ic Unsportsmanlike Conduct - ic

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Starshot felt a slight unease at the flowing tails of the Alien. Weird. Although he had seen plenty of beasts with multiple limbs, it was odd seeing all those tails moving on a sentient. 

 

He grimaced a little at the aliens lack "sporting" comment. I'll judge by actions he concluded. Despite the aliens initial abrasiveness, he had proven honest and forthright, and they were on the same page with Cain. And, frankly, having someone smart enough to work around the technical side of things was a bonus. Gunmonkey wasn't exactly a maestro with the omni-tool. 

 

"A drone it is then. Lets see if we can't catch something robotic for once" he agreed, pressing forward with the ATV. He pointed out a few basic features of the Vehicle as it steamed forward, but he gave particular import to the radar and communication systems. 

 

"I use this to track animals. Robotics is a mystery to me" he explained, unconsciously flexing his own robotic hand. "I guess you know what you are doing. At least, you know a hell of a lot more than me" he said. 

 

He flicked on a switch and the Ride of the Valkyries piped through the music system. He always loved German Opera. 

[Kolohehonu]

PC

 

He liked this song it had been one of his favorites back- before. He guided them to the nearest drone. And tried to avoid anything that looked like it might just eat them. The ATV came to a stop right below one of the drones in the jungle.

 

"Well here we are. Lets get this thing, and get out." Gear popped the door and stepped out drawing his pistols. He dropped right into cover and foliage. Xobron was harsh, but nowhere near as harsh as this planet. Which was why the Xobron were fairly tough. He aimed his weapons upwards and tried to spot the thing above him to get a good shot. 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Grunting, Starshot put on his helmet and activated it: the faceshield coming down and sealing his head. HUDs pinged up in front of his eyes. 

 

He paused but a moment to grab his rifle. It might look like an antique WW2 Terran ballistic rifle; in fact, it had been. Now, it was considerably more advanced. 

 

"Easy there" he whispered to Gear whilst he moved off to the side, and took cover behind some twisted tree that looked rather purple to his earth eyes. 

 

"Take your time..."

 

He pulled up his rifle and took a good look at the Drone through his helmets sensors...

 

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

The Drone hovered fairly lazily in the thick jungle air. It was a quadcopter with two light machine guns and a long radio antennae. In all likelihood the advantage for these things was in their numbers.  It looked obviously inedible enough and was quiet enough that nothing seemed to want to eat it. 

 

Starshot's helmet also quietly identified one of the local predator/scavengers. An eight legged reptile creature that squatted low to the ground. It didn't seem to have taken any real notice to even the fairly loud Xobron.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

The reptile looked dangerous, but he had hunted worse. It would be a good distraction for the Drone, but...

 

But...it rankled. Hunting creatures with a plasma rifle was unbalanced enough as it was, but at least you were facing the quarry on its own. How ignoble! to kill via remote. If you were going to do it, look at its eyes. 

 

He turned his attention from the reptile. Damned if I let that drone do its work!

 

"Forger the beast" he hissed too Gear and pointing to the creature. He hoped the drone did not have auditory pick up (or at least, if it did, those sensors were not so acute). 

 

"What do we do about the drone?"

[Kolohehonu]

PC

 

"Shoot it down, I guess." Gear said as he pulled out the four elegant pistols of his. He hadn't noticed the creature but he trained two guns on it. The other two he tried to get a clear bead on the drone. "My guess is you're the better shot." Gear said. 

 

He hated the jungle. Xobron was almost all city, well when he was born. He rarely went into this sort of place. Starshot seemed far more comfortable here, and Gear was perfectly willing to play support. He seriously hoped this trip was worth the 300,000 reward. 

"Try not to vaporize it, I just need the computer mostly intact though to pull what we need from it." 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

I guess I am, but those four blasters look pretty handy....he thought to himself. He didn't recognise them, but he was glad Gear had his back. 

 

Try not vapourise it....well, easier said than done....

 

He kept quite still, holding his breath, and took a bead on the drone. Not the hardest thing to hit, but not the easiest either. He took aim, neither too fast, nor too slow, crouched with one knee supporting his elbow. 

 

And then, a squeeze on the trigger...

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

A blast of energy burst from the front of the rifle. It streaked up through the foliage into the drone and blew parts of it away. The drone hissed and aimed down into the foliage to take a shot at the hunter. 

 

Two of Gear's pistols discharged as well. The streaks of energy slammed into the bot shredding the little armor plating it had. It tumbled down towards the ground and landed with a hefty thud. 

 

"We should go get that." Gear said leveling all four pistols at the creature. His body language made it very clear that he would rather keep that thing in his sights as long as he could.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Starshot nodded, keeping his helmet down and his senses peeled. "Be careful, this world bites". 

