[OW] Die Hards: Eleventh Hour

[Steel Company]

Initive roll: 1d10+3 8

[Mazer Rackham]

++ STRUCTURED TIME CONTINUES ++

 

Orks (One roll to rule them all): 1D10+3 = 11

 

Die Hards (Judge will roll for the NPC Squad): 1D10+3 = 7

 

++ COMBAT ROUND 1 ++

 

Initiative Order:

 

Orks (11)

Scarlett (8)

Stimms (7) (PC's always have priority)

Die Hards (7)

Pinned Squad (4)

 

Ork 2:

Full Action: Run towards Pinned Squad (-20 to Hit BS)

 

The brutish lump heaves up over the logs he's hiding behind and charges a the pinned guardsmen, stikkbomb in hand.  He flops down onto his chest and slithers in behind some logs.

 

Ork 3:

Half Action: Half Aim

Half Action: SAB at Lughead

BS: 23 +0 (SAB) = 23

D100: 22, PASS, 1 DoS = 1 Hit

Dam: 5

(Lughead TB 5, No Dam).

 

The Kommando covers his Komrade by shooting at the biggest thing he can see with his crude, but sturdy pistol.  Lughead is struck by the round, but after clipping through foliage, it merely batters off his firm muscle.  He jeers at the greenskin.

 

++ Post Actions ++

[Steel Company]

With well trained and practiced fire discipline Scarlett switches focus to the Ork that opened fire, a quick taking a moment to line up the target before she squeezed the trigger.

 

 

Target: Charging Ork

TN: 60 (BS 40 + Short Range 10, + Half Aim 10, + Semi Auto 0)

 

Aiming at Ork C (The shooting one): 1d100 17 Hit with 4 DoS for maximum RoF of 2

Location: 71 RL

 

DMG: 1D10+5 Pen 2 (Over load setting on Las gun, PG. 175, M36 Las gun paragraph)

Las Gun damage: 1d10+5 14

 

Ammunition remaining: 44/60 (11 shots at this power setting)

 

Location: 71 RL

 

DMG: 1D10+5 Pen 2 (Over load setting on Las gun, PG. 175, M36 Las gun paragraph)

Las Gun damage: 1d10+5 14

 

Ammunition remaining: 40/60 (10 shots at this power setting)

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

The shot clips through rotten wood and strikes orkoid flesh, as evidenced by the yowl of sudden pain that tears from a brutish throat.

 

"Argh, me knee! 'Umie gitz!"

 

The Ork slumps slightly, resting the weight of his body on the logs, snorting spittle and mucus against the pain.

[Beren]

As the sound of shoota and las-fire cracks through the air and the greenskin's bellows drown out human voices, Stimms reaches out and lays his hand on Wide-eye's shoulder. As the fellow convict jerks towards the medic in response, Stimms nods towards the dense foliage behind them, making sure Wide-eyes understands. As the two of them plow into the foliage and out of sight of the rest of the squad, Stimms throws one last glance behind him, checking to see if they were noticed.

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

The skirmish takes on a life of it's own, the snap and pop of foliage and bullets seeming like another world as you leave it behind, and it is in this strange divorce that even the combatants are caught up in their own world, not missing the silence of your lasgun, or that of your companion in the desperation.

 

You have 12 minutes before the boat gets in to Thunder Point, and just over a mile to run.

 

Note: I'll update this post with the Round continuing, but Stimms and Wide-eyes are gone.  Feel free to post RP between them Beren

 

++ COMBAT ROUND 1 CONTINUES ++

 

Initiative Order:

 

Die Hards (7)

Pinned Squad (4)

 

Die Hards:

Lughead Fires at Ork B

Hits 0

 

Walker Fires at Ork B

Hits: 0

 

Halbast Fires at Ork C

Hits: 1

Dam: 4 (Inc TB and Arm)

Ork C (10 Wounds Remain)

 

Judge Fires at Ork C

Hits: 1

Dam: 2 (Inc TB and Arm)

Ork C (8 Wounds Remain)

 

Pinned Squad:

Plasma Gunner fires at Ork B: Overheat

Damage: 20

Plasma Gunner Dies

 

Guardsman 1 fires at Ork B

Hits: 1 (amazingly)

Dam: 3 (Inc TB and Arm)

Ork B (2 Wounds Remaining)

 

Guardsman 2 fires at Ork B

Hits: 0

 

Wounded Guardsmen Roll to not Die: Pass.

