Chapter Three: All In

[Psychie]

Toph can feel her heart beating hard in her chest. Say the wrong thing here, and you'll end up making one hell of an enemy. Watch yourself, girl. What would mom do? She finally clears her throat, and says over the radio to Mackenzie, "Don't worry, LT. I got this." Then, over the loudspeaker she replies to the Meltrandi leader. "You wish to challenge me to some test? I don't walk blindly into such challenges when the lives of my team is on the line. We need to recover our ground team; that is the priority here, not playing games with you. If we can do both at the same time, I'll consider it. What's your game?"

 

[Sherwood]

Looking out the air vent, are there any markings visible on the bulkheads that can be used to give us a point of reference on our location?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario lets out a disgruntled snort. "Of course I can't see anything from here. That would be too easy. Guys, I'm going to jump down into the corridor and look around, to try and find out just where in the ship we are. Once we have that info, we can start to find our way to rendezvous with the rest of the team. Be ready to bolt if there are any giants out there."

With that, he briefly pokes his head out of the air vent to look around for any signs of the Zentraedi crew. If he sees and hears none, he will go ahead and jump down into the hallway, doing his best to land gently to go easy on his still aching head. Mario will then look around, trying to spot any markings or signs that would indicate their current location in the ship.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules took a cue from 'Spaceman Sam' and just nodded his acceptance of Mario's plan. For his part, he identified any potential points of ingress the Zentraedi might use and set his weapon up to cover them. The plasma caster in his hands hummed reassuringly, the power cell still having charge enough for a good dozen or so blasts.

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Spoiler: Fun mood music

Taniya always liked Veela's energetic and creative music... "Ghost Assassin" by Marduk featuring Veela

She finally clears her throat, and says over the radio to Mackenzie, "Don't worry, LT. I got this."

Shirley stared at the tense scene and whispered more to herself than anyone else, "You damn well better have it, Muppet!" Mack wanted to trust Muppet, but truth be told, none of them really knew each other very well - Mack had no idea what Toph was about to do next and that uncertainty drew her to a choice - either trust the human/Meltrandi or don't. The last time she had trusted someone like this, it was her tankers. Now one of them was dead and the other two were lost. Their original mission was a failure - it was now a race to get her people out of the starship before its warriors killed them all.

Still... With a stressed-out sigh, Mack chose to trust in Muppet.

"You wish to challenge me to some test? I don't walk blindly into such challenges when the lives of my team is on the line. We need to recover our ground team; that is the priority here, not playing games with you. If we can do both at the same time, I'll consider it. What's your game?"

"Ha haaa!" Taniya flung her left arm up. As if on cue, Iris hopped into the air, her four rainbow wings beautifully blossoming outward and fluttering in a dazzling display. Taniya eyed Toph mockingly. "Blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAAAAH! Dull Blade, stop listening to your weak human side and answer me with the warrior inside of you - if you have one!"

"Now follow me!"

With that, Taniya continued to respond with actions, not words. With her ever-present toothy grin, the Ura-Meltrandi warrior gaily skipped backwards while laughing and touching her hands together in dance-like motion. Then without warning, she ran towards the corridor you had not entered from. Iris flew alongside her. The Wild Cards saw her leap down a hallway - and what a leap it was! She sailed up and across about 200 feet into the air, performed an inhumanly-easy somersault, and held her body perfectly horizontally rigid in the air. Legs parted, she flung her sword through the air in front of her then placed her hands across her breasts, her eyes never leaving her sword hilt.

Then suddenly, there were the sounds of engines firing and thruster nozzles blazing from behind her. A pilotless Queadlunn-Rau, painted hauntingly in reflection-less black, its cockpit wide open, came bursting from seemingly out of nowhere. It flew up in a big black blur and swallowed up the veteran slayer in one smooth motion. Together, female and machine, they rocketed down the hallway with seemingly reckless abandon.

Cockpit shut and sealed, her flaming sword was back in her mecha's hand and blazing as Taniya's bloodthirsty laughter rocked the starship's halls.

Shirley sat gawking. It was a maneuver she had not only never seen before, she had never even imagined it.

