[OW] Die Hards: Eleventh Hour

[Steel Company]

Spinning the weapon to the direction of the coming Green skins, Scarlett says to the others, "Not a word, keep discipline."

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

The small group of soldiers stop, and look at you like you've gone mad.  As confusion reigns for a moment, when one of them says: "What do you mean?"

 

One with a slightly sneaky cast about his features is a little faster on the uptake.  "What's your game then, eh?"

 

Scarlett:

 

You got the drop on the Orks, but now you can just see the front of the lead vehicle, it has a bright red bonnet, no doubt painted so because of the ridiculous Orkoid belief that vehicles in the bright colour go faster!

 

Your Big Shoota has a few things that go pretty fast too.

 

"Hold on!" Halbast calls as a hard left-hand bend approaches.  (Str Test Req - there ain't no powah steerin' on this fing!)

 

There is also a Buggy in range.  Called shot for the driver, (reduced to half action if Halbast can keep the Unimokk on the road) or you can pepper the buggy.  (It's very lightly armoured, AP 5, SP 8)  Let me know if you need more info, as I'm trying to keep the rules light and pace fast. :)

[Steel Company]

“Get us around that bend!” Scarlett calls out to Helbast.

 

 

STR Test for steering: TN: 30

Helbast STR test: 1d100 23 pass

 

 

As the lumbering transport started to into the turn, Scarlett racked the bolt on the gun and let lose a spray towards the engine compartment and cab of the buggy.

 

 

BS Test braced full auto big Shoota vs Buggy

TN: 50 (BS 40, -10 Full Auto, -10 transport movements, +20 size, +10 range)

Big Shoota dakka: 1d100 15 Pass with 3 DoS

 

4 hits!

Locations: 51 hull, it’s not clear how multi shot weapons work in this regard, so: hull, hull, motive, hull?

 

Damage: 2d10+5 Pen 2

#1

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 25

Roll for RF #1

Roll to confrim RF 1: 1d100 76 Faill

 

Roll for RF #2

Roll to confrim RF 2: 1d100 87 Fail

 

#2

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 10

 

#3

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 15

 

#4

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 18

 

Roll for RF

Roll to confrim RF: 1d100 82

 

All damage done at Pen 2

[Mazer Rackham]

That all looks good Steel 

 

Scarlett:

 

The lead buggy erupts in flame from under the red bonnet, spraying oil and fuel, which catches light in a flash-bloom.  There is a cry from the driver and the vehicle twists savagely, careening through the foliage until there is a solid crump and a whump of displaced air as it goes up.

 

Solid slugs begin to strip and snap branches from around you as the Orks fire back.

[Steel Company]

"Lug, throw anything you can at 'em!" Scarlett calls to the Ogryn.

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Lughead uncovers his head at the hard rounds spanking against the metal chassis of the Unimokk, blinks and peers up at you.  With some shuffling as the lumbering all-terrain vehicle rumbles along the track, he brandishes a spare wheel, and ejects it from the truck, the tyre slams and springs down behind you, slamming into another Ork buggy rider, just as as he brings his hull-mounted weapons back on target.

 

Two down.

 

The road clears for a few heartbeats, and Halbast manages to coax a few precious horsepower from the metal beast and you gain a few metres over your pursuers.

 

"A bloody roadblock!" he yells as the Unimokk tears around a shallow bend in the road.

 

He's not lying.  A quick glance shows there is indeed a pair of Orks manning a primitive toll gate made of a single chopped log braced haphazardly across the road.

[Steel Company]

"Mow through!" Scarlett yells at him as she spins the weapon around to spray any orks at the gate to keep their heads down.

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

One of the Orks gets a few slugs in the arm, and howls as he's bowled over by the force of the rattling gunfire.  The other takes one look and hurls down and away from the Unimokk bearing towards him.

 

The truck slams into the log with bone-jarring force!

 

Please make a Strength or Agility Test to stay in the Vehicle!

[Steel Company]

 

AGI Test:

 

TN: 35

 

AGI Test: 1d100 6 Pass with 2 DoS

 

Gritting her teeth and bracing for the impact, Scarlett quickly grabs hold of the weapon mount as the transport pushes through as she hollers out, "Don't stop!"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

"Is you ded yet, 'Umies?"

