Freezing Shadows, Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Elites

By the time Boomer got down to the antechamber, we had already searched the corpsec, and found the physical key that opened the double doors to the lab complex. This was the big push. There were nine of the guards to worry about. No clue about the researchers, but they looked like mundanes, so I wasn’t too worried. We stacked up on the door, Berserker and I in front, Sexkitten and Shadowgirl behind us, and Boomer in the rear, since the Naga was larger than any of us, and had the least protection.

Initiatives

Iceblade’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 1 miss (12, 3 passes)

Berzerker’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss (12, 3 Passes)

Sexkitten’s Initiative: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (11, 3 Passes)

Shadowgirl’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss (12, 3 Passes)

Boomer’s Initiative: 9d6 = 1 Hit, 2 Miss (10, 3 Passes)

Soldier 1’s Initiative: 10d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss (15, 3 Passes)

Soldier 2’s Initiative: 10d6 = 2 Hits, 3 Miss (12, 3 Passes)

Soldier 3’s Initiative: 10d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (10, 3 Passes)

Soldier 1’s Attack Roll (Berzerker): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss

Berzerker’s Defense Roll: 10d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (0 Net Hits)

Soldier 1’s Attack Roll (Berzerker): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 4 Miss

Berzerker’s Defense Roll: 10d6 = 3 hits, 2 Miss (0 Net Hits)

Berzerker and I pushed the doors open. We knew that there was no catching the soldiers by surprise, but I was surprised to see that they were using actual military-grade armor. That stuff wasn’t cheap, which meant these were real elites out of NETworks’s private army. And they acted like it, too. The soldier behind the security desk got two shots off from his Mars Predator before we could even move. They missed, but that reaction speed was telling. As was the crackle of electricity as they hit the wall behind us. Stick-n-Shock rounds. So, SOP was capture, rather than kill. Good to know.

“ENEMY ATTACK!” However, the guard couldn’t just be quiet. He yelled into his commlink, no doubt alerting the rest of the guards. We would have to be quick with these three.

Iceblade’s Spellcasting Test (Soldier 1): 16d6 = 6 Hits, 2 Miss

Soldier 1’s Willpower Roll: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 0 Miss (6 Net Hits)

Manabolt (Force 5): 11P Damage

Soldier 1: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Iceblade’s Drain Resistance (2S): 13d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss (No Damage)

My sword was already in my hand. I tossed a spell as I surged forward, a Manabolt. His fancy armor would protect him from bullets, my blade, or even a physical combat spell, but it did nothing against the manabolt, which targeted his living aura directly. I slid up to the desk, crouching to provide a smaller target as I shrugged off the mental exertion of the spell. Didn’t have time to go getting headaches right now. Fortunately, I heard the crash of the heavy suit of armor falling to the ground. Got him.

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Soldier 3): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Soldier 3’s Defense: 7d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 11P, -5 AP

Soldier 3’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss (7P Damage)

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Soldier 3): 13d6 = 8 Hits, 2 Miss

Soldier 3’s Defense: 5d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 13P, -5 AP

Soldier 3’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (8P Damage)

Soldier 3: 15/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Berzerker strode up next to me, her LMG barking out two quick bursts. Milspec armor or not, she landed both bursts center mass on the guard to the left, and the armor penetrating rounds did just that. The guard never even got a chance to attack. Sucked to be him.

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Soldier 2): 13d6 = 9 Hits, 1 miss

Soldier 2’s Defense: 7d6 = 1 hit, 1 Miss (8 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 13P, -5 AP

Soldier 2’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss (8P Damage)

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Soldier 2): 13d6 = 7 Hits, 0 Miss

Soldier 2’s Defense: 5d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 10P, -5 AP

Soldier 2’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (5P Damage)

Soldier 2: 13/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Shadowgirl darted into the room, Mars Predator in hand. Two shots, center mass, and the other guard slumped down. Three of them dead or dying, without anyone on our side getting hurt. Yet. But while we didn’t catch them entirely by surprise, the guards clearly had not been expecting a frontal assault. The rest would not be so easy to take down.

Sexkitten’s Attack Roll (Soldier 4): 14d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss

Soldier 4’s Defense: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 2 Miss (4 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 13P, -5 AP

Soldier 4’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 5 Hits, 0 Miss (8P Damage)

Sexkitten’s Attack Roll (Soldier 4): 14d6 = 6 Hits, 3 Miss

Soldier 4’s Defense: 5d6 = 1 hit, 1 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 14P, -5 AP

Soldier 4’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (9P Damage)

Soldier 4: 17/10 Physical Monitor (Dead)

Sexkitten darted in, and skirted around to the corner where the third guard had been. “More coming this way!” She called out, as she donated a pair of bursts from her battle rifle to one soldier’s chest, dropping him.