 

++ COMBAT ROUND 1 ENDS ++

Edited September 26, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Beren]

The two of them kept an uneven pace as they hurtled through the foliage, any pretense of stealth abandoned. Wide-eyes was faster, seeming to to shift direction at an instant's notice and snapping away from every fine or banch that seemed to leap out at him. Stimms was slower, felling those same branches lash against his skin, but he was the one who knew they way. So every once in a while Wide-eyes would freeze stock-still, only twisting his head backwards to wait for Stimms.

 

That suited Stimms just fine. Let Wide-eyes be the one to blunder into any traps.

 

One mile, twelve minutes. Doable. Until you took into account the mud, and the trees, and the bushes, and the vines. Twelve minutes. Only till it arrived mind. It wouldn't depart straight off, but how long would it wait with the bombardment coming in? Would it wait at all if there wasn't anybody to greet it? If they missed it... he'd have to cook up one hell of an explanation for Judge, and even the best explanations could go stale after a while, especially with Wide-eyes running fry earlier...

 

"That way! That way!"

 

He flings out his arm in a rough direction and watched the other soldier flicker towards it. He reckoned Wide-eyes could keep the pace all night, if he didn't run dry first. At first he'd only took the stuff to keep him sharp all night, stop him from driving the Chimera into a ditch. 'Course, what solidier wouldn't want to be sharper, faster, more likely to stay alive. Well, unless you were Grins. To be honest, he was slightly surprised Wide-eyes had taken the death of the medic's other 'helper' with more suspicion. It didn't pay to be unpleasant to the fella' keeping you alive.

[Mazer Rackham]

++ COMBAT ROUND 1 ++

 

Initiative Order:

 

Orks (11)

Scarlett (8)

Die Hards (7)

Pinned Squad (4)

 

Ork 2:

Half Action: Ready Stikkbomb

Half Action: Standard Attack Stikkbomb

BS 23 + 0 = 23

D100: 22 Hit

Dam (Gd 1) 6 (TB and Arm) (Gd 2) 8 (TB and Arm)

Guardsman 1 (6 Wounds Remain)

Guardsman 2 (4 Wounds Remain)

 

Ork 3:

Full Action: Run at Scarlett

Moves 18 Metres (doesn't make into CQB, there's a small ditch and logs separating you)

Ork 3 is at Point Blank for Scarlett, -20 to Hit BS, as Run.

 

The Stikkbomb goes off with a horrendous crump of displaced air and seared, charred flesh as it blasts men with shrapnel and rips them open.  The Guardsmen are knocked out of action momentarily, as smoke and steam rise from the double explosion of the plasma gun, which blew a hole in the defences and vaporised one of their comrades in a lightning flash, followed only by the thunder of the grenade.

 

Their coughing and moaning sound in the strange aftermath, as the greenskin Kommando Scarlett shot in the knee launches into a charging gait, his cleaver-like choppa held at the ready.  Only the luck of a small ditch and rough terrain forestall him enough, perhaps his wound is also something that slows him down, but he bears down, nonetheless, his Kamo-flage makes his anger wrought face look even more gruesome in his determination to fillet this human.

 

++ Post Actions ++

Edited September 26, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Steel Company]

With the Kommando almost on top of her, Scarlett reached around behind her back with her left hand, keeping her carbine pointed at the beast and pulled free one of her two krak gernades as she called at the beast, “Catch!”

