RPG: FTL

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Hello Colonel, it's been a while. How have you been?"

 

William deadpanned, putting the safety back on his firearm. He had, previously, been keeping it trained on the outside world, right up until the hatch finally closed. The expression on his face was, truth be told, a far cry not only from his usual demeanor, but also the anger or desperation one might expect. His heart was racing, pumping blood throughout his body, but his face was simply set in a look of tense determination.

 

He didn't yet holster his sidearm, either. He kept it loosely held in his right hand as he perched on the edge of one of the seats, quite clearly prepared to have to move at a moment's notice. Consciously, he was quite aware that he was as safe as he was going to be; No Mantis was getting through the hull, nor would they be departing the half-track until it was back on the ship. Unconsciously, however, was a very different matter; Adrenaline was still pumping, and past experience combined with it to keep him on his toes, almost instinctively expecting to need to move again. So much so, in fact, that he hadn't even bothered to examine his injury yet. It was relatively minor, and the flow of blood would need hours to be a threat, but he only just now seemed to be paying it any attention.

 

He idly dabbed at the long cut with a sleeve, frowning ever so slightly at the red that came away.

 

"Did we lose anyone?" He asked, breaking his momentary silence. "And how's Landes?"

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

"Oh." Ashley did feel pretty tired, it was getting hard to keep her eyes open, but since sleeping was apparently bad she'd try her best not too.

 

"I'm...somewhere...umm...." Ashley stuttered as she heard William say her name. "I'm here..."

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

"I don't think so." The Colonel watched the pilot carefully, the half-track now humming along. "She's... alright, the nanites will keep the bleeding down. Based on where it hit though, she's going have organ damage. Doctor should be able to patch it up, but she may need cybernetic replacements. Don't have the facilities to replicate her a proper one."

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"Landes, if you fall asleep I'm getting rid of every piece of yarn you own." She said firmly.

[Xomeron]

IC:

 

Zhanar would have liked to do some sort of acrobatic flip-based jump onto the back of the half track, but he didn't seem to be up for that, and settled for jumping onto the rear bumper and then climbing on top. After giving a quick "thank you" to the armored soldier, he slipped down into the hatch.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Could have been worse." The Weapons Officer commented after a moment's quiet, looking towards where Ashley was laying. "Her injuries. Whole event, too. I didn't get a good look, but there were a lot of Mantis."

 

"One survivable injury is a pretty good final count."

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

Even in her confused and delirious state Estelle's threat of taking her yarn away alarmed her enough to make her feel a little more awake.

 

"Don't...don't do that." She sounded hilariously serious.

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

"I don't like the feel of this all, though." The Colonel stood up. "Sixty or seventy something Mantis, assaulting a station that numbered over a thousand. The fact that they overran this place quickly and efficiently... there's a greater intelligence at work here. I don't like the idea of a Brood Commander out here, they're notoriously persistent."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"If a Brood Commander is involved, then things get complicated very, very quickly."

 

The Major regarded the empty air in front of him thoughtfully, checking the ammunition on his sidearm almost mechanically. "I did note that they were better organized than normal. They used relatively advanced tactics, and even when they were in a rage they acted more strategically. That's definitely not normal behavior."

 

"That said, from what I saw, I'd estimate we've eliminated maybe a fifth of their troops. The rest will, by this point, have eradicated most of the human presence on this station. We can't expect any help from survivors, not that I think there are many by this point. That explosion earlier means that they have some kind of space support, though I don't know what yet. So what it really boils down to is that there are a good forty or so Mantis left, some kind of exterior support force, and possibly a Brood Commander behind it all."

 

He paused, going over what he'd just said. "I pray there isn't one. If there is... Well, then our flight is far from decided."

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

"Mantis raiders out in unchartered territory are nothing new, but if a Brood is involved... They could be cutting in for a new offensive against our colonies." The Colonel's eyes narrowed, looking off into the distance for a moment. "The fleet will be ready this time. We have our mission. It's more important the Zoltan get our cargo."

