The Cáurr had huddled in their burrows, watching as their attackers fell from the sky like hail, meeting the ground, and their disappointing fate, with equal haste. Now they had brought themselves to action, swarming the bog and piercing the air with foreign war cries.

There are two others standing up, a tráel and an ambátt. You do not know the man’s name, and why would you? They are both slaves, after all. Dana, however, the ambátt shieldmaiden, you do recognize. Remaining oblivious to her reputation would prove difficult after spending more than a few hours on Drekkar, the Vereingjar frigate you’ve spent the last three weeks on. You remember seeing her back on launch bay, boarding the adjacent Sn-3KKJA dropship.

They are holding their own in the marsh, staining it with the discolored blood of their exotic foes. But for how long? They are severely outnumbered. If… no, when the Cáurr get through them, there will be nothing stopping the savage creatures from getting to you.

You snap out of your gaze over the increasingly carnaged landing site, you have to focus on yourself, before it’s too late. Your parachute is still attached to you with titanium-infused paracord, it's going to limit your mobility to all but none. You do have a knife in a thigh sheath, the only tool (or weapon, if worse comes to worst) currently accessible. You could at least cut yourself free from the parachute, but it would probably take a while.

Your outer armor is cooling rapidly but it's still hot from entering the atmosphere; touching it right now with the thin inside of your gloves might melt the fabric and burn your hand underneath it. Most of your equipment is beneath the chestplate and out of reach until the armor has been removed, one way or another. There is a manual explosive decoupling mechanism for emergency use only. You would not have thought twice about it if it wasn't for the hull damage which led to the primary mechanism failing. If the plating has been bent in a way so that the charge is aimed inwards, or even sideways, it could kill you.

>Trigger explosive decoupler
>Get to work on that paracord
>Call for help, dignity is of no use to the dead

>>492717
>Call for help, dignity is of no use to the dead

>>492717
>Get to work on that paracord

>>492747
seconding

>>492744
>>492747

Waiting for a tie breaker. Welcome, by the way!

>>492717
>Trigger explosive decoupler

>>492717
>>Call for help, dignity is of no use to the dead

>>492744
>>492747
>>492760
>>492792

2-2 between paracord and help, need another vote.

>>492805
I'll change my vote to paracord

You unsheath your knife. Before you start cutting away at the paracord you take a final look at the razor-sharp edge which you fear is about to be ruined. That’s the least of your worries, though. There are sixteen lines, you pick one at random and get to work. The first one takes about two minutes, too long. From time to time you look up from your seemingly endless task, to check on your allies. Einar is actually pushing the Cáurr back from his disadvantageous position; you’re relieved, but not too surprised. The two slave warriors, though, are having a pretty tough time.

The last line is cut, but you're exhausted from the effort. You’re finally able to move: the parachute is history. Your chestplate is still a problem, you can't move properly and you can't access your gear.

>Trigger explosive decoupler
>Call for help, before there’s no one left to help you
>Check on the two tráel warriors lying face down in the mud

>>492844
>Call for help, before there’s no one left to help you
or/then
>Trigger explosive decoupler

File: 487f8fcf03977a9e0640fcd73(...).jpg (193 KB, 630x989)

193 KB JPG

>>492860
Going with it since we had another vote from before.

You let out a roar, seeking the help of your allies, the tráel hears you but ignores your plead. ‘Those damned tráels have lost all respect, someone should remind them that they’re slaves’ you think furiously to yourself. You shout once again and now Dana notices you. She does a double take before reluctantly making her way towards you. She wasn't the only one that heard you, though. Two cáurrs are now heading your way, perpendicular to the pale slave girl. She picks up speed as she notices the cáurrs’ intentions. The ambátt and one of the cáurrs leap simultaneously; it towards you, and she towards it. Her axe catches blue flesh mid-air. Before either of them has touched ground Dana spins around three quarters of a turn as a shield materializes radially from her wrist, blocking an incoming projectile. The second Cáurr had, without you noticing, stopped to aim an arrow right at your head. It disintegrated immediately as it hit the pulsating, spectral looking shield. Dana charges forward, dealing a vicious uppercut blow.

As Dana turns around, breathing heavily with a stern look on her face, you notice the Cáurr’s face is split in two. "Well take your damned suit off, do not just stand there! Or maybe you would rather the chieftain learn you a coward, yes?”