 

Half action ready grenade

Half action toss grenade

 

TN: 52 (BS 42, +30 short range, -20 target ran)

 

Gernade toss: 1d100 41 Pass with 1 DoS

 

Location: 14 RA

 

DMG: 2D10+4 Pen 6 Explosive

Gernade damage: 2d10+4 21

 

If needed, dodge action:

TN: 45 (AGI 35 +10 dodge skill)

Dodge +10 roll: 1d100 11 Pass with 3 DoS. Note in this system DoS on dodge allow to dodge multiple hits from both melee and range. Note Swift attack generates 1 hit/2 DoS and Lightning attack generate 1 hit/DoS, just like Semi auto and full auto attacks with ranged weapons.

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

The Ork's porcine features cloud with confusion, until it's right arm is torn off, in thick purplish blood and unidentifiable alien chest viscera, which spatter you quite liberally with the smell of flash fried Ork guts.

 

It's exceptionally pungent.

 

The rest of the squad fire rapidly, tearing burning bolts of Emperor-given light into the remaining ork, peppering it with painful stings from a dozen biting insects.  A fitting end for the surroundings.

 

++ STRUCTURED TIME ENDS ++

++ NARRATIVE TIME BEGINS ++

 

Halbast rushes over to drop to his knees beside you, trying to wipe the worst excesses of clotted fungal-man from your features with a stained silk handkerchief.  "Katherine!  Are you alright?"

 

Stimms:

The flight from the skirmish takes you down the trail, the footpath narrowing and narrowing, close to Thunder Point you can hear voices, raised calls, followed by a heavy calibre pistol shot.  As you erupt from the jungle and thrashing tall Oliphant grass, you see a temporary camp, with both civilian and Imperial Guard tents.  The place is a ghost town, but on the tents are the sigils of the 14th Taurellian - a regular army unit whose home in somewhere in the Dalthus Sector.

 

There are discarded uniforms, packs, civilian garb, and even power cells for las weapons.  The landing site for the river transport is just up ahead, and you can hear the voices with more clarity now you're free of the fronds and palms.

 

"The next man to force his place will meet the same fate!  Weep for him, for his faith was weak!  Pray to the Emperor you may serve him longer!"

 

As you push past the abandoned camp, you can see a ragged mass of uniformed men circling a tall Commissar.  His bolt pistol is smoking, and three corpses lay at his feet.  His scarred face is rigid, cold, and absent of disgust.  His eyes pierce each man, holding them at bay only barely more than the threat of his gun.  Things look like they could turn nasty here.

 

Behind him, is the river transport, engines idling.

[Steel Company]

Rolling her green eyes Scarlett lets out a sigh as she says, “I’m fine, Sir. This isn’t the first time I have tossed a krak grenade at a charging enemy.”

 

Getting up she takes his handkerchief and finishes wiping herself off before looking around and heading over to judge as she asks, “Should we send someone to check on that other squad?”

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Judge nods at you, then Walker.  "Move."

 

He keeps the bodies of the Orks close to the position covered, and Lughead imitates him.

[Steel Company]

With a careful yet quick pace Scarlett moves out a head to check on the pinned squad.

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Walker is barely a pace behind you, Lasgun ready as you both reach the pinned Guardsmen.  What's left of them carry the insignia of the 14th Taurellians, a regular line unit you have some familiarity with, albeit it distant.

 

The grisly perfume of photo-hydrogen seared flesh and singed hair is something remarkable, as is the bloodstained earth the soldiers cling to, hands grasping with white knuckles to fight the agony.  One looks up at the pair of you.

 

"Help me..."  it's the double amputee, miraculously untouched by the stikkbomb or overheated plasma gun, which sits in a congealing puddle of...something...looking a little worse for wear.

 

"Throne," Walker says, before he promptly turns away and vomits.

[Steel Company]

Rolling her eyes at Walker Scarlett pulled out the first aid kit she had with her and went to most abultory of the three first.