 

[brood Commander]

 

So very interesting. The Mantis was watching as the half-track moved out, the remaining soldiers feebly battering at its armor. A ground vehicle, in a space craft. It must be designed for atmospheric entry. Why would such a versatile craft be out here? What is their mission? A forward scout, perhaps? No, they are heading in the wrong direction. A mission to the Rock? Perhaps.

 

With a tap of the panel, a message was sent out. What the Kestrel did not realize was the true extent of the Mantis presence in this system; a Brood Commander was nothing without his Brood. A whole fleet of Mantis fighters and cruisers were here, waiting in ambush for the next major League movement. Now, they had a new mission. They would follow the Kestrel, hound it across the galaxy, until the Brood Commander could find out what their mission was.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"..."

 

The silence that followed was enough to hear a pin drop. Daniels had been fairly responsive in the conversation up until that point, despite pauses to think, but this heavy silence was entirely different. His expression never changed, nor the direction of his gaze, but his pause lingered for a few more moments.

 

"Aye, Colonel. Do you have any idea what's waiting outside the station, ma'am?"

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

Ashley's attention was drawn to the Colonel and the Major as they discussed...things. She hadn't been able to keep her attention long enough to completely understand what they were talking about, not that she really could anyway in her current state.

 

"If I see this Brood...commander thing...I'm gonna bite him..." She meant it too.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Yoko Littner

[Shadowhawk]

IC: [ Wulf Kharon ] - Galaxy's End

 

Wulf Kharon reloaded the rotating magazine on his revolver with deft, sure movements of his massive hands, thumbing the shells into place with practiced ease. He said nothing whatever concerning his leader's decision to abandon the space station and pull out; said nothing whatever concerning the possibility of a Brood Commander's presence; said nothing whatever concerning the cat-girl who lay injured only a few feet away from him in the half-track's internal steel-scented dimness.

 

Softly, very softly, he cleared his throat and said, to no one in particular, "When we hit the fourth floor, let me off. I need to go fetch my rucksack from my hotel room. I won't be long, I imagine... though a flak jacket and a helm might be nice. Are there any around here, in extra large size?"

Edited April 13, 2014 by Shadowhawk

[Constructelf]

IC Geburah

"Sorry for not following orders." The Zoltan ambassador approached the rest of the group, looking very worn out-if energy could be worn out. "I would have stayed put, but a group of Mantis overran my position; I had to get away. Geburah had been helping survivors escape when a small group of Mantis stormed the hallway; thanks to several better armed survivors, Geburah had been able to escape and find the rest of the group; he could only hope that some of those who had helped them made it too. His plasma pistol down to the final shot, he was very lucky to havefound the group when he did.

 

OOC had to eventually regroup somehow

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

"Whatever it is, it's not going to be very welcoming."

 

[Terra]

 

The assembled soldiers stretched as far as the eye could see in Memorial Square. The site of some of the most brutal fighting in the Invasion of Terra, buildings had been leveled for miles by Mantis bombers razing the area. Now it stood open and silent, filled with the small plates on the ground, names of men and women who lost their lives engraved in the strongest material known to humanity. Their comrades stood, now, on the site, assembled in vast numbers. They were all new recruits, all fresh from bootcamp. All knew someone lost in the invasion, and all were prepared to do what humanity demanded of them. They represented the next wave of soldiers that would remove the Mantis infestation from the hundreds of worlds they had pillaged.

Above them, a solitary man stood on a platform, gazing outward at the masses. After a minute of contemplation he took a step forward, raising his hands.

