Plans Within Plans [Ongoing]

[Dienekes22]

Previously: Plans Within Plans



One one of the fringe Skion colony worlds is the city of Vordolsta.




Besides the hoverbus station, it also has a landing pad for cargo.



On the second level is a courtyard with a regional police station.



In all, it's a quiet settlement with little to complain about.



A bus arrives, though it is either very early or quite late. The waiting crowd murmurs that there isn't an arrival expected for a while. There isn't even a gate agent, yet.



The citizens realize this isn't the bus they were expecting.



With no one to work the gate controls, the exterior door is locked and the walkways will not deploy.

Jirac, from the roof, complains into the comms: "This was supposed to be handled. We can't drag the zombies across like this."



Nearby, the Dominion forces finally show themselves, their exosuits whirring softly and echoing in the courtyard. "We're heading for the landing pad," Mirana says via comm.



Irwyn slides down the steps into the adjacent courtyard. "The Ynidon landing is beginning," she says quietly, "get ready to engage."



M-Throne arrives, too, close to the landing pad despite not really caring about it at all.

"For the greater good, my men," their hero says, "we must stop the deployment of the zombies."



Up above, a police officer realizes that something is wrong.



"I think we've got trouble!" she shouts.



Tactical Police stage in the food court.



The squad is ready for anything, or so they believe.



The police radio lights up with requests for assistance, but something is wrong. One message barely makes it's way to the settlement: "We're spinning up a QRF, but they may be a minute, all the telemetry is wrong!"



Last, but certainly not least, USA troops sprint toward cover.






Overwatch

Available Factions:

Ynidon: Hero Jirac (indomitable survivor cliche) + 2 zombie wranglers + 7 infantry + 2 crate loaders + 1 command drone
Command drone ensures Skion (and other faction) communications are unreliable. If it is destroyed Skion will immediately be able to call overwhelming support
Zombie wranglers have injection narcotics that will return the zombies to their feral, violent selves. Feral zombies have no allegiances.
Each crate contains 2 fleebnorks. They must be carried and deployed away from danger so the fleebs can hide and start to infest the planet.
Air Support Available
-> Allied with Dominion <-
Goals: Begin zombie infestation. Begin Fleebnork infestation. Escape (optional)

Skion: Hero Percy (super cop cliche) + 4 tactical police + 3 regular police
Air Support en route
Goals: Stop Ynidon

Imperial Magikstrate: Hero Irwyn (magikal soldier cliche) + 5 SBU Marines
Goals: Stop zombie infestation (too dangerous to the empire)

Dominion: Hero Mirana (Full Metal Bitch cliche) + 4 infantry
-> Allied with Ynidon <-
Goals: Seize the landing pad and assist Ynidon

M-Throne: Hero + 5 infantry
Air Support Available
Goals: Stop Ynidon (zombies are NOT for the Greater Good)

USA: Hero + 4 infantry + 1 communications specialist
USA communications are uninhibited as long as comm specialist is alive and may receive more reinforcements.
Goals: Fight, kill, possibly even win.

Sign ups are open!

[Dienekes22]

YNIDON



The bus starts to move off, and for a brief moment it looks like some sort of mistake.



Wrong! The bus shoves backwards and crashes through the safety glass. A few civilians are Disrupted but otherwise unharmed.



The zombies, freshly allowed to go feral, are tossed from the bus into the station.



In just moments they each find a target and their bites draw blood.

>Civilians will be automatically infected when attacked. Real troops will have to be successfully attacked and have their Mind die overcome<



Nearby civilians start to scream and run in terror.



On the roof of the bus the troops ready their actions to fight. Inside the bus everyone is still chilling.

SKION



The police move up toward the railing. The hero starts to shout and hype up the officers to try and coax a little more movement out of each of them. Behind, a friendly neighborhood cop is using the PA to urge the crowd to return to their homes for their own safety.



Unfortunately, the loud shouting causes confusion with the garbled PA system, so the crowd starts to push in on the officers

"What's going on?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'd like to report something suspicious I saw last week..."

The officers are unable to reach the railing and are caught in the crowd of onlookers. [FEAT FAILED]



One of the friendly neighborhood cops looks through the trash...



Wow! He found a gun! It probably has evidentiary value, but these are dangerous times...



The other friendly neighborhood officer is trying to calm down the crowd and can't find anything to use as a weapon.

USA



The troops split into Blue Team and Red Team and start to move toward cover.



The USA Hero confronts the construction workers and steals one of their hats. Now he will stand out more and have an easier time giving orders.



Everyone takes cover as the enemy is a long distance away.

M-THRONE



The troops advance carefully toward the landing pad.



"Hey, I just work here..." the crewmember says nervously, backing away from the approaching soldiers.

DOMINION



The troops advance, taking several hostages.

"Be cool and nobody will get hurt," one of them tries to calm their human shield, dragging them along in the advance.

IMPERIAL MAGIKSTRATE



The marines move up toward the bus, rifles at the ready.



Irwyn casts a one-way shield to protect the marines from return fire.



The only two marines in range fire at the Ynidon roof troops.



One of them manages to hit Jirac, but her armor roll defeats the attack easily.



Jirac and the rocket launcher return fire.



The rocket explodes prematurely (which is totally normal and not unexpected, really) against the magikal shield (the red die was for the lasting effect but the shell destroyed it)



This allowed Jirac's shot to connect.



Ynidon draws first blood!






Overwatch

Ynidon: 1 kill - 0 losses
Skion: 0 kills - 0 losses
Imperial Magikstrate: 0 kills - 1 loss
USA: 0 kills - 0 losses
Dominion: 0 kills - 0 losses
M-Throne: 0 kills - 0 losses

[Dienekes22]

YNIDON



The bus pulls away from the station with a loud scrape and the buzz of the hoverwheels.