 

 

First Aid test #1

 

TN: 32 (INT: 32)

First Aid Check #1: 1d100 14 Pass with 1 DoS

 

 

Nodding at her work she moved on to the second as she said, “I’m no medic, but lets see about getting some of you patched up enough to go, before the bombardment starts.”

 

First Aid Test #2

 

TN: 22 (Int: 32, -10 supplies)

First Aid Check #2: 1d100 45 Fail by 2 DoS, so not dead.

 

 

Frowning a little as she added on, “Sorry, but that’s the best I could do, it should at least get you back to our medic.”

 

Coming up to the trooper missing his legs, she takes a deep breath, looking at what is left of her supplies as she says, “I’ll do what I can, but, I can’t promise anything.”

 

First Aid Test #3

 

TN: 12 (Int: 32, -20 supplies)

First Aid Check #3: 1d100 42 Fail, 3 DoS, no deaths!

 

 

Seeing little she could do, Scarlett grabs the trooper with no legs by his webbing and starts to hall him back to their squad.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Steel Company

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Your ministrations are not enough to heal them, but you haven't done much more harm than they already suffered.  You have managed to stop the bleeding and ward away infections with some sparing use of counterseptic, but it is clear it will require the building of at least one stretcher.

 

The man with both his legs missing is handling his pain better than the others, probably due to the numbness incurred through his tourniquets.  He actively helps you as you pull him, grasping your webbing as you drag him to the squad.

 

"Corporal Haskins, 14th," he manages through clenched teeth.

 

You can see even this takes a toll.

 

As you watch, Walker is prompting Lughead to come over, and with incredible gentleness - and repeated urgings - he carries another of the wounded men back to where Judge waits.  Walker pulls the last onto his back, and soon all three are in the protective cordon of the 101st.

[Steel Company]

Scarlett weighs the value in a white lie to this man, she knows he's not long for the world if they don't hurry as she whispers to him while helping Lughead get him on his back, "Corporal Kathrine, D-82. Currently T.A.D. with the 101st, I'm doing my best to get us all out of here alive."

 

Stepping back she pats Lughead on the shoulder letting him know they are ready to head back as Scarlett takes up the point position to get them back to the squad.

[Beren]

Feth!

 

A Comissar, of course it had to be a Comissar. Stimms reached out to yank Wide-eyes back into cover, only to realise that the other soldier twisted away and, crouched low, had rushed back towards the tents. By the time Stimms caught up with him, the driver was already inspecting a Taurellian uniform, which was promptly yanked out of his hands. In respnse to Wide-eyes accussing look, Stimms rolled his eyes.

 

"Remind me again, walk me right along the plow line, how exactly you ended up in our sorry company?"

 

Wide-eyes shrugs.

 

"Wasn't my fault. Bleedin' Jornik's doing their insurgent stuff, looting out uniforms off our dead and tryin' to pass muster. If Hank'd called out like he should've then I woudn-"

 

Stimms cuts him off before he can digress..

 

"Well, tell me then, how well did the Jornik's 'insurgent stuff' work for them."

 

Wide-eyes shrugs again.

 

"Shot four of em' the first night. Like we didn't know our company members. All one of them had to do was open their mouth to speak and..."

 

The twitchy soldier trails off as the import of what Stimms is pointing out sinks in. The medic draws a wide smile across his face.

 

"There, see! You got it! Now go grab some civilian clothing that's the right size for you, dump the lasgun. Comissar'll have a harder time telling us from a civilian than one of his own soldiers, and I wager an offer of medical expertise might go a little way towards getting us passage."

Edited September 27, 2021 by Beren

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

As you approach the squad, you can see Judge is looking around, agitated.  His lasgun is made ready, along with his customary frown.  His mind is elsewhere as you draw close, he does not notice you, or the wounded man you bear.