"Soldiers of Terra!" He yelled, his voice amplified by the speakers scattered about. "I come before you today as a humble observer, in awe of what has been done. One year ago the Terran army numbered but a scarce five million, so small that when the Mantis came we had to rely on local militias to fend the creatures off. But now, look at you! In this square alone, this monument to human struggle, two million stand! Our military now numbers thirty million, with millions more enlisting every day from the colonial worlds! You, the men and women of Terra, are the future! You all have taken the Oath, pledging to destroy the menace that plagues this galaxy. You all have left friends and family to protect Terra and her daughters from the invaders. You stand today as a testament of our resolve, proof that the Mantis miscalculated our species!

"Words cannot express my gratitude to your devotion and sacrifice. As High Chancellor of the Terran Confederacy, it is an honor to know that you will make my plans a reality. My esteemed predecessor was not willing to press onwards, to do what we must, but we have seen the horrors the Mantis have extracted on our people. We will not be indecisive, not on this day! You will receive orders for the new campaign, orchestrated by General Talos himself, to wipe the Mantis scourge from ten of their industrial worlds. The planets will be razed, left lifeless, and the Mantis production will grind to a halt. You all will be crucial in making sure this plan becomes reality; it will be through your sweat and blood that humanity will turn this war on the bugs.

"I will not lie to you; many will die in the coming weeks. The Mantis are a fierce species, and have claimed far too many already. But know! You will not die in vain. Terra will take a thousand Mantis' lives for every one of hers they have claimed. Know that your comrades will press onward, and that your families will know a future where they are safe. If you survive, and I know many of you will, then you will live to see a new age of humanity! An age where we can expand to the worlds the Mantis once claimed, an age where we will become a galactic power! Your families will be awarded swaths of land, in amounts not seen since the Great Exodus! Terra will watch her daughters and your future will be secure.

"Go forth, then! Tomorrow, the Seventh Fleet disembarks! The day of humanity's revenge is at hand! For Terra!"

"For Terra!" Two million voices repeated.

"For the Colonies!" He yelled.

"For the Colonies!" The soldiers grew louder.

"For Humanity!" The Chancellor raised his first into the air.

"For Humanity!" In unison, the soldiers of Terra drew their swords, two million of them raised into the air, the setting sun gleaming on the weapons.

 

[Elsewhere in the universe]

 

"Deploy, deploy, deploy!" It was all the private could hear. Even with the vast booms of anti-air artillery around the shuttle, the voice of her sergeant rang clear. The man's throat would never die, not even in a situation like this. The newly enlisted member of the Planetary Forces followed the rest of her unit out the back of the shuttlecraft, jumping into what could best be described as h*** itself. All around her fires raged, grand insectoid spires now massive torches in the sky. Her parachute kicked in, slowing her to a rough landing on the charred ground. Thousands of Mantis littered the streets, but she didn't notice them. Her superiors had made sure to give the soldiers some... easing medicines before the operation. The violence didn't bother her, the only thing she saw and heard was her sergeant. She followed him and her comrades through the winding streets of the city, eventually reaching an instillation. One explosive later and they were in, taking an express route up the spire with a rope and gun.

 

At the top of the tower, her sergeant wasted no time getting set up; this was one of the defense matrixes, she remembered that. One of the towers that the Mantis used to coordinate their anti-ship batteries. There were another hundred teams, all around the planet, taking these down. The sergeant was hard at work accessing the system, trying to take it offline via hacking. The Mantis encryptions weren't the most sophisticated, a standard computer could take it down in five minutes. The bugs weren't smart like that. While the private's mind wandered, trying to think through the haze, she walked outside, to the edge of the spiral's balcony. Outside, fighting ravaged on, fighter craft descending from the clouds and covering the city in napalm. The air was thick with the smell and taste of metallic fragments. Above, a blue sun raged in the sky, unrelenting in its heat. How the bugs survived here, she didn't know.

 

"I'm in!" The sergeant closed his case, radioing up to the fleet. "London, matrix fifteen is offline, standing by for evac."

 

"Roger that. Defense matrixes are now 80% offline, prepare for orbital bombardment."