>"How about you get me out of this crumpled-ass suit or I'll let the chieftain know one of his ratchet bats needs to be disciplined."
>"I have to admit, that was... Impressive. You have my thanks. I'm no damn craven, but right now I can't fight regardless. Help me out of this chestpiece will ya?"
>Write in! Always encouraged.

>>492903
>"I have to admit, that was... Impressive. You have my thanks. I'm no damn craven, but right now I can't fight regardless. Help me out of this chestpiece will ya?"

>>492918
Giving it a few minutes, but I'm sensing a singleplayer quest.

>>492918
Seconding

>>492918
>>492953
“I have to admit, that was... Impressive. You have my thanks. I'm no damn craven, but right now I can't fight regardless. Help me out of this chestpiece will ya?”

"Be still, yes?" the words roll off her tongue with a distinct, Draihnian accent. She couldn't be more than 19 years old, odds are she was taken during the Night Raids -- that was almost 7 years ago now.

You had barely processed what she actually said before she strikes your armor with her axe, much like how she struck the face of her foe not even a minute ago. Before you know it you're free.
“Thank you, girl. Dana, right?”
“Yes, yes I am Dana. And you must be...”

[CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION]

>Erland
Gender: Male
Age: 22

>Edwige
Gender: Female
Age: 22


Occupational Specialty:
>Berserk
>Scout
>Engineer
>Medic

[Pick a character and a occupation specialty]

Traits: Strength[ST] 3, Endurance[ED] 2, Agility[AG] 1, Dexterity[DX] 2, Intelligence[IN] 3
Points available: 2

Weapon proficiencies: One-handed 0, Two-Handed 0 [+1REQ: 5 ST], Ranged 0 [+1REQ: 3 DX]
Points available: 1

[Distribute available points]

(How you spend the weapon proficiency point determines your initial weapon. +1REQ: = to increase by one, the following is required)

>>492998
>Erland
>Medic

+2 dex
+1 ranged

>>493041
Sounds good to me. Seconding.

>>492998
Edwige
Berserk
+2 ST
+1 Two Handed

>>493041
>>493057
More or less polar opposites, interesting. Waiting for a couple more votes,

>>493041
second

>>493057
Supporting

>>493070
>>493107
wew

>>493107
we got us a cheater

>>493057
+1

>>493113
Someone liked your chargen, at least...

File: 1338972429317.jpg (125 KB, 1280x720)

125 KB JPG

What's so fun about a berserker, come on guys bone setting and field amputations are cool as hell

>>493041
Erland wins. Writing.

File: Untitled-2.png (1.75 MB, 1364x1004)

1.75 MB PNG

“I’m Erland, med… field medic. And the best shot on Drekkar, save for those damn scouts, too.” Dana is barely listening, her focus is elsewhere. “Follow me, yes? That brute needs your attention, doctor.” She pulls you to your feet, “And I hope there is truth to what you say, for all our sakes…”

You grab your crossbow from your back and load it with a bolt. Anything can happen now, and if you’re to follow Dana over this bog you’d rather be armed. You do a quick inventory check and conclude that all your medical supplies are unharmed and in their rightful place. Dana turns around and starts heading back…

>Follow Dana
>”Wait! Do you know what happened during the jump?”
>”Hold up! Where is Chieftain Oak?”
>Check on the two tráel warriors lying face down in the mud
>Write in

>>493241
>Check on the two tráel warriors lying face down in the mud

Some medic we are if we don't.

>>493250
agree

You’re about to follow her, but something reminds you of the slave warriors lying behind you. You had, admittedly, forgotten about them in the midst of your introduction to Dana. You watch Dana skip elegantly over deep puddles and blue corpses, she reminds you of a fox. But instead of following you turn around, Einar will have to wait. That man has endured worse, anyways.

The first one is all tangled up in his parachute. You check his pulse quickly, but find none. You flip him over anyways, realizing you’re most likely wasting time, but it’s standard procedure. A patient has no business laying on his stomach. Your years of education and experience are redundant in determining the cause of death. A fairly large stone had lodged itself in his ribcage, killing him pretty much instantly, he must’ve landed on it.

The second man is in a pile of hammerfall-suit parts. The suite is programmed to come off when you’re 50 meters from the ground, but he must have crashed at such a high velocity that the decoupling did not take place until after he touched ground. You check for a pulse… Yes, he’s alive! The armor not coming off in the air saved his life. However, he is as unconscious, and then some…

Suddenly you hear a feral, muffled sound in the distance behind you. Three, maybe four cáurrs are heading your way. You’re not sure what caught their attention but the fact remains: your time is running out, quickly.