Hands on her controls, Mack immediately whirled to Toph. "Toph, it's your show! Is it go or stay?!"

There was no time to talk it all out - it was either follow or be left behind with the blood and corpses at your feet...

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - A.T.A.C. Team

With that, he briefly pokes his head out of the air vent to look around for any signs of the Zentraedi crew. If he sees and hears none, he will go ahead and jump down into the hallway, doing his best to land gently to go easy on his still aching head. Mario will then look around, trying to spot any markings or signs that would indicate their current location in the ship.

The hole made by "Spaceman Sam" proved to be large enough to drive a small car through (or a standard-sized Hercules depending on who you asked). The station seemed empty and there were no signs of either Zentraedi or their hellish Wargoths, so Mario leapt down. The floor rushed up at him with dizzying speed, but he was both trained and ready for it. With the assistance of his high-tech jump jet, he landed as easily as possible on his feet, far, far below his friends.

There was nothing apparent but strange numbers on the walls. They made no sense.

MechaKitten prowled over to Hercules. Using his forepaws, he stood on Hercules's right foot and used it to stretch. Then the feline creature looked up at Hercules half-hopefully, half-expectantly as cats so often do.

"Spaceman Sam" was next. He opened up the right forearm unit on his megasuit, revealing the cutting torch and a couple of other attachments. From his belt, he strung a wire, gray and very hard to see. He attached this to the forearm unit along with a round metallic-looking object shaped like a hockey puck but wider and flatter. This he carefully attached to the wall outside the air vent. Then, turning himself so that he faced that very wall, he grabbed onto the wire with both his gloved hands and began to rappel down the wall.

And that's when his trouble started...

On his first downward bound, the magnet he had attached to the wall came loose. In a split-second, he went from being reasonably safe given the circumstances to completely at the mercy of gravity. It happened so quickly, there was no time for anyone to act. If he was surprised, he only showed it in that split-second. He kicked off of the wall mightily. This sent him hurtling toward the chair before the computer panel. Down, down he plummeted. He put his feet out beneath him and spread his arms and legs out as he fell directly toward the seat of the chair.

Then he hit with a heavy THUMP!

MechaKitten peered cautiously over the edge at him.

Sure enough, Spaceman Sam was getting to his feet as if he had just taken a little stumble. He examined himself briefly, then turned to Hercules above him and gave a thumbs up. He reeled in his line and kept the magnet in his left hand. Then he went about apparently figuring out the best way of getting to the computer console as if the fall were nothing unusual.

Sam was about 100 feet below Hercules and MechaKitten.

She finally clears her throat, and says over the radio to Mackenzie, "Don't worry, LT. I got this."

This little bit of radio traffic caused Spaceman Sam to seemingly pause in wonder. Then he continued about his duties.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules' eyes widened as 'Spaceman Sam' survived a fall that should have shattered his bones inside his armor if it hadn't outright killed him. But yet he stood, giving a 'thumbs up' gesture as if what had just happened was a mild hiccup. Hercules scooped MechaKitten up with his left hand while keeping his weapon ready with his right. The mechanoid feline was deposited comfortably on his right shoulder and Hercules stepped out into the great beyond. He descended gently, arresting his fall with short bursts from his jump pack. His final engine burn was designed to allow him a feather-gentle touchdown that would not disturb MechaKitten, nor his weapon.

 

[Sherwood]

Mario makes a quick perimeter check of the area, constantly on the lookout for any sights or sounds that would indicate their location or the presence of a Zentraedi soldier. If he comes across nothing in his scan, he decides to make the jump up to the desk where the computer is. If there are any answers to be had, it will be there. I just hope that I can get access to the system. The good news about that is, the Zentraedi have historically been less than tech savvy, so the odds are in my favor that there is no security lock or encryption on the terminal. "Ok, guys. Lets see what we can find out from this, shall we?"

 

[Psychie]

After watching the Zentraedi go flying off, Toph looks over at Mack. "I would love to go after her, but I'm not going to do so without the ok from you. What do you say, LT? Should we follow and see what this Queen has in mind?"

