Jammers Summary: Chapter 3, Turn 25

----------- = Meanwhile, elsewhere...
*********** = Later...

While the others wait, Kain flies invisibly to the furthermost vipership. He reaches just as the closer scro vessel is moving into the air envelope of the STAR's remains.

Kain crouches as he lands on the Vipership, looking and listening for any sign that his arrival was noticed. After a few moments, he slowly gets to his feet, shuffling the short distance to the hole in the bow of the Viper. Holding a hand on either side of his invisible bundle, Kain gently places the barrel bomb just inside the hole. Feeling into the interior pocket of his vest for the flint and steel Holland gave him, Kain brings out first the flint, transferring the cube to his left hand before retrieving the small piece of steel with his right.

Waiting until the Scro are farthest from him, Kain bends over the bomb, feeling for the fuse. Mentally marking the area on the hole that the fuse lays across, Kain hits flint to steel, trying to throw a spark onto the oil-soaked cloth fuse.

Visible now, Kain sets the bomb more firmly within the damaged hull of the Viper. With a quick glance at the main deck of the ship, Kain jumps free, diving below the Vipership and flying away as fast as he can. Behind him, there's a sudden shout, followed by the crack of a arquebus. The scro shouts of alarm are suddenly cut off as Kain exits the vipership's air envelope and heads back into space, his wings straining for all their worth.

There is a bright flash of light as the bow of the vipership explodes, followed by a series of smaller, secondary explosions. The smoke clears a moment later, revealing a mass of shattered wood and squirming scro where the second vipership had been.

Round 1:

Kain looks back over his shoulder to see the results of the bombs explosion as he continues his flight back to the melee.

Meanwhile, back in the wreckage...

As the light flares for an explosion on the second ship, Talus stands up from his hiding place and begins casting a spell. Murmuring the words he scatters a fine spray sand towards the viper ship. One of the scro arquebusiers falls to the deck in slumber.

After the bomb explodes, Italapate stage whispers, "Hey, Deig! Here I come!" He moves forward as best he can, gaining speed, toward Deigatt.

Deigatt's hands are moving in spell motions as Italapate leaps forward, clearly expecting a helping hand from the minotaur. Before Deigatt can react, 'Pate has slammed into him. Both stagger back and 'Pate slips to the deck, while Deigatt curses as his spell is ruined.

Crouching next to Talus, Seguld quickly brings his rifle to his shoulder and squeezes off a shot into the arquebus wielding scro around the catapult. The shot flies true, going straight through the forehead of one of the scro and dropping him instantly as the back of his skull explodes out with the exiting bullet.

Billy stays hidden as best he can waiting for his chance to act.

Raken hangs onto the piece of wreckage. When the eel detonates, he smiles broadly and says "Payback's a bitch."

Quietly from where he is trying to be a dead body, Robert softly whispers "Wind, Might, Clouds, Sight. Akadi, cloud these scro from our sight." Instantly the vipership, from the first Ballista and forward, is shrouded in a thick fog.

Grigree checks his weapons one last time and gripping on to the rope jumps over to the vipership. He lands with a soft thud on the portside of the bow, just above the eye. The thick fog obscures his vision, making if impossible to see beyond two feet.

As the debris flies from the first ship, Nilaroo casts his rope and makeshift grapple towards the vipership. As soon as it lands, hidden in the think fog, he gives a tug and feels the satisfying resistance which indicates it has caught and held.

On the vipership startled commands can be heard echoing through the fog. Two arquebuses are fired ineffectively, and are followed by angry sounding shouts in a guttural language.

Round 2:

Unable to get a spell off at the scro because of the fog, Talus launches himself towards the ship. He lands on the snake-head ram then nimbly scrambles upward, dagger in hand.

Italapate extricates himself from Deigatt. "What in the nine hells?" Pate asks.

Growling, Deigatt grabs the foot of shaman of Coyote and hurls him at the fog-shrouded vipership with all his strength. 'Pate, thinking quickly, adds a shove of his own and sails over.

As 'Pate flies through the air, he shouts "'ponnnnnnn mmmmmyyyyy ssssoulllllllll!!!!"