With another crunch it leaps onto the courtyard and the citizens start to scatter.



The troops immediately start to shoot at the IM. Some of the IM shoot back in response.



Gunfire is mostly worthless, but the rocket trooper's well placed shot obliterates 3 marines before he's killed by the response fire.



Pipes clatter to the concrete as the smoke clears.



Jirac takes aim at the billboard...



With a few well placed shots it falls from the supports...



It hits the ground with a sickening crunch [Feat success!]

SKION



The tactical officer kicks an old woman, "Get out of the way!"



The civilians remember they're near cops and they start to flee, allowing the police to get to the railing.



The hero manages to score a kill.



This cop gives his pack to the regular cop.



She runs to the railing...



And sets up a zipline to the station roof.

M-THRONE



The troops push past the attendant.



Two of them take cover while the rest move toward the Dominion.

M-THRONE TAKES POSSESSION OF THE LANDING PAD



"I read you, ground team, I'm coming in to offer support"



Troops get into cover for the impending firefight.



Unfortunately, nobody can hit anything.

DOMINION



Mirana starts to loudly proclaim all the great sins of Skion. A couple civilians realize they are just cogs in a system of violence and misery and they defect to Dominion. The human shields, however, are not swayed [Feat success!]



Everyone moves up.



More fireworks but nobody is harmed.

IMPERIAL MAGIKSTRATE



Irwyn and her last marine take cover.



Irwyn smokes an Ynidon rifleman.

UNITED SYSTEMS ALLIANCE



Blue Team advances on the landing pad.



Red Team moves up toward cover. The communications guy sets up and starts to call for reinforcements. After numerous failed attempts he finally announces: "Either they're sending us a popcorn machine or more troops. I can't tell."



There is an exchange of gunfire.



An M-Throne trooper dies.

ZOMBIES



The infected move up and engage two more civilians.



There are now SIX zombies.









Overwatch

Ynidon: 4 kills - 3 losses
Skion: 1 kill - 0 losses
Imperial Magikstrate: 2 kills - 4 losses
USA: 1 kill - 0 losses
Dominion: 0 kills - 0 losses
M-Throne: 0 kills - 1 loss

[Dienekes22]

YNIDON



Jirac turns to give an order, but she realizes the rocket launcher trooper died last turn.



The rifleman, sensing her desire, vaults toward the launcher.



He takes careful aim...



... though not careful enough.



The rocket explodes in the tube and rips the trooper in half. Jirac is able to leap out of harm's way.



The drone, however, takes 1 point of damage (1 remains)



Jirac readies high-ex ammunition and aims for the Skion police hero, unfortunately the shot goes wide.



The bus crunches through the courtyard.



One of the crate haulers comes up from below.



He releases the fleebs, who eagerly crawl into the venting.

SKION



"Concentrate on the drone!" the officer shouts.



The officers gather and fire a volley.



The drone is shredded by the gunfire. The communications lines open and a deluge of messages begins to pour through the rest of the city. Alarms blare across multiple fire bases and strongpoints.



"We copy, headed to your AO now."



"Spinning up fire support, inbound in 90 seconds."

The troop carrier can be tasked by officers on the ground and will arrive where directed. The gunship will make it's way for the landing pad.

M-THRONE



A gunship arrives at the landing pad.



The remaining infantry fires without effect.



The gunship misses with it's gun and rockets.



It moves away from the landing pad, aware that the Skion gunship is coming fast.



"See how these mechanical monsters use you for shields! Is this for The Greater Good? I say to you that you must throw off these bonds and fight back!"



The human shields try to cast off their bonds, but only the grandmother is successful. She grabs the Dominion trooper.



The Hero dashes forward with a slice of his OTC.



The trooper dies in pieces and a second is gunned down by gunfire.

IMPERIAL MAGIKSTRATE



With few options, Irwyn charges up a magik blast.



She steps back and makes ready to hurl it at the bus.



It flies true.



With cackling malevolence the side of the bus buckles and explodes.



It lurches onto the ground, scraping against the concrete. It can barely move now, and the interior is exposed. The remaining marine shoots and misses.



Reinforcements arrive through unknown means, leaderless but ready for action.

DOMINION OF THE EAGLE



The troops charge for M-Throne. The newly recruited civilians try and find weapons, and one of them can reach a gun left by a dead trooper. Unfortunately, they all miss.



Mirana fires at the M-Throne hero, running hard to close the distance between them.



The shot rips off his helmet, wounding him! (1 HP remains)



Their blades clash, the opening salvo in the coming HEROIK DUEL.

UNITED SYSTEMS ALLIANCE



"I hear the comms opening!"



"Yessir! Troops on the way!"



Nearby, in the toxic pool, a slathering of bubbles appears on the surface.



Followed by two helmets...



Some new troops make the field. Who knows why they couldn't have come to the surface earlier...



Blue Team wastes the last M-Throne trooper at the landing pad.



They take cover next to it.



Red Team advances toward Dominion.



Given the nearby danger of the gunship, the rocket launcher fires. Unfortunately, the shell bounces off the nose and explodes harmlessly in the air.



The other troops fire without effect.

ZOMBIES



A zombie tackles one of the fleeing passengers.



The rest advance toward the city proper. The civilians are caught between the darkness of the city buildings, firefights, and zombies.











Overwatch

Ynidon: 4 kills - 4 losses
Skion: 1 kill + 1 drone - 0 losses
Imperial Magikstrate: 2 kills - 4 losses
USA: 2 kills - 0 losses
Dominion: 0 kills - 2 losses
M-Throne: 2 kills - 2 losses
Amount of zombies: 7 "alive"