 

Not thirty seconds later, the first shot came down, far in the distance. It was a cataclysmic thing, shaking the ground as a brilliant flash of light momentarily blinded the private. When the spots faded, there was no sprawling city in the distance, only unending fires. A scatter incendiary, spreading engineered goo across miles upon miles. She had seen it before. This was her seventh operation. It was what they used to torch Mantis worlds, to make sure no one survived.

 

"Private, snap out of it!" The sergeant was next to her, shaking her. "Shouldn't of let them dope you up... comeon, let's get out of here." The private meekly compiled, beginning to walk with her superior. "London, we're ready for beam-up, coordinates being transmitted."

 

There was only static.

 

"London? London do you copy?" The sergeant tapped his radio for a moment, confused. "It must be broken, just our luck. We'll hail down a shuttle, they can grab us up here."

 

"Sir!" A corporal cried out from the rope. "The Mantis are coming up!"

 

The sergeant ran outside, lighting a signal flare, hoping to catch the attention of the shuttles. The private meandered behind him, and in her haze, she realized what she was hearing. She thought the bombardment was taking place, she saw a shot come down. But... no more shots came down. No, now the booms were distant, far away, but very clear. They weren't the booms of orbital bombardment. They were something else.

 

She watched as the clouds broke, the sergeant standing in silent horror next to her. The Berlin, one of humanity's finest battleships, descended through the sky, half of its hull torn open by an anti-ship battery. It seemed to fall so slowly, as though its engines might stop its fall, but then they exploded, a burst of FTL radiation flying out and leaving the private's skin burning. Then it crashed, tearing through the city as it did. Dozens of spires fell as it ground to a halt, the half a kilometer long vessel no doubt taking millions of Mantis out as it did. It was an awe-inspiring sight, if only it wasn't her ride back home.

 

"This... can't be happening." The sergeant ran back to the panel, looking at it in horror as his men began shooting Mantis off the stairs. "No, no, I shut this down. It was shut down. The program worked! THE PROGRAM WORKED!"

 

It was all the private could do but sit there, watching as the sky filled with the wrecks of the Sixth Fleet. They had miscalculated; even her dazed mind could tell that. Her comrades screams told her that the Mantis had climbed over their dead and gotten to them. Her sergeant yelled some obscenity and started firing into the mob, but that didn't matter now. No, she was thinking. The encryption was too easy. No space faring civilization would have an encryption so easily broken. Military intelligence said it was because they weren't apt with computers, but that was a lie. They had teleporters. The Mantis were crafty, and they were numerous. Eleven worlds razed, forty eight billion Mantis dead. They had tossed away so many lives, to lull humanity into a sense of superiority. Now, the Sixth Fleet, Terra's Finest, right into their trap...

 

She turned, the mob of Mantis swarming the dead bodies. One of them noticed her outside, and they advanced towards her with their terrible screeching. She stared blankly, her foot stepping behind her, and finding no contact. Better, she supposed, than the fate that awaited her.

 

I guess the bugs weren't so stupid after all.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Strategist Alex Humva

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Ameli)

“Brood Commander...” Ameli paused for a moment, sorting through the different intelligence she’d memorized. “I’d like a name to attach to him. Maybe see if certain associates of mine can arrange an accident. A painful and prolonged one if possible.” Ameli paused and leaned forwards, examining the wounded pilot. “I would also suggest that we adopt a new policy. Extensive weapons training for all non-combatant personal. Furthermore, I suggest that when we leave the ship, we travel in a single group. Well-armed and coordinated. This is a mistake we cannot repeat.”

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

"Privateer, no need for you to risk yourself." The Colonel watched the pilot absent-mindedly. "Our security chief can beam it up, so long as he knows the room. As for you, Adviser... yes, things will certainly have to change. We can discuss it at another time." The half-track pulled into the elevator, doors slamming shut as it began to ascend the levels. "Once we're aboard the ship, Taylor and our privateer will take Landes to the medbay. The rest of you, battle stations, we're bugging out."