>Leave the tráel, run towards Dana and Einar
>Ready your crossbow, you’re not leaving anyone with a pulse behind, not even a slave
>Search your medical supplies for something to get your patient on his feet
>Write in

>>493360
>Ready your crossbow, you’re not leaving anyone with a pulse behind, not even a slave

>>493360

>Ready your crossbow, you’re not leaving anyone with a pulse behind, not even a slave

>>493360
>Your supplies are wasted on a slave, they are better spent on a proper warrior.

File: rock-d-f2-weapon-002.jpg (354 KB, 1920x1046)

354 KB JPG

>>493375
>>493383
You’re not about to let slimey humanoids get to your patient, or yourself for that matter. You stand up, readying your crossbow once again and look out over the bog for movement. Out of nowhere the tráel at your feet gasps for air as if something, perhaps not of this world, pulls him violently back to reality. “What in the f…” he blurts out before you interrupt him, “Shut up, can you stand? Where’s your weapon? You’re about to need it.”

His training kicks in and he’s on his feet within a few seconds, with the standard tráel weapon in hand, a spear. He’s grunting and moaning with pain, but he’s on his feet. “Sir, what is goi…” ”Silence!”, you interrupt him once again as you focus on the bushes in front of you.

But the first cáurr does not appear from the bushes, it crawls out of a burrow even closer to you, no more than 30 meters away. You adjust your aim hastily and pull the trigger without second thought…

[Best of three 1d20+1. Beat 10 to hit, 14 to kill.]

Rolled 19 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>493463

Rolled 3 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>493463

Rolled 2 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>493463

File: 393167.jpg (329 KB, 1920x1080)

329 KB JPG

As the projectile flies through the air the cáurr manages one final gut-wrenching cry. Before long the cry is muffled by the blood filling the hole your bolt left in the creature’s throat. It’s body goes limp and falls backwards.

There is a silence, and eerie silence. “Damn, nice sho…” Once again the young tráel gets interrupted, but this time it’s not your doing. The other cáurrs start howling ferociously, fueled by rage over your latest kill. There are three of them, and they reveal themselves at the same time. Two of them charge straight towards you, and one towards your ally.

>Try to reload crossbow
>Try to dodge the attack
>Get your dull knife out
>Run
>Write in

>>493513
>Try to reload crossbow

>>493513
>tell him to run
>run while reloading
>try to warn Dana

File: sleeping_quarters_by_jjnaas.jpg (97 KB, 900x499)

97 KB JPG

Going to bed. Thanks for playing and for getting this started! Will continue, in this very thread, next time I'm able to.

https://twitter.com/QuestMasterCzac

>>493554
It looks interesting, thanks for running

>>493523
+1
>>493554
Thanks OP

>>493554
interesting stuff, man. i'll be here next time.

>>493513
>Try to reload crossbow

What kind of crossbow is it anyway? It's not a space crossbow reloaded by a space crank is it?

File: space.jpg (375 KB, 2880x1800)

375 KB JPG

Turns out I'll be able to stay up tonight. The quest will be in session 22:00 UTC+0, in an hour!

If anyone was any questions before then, I'd be happy to answer them. I know Q and A is better suited for after a session but, since I'm European, the ending of a session is usually synonymous with my eyelids giving in to gravity.

The Cáurr are moving fast, especially considering the treacherous terrain. You doubt you’d be able to reload before they reach you. “Ahh, for fuck’s sake… Run!” The young tráel was bracing himself for the sudden assault (admirably so considering he just woke up after having crashlanded from orbit) but your order makes him turn his back towards the enemy and take off, despite his poor condition. You figure there’s more adrenaline than blood coursing through his veins by now.

The blue creatures are catching up, they’re both fast and agile. If you do not take action, they’ll just catch up, and you’ll be dead. You sacrifice a bit of speed to draw back the string of your crossbow and load it with another bolt.

Looking over your shoulder you can see them leaping over rocks and trenches, without ever moving their dark eyes from the target they have set on your back. They are close now, and up ahead the ground gets even less hospitable. Looking across the marsh you watch as Einar swings his giant battleaxe wildly, spilling Cáurr guts this way and that. Time seems to have slowed down. Dana, who recently saved your life with one of the finest moves you’ve ever witnessed, now performs a deadly dance wielding her carbonfiber handled axe and plasma shield. There is a crescent pile of corpses in front of her. Behind her there are two cáurrs as well, but they’re not attacking her, not yet. They are busy tearing at the flesh of a fallen tráel with claws and crude weapons, the same tráel who ignored you earlier.