 

[Purr]

Mack facepalmed then stared at Muppet. "Toph! What part of 'It's your show! Is it go or stay' did you miss, chick?!"

Spoiler: This bears repeating.

There was no time to talk it all out - it was either follow or be left behind with the blood and corpses at your feet...

 

[Psychie]

Toph doesn't reply with words; instead she kicks in the throttle and bolts out of the room after the Meltrandi leader. I wonder what I'm getting into.

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Spoiler: Mood music

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar. =)

Toph doesn't reply with words; instead she kicks in the throttle and bolts out of the room after the Meltrandi leader.

Toph's mighty war machine throttled forward with but a touch of her hand. At her command, thousands of pounds of mega-damage state-of-the-art technology and munitions lifted up and moved through the air. One thing was certain to everyone present - if the Wild Cards were going to catch the Meltrandi War-queen, they were going to have to move and move fast.

All three of the Wild Cards knew, and Neqel could quickly figure it out, that the only way to reach Taniya and Iris was in Guardian mode. Battloid form was too slow and jet mode would have your teammates pulling your ship's nose from out of a bulkhead. Only the thruster-propelled helicopter configuration of Toph's Ajax and the hybrid jet-battloid had the speed and agility to keep up with the strange obsidian Queadlunn-Rau and its veteran ace. That and some damned good flying.

So off the Wild Cards went, engines screaming as they flew down three corridors and as many fresh foot soldier corpses, swerving through the Zentraedi starship in a daring chase. But could they catch the Meltrandi War-queen?

(Note from the Game Master)

Spoiler: OOC

Time for some Pilot rolls! But before the dice fall, I have four options for Kaerri and Toph. Now that time is against them...
1. Do Elinor and Toph fly as fast as they can using all of their skill to catch up (balls to the wall like a bat out of hell)?
2. Do they take their time so they don't scuff the paint and chance wrecking their birds (low and slow)?
3. Or do they try to do a bit of both (fast but not reckless)?
4. Or do you have an option not listed above?

Let me know in Fat Gandalf's if you please!

Sherwood and Cap'n - I hope to have a post for your characters up tomorrow. =)

 

[Psychie]

Toph works the controls of her Ajax with smooth confidence, knowing that she may not be the equal of Taniya, but she is still one hell of a shot shit pilot and is damn good behind the stick. She shifts her mecha into its helicopter mode and does her best to coax out all the speed that she can safely do.

Spoiler

Not only will Toph try to max out her speed, I'll spend a Action Point to help my Pilot Veritech skill roll. Base skill is a 92%

 

[Purr]

Toph works the controls of her Ajax with smooth confidence, knowing that she may not be the equal of Taniya, but she is still one hell of a shot shit pilot and is damn good behind the stick. She shifts her mecha into its helicopter mode and does her best to coax out all the speed that she can safely do.

Spoiler

Not only will Toph try to max out her speed, I'll spend a Action Point to help my Pilot Veritech skill roll. Base skill is a 92%

Spoiler: Hey, Psychie?

Let me know in Fat Gandalf's if you please!

=)

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - A.T.A.C. Team

Imagine you are about 8 inches tall.

You are fully armored with the best technology, you have a high-tech cannon at your side, military training, a young and strong physique, and plenty of reason to use it. Still, you are only 8 inches tall. Everything around you is enormous. You lack the ability to unlock a door much less push one open, but yet you are too large to fit under any doors. All things considered, you are just the right size to be called... a pest.

As Mario looked around the station and corridor, he discovered the corridor traveled about 500 feet then ended with a trio of doorways, all shut, at the end of the hall. The hall was also alive and loud with battle klaxons and red lights that left strange shadows in dark corners while illuminating all else. Including Mario.

If he comes across nothing in his scan, he decides to make the jump up to the desk where the computer is.

Mario's jump is as successful as it is careful. He lands easily much to the relief of his own aching Traversing head. Through military training, Mario's understanding of the Zentraedi language and his specialization in communications taught him a great deal - however, nothing could have prepared him for trying to use a giant-sized computer made of superstructure, down to every last button and key! The gigantic monitors were like standing nose-to-screen at an IMAX theatre. It was almost like being 8 inches tall in a human world - with the strength of someone that size...