Boomer slithered into the room, as well, using the bulk of the desk to give herself some cover from the hallway to the right, and giving her a chance to look around the corner to the left, if she needed to. “Another coming from the right,” she hissed. “Looksss to be ssswitching from a shock baton to an assault rifle. Guessssss the corporation didn’t want the prisonersss accidentally getting shot if they tried to essscape.”

Pass 2

Soldier 5’s Attack Roll (Sexkitten): 13d6 = 2 Hits, 4 Miss

Sexkitten’s Defense: 8d6 = 1 hit, 1 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Short, Narrow Burst: 8P, -4 AP

Sexkitten’s Damage Resistance: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (5P Damage)

Soldier 5’s Attack Roll (Sexkitten): 13d6 = 7 Hits, 4 Miss

Sexkitten Spends 1 Point of Edge

Sexkitten’s Defense: 9d6 = 7 Hits, 2 Miss (0 Net Hits)

Sexkitten: 5/10 Physical Monitor

“DREK!” Sexkitten yelled out as bullets tore into her. One of the guards from that direction had apparently decided that ‘capture’ was off the table. Still, she managed to leverage her body so that, even as she was knocked off her feet, she fell back, under Boomer’s coiled body, avoiding a follow-up burst that probably would have killed her.

Soldier 6’s Attack Roll (Boomer): 13d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss

Boomer Spends 1 Point of Edge

Boomer’s Defense: 6d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Semi-Automatic: 7S(e), -Half Impact Armor

Boomer’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (3S Damage)

Soldier 6’s Attack Roll (Boomer): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 3 Miss

Boomer’s Defense: 3d6 = 2 hits, 1 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Semi-Automatic: 7S(e), -Half Impact Armor

Boomer’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss (4S Damage)

Boomer’s BODY+WILL test: 10d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss (Threshold 3) (Incapacitated 3 Combat Turns)

Boomer: 7/11 Stun Monitor

Two more gunshots rang out. Boomer shrieked in a very un-snake-like way as the two shock rounds hit her scales. Not everyone had switched to lethal rounds, it seemed. Or maybe they just decided that the naga was too valuable a research specimen to waste? Either way, Boomer was less than happy. And then I was reminded of a side-effect of electric damage that hadn’t come up before now, since we always pumped enough into people to knock them out before. Getting tased could drop you temporarily, which is what happened to Boomer. Unfortunately, that meant the snake collapsed on top of Sexkitten.

Iceblade’s Spellcasting Test (Soldier 8): 16d6 = 9 Hits, 1 Miss

Soldier 8’s Willpower Roll: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (8 Net Hits)

Manabolt, Force 5: 14P Damage

Soldier 8: 14/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Iceblade’s Drain Resistance (2S): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 0 Miss (No Damage)

I heard the heavy treads of someone in armor rushing towards us from the right. Someone moving fast, probably the guard who was on the far side of the lab. No time to worry about Boomer or Sexkitten. They were alive, and not bleeding out, which meant I needed to focus elsewhere. I moved around the corner to the right, and saw two soldiers. One just coming up to the corner, another already exposed, his assault rifle ready. I decided to keep using the spells, rather than switch to weapons, since they were cutting through the armor so nicely. The exposed guard dropped.

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Soldier 6): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Soldier 6’s Defense: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 3 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 13P, -5 AP

Soldier 6’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss (11P Damage)

Soldier 6: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Soldier 5): 11d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss

Soldier 5’s Defense: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 2 Miss (4 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 12P, -5 AP

Soldier 5’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 4 Hits, 0 Miss (8P Damage)

Soldier 5: 8/10 Physical Monitor (Knocked Down)

Berzerker moved around the security desk, and leveled her LMG down the hallway to the left. Two more bursts of armor piercing ammo flew downrange, and they quickly sent both soldiers to the ground, though one looked like they were still moving. Still, a big improvement from a moment ago.

Shadowgirl slid up beside me, and crouched, her pistol at the ready. There were no easy shots at the moment, so she held her fire, and waited for something better to open up. “This is getting hairy, boss.”

Sexkitten cursed as she tried to extricate herself from underneath Boomer’s bulk. Unfortunately, that was something easier said than done. Especially given how beat up she already was. She managed to get to standing, but was out of position to make a shot on anyone.

