9,401, an SF thriller

[zorg]

Lethe sets down Von Bork, and contacts the orbital support. Though a number of armed enemies are advancing on his position, he isn't noticeably troubled.

Lethe (to INS Cheshire)

This is Special Agent Lethe. Requesting orbital strike to the following coordinates...
Opposition consists of four aircars and an unknown number of soft targets. Use heat tracking to pinpoint and identify. I'm transmitting our teams positions, as well as the data feed from our drones.
Switch to Imperial Protocol Delta-Tango-Lima zero-four-one. Acknowledge.

...

No, I specifically prefer NO torpodoes, repeat, NO torpedoes. Make it surgical, if possible.

...

Very well. Execute soonest.

Lethe gives no indication that the imminent obliteration of roughly 30 people bothers him in any way. Noticing the look on Ishikawas face, he shrugs.

Lethe (to Ishikawa)

You know I try to avoid human casualties wherever possible. But I'm afraid it's us or them, right now. Deplorable, but unavoidable.

(to the team)

Orbital strike imminent. Adjust glare compensation accordingly. Be advised that...

He is interrupted by a deafening thunder, and a succession of three blinding white flashes. From the sky, three ruler-straight lightning bolts crash down in rapid succession, each lasting only a heartbeat.

The teams visors darken instantly, but even so, those who didn't turn their eyes away are blinded for a few seconds.

From the outside, the scene has changed dramatically in just a few moments. Two of the spots where the hostile aircars were landed are now glassy patches of burning ground, maybe a dozen meters across. A third smoldering spot, somewhat elongated, has formed where several of the approaching Sons of Patrick Henry were advancing. There is no sign of bodies. Those who have been hit are completely obliterated. Shouts of pain and fear can be heard, as apparently several of the Sons were looking right in the direction of the laser strike, or have been hit by flying debris.
The mansion looks like a scene from a warzone - and in sense, that's what it has become.

Lethe (to Thórrson)

Estimated 100% of the hostiles in group Alpha have been eliminated or rendered unable to fight. Estimated 70% of the hostiles in group Bravo are down, with permanent blindness among the survivors likely. I estimate no more than 50% casualties in group Charlie.

No hostile radio communications detectable.

I recommend holding our position, sir. On the outside, we have 7 to 9 hostiles advancing on us. Further orbital fire is inadvisable due to close proximity of remaining targets to DoJ personnel. We have lost most of our drone feed.

[Icelander]

Lethe (over 'tracee)

Orbital strike imminent. Adjust glare compensation accordingly. Be advised that...

One second, Naiooka is lying on his stomach on the stairwell, with his sliver rifle covering the western approach and the next second, the skies fall. From this deep inside the building, the worst effects shouldn't affect them, but the noise is still a physical shock and hits him like a sledgehammer in the gut.Shockwave attenuated by walls and partial cover from ground. Damage range from 3d to none, roll 3d for relative severity and eyeball it. Roll is 3, Naiooka is not harmed. No chance of shrapnel since he was evidently not in the path of the worst of the blast. We rule that the same zero damage applies to Ashbless, but decide to roll for shrapnel in her case, but it will hit only on a natural 3. Roll is 9, no hit.
Gritting his teeth, Naiooka wishes for his combat armour. For that matter, he wouldn't mind his squad with him and some proper hardened hovering intel support that wasn't fried when the beams struck. He looks over to Lt. Ashbless, who seems unharmed and not as shaken as he'd have expected her to look after a blast by a cruiser's guns. Either she was well trained as a bone saw jockey in the Corps or she's just flat out crazy.Naiooka and Ashbless both make unmodified HT checks for stunning, rolls are 9,10. Both succeed. Fright checks, unmodified for Naiooka (blast far away, routine part of being a Marine) and -2 for Ashbless (not combat personnel, out of practise and not as used to orbital fire). Rolls are 9,10. Both succeed.
Knowing what comes next, Naiooka taps his 'tracee, hoping it still receives and that there is something to receive. His ears are ringing, but he struggles to pick up some sign of the DoJ personnel. Nothing, but Naiooka can't tell it's because they're dead, stunned or just because they're equipment is less robust and was fried by the blast or is being jammed by the cruiser. He decides to find out.Electronics Ops: Comms check 10, success, but Lethe is broadcasting to Thórrson exclusively and Naiooka doesn't have intercept devices, he just has a hardened tac-set.

