Lancer: Fires of Rubicon — IC

[BartNL]

<Let's focus and continue with the mission.>Nemo says matter of factly. Needless deaths. What was that boss thinking.

Info

Is there anything else of interest in this part of the mine?

[ratwizard]

<A successful mission indeed,> NO-SANCTUARY cheers through their squad comms. <We shall celebrate tonight. The first of many!>

[Fialova]

<What is there left to it?> Eydis asks Nemo. <The dissidents have been put down.> Someone else can investigate further, our job is done as far as we've been told.

[KupoTheMagus]

A buzz on the monitors of your mechs. A weakened signal due to the depth of the mines. A voice to follow.

<Echo-3, this is dispatch checking in. Status update.>

[Namelessjake]

DEFCON clicks over to the correct channel and replies.

<All hostiles neutralised - no casualties on our side>

[KupoTheMagus]

<Roger that. Search the caverns for anything recoverable. Sending a bird your way.>

[Namelessjake]

<Copy that> DEFCON replies, before clicking his coms back to just the squad.

<Well guess we're looking around until our extraction gets here> he says, changing course from the exit to explore the cavern further.

 

[ratwizard]

<We shall split up, to cover more ground. I will take this path,> NO-SANCTUARY declares, heading for the western chamber more reinforcements arrived from earlier.

[BartNL]

<Nemo heading north.>Nemo replies.

[greysigil]

<I will stay in here, search the wrecks, see if there is anything of note.> Ezra says over comms, looking to start with the one that seemed to be their leader.

[KupoTheMagus]

DEFCON and Nemo

Heading northward brings you to the door that the last living enemy was attempting to retreat through. The large steel doors do not respond to your approach. A panel lies to the right.

NO-Sanctuary

Heading to the western room, you find what appears to be a small hangout spot near the smaller of the two large crag formations. Papers lie on a table covered with playing cards and death-sticks. Metal chairs line the perimeter of the circular table; beds lie to the south.

Medusa

Besides bits of shrapnel left behind by the obliteration of the boss's mech, inside where his body used to be you find something in a cobalt blue, shining deep into the wreckage.

[Namelessjake]

<I guess one of us is going to have to hop out> DEFCON says over the radio, swapping channels to just talk to NEMO, as he realizes neither of their mechs have the ability to activate the control panel.

He hits a couple of buttons in his cockpit and unstraps himself as the Horizon Tempest’s canopy opens. He grabs his weapon and steps forward out of the mech, he climbs down to the panel, keeping his gun close at the ready.

<Cover me while I get back on board,> he says to NEMO, before attempting to activate the panel.

[ratwizard]

Antayes pilots Deliverance in closely, using his scanners to zoom in on the papers laying on the table. Now what were these heathens reading about? Plans of rebellion? Or mundane, debased, 'popular' culture?

OOC

Anything interesting?

[KupoTheMagus]

OOC, Jake

I will need a Hack/Fix skill check to attempt to open the door.

N-S

Most of what you find is scorecards, presumably from poker night. You do spot a small folder buried underneath all of it with a label: Babylon.

[ratwizard]

Babylon, Antayes considers. A code-name? An operation? Curious.

He slaps the STANDBY button in his cockpit. Deliverance lowers to a few feet above the ground, the blast-glass flipping forward and out. The towering Celestin unbuckles and hops down, before stepping toward the table to investigate further.

[Fialova]

<I will search overhead, see if anything comes into view from above,> Eydis responds, finding herself annoyed that they are being made to search the cavern after being made to kill all of the miners. She turns on her thrusters and heads close to the top over the cavern, gazing around to see if anything interesting reveals itself from this new perspective.

[Namelessjake]

<No joy> DEFCON says as his efforts to open the door via the panel fail.

<You want a go at the panel or should we try blowing our way through?> He asks NEMO over the coms, as he starts climbing back up to his cockpit.

Mechanics

[1d20]=3

[BartNL]

<Let me take a look at it first.> Nemo replies.