[Silvan Haven]

Kenshin Harken

 

IC: Having no targets at the moment, Harken hacked in to the station's computer and sped up the elevator. There was a noticeable increase in speed as a result and they arrived in just over half the time it would have taken normally.

[Shadowhawk]

IC: [ Wulf Kharon ] - Galaxy's End

The grey-clad privateer acknowledged the Colonel's words with an impassive grunt and a slight nod of his massive skull; pleased as he was that he wouldn't have to go after his rucksack, he was more than a trifle annoyed that he wasn't being included in the battle stations with the rest... but then, it made sense from a tactical leadership standpoint. He was an acknowledged pirate, a pardoned criminal, an unknown... a wild card all the way. Best to let him mingle with the crew a bit, prove his motives, before putting him in high-risk situations.

His tawny eyes darted over the cat-girl again, cool and thoughtful. It was a serious injury, aye, but he'd seen worse. With quick, expert medical assistance, she'd do fine. Perfectly fine. Unless something went abruptly, terribly wrong, of course, and he'd seen that happen too.

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"Colonel... I heard there were fighters up there as well, mantis fighters I mean. I need to get out there and do my job, ma'am." The flight commander said. She couldn't just have everyone else doing things and just sit there. It was her job after all.

[Alex Humva]

IC

 

"Not the best of ideas Major, not unless you want to be stuck out here when we jump." The Colonel glanced to the front, towards Devas. "Assuming the engineers have been warming the crystals we should be able to jump in ten minutes."

Edited April 13, 2014 by Strategist Alex Humva

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

A disappointed flight commander nodded. "Understood, Colonel." She looked back at Ashley and continue to tend to her.

 

"You still feeling loopy?"

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

"No..." Ashley blinked at Estelle a couple times. "...maybe..."

[Visaru]

IC

ZOSS

Zoss was slumped against the wall at the back of transport, breathing heavily. The hurried words of the others sounded muffled, their urgency being slowed by the thick air. The noise of their words seemed to be drowned out by the sound of blood rushing through his veins, loud as a river, and his deep ragged breaths. A thick layer of slime lay on his skin, cooling his overheating body.

His mind was not in the present. It seemed to be on repeat, replaying the same images over and over: The Mantis' thick sharp forearm ripping through the metal door. A beast leaping from the darkness, mandibles wide and shrieking, legs and forearms flailing viciously. One of the aliens laying slumped against the wall in a pool of it's own bodily fluids, it's chest blown open from a laser blast. The blood and gore staining the moving mandibles of one of the monsters as it charged towards Zoss. The tapping sound of approaching monsters as they chased the slug onto the half-track.

Zoss had never been in battle before- this was all new to him. He had never been pursued and almost killed by terrifying warrior-insects. He had never had the possibility of almost getting killed, and he had never seen such violence in person.

So Zoss remained slumped at the back of the transport, in shock, his mind confined entirely within itself and no longer probing the world around it for information.

[Xomeron]

IC:

 

Without a single sound(as he was not solid), Zhanar dropped into the back compartment of the half-track, looked around, and said "this has legitimately been my least profitable business venture ever! Has anyone seen a crate of pineapple? Also hello Major, assorted military members, slugs, injured human."

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

"Hiiiiiiiiii...."

[Advent Child]

IC: Something resembling a resigned exhalation escaped Geist at the words "battle stations." To say the very least, ship to ship combat was not a forte of note for Geist. But better to learn on the go than die without trying at all.

 

Hand still nervously resting on his weapon, Geist waited silently for the continuing procession towards their awaiting ride.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: Zokander had, perhaps inevitably for an old soldier, been drawn to the defences by the elevator. He'd done his part in holding back the mantis until the crew's ride back to the ship arrived. Upon boarding the heavily armoured vehicle he defaulted into practicality. Their only wounded was being treated already, there was no need to see to her, so he just had to look after his own wellbeing.

Any injuries?