 

Stimms:

 

There are plenty of garments to choose from which will hide your shape, but you above all else know the next bit will be nothing but brass neck.  No-one comes to look for you or shout, but there are a small party of civilians who stand apart from the herd, guarded by a huge Staff Sergeant of the 14th Taurellian.  The Senior NCO has his peaked cap shaped to fit closely to his head, which resembles a remarkably rugged and pugilistic peanut, atop a tapering body which starts broadly at the shoulder.  He holds an unlimbered chainsword in his hand and literally no-one is within arm's reach.

 

You can't see his eyes beneath the peak, and if you didn't know anatomy as well as you do, you'd swear his forehead didn't exist, and that it was all hat from the cheekbones up.

[Steel Company]

Taking a quick look around, Scarlett asks, "What's wrong, Judge?"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

"Stimms and Wide-eyes are gone," he says, but his voice is flat.  "Take the squad, double back twenty metres, see if they've been nabbed by Kommandos."

 

Steel, please detail your search as best you can, I'll leave it to you how you position the search crew, as Judge has obviously deferred to you whilst he hangs back with Halbast and the wounded.

[Beren]

Stimms puts a great amount of pretense into awkwardly shuffling tiwars the group from the direction of the tents, deliberately attempting to seem as unthreatening as possible and to avoid any misconception of sneaking up on them. Once he's clearly in sight of the officers he halts, looking back and forth between them as if waiting for one of them to give him instructions, and then resumes his shuffle, this time towards the group of civilians.

 

He only hopes that Wide-eyes is following his lead.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Beren

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

A voice bellows out - not the clean, cold precision of the Commissar, but the throaty rumble of a man whose parade ground (perfectly clean, in proper order and swept of filth and idiots as the Emperor intended) you have desecrated in the most heinous manner imaginable.

 

"Stop right there, you 'Orrible little man!"

 

An Alpha Bull Grox would be shamed by the bellow.

 

The empty hand of the Staff Sergeant is thrust out ramrod straight, a mighty paw tensed into a pointing finger of damnation.  The finger is not aimed at you, but just behind and to your right.

 

A fair way from where Wide-Eyes should be...you see your companion is lingering near the back of the assembled Guardsmen looking ready to lynch the Commissar.  He's standing out quite like the sore thumb.  A quick flick of your attention back to the civilians, and you notice a Sergeant rapidly scribbling and handing out some kind of ticket, or passes to them.

 

"Come 'ere! Now!" the Staff shouts to Wide-eyes.

Intimidate: Str 35 + 20 (Trained) = 55

D100: 50 1 DoS

 

Beren, please either make a Difficult (-10) Willpower or Intelligence check for Wide-Eyes to see if he walks or marches across...

Edited September 28, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Steel Company]

With a nod she turned to the squad, gesturing with four fingers on one hand as she said, “Combat spacing, line abreast. We need to get this done fast, but quietly, only twenty meters out.”

 

To her surprise the squad seemed to actually take to the command, likely it had to do with the presence of an actual officer. Scarlett lead from the center, slightly forward of the rest of the squad, carefully looking at the ground, trying to find any tracks.

 

 

Survival roll for tracking

 

TN: 23 (Perception 33 -10 for conditions)

 

Survial roll: 1d100 12 Pass with 1 DoS

 

 

It took some time but she picked out the tracks of two men in regulation guard boots heading away from the engagement. Getting down on one knee and raising her carbine up to use the optics to try and see if they were down range. After a few moments Scarlett sighed out and raised her left hand up, waving it in a large flat circle.

 

It happened fast, several members of the squad converged on her position and she said to them, “They ran for it,” pausing to point in the general direction before adding, “in that direction.”

 

Rolling her left wrist over to check her chrono and pressing her lips together she said, “We don’t have time to chase them down, all we can do is report them deserting in the middle of an engagement. Let’s return to Judge and get moving, I don’t want to be trying to dodge steel rain.”

[Beren]

Stimms gritted his teeth as he sees the incident unfold.

 

 

Roll to Beat: 30 (Intelligence 40-10)

d100: 57 (2 DoF)

 

Singular Fate re-roll-

d100: 25 (Success)