 

The Squorkbox crackles with interference as the smashed checkpoint falls away behind you.  Halbast swerves round a tree bole, thankfully only a minor manoeuvre, but as he turns you can see Thunder Point coming up, and as the track begins to climb, the Unimokk, carrying such a lot of weight and not built for racing uphill at speed, begins to slow down, even as Halbast changes gear quickly, the cogs and gubbins in the trukk groaning and sparking.  You can't tell if that's a good or bad thing.

 

"My boyz 'as gotcha now!"

 

Two buggies manage to close on you to thirty metres, then twenty.  Orange flames spurt and roar, carrying the crazed Greenskins along with their afta-burnahs.

 

Ten metres...the crest of the hill barrels into view, the destroyed bridge is on your left, and as you top out, the Unimokk lifts into the air, rendering you weightless for a second, until you hit the metalled road left by the Mechanicum.  Looking back, the bloody Orks are closing!

 

A fair way behind them, on a buggy covered in spikes and the heads of humans and other Orks alike, is the beast who told you to fatten up.

 

It's Geargob!

[Steel Company]

Swinging the shoota on target, Scarlett depresses the trigger.

 

 

Target the spiky one!

 

TN: 60 (40 stat, -10 Full Atuo, +20 size, +10 range)

 

Big Shoota dakka: 1d100 16 Pass with 4 DoS

 

5 hits!

 

Location: 61 Weapon! (So? Weapon, turret? Hull, hull, hull, motive?)

 

Damage 2d10+5 Pen 2

 

#1

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 10

 

#2

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 22

 

#3

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 12

 

#4

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 16

 

#5

Big Shoota dakka damage: 2d10+5 15

 

 

As the shots rang out, Scarlett yelled out, “Eat it, green skin!”

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

The spiky wagon lurches and battles its way through the Ork Speedfreaks, until the pelting hail of bullets strikes....something.

 

There's an ear splitting crack as the buggy, complete with Geargob tilts, crumples and then begins to tumble forwards uncontrollably, striking every other Ork around it in a gruesome occurrence of xenos pell-mell pinball.

 

A catastrophic ball of fire erupts from another vehicle, and the rest of the Ork pack, save the two closest vehicles are immolated.

 

The Squorkbox jabbers one last time as a skinny Ork holding nothing but handlebars and charred black with soot and burned oil arcs up and over the falls.

 

"You zoggin 'Umie bast-"

 

The link cuts with a sploosh.

 

However, you have paid to kill the pack leader, as two Orks use the distraction to abandon their shared buggies and board the Unimokk.  One tries to chop Halbast, then pulls a stikkbomb.

 

"Nooo!" Lughead, already wrestling with two of the brutes, grabs for the harness of the third, and all of them go over the side, falling from the trukk.  Your last sight of the brave and loyal abhuman puts him him ripping the head from one Ork, even as he kicks another in the guts, but the pins of the crude grenades are pulled.  As the knot of fighting muscle is obscured by the dust and greenery of the moon, there is another, hollow explosion.

 

The Unimokk lurches forward, relieved of the weight, and the Orks are left behind, with whatever memory of Lug you had.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Steel Company]

"I'll get the drinks when we get out of here, big guy." she whispers as the fire fades into the background.

[Beren]

Stimms rolls his eyes.

 

"Same as yours, idiots. I would have thought you lot would have dispensed with all that melancholy moonlight business."

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

One of them gives an uncertain, half-hearted chuckle and looks at his companions.  "Yeah."

 

They haven't got the faintest idea what you're talking about.

[Beren]

Stimms sighs and puts a hand to his forehead.

 

"Mel-an-choly."

 

He speaks slowly, putting emphasis on the pronuncation.

 

Wide-eyes, clearly getting impatient, makes his own interjection.

 

"The doc means we're guard! Can we fething go now!"

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

The Corporal levels his Lasgun at Wide-eyes, but looks at you.  "He always mouthy like that?"

 

A group begins to gather, and one of them carries the rank of Sergeant, but if he's seen the inside of a Barrack Block, you're a Chief Magistrate.  He brandishes a shotgun.  "That's enough Rook."