Naiooka (over 'tracee to whole team)

Ocar Foxtrott Three Tango, Oscar Foxtrott One India, Oscar Foxtrott One Lima; this is Boondocks. Do you read me, over?

Jamming came into effect as the strike finished. It is fully in effect now and no civilian radio is working without the user making a -8 EO: Comms check. Thórrson (-2 for moving at the same time), Ishikawa and Lethe roll 5,5,7. Success for Ishikawa and Lethe.
Ishikawa (over 'tracee, indistinct, with bleed-over and crackling, as well as the faintest suggestion of a melody, growing louder)

Special Agent Ishikawa checking in. I'm fine.

Lethe (over 'tracee, clearer, but transmission quality still low)

Oscar Foxtrott One Lima, checking in. Our sitrep unchanged. Report 100% casualties of Group A, 70% of Group B and 50% of Group C. Over.

Naiooka (over 'tracee)

Copy that. Read you Lima Charlie. Hold your position and try to keep radio contact, but be aware that we may lose comms. Over.

Lethe (over 'tracee)

Copy, holding on. Oscar Foxtrott One Lima out.

Naiooka (over 'tracee)

Oscar Foxtrott Three Tango, come in. This is Boondocks. Oscar Foxtrott Three Tango, come in, say again, come in.

While Naiooka is continues to try to reach Thórrson, Ashbless is looking at him with an inquiring face. After what seems like a very long time, Naiooka shakes his head slowly. Before Ashbless says anything, Naiooka stops her.

Naiooka (to Ashbless, in a low voice)

We're getting a lot of interference, he's probably just got his comms down. The Cheshire is putting a lot of sensor rad down on us and it's getting worse. By the time the Marines get here, it will be enough to give anyone not shielded by walls a bad case of Funny Looking Kids and fry all electronics that aren't mil-spec.

Ashbless (to Naiooka, with a determined nod)

You're right, Corp. And anyway, we've got other things to think of now. Kemal's gotta take care of himself.

You've got operational command, Corp, so what's next? Do we stay put or do we move to take care of Group C?

Naiooka (unflappable)

We go. If Group A was hit that hard, the main doors are our biggest vulnerability. We can approach from that side room, take a look-see and get back here without too much risk if we leave now. Don't want anyone coming in behind us and we can't rely on the Inspector blocking two groups.

You cover the west as we move, sir. No sense in taking risks on our estimates being a little off.

Ashbless nods and they move out for a room which looks like a sitting room. All the windows are vaporised and most of the furniture is blasted beyond hope of recognition. The curtains and cushions are burning, so they both put on their respirators. Ashbless walks sideways with her carbine covering their rear and Naiooka proceeds in the peculiarly stiff CQB walk taught to all Marines, to provide as stable a firing platform as possible. The barrel is pointed slightly downward and he sweeps it slowly from side to side as he scans the room.

At the entrance of the foyer, Naiooka stick his gun around the corner for a look-see. What he sees around the main entrance is a scene of bloody carnage, right out of a nightmarish Goya-painting. Burnt flesh and shattered bodies litter the floor and it takes Naiooka some time to any sign of life. One Tango, still dazzled by the blasts, lying on his back with his face vaguely in Naiooka's direction. One unconscious hostile still breathing, but from the way his leg is twisted out of shape and his hair is mostly burned off, Naiooka concludes that he's probably out of it. His gun is nowhere near his hand, anyway. And there's one of the opposition still standing, with a gun in his hand, looking in the other direction. From the looks of it, the rest of Group C is dead or at least not in the building. Naiooka makes an Observation roll. Skill 14. Roll is 13. Made by 1. Assume that whatever stun the hostiles suffered has passed. Fright checks for them both at -4, final score 8. Rolls are 8 and 6. Neither is panicked. Roll Per vs. Stealth for the wounded man to notice the gun at -2 for wounds, -5 for size, -3 for range, +10 for looking right at it. Final score 12. Rolls are 14 vs. 16. Failed by 2 vs. made by 0.

Briefly, Naiooka considers whether the Tango on the ground can be taken alive. But he's conscious, looking towards them and he has a cone rifle in his hand. Valid target. Naiooka sets his rifle for semi-auto subsonic fire, not wanting to alert other hostiles if he doesn't have to. Hoping that Lt. Ashbless is up-to-date on Marine signals, he gives her a sign to follow him around the corner and cover the inside of the house. Pointing towards the selector switch of her carbine, he indicates rapid fire and full power. If something goes wrong, she'll give him surpressive fire.