No. Good. Helped that he'd mostly stayed behind cover, only emerging to fire when he had a sure bead on his target, rather than just fire constantly.

All equipment working?

Mostly. Sidearm could do with reloading, and the screen of his eye was a bit smudged. So he drew from a pocket one of those cloth squares used to clean spectacles, rubbing it carefully over the implant in his skull, clearing away the grime and smog that had started to cling to it in the firefight. A fresh crystal was loaded into his sidearm to solve that problem.

Right. Now, what was their next move?

[Constructelf]

IC Geburah

Boarding the transport, the Zoltan scanned the interior of the vessel. "I do hope that nobody else is out there," the ambassador spoke dryly, "Lest we have to go fetch them. Still, it should be easy with this vehicle we have here." Standing to the side, he inspected his plasma pistol-"Totally busted," he muttered, "What on Terra happened? The firing mechanism seems to have melted..."

[Krayzikk]

OOC: Sorry about the delay, folks.

 

IC:

 

The rest of the trip proceeded in relative silence, some of the crew using the time for preparations, others to try and steady their nerves. There wasn't any real immediate danger, the Mantis had proved unable to penetrate the APC's hull, and even if they could, the vehicle was rapidly ascending to the hangar. They wouldn't catch up for a while yet. The quiet was a temporary respite from the insanity; It would be the only respite. Once they had escaped, and it was quiet once more, they would have to face what had happened.

 

The elevator stopped as the doors opened with the quiet grind of metal on metal, and a moment later, the vehicle was on the move again. It drove through the damaged and debris-littered hangar easily, crossing over any evidence of destruction that got in its way, and moving towards the Kestrel. When it drove back up onto the ship, Major Daniels popped the hatch, and jumped out himself.

 

"Alright, you heard the Colonel's orders. Hop to."

[Shadowhawk]

OOC:

No problem, Simon. Let's get this legend on the road again, people.

IC: [ Wulf Kharon ] - Galaxy's End

The titanic privateer didn't bother responding to Daniels' curt command; he'd been around the taut clipped battlespeak of Federation authority long enough that it didn't rankle him anymore. Then again, few things ever had. At least to the casual external eye.

Rippling to his feet, half-crouching to avoid cracking his skull on the low metal ceiling of the half-track, Wulf Kharon holstered his revolver and took a measured step sideways to speak directly with the injured cat-girl. She was still operating at roughly half mental capabilities, seemed like, and he took care to keep his words particularly clear and deliberate.

"Miss Landes, you're wanted at the med bay. I'm going to have to carry you there; you don't mind, I assume?"

Not that it matters if you do.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Shadowhawk

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

Ashley shook her head. "Not at all! Being carried sounds fun!"

[Shadowhawk]

IC: [ Wulf Kharon ] - Galaxy's End

"Yeah. Fun." rumbled the privateer dryly, a trace of sardonic humor glinting in his tawny eyes. "Too bad you've a bullet hole through your side and enough drugs on the brain to kill a water buffalo, right? Except for that, it might actually be intriguing, having a massive scary pirate... hold you. Right?"

With practiced ease, taking care not to disturb her injuries, Wulf slid the cat-girl into his arms in a standard 'carrying helpless women' carry. The kind you see in movies, with one arm supporting said helpless female's head and upper body, the other curled around her legs.

Turning, hefting her weight with no apparent effort, he exited the half-track with studied deliberation and headed across the starship hanger towards the waiting UFS Kestrel.

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

"Yeah the bullet hole is kind of la-woah!" Ashley exclaimed sluggishly as the privateer picked her up in a 'bridal carry' or whatever you'd call it. As Kharon exited the half-track Ashley made various forms of 'wows' and giggles. By all accounts she shouldn't have been having as much fun as she was given the circumstances. Painkillers and blood loss had their way of changing her perspective. It was easy to forget your troubles when your brain was completely out of wack.