But Mario did not face this challenge alone. When the tanker arrived on the enormous computer console, he found "Spaceman Sam" there waiting. It seemed that the two had the same thought. Then a sudden realization dawned on Mario - in order to operate the controls, he would have to press them. Seeing as he did not possess mega-damage strength, he would have to strike down on each key with all of his might. This would most certainly compound his headache and multiply his pain.

But there "Spaceman Sam" stood. He pointed at himself then shrugged as if to ask Mario what to input. "Sam's" meaning via body language became clear - Mario would tell Sam which keys to press and Sam would go about doing the pressing. This also allowed Mario to stand back away from the titanic screens so that he could read them.

Mario's hunch about passcodes turned out to be true even on a Zeki-Zentreadi vessel - the computer turned out not to be encrypted with even password protection. A small station like this could provide useful, if limited, information.

The question then arose - what kind of information was Mario searching for?

*​

Using his jump jet with the utmost of focus and skill, Hercules touched down with the grace of a martial artist, which he was even if Pankration was known for anything but grace. From the giant's shoulder, MechaKitten sniffed and looked about, taking the view in. He purred. After all, it was not every day that a mechanical self-aware cat found himself onboard an alien starship. So many new things to discover!

Hercules found himself almost directly underneath the computer console Mario and Spaceman Sam were working with. This provided Hercules ample cover from any 40-foot-tall warriors that might come at any moment down the hallway and at them.

But then the big-hearted Greek experience a strange sensation - of being watched. There was no one else in the room. Only a couple of air ducts and closed blast doors led out of the room. MechaKitten's purring stopped. His body and tail flattened guardedly upon Hercules's right shoulder. A growl, deep and annoyed and the first Hercules had ever heard from the little fellow, erupted from inside MechaKitten.

What does Hercules do?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario ponders what he should have Spaceman Sam type up on the computer. "First, lets try and get a deck layout and crew complement on this rust bucket. Once we see what we have to work with, then we can try to locate our missing hover tanks, hook up with the rest of the squad, and get the hell out of here." From his vantage point, he directs the spacesuited figure what to type up to access the needed data.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules, the hackles on his neck starting to bristle, carefully dropped into a firing stance. He braced his weapon and glanced down at the charge indicator to get an idea of the remaining shots available to him. Once he'd appraised himself to his weapon's status, he slowly started to sweep the area around him, glaring suspiciously at the air ducts as he made his sweep.

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - A.T.A.C. Team

"Spaceman Sam" put a hand to his ear (or at least where his helmet's ear was) as Mario explained the commands he wanted entered. Mario was in for a surprise however as upon hearing Mario's instructions, Sam began hopping from key to key and control to control expertly. In fact, Sam put the commands into the computer faster than Mario could have had he been aided by Hercules.

However, Mario was in for a second surprise from the Zeki-Zentraedi's computer system. Upon requesting ship compliment and deck layout, and quite unlike the Dolza-led ships Mario had gotten his military training from, this computer system not only did not comply, it provided the following reply on the huge screen facing Sam and Mario:

Spoiler: Message for User

YOU STINKING INCOMPETENT WASTE! IF YOU LACK SUCH BASIC UNDERSTANDING AS THESE, YOU ARE USELESS! REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO BATTLE-BAY 13C9-ALPHA FOR RECYCLING!

FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS:
PROCEED FROM THIS TERMINAL DOWN THE CORRIDOR.
OPEN THE DOOR TO YOUR RIGHT.
PROCEED DOWN THIS CORRIDOR UNTIL ITS END.
OPEN THE DOOR TO YOUR RIGHT.
UPON ENTERING THE BATTLE-BAY, PROCEED TO THE RECYCLING PIT (THE ROUND ZENTRAEDI-SIZED CHAMBER TO YOUR LEFT, SIMPLETON!).
OPEN THE RECYCLING PIT.
INSERT YOURSELF INTO THE PIT.
PRESS THE "BEGIN PROCESS" BUTTON.