Naiooka steps around the corner and levels his weapon at the hostile on the floor. He aims at his head and squeezes the trigger twice for a quick double-tap. Observation at Per to spot the gun. Roll is 10. Sees something. IQ roll to interpret it. Roll is 10, made. Roll for Initiative. Naiooka at 1d+3 and tango at 1d. Rolls are 6 vs. 3. Stunned for the first round. Skill 18. Range -3, skull -7, Acc 6+3, HUD +3. Roll is 12, both hit. Damage is 3d pi- + 4d ex in flesh. Rolls are 7 and 12. Kinetic damage is 68. Explosive damage is 16, 16; total damage 128.

There's no sonic boom, no explosive propellant. The gun gives a little buzz as the charge is drained and Naiooka hears the little screech that he always hears when he fires an autosliver. Regimental doctors tell him that he's got an unusual wide range of hearing and most people can't hear such a high-pitched noise. Whatever the reason, he finds the sound comforting as long as it's him holding the gun. The head of the Tango explodes into chunks of red. Naiooka steps to the side and moves his gun to the other Tango. He takes aim, prepared to shoot him if he moves so much as a muscle.Per check for Tango, at -4 for ringing ears, -3 for distance, -3 for not fired directly at him and +12 for noise. Final score 14. Roll is 10. IQ roll to recognise as gunshot is 5. Initiative roll, N at 1d+3 and tango at 1d. Rolls are 6 and 6. Both act, N higher BS breaks tie.

Evidently, the Tango has got a wide range of hearing as well, since he starts turning immediately. Naiooka has no time to get a clear sight picture and just fires three quick shots at his face as he comes around. Skill 18, +3 HUD, -3 range, -5 head. Roll is 14. One hit to the torso. Damage is 15, DR is 15, halved to 7. Kinetic damage is 4. Explosive damge is 9. Major wound. Consciousness roll 6. Knockdown roll is 16. Unconscious. Ashbless fires (had been Waiting) before she sees that. Skill 16. Range -3, -2 opportunity fire, Acc 5+2, +3 HUD, RoF +2. Roll is 8, 8 slivers hit the torso. 1 hits the vitals. Damage is (24,19,30,22,23,17,32,23). Kinetic damage is 96. Explosive damage is 14d +2d (x3). Total 59+15=74.

Before the Tango can bring his gun to bear, Ashbless fires a long burst at his center of mass. The cracks sound very loud in the devastated foyer and the slivers cut him almost in half. He falls heavily to the ground. Naiooka checks his surroundings as Ashbless keeps her gun trained towards the inside of the building. No threats are visible. The silence is deafening.

[Icelander]

