ExoSquad: Flightline

[AN: The choices in this update don't have any "mechanical" impact, it's more of an opportunity to shape the relevant character and how they're viewed by other squad members/in general. Owner vote overrides other votes.]

Christopher "Plague Doc" Stuart

"Moving to crash site to assist with search and rescue." Lestari calls out over the comms. "Easy-seven, Fox-five, stay close - we have incoming contacts all around and won't have much time once the evac shuttle gets here."

You mostly ignore her and focus on the mega blaster. Your E-Frame's jamming suite breaks into the target's computer via an unsecured ExoNet broadcast server (you're not surprised it's unsecured, but you do wonder why a random pirate improvised surface-to-orbit capable artillery piece has an ExoNet server), and you're able to convince the targeting system that left is right and up is down. By the time the pirates figure it out, their vehicle has been completely perforated by your blaster, its long barrel cracked in half - it never gets another shot off.

Then, free from having to use all their power on evasive maneuvers, your capital ship group unleashes hell. In rapid succession, the multitude of sensor contacts closing in on your squad disappear - either because of direct hits by capital ship blasters or because they don't want to take a direct hit from capital ship blasters.

You watch the orbital bombardment with a resigned sigh - sure the kilotonnage on those explosions is impressive, but there's just no artistry to it, no personal touch. You shake your head, then fire up the leg and rear-mounted main thrusters, joining the formation around the evacuation shuttle. The latter reports taking two surviving E-Frame pilots on board, with moderate and severe injuries.

The jump troops indicate that they'll be remaining on the surface for some time to carry out additional search and rescue operations for the (fairly substantial number of) casualties that they took during the engagement. You briefly consider volunteering your E-Frame's services for the task - you've got the comms gear and haven't even used your probe, so you could definitely help out and speed up the process, while showing off your E-Frame's capabilities and skills at using them. On the other hand, that might lead to any survivors trying to track you down to thank you, and then you'd have to talk to them? Awful. Maybe you could spread the load and "volunteer" the rest of the squad too?

[] PD - Head back to the ship, the jump troopers can handle it themselves
[] PD - Volunteer your E-Frame to help with additional search and rescue tasks
[] PD - Volunteer your E-Frame and the rest of the squad to help with additional search and rescue tasks

---

ExoCruiser Endeavor Hangar A
Emily "Em" O'Dwyer

"Disconnect." you tell the cyberlink. Like most other E-Frame pilots, the sensation of losing "direct" access to the E-Frame's sensors is somewhere between disorienting and disappointing. It's not too bad for you, as your particular frame is considerably larger than a human - you actually sit in a dedicated cockpit space, and your arms aren't stuck in the E-Frame's "arms". Unlike the Falcon or the Wraith or the Sergeant - your instructors during tech training were all unanimous in telling you to "leave the embedded guys alone for a bit".

You're back to your normal chipper self in a few seconds, though, so you pop your canopy (making sure to double check the air pressure indicator prior, just in case they forgot to re-pressurize the hangar) and hop out. Instead of the two-seater normally parked across from you, this time you've got another repair E-Frame, painted in black-and-green camo (in contrast to your bog-standard yellow-with-black-stripes paintjob). The E-Frame's rear-mounted missile launcher is... going to need some work. To put it mildly. Of course, you took a hit too.

You run across the hangar, your long legs carrying you the distance before the pilot finishes climbing out, thumping down on the deck. "We kicked some ass, yeah?" You call out as you approach, extending your hand for a high-five.

"Hell yeah, we did." the pilot replies, slapping your hand. He's almost as tall as you, but definitely originating from Earth - nobody who grew up in the belt outposts is that wide. A five o'clock shadow and slightly messy dark brown hair accompany a pair of bushy eyebrows. "That fighter was pretty tough, kept flying out of range." He grins, gesticulating with one hand to show an aircraft flying back and forth. "But I got him in the end, just had to fly up a little." he adds, sending the other hand flying up and making a little 'pew pew pew' gesture.

You laugh. "That's why I only shoot at stationary targets. They blow up easier and I still get credit for the kill. I'm Em." You look over to Lestari's E-Frame, from which she's just extracted herself, still looking somewhat disoriented. You decide to postpone that introduction for a bit. As for Plague Doc, well... you shrug.

You gesture to his E-Frame. "So what ship are you off of? You get transferred to here or what?" you ask.

"I'm Josh, off the Luther." he says, sniffing a little, waving his hand towards the hangar door. "Well, probably not any more. I think there's at least three Luthers out there now, only a lot smaller than they used to be. Took a couple direct hits right after I launched."