ONLY IN THIS MANNER CAN YOU BE OF ANY USE TO THE ZEKI-ZENTRAEDI EMPIRE!
FULFILL YOUR DUTY! PROCEED IMMEDIATELY FOR RECYCLING!

Upon reading this, Spaceman Sam stood in what appeared to be complete shock. He slowly glanced at Mario. Then he turned away. Then Mario noticed his shoulders moving and his hands placed over his mouth.

It seemed Spaceman Sam was politely doing everything in his power not to laugh at Mario.

What does Mario do?

*​

While Hercules and MechaKitten could easily see the message, Hercules could in no way decipher the massive symbols upon the screen.*

*

Spoiler: Game Master note for you guys

Hey, at least your fellow tanker can't read Zentraedi! =)

There are elements in the human being that can make for a successful warrior. Desire. Training. Listening to one's gut.

Hercules felt his inner instincts faintly grab hold of him. Evidently, the big Greek was no stranger to following those feelings for they led him straight to the air ducts - more specifically, the air ducts your team just jumped down from!

Looking up with weapon at the ready, Hercules saw a green, four-footed menacing beast with gaping jaws and red eyes - a Wargoth. From about 120 feet above, it was staring down at Mario and Spaceman Sam. Staring hungrily. The two allies did not notice the creature, but MechaKitten did as he followed Hercules's gaze. As if unable to resist his own animal urges, MechaKitten spat out a sudden eruption of hissing hate at the alien thing.

The thing seemed to hear this. It turned. It spotted Hercules, but the tanker had the advantage of surprise.

Spoiler: Game Master note for Captain Hesperus

The Wargoth is wide open for a shot it cannot dodge, but Hercules only gets one action. Then it's Initiative time.

What does Hercules do?

(Edited twice for typos.)

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team (Get ready, my players! This is not a small post!)

​

Instrumental Mood Music

Spoiler

"Dog Fighter (Extended)" from the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross the Movie. What a terrific mix!

Toph doesn't reply with words; instead she kicks in the throttle and bolts out of the room after the Meltrandi leader. I wonder what I'm getting into.

Their engines flaring to life, Muppet, Bruce Leanne, and Mack, in that order, throttled away from the weapons room and its dozens of Zentraedi corpses. Burning down the corridors, each of the A.S.C. pilots realized that their talking had cost them precious time. Taniya's Queadluun-Rau Female Power Armor was fast enough as it was. Trying to keep an eye on her was like trying to watch a buzzing fly with one eye closed while half-asleep. Chasing her was proving even more difficult.

So the Wild Cards exerted themselves to the fullest, putting their skills and their machines to the limit. Clenching their controls and trying to get "into the zone" as military soldiers often put it, the Wild Cards Down through the starship halls, they curved and turned, spun and sped on, the g-forces throwing each of them hard against their cockpits as they forced their machines around corners never meant for aerobatics. Despite the protection of T.A.S.C. their mega-suits, they knew there would be bruises tomorrow if there was a tomorrow.

During one particularly violent turn, Muppet found herself face-to-face with a Zeki-Zentraedi soldier. "AAAGH!" he yelled as he aimed his overly-large pistol at Muppet's Ajax. He seemed to be falling right where Muppet needed to be. So she had to dive and turn or eat bulkhead.

It was a maneuver that only a test pilot or a natural ace could make freely, but not a doctor, even one with half-Meltrandi blood. Having no choice but to put her nose down in helicopter mode, Muppet pulled up just past the last second. She badly scraped the underside of her Ajax's once-flawless fuselage until brights sparks and bits of orange fire flew out from underneath it from the impact. Then the fire was gone. Through hard flying and a little luck, Muppet knew that only the paint was mauled; she kept control of her aircraft and did not crash.

"Keep going!" Mack yelled over the squad channel. "He's already dead!"

1st Lt. Mackenzie did not exaggerate. By the time Muppet was free of the treacherous corner, she saw the soldier. One glanced had told her the soldier was missing most of his neck. Something had cut him so keenly that he apparently had not been aware of the slice until it was too late. As the Wild Cards burst into the next room, the corpse hit the floor, shuddered once, and never moved again.

