Freezing Shadows, Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Angels in Action

Berzerker’s Vehicle Attack: 9d6 = 3 hits, 2 miss

Fence Ramming Damage: 19P

Fence Damage Resistance: 12d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss (16P damage)

Van Ramming Damage: 10P

Van Damage Resistance: 36d6 = 11 hits, 7 Misses (0 Damage)

Babydoll’s Attack Roll: 10d6 = 5 hits, 1 Miss

Suppressing Fire: 7P, -7 AP

Guard 1’s Reaction+Edge: 11d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss (2 net hit)

Guard 1’s Defense: 17d6 = 3 Hits, 4 Miss (6P Damage)

Guard 2’s Reaction+Edge: 11d6 = 3 Hits, 3 Miss (2 net hits)

Guard 2’s Defense: 17d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss (5P Damage)

The turret sprayed rounds in suppressing fire, as Berzerker blew through the chain-link gate. Once again, her poor man’s APC lived up to its name as it demolished the gate without even flinching. Looking out the cockpit of my Tsarina, as I drove past, I couldn’t tell how much damage it actually did to the bugs, but I did notice a pair of giant fucking preying mantises materialize behind them the moment the lead stopped flying and rip into them, so I was going to say that they were no longer our problem.

As we went around the curve near the ‘staff houses’, I saw two of the white-jumpsuits get jumped by the Angels who had snuck in beforehand. A giant ant appeared, and was about to come to the defense of the white suits, but another mantis intercepted it. Things were getting hairy.

“All right, folks. Just a reminder, but spirits are the order of the day, here. However, some of these spirits are our friends, for now, so watch your fire. Don’t know what these insecticide rounds will do to bug spirits, but I doubt it will be anything healthy for them. This means don’t go shooting them at our friends. If you’re concerned about shooting into a melee, switch to the Stick-n-Shock ammo. It won’t be as effective on spirits as metahumans, but it won’t be as bad for the Angels if we mess up.”

After a round of confirmations, I continued. “Twilight, I know you hate brute forcing things, but are you in?”

“Rerun and I are in, along with my sprite. However, we definitely set off the alarms as we forced our way through. We got a 3-on-1 here, moment that ‘Tizzy’ tried to slide into the node. She wasn’t sleeping logged in, so it took her meat a second to jack in. Attack programs and forms are working… and she’s been blasted out of the node. Don’t know how bad dumpshock is for bugs, but her link is probably fried. She’ll be in the meat from now on. Working on owning the internal network, now.”

“Stay safe, and keep us in the loop.”

“Will do.”

We pulled up to the big circular drive at the top of the hill, and everyone but Babydoll and Twilight piled out of our vehicles. The rest of the Angels were already getting off their bikes, weapons at the ready. Which was good, because we had company immediately.

Six figures in white jumpsuits rushed out of the main building, with no obvious armor, and extendable batons raised. Of more pressing concern were ten big-ass ants that also appeared in front of the building, and looked more than ready to try and fight us off.

Babydoll’s Attack roll (True Form Soldier 1): 9d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss

Ant Soldier True Form 1’s Reaction: 7d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Single Shot: 13P, -5 AP

Ant Soldier True Form 1’s Damage Resistance: 15d6 = 3 Hits, 4 Miss (10P damage)

Ant Soldier True Form 1: 10/12 Physical Monitor (-3 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

For a moment, there was a stand-off, as the sixteen bugs faced off against the fourteen of us. And then a roar shattered the moment, as Babydoll’s Steel Cougar introduced one of the true form ants to why big ass bugs should pay attention to relatively smaller drones sporting a fucking assault cannon still loaded for ‘fuck that guy in particular’. The ant kissed dirt, but was still squirming. Didn’t matter though, because this fight was on.

