Star Wars Episode 2.1q: The Fall of Eraydia (RIP)

[dpdx]

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Key:
*: Bladegrass
^: Dirt Berm
O: Hatch

S: STAPs
&: Herd Animal

t: Tilon
k: Kerraccor
d: Denny
p: Pog
s: Shom
j: Ka Jor (inside)
h: Hiru (inside)

(This is by no means to scale: it's just meant to give you a general idea of your situation. I'll do a more detailed map when it becomes necessary.)

 

[dpdx]

As the heroes look out toward the detail, a third GAT repulsortank comes into view. Certainly, rushing one of these tanks would be suicidal.

Meanwhile, the STAPs, flying above the bladegrass, have advanced upon your position ahead of the main detail, remaining (but not for long) just outside handheld blaster range. Fortunately, even with the firepower of the tanks, the droids are making slow progress through the bladegrass. Your best estimates put the main force ten minutes away from breaking through.

To the east, the herd has moved into your sea of bladegrass, roughly 1 minute from your position. (Shom identifies these animals as 'gormaloks'.) Unaffected by the grass, they happily set to munching. A closer look at them reveals why: their bodies are covered by a natural armor whose hardness registers nary a scratch from the deadly weeds.

A single gormalok seems intensely curious but cautious, and is approaching you at the eastern edge of the 100m x 200m clearing left by the Sanctuary. You believe it would probably run back into the fatal shrubbery at the first sign of violent noise.

The ship's final landing has buried it somewhat into the countryside, so that even standing atop the hatch, the Wookiee's head is the only one that rises above the surrounding berm, easily sloping 10m above the surrounding ground.

The noise of the wind through the bladegrass is deafening, or would be if you were forced to stay in it for very long.

Tilon, Pog and Kerracor have slid down the topside hull of the ship behind the berm, weapons at the ready. [Map update immediately following.]

Tilon meditates upon the Force, and feels a slight pulse through his synapses. [+2 to DEX for 10 rounds, expends 3 VP for this action.]

Shom turns on his comlink and shouts, with some effort, "So. Do we think we can take two STAPs, or do we surrender and look for an opening later?"

[Majority/consensus will determine initial action, but if anybody fires, initiative is rolled (after the surprise round you'd get) and combat commences.]

 

[dpdx]

Updated Map

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Key:
*: Bladegrass
^: Dirt Berm
O: Hatch

#s: STAPs
&: Gormalok

t: Tilon
k: Kerraccor
d: Denny
p: Pog
s: Shom
j: Ka Jor (inside)
h: Hiru (inside)

(Not to scale - refer to text description of ranges.)

 

[eoghanbt]

Tilon continues to concentrate, reaching out with his feelings, taking in the vibrations of air, the shrieking of the grass, the crunch of the gormalak's hooves upon the soil...
<Battlemind skill use....>

His eyes open slowly, focussing upon the lone Gormalak, arms at his sides in a nonthreatening posture...attempting to read the gentle creature's attitude...

<Can you /use/ empathy on an animal?>

He says, not too loud but loud enough, "I don't think it'll run...if that grass cant' hurt it, it can't be afraid of much..."

 

[dpdx]

Can you /use/ Empathy on an animal?

[You certainly can, but the advantage it gives Tilon to Handle Animal can't be used by him, since that's a trained-only skill.

In fact, none of the crew has Handle Animal, not even Shom. Perhaps one of the refugees can help you, provided 1) the animal comes back after all this business with the Seps; and 2) there's a nerf farmer or something similar among the refugees. ]

Tilon activates his Battlemind Force skill, and receives a +3 bonus to attacks for the next 10 rounds. This also costs him 5 VP.

(edit: Incidentally, this leaves him with 3 VP.)

[And oh, yes, the Empathy check Tilon reaches out with the Force toward the gormalok, and manages to read its feelings of contentment and curiosity, tinged with a slight amount of confusion as it looks over the different beings in front of it, many of whom it has never seen before.

 

[Toric_Arthendain]

Kerraccor growls and nods his head towards the STAPs, saying that they are the least of his worries. He believes that they can be dealt with. He's more worried about the repulsortanks and will vocalize this to Shom and anyone else that can understand Shyriiwook. He holds his bowcaster with the business end pointed at the ground, but ready to bring it to bear at the first sign of trouble.

 

[Pbartender]

Shom turns on his comlink and shouts, with some effort, "So. Do we think we can take two STAPs, or do we surrender and look for an opening later?"

"Feh!" Denny scoffs as he draws his blaster pistols, "If you'd like, Captain, I can pluck those two devils down like bottles on a rail."

Denny calls back down into the ship's hatch, "Pog, my man, you wouldn't happen to have anything highly flammable on hand down in the engine room, would you?"

 

[maddmic]

Pog stares at the impending doom and absentmindedly answers the wookie. "Yes, yes, those STAPS can be dealt with easier than the tanks. The question is do we want to deal with them though? I mean, how bad could this situation be right now. Maybe they'll let us go? I doubt they'll let us go if we open fire on them or are hostile to them in any manner." That being said, Pog nervously holsters the blaster that he tried so hard to free from it's confines. He then shifts his belongings from one arm to the other.

At the requet of Denny he replies without taking his eyes off the approaching STAPS. "I don't know what's down there. I'm sure that there's something down there which can cause a large explosion or something. Surely not an explosion large enough to take out a tank though. How about we let them take us to their leader and then we can parlay for our freedom? I'm sure that they just want to ask us a few questions."

He shifts his belongings again in his hands and then as a stroke of genius hits him, he drops his things to the ground. He then throws his arms up in the air and walks slowly in the direction of the STAPS stopping once he reaches the edge of the deadly grass. All the while shouting, "We give up! No reason for unecessary violence. We did nothing wrong, but we'll be glad to answer any of your questions!"

 

[dpdx]

From atop the berm (which serves as the 'edge' of the bladegrass), Pog, arms raised, can see the STAPs heading toward him from about 60m away. About 100m behind them, the three GATs are using their cannons to cut through the bladegrass, and a wide indent in the bladegrass about 3m in marks their slow but steady progress.

A harsh voice in Pog's comlink warns him of his precarious situation. "POG! Stay away from the grass!!"

Unfortunately, the warning comes a split second too late, as one of the taller stalks of bladegrass whisks past Pog's feet, leaving an open-toed sandal where there once was a left boot. Pog's toes, although naked to the sun, all appear to still be attached to his foot, but just barely. [Pog takes 2 VP damage.]

The droid pilots of the STAPs make no indication that they can hear Pog's entreaties over the din of the bladegrass, but the raised arms get their attention, and one of the STAPs starts to swing over toward the young human.

[edited nonsense about Pog not getting his languages. All is fine.]

 

[Pbartender]

Originally posted by maddmic "I don't know what's down there. I'm sure that there's something down there which can cause a large explosion or something. Surely not an explosion large enough to take out a tank though."

"No, no!" Denny reiterates, "Not explosive, flammable... Something that will burn easily. It's not for the tanks, it's for this damnable grass!"

The xexto watches, astonished as the engineer waves his arms to get the attention of the STAP-piloting droid. "Oh, for the love of..." Denny shifts into an oddly straight-backed blaster duel stance, ready to defend the naive human at the slightest hint of trouble.

OOC: Denny is readying an action to shoot the STAP pilot, if any droids open fire. If possible, he'll take a full attack to use all four pistols at +0 Atk each, otherwise, its a single attack at +6.