Dropping down next to Seguld, Kain says, "Here, I'll help you get to the fight."

Seguld struggles to his feet, leaving the remaining rifles against the ballista. He draws his mace clear from his belt, and says aloud. "ReadyWhenYouAre - OhWingedOne!"

Settling his forearms under Seguld's armpits and holding tight, Kain carries the gnome to the fog covered viper, where scro shouted commands can be heard. Kain drops the gnome on the ram (just behind Talus, though neither Seguld nor Kain realises this in the fog) and pushes back into the air towards the wreckage.

Crossbow in hand, Billy launches himself through the air, using his knowledge of gravity planes and zero gravity combat to skip up and down through the gravity plane until he reaches the lower hull of the vipership, just beneath the ram.

Nilaroo climbs his rope, dagger in his teeth, disappearing onto the foggy vipership.

Raken moves next to Nilaroo and ties the rope to the wreckage as he waits for Nilaroo to finish climbing.

Leera stops her concentration on the illusion, and joins him.

Grigree slips quietly onto the viper's deck, next to the catapult. He loops his rope through a belaying pin and slides his sword from its sheath.

Keeping low, and behind what little cover he can find, Robert prayers quietly, "Clouds of Sickness, Fumes of the Sewer, Deny those scro the air of Akadi." and with that he gestures at the rear of the vipership. Instantly a billowing mass of green vapours surrounds the two rear ballistae and their crews. Two of the five scro stumble forward coughing, out of the cloud. The other three collapse to the deck coughing and spitting, overcome by the fumes.

Round 3:

Italapate slams into many bodies as he flies onto the vipership's main deck. There are a few flashes of spinning arms and twirling stars, then the movement stops and 'Pate realises he is lying on a groaning mass of bodies. In the thick fog, he can make out few details of the tangle of bodies he ends up in, but all the arms and legs appear to be green-skinned and black leather armoured.

Talus steps onto the vipership's deck, just forward of the catapult, and runs immediately into a massive, black armoured form. Thinking quickly, Talus sinks his dagger into the scro, but the armour partially stops the thrust. Startled and in pain, the scro swings his arquebus barrel at Talus' head like a club but overestimates the half-elf's height and misses him cleanly.

Moving very carefully, Seguld climbs up the ram, stopping when he recognises Talus' back in the fog in front of him.

Billy orients himself to the vipership's gravity plane and decides what to do next, as he stands on the vipership's bottom.

Raken begins hauling himself hand over hand along the rope towards the vipership. because the rope lies almost along the gravity plane, the work is not difficult.

Leera follows Raken.

Moving silently and slowly aft, Grigree listens for the sounds of scro nearby. He hears the sudden gasp of pain behind him as talus knifes a scro, and he hears the groans and curses before him where 'Pate has landed on some scro. Suddenly, a black armoured scro is right before him. Grigree reacts first, sending his longsword slashing into the scro's side, though the studded leather prevents a serious cut the scro grunts in pain and begins to bleed even as he reacts with a backhand swipe from his scimitar. Grigree stops the slash with his dagger.

Keeping low, Robert prayers quietly, "Winds of life. Blow and Swirl, I summon thee, the wind of whirls."

Weapons in hand, Deigatt leaps towards the vipership, moving his massive form through the gravity plane in much the same way as Billy. He lands with a resounding thud next to the halfling on the Vipership's bottom.

Drawing a boot dagger with each hand, Kain swoops to the deck of the Vipership between the stinking cloud and the fog. Landing somewhat roughly, Kain's wings disappear as he draws back first one arm then the other, throwing his daggers at one of the scro. One dagger passes harmlessly past, sailing into wildspace. The other cuts a groove through the scro's check, a painful wound, but not life threatening. The scro turns and fires a starwheel pistol, but the shot flies wide.

The other four scro in the clear area move towards Kain, pausing only as Nilaroo's bulk moves from the side of the ship and cuts one down in mid stride with a sword stroke.

The vipership begins to pull back, away from the wreckage, but the fog remains on the deck, and the two ropes tied by Nilaroo and Grigree simply drag the wreckage with the retreating vipership, so the move is to no avail.

Date/time: 6:28 am 12th day of the 6th Month, 5049 OC