Roll To Dodge: Space Whaler Escape!

[born in shadow]

"Ah crap," Hummelsaft muttered as he thought over his current situation. Drawing his Sictes pistol from his coat, he prayed to the Great Lobster Spirit before jumping out from cover. Taking quick aim at Wilk's assault rifle, he fired the tiny pistol for all it was worth, hoping to disarm his better equipped opponent.

[chitoryu12]

Jack hefted the crowbar, examining every inch of it. It was covered in rust (making him wonder exactly WHY the ship was still keeping it), but it might still be able to force something open.

Where to go, where to go, where to....ha!

Jack remembered the maintenance shafts. Even if the impact took out the power to the elevator, he would be able to climb through the shafts to get to the right deck.

So he set out to find a hatch and see if this rusty piece of crap could pry it off.

[CSJM]

===================
Turn 3!
===================

Nothing personal, Carinthium.

After uttering his little eulogy for the tin can, Matt heads to the emergency stairs he had remembered, hoping to begin his climb towards escape without running into more trouble. On the way there, he attempts to remember any passages from the 3rd floor to the 2nd and from the 2nd to the 1st that aren't located in the hub.

Get to the stairs:[2], Remember level plan:[6]

Weaving his way through the convoluted mess of corridors, Matt tries to concentrate his thoughts on the ship's layout. The Inhibitable was likely constructed as a result of a drunk bet, because getting somewhere in case of an emergency was all but impossible. Generally, the crew used the elevators in the hub to get around on the ship, but with the fierce competition they were an undesirable route. That left rather few options. There were the backup elevators in random places around the levels, which could also be used, but they were impossible to find without a map or some really good luck. The maintenance shafts could probably lead one all the way to the front deck, but with the recent explosions and the general state of the ship they were probably not a safe route. Then there were the emergency escape stairs, on the outer rim of each level. The stairs could go all the way through, if the emergency failsafes didn't cut them off upon impact to preserve air pressure between levels. And then of course, there was always the outer space route - each level had at least one airlock for hull maintenance, and one could, with proper equipment, climb along the hull - if he could find another entry airlock afterward, of course.

These thoughts distracting his mind, Matt didn't notice that he took a wrong turn and only barely managed to stop before hitting the massive door of one of the airlocks head-on. The foot-thick window of the airlock showed the blackness of the void beyond, liberally sprinkled with tiny glowing dots. For some reason, the dots were slowly floating sideways past the viewport.

Tyler goes to pick up the pistol to ensure his foe ends up at least somewhat less armed than before. All the while he tries to find out where his crew mate may have gotten off to.

Find Hummelsaft:[2]

Stepping carefully through the dark corridor, Tyler thoroughly examines his surroundings, seeking out his unlucky partner. He's nowhere to be seen. "Stop hiding, Hummelsaft! Who are you, a man or a mouse?! Go ahead, squeak up!" Suddenly, Tyler's foot hits something on the floor. Stooping to pick the item up, Tyler sees the TRXX-1, Hummelsaft's favorite blaster pistol. "Hey, buddy! I think you lost something! Don't you want to get it back?"

James peered up at the stairs, carfullys tebbing over the broken glass, "Sheesh, who designed this ship anyway".

Keeping his lasgun at the ready for shooting anything that moved, he began to ascend the stairs, hoping that these lead all the way up to the deck with the captians pod on.

Go upstairs:[5]

Climbing up the narrow, rattling staircase that was supposed to handle the panicked escape of a dozen crewmembers, James grumbles in frustration. "Sheesh, who designed this ship anyway?" Coming to the top of the section and seeing a massive blast-proof door above his head, closed in such a way that the next flight of stairs was reduced to a wad of metal rails hanging from the ceiling, he immediately remembered the answer to his question. "Ah, but of course. IDIOTS. The whole ship is designed by IDIOTS."

It was, too. Though no doubt the phrase was meant as an insult, not statement of fact. Interstellar Design Innovations Of Transit Systems was a popular company in the mid-budget circles, highly regarded for its innovative design decisions and low prices, but universally scorned for the actual applications of said decisions. So much so, in fact, that its current name was a result of polls, changed to reflect the public opinion. The ads for the company's products proudly stated: "Rest assured, that whatever happens, you will always know that your ship was designed by IDIOTS!" Their marketing campaign left most of the competitors rolling on the floor, but despite everything, good hardware for a decent price ensured that the company remained in business.