 

The Corporal demurs to the senior rank via a shrug, he continues to glare at your Companion.

 

"A doc you say," the Sergeant ignores the hostility of his comrade, bites his lip.  "Colonel will want you.  Follow me."

 

As the group sets off, there's a shove in your back that indelicately guides you, and the Sergeant takes a narrow path to a hovel.  The exterior is a tip, literally.  It seems as though everything inside has been turfed out into a pile.  Handmade and well-worn furniture lies broken and roughly chopped for firewood.  The glass of an old mirror is smashed, decorated with the relief of cherubs and carved images of Sisters, many hands have polished the silver leaf back to bare, base metal and the no-doubt prized heirloom is tarnished.

 

Behind you comes the slam of the chapel doors, followed by the sound of jerry cans being emptied, the fuel-oils being sloshed onto stone and wood.  You are distracted from the...chapel being baptised with petrol, by a knock on the door.

 

"Colonel?"

 

"What?" the demand barks through the door with a hint of pain and more than a dash of impatience.  Over the scent of counterseptic wafting from the door there's another stink lingering in behind the house, under a dense crop of vegetation springing from the back yard.  "Who's there?"

 

"Krause.  Got a Doc."

 

"What the fething frug are you waiting on!  Send the bastard in!  Argh!"

 

"Just so you know," the Sergeant says, "your buddy stays here.  If you mess around in there, or run - he stays here permanently.  Dig?"

 

Rook grins at the implied threat, and slowly pulls no knife the Munitorium would issue.

 

The door opens to reveal a small room beyond, possibly the living space.  In the centre of it, lies a bed of sorts, piled high with blankets and pillows, and upon this lies the Colonel.  A bear of a man, his uniform is a mixture of different Regiments and units, and his ragged breathing is wet and pulpy.  Several nasty wounds glisten in ruddy-red sheen, and his barrel chest is heaped with medals.  His tunic fits ill, and the gold frogging on his epaulettes is stained with browned, old blood.  Across one eye, there rests a patch, but it appears to be a old wound.  His chin sports a beard, but it is singed and torn.

 

Several crates of medical supplies are cast around the room, obviously useless to the people and "Guard" here beyond anything...simple.

 

"What's your name, Sawbones?" the Colonel demands.

[Beren]

Stimms let's out a shrug.

 

"Stitcher, not to be confused with Stitches, not that that's too likely anymore. "

 

He casts a disparaging eye over the pieces of equipment strewn across the room.

 

"Hope I'm not being too impertinent, but it looks like yours can't tell the difference 'tween a scalpel and a syringe."

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms/Stitcher:

 

"Ha!" the 'Colonel' grunts, before raising his good arm.  "You speak the truth.  Lowborn cattle-breds!" he bawls at the door.

 

In a dirty, gore-clotted fist he clutches a bottle.  The sharp, pungent aroma of potentially lethal Proof Rahzvod reaches you as he swirls the bottle.

 

A half-choked sob comes from the back room, obviously a female in some distress.

 

"Shut up, little Preacher's harpy!" he pulls on the bottle, a long swig, before wrestling with his tunic and clothes until the crude bandages are revealed trying to keep his blood where he needs it. "Come over here, Stitcher, Switcher, if that is your real name.  As long as it isn't Snitcher!  Bind me up.  My people need me."

 

The reek of human sweat and grime is only vaguely eclipsed by the booze and counterseptic that has been wastefully poured over him.  He hasn't washed in long enough time to make your eyes water.

 

You'll need a Medicae Test to assess and treat him properly, but there are three wounds in his torso, a deep slash cut on his arm, and his leg is obviously almost gangrenous.  The medicae crates around will provide you with sufficient tools for the job, and there's a old wood saw that might suffice, for...emergencies.  This will be an extended care test with 4 Difficult (-10) Tests.  It is at your discretion to try and treat the leg, (-20) or remove it (+0).

 

I will make Toughness rolls offscreen for every DoF.

 

Should you wish to "pretend" to treat the casualty, that's also possible, but will require Difficult (-10) Deceive Tests vs The Colonel's Scrutiny (which is impaired, but still).