Initiative:

Iceblade’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 2 miss (Init 12, 3 Passes)

Berzerker’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 hits, 2 miss (Init 12, 3 Passes)

Babydoll’s Initiative: 9d6 = 4 hits, 0 Miss (Init 13, 3 Passes)

Sexkitten’s Initiative: 9d6 = 1 hit, 3 miss (Init 10, 3 Passes)

Shadowgirl’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss (Init 12, 3 Passes)

DeeDee’s Initiative: 18d6 = 9 hits, 8 Miss (Init 29, 4 Passes)

Tricky’s Initative: 11d6 = 6 hits, 2 Miss (Init 17, 2 Passes)

Tiny’s Initiative: 13d6 = 9 Hits, 4 miss (Init 22, 4 Passes)

Devastation Angels Soldiers x7 Initiative: 19d6 = 3 Hits, 2 miss (Init 22, 2 Passes)

Ant Soldier True Form x10 Initiative: 13d6 = 2 Hits , 3 Miss (Init 15,  2 Passes)

Ant Worker Hybrids x2 Initiative: 12d6 = 4 hits, 2 miss (Init 16, 2 Passes)

Ant Caretaker Hybrids x4 Initiative: 12d6 = 3 Hits, 3 miss (Init 15, 2 Passes)

DeeDee’s Attack Roll (Soldier 2): 20d6 = 8 hits, 3 miss

Soldier 2’s Defense: 13d6 = 1 hit, 4 Miss (7 net hits)

Natural Weapon: 15P, -1 AP

Soldier 2’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 0 Hits, 2 Miss

Soldier 2: 15/12 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Tiny’s Attack Roll (Soldier 3): 13d6 = 5 hits, 1 miss

Soldier 3’s Defense: 10d6 = 1 Hit, 3 miss (4 Net Hits)

Combat Axe: 15P, -1 AP

Soldier 3’s Damage Resistance: 20d6 = 3 hits, 5 miss (12P Damage)

Soldier 3: 12/12 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Angel 1’s Attack Roll (Soldier 4): 17d6 = 10 hits, 2 miss

Soldier 4’s Defense: 13d6 = 4 hits, 2 miss (6 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 14P, -1 AP

Solider 4’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (13P Damage)

Soldier 4: 13/12 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Angel 2’s Attack Roll (Soldier 5): 17d6 = 5 hits, 3 miss

Soldier 5’s Defense: 13d6 = 4 hits, 2 miss (1 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 9P, -1 AP

Solider 5’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 3 hit, 2 miss (6P Damage)

Soldier 5: 6/12 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier)

Angel 3’s Attack Roll (Soldier 5): 17d6 = 6 hits, 3 miss

Soldier 5’s Defense: 11d6 = 3 hits, 2 miss (3 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 11P, -1 AP

Solider 5’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (10P Damage)

Soldier 5: 16/12 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Angel 4’s Attack Roll (Soldier 6): 17d6 = 5 hits, 2 miss

Soldier 6’s Defense: 13d6 = 3 hits, 4 miss (2 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 10P, -1 AP

Solider 6’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 2 hit, 2 miss (8P Damage)

Soldier 6: 8/12 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Angel 5’s Attack Roll (Soldier 7): 17d6 = 8 hits, 3 miss

Soldier 7’s Defense: 13d6 = 3 hits, 2 miss (5 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 13P, -1 AP

Solider 7’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 4 hit, 1 miss (9P Damage)

Soldier 7: 9/12 Physical Monitor (-3 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Angel 6’s Attack Roll (Soldier 8): 17d6 = 9 hits, 2 miss

Soldier 8’s Defense: 13d6 = 4 hits, 3 miss (5 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 13P, -1 AP

Solider 8’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (12P Damage)

Soldier 8: 12/12 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Angel 7’s Attack Roll (Soldier 9): 17d6 = 8 hits, 1 miss

Soldier 9’s Defense: 13d6 = 2 hits, 1 miss (6 Net hits)

Natural Weapon: 14P, -1 AP

Solider 9’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 3 hit, 1 miss (11P Damage)

Soldier 9: 11/12 Physical Monitor (-3 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Tricky’s Attack Roll (Soldier 10): 10d6 = 4 hits, 2 Miss

Soldier 10’s Defense: 13d6 = 2 hits, 4 miss (2 Net hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 10S(e), -half AP