Smiling sadly at the security doors with the "IDIOTS" logo spraypainted on them in happy shades of green, James walks up to another massive mirror, demolishing it with another tiny center-punch hammer. "Uaagh. I can just feel my luck draining away. Let's hope it lasts until I get off this thing." Beyond the mirror, James was surprised to see nothing but a large moving wall. Scraping against the edges of the corridor's junction, the wall didn't seem like it was about to end. James pondered the implications of what he was seeing. He'd known that the ship's habitation module could rotate around the hub axis to create artificial gravity when the engines weren't firing, but the system was never used, not even in port. And even then, the levels were supposed to rotate in sync. Something went horribly wrong here, and James was fairly sure that "IDIOTS" had their hand in it as well. As he was waiting, the wall suddenly ended, opening into a corridor that didn't intend to stay there for long. Mustering all of his strength and agility, James jumped into the closing gap, landing on the soft carpet of the corridor beyond. The junction screeched in agony as the gap closed, lights flickered as various cables connected to each other at random while the staircase passed by. When the cacophonic orchestra of tortured machinery subsided, James finally picked himself off the floor. "Idiots. The lot of them."

"Ah crap," Hummelsaft muttered as he thought over his current situation. Drawing his Sictes pistol from his coat, he prayed to the Great Lobster Spirit before jumping out from cover. Taking quick aim at Wilk's assault rifle, he fired the tiny pistol for all it was worth, hoping to disarm his better equipped opponent.

Attack to disarm Wilks:[3+1], Wilks resists disarm:[1]

Hiding behind some inactive machinery, Hummelsaft could hear Wilks calling out to him. He'd tolerated the brute while things went well, Tyler was the only one who had the guts to operate the ship's harpoon turret, looking the interstellar horrors right in the eye, through the gunsights. But that was then, and this time he just had to go. Muttering a short prayer under his breath, Der Hummelsaft leaped from behind his cover, the tiny Sictes pistol in his hands spewing forth a barrage of little projectiles. Realising that his chances of getting through that thick suit were abysmal without his blaster, Der aimed his shots at Tyler's weapon, hoping to disarm him and distract him long enough to reobtain his favorite gun.

"Squeak squeak, motherf__ker!!"

Caught completely by surprise, Tyler Wilks didn't even try to resist. When the spray of tiny slugs hit his right wrist, the pain of the impacts made him drop the heavy assault rifle and he staggered back, dropping Der's blaster pistol to instinctively hold his (superficially) injured right hand with his left one.

When the initial surge of pain had passed, Tyler Wilks realised that he's now left weaponless, both his and Hummelsaft's weapons of choice lying on the floor between them. And Hummelsaft still has the other gun.

"Ah. Shit."

Jack hefted the crowbar, examining every inch of it. It was covered in rust (making him wonder exactly WHY the ship was still keeping it), but it might still be able to force something open.

Where to go, where to go, where to....ha!

Jack remembered the maintenance shafts. Even if the impact took out the power to the elevator, he would be able to climb through the shafts to get to the right deck.

So he set out to find a hatch and see if this rusty piece of crap could pry it off.

Find maintenance hatch:[2]

It's not possible to repair the ship without maintenance routes, Jack Ross knew that fairly well. Thus he was greatly surprised when, for all his trekking through the corridors, he could not see an entrance to even one. It's as if someone purposely designed them to be as invisible to the untrained eye as possible. Passing by the medibay, which was smoking somethin' fierce for some reason, Jack noticed a logo on the door. "Ah. Of course. Idiots."

============================================
Character statuses:

Name: Tyler Wilks
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Perfect, mild pain.
Equipment:
-CAW-1a Assault Rifle (+1 to-hit, +1 pierce damage) (lost)
-Armored Space Suit (+1 to resist energy damage, +1 to resist physical damage)
-Multitool (+1 to making broken things work again)
-MP3 Player w/ Headphones
-Toiletry Kit
Skills:
-Assault Rifle Champion (+1 to hit and +1 to damage with assault rifles)
-Low-G Hero (+1 to actions taken in less than 0.5G's gravity)

Name: James Khan
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, Level 3, side corridor.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Lasgun (+2 Energy Damage)
-Combat Armour (+2 to resist Physical damage, +1 to resist Energy damage)
-0.5L vial of ethanol
-Packet of Bubblegum
Skills:
-Medic (+1 to Medical Rolls)
-I've been in space! (+1 to actions to operate shipboard machinery)

Name: Matt Frehley
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, lower portside diagonal corridor, near an airlock.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Ravager-11 Assault Rifle (+1 Armor Penetration, +1 to melee attack)
-Reinforced Combat Armor (+1 to resist physical damage, +1 to resist energy weapon damage)
-Omni-Tool (+1 to technology interactions)
-Spray Deodorant
-Lighter
Skills:
-Firearm Training (+1 damage with slugthrowers)
-Quick Reaction Time (+1 dodge)