Then all three of the Wild Cards were gone and past him.

The next room was one giant hall and beyond it were many clear warning signs written in Zentraedi. But there was no time to translate - only fly or eat a bulkhead at a few hundred miles per hour. Warning signs covered a large wide-open blast door, its controls sputtering and sparking. Red lights and blaring alarms lit up the hall. Tremendous amounts of smoke filled the room, yet Taniya must have gone through it, and so the Wild Cards continued their chase.

Through the wall of smoke, the Wild Cards flew on. Then as they broke through, the situation changed drastically.

Precious seconds had been lost when Toph exchanged dialogue with Shirley, seconds that could not be returned, and now the Wild Cards entered a tremendously-large hangar bay. It was so big, there was room enough to dogfight in. Back-up blast doors, thick and mighty, closed and sealed right behind Mack, sealing the Wild Cards in a scene of fiery chaos.

This hangar bay housed a dozen Gnerl space fighters all lined in a row and each facing doors that could only lead outside. There were at least two dozen Zeki-Zentraedi running around the bay, shooting and yelling orders, taking cover, and trying to get the Gnerls launched and outside where they could do some good. All over, computers and signs blinked alerts and information but there was no time to read them. Enormous round wheeled tanks with hazard notices upon their surfaces were slowly being drawn away from the space fighters. Triangular stacks of missiles on treaded automated vehicles were also moving away. Some were burning and shooting missiles wildly. Six titanic pillars rose from the floor into the ceiling, providing cover for the canny. This fighter bay and the red-clad Zentraedi within were made for war.

However, three things were causing them serious problems.

Firstly, many of the lights all over the bay were flickering on and off when they were working. About half of the entire bay was sheathed in darkness except where towering fires roared and crackled. Red blasts of plasma and blue beams of particle cannons lit the bay as Zeki-Zentraedi carefully shot upwards toward something they could not clearly see. They did not seem to score any hits.

Secondly, whatever their target was, it was attacking freely. A fiery explosion briefly illuminated a solid-black suit of power armor, a violent shadow among the flames. It was Taniya. Mad, smiling, Taniya. Alone. Iris was elsewhere, but where, none of the Wild Cards could say. From inside the places of darkness, her dark blue flameless beam of light, about the length of a two-handed sword were one a full-sized Meltrandi, was expertly slicing and stabbing in places the Zeki-Zentraedi did not want it to. Cannon-fire erupted from her Queadluun-Rau. Fuel and ammunition blew sky high and sometimes Zeki-Zentreadi body parts flew with it. There, somewhere in the darkness, she was in her element and the Zeki-Zentraedi, confused and scattered, were clearly on the defensive. Every time a pilot got near a Gnerl cockpit to lift off, either her sword or a quartet of fiery-missiles went with him. Gnerls exploded and continued to burn unlaunched.

And lastly, the Wild Cards had entered the fray. Several Zeki-Zentraedi dressed in light armor and carrying strange one-handed computers looked up and spotted the three veritechs. Instead of engaging your heavily-armed aircraft, the four non-warriors split up, pulled large pistols, and took cover. They pointed and shouted. "Micronians!! We have been boarded by Micronians!"

"We see them!" came the reply from loudspeaker.

There, from another blast door somewhere in the chaotic, burning hangar bay, came a trio of Nousjadeul-Ger Male Power Armors. The reply came from these three. While not as nimble as the Queadluun-Rau, the Male Power Armor units were agile and airborne, cannons at the ready. Each had a blood-red paint scheme the Wild Cards had not seen before despite their differing backgrounds. And now these hostiles aimed those cannons at you.

"Destroy the aliens!" one of these roared.

Mack had similar thoughts. "Wild Cards! These bastards killed Booty! Get 'em!!"

In a matter of seconds, it became a one-on-one battle as the Nousjadeul-Ger and A.S.C. veritechs darted and dodged. It was clear - no mercy was going to be asked and none given.

The Wild Cards were all in.