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Lieutenant): 12d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss

Lieutenant’s Defense: 4d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Semi-Auto: 6P, -5 AP

Lieutenant’s Damage Resistance: 13d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (2P Damage, Converted to Stun)

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Lieutenant): 12d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss

Lieutenant’s Defense: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 10P, -5 AP

Lieutenant’s Damage Resistance: 13d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (5P Damage)

Lieutenant: 2/11 Stun Monitor

Lieutenant: 5/10 Physical Monitor (Knocked Down)

Lieutenant’s Spellcasting Test (Iceblade): 10d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss

Iceblade’s Defense: 6d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (1 Net Hits)

Lightning Bolt (Force 5): 6P(e), -half Impact Armor

Iceblade’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss (3P(e) Damage)

Iceblade: 3/10 Physical Monitor

Iceblade’s BODY+WILL Test: 7d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (Success) (-2 Dice to all actions for 3 Combat Turns)

Lieutenant’s Drain Resistance (5S): 10d6 = 1 Hits, 3 Miss (4S Damage)

Lieutenant: 6/11 Stun Monitor

The mage burst out of his office, one hand holding a Mars Predator, and the other pointing at me. Shadowgirl said hello, blasting him twice with her pistol. The impact threw him to the ground, spoiling his aim somewhat, but he still managed to get the spell off. A bolt of lightning burned through the air between us, striking me in the shoulder. I managed to keep my feet, but I could feel a tingling in my nerves. It would wear off in a bit, but until then I was going to be on the back foot.

Pass 3

Soldier 5’s Attack Roll (Berzerker): 11d6 = 1 Hit, 3 Miss

Berzerker’s Defense: 10d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Miss (No Net Hits)

Soldier 5’s Attack Roll (Berzerker): 11d6 = 3 Hits, 4 Miss

Berzerker’s Defense: 10d6 = 6 Hits, 3 Miss (No Net Hits)

The remaining soldier on Berzerker’s side pulled himself into a crouch position, and fired two short bursts at her. Unfortunately for him, she was all about defense. She didn’t quite dance out of the way of the bullets, but rather sidestepped them easily. Didn’t even scratch her armor.

Soldier 7’s Attack Roll (Iceblade): 11d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss

Iceblade’s Defense: 3d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Short, Narrow Burst: 8P, -4 AP

Iceblade’s Damage Resistance: 9d6 = 6 Hits, 3 Miss (2P Damage)

Soldier 7’s Attack Roll (Iceblade): 11d6 = 1 Hit, 4 Miss

Iceblade’s Defense: 3d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (No Net Hits)

Iceblade: 5/10 Physical Monitor

The last of the soldiers decided to play it safe. By which I meant sticking his gun around the corner, and using the camera in the smartlink to target, so he didn’t have to expose too much of himself to return fire. Of course, doing things like that impacted your accuracy, because even with computer imagery, you were still firing in a less-than ideal stance. One round caught my shoulder, which sucked, but I was still up, and that’s what mattered.

Iceblade’s Spellcasting test: 13d6 = 5 Hits, 6 Miss

Soldier 7’s Willpower: 4d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Manabolt (Force 8): 11P Damage

Soldier 7: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Iceblade’s Drain Resistance (4P): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (1P Damage)

Iceblade: 6/10 Physical Monitor

I kept my shaking hand on my blade as I focused on the exposed hands of that solider around the corner. I just needed part of him in view, and I was golden. “Best make this count,” I muttered, before sending more power into the spell than was generally wise. I coughed up a bit of blood as the spell ripped itself out of me, but, even as I went down to one knee, the soldier fell into the hallway, and wasn’t moving. “Take out the mage,” I ordered Shadowgirl.

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Soldier 5): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Soldier 5’s Defense: 5d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 11P, -5 AP

Soldier 5’s Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 4 Hits, 5 Miss (7P Damage)

Soldier 5: 15/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Lieutenant): 11d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss

Lieutenant’s Defense: 3d6 = 1 Hits, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 11P, -5 AP

Lieutenant’s Damage Resistance: 13d6 = 3 Hits, 3 Miss (8P Damage)

Lieutenant: 13/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Before Shadowgirl could respond, however, Berzerker sent a three-round burst into the last soldier on her side, ending his participation in this battle, and life. Then, she did something that was only possible thanks to her enhanced physique and the fact that this world ran on game mechanics. She turned one-eighty degrees, and then sent a three-round burst whistling past my ear to rip through the mage’s armor, keeping him from getting off any more magic. “Handled it,” she said, voice full of smug satisfaction.

“Ah, good,” I said, before slumping against the wall. “Anyone not wounded, go room to room through the labs. We’re not taking prisoners, so the researchers die. Everyone else, rest a bit, and then we’ll look at dealing with rescuing the prisoners and setting the charges. And get Twilight down here, so she can rip into that server, see what we can salvage.”