Name: Unit 4
Species: Anthromorphic Robot
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, the Hub.
Health: Destroyed.
Equipment:
Skills:

Name: Jack Ross
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, a corridor near the Medibay.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
- P45 Combat Handgun (+1 pierce damage)
- Sunglasses with holographic overlay (+2 to-hit with weapons)
- Datapad (+1 computer use)
- Rusty Crowbar (can force doors and locks open)
- Cigarettes
Skills:
- One-handed shooting (+1 handgun accuracy)
- Quick thinker (+1 dodge)

Name: Der Hummelsaft
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-TRXX-1 Blaster Pistol (+2 laser damage) (lost)
-Slick coat (+1 persuasion)
-Sictes Pistol (small enough to be concealed)
Skills:
-Master Investigator (+1 to search)
-Gunfighter (+1 to-hit with guns)
-Precise aim (+1 to hit a held item)

==============================

Please pardon me tasteless humor.

Quite a predicament you've landed in, eh?

[Norade]

He'd faced down space whales and never flinched even once, but Hummelsaft's little pea shooter had surprised him and made him drop both weapons. Cursing he tries to scoop them both back up again before running toward the elevator leading back to the upper decks. After all killing one's opponent is great, but it won't do any good unless the pod is still there when he gets to it.

Assuming he is able to grab the weapons as desired he says, "Hummelsaft you may be a coward but maybe we can work together. I'll give you back your pistol and let you come up the elevator with me if you'll stop shooting at me."

As he says this he slings his rifle over his shoulder and gets ready to snap a shot at his fellow survivor should he come out.

[The Vortex Empire]

Matt realizes that his best shot for escape is the backup elevator system, but he doesn't know where they are. He decides to search the area for a schematic of the ship or a map posted on the wall to locate them.

[OmegaChief]

"When I get out of here I'm going to sue those IDIOTs for every last credit" James muttered to himelf as he began to navigate the next level, gun still raised and ready, you never know if any other crewmen may have survived or amde it up this far after all.

Keeping his eyes open for a schematic, and of course other crew memebrs, James began to attempt to navigate upwards to the next level.

[chitoryu12]

Jack was in too bad of a mood to find humor in the name of the IDIOTS company. Right now, he was determined to get to that escape pod as fast as humanly or inhumanly possible.

He started thinking, trying to remember his many days wandering through the corridor, when he had encountered a maintenance hatch. If he remembered what he happened to be doing at the time, he would be able to find it and, hopefully, get the hatch off.

[born in shadow]

"All right, I suppose I can agree to that." he says, taking his pistol back as he follows Wilks to the elevator. At least as a pair they'd be slightly less likely to both die horribly. Besides, Wilks would make for great ablative shielding.

"And what do you mean, 'coward'? I'm not the one decked out in the gutted remains of a tank."

[CSJM]

===================
Turn 4!
===================

He'd faced down space whales and never flinched even once, but Hummelsaft's little pea shooter had surprised him and made him drop both weapons. Cursing he tries to scoop them both back up again before running toward the elevator leading back to the upper decks. After all killing one's opponent is great, but it won't do any good unless the pod is still there when he gets to it.

Assuming he is able to grab the weapons as desired he says, "Hummelsaft you may be a coward but maybe we can work together. I'll give you back your pistol and let you come up the elevator with me if you'll stop shooting at me."

As he says this he slings his rifle over his shoulder and gets ready to snap a shot at his fellow survivor should he come out.

Spoiler

Get weapons:[6], Dodge accidental discharge of the rifle:[4-1], Damage:[6-1], Attack Hummelsaft:[4], Hummelsaft dodges:[3], Damage:[3-2]

Anxious and frustrated, Tyler hastily lunges toward the two weapons on the ground, greedily grabbing them both with his grubbing fingers. One of the fingers, made no more elegant by the gauntlet of his spacesuit, gets lodged in CAW-1a's trigger enclosure, making Tyler suddenly regret switching the safety off just a minute before. The assault rifle comes to life, spraying a volley of slugs at the nearest wall! Hot metal fragments bounce around the narrow space of the corridor, inflicting terrible wounds on Tyler's ego as he frantically attempts to unjam his finger while being sprayed by numerous, even if essentially harmless debris. Finally he frees himself and stands up, angry and embarrased, both hands firmly on the handles of his and Hummelsaft's guns.

Giving himself a moment to calm down, Tyler shoulders his rifle and stretches out the hand with the blaster to the dim darkness in front of him, trying to appear friendly. "Alright, Hummelsaft. You may be a coward but maybe we can work together. I'll give you back your pistol and let you come up the elevator with me if you'll stop shooting at me."

