Coalition Wars - IC Thread

[Purr]

Ridge immediately takes action by taking out his metal ion rod and repeatedly banging and clanging it on the loudest piece of Gloria's insides he can find, all the while shouting to Steel Rain. "Well, what are you waiting for? Nappy-time is over! It's time to earn those marvelous military benefits! No more sleeping on the job! Strap in and get ready to put the pedal to the metal! Your smiling hot rods are waiting for you, Steel Rain! Oh yesss!"

Then Ridge looks outward, beyond the metal hull, beyond his metal hull, and to furious action that is taking place outside. For one moment, he seems to listen to ghosts only he see and hear. To himself, he mutters, "My darlings are calling! My darlings are threatening the Emperor's people! Can't have that, can we? Oh nooo..." Returning the ion rod into its concealed housing, Ridge follows his own advice and sheathes himself inside of his Wild Weasel SAMAS unit. Ridge takes one good look at the time and the team - he's looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Ridge's eyes take on an eerie shine as he glares at each pilot in Steel Rain. "Now we are here to rescue and lay waste to the enemy. You hear me? We gonna get in there and do it to it. Pilots, start your engines! Rev it up, rev it up, rev it up!" Ridge activates his SAMAS unit, straightening as the high-tech power armor comes to life. As Ridge gives the ready signal for Gloria to drop her hatch and let them loose, he starts a rhythmic chant born from his addled mind - a mind that has been lit with the glow of determination, a determination he wishes to spread among his people.

"We are fire - we are pain - Warlords of the sky - we are Steel Rain!"

Spoiler: We come here and we gonna conquer and we gonna get some.

"Aliens- Combat Drop Alternate Version"

 

[Sherwood]

I do love that movie so much.

 

[Silanon]

Back on track. New faces, new orders, new mags and grenades. But in the end, it's still the same. The Gloria against the hostile world out there; and the squad within more than ready for the trouble ahead. That holds for Amy Winters, at least. Doesn't matter that her nap was cut short. Doesn't matter what's out there, really. The preparations are all the same, and the body remembers them by heart. That's what training is there for. How often has she prepared for the upcoming fighting? She couldn't tell, and it'd be pointless anyway. Not like reaching a certain threshold makes you invulnerable, or something. Just a little calmer, maybe.

For the most part, Amy's focus is on the task. Get ready, first and foremost. Take her position right next to the exit, ready to be one of the first out there. And yet, she breaks the usual routine twice. Once, by pulling out a coin from her pocket, flipping it once without even paying attention to the result. "Guide my eyes. Guide my aim. Guide my heart." Words, mumbled as she stores the piece of metal away. And then, she knocks thrice against the hatch, from within. Before it can spit them out into the chaos of battle.

"Ready." Where the new squad leader likes words, she likes efficiency. Looks back at the others. Gives those who look doubtful a reassuring nod. Not like words would do much good, would they? Not hers, anyway. "Want me to take the lead, Lieutenant?"

 

[Psychie]

Once the SAMAS squad is fully suited up and ready to fly, Lt. Summer gives the order to open the APC exit hatches, one on each side and one on the very top of the vehicle, and signals the Steel Rain squad to take to the sky. Without coming to a stop, the six of you kick in your boosters and jet clear of the Gloria and your wings snap out into place as you head for the sky.

With the max speed of Ridge's Wild Weasel being 220 mph, that sets your speed for the squad, but at that speed, you will only be in the air for a minute before you are in the area of the firefight. As you fly, you are getting continued updates from the Gloria as to the situation that they are getting from the Recon Squad that is getting shot up. The Coalition squad is an eight man team operating out of a Pathmaker exploration vehicle, and they have rolled into some sort of trap that has their Pathmaker stuck with the team taking casualties.

They are under attack from a group of six DBees and are taking heavy fire. There reports you are getting show that there is a pair of Cyber Knights, a Juicer, a wizard of some sort, a Burster and a baby Fire Drake dragon that is giving the Coalition troops a lot of trouble. Apparently there were more of the DBee attackers, but the Recon Squad has been able to thin their numbers a bit.

Everyone, give me initiative rolls, please. You will start your turn at a range of 4,000 feet out.

Vaneheart Purr Sherwood Silanon Rykon

 

[Rykon]

Rolling initiative.

 

[Sherwood]

Initiative roll for Stacey.

Meh. Total of 6

 

[Psychie]

Initiative totals so far:

19 - Ridge
15 - Graves
6 - Hatch

Still need rolls from Vaneheart and Silanon . No hurries on this, though. With Mothers Day coming up, a lot of people are going to be busy with family stuffs, so we'll take our time.