 

He half-shouldered his rifle over his shoulder. Even if the safety was on, the power clip remained active. 

 

"And so might that drone. Down doesn't mean out" he added. It was a tricky business, he decided, hunting robots. Give him blood, teeth, and claws any day. Dead or alive. With a drone, it was complex penumbra that they were aiming for. 

 

He circled after Gear, watching his six, as they said in his army days. 

 

"What have you got? Anything helpful?" he asked Gear, as they reached the fallen drone. 

 

 

[Kolohehonu]

PC 

 

Gear lowered his goggles over his eyes with his tails. Without turning fully, so that he could keep his guns aimed on the creature, he used his two tails to sort through the wreckage. One of them wrapped around a hard orange box and the other around a smoking bit of machinery.

 

"good, intact enough." He mumbled bringing it in front of him. "This is what we need." We should leave before something comes looking for it, or a snack." The Xobron muttered before dropping low to get out as quietly as he could. 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Got your six" replied Starshot, relieved that they hadn't blown the thing up beyond all utility. 

 

"Back to the ATV...I'd rather keep on planet right now. With the jungle and the terrain, hard to pick us up on sensors. If Cain gets wind we are on to him, we lose our advantage. And he is a slippery customer, I am guessing..."

 

He kept his gun half pointed up, ready to come down. His helmet plotted a course back to the ATV. 

 

"Can you manage to do your thing on the drone from the ATV, or do we need to go back to the ship?" he asked. 

[Kolohehonu]

GM 

 

The two hunter's made their way back slowly to the ATV. The beast decided that either they weren't worth trouble or that it would find another meal. Either way, it left them alone. When gear got into the ATV he brought out his tools and began to pour over the devices. 

 

"Shouldn't be hard to find him now that we're in the system." Gear said as he started working. All four hands and both tails were at work as he linked into the ATV's system and started uploading files. The process complete the Xobron looked up sheepishly. "I'll put it back the way I found it when I'm done." He mumbled looking over the mess he'd made of the access area. 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Hmmm...don't worry about it" said Starshot, half heartedly. He always had that military edge to him. Keeping things neat and ordered. But he had years of pandering to guests, acting as a reluctant valet at times. He could swallow a bit of disorder without much difficulty. To be honest with himself, he had relaxed his attitudes over the decade. 

 

He slung himself into the drivers seat and powered up the engine. He didn't want to activate the comms to let Gunmonkey know their status. Cain might be listening. 

 

"Give me the coordinates and Ill get driving. Unless its a continent away, best to try and get their by ground, I think..."

[Kolohehonu]

GM 

 

Information illuminated the console and the small communicator Gear was using. The Xobron sat quietly and took it all in. Then he put up a map and pointed to a location. A red spot appeared a few kilometers north. Two smaller dots, but to scale still large, circled around it. 

 

"That's Cain." Gear said pointing at the dot. Then he pointed at the two smaller dots. "Best I can guess, those are two Sky Tyrants. Not sure what Carnivore did but I think they aren't happy."

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Two klicks. We should make it, providing the terrain doesn't get too rough" he ventured. That was a fifty fifty bet, by his estimation. "But we might want to make the last half klick on foot anyway, if the cover holds out. I'd rather get the drop on him than he picks us up on Radar. Unless you can rig up some scanner blocker" he asked, without much hope. Whilst the Xeno was state of the art, the ATV was built more for endurance and resilience, and that meant stripping back on the electronics. 

 

"Meanwhile, strap in and enjoy the ride" he ventured, cheering up a bit as he turned the ATV around and made his way towards Cain...

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

The ride was hardly enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination. It was hard riding over bumpy terrain. Gear looked over the supplies he had but decided against pulling more of this vehicle apart. They had to get back anyways. 

 

They managed to find a place to park the ATV in the jungle. As soon as the doors opened the two were treated by the sound of laser fire and the screaming roar of the Sky Tyrants.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"They started without us" said Starshot, almost smiling. He touched his helm to cover his head, and shouldered his rifle. He flicked the power switch.

 

"Lets get to cover. Fast" he suggested. 

 

He spied a particularly big looking tree and ran to it, in a crouching posture. All the while, he kept his helmet scanning, the HUD display working furiously to keep up with the vast biological data and now, the signs of technology. 

 

This must be him...but alone? Something in his bones told him that Carnivore Cain was not a lone wolf. Something about him felt cowardly - he would have a perimeter of defences, be they flesh or steel, to protect him...

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

The flashed of Laser fire turned the sky Red. Multiple sources, likely more drones. There was the sound of two drones screaming above head. 

