 |
| Good thing we didn't bring Manstein. |
I really like this detail. It makes the hovercar feel quite real. I can feel the thing shifting under me as we stumble uncomfortably into a strange vehicle.
"Anyone else hearing what Manstein would say if he were here?" I ask my subordinates.
Pyriba considers the question a moment, then says, "This is exactly why I never get homesick." It cannot do the accent. Or, at least, the translator does not interpret its humming electrical static as the accent.
I nod. "Yep."
Our company is extremely calm about the whole thing. The locals nod at us as we come by. One explains, through a mouth full of psychedelically glowing teeth, that she was on the streets intentionally because after thousands of years she's just done living. Another says he took the risk to take out the trash, and getting caught is on him. There is a strange attitude of 'this isn't really happening' amongst them. Maybe after living so long they just can't conceive of it actually ending now. After all, what are the chances of a life lasting thousands of years being ended for such a small indiscretion?
I decide rather than making moves with strange technology, after all the planet didn't have any radio transmissions responding to ours, I stand up to the creature and say flatly.
"We are foreign delegates of Astro, an interstellar empire in another Universe. We are here to consult your greatest minds. I demand we speak to your leader at once."
Choice: See Someone in Authority: 121
 |
| I imagine extermination chambers are human scale roach motels. |
Choice: Team Up On Him: 297
 |
| Blimey... this is going to hurt... |
Of course, nothing on 342 says it is, but I'm going to assume so. Every PC determines whether they hit off the first Guard Roll (hitting Bal), but Pyriba's roll defends against the second Guard Roll. This is going to be confusing. Possibly I should just compare Pyriba's Roll directly, as though the second attack was a second combat, but that seems less indicated by the rules... even if it would make more sense.
Round 1
Guard: 15, 17
Welk: 12
Bal: 19-2=17
Pyriba: 18-2=16
Guard: 14
My fist collides hard with the guard's armor, and I pull it back and grasp it in pain. Bal leaps aggressively at the guard, but it just throws her straight back into Pyriba. They fall into a heap. Excellent start.
Round 2
Welk: 12
Bal: 17-2=15
Pyriba: 16-2=14
Guard: 14
I struggle to find an opening in the armor I can exploit, while the guard casually picks up Pyriba and Bal and bashes their heads into each other with brutal force. Thank AstroNavy for helmets.
Round 3
Welk: 19
Bal: 18
Pyriba: 14
Guard: 22, 15
Welk: 12
Bal: 15-2=13
Pyriba: 14-2=12
Guard: 14
Language cannot express how happy I was at that 19, and how quickly the 22 inverted that.
I find the coveted gap in the armor, just under the helmet. I try to squeeze a hand in there... and I do! The jab strikes the skin hard... to no effect. Bal and Pyriba are pushed against the wall, one in each hand, and squeezed until their armor begins to crack.
Round 4
Welk: 12
Bal: 13-2=11
Pyriba: 12
Guard: 14
Breaks are not forthcoming.
Already I am considering surrender again, but the crushing force on Bal makes me realize how impossible that is. As I stand there, ventricles agape, Bal manages to bite the guard's exposed hand. The bite draws no blood or other injury, but it distracts the guard just long enough for Pyriba to wiggle free.
The guard throws Bal across the room. She collides hard with the wall. The metal dents.
Round 5
Welk: 12
Bal: 11-2=9
Pyriba: 12
Guard: 14
That's a lot of 15s...
I grab the hulking brute by the right arm, and Pyriba grabs its left. We heave with all our might, but fail entirely to restrain its forward march as it crosses the room in two steady strides, and kicks Bal in the stomach before she can get up.
Round 6
Welk: 12
Bal: 9
Pyriba: 12-2=10
Guard: 14
I leap up on the creature's back, and try to throttle it, but I am like a young pup clinging to it's mother's back. Pyriba has more success with a sudden bright flare. It distracts the guard long enough for Bal to regain her feet, but the guard, even as it staggers back, lashes out a hand at the irritation, and Pyriba is knocked backwards into the far wall.
Round 7
Welk: 12
Bal: 9-2=7
Pyriba: 10
Guard: 14
Remembering the helmet from before, I try to wrest this brute's helmet free... but it's strapped on tight and my angle on the shoulders is awful. Pyriba keeps its distance, but Bal makes another ill fighted charge, only to be stopped by a fist bigger than my thorax slammed into her stomach.
Round 8
Welk: 12
Bal: 7-2=5
Pyriba: 10
Guard: 14
Bal tries to stagger backwards, but the guard's other hand grabs her head and slams her face down int the ground. I struggle to reach round and tear at its eyes, or the top of the helm, or anything else I can grab, but I may as well be a tempestuous breeze. Pyriba attempts a series of coordinate strikes on the creature. They seem to have little impact, but its practiced motions keep it out of the guard's reach.
Round 9
Welk: 12
Bal: 5-2=3
Pyriba: 10-2=8
Guard: 14
The guard puts a booted foot on Bal's throat even as it grabs a collection of Pyriba's tentacles and wrenches so hard I think its going to rip them off. I leap down from the back and say, "Alright, you've won, just... just take us on."
The guard, entirely unharmed by this fight, nods, and proceeds to drag Pyriba by its tentacles and Bal by her arm, down the hall. I follow meekly.
Thankfully, in this book surrender does not inflict any further damage.
Choice: Surrender: 215
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