You stop running. As you turn around you’re able to hear the panting of the enemy closest to you. You raise your weapon and wait, just for a second. When you pull the trigger the savage creature is, perhaps, five meters away from you. Too close to miss.

It tumbles in it’s fall and lands right next to your feet; its life leaving its body as fast as your bolt entered it. In the corner of your eye you see the tráel, for whom you put yourself in this situation, get chased down by the third cáurr. As he falls, with the cáurr on top of him, you see a tear in his vest and the red of blood gleaming in the otherwise blue-green surrounding.

(1/2) Still writing, couple more minutes!

>>495084
Well I'm curious what the actual tech level is. Is it some kind of not40k, with the whole "there is super future tech but lets just make everyone fight with swords anyway" thing?

File: sniper_by_skoparov-d6m59k2.jpg (244 KB, 1000x502)

244 KB JPG

In front of you is your second predator. You crossbow is of no use, you let it drop at your side. You pull out the only other weapon you have, the knife you used to cut the paracord. It’s dull from previously but it should not matter, it’s still the best bet you’ve got. You brace yourself for impact. You’ve seen what these things do, they don’t stop to ‘duel’. No, they throw themselves at you face first with their sharp claws reaching for your jugular.

The cáurr makes its leap, but as it hurls itself through the air, it’s hit with something. First you see its ribcage convulse and the explosion of blue blood spatter coming out of its left side. Then you hear the sound from your right, the sound of a electromagnetical rifle. The only man carrying a weapon like that on this mission is Raoul. Fucking scouts. The now lifeless cáurr lands on top of you, knocking you over.

“Ha! Felled by a dead enemy, ain’t that something? And here I was, thinking killing the damn thing for you would be enough. Good to see you made it down alive, Erland.”

You’re stuck under the cáurr.

I had him, damnit. But I guess it’s good to see you too, Raoul. Fuck, the boy..! Help him will you?!

“I’ll kill the both of them if I take the shot from here, idiot. Hell, that might just be the most merciful thing to do, that thing is doing a number on that slave…”

>Get this thing off me then, that kid is not dying on my watch!
>Take the shot, damn you, before it’s too late!
>Write in

>>495400
>Get this thing off me then, that kid is not dying on my watch!
>tfw we chose the wimpy class

>>495400
>Get this thing off me then, that kid is not dying on my watch!

>See if we can reload- tell Raoul to fucking leg it so he can use our crossbow to shoot the smurf.

File: 516f634203acc484d5af9877b(...).jpg (38 KB, 564x423)

38 KB JPG

>>495395
OOC: The Vereingjar do not inhabit a planet of their own. They have access to a lot energy, but resources are scarce. They have not had sulphur, for example, which is why gunpowder and nitroglycerine propellants aren't used.

It has also developed into this cultural phenomenon, especially among the berserks, where ranged weapons are viewed as cowardly. They take pride in their melee combat and have become incredibly skilled at it.

>>495403
>>495410

Get this thing off me then, that kid is not dying on my watch!
“Very cliché, doc.”
We don’t have time for your shit Rao...
“Speak for yourself! Anyways, he’s just a tráel, you’d be wasting supplies and effort saving him. If that’s even possible”
Now, Raoul!!

You know the slaves are inferior, non-essential, but letting warriors fighting for the Vereingjar die feels like an insult to your profession. You’re a damn medic, after all. Raoul takes his sweet time removing the smoking capacitor and putting aside his beloved railgun before finally helping you remove the dead cáurr.

You run up to the monster who’s now on top of your ally, beating and slashing at him. Your knife is still in your hand. You squeeze it tightly as you stab the creature in the throat from behind. You twist the knife and pull the cáurr backwards, before letting go. The cáurr now lies on its back, with your knife stuck in it’s neck, coughing and hissing as it bleeds out onto the damp moss covering the ground.

The boy is severely wounded. He has deep gash in his side and his face is a mess.

