On the way to the 11th floor to verify his hunch about the drone, Nail says to Goethe out loud: “Think T4500x can refrain from blowing up something before we get there?”
Seneth replies, “I do.”
And he smiles ever so slightly to himself.
“The uplink has been terminated. Invalid command.”
The drone displays a much weaker “personality” than in 4509’s previous conversation. It’s an intangible quality, but undeniable. Before, the drone seemed almost alive, but it’s clear now that 4509 is talking to an unremarkable machine.
The two commandos take up positions at either corner of the intersection. Both men report their areas clear before relaxing their grip on their weapons.
The drone replies again via comlink, “Operator signal reacquired. Uploading coordinates.”
A signal is sent to 4509’s bionic imaging hardware, which paints a faint green highlight along the hallway leading to the left. “Operator signal is fading. Attempting direct uplink. Stand by.”
For a few moments, 4509 is left in silence. Then, suddenly his vision is…replaced…with someone else’s. The image is ghostly, like being awake inside a dream. 4509 has the distinct, disorienting sensation that he is seeing through someone else’s eyes. In a moment, he realizes his hearing has also been replaced in a similar fashion. 4509 can end the uplink at any time by denying access to his hardware from the drone. It requires a willing subject.
A synthcorp agent snaps his fingers in front of 4509’s eyes.
“Is she awake?” calls a voice from behind him.
“Shouldn’t be. Gave her enough to knock out a horse.”
The unseen man comes around into 4509’s vision and examines him. “She’s uploading,” the new face says. “Look at the pupil dilation. Hit her again.”
The first man loads a yellow fluid into a syringe, and attaches it to an IV tube connected to 4509’s arm. “You know,” the man says, “we wouldn’t have to keep doing this if you just stopped Immersing. Sooner or later, Sasheille is going to decide you’re more trouble than you’re worth.” As the man injects the fluid into 4509’s IV, the image begins to dissolve, like watercolors being thinned in the rain.
Soon, 4509 is back in the elevator lobby. The green highlight still leads toward the left hallway. After a moment, the drone’s eerie speech program monotones, “Operator signal lost. Re-engaging standalone mode.”
Meanwhile, Goethe leads the rest of the group to the 11th floor, where they find Darwin in the elevator lobby. The drone looks distressed and uncertain, making several hesitant motions, but stopping suddenly as if realizing he has no clue what to do. It is the closest thing to “panic” the group has seen from a drone since Chaggo showed them the recording of the assassinated Technomancer.
“We aren’t going to give them time to regroup. We hit them hard and we keep moving forward. Prioritize anyone that gets in my way. When I tell you to use those flashbangs you use them.” With that, the cyborg breaks into a jog down the hallway following the green trail.
“Darwin, come with us. We’re going to save your master from these bastards.”
Goethe will then start moving quickly upstairs to the 14th floor.
Upon entering the room, Nail stretches while remarking: “Yup, that’s Darwin all right.”
After Goethe speaks, Nail follows him up the stairs.
Upon hearing Goethe’s familiar voice, Darwin seems to “relax” a bit. The drone seems to prefer taking orders, which frees up a great deal of processing power devoted to making decisions.
Darwin follows Goethe and the others to the emergency stairwell, where they proceed up to the 14th floor with haste.
Meanwhile, 4509 and his crew encounter a group of four Synthcorp agents and two security drones guarding a door. The two opposed groups immediately recognize each other as enemies, and the Synthcorp agents ready their assault rifles and prepare to fire.
Goethe, Seneth, Nail, Donovan, and Darwin will arrive in time to assist with this battle in combat round 2. There will be no surprise combat round.
4509 lifts both machine pistols, their insides now flashing a harsh red light. He rakes gunfire across the doorway, using Edge against all four enemies.
Due to the very large number of rolls involved with this round of combat and bookkeeping required to track Edge and damage, I won’t be able to roll this with the dice simulator on my phone. It will be a few hours until I get home to make a proper post, but it’s coming soon. Sorry again for the delay!
Begin combat round 1
4509’s crew and the Synthcorp detail open fire simultaneously.