 

As they crossed the hanger, Ashley realised something important. "Where are we going?"

Edited April 22, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[Zhangku]

IC: Souper Saladd

 

Despite all of the hubbub so far, Souper was glad to have gotten out of the arrangement of being under fire. Fire was difficult to move from and difficulty to move meant easy target, especially in a place that was as open as the market. Sliding smoothly across the floor, the slugperson followed Wulf Kharon silently. Sure, it could have been much worse, this whole situation, but the slug was glad to no longer be THAT near to the Mantis. The Mantis were a terrifying army, and despite the past that Souper had gone through, the slug was in no mood to repeat past actions. Traveling in groups was good, and in the case that there were Mantis still in the hanger, it was good to have at least one person there with a free hand to shoot at whatever ugly enemy popped up to think at shoot at you.

 

OOC: My apologies if I'm not even supposed to be there, the last torrent of posts had me so confused that I'm not sure where Souper actually is at this point.

[Burnmad]

IC - Kelezaag:

 

Kelezaag's mental preparation was interrupted by the APC's reappearance in the hangar. Several men and women exited it, led by a tall, muscular man the Mantis had not seen before, who was carrying the cat-girl fighter pilot she hadn't been able to help but notice several times. The former was carrying the latter in a way that reminded Kelezaag of the classic human image of a man carrying his new wife over the threshold of their home, and the pilot was clearly under the influence of heavy painkillers. She remained where she was and waited for the group to get nearer, then came out with the quip that had immediately entered her mind.

 

"I suppose I missed the reception, but it's good to know my share of the wine didn't go to waste," she said, pointing with one of her serrated arms at the cat-girl, whose head was lolling to the side.

[Takuma Nuva]

IC -- Francis

Francis made his way alongside his fellow slug toward the safety of the giant vessel. As he slid up the ramp past the mantis, he responded to its comment by hefting one of the remaining jars of slick her way.

"Drink up."

Takuma Nuva

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

The Colonel and her accompanying posse made their way to the bridge, where she took her seat quickly and watched navigations do the same. "Alright, engines should be warm by now. Major, shields to full, divert power from weapons. Nav, pull us out of here, plot a course for sector... 34 by 55 by 89. Jump on my mark." The ship gave a great learching sound as it released the tethers, hanger door reeling in as the ship lifted up. The station shuddered and a beam fell down on the hull, reverberating across the vessel, but it wouldn't stop its escape. With a roar of the engines it escaped the docking bay, flying out into open space, and immediately confronted by three Mantis fighters, and, to the surprise of everyone on the bridge, several very large blips on the sensors.

 

"There's our Brood." The Colonel looked slightly pale. "Very bad timing on our part." Shots came out from the fighters, but so far they were more or less inconsequential against the shields. "Engineering, time on the crystals?"

 

"Ma'am, the bugs are jamming our reactor," came the response, followed by a curse. "I'll have it in eleven minutes."

 

"Understood; nav, we need some fancy flying right now." The Colonel barely finished talking before an alarm blared on a nearby console, informing the bridge that five intruders had been detected aboard. Punching the comms, the Colonel opened the frequency to the whole ship. "Mantis boarders! We have Mantis boarders on-board! Repel them!" A comm switch "Security, they're heading towards the medbay; Taylor, seal the door, reinforcements will be there soon."

 

The Colonel stood up, drawing her sword in one hand and her pistol in the other. "Lieutenant, keep an eye on things up here; Major, we're going to the armory."

 

OOC
Five hostiles, one of whom is a Brood Commander. All armored with supermetal, wielding metallic claws which allow for penetration of personnel armor. Three heading for the Medbay, other two's positions unknown.

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

Rehn found it very prudent to seal the engine room doors.

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

When Ashley saw Kelezaag, her face visibly paled. Memories of what she'd only recently experienced, the mantis, the buzzing, the screams of dying people, being shot...they all flooded her confused mind. She hid her face with Wulf's arm.