>Give him something to relief his pain
>Give him a quick death, there’s nothing you can do for him that won’t jeopardize your own life. Besides, your expertise is needed elsewhere.
>Perform surgery here and now, you need to close that wound or he’s bleeding to death.
>Move him to a safer location, who knows when the next pack of cáurrs arrive?
>Write in

>>495499
>Pop him a painkiller. Do we have anything to cauterize the wound with? Do that and haul him to the nearest hiding place.

>>495499
>Give him a quick death, there’s nothing you can do for him that won’t jeopardize your own life. Besides, your expertise is needed elsewhere.

>>495512
>>495519
Gonna need a tiebreak for this one.

>>495512
You have a lighter, and Raoul's rifle gets pretty damn hot... but not really.

>>495531
Try to cauterize it, if it's not helping just end him as >>495519 voted

>>495538
Dude cauterizing doesn't work and it's extremely painful

File: FYF8N0EFD80C1IK.SMALL.jpg (6 KB, 320x240)

6 KB JPG

His body is shaking from the agonizing pain and he’s on the brink of consciousness. Raoul has finally caught up and is now standing over your shoulder.

“That looks pretty bad, I still think we should just leave him.” His tone is now very serious, the borderline sociopathic sarcasm from before is gone. Nevertheless, you ignore him.

I’m gonna try to cauterize the wound, there’s no other way to stop bleeding, unless you’re packing more gauze than I am..?

“Doubt it, Doc. You better start trying then, if more of those fuckers show up we’re shit out of luck. Besides, I hate being out in the open.”

You unjam your knife from the corpse and wipe it off on your sleeve. You heat the blade with your lighter as you instruct Raoul to give the boy local anesthesia. This is gonna get ugly…

Dexterity roll to stop the bleeding with your glowing hot knife:
[Best of three 1d20+4. Beat 18]

Rolled 19 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>495589

Rolled 5 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>495589

>>495684
>>495550
Guess you proved yourself wrong! Writing.

The bleeding actually stopped, the cauterization was successful, unlike the anesthesia… The tráel passed out from the pain about halfway through the procedure; he’ll thank you later, you tell yourself. You dress the wound before picking him up. You start carrying him towards the other survivors, you figure you’d do best sticking together. Raoul is with you.

Raoul shoots the last cáurr in Dana’s vicinity, making her look your way. “Gier?! She blurts out, eyes focused on the tráel thrown over your shoulders, filling with tears. “Oh, Gier. What happened?” Her voice is now sharp as a tack, although unsteady.

>”I saved his life, a couple of times.”
>”What’s it to you? How do you know him?”
>”Does it matter? He’s alive, let’s move on.”
>Write in

>>495770
>>”I saved his life, a couple of times. What’s it to you? How do you know him?”

>>495770
>”I saved his life, a couple of times.”

>>495806
>>495808

I saved his life, a couple of times. I’m afraid a cáurr got to him, he’s lucky to be alive.

“He’s lucky you have a soft spot for slaveboys…” Raoul says under his breath. You ignore him, but you have a feeling Dana hasn’t gotten a chance to familiarize herself to his wicked sense of humour. “And you are lucky I’d be executed for breaking your high-born nose!” Dana hisses. “Feisty, this one.” he replies.

How do you know him anyways, Dana? What’s his life to you?

“He is my, ehm.. My friend.”

>”His life is in your hands now, I have more important duties to attend to.” [Approach Einar]
>”You know breaking Vereingjar noses isn’t the only activity prohibited for slaves, right? Your boyfriend here might wish that cáurr had it’s way with him once the chieftain learns about this.”
>”Whatever, it makes no difference. We need to get going, I put my life in your hands, ambátt, protect us.” [Get to higher ground]

>>495911
>”Whatever, it makes no difference. We need to get going, I put my life in your hands, ambátt, protect us.” [Get to higher ground]

>>495911
>>”Whatever, it makes no difference. We need to get going, I put my life in your hands, ambátt, protect us.” [Get to higher ground]

File: da4161e12efd4a4adad86484e(...).jpg (54 KB, 736x461)

54 KB JPG

Will have to break it off here, too tired. Time zones are a bitch, eh? Hopefully it's somewhat enjoyable, leave critique or questions if you want. I'll answer in the morning. Thanks for playing guys!

>>495911
>”His life is in your hands now, I have more important duties to attend to.” [Approach Einar]

Expect if he can walk then we tend wounded at higher ground.

What's with all the weird names (tráel, Vereingjar, Erland)? They sound like garbled versions of Old Norse.

