USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006 FOURTH ASSIGNMENT (COMBAT)- 'The Real'

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Breach confirmed

Situation must be contained.

Eliminate all humans in the breached area.

System units will concentrate on eliminating the source.

Humans must be eliminated by external means.

Re-deployment of all forces confirmed by supervising unit as correct strategy.

Strike initiated.

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Welcome, then, to the special Combat Path Episode!

Holy Crap! 3000 sentinels in the real world! SLIGHTLY different to last time then...

As we are in the real world, let's remind ourselves of a few things-

1. Your powers don't work. Doh!

2. Your stat boosts don't work. Doh!

3. Your skill boosts DO. They work in the real world. if you had a super-skill boost (that brings a skill past 4), that wouldn't work, but none of you have that. Less doh!

Martial Arts in the real world kinda becomes more like brawling. You just don't have that ridiculously good timing you have in the real world. Still, those with higher MA values sstill have a certain skill when it comes to a punch up. Trouble is, trying to punch a sentinel to death doesn't work well.

Guns works just fine, and will fire the energy weapons you carry also, as well as manning the ship guns.

If you lack a Gun skill, the ship guns alone can be fired on Dex + Hoverpilot also, but not the energy weapons.

If you lack everything it is down to Dex only for these things. Well, that's how it is; some are better than others at this real world lark.

So... how do we manage a fight against 3000 sentinels? Good question, and there is in fact a unique system for this. But we'll come to that soon (and I still need to get all the details togteher anyway). basically, the job of the ship gunners is to keep sentinels away from the ship as long as possible. The two ships are dvided into parts, each of which can take a certain amount of damage before falling away. So problem one is that sentinels cause enough damage to wreck the ship; problem two is if they get inside and try to eat you from there.

Sentinels come from different angles; different guns can cover different areas. Sheer random factor will tell us what sentinels come from where.

We also need pilots for those tricky rolls. Sequel will do the job on the Shez; Marduk will fly the Percy if no-one else can, but that derpives you of a gunner.

In case Captains are not avilable to deal with the strategic situation, Info: Sewer System may also be very useful.

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In the last game the Combat Path was about straight success/failure for the whole group. Not so this time. There is no arbitrary success/failure. There is simply one question for each ship- how many of you live?

This is your most dangerous situation yet and casualties are extremely possible. Work hard, work well, and things may go well.

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Meanwhile...

The Shez has five guns

It has two top turrets. They can fire in all directions but cannot hit anything below the ship. Also, the left turret cannot fire past the right turret directly to the right of the ship and vice versa.

It has two lower turrets. They can also fire in all directions but cannot hit anything above the ship. The two turrets again block each other's sight.

It has one front gun. This is very flexible and can fire up and down in any direction save directly forwards the rear of the ship.

The smaller Percy has three guns- one top, one lower, one front. As the more nimble ship it may be able to avoid trouble in other ways though.

So my first question is... who is going where?

Sorry, made an error there, now corrected- one turret a piece at the FRONT of the ship, not the rear. Engines are in the way at the rear.

(Front gun is not literally in the front, but below the cockpit a la nose turrets on WWII bombers. It sticks out a bit and can swivle up and down to hit all angles but cannot actually turn 180 degrees to fire backwards as that would involve... firing through the ship).

Alright.
Me and Ares need to take the two most covering Gun platforms. Simply because this is our shit.
I'm thinking, seeing as we're running straight into them, the front gun needs to be manned the most. So I'll take that.
Then Ares could take a top one? if he wants?
And everyone else can fill in the rest.

Barb is open to suggestions.

And he never got a response from Marduk, nor a handshake. =P

I'd pilot it if I had the skills. Also, if we fail do those of the philo guys on the ship that gets destroyed get killed too?

Yup!

Okay, Shez, listen up!

Here's your Gun pools in the Real World, since you don't have Dexterity boosts...

MORS- 5 (Dex 3 + Guns 1 + Hoverpilot 1)
FIRE- 7 (Dex 3 + Guns 3 + Hoverpilot 1)
ARES- 8 (Dex 4 + Guns 3 + Gunner Bonus 1)
BURN- 8 (Dex 4 + Guns 3 + Gunner Bonus 1)
HAWK- 5 (Dex 3 + Guns 2)

So that's that.

Now, positioning...