 

[Psychie]

Initiative totals so far:

19 - Ridge
15 - Graves
14 - Winters
6 - Hatch

Now we just need Vaneheart to give me his roll and I'll plug in the various bad guys and we can get started with this fight.

 

[Vaneheart]

Initiative roll for Stone:

Blargh, 4.

 

[Psychie]

As the SAMAS squad tears in, you are starting to get some direct visuals on the battleground. The Recon Squad vehicle is tipped over on its side in a pit, trapping it and keeping the squad members from being able to maneuver around. There are five members of the squad that have exited the transport and have joined in the fight with their rifles and grenades, taking heavy fire from the DBee force, and you can spot three members of the squad that are down, most likely dead or at least wounded enough to be out of the fight.

The Juicer is packing a light rail gun, and is currently peppering the five Recon Squad members with burst fire. The good news is that his weapon fire is not enough to disable his target.

At the moment, you are currently 4,000 feet out, and closing in at 220mph. You can move in closer or keep some distance out; that is up to you.

Purr is up. IIRC, in another one of our games with Dann, he commented that he was dealing with some Real Life stuff, so it may be a little bit before he can post. We'll give him some time before Ridge is put on a delayed action.

22 - Juicer [1]
19 - Ridge <====
17 - Cyber Knight 1
16 - Dragon
15 - Graves
14 - Winters
12 - Recon Squad members 1-5
10 - Cyber Knight 2
7 - Ley Line Walker
6 - Hatch
4 - Stone
3 - Burster

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: A little bit of battle music for everybody.

"Ride The Lightning" (Metallica)

Partial lyrics
Who made you God to say
"I'll take your life from you"

Flash before my eyes
Now it's time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flames

Ridge couldn't keep the grin off of his metal face - sure, they weren't bugs, but these would do! Oh yes, indeed! But first, order had to be attended to.

"Steel Rain, pair up," he orders over the squad comm. "King, you lead with wingmate Winters. Graves lead with Stone. Hatch, you're with me so get a sitrep from our Recon team and find out which one of my darlings down there is leading the bunch. "

Ridge took a good look at the terrain, positions of the friendlies, enemies, and overall situation. Then he radioed Summer with icy coolness in his voice. "Steel Rain lead to Gloria. We are in contact. 6 Delta Bravos ambushed our Recon team. We are engaging."

Ridge brought up his Armor Piercing Cannon, "Big Momma," and took aim at the D-Bee wizard. "They are more dangerous at close range so stay at long range and snipe them. Take out the wizard first and the Cyber-knights second until we find out which of my darlings is leading this parade." Then Ridge allowed himself one wild and twisted cackle as he let off a four-round burst from his suppressed Big Momma at the DB Wizard. With any luck at this range, the darling wouldn't know what hit him.

"Ha haaa! Steel Rain! My darlings are the D-Bees! And as a wise man once said..."

Spoiler

(Image credit: cgfewston.me Quote credit: Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch)

 

[Psychie]

The heavy armor piercing cannon bucks in Ridge's hands as you fire the burst, but the combined strength of your cybernetics and the powered arm of the SAMAS suit is more than enough to keep the recoil under control. The four rounds fly out at high speed and smack into the Ley Line Walker, but the mage has some sort of shield up that absorbs the worst of the damage done by the metal projectiles, and his light MDC armored suit takes the rest. He is still up and active.

The first of the Cyber Knights pulls a hand grenade from his belt and lobs it at the Recon Squad members, and it blows up in their midst, doing some minor damage to their armor.

The Fire Drake looks up at the approaching squad of SAMAS suits and launches itself into the air and flies towards you with a roar, and casts a spell as it does so, making a sparking field appear around it. Probably some sort of magic force field.

Rykon and Silanon are up

22 - Juicer [1]
19 - Ridge [1]
17 - Cyber Knight 1 [1]
16 - Dragon [1]
15 - Graves <====
14 - Winters <====
12 - Recon Squad members 1-5 - all in moderatley damaged armor
10 - Cyber Knight 2
7 - Ley Line Walker - armor damaged
6 - Hatch
4 - Stone
3 - Burster

 

[Sherwood]

"Steel Rain, pair up," he orders over the squad comm. "King, you lead with wingmate Winters. Graves lead with Stone. Hatch, you're with me so get a sitrep from our Recon team and find out which one of my darlings down there is leading the bunch. "

Stacey nods, then replies, "Copy that, LT. Maneuvering into position on your flank, and will try to get in contact with the Recon Squad."