>>497594
Pretty much. I started out wanting to do a space viking quest. It kinda drifted away from that, but still. If you get a few votes with you I can name the next new characted Gary or James or something.

Also; I won't be able to update tonight, unfortunately. In the future sessions will be held a bit earlier in the day. I realize this is not optimal for you players, assuming most of you are American, but I can't stay up to 2-3 AM during the week. I will be updating Wednesday and Thursday.

Session starts in 1.5 hours (19:00 UTC+0)!

File: The Bog.jpg (164 KB, 1049x709)

164 KB JPG

A lot rested on Dana and her fighting capabilities. Getting out of the bog had taken an extra ten minutes since you had to wait for Einar to finish his killing. When every cáurr within sight was without a pulse, Einar collapsed. You had to set Gier down and help Raoul to get the bone-tired berserk on his feet. Actually, “his foot” would be more accurate. As you had feared, his left shinbone had snapped right in half. The ensuing combat had not helped, either.

You gave Einar a cocktail of drugs: morphine for the pain, promethazine to increase the effectiveness of the morphine and leviate some of the nausea, naloxone to keep the brute breathing through all those painkillers, and on top of that, three shots of localized anesthesia.

Raoul had to help him walk, and even then it was a struggle to say the least. Raoul hated adding his and Einar’s to the list of lives which depended on Dana, an ambátt, but there was no other way.

Dana only got a single opportunity to prove her worth on the excruciating trek up the relatively high ridge; and it wasn’t even a cáurr. A pack of furless, greasy beasts resembling dogs had emerged, startling Dana who led the way. She killed the first two out of pure reflex, “Is there anything on this planet that is not either blue or slimy?” she said as the rest of the alien canines fled.

(1/2)

File: 13215476465.jpg (168 KB, 1000x1600)

168 KB JPG

You are now almost at the top.

“Raoul!” a voice let out, eager and with relief, almost like a child who lost its mother. Dana gasped of surprise and spun around, her black eyes probing your surroundings and her weapon readied. Raoul let out a hearty, patronizing laugh aimed at Dana. “Unless one of you asses made time to teach the Cáurr our names, there’s no need to worry, shieldmaiden. Ha! Torsten, show yourself for fuck’s sake you’re making the slaves a bit antsy!”

The thin boy with blonde hair and that strange tone to his skin appeared. The boy you’d seen spending most of his wake time following Raoul’s every footstep, and sneaking around the ship doing Gods’ know what when he wasn’t. He had a shy, yet smug expression on his face.

“Ah, Torsten I was almost starting to get worried. So did you find an entry? Did you at least look around like I told you?” Raoul said, sounding quite excited. He must be talking about the Cáurr’s storage burrows, your mission. They’re packed with liquid methane; the Cáurr use it to synthesize carbohydrates when food is scarce, the Vereingjar use it as propellant. Very valuable indeed.

Torsten didn’t get a chance to answer just yet, “‘Like I told you’?! You sent him away as we ‘ad men dying in that wet field? To do… scouting?” Her accent really spills through when she’s angry, you catch yourself thinking.

“Yes, yes I did. A scout and the work he does is worth more than ten of you slaves, armed meatshields, that’s all the lot of you are.”

Dana swings at his face with her fist but he dodges skillfully. She’s practically steaming with rage.


>Try to defuse the situation
>Have Torsten tell about his findings
>Side with either Dana or Raoul
>Write in

>>503093
>Have Torsten tell about his findings

Ignore them

>>503093
>>Have Torsten tell about his findings

“So, Torsten, did you find an entry?” you say, interrupting the dispute. Maybe the mission isn’t scrapped after all.” A welcome feeling of hopefulness and excitement fills you. Maybe the men and women laying face down and guts out in the bog will be spared a meaningless death. That ought to count for something. Besides, mission success now means you’re spared starting from scratch on another planet. The Chieftain will make sure Drekkar gets her fuel one way or another.

Torsten looks at Raoul, as if he’s asking for approval. If Raoul gave it to him, you missed it.

“Ahem… Well, yeah, I did. There’s like three of them, actually, on the north side of the hi… ridge. The hole to the right has the methane deposits closest to the surface.”

“You went inside?! I told you to scout the damn ridge not try to finish a 12 man mission on your own!” Now Raoul is the one fitting the mother-child analogy.

“Well you guys were taking forever! Besides, it wasn’t even guarded.” Torsten said, looking quite uncertain of himself.

