Everybody starts firing.
Battle(Edge)—7 vs 5|9
Are either of the pirates hit? 50/50(71)No
Is Jett hit? 50/50(43)Yes
Health:5 → 3 iv-action-roll:Health|3|3|0|7|1 Momentum:4 → 3 Health:3 → 4
A second later, and it's all over. The two gangers lie dead on the floor - they barely knew how to use their guns; there's little opportunity for target practice on a space station and they were easily overwhelmed by the veteran pirates. Sofia and Bones glance at each other, amazed to have gotten through that unscathed, and they share a grin.
The moment is interrupted by Jett collapsing to the floor.
Sofia and Bones rush over and pick him up. He has a nasty wound in his chest - he took a stray bullet in the exchange.
"Time to leave, let's get him back to the ship." says Sofia.
"Wait" says Jett shakily. "Your ship...I might be able to find it. Two seconds" He begins tapping on the computer terminal again.
"We don't have time for this" says Bones.
"Two seconds." says Jett.
Fulfill Your Vow(track)—0 vs 8|4
"There. Docking bay four. Let's move before the guards show up"
Sofia sends a message to Failsafe telling him to get off the station immediately, and they all start running to their ships. Sofia splits off towards bay four, and Bones helps Jett back to The Irony. There are guards rushing in the direction of the apartment, but they're so focused on getting to the shooting that they're not looking out for suspects - if a stray bullet struck the hull, catastrophic decompression could be imminent.
Once aboard the ship, they take off immediately. Sofia and Failsafe are already in the air. Sofia sends the coordinates for the first jump back to The Snakepit, and they punch it into the black beyond.
Were the pistols strong enough to compromise the hull of the station? Unlikely(32)No
Set a Course(Supply)—6 vs 7|9
Two days later, the trio of ships come out of warp at a waypoint about halfway between Paxton Memorial and The Snakepit. In front of them is a frigate.
First Look(37)Large sensor arrays
"They're not broadcasting any kind of ID, they're flying dark" says Sofia.
"Look at those huge dishes on the midsection. This is some kind of listening post, or communications platform" says Failsafe.
"We should raid them while we're here." says Bones "If we can bring something valuable back with us, all the better"
"I agreed to find Sofia, not take part in pirate raids" says Jett quickly.
Then, the frigate seems to notice them. Its engines power up and it starts turning in their direction, presumably trying to bring its front-facing cannons to bear. Simultaneously, four snub fighters peel out from the hangar bay doors and start on a course directly towards the three ships.
"They're pirates!" yells Sofia. "I'm going to let them know we're with the Cobras."
"Attention, unmarked ship. This is Sofia Legrand of the Void Cobras. If you're with the Cobras, call off your attack. If you're not with the Cobras, think twice before you mess with us."
"All will fall before the Ascendancy of the Awakened Worlds" comes the reply.
Find and fulfil my destiny +1 (0/10)
"Battle stations!" yells Bones across the comms. Sofia and Failsafe fly out to meet the snub fighters.
"I've never flown in a space battle before" says Jett. "What do I do?"
"Just switch the ship to autopilot and strap yourself in" says Eris. "I'll take care of it."
"I'll take the gunnery station" says Bones.
Jett flips the autopilot switch and looks at the tactical display. "Eris, Sofia, focus on taking out the snub fighters. Failsafe, go after the frigate and take out its guns - if it gets those cannons in position we're space dust."
Enter the Fray(Wits)—9 vs 4|7 Momentum:3 → 5 Position:Position → out of combat
Jett 04-a Repel the Ascendancy
Nobody argues with Jett taking control; there isn't time and it's a sound plan. The ships start tearing towards their assigned targets.
Gain Ground(Wits)—5 vs 4|10 Jett 04-a Repel the Ascendancy +1 (2/10)
Eris and Sofia manage to goad the snub fighters into splitting up; they each now have two snub fighters in pursuit. Failsafe punches through the hole this creates in the middle of the enemy formation and moves directly towards the frigate, which is still slowly wheeling around to bring its guns to bear.