 

[Silanon]

"Staying at range might not keep the men alive, Sir." Sure, the dragon turned towards them - that bloody magical abomination. But that still leaves the squad down there with the others' attention. And thus, Amy Winters hovers forward, prepared to launch herself right into the mess if orders happen to change. Until then, though... the rail gun roars, spits out a steady stream of projectiles in the Ley Line Walker's direction. First the mages, then the knights... simple, really, like it always is. Let them pay, or pay the price yourself.

+9 to strike, 1d4x10 damage. Roll for me, please?

 

[Psychie]

Winters fires her rail gun to excellent effect. With the caster's light armor already damaged from Ridge's attack, the rail gun burst cuts into him like a chainsaw, leaving him quite dead as he is cut nearly in two by the weapon fire. [rolled max on your damage for a real hard hit]

With the dragon starting to fly out towards you guys, the five members of the Recon Squad shift their fire to Cyber Knight 2. Despite their training, only two of the shots manage to land home thanks to the disruptive effects on technology that the Cyber Knights have.

King targets Cyber Knight 1 with a four pack of missiles, and says, "Damn Knights are playing havoc with my HUD. Lets see him spoof this!" He fires, and the missiles seem to wobble a bit as they close in on their target before hitting him with a nasty blast that rips his armor up bad. It is in tatters right now, and will not survive another hit.

Pressing the attack, Cyber Knight 2 lays down a aimed shot at one of the five members of the Recon Squad, hitting him in his armor. The armor is holding, but not for much longer.

Rykon is up, along with Sherwood

22 - Juicer [1]
19 - Ridge [1]
17 - Cyber Knight 1 [1] critically damaged
16 - Dragon [1]
15 - Graves <==== delay
14 - Winters [1]
12 - Recon Squad member 1 - critically damaged [3]
12 - Recon Squad members 2-5 - all in moderately damaged armor [3]
11 - King [3]
10 - Cyber Knight 2 - moderately damaged armor [1]
6 - Hatch <====
4 - Stone
3 - Burster

 

[Rykon]

Joshua lines up beside Stone and levels his aim at Cyber Knight 2 with the C-40R Rail Gun. With a loud boom, he fires a burst of highspeed rounds to hopefully take the knight off the field before he can disrupt their equipment or Lieutenant to any significant degree.

Strike is +12, Damage is 1d4x10. Rolling...
30MD

 

[Purr]

"Staying at range might not keep the men alive, Sir."

"Gooood kill, Winters! But going straight in without a sitrep might fly us into a second ambush or worse. Recon has a better understanding of what's really happening down there. This is their show. We might change our plan awfully quick, so be ready."

So far, they had pulled the dragon off of Recon, killed the wizard, and mauled one of the knights. It was a good start until they heard from Recon. Yet Winters's statement reminds Ridge only he and King were in Special Forces in Steel Rain, where wary was the way.

"Hatch," he orders. "Tell Recon: 'This is Recon Ridge One. We are six SAMAS fully loaded. Tell us where you want it.'" Ridge realizes that he could have done this himself, but he wants Hatch to have the experience with Recon.

With confidence, he says. "They'll give us the rest."

 

[Sherwood]

Hatch says, "Copy that, sir! Attempting to contact allies now." She shifts frequencies to the one that the APC used to communicate with them, and calls out, "Recon team! This is Recon Ridge One. We have six SAMAS fully loaded, and are ready to provide air support. Designate priority targets for guns. Do you read me?"

As she waits, she watches as that dragon flies closer to them, but after a few quick mental calculations, Stacey is confident that they will be able to have the other tangos wiped out and can then focus fire on the dragon. "LT, holding fire until we get some targeting info."

Spoiler

On Foot / In SAMAS Powered Armor
Number of Attacks: 5 / 6
Strike: +3 / +8
Parry: +3 / +6
Dodge: +3 / +6 ground, +9 airborne
Roll: +2 / +6
Initiative: +0 / +2
Perception: +2
Disarm: +2 / +4

SAMAS Main Body MDC: 230
Missiles: Range 1 mile
8 mini-plasmas 1d6x10 MD
4 mini plasmas 2d4x10 MD
12 mini-HEAP 1d4x10 MD

Particle Beam Cannon: 1d6x10
2,000 ft range
Payload: 40 / 40

 

[Purr]

Sherwood

"Haaatch," Ridge hisses. "Did I tell you to hold your fire? Kill those cyber-knights, starting with the wounded one."

 

[Sherwood]

"Understood, sir. Targeting CK 1 with missiles. Stand by." She lines up a shot with two of her HEAP missiles, hoping that they will do the trick.

total of 10 to hit for 30 MDC damage if I hit.