 

[Sherwood]

Mario looks at the screen in front of him and can't help it; he lets out a loud bark of laughter. "Hah! I feel like I've just been punk'd by a friggin Zentraedi computer!" He shakes his head, completely unaware that there was something watching them from above. Mario plants a hand on his hip as he ponders his next action. "Hey Herc, this computer is not acting like any Zentraedi system I've ever trained on. I just tried to get a floorplan of the ship, and it responded in a less than helpful manner, telling me to go recycle myself!" He tilts his head to one side. "The message mentions directions to go to a 'battle bay'. It might be where our missing tanks are at. It could be a viable location to take a look at. What do you think?"

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Instrumental Mood Music (same as above)

Spoiler

"Dog Fighter (Extended)" from the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross the Movie. What a terrific mix! This really is Fusion Jazz at its best. =)

The Nousjadeul-Ger tore through the hangar bay, weapons hot and trained on the Wild Cards. Much like Dolza's troops, these too had learned much from their previous interstellar battles with other races and threats.

The warrior in the lead, his massive plasma cannon raised, ordered. "Another new Micronian machine! Destroy it!"

"Yes, sir!" his wingmen grinned.

All three aimed on Muppet's Ajax and let loose at the pink-haired T.A.S.C. pilot in her whirring mecha in helicopter mode. Eyeing her carefully, they fired without mercy. Roaring red blasts streaked at Muppet.

FOOM! FOOOM! FOOOM!

Spoiler: Game Master Note

Their Strike rolls will be recorded in Fat Gandalf's. =)

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules’ eyes were constantly on the move, taking in every inch of the room the surviving ground elements of the Wild Cards were in. He heard Mario’s question about the ‘battle bat and was about to respond when he caught sight of another of the nightmarish creatures at the vent they’d previously vacated. It looked to be aiming to pounce on Mario and Sam, but hadn’t appeared to have seen Herc. He might have a chance to catc it flat-footed. He hefted his plasma caster up and roared with fury as he depressed the trigger and sent white hot plasma howling toward the alien.

 

[Psychie]

At the sight of the three Male Powered Armor units, Toph has a brief flicker of fear go up her spine. This is the first real fight that she has ever been in, and they were shooting to kill. Then her hours of training kick in, and she works the controls of the Ajax like a pro. Even as she tries to dodge in her rig, she calls out over the radio, "Three bandits! Ten o'clock high!"

As she maneuvers her bird, the brief pause of fear makes it nearly impossible to dodge all three attacks, but she knows that the armor will hold for a while. Just don't make a habit out of getting shot, girl!

Spoiler

The Ajax has a auto-dodge while flying, and it sounds like that this chamber is big enough to keep airborne and fight. Dodging with a +17 to the roll, and I know that I'll probably get tagged by the critical unless I roll a nat 20 of my own.

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Instrumental Mood Music (same as above)

Spoiler

"Dog Fighter (Extended)" from the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross the Movie. What a terrific mix! This really is Fusion Jazz at its best. =)

Sweat and adrenaline flowed through the Zeki-Zentraedi. Bright flaming triple-blasts of plasma lit up Muppet's canopy. Ferociously, she tried to maneuver her Ajax, but the lead Nousjadeul-Ger scored on her with a direct hit. Then suddenly, Toph's Ajax rocked violently!

BAMM!!

She'd been hit! It was the first time. Quite unlike the scrape she had against the floor just moments ago, Toph felt for one brief nerve-wracking moment as if she had completely lost control of her aircraft as the blast knocked it and her to one side like a toy. Training took over and she regained control but the sensation of being in a giant metal ship and suddenly feeling like you'd been punched out of the air was enough to get any fighter pilot's blood to rushing.

Red emergency lights briefly flooded her HUD as her Ajax electronically alerted its pilot. Her collision-alert alarm, noisy and impossible to ignore, virtually shouted at her in her cockpit.

WEEEOOOO! WEEEOOOO!

Looking out her left side, Toph saw one big trail of smoke coming from her fuselage, her helicopter blades tossing the wild fumes all about.