Mechanics

[1d20+2]=4+2=6 Hack/Fix

[greysigil]

What have we here? Ezra thinks as he catches sight of the object. He bows the HALITREPHES, extending its arm down towards the demolished cockpit, before readying his sidearm and climbing out of his own, walking gracefully down the arm to investigate.

[KupoTheMagus]

N-S

You grab the folder and pop it open. The first thing you see is a basic manual on piloting these mining mechs. How to get in, warning signs of overheating, etc. The second batch of papers you find is much more interesting. Plans. Some sort of flying mech. The plans are in their infancy and don't go further than a sketch or parts list, but as you read more closely, you realize the sheer size of what this mech was to be. Hundreds of feet long, multiple separate weapon platforms, living space, the works.

Eydis

Searching overhead, you find a few more nodes of this red crystal ore. Support beams line the crystal ensuring no hazardous falling rocks. As you approach, the crystal faintly glows.

DEFCON and Nemo

The two of you spend a couple of minutes entering random passwords only to be met with "Incorrect Password". You pop open the panel to try and hotwire the door but with no luck.

Medusa

Being careful, you step onto the shredded cockpit of the Demolisher mech and reach inside. Getting pass the shrapnel, you pluck out a perfectly round azure sphere with a glass-like surface. It's ice cold to the touch.

[greysigil]

Ezra snaps a couplepictures of the orb with his slate and sends them to the rest of Echo-3, before clicking on his comms. <I have found an orb of unknown material. Seems to be safe, but cold to the touch. I've sent pictures for reference>

[BartNL]

<Defcon, up for blasting the door?> Nemo asks.

[Namelessjake]

<I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't> DEFCON replies, a smile forming across his face.

He grabs a thermite charge from his belt and sets it up against the door. He backs off to a safe distance, taking cover behind a leg of his mech, before hitting the detonator.

<Fire in the hole!>

[BartNL]

As Defcon sets the explosives, Nemo enters his mech, and moves to a safe distance.

[ratwizard]

Antayes takes and stows the folder labeled Babylon, finding the plans for a massive mech interesting. Some armchair engineer having fun on his lunch break, I see. Perhaps he should have been designing mechs and not holding Lancer Academy property for ransom.

Hopping back into Deliverance, he shuts the blast glass and fires up her engines.

<Copy that, Medusa. En route to your location,"> comes the reply of NO-SANCTUARY across their squad comms, as he heads their way.

[Fialova]

<More of those red crystals up here,> Eydis says to the others, as the go about their business on the ground. <They glow when I get too close, not sure what that's about.>

[KupoTheMagus]

The charges on the door detonate, sending the slightly rusted blast door off it's hinges. It falls to the ground with a sounded "Bwung".

As Echo-3 searches the cavern, slowly and surely the sounds of a heavy aircraft begin to come into earshot.

<Echo-3, this is C6-Falcon. Evac is ready.>

[ratwizard]

<You heard the call, let's get moving. Perhaps we can beat the other squads back to the mess hall,> NO-SANCTUARY says into the group comms, the smile coming through in his proud tone. First mission accomplished, and no worse for wear. Those miners stood no chance to our resolve. Shall they all be this trivial?

[greysigil]

Ezra climbs his way back up to the cockpit of the HALITREPHES, cradling the icy sphere, careful not to risk dropping it. He finds a space to nestle it securely before settling back into the controls and standing.
<Copy that, good to move.> He replies over the group comms. Damn shame about the casualties, but such is the way, bare your fangs and risk losing it all.

[BartNL]

The Nautilus moves into the now opened door to see what's on the other side.
<I want to have a quick look at what is behind the secured door before we go. We went to some trouble getting it open after all.>

[Namelessjake]

<We'll meet you at the exfil point> DEFCON adds as he climbs back up to his cockpit and prepares to follow NEMO through the now open door.

[Fialova]

<Alright, don't take too long,> Eydis responds, ignoring the door and returning to the evac point with the others. We worked as a team and killed a bunch of rebel miners. Doesn't feel like we accomplished much, but a mission's a mission. Hopefully the next one is more thrilling.