Solider 10’s Damage Resistance: 14d6 = 2 hit, 1 miss (8S Damage)

Tricky’s Attack Roll (Soldier 10): 10d6 = 6 hits, 1 miss

Soldier 10’s Defense: 13d6 = 5 hits, 2 miss (1 net hit)

Short, Narrow Burst: 9S(e), -half AP

Solider 10’s Damage Resistance: 14d6 = 4 hit, 4 miss (5S Damage)

Soldier 10: 13/11 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

Soldier 10: 2/12 Physical Monitor

The Angels were the first to move, with DeeDee well ahead of the rest. She leapt at one of the still-standing true form ants, and… ripped its throat out with her surprisingly sharp teeth. I hadn’t been expecting that, honestly, but hey, whatever works for her. Seemed to be very effective against the spirit, too, since the thing winked out like a light, hopefully getting sent back to whatever plane they came from.

Tiny went in with her combat axe. Playing to her vessel’s size and strength, probably? Either way, that blade ripped through the soldier she targeted, with it barely having time to spray ichor before it went poof.

The other angels followed DeeDee’s lead, rather than Tiny’s even though they all had blades in hand, making it clear they didn’t think they could just power through the spirits’ defenses like Tiny could with their less-than-troll bodies. Three more went up in smoke, and another three hit the ground like the one Babydoll had said ‘hello’ to.

Tricky was the only one of the Angels that didn’t charge in. Instead, she drew her machine pistol, and unleashed two quick bursts at the last standing true form. The distinctive buzz of Stick-n-Shock ammo going off proved that stun damage was certainly effective. From the way it was lying, her target was down for the count.

Worker 1’s Attack Roll (Iceblade): 5d6 = 0 hits, 2 miss

Worker 2’s Attack Roll (Iceblade): 6d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss

Iceblade’s Parry Test: 14d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss (No net Hits)

Caretaker 1’s Attack Roll (Iceblade): 7d6 = 1 hit, 0 miss

Iceblade’s Parry Test: 14d6 = 4 hits, 3 miss (No net hits)

Caretaker 2’s Attack Roll (Shadowgirl): 5d6 = 3 hits, 0 miss

Shadowgirl’s Gymnastics Dodge: 10d6 = 2 hits (1 net hit)

Extendable Baton: 5P

Shadowgirl’s Damage Resistance: 10d6 = 6 hits, 2 miss (0 Damage)

Caretaker 3’s Attack Roll (Shadowgirl): 6d6 = 2 hits, 1 miss

Shadowgirl’s Gymnastics Dodge: 10d6 = 5 hits, 2 miss (No net hits)

Caretaker 4’s Attack Roll (Shadowgirl): 7d6 = 2 hits, 1 miss

Shadowgirl’s Gymnastics Dodge: 10d6 = 4 hits, 1 miss (No net hits)

Soldier 1’s Attack Roll (DeeDee): 9d6 = 2 hits, 2 miss

DeeDee’s Dodge: 18d6 = 3 hits, 3 miss (No net hits)

Soldier 6’s Attack Roll (Angel 4): 10d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss

Angel 4’s Dodge: 19d6 = 5 hits, 3 miss (No net hits)

Soldier 7’s Attack Roll (Angel 5): 9d6 = 3 hits, 0 miss

Angel 5’s Dodge: 19d6 = 3 hits, 4 miss (No net hits)

Soldier 9’s Attack Roll (Angel 7): 9d6 = 2 hits, 3 miss

Angel 7’s Dodge: 19d6 = 6 hits, 1 miss (No net hits)

The white jumpsuits were already in motion. Once again, Shadowgirl and I were the main focuses. Spirit bias in action. They saw magic as the biggest threat, no matter that there were combat drones and armored orks carrying machine guns and assault cannons around. They went after the two ‘magic’ types in our group. And failed to do more than touch Shadowgirl’s lined coat.

The true forms that weren’t already disrupted or sleeping got up, and fought like you’d expect ants to fight when defending their hive. Even if there wasn’t a damn thing the wounded ants could do to the Angels. Maybe if they were healthy, they could have been a match, but it didn’t take much guesswork to see how that fight was going to end up.

