see what the Cap an' the others have to say." She gives Koriel a hard stare. "Maybe you run around doing whatever you like back home, but not with this crew. Kay?"

[Meshakhad]

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"Sorry. Used to being in command of my own squad."

"OK, here's my plan: Jane puts the station into lockdown and kills the guards at the security substations. That'll cripple their ability to coordinate security responses."

"We - Saela and I - get into the mines. We take out the guards in there, and liberate the slaves. After stopping at an armory to arm ourselves, we link up with the Captain, Suvar, and M'kanu. We find Halo and capture him. The only part I haven't worked out is how to get the slaves out of here, but that can wait until we've taken control."

[TwoBitWriter]

Mkanu:

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Before the two terrorists can react, you spray a hail of bullets over them. They manage to avoid most of the shots, but there are simply too many and eventually they fall down dead. Your MAT Comm System picks up the three-armed Mutate's communication, "There's a damn MAT in their ship! I need reinforcements!" You step out into the hangar to see the Mutate running toward the door he had taken Saela, Koriel, and Jane through.
(If I recall correctly, even if you miss, you still deal half-damage.)

Jane:

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You pick up a communication from the Hangar. ""There's a damn MAT in their ship! I need reinforcements!"

Tex and Suvar:

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You crawl through the maintenance tunnel, which branches off occasionally, you see signs with directions pointing toward the Main Maintenance Office, Hangar, Mines, Workers' Dormitory, and Security Office.
Below you, you hear one of the Mutate Terrorists talking. "This is Corporal Haigen reporting. Sir, I think they are in the maintenance tunnels... Will pursue."

[SurlySeraph]

Mkanu

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Mkanu shouts at the retreating Mutate "Don't throw your men's lives away! Tell them to stay at their posts or we'll kill every last soldier in this colony!"

Intimidate: (1d20+8)[16]

[jagadaishio]

Jane

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"It would appear that Mkanu has been forced to begin an assault in the hangar. So, I'm going to initiate a lockdown right now. I'll follow behind you two and cause each door to open as we reach it. I'll also monitor Mkanu's progress and ensure that he is unimpeded," says Jane, outlining its planned course of action. "I will only turn the automated defenses against the guards or vent their oxygen if forced to. They may also be captives, working under force of compulsion such as blackmail, or their families being kept captive here on the compound. It would be foolish to assumed that they are all simply evil people."

Jane then uses its administrative privileges to sever all access to security cameras for anyone except itself, disable all security alarms, and enable a base-wide silent lockdown. It then unlocks the doors to the slave barracks, and starts up a security cam feeds to monitor Mkanu, scout ahead on their own route, watch the security stations, and search, camera by camera, for the captain and Suvar, neither of which have been heard from for quite a while.

Finally, as little more than an afterthought, Jane starts searching around for some sort of effective makeshift weapon.

Search - (1d20+14)[19]

[Sicarius]

Suvar

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Suvar crawls forward ahead, trusting his psychic senses to alert him whenever there were people close by. With some good social engineering, he might be able to get the workers to revolt, and that would be the perfect smoke screen for him. So he turned toward the Worker's Dorm, and began crawling.

[Meshakhad]

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"Time to move."

Koriel shouldered his railgun and activated his HUD. He approached the door, waiting for Saela to follow.

[TwoBitWriter]

Mkanu:

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The Mutate ignores you and dashes through the door, leaving you alone in the hangar for the moment. You can hear warning klaxons wailing in the distance. Jane opens a link to your HUD, giving you access to station maps and security cams. (You can see what Jane sees, basically) And see an entire Squad of Mutate terrorists converging on your position. You count seven, six have Laser Rifles but one is carrying a Rail Gun.

Jane, Saela, and Koriel:

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Janes manages to find a small Compact Laser Pistol (2d8, Small, 20 Critical, 40' increment) It is fully charged with capacity for 50 shots. Jane also completes the link to Mkanu's MAT and accomplishes everything on the system that it wished, causing havoc.