You sigh. "Shit, I'm sorry. Well, I hope you get transferred here permanently." you say, hoping to redirect the conversation to a less awkward topic. "I've got eighty four pieces of equipment to maintain on this tub, and I could use some help. Want to grab some chow after debriefing and visit the medbay? Our squad leader bought a piece of the farm, and I want to see how much he bought."

He nods, replying with a slight smirk. "Sure, I'm in. Can't fix E-Frames without nutrients, that's what I always say."

---

ExoCruiser Endeavor Medical Bay

"Bloody hell, that looks like it hurt." you comment, looking at Nate as he lies unconscious in one of the med-bay's recovery beds, a neck brace holding his head in place with the right arm restrained as well. According to the med-techs, Wilhelm still hasn't been transferred to recovery. Most of the rest of the beds are occupied mostly by jump troopers, although there are a couple of people here from the ship's crew - the aftermath of the direct hit the Endeavor took at the start of the previous engagement.

"I imagine it would." Lestari comments, rubbing the implant at the back of her head. "Emergency disconnection always goes great with head injuries."

Josh nods, his bulky, hairy arms crossed over his chest, positively dwarfing the short, dark-haired, Indonesian woman on the other side of your squad leader's temporary resting place. "At least we got the bastards what did it to him." you add. "Too bad the E-Frame's totaled, barely even good for spare parts." you smirk.

Lestari sighs. "He would have been fine if you people would focus a little more and chatter a little less out there."

"Aw, come on, love." you counter. "That's half the fun!" You briefly look over to Josh, who's trying very carefully to maintain a neutral expression, but you can tell (based on his mid-mission chatter, the flickering smirk and the glint in his eyes) that he's on your side.

Lestari frowns, looking at you with narrowed eyes. "We'll see how much fun you're having when you're in his place."

"Ladies, ladies." Josh interrupts, spreading his hands with a smile. "I've never met this guy before, but I can already tell he doesn't want you arguing over his bed while he's trying to take a nap." he motions with his head towards the medbay door. "Why don't you two take a break, and I'll hang out here. I've got nothing else to do anyway other than fill out transfer paperwork."

You can see Lestari's jawline bulging out, then she sighs and turns around, heading towards the door.

[] EM - "Sure, thanks Josh, you're the best."
[] EM - "Nah, you go get some rest, I'll stay here."
[] EM - "Actually, why don't I stay here too?"

Pirate Corvette
-Attacks nearest ExoFleet unit within one space.
-Turns into sensor contact if not attacked and would not be forced to reveal (sensor contact always re-appears as frigate)
-Can show up as sensor contact.
-Immediately attacks if revealed from sensor contact, does not attack on own turn in that case

Pirate Fighter
-If ExoFleet unit present in own space, will attack it
-If no ExoFleet unit present in own space, will move towards nearest ExoFleet unit then attack it

Pirate Commander
-If ExoFleet unit present in own space, will attack it
-If no ExoFleet unit present in own space, will move towards nearest ExoFleet unit then attack it
-Gives an extra move or attack action to nearest non-commander crewed pirate craft or sensor contact that has not already received one

Torpedo
-Always moves "down" one space
-Cannot be attacked by capital ship weapons
-When entering a space with a capital ship, detonates, causing one point of damage

Attack Warning
-Incoming weapons barrage; attacks all units in own space; disappears at end of turn

Sensor Contact
-Always moves "down" one space
-Resolves to an actual contact when entering a space with an ExoFleet unit or when an ExoFleet unit enters its space

Debris Field
-Blocks Line of Sight
-Does not move
-Cannot be targeted

JumpTroop Shuttle
-Always moves "up" one space
-2 HP
-No weapons

Note: to avoid getting pointlessly blown up, units will not move into weapons range of a capital ship with operational weapons by themselves

ExoCruiser Endeavor Medical Bay
Emily "Em" O'Dwyer

You plonk yourself down on a nearby bench, looking around the room as Lestari pads out, counting the number of occupied beds. The medbay isn't quite up to full capacity, but it's pretty close - probably three squads' worth of jump troopers. Plus a few of the Endeavor's crew, like you noted before. You pull out your ExoPad and check the squad's E-Frame status. Everyone is back now, including Plague Doc. Not that his E-Frame needs repairs - just a quick missile reload.

"Geez, the jump troops took a crazy amount of casualties." Josh pipes up, sitting down on the bench next to you, leaning back against the wall and slouching.

You shake your head with disbeief. "It would have been a lot worse if Plague Doc hadn't stuck around to help." you raise an eyebrow. "Never thought he'd have it in him."

Josh shrugs. "I dunno, never met the guy."

You chuckle. "Right, you guys haven't been introduced. He's pretty quiet, usually just fiddles around with his E-Frame and tries to end any conversation as quickly as possible."