Spoiler

On Foot / In SAMAS Powered Armor
Number of Attacks: 5 / 6
Strike: +3 / +8
Parry: +3 / +6
Dodge: +3 / +6 ground, +9 airborne
Roll: +2 / +6
Initiative: +0 / +2
Perception: +2
Disarm: +2 / +4

SAMAS Main Body MDC: 230
Missiles: Range 1 mile
mini-plasmas 1d6x10 MD 8 / 8
mini plasmas 2d4x10 MD 4 / 4
mini-HEAP 1d4x10 MD 12 / 10

Particle Beam Cannon: 1d6x10
2,000 ft range
Payload: 40 / 40

 

[Psychie]

Sgt. Graves takes aim at the Cyber Knight, but the damned psi powers of the Knight is playing havoc with your targeting system. It takes you a moment to try to line up a shot, but now that the targets know you guys are there, the guy manages to leap to the side, getting clear of your attack.

While Hatch is taking her missile shot, she gets a reply on the radio. "This is Recon #35! You are a welcome sight, SAMAS squad, and thanks for distracting that damn dragon. That Burster seems to be the one calling the shots for these assholes. Help us to hammer these guys flat and we'll buy you all a beer!"

Just like what happened to Graves, Hatch experiences the same problems targeting the Knight with your HUD. Once the missiles fly out, the Knight manages to leap to the left and just barely gets out of the blast area of the warheads.

Vaneheart is up with Stone

22 - Juicer [1]
19 - Ridge [1]
17 - Cyber Knight 1 critically damaged [2]
16 - Dragon [1]
15 - Graves [3]
14 - Winters [1]
12 - Recon Squad member 1 - critically damaged [3]
12 - Recon Squad members 2-5 - all in moderately damaged armor [3]
11 - King [3]
10 - Cyber Knight 2 - moderately damaged armor [2]
6 - Hatch [3]
4 - Stone <====
3 - Burster

 

[Vaneheart]

Sergeant Stone
CSMC (attached to CS Army)
Warlords - Steel Rain
Day 1

Following his wingman Graves' lead, Stone takes aim at the same cyberknight (Cyberknight 2) with his C-40R Rail Gun and fires. He is concerned that missile fire would be too danger close to the pinned down recon team.

To Hit: 18
Potential Damage: 40

 

[Psychie]

Stone is having the same trouble with your targeting computer against the Cyber Knight that everyone else is, damn it. But, even with that, your training was enough to rip your shells into the man, killing him. One less threat to the security of the Coalition.

The Burster does a few quick mental calculations, and decides that the arrival of the SAMAS squad is more than they can handle and he begins to pull back away from the ambush site. As he slides back, he hurls a fireball that explodes just short of the men that are pinned down, but it does serve to keep their heads down.

The Juicer runs over to Cyber Knight 1 and scoops him up, moving away from the fight with speed that only the amped up warrior can achieve.

Purr is up with Ridge.

22 - Juicer [2] withdrawing with CK1 in hand
19 - Ridge [1] <====
17 - Cyber Knight 1 critically damaged [2]
16 - Dragon [1]
15 - Graves [3]
14 - Winters [1]
12 - Recon Squad member 1 - critically damaged [3]
12 - Recon Squad members 2-5 - all in moderately damaged armor [3]
11 - King [3]
6 - Hatch [3]
4 - Stone [3]
3 - Burster [1] withdrawing

 

[Psychie]

Quick bump for Purr

 

[Purr]

The threat to Recon was running with its tail between its legs, all except for the dragon hatchling who clearly wanted a piece of Steel Rain. That suited Ridge just fine.

Ridge wasn't in the habit of shooting enemies in the backs under these circumstances, and since the dragon wasn't retreating and the Recon team appeared safe, that seemed to narrow the maniacal cyborg's options down quite nicely.

"Steel Rain," Ridge orders via the encrypted radio, "everybody on the lizard. Stay away from him. Take down his forcefield first, then eat my leathery darling alive." He adds, "And keep the head intact! I want to see if Summer will let us mount it on Gloria! Wouldn't that be an impressive sight to show our fellow Warlords?"

Ridge flies in a perpendicular direction to the dragon's approach, keeping his distance while hoping to lead the big beast away from his own people. He fires another 4-round burst in an effort to take down that damnable magical shield.

With a grin, Ridge taunts the dragon over his loudspeaker. "Killing your friends was easy! Open wide and say 'Ahhh!' you stupid son of a bitch!"