Burn having the front gun works for me. His spot might be a problem when (if) we get ahead of the Sentinels and we're being chased but...we'll see.

That leaves the other four. Hawk and myself are both a bit wanting in gunnery skill, but Ares and Fire are both quite good at it, so one skilled and one less skilled per pair.

I would like to go topside, and Rex tells me he would also, so Fire and Hawk shall go with the belly guns. Everyone's got their part to do.

Fire, you have no idea how happy I am that you have Hoverpilot, I was afraid we'd have Ares and then three less skilled gunners...

TOP 1: Ares
TOP 2: Mors
BOTTOM 1: Fire
BOTTOM 2: Hawk
FRONT: Burn

Where will Dallas be during all of this? Or does he want to gun?

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Meanwhile, Percy...

SAN- 3 (Dex 3)
CLOUD- 3 (Dex 3)
MELIS- 3 (Dex 3)
BARB- 7 (Dex 4 + Guns 3)

Oh boy.

My suggestion is that Barb gets the nose gun, but other than that...oh boy. You guys are going to be in for quite a game...

If the Percy can be piloted on Dexterity alone without too much dying as a result, I say let Marduk snatch one of those guns and let him take his pick! Otherwise, San, Cloud, and Melis can bicker about who gets the last two guns...

I think San should get one, since she's First Officer, and Melis is quite motivated to do whatever it takes to save Klez, so she will want a turret or will volunteer to pilot if we can do that...

That's all up to San, though.

I'm fine with that, Mors. Hawk will man the left belly gun.

Sounds good, Mors, Ares will call top left so we can have cover the left side with a Gunner and gunner. You with me on this, Hawk?

"Let's show them that we can fight 'em anywhere, any time!" Ares shouts, strapping himself into the gunner's seat for his turret. He flips switches on the controls, having been through this run-through of the system a million times but now finally getting to use it in a real-time combat situation. "Those squid-buckets want a fight? We'll give them a fight!"

Mors is silent as he straps himself in, powering up the top right turret.

Hawk straps in and powers up the turret.

"Got that right!" he shouts back to Ares. "Might as well be attacking us with a few tin cans!"

Okay.

Good lord, we're screwed on the Percy. Damnit, why are all our people who are good at guns on the Philo path?

If piloting and not dying is possible on dex alone, then I'd like San to pilot so Marduk can get on a gun (and I'm just stating this right now - if we ever get our xp from the first game *hinthint* I'm getting the Hoverpilot skill). If that's possible, then Marduk should take the front gun, Barb one of the others, and Melis and Cloud can decide who takes the third (seems Melis really wants it).

If that's not possible, then Barb should take the front gun, and then the remaining three of us split ourselves on the two remaining guns. Again, Melis seems to want one, so then it'd be between Cloud and San for the third.

...seriously, I have no idea what the hell we should do here, we're in massive trouble.

"Hell Yea buddy," Burn responds via comm," Most kills win as usual! Prepare to get your ass handed to you!"

I'll wait for Ush to confirm what it is that Marduk is doing, before taking action.

"Let's just try to kill em all guys!"

I'll take my seat, flip the switch and wait for the squidies to come around the corner.

Mors, though grim, adopts a noble air and speaks into his headset.

"Gentlemen, just in case there is not time to say this once things heat up, I just want you all to know that it's been an honor serving alongside you. Though we don't know whether we're riding on to victory or riding straight into the jaws of Hell, there's nobody that I would rather die alongside.

"However, for once I am going to adopt Dallas's optimism in this situation. The prospect is grim, but gentlemen? Prepare to show the Machines that we don't need to defy gravity to kick their asses three thousand ways from Zion to 01!"

Mors smiles slightly as the targeting systems flash to life on the viewscreen, his hands clasping the triggers.

"Persepolis...see you on the other side of that storm cloud."

Melis straps herself in.

"We'll beat you there," Melis says as she snaps on her headset and straps in. She closes her eyes as she settles her hands on the unfamiliar triggers.

Come on, Klez, how do you work this damned thing...

The only skill that I have that could be of use in the real world is medicine. Which would mean that I could run from gunner position to gunner position healing people, right?

Unfortunately, lacking Hoverpilot won't cut it for flying. So Marduk will have to take the helm.

Incidentally, Finn and Ariadne can both shoot a little.