"Muppet's been hit hard," Mack called calmly into the squadron channel, more to record the timing of the moment than anything else. This was the worst part about being hit so strongly; Toph really had no way of knowing what her Ajax looked like from the outside. "Cygnus Three, you're trailing smoke. Report!" Muppet's entire body felt as if it had been just throttled as if by a giant.

Meanwhile, the Nousjadeul-Ger trio cheered at the shot.

* * *​

As if this were not bad enough, another voice shouted over loudspeakers that could be heard from across the fighter bay.

"Oh, what is wrong, oh great one?" It was Taniya from inside her solid-black Female Power Armor. She had seen everything and now she mocked Toph mercilessly. "Did you not say this was so easy anyone could do it? HA HA HA HAAAA!" Then she shot a salvo of her own at a quartet of rifle-shooting Zeki-Zentraedi hunkered down behind supply crates and carried on.

* * *​

Seeing Muppet hit, Mack clenched her teeth. Damn bad enough they had lost Booty, now Toph had just taken a good one across her side, and even if she were all right, the nearest A.S.C. repair bay was back in Eglin base well over 50 miles away. Rage flooded the close air support pilot. Nobody bitch-slapped one of her Wild Cards and got away with it! That damned Zeek bastard was gonna pay!

"Cygnus Two and Three, split up and take these guys one-on-one." Bright target indicators appeared on Muppet's and Bruce Leanne's HUDS - each of the alien bandits had been marked as Bandit 1 (the lead), Bandit 2 (the lead's wingman), and Bandit 3 (the lead's off-wingman). "Muppet, you've got the bastard that nailed you. Leanne, take Bandit 2. Three is mine."

Muppet had cut hard left in an attempt to dodge. Their adversaries were at ten o'clock high and about 400 yards out. Mack hit the throttle and carried the Guardian-configured Red Baroness up and forward. Then she sharply turned so that the cherry-red Valkyrie faced the third bandit.

"Fox One times eight!"

They liked playing with fire? Shirley thought. Let them play with this! A single volley of eight plasma mini-missiles surged out from the Red Baroness and at Bandit Number Three.

"AAGH!"

The pilot screamed in alarm as he saw the missiles flying at him. Immediately, his Zeki-Zentraedi warrior training kicked in. Packets of chaff and a dozen bright and shining flares burst out from the dodging red and black Nousjadeul-Ger. The volley flew into the mix of flares and chaff... and through them without being fooled.

BUWHOOOOM!!

The volley struck home and the Male Power Armor erupted into one gigantic ball of exploding flame and debris hurtling downward in a sorry, smoking heap. His fellows only sneered. They had not tried to shoot the volle down to save him. These were Zentraedi and there were a lot more where he had come from...

She bagged him! "Bandit Three down," Mack grinned. Taniya noticed the action if only briefly.

It was Toph's turn to take action. What does she do?

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - A.T.A.C. Team

Hercules’ eyes were constantly on the move, taking in every inch of the room the surviving ground elements of the Wild Cards were in. He heard Mario’s question about the ‘battle bat and was about to respond when he caught sight of another of the nightmarish creatures at the vent they’d previously vacated. It looked to be aiming to pounce on Mario and Sam, but hadn’t appeared to have seen Herc. He might have a chance to catc (sic) it flat-footed. He hefted his plasma caster up and roared with fury as he depressed the trigger and sent white hot plasma howling toward the alien.

Perhaps it was the roar that got the sharp-eared Wargoth's attention. Perhaps it was the animal's vital and trusted instincts. Whatever it was, it was too late.

FOOOOM!!

With a vengeance, Hercules sent up a trail of five plasma blasts that struck the Wargoth unerringly in the face. The blasts sent the creature flipping backwards. Hercules received the satisfaction of watching the thing's head get blown off of its stocky shoulders before both parts of the creature twirled out of sight.

MechaKitten mewed triumphantly, "MEEEEEEEEEEEW!" Then Hercules felt the sensation of the little fellow crazily licking Hercules by the chin-side of his mega-suit's helmet.

Spaceman Sam whirled at the sound of the plasma cannon's report. He looked upward at the smoky mess then back at Hercules. Then slowly, as if in awe, he raised his fist and gave the big Greek a hearty thumbs-up.