Dana seems to have calmed herself down, slightly. “Well we have two warriors wounded and drugged halfway to unconsciousness, if you haven’t noticed. We should just try to get back to Drekkar while we can.”

You’re highest in the chain of command, the choice will be yours.

>Carry on with the mission, despite the circumstances. What’s your plan?
>Officially scrap the mission, you’re getting your asses to the EVAC launch pad.
>Write in

>>503172
>>Officially scrap the mission, you’re getting your asses to the EVAC launch pad.

As a medic, we cannot allow the mission to continue, the remaining lives are our top priority. The intel acquired by Torsten is worth more if our comrades actually get to hear it.

>>503192
Waiting to see if anyone else wants to cast a vote.

I just realized the thread is autosaging. Will continue anyways as long as someone is playing, or until approximately 23:00 UTC+0.

>>503217
Guess all your other players are Americans

>>503245
Probably a pretty good guess. I'm writing the next prompt now, sit tight!

>>503172
>Officially scrap the mission, you’re getting your asses to the EVAC launch pad.

I’m with Dana on this one, we cannot risk getting anyone killed. Gier and Einar need further medical attention, under proper circumstances, back on Drekkar. If we enter those burrows and don’t make it out they’re left here for dead, whoever would’ve stayed to guard them would have no choice other than leaving them and heading alone for the launch pad. No, it’s forced and reckless, I will not have it. We’re heading down there, right now. I’m sick of this dank planet.

“I know better than to argue with you, Doc., but you’re the one explaining to the Chieftain why her ship is running on fumes…” Raoul says, sounding disappointed. How a man can be hungry for action and adventure after a day like this is beyond you. Dana gives you a thanking look, then sets her eyes upon Gier. You can see her almost tearing up as she timidly inspects his ravaged body from afar.

I’ll take an awkward conversation over dead patients any day. Funnily enough, they’re rarely mutually exclusive. Let’s get our sore asses home, shall we?


Getting down the ridge was relatively easy. The terrain was forgiving and with Torsten helping Raoul to support Einar, you were able to make good time. If only it would’ve been smooth sailing all the way to the ascension vehicle cockpit…

When you get to the launch pad, the place is swarming with cáurrs.

“For fuck’s sake, I honestly thought we’d killed off most of them.” Raoul sighs.

Apparently not. Might be a different tribe or something.

The blue, hunched over creatures are dismantling the AVs one by one. There were six in total: four to carry the raiders into orbit (three in each), and two for the loot (the liquid methane). The cáurr are currently working on their third. There’s six of you, so you’ll need two rockets. To summarize: you’re running out of time.

You relay these thought to the group.

(1/2)

File: avtr_concept_ng_destructi(...).jpg (204 KB, 1024x612)

204 KB JPG

>>503334
Einar whose morphine is starting to wear off starts grunting, “let’s kill the fuckers, ain’t much to it”, he gestures with his arm towards the raised platform in front of you. He loses his balances for a second and tries to compensate with his broken leg, as he sets it down he grits his teeth and moans in pain.

“Hush, big guy, there’s at least fifteen of them. Maybe you’re right, but considering Erland brought his grown up pants I doubt he’ll get you another shot of whatever you’re on and let you charge at them.”

Dana sighs, “No, because that would be incredibly stupid… I suggest someone lures them off, somehow, and then you ready the AVs for launch.”

“Talking about stupid ideas” Raoul says under his breath, Torsten smirks but keeps a steady lookout over the small horde of cáurrs.

The sun is basically setting, we could always wait out the sunset and hope they leave. If they don’t, well then we go back to the drawing board, and hope these fucks don’t have better night vision than us. I’m not sure though, maybe it’s better to act fast…

>Fight them straight on, get Einar juiced up and splint his leg. Carnage ensues, hopefully in your favour.
>Develop a tactic involving luring the Cáurr away from the vehicles. What’s the plan?
>Wait out the dark, for better or worse.
>Write in

>>503341
Make sure everyone is on the same page; line up in a firing line and take potshots. Retreat to a defensive position afterwards, preferably at higher ground.

>>503341
>>503355
I'll go with this.

>>503341

>Torsten and Raoul go around them and take up position. We fix up Einar as well as we can, once we are ready we signal to the scouts and they rain fire on the smurfs and our group charge in.

>>503355
This works too. Is the terrain favorable for us, any cliffs we can scale and snipe from?

>>503372
You've just come down the ridge, there is higher ground but no cliffs. There are trees though, climbable ones. Might prove difficult to escape from, should things go bad.