Josh nods. "I guess they owe him, anyway. None of the injuries look that bad, but that jump armor stops being airtight when it gets perforated. What's he work on anyway?"

It's your turn to shrug. "I dunno, some kind of programming adjustments usually. His E-Frame passes standard specs, though, and he's uh... not too forthcoming, so I haven't asked."

Josh gets a grin on his face. "Yeah, I like to tinker with the UI scripting sometimes, you can actually do a lot of pretty cool stuff with it way beyond the standard customization. One time, I pranked this one guy, snuck into the hangar after his shift and made his targeting reticle turn solid pink whenever he'd get a missile lock." he laughs. "But to make it harder to track down, I only had it happen with one in four odds."

You laugh and cringe. "Holy shite, he must have been pissed."

"Yeah." Josh sighs. "I don't think he made it off the Luther, though." he shakes his head. "Sorry, pal."

You put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, too."

---

ExoCruiser Endeavor Medical Bay
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver

You wake up eventually. Not because you've had a full night's sleep or aren't tired or anything positive like that, but because of the pounding headache. Your mouth is dry, you've got a neck brace on, and your arm is in a cast. "Ugh," you croak. "Anybody get the plate number on the truck that ran me over?"

You hear two chuckles, one definitely belonging to Em, the one to a voice you haven't quite identified yet. "Yeah, we got their numbers pretty good." Em replies, patting you on your good shoulder. She's got her hair down.

"Here, man, let's get you sitting up. Want to raise the bed? Can you hold a cup with the good hand?" the other voice asks.

You try to nod as best you can, but the neck brace prevents head movement. "Yeah." you reply, fumbling around for the button that'll lift the back part of your bed upright. You get it eventually, gratefully accepting the sippy-cup (covered top in case of gravity loss) and taking a good slug. At least your throat stops being dry. "You're uh..." you gaze over at the source of the voice. "Fox-five, right?" you ask, raising your eyebrow slightly.

He nods. "Yeah, call me Josh. I'd offer to shake your hand, but..." he smirks.

You chuckle. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm Nate. So, what happened, did we win?"

"Yeah, we won." Em cuts in. "A couple of capital ships got totaled, but the pirates gave up once we took down their mega blasters and re-started the orbital bombardment." she waves her hand in a general 'that way' direction. "Rest of their fleet launched and ran, vectored for Tethys."

You sigh. "That's pretty close, I'm guessing I'm going to miss that one. Sorry, guys."

Josh pipes up. "I hear the admiral caught a piece of it when the Resolute got hit."

"Winfield?" you ask. "So who's in charge?"

"Marcus." Em answers.

You frown. "Marcus? As in Captain Matthew 'I'm the captain of an ExoCarrier but I don't believe in using E-Frames' Marcus?"

Em chuckles. "The way you say it makes it sound like a bad thing."

You sigh. "I don't know. Whose idea was it to bring the capital ships so close to the moon?"

Josh and Em look at each other, shrugging. "Never mind." you interrupt. "So what happened?"

Josh shrugs. "Apparently, a console blew up."

Em spreads her hands in confusion. "A command console? That's just circuit boards and wires, how could it possibly blow up?"

Josh shakes his head. "I dunno, just what I heard. Maybe it was a penetrating hit, EMP effect on his implant or gravity went haywire?"

You sigh, again. "Great. Well, here's hoping the next time we engage the pirates, whoever's in charge doesn't just drop down to optimal pirate blaster range." you smirk. "'cause you nimrods won't have me to bail you out." You look around with your eyes as best you can. "Hey, where's Willy?"

Em tilts her head further into the med bay. "They just wheeled him in from the theatre a few minutes ago. He's a little worse off than you, but he'll be fine." her face brightens up. "Hey, I was reading Field Engineer Monthly the other day, and apparently there's this guy, think he's named after some mouse or something, says he's building a prototype for a long-range grav manipulation device using ... "

You tune out and sigh, for the third time, in as many minutes. Josh is all excited to hear about this ("how long-range?"), it seems, and, from the looks of it, you're going to be a captive audience too. You roll your eyes, mouthing "nerds", then hit the call button for the nurse, hoping for a rescue...

---

ExoCruiser Endeavor Hangar Bay
Tom "Joker" Ward

"All right, folks." you begin, putting your foot up on a knee-high crate. "We're running a short squad today - lot of battle damage and injuries. Easy-two and three are on jump troop liaison duty, everyone else with me. Pretty straightforward plan - capital ships bombard at maximum blaster range, then we move in, escorting jump troop shuttles to locate and destroy long-range weaponry. Any questions?"

"You sure we don't want to move our capital ships to optimal pirate blaster range again, Lieutenant?" the new transfer asks. He's kind of a big dude, messy brown hair, bushy eyebrows, five o'clock shadow. You still haven't bothered to learn his name.