Initiative pass 1
The cyborg 4509 plants his feet and braces his body against the sudden impact of rapid machine pistol recoil as he pours a half pound of lead toward the door the Synthcorp agents are guarding. One unlucky agent is caught in the crossed fire of both pistols and shredded with a dozen bullets, while the others scatter in panic. Two of the agents manage to avoid the firestorm leaping to safety, and immediately return fire with short, controlled bursts from their assault rifles. The third surviving agent takes two stray bullets to the back, and lands on his shoulder with a thud. He is a bit slower to return fire, but manages to climb to a knee and aim his rifle.
It’s a futile gesture, as three bullets from the Universal Omnitech commando to 4509’s left cut the Synthcorp agent back down.
“Agents down at the east hallway entrance! It’s the cyborg!” a surviving Synthcorp agent shouts into his comlink, as he fires two short bursts at 4509. The bullets ricochet off the indomitable cyborg’s body. The bullets don’t penetrate, but the expertly placed shots do seem to cause at least some discomfort to the cyborg.
The second surviving Synthcorp agent fires at 4509 with another 2 bursts from his assault rifle, but fares no better than his partner. As the bullets crash into his body, 4509 raises his arm before his face as if in a particularly strong and annoying dust storm. As he does so, the now-empty machine pistols spin back into their hidden compartments within his cyber-arms.
The Universal Omnitech commando to 4509’s right suppresses his awe of of the cyborg long enough to carefully aim a burst of gunfire at a Synthcorp agent’s un-armored head. It’s a risky shot that doesn’t pay off, as his shots sail wide, hitting nothing but the wall behind his target.
The two drones are still debilitated by the virus in the Security mainframe room. They both spend their entire first initiative pass compiling code to prioritize targets. The software is slow, but good enough to recognize that 4509 is not an optimal target. The drones both shine targeting lasers on the UO agent to 4509’s left, and will fire next initiative pass.
End initiative pass 1.
4509 will not participate next initiative pass, but all other combatants will. 4509 now has 4 used Edge. He has also suffered 2 stun damage as a result of rifle fire which did not pierce his armor.
Round 1, Initiative pass 2
The UO and Synthcorp agents battle around 4509 as if he is an invulnerable fixture, which is not far from the truth! The crossfire is a blur, but in the end, another Synthcorp agent lies critically wounded, a Synthcorp drone is destroyed, and the UO commando to 4509’s left has suffered deadly wounds, collapsing onto the ground in a pool of blood. If the commando does not receive life saving intervention in the next few minutes, he will succumb to his injuries and die.
The UO agent requires a successful “stabilize” skill test or he will die from his wounds. This test can be performed without a medkit, by a character using LOG + first aid skill. If a medkit is used, it will add its rating to the stabilize attempt. Alternatively, the spell “stabilize” will save his life. The severity of the wounds (IE, excess damage beyond his maximum allowed) will negatively affect the attempt.
If the man is successfully stabilized, he may then be healed through magic, medicine, or simple time. His wounds are life threatening, but he has not taken more than his maximum damage allowance, meaning that he will be easier to stabilize for the next few combat rounds. The attempt will become excessively more difficult as time passes, until there is no hope.
Having learned from 'Arry’s death, Goethe now carries a portable medkit with a rating of 2. He may attempt to use it, or spend a simple action tossing it to another character.
End initiative pass 2.
Goethe, Nail, Seneth, Donovan, and Darwin arrive at the battle, bursting through the door leading from the emergency stairway. They are able to participate in the next combat round.
Synthcorp has called for reinforcements, which can arrive at any time (and almost certainly will!)
For now, the remaining Synthcorp assets in this battle are 1 combat drone, 1 healthy agent, and 1 sorely wounded agent.
On the group’s side are the player characters, Darwin, Donovan, a dying UO agent, and a healthy UO agent.
End combat round 1.
4509 was able to make 4 attacks in the last combat round by dual-wielding weapons. In order to do so, he was forced to split the dice he would normally have for a single test, into two separate dice pools. Doing so allowed him to use a single simple action to fire both weapons, but at the cost of accuracy. As you can see, even using Edge he was not able to fully compensate for the lack of control such a fighting style has!