>>503355
Consider the fact that neither Dana nor Einar carry ranged weapons. Do you want to somehow combine your write in with >>503363 ?

>>503392
Sure, sure. Whatever works.

Alright, I made my mind up. We’re gonna split up. Raoul and Torsten, you stay here and open fire when I give you a signal...

“What signal?”

Well I haven’t decided th…

“Doc. how are we supposed to know when to fire if we don’t know the signal?”

Damnit Raoul just let me finish, okay? Dana, Einar, and I will wait down there by the treeline, I’m no use from here, it’s too far. After you pop a few of them, the rest are sure to come after you, according to today’s empirical data, at least. When they do, we’ll wait for them, surprise them as they pass us. I’ll make sure Einar doesn’t have to worry about his leg, for now. The last part makes Einar snort amused, he doesn’t seem to worry about worsening his legs condition, potentially irreversibly.

We’ll have to hide Gier somewhere, we can’t spare an able fighter to guard him. You expected Dana to disapprove, and perhaps she did, but she’s not showing it. She knows you’re telling the truth.

After agreeing on a signal you set up on your respective positions. Einar’s face looks like that of a man who’s been drinking for a week straight, but he’s standing up. You give Raoul the signal, showing the middle finger; he insisted. They’re about forty meters away from where you are currently hiding, but you could swear you saw him smile as you flipped him off.

The railgun slugs start whistling past you, and seconds later the familiar Cáurr war cries start echoing in the valley. Torsten and Raoul’s rifles are only capable of firing once per charge, but they manage to keep a firing pace of once every three seconds. Amazing, really.

You hear a cáurr charging, approaching. The sound grows louder and you start to wonder if it’s just the one.

They pass you, four of them. You nod to Dana and Einar, and they leap out from behind the trees. Einar starts by breaking the skull of a cáurr using his elbow and the momentum of his body, then he turns to the next, preparing a savage blow with his two-handed axe behind above his head.

Dana elegantly decapitates another as it runs past, then extending her now shielded arm in the path of a sprinting cáurr, knocking it down as it runs into the shield. She gets on top of the creature and buries her axe in its skull.

You now step out into the path of the stampede, crossbow readied…

[Best of three 1d20+1. Beat 10 to hit, 14 to kill.]

>>503508
Change that to 1d20+2, haven't updated our stats, sorry!

Rolled 11 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>503508

Rolled 10 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>503508

>>503516
Doubt the rolls are contested. Roll away if you want man, it's random anyways.

Rolled 8 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

File: image.jpg (673 KB, 3300x1856)

673 KB JPG

>>503516
For a moment you and the creature make eye contact, giving you an eerie sensation in your body, throwing you off slightly. As you pull the trigger the cáurr has already started leaping towards you. The bolt that should’ve pierced its brow instead penetrates the alien flesh between two ribs, making it curl up in the air. It tumbles as it hits the ground, but gets up.

You unsheath your knife and advance towards the wounded cáurr before it has time to make a move. You lunge at its throat with the knife but the cáurr manages to deflect your thrust with its arm. Your dull knife rips a nasty hole in the pale-blue skin and flesh on its forearm but it only seems to make it more angry. It hits you with the back of its hand, making you fall to the side and land on you back. The savage thing doesn’t waste a moment; it jumps up into the air, aiming to land on top of you.

You get your knife up just in time for the cáurr to land on it. You realize that you don’t know whether the Cáurr’s hearts are located in the same place as human hearts. Regardless, that’s where the knife sunk in, with the help of gravity. The creature is dead, and you manage to push it off of you without help this time.

As you get up you realize you missed the rest of the encounter. Dana and Einar are both panting, which of them did the most killing would be hard to say. Your best guess is roughly equal: a shit-ton. But it doesn’t matter, the pile of bodies on the damp forest floor is all you need; it tells you the course home is clear.
That'll be all for tonight guys! Thanks for sticking with me, hope the updates haven't been too slow nor boring. Next time, hopefully tomorrow, I'll make a new thread.

Please leave critique or questions, I'll stick around for a while.

>>503617
Thank you for running. When will you come back?

>>503623
I can run tomorrow as long as there's interest! It would be around the same time, from let's say 19:00 to 23:00 UTC+0, possibly a bit longer.

Here's a twitter: https://twitter.com/QuestMasterCzac

I also announce in QTG