You roll your eyes. "I'll ask the captain, see how he feels about it. Maybe he'll see things your way and let us catch a few extra hours of rack time." you chuckle a little, amused at the thought. He's standing next to the tall belter red-head and whispers something to her - she giggles.

"Something you want to share with the rest of the squad, ExoTrooper?" you ask, sighing internally - you were looking forward to having a break from the other loud-mouth wise-cracker while he recovers in the medbay.

"Sir, no sir." comes the answer as he straightens out.

"Good." you point at him, raising your eyebrows. "I don't know how they ran things on your old ship, but around here, as long as you keep your nose clean, do your job and don't undermine the chain of command," you emphasize that last one, "we'll get along just fine. All right, everyone, frame up. Let's get this done quick, so I can get back to my rigorous nap schedule."

---

"Easy-one, launching." you report, feeling the acceleration as your E-Frame's shoulder jets kick in. Instinctively, you give the command to unfold the wings as soon as you clear the hangar, then zone out as the other squad members report their launches. You quickly vector towards the jump troop shuttle, then take a look at the view. Tethys is a bright, highly-reflective round rock, covered in craters, including one really big one. Likely, the pirates use it as one of their water sources out here (and probably break up the water into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for uh... breathing). Saturn hovers off in the distance, several days journey away, showing off its ring system.

Your squad forms up around the jump shuttle and begins the approach as the capital ships light up surface targets. Eventually, Command calls "cease bombardment, all targets damaged or destroyed", and the shuttle begins its final approach. Which is when the sensor contacts start lifting up from the surface.

"Here they come!" you call out. "Keep them away from the shuttle."

Operational Area Map:

Pick deployment zone. Must be within one space of an ExoCruiser Endeavor space (so, A7-D7, B6 and C6).
[] Write-in deployment zone for each E-Frame

Objective:
Shuttle must reach row 0 (2/2 HP)

Command
Pilot: Tom "Joker" Ward
Available Actions:
[] [RED] Triple Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Gatling Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Missile (10/10 available)
- Attack any target within line of sight.
[] [BLUE] Move
- Move one space in the grid in any direction
[] [BLUE] Evade
- Negate the next incoming attack of any kind
[] [GRAY] Order: Red
- Designated other E-Frame may take an additional [RED] action that they have not taken this turn
[] [GRAY] Order: Blue
- Designated other E-Frame may take an additional [BLUE] action that they have not taken this turn

Wraith
Pilot: Christopher "Plague Doc" Stuart
[] [RED] Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Missile (6/6 available)
- Attack any target within line of sight.
[] [BLUE] Move
- Move one space in the grid in any direction.
[] [BLUE] Evade
- Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.
[] [GRAY] Sensor Scan
- Reveal the contents of a sensor blip.
[] [GRAY] Comms Jamming
- Designated target is unable to move or fire this round.
[] [GRAY] Probe (1/1 available)
- Designate a space within line of sight. All sensor blips entering this space are automatically revealed going forward.
[] [GRAY] Target Guidance
- Designated target within line of sight may be targeted by missiles regardless of line of sight.

Engineer A
Pilot: Emily "Em" O'Dwyer
[] [RED] Arm Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Shoulder Blasters
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Missile (4/4 available)
- Attack any target within line of sight.
[] [RED] Magnetic grapple
- Move designated target (allied or hostile) one space towards this E-Frame OR prevent designated target from moving away
[] [RED] Repair
- Re-enable one damaged system on any other E-Frame in the same space. Target cannot issue [BLUE] orders this turn.
[] [BLUE] Move
- Move one space in the grid in any direction.
[] [BLUE] Evade
- Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.

Engineer B (note: will be driven by QM per player request, but suggestions can be made)
Pilot: Joshua Walker
[] [RED] Arm Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Shoulder Blasters
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Missile (4/4 available)
- Attack any target within line of sight.
[] [RED] Magnetic grapple
- Move designated target (allied or hostile) one space towards this E-Frame OR prevent designated target from moving away
[] [RED] Repair
- Re-enable one damaged system on any other E-Frame in the same space. Target cannot issue [BLUE] orders this turn.
[] [BLUE] Move
- Move one space in the grid in any direction.
[] [BLUE] Evade
- Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.

Melee
Pilot: Calista "Lestari" Wahyuni
[] [RED] Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Shoulder Blaster
- Attack any target within one space.
[] [RED] Laser Cutter
- Attack any target in own space.
[] [RED] Fist
- Attack any target in own space OR grab a mission-critical object.
[] [BLUE] Charge
- Move one space in the grid in any direction, the execute a Laser Cutter or a Fist
[] [BLUE] Move
- Move one space in the grid in any direction.
[] [BLUE] Evade
- Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.