“Get ready to flash.” 4509’s voice is calm, unexcited. He yanks his revolver free from its holster on his upper leg and steps over the fallen UO agent, who he otherwise ignores, and heads towards the door. If it’s unlocked he opens it, if it isn’t he attempts to beat it down with his bare hands. If/when he gets it open he commands, “Now.”
Goethe will attempt to stabilize the grievously injured UO agent with his medkit and first aid skill, spending a point of edge.
“Darwin, engage the synthcorp agents. Start with the injured one.”
“Earth Spirit, beat the healthier agent into oblivion,” Seneth calmly says.
Nail will observe Goethe using the medkit, and if it looks like he is fumbling, will take it from him and do it himself, saying “Give that to me. I’ve used them before.”
If Goethe seems to be doing a good-job, and if Nail goes before the earth spirit, he will make a targetted shot at the enemies gun in order to disarm him. If he goes after the earth spirit, he will assist in beating up the enemy with his fists, the way he likes it.
There is a correction to a piece of information I gave previously. Goethe’s medkit is not rating 2, but is in fact rating 6.
Begin Combat round 2
Initiative pass 1
Goethe wastes no time rushing to the fallen UO agent’s side. Heedless of the danger, Goethe opens the medkit and starts packing gauze into the most grievous of the agent’s wounds. The bleeding begins to slow, but it’s clear Goethe is no expert.
Nail watches Goethe, lamenting the amateur effort Goethe is making. He considers intervening, but notices the healthy Synthcorp agent lining up a shot on Goethe as he works obliviously.
Well, good luck. Nail has the good sense not to say out loud to the dying UO commando. You’re gonna need it, the way that orc is fumbling around. Nail casually fires at the Synthcorp man’s weapon, scoring a perfect hit and knocking it free of the man’s grip.
The Synthcorp agent barely has time to open his mouth in surprise before Donovan’s fist unhinges his jaw. A moment later, Seneth’s powerful earth spirit materializes, taking the shape of a humanoid giant. The giant knocks the agent to the ground, holding him with one hand as it bashes him with the other. Meanwhile, Darwin fires two low-caliber pistol shots at the agent’s torso, scoring hits with both of them.
The punishment is too much for the Synthcorp agent, who falls unconscious from all the damage dealt to him.
The remaining healthy UO commando easily dispatches the conscious injured Synthcorp agent before turning his rifle on the remaining Synthcorp drone. With a single short burst, the UO agent pierces the drone’s light armor and destroys a critical piece of hardware, taking the machine offline.
Completely disregarding the carnage around him, 4509 approaches the door. The door is solid, thick metal on a heavy wood frame. It’s locked, and reinforced with a heavy deadbolt. The cyborg slams his powerful body into the door, and hears a satisfying CRACK as the heavy wood of the doorjamb splits. The break is not complete, however. One more solid thump will almost surely collapse the frame around the deadbolt.
End Combat.
Goethe has successfully stabilized the UO agent. He’s in no condition to fight, as he’s unconscious with a full damage bar. But, he may now be healed with drugs, magic, or time. If he is healed with magic, he may awaken and be useful in future combats.
Donovan glances down at the wounded UO commando. To Seneth, he says, “If you can’t heal him, we should get him somewhere safe. The stairway, maybe, since it doesn’t look like Synthcorp is guarding it.”
Donovan takes a pistol from one of the fallen Synthcorp agents and examines it closely. Apparently satisfied, he blasts a hole in the unconscious Synthcorp agent’s head.
"Nail, take Darwin and the other UO agent with you and provide backup for the vatjob–and try to limit the carnage he leaves in his wake if you can. If Seneth can heal the UO agent, I’ll guard him while he does so, otherwise, he and I will move the agent to the stairwell.
“Besides, some of us should hang back anyway in case reinforcements show up. We can always retreat into the room if necessary, but we don’t want to limit our options by putting all our eggs in one basket right from the start.”
“Donovan, you can either stay with Seneth or I, or go with Nail and Darwin. I recommend staying with us since it’s probably better strategically with the balance of numbers, but it’s your call.”
4509 delivers another blow to the door. His previous order to the UO agent stands.
“Haven’t you heard Goethe? If you want to make an omelette, you gotta break some eggs.”
If Seneth feels he can, he will cast heal on the injured UO agent.