Koriel hears, through the door, the sounds of several booted feet getting louder as it approaches your location.

Suvar and Tex:

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One of the terrorists below you take a few pot shots in the ceiling, the blasts from their Laser Rifles nearly striking you, but missing. You scramble forward until you eventually reach a small Maintenance control room, which is big enough to stand in. From here you can access the Main Maintenance Office, Hangar, Mines, Workers' Dormitory, and Security Office. You hear someone scrambling through the air vents after you. Another laser blast shoots out of the tunnel you just emerged from.

[Meshakhad]

Koriel took cover behind a bed, and aimed his gun at the door.

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Ready action: shoot the first guard that walks in the door

[SurlySeraph]

Mkanu

"Very well, then. Perhaps losing this squad will make him reconsider. If they are not wise enough to leave and save themselves, at least they will die honorably."

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Are there any heavy objects in the hanger that can fill most of the hanger entrance that the soldiers are approaching? If so, Strength check to drag it over to the entrance: (1d20+8)[19]
If not, Mkanu will ready an action to shoot as many of the soldiers as possible with autofire.
Attack: (1d20+3)[19]
Damage: (5d6)[16]

[jagadaishio]

Jane

Jane stands back, pistol in hand, and waits for the door to open.

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Readies an action to shoot a guard if there is a guard on the other side of the door.

[Sicarius]

Suvar

Suvar looks around for something to wedge in front of the opening they just came out of. Something heavy so that those following wouldn't be able to push it back, even though being trapped in a vent significantly reduced pushing power.

[The_Snark]

Saela

Saela stands to the side of the doorway against the wall, ready to hit the first person to try and come through the door with an electrified dart. She holds the gun in her other hand, in case she needs it later.

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Readied action, same as the others.

[TwoBitWriter]

Saela, Jane, and Koriel:

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The noise grows louder, coming from the Mine Access door. It flies open and about a dozen adult Mutates wearing work jumpsuits scramble though. They are carrying various mine tools, a couple are armed with Laser Pistols.
A Mutate female steps forward and sees the three of you. "Are you the ones causing the trouble? Because we'd like to help!"

Tex, Suvar:

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With a bit of effort, Tex and Suvar manage to block the tunnel they came from and avoid the Laser fire. There are a few more options of where to go.

Mkanu:

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You only manage to move a large, heavy crate in front of half the hangar entrance before the doors slide open, revealing the squad of terrorists. However, you have managed to create a bottleneck that they try to scramble through, only to meet auto-fire from your chaingun. You manage to kill two of the terrorists, but the rest open fire.
Four open fire at your suit with their Laser Rifles, the beams harmlessly deflected by your Neo-Vulcanium armoring.
However, the leader with the Railgun aims and unloads a powerful round, which strikes you square in the chest (28 damage, your hardness of 20 reduces that to 8. That damage goes to the extra 100 hp that your suit gives you and doesn't actually hurt you.)

[Meshakhad]

"Oh, good." Koriel stopped pointing his railgun at them.

"What's the situation in the mines?"

[SurlySeraph]

Mkanu

As the shock from the railgun round knocks him back, Mkanu grins. He can feel a rush of adrenaline as the fight begins in earnest, and he can't think of anything he'd rather feel. With a shout of defiance, Mkanu charges the terrorists, trying to cut down their leader before he can fire the railgun again.

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Attack: (1d20+6)[21]
Damage: (6d8+8)[36]
If there's anyone between me and the leader, I'll make an Overrun attempt.
Strength check (factoring in a +4 size bonus from the mecha and the +2 bonus from the Steamroller class feature: [roll]1d20+8+4+2[/roll]

30 rounds left in chaingun, 80 hp left in the MATsuit

[SurlySeraph]

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Fixing that overrun strength check: (1d20+14)[27]

[jagadaishio]

Jane

Jane just stands there and continues to monitor the system while Saela and Koriel speak.

[The_Snark]

Saela

Saela nods shortly. "Cha, that's us." She lowers her weapon, and nods towards the laser pistols. "Where'd you get your hands on those?"