Babydoll’s Drone Attack Roll (Caretaker 4): 8d6 = 6 hits, 1 miss

Caretaker 4’s Reaction: 6d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (5 net hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 14P, -2 AP

Caretaker 4’s Damage Resistance: 16d6 = 3 hits, 5 miss (11P Damage)

Caretaker 4: 11/11 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Babydoll’s Drone Attack Roll (Caretaker 3): 8d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss

Caretaker 3’s Reaction: 6d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (2 net hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 11P, -2 AP

Caretaker 3’s Damage Resistance: 16d6 = 4 hits, 3 miss (7P Damage)

Caretaker 3: 7/11 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Iceblade’s Attack Roll (Worker 1): 13d6 = 7 Hits, 2 miss

Worker 1’s Dodge: 9d6 = 2 hits, 1 miss (5 Net Hits)

Winter’s Breath: 10P, -1 AP

Worker 1’s Damage Resistance: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 2 miss (8P Damage)

Worker 1: 8/11 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Worker 2): 13d6 = 7 hits, 3 Miss

Worker 2’s Reaction: 6d6 = 3 hits, 1 miss (4 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 12P, -5 AP

Worker 2’s Damage Resistance: 13d6 = 4 Hits, 7 Miss (8P Damage) (Glitch)

Worker 2: 8/11 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Caretaker 1): 13d6 = 4 hits, 0 Miss

Caretaker 1’s Reaction: 2 hits, 0 Miss (2 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 10P, -5 AP

Caretaker 1’s Damage Resistance: 13d6 = 4 hits, 1 miss (6P Damage)

Caretaker 1: 6/11 Physical Monitor (-2 Wound Modifier) (Knocked Down)

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Caretaker 2): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Caretaker 2’s Reaction: 6d6 = 1 hit, 2 miss (5 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 17P Acid, -half AP, +4 Allergy

Caretaker 2’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 1 hit, 0 miss (16P Damage)

Caretaker 2: 16/11 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Caretaker 3): 13d6 = 5 Hits, 3 Miss

Caretaker 3’s Reaction: 6d6 = 3 hit, 1 miss (2 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 14P Acid, -half AP, +4 Allergy

Caretaker 3’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 3 hit, 1 miss (11P Damage)

Caretaker 3: 18/11 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Sexkitten’s Attack Roll (Caretaker 1): 12d6 = 5 Hits, 2 miss

Caretaker 1’s Reaction: 4d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (4 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 16P Acid, -half AP, +4 Allergy

Caretaker 1’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 3 hits, 0 miss (13P Damage)

Caretaker 1: 19/11 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Sexkitten’s Attack Roll (Worker 1): 12d6 = 2 Hits, 3 miss

Worker 1’s Reaction: 4d6 = 1 hit, 1 miss (1 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 9P Acid, -half AP, +4 Allergy

Worker 1’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 5 hits, 1 miss (4P Damage)

Worker 1: 12/11 Physical Monitor (Disrupted)

Babydoll’s other drone, the one with the machine gun, quickly taught two of Shadowgirl’s attackers why they shouldn’t ignore technology. One was… definitely disrupted, but the body remained, instead of going away, while the other was just down, with nice holes leaking blood.

My blade cut through the first of my attackers, sending them to the ground. I didn’t have the kind of enhanced strength needed to truly take out a spirit in a single strike. Still, the spirit was not going to be much of a threat.

Berzerker send two bursts of her machine gun into the two other spirits on me. Both of them were hit, and hard, but they both got introduced to the ground the hard way. One of them, the second one that stepped up to fight me, got hit hard enough that their baton went flying, back towards the building.

And then things got weird. Shadowgirl and Sexkitten fired a couple rounds from their pistols at four of the grounded spirits. And they were using the insecticide rounds. And then, I got to hear spirits scream as their bodies began melting. Whatever was in those rounds definitely worked on bugs.

“Right. Make extra sure you don’t point the special rounds near our friends.”