 

Now you are actually inside the hovel, you can see there is a small window, which is big enough to squeeze through, which overlooks the back of the building.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

The battle for Horon seems to be rising in crescendo, hurtling towards that peak flourish of violence just before the orchestra is silenced by the grand finale.  You can hear vicious dogfights above, sometimes seeing them when the canopy breaks overhead.  Your heart follows the soaring and diving Valkyries and Vendettas, perhaps plummeting with them when they are defeated by the ever-present Orkoid Fighta Skwadrons.

 

The engine rattles and chugs at Halbast's urging, his gear changes are rough, but no speed is lost.  As artillery thunders in the background, a bright slash of scarlet comes from behind and, thanks to the distance the thump of the orbital shot striking the ground like hell's anvil is mercifully muted.  The Midshipman doesn't even look at it, the rush of sudden static discharge prickles your body, lifts the ends of your hair.  His stubble twitches, and the underlying power of the las-lance to project such a sensation for so many miles belies the terrifying nature of the warship that sent it.

 

"Orbital ranging shot," Halbast calls over the engine and road noise, "whoever is up there knows hat he's doing."

 

There's an odd look to his face, his tone almost verging on pride, but it vanishes as the radio crackles.  The frequency fuzzes in and out, and although a flight of fancy, it would not be beyond the weird Xenos technology to be affected by atmospheric phenomena.

 

+...any Imper...in...area...assistance...grid 2657...86...Melan...+

 

It cuts off.

 

If you wish you can try and return the radio signal, or wait for more of the message.  It is certainly not an automatic call, but a male, human voice.  If you can think of a way to boost the signal, you may attempt it (Via, Intelligence roll, Survival or some other appropriate skill - the roll will dictate the success or failure of your efforts).

[Steel Company]

 

Survival roll:

 

TN: 33

 

Survial roll: 1d100 42 Fail

 

 

Distracted by the ranging shot, Scarlett paid little attention to the radio and called out, “How far to the LZ do you figure? Do you think we should get the attention of those Vendettas or Valkyries if they get near us?”

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Halbast doesn't take his eyes off the road, he's keeping a good speed and giving himself plenty of time to make the shallow turns along the semi-metalled road to avoid craters and potholes.

 

"I think we're about an hour or so out from the Salvation Line, hard to tell.  We need to get to Sawtooth in any regard.  You could try the gunships," here he breaks off to smile at you.  "Just remember we're driving an enemy vehicle, eh?"

 

You can certainly try to raise the Valkyries/Vendettas if you wish.  The Squorkbox is unsecured however, so you will need to go through frequencies to find something approaching the slick lingo gunship pilots use (fourth wall?)  However, admitting you are in an enemy vehicle may or may not keep you from being blown to bits depending who you talk to...there is no test to find the frequencies, just flavour your post as you please.

 

The test will come in convincing them to help...

[Steel Company]

Charm test:

TN:25

Charm test: 1d100 20 Pass

 

Picking up the input device, Scarlett slides through the channels as she says into the device, “Vipers, come in Vipers.”

 

“Who is this, get off this channel!” a voice came back.

 

Gritting her teeth she continued, even going back to her old unit's vox ID, “Vipers, Hitman 2. Hitman 2 is current in captured vehicle, approximately 1 hour north of Salvation line. We have visual contact on Vipers, will fire to pinpoint location.”

 

Reaching behind her, she depressed the trigger to let off a short burst before calling back on the unit, “Viper, respond on visual contact of burst. Will repeat as needed, Hitman 2 out.”

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

"Hitman 2, Viper 2, we have visual contact.  Bingo fuel, airspace too hot for dust-off.  Will relay position and heading to Sawtooth, acknowledge."

 

The second Vendetta swings in low over the river as he speaks, his intakes howling.  The Weapons Officer waves out of the condensation slick, armoured glass window, before giving a definite thumbs-up.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Steel Company]

"Viper 2, Hitman2, acknowledged. Will continue on to Sawtooth. If extractions becomes possible we will monitor this channel." she says giving a thumbs up to the bird as it goes past. Once it is out of sight she sighs and says to Halbast, "Well, at least they didn't shoot us."