 

The air air was thick and hot. The ground was a tangle of vines and roots that seemed liable to snag and trip them. Gear instead leapt up into the trees. His tails grabbed a branch before he put himself onto the tree. 

 

"Well lets go end the party." Gear said. This was going to get interesting. It was total madness up there, and Gear just smiled.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Gear's got some sense. Got a vantage point...he noted almost reflexively, impressed with the alien and his speed. 

 

Following suit, he put his gun over his shoulder and climbed a tree next to Gears. He was a good climber, but couldn't match Gear for speed. He pulled himself up twenty feet or so, and taking cover, pulled out his gun, taking aim. 

 

"So if you have any great plan, now's the time" he said. "I hunt beasts. Things that bleed and bite and usually aren't too smart about it. Drones, well, its been a while..." he confessed. Not that he hadn't had a few scrapes in his journeys with Zaul Zeno as his unwitting minion. But still...

 

I'm guessing my friend has the smarts where drones are concerned. Probably smarts in a lot of ways...just not a hunter!

 

"If it's just shoot them down...well, I can do that...."

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

As Starshot spoke, Gear was still working on the drone remains. While it may not have looked like much, he was doing battle with Cain. Some of the Laserfire abated as Cain had to rush over to his computer. 

 

Then the rest of the lasers stopped. There was an even louder shrieking as both heroes saw a black streak towards the center of the lasers. 

 

"That seems like it will do. Let's shoot any other drones, and bag Cain. I don't like this jungle." Gear huffed as he started to move through the trees as well as he could.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"I've seen worse" answered Starshot. He had been in more hostile terrains, for sure, but this place was no joke, even for him. He felt the heat sinks running up and down his spine and neck furiously ejecting the heat, keeping him cool. Even so, he could feel the sweat under his jacket. 

 

"Shoot the drones, Bag Cain. Piece of cake" he muttered, not believing it would be that easy for a moment, although he wost most thankful that Gear had managed to shut down the lasers. 

 

"Ill take point. Cover my back" he said, advancing forward, quiet like a panther. "I hope you have eyes on those tails of yours. Keep anyone from sneaking up behind us..." he said. 

 

He loosened one of his smoke grenades on his belt. If they really did run into trouble, they could use the cover...

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Both of them came to where the two sky tyrants had landed and were tearing into a large hunting shuttle. A scattering of laser fire was coming out of the ship from a smoking hole. The sounds of screaming from the sky tyrants was driving off any other creatures. 

 

These were not creatures to be messed with. Twenty feet tall and looking like massive bats with brilliant orange eyes. Fangs that were as long as a human forearm and sharp as a spear. One was howling into the hole while the other one flew above head. There was also the mewling, well what might be described as mewling or crying, was emanating from the suit.

 

"Back off you f-------- animals. The heck is wrong with these d--- drones!" 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Sky Tyrants! I had forgot how big they are...and how dangerous!

 

There was the memory of them, of course. But the justice was done when face to face with them and those long teeth. 

 

With the cold efficiency of experience, he brought up his rifle and took aim. It was, at least, a large target. Easy to hit, not so easy to bring down. 

 

He fired at one of them circling nearer, and quickly moved to cover, hoping Gear would have the sense to do the same. 

 

"Tyrants first, then Cain. I'll be proud to have a few of those sabre-teeth for a memento!"

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Starshot's bolt of plasma crashed into the flank of the beast. The Tyrant looked over, more annoyed than anything else. As it did so a laser burst went wide over the creature's head. It turned back and screamed down on the cursing Carnivore. 

 

Gear had been holding a plasma grenade, but decided instead to level all four pistols. There was a cacophonous burst as all four bolts hit the same spot where Starshot had. Ribs cracked, the Tyrant staggered back and fell. The smug look on Gear's face was wiped clean off as two sets of razor like talons tore his flesh. The impact pushed him back into a tree. 

"You wanna get up close?" Gear asked as he pulled a massive war maul that thrummed with some sort of sonic energy. "Let's dance." 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Hides too thick...

 

Starshot cursed to himself. As he pulled behind the tree. He had a moment of horror as the Sky Tyrant ploughed into Gear, thinking for one moment that the alien would be carved in two. But, it seemed, despite the horrific fangs, Gear had managed to survive. He must be made of stone...he thought to himself, wondering exactly what Gear was made of. Silicon based life forms were not unheard of. 

 

This time, he aimed directly for the Sky Tyrants head. They were an easy target, so he must make sure to hurt the thing rather than hit it. He fire a pulse of plasma at the beast, and kept the focus on, burning through his energy cell, crouching down. 

 

"Keep you eyes on Cain!" he shouted to Gear, aware that for all their ferocity (and lovely teeth), they were not the target.