Strike(Edge)—7 vs 8|5 Jett 04-a Repel the Ascendancy +2 (6/10) Position:Position → in control
Bones uses the turret gun to fire wildly at the fighters behind The Irony. He destroys one and clips the other - a trail of smoke fans out behind it as it maneuvers in a desperate attempt to avoid any further shots. Sofia does a zero-G maneuver, and ends up flying backwards at full speed while facing the two pursuers. She uses her front-facing cannons to blast both of the snub fighters, they disintegrate in the hail of lead she unleashes.
"Good job, go back Failsafe up" says Jett over comms, glued to the tactical display.
Failsafe catches up to the frigate and starts blasting at the main guns. Before he can land any hits, a pair of recessed gun turrets pop out of the frigate and start blasting in his direction - he is forced into evasive maneuvers and away from the ship.
Failsafe steels himself and brings himself around, taking a risk on a strafing run of the guns despite the threat of the recessed turrets.
React Under Fire(Heart)—3 vs 6|10
Failsafe never gets a chance to strafe the cannons, his ship gets blasted by the guns as soon as he's in range. He manages to avoid destruction, but his ship is smoking and wobbly.
"Guns are out, life support nominal. I'm out of the fight guys, sorry." he says over comms, as his ship limps away from the battle.
A blast rocks The Irony. The snub fighter on their tail managed to land a direct hit on the hull.
Starship / Integrity:5 → 3 Withstand Damage(Starship / Integrity)—4 vs 6|6match
Using my Looper ability to reroll some dice.
1d6{5} + 1d10{3}→8
So my Withstand Damage roll is 5+3=8 vs 6 and 3, a strong hit
Momentum:5 → 3 Starship / Integrity:3 → 4
The snub fighter's aim was true and its blast was headed directly for a critical weakspot, but Jett instinctively flicked the autopilot off while yanking the flight stick to one side, causing The Irony to roll out of the way at the last moment. The blast causes superficial damage to the fuselage. Jett flicks the autopilot back on and returns to the tactical display.
"What was that?" says Eris.
"Just felt like the right thing to do." says Jett. Over Comms he says "Sofia, the guns are too well protected, we need a new plan. Try attacking the bridge directly, if we can take out their commanders it'll cause chaos, it should give us time to get away"
"Roger that" comes the reply.
React Under Fire(Wits)—7 vs 9|5
Jett notices blood slowly starting to stain his shirt. It seems like the strain from the high-G evasive maneuvers have caused his stitches to split and his gunshot wound to open up again. He doesn't have time to deal with it now, so he ignores the pain and keeps watching the tactical display.
Health:4 → 3
Sofia avoids getting in the firing arc of the two turret guns, and lines up a shot on the frigate's bridge. The main cannons are almost in position; they start powering up.
Clash(Edge)—8 vs 4|1 Jett 04-a Repel the Ascendancy +2 (10/10) Position:Position → in a bad spot
Sofia lets rip before the cannons can fire a shot, sending round after round into the bridge. The viewport is blown open - everyone and everything not bolted to the floor is sucked out into the cold abyss of space.
Jett, Sofia and Failsafe start whooping and hollering over comms, while Bones finishes off the last snub fighter with the turret gun.
Take Decisive Action(track)—0 vs 10|10match
Position:Position → in control
Find and fulfil my destiny +1 (0/10)
Connection: Eris +1 (2/10)
Take Decisive Action(72)Others pay the price: Someone else suffers the cost
The celebrations are short-lived. Failsafe's comms glitch out for a second, and then an explosion blooms in the depths of space where his ship had been.
A silence falls over the group.
After a few moments, Jett pipes up. "What now?" he asks simply.
Sofia replies first. "Now we head back to The Snakepit. I face my father. We honor the dead. Then we prepare for war with the Ascendancy."