[ratwizard]

Antayes holds a beat, finding himself intrigued by the more adventurous among Echo-3. <DEFCON, Nemo: NO-SANCTUARY inbound for ancillary support. I shall see the rest of you at the LZ.>

He pilots Deliverance toward the directions his sensors pick up the blasts. Ogenta, may your light shine on whatever we may find.

[KupoTheMagus]

Defcon and Nemo

The door flies open. On the other side, the cavern drops at least thirty feet to a pool of water. To the left of the door, more of these red crystals. But these crystals glow bright red. They seem to hum, vibrate, in a cacophonous resonating unison. To the right, the cave goes further, though looking unexplored. Signs labeled "Danger! Cave-ins" stand large, side to side, acting like a barrier.

The large magnetic dropship hovers just above the cave entrance as it drops down containers for each of your mechs, six in count.

[Namelessjake]

<Looks like we're done here,> DEFCON says as he surveys what lies beyond the door. <Just more of the mine. They didn't get the door open during the fight and this cavern looks unexplored so I doubt anyone is in there,> he assesses.

<Let's get to the extraction point,> he says to Nemo as he starts moving the Horizon Tempest towards the cave exit.

[BartNL]

Info

How would I go about taking a sample of the crystals?

[KupoTheMagus]

For Bart

You could attempt to use your mech to saw it off / otherwise chip it.

[BartNL]

<DEFQON, Deliverance, please stand by. I am taking a sample of these crystals.>
The Nautilus heads to the humming crystals, to take a sample by breaking of a piece. Let's find out what secret these crystals hold.

[ratwizard]

Antayes pilots the Deliverance along, arriving at the uncovered site, passing DEFCON aboard the Horizon Tempest. <On standby,> he transmits over comms, keeping a watchful eye on his sensors while Nemo collects samples. <Awful bright, aren't they?>

[KupoTheMagus]

Bart/Rat

As you extract the red crystal, you hear the faintest sound of a voice, but it's only there for a split second. The mined chunk goes dark.

[BartNL]

<Mission completed, let's move for the EP.>
The Nautilus heads back to the extraction point. What was that?

[ratwizard]

Damnable crystals. The sooner we are gone, the better.

<Wilco, Nemo. I'm on your tail.> The Deliverance moves to follow.

[greysigil]

<All clear in there? Heading to the bird now.> Ezra says over the comms as he sees the trio emerge from the blasted out door, before turning and lumbering the HALITREPHES towards the exit.

[Namelessjake]

<All done, let's get back to base,> DEFCON replies to Medusa, making for the extraction point.

[KupoTheMagus]

The mag clamps from the dropship latch onto each of your mechs before retracting protective cases around each of them.

<So Echo-3, how'd ya first mission go? Was it everything you thought it'd be?>

The shuttle begins to pull off the ground before your mechs and shells are fully retracted into the ship, leaving you each in that dreaded emergency red lighting with HUDs flashing details of your mechs and their ammo consumption, battery used, etc.

[Namelessjake]

<We got the job done with no casualties and minimal damage, couldn't have gone much better,> DEFCON replies checking over the readouts on his HUD as he starts to power the mech down now it's safely aboard their extraction dropship.

[ratwizard]

<The rebels put up a fight,> NO-SANCTUARY adds. <Albeit not a very good one. Waiting for evac took longer than dealing with them. Order has been restored, and Echo-3 is off to the next task.>

[greysigil]

Ezra holds the sphere, poking at it and examining it closer, now that they all are relatively safe in the transport ship. He remains quiet in response to the question, letting the others talk the mission through. We did what we needed to do. Nothing more, nothing less.

[BartNL]

<Mission completed, ready for debriefing.> Nemo replies.
<Should I tell about the crystals humming?>

[Fialova]

<I thought they'd be smarter, or more of a threat,> Eydis responds, still disappointed in the miners for their perceived stupidity in her mind. <But the threat is neutralized, new miners should be safe to send in.> A shame we had to kill all of these, but serves them right for attack a Lancer group. What were they even thinking?