The noise hit Thórrson like a physical thing, throwing him to the ground as if pole-axed from behind. There was no warning, no rolling blast of flame to dodge or shelter from, just this thunder exploding all around him. Bright lights suggest that windows and maybe walls have splintered and exposed the hallway to the outdoors and small fires start burning in easily combustible materials. Thórrson feels like his insides are crushed and is conscious of bits and pieces from the walls around him flying around. A dull pain in the leg informs him that he's been hit, but as he recovers his wits, it doesn't seem to be serious. The leg takes his weight as he stands up and he starts running again. Rolling for severity of shock, 8. Damage 6d, roll 26. Torso DR is 70 vs. cr. (TL 11 clamshell+reinforced skeleton), least protected is DR 10 vs. cr. DR 40. Half the damage counts for blunt trauma, total of 2 HP. Severity of possible fragments, 11. Attack with skill 12, damage 2d. Critical hit, 3. 4 fragments hit, one is critical. Hit locations hit are 15, 9, 12, 7. Critical effect is 11. Locations are right hand, torso, left arm and right leg. Damage is 5,2,4,10. DR is 12 for hand, 24 for limbs, 60 for torso. 1 HP for blunt trauma to right leg. Thórrson rolls Fright check with -10 for a destructive orbital blast close to him (30-50 yds), with +5 for heat of battle and with a +3 for being prepared for the fire, for a total of modified 15, reduced to 13 because of the Rule of 14. Roll is 13, success. HT check vs. stunning is 15, failure. Rolls 10 next turn, stunned for 1 turn and then recovers.
He forces himself not to limp as he turns into a magnificent library on two floors. Up on the second floor he thinks he can cover the eastern approach well enough, since there's only one way to get past the library on the way from the guest wing to the stairs down to basement and that hallway is within his line of sight as long as the doors are open. Thórrson pushes a desk ahead of himself and jams it in front of the open door and then runs back with his gun covering the likely path of enemies. He doesn't expect them until a minute or two have passed, but there's no harm in playing things a bit safe. He takes the stairs two at a time on his way up to his shooting position on top of the upper walkway. He thinks that the hallway behind him will lead him to some service stairs that can take him down to the basement, but he's not sure he can trust his recollection from his looks at Lethe's map. In any event, the basement is somewhere behind him and he expects the suspects to come from the front.Thórrson rolls a Tactics check with a -2 penalty for outside his specialisation, +1 bonus for his comp and visor, +1 bonus for sensor data and information about the house and a +1 bonus for not being rushed. Roll is 13, success by 2. Enemy leader rolls at unmodified skill, we'll assume that he actually has Tactics at 11 (professional army NCO level). Roll is 15, failure by 4.
There are two ways to enter the library when coming from the east, from what Thórrson can tell. A set of double doors that are the most natural way and then there's the door he jammed open. A cautious and talented assault leader might also circle around and come through a door on the south-east side, but Thórrson has no idea how long that circle is. He assumes from his look at the sensor data that there's no direct way to that hallway from the east wing and it's unlikely that anyone can get there. Nonetheless, Thórrson throws his sticky grenade at the south doors to hold them shut, just in case the suspects try to get clever. Next he readies a tear-gas grenade and throws it into the room beyond the double doors so that anyone coming through will be blinded and uncomfortable and then he crouches down in the best cover he can find to wait for them to cross his line of fire. He sets his visor to flash red if anyone comes out the other two doors.Throwing roll at +4 for area, -4 for range, skill 15. Roll is 11, hit. Foam grenade makes it hard to open the door. Next throw is 12, a hit. Gas spreads in the room beyond the library.

[Icelander]

Ashbless

Front is clear.

Naiooka (while checking behind them)

So's our six.

The pair checks that every enemy is unconcious and kick weapons away from their hands, even when they look stone cold dead. Naiooka hails Lethe with his comm gear but receives no reply. Ashbless's comm gear flashes a red error message on her visor informing her that electronic noise makes it quite impossible to send or receive with it. The source of the jamming is revealed as they can both hear the faint strains of Old Earth music. Where have all the young men gone? asks the singer rhetorically and the answer seems painfully obvious to Ashbless and Naiooka as they survey the scene of death around them. Gone for soldiers everyone. When will they ever learn?

Ashbless

That means that we've accounted for the front group and most likely the west group as well. We should check on Thórrson and see if he needs any help on his end.

Naiooka (fiddling with ihs comm gear)

Not unless we can raise him on the 'tracee. If we come unannounced from behind him, we'll risk friendly fire.

Ashbless (angrily)

But what if the Inspector is wounded... or worse?

Naiooka (cooly)

Then he waits for a Marine medic. We didn't have time to draw up proper areas of responsibility, but he has the east wing and he'll expect enemies in his rear before he'll expect us.

Ashbless (with ill-concealed fury in her voice)

Are you saying that we may have a man down and all you can suggest is that we just wait here to be rescued? I outrank you, Corporal, and you'll do well to remember it.

Naiooka (professionally)

With respect, sir, the Inspector gave me command over our post. And I'm not just suggesting that we wait.

We can proceed from this foyer to the doors to whatever rooms ahead. It's midway between the position where Inspector Thórrson probably means to set up his post and the stairs down to the basement. From there we may see the Inspector or at least be able to protect his retreat. And it's near enough to the basement that the risk of friendly fire is less, as the Inspector has to expect anyone he sees could be us.

Ashbless (mollified)

Let's get going, then. An Imperial servant does not leave brothers-in-arms behind, not this servant, at least.

Naiooka and Ashbless start out into the house, both falling easily into the habits learned in their Marine training. Scan for threats, move fast, but keep the body stable enough to fire accurately at a moments notice. Naiooka takes the lead, staying slightly to the right and Ashbless takes the left side and stays far enough back so that a single grenade or burst can't take them both. Neither one speaks while they walk and the sound of their footsteps is as muted as they can make them.