Matt realizes that his best shot for escape is the backup elevator system, but he doesn't know where they are. He decides to search the area for a schematic of the ship or a map posted on the wall to locate them.

Spoiler

Find schematics:[4]

Looking around himself, Matt notices a poster on the wall. In large friendly letters accompanied by cartoonish pictures, the poster outlined some of the safety instructions for operating the airlock. Of particular interest was a note at the very bottom:
"In case the airlock somehow breaks, don't panic! Just hold your breath and make way to the closest perimeter elevator! Their airtight cabins will allow you to breathe again!" Next to the note was a rather small and blurry picture, in which Matt recognized the layout of the level he was on. Three bright green icons that were supposed to represent elevator cabins, but instead looked unsettlingly similar to coffins, were placed on the layout in areas of undeterminable strategic importance, and a bright red blotch left by a permanent marker was likely supposed to indicate Matt's current position. Squinting to see the corridors through smudges on the poster, Matt was finally able to trace a way to the closest elevator. The question remained, however. Was it the right one? Tearing the relevant bit of the poster off for further reference, he began making his way to the selected spot.

"When I get out of here I'm going to sue those IDIOTs for every last credit" James muttered to himelf as he began to navigate the next level, gun still raised and ready, you never know if any other crewmen may have survived or amde it up this far after all.

Keeping his eyes open for a schematic, and of course other crew memebrs, James began to attempt to navigate upwards to the next level.

Spoiler

Find schematic:[2]

The third level is still brightly lit, although there's a considerable amount of empty containers, wrappings, and all kinds of generic trash around. The third Habitation level was the least popular among the crewmembers, who preferred either the beautiful view of the first or the lavish accomodations of the fourth. Level 3, housing mostly essential life support and food stocks, was thoroughly automated, mostly being used as a gigantic trash container between ports, and only required visiting when there were problems. Like now. With such a long period of disuse and not a single cleaner robot aboard, it came as no surprise that finding anything in that mess required no less than a miracle. James spent some time wading through the trash looking for a map of the area, but soon gave up on the idea. If there ever was a map of this area, it's long decayed into ashes. At least the air filtering was on, otherwise being in here without a spacesuit would be downright hazardous.

Jack was in too bad of a mood to find humor in the name of the IDIOTS company. Right now, he was determined to get to that escape pod as fast as humanly or inhumanly possible.

He started thinking, trying to remember his many days wandering through the corridor, when he had encountered a maintenance hatch. If he remembered what he happened to be doing at the time, he would be able to find it and, hopefully, get the hatch off.

Spoiler

Find hatch:[5]

Trying to stay away from the caustic smoke coming from the Medibay, Jack Ross paced along the corridor, attempting to remember the last time he saw a maintenance hatch. He recalled his first year on the Inhibitable. Back then, the ship was teeming with crew, a lot of people thought hunting space whales was an exciting and profitable job. Of course, that was before the disaster of Fertassen's fleet, when eighteen ships were eaten whole by an especially large space whale, live before the cameras of the Discovery Universe channel's crew who were filming their second season of "Deadliest Catch IN SPACE!". Since then, ships like this were mostly crewed by the poor, the desperate, and the mentally unstable. Sometimes all at once.

Deeply immersed in reminiscence, Jack didn't notice how he turned a corner and headed into a different corridor. He remembered how he once stumbled on a broken floorplate and fell down into an open maintenance hatch during his first year. It took seven people to pry him out, and then five more to save his life, because he impaled himself on an emergency lockdown lever and then got wedged between the closing doors. He seemed to recall people calling him lucky, because it all happened so close to the medibay, just in a nearby cor...

*thunk*
"UWAAAAAAA-OWW!"

Vainly trying to shoo away the maelstrom of stars dancing in front of his eyes, Jack picked himself off the metal surface he landed on, and sat up. Looking about, he noticed that he was, indeed, again in the shaft that he had just recalled. Thankfully, the emergency lockdown was already activated, and the doors below him were closed. Right above his head, the vertical shaft branched away to the side, and Jack decided to start climbing immediately, pain be damned. Soon after entering the branch, he discovered another fork, this time splitting vertically. The stairs to the lower branch were broken - as if he wanted to go down! With renewed strength, Jack climbs up along the shaft, but his hopes are dashed - at the end of the shaft there is nothing but a dead end. In frustration, he slams his fist into the nearest wall, hitting an innocent-looking control panel with enough force to send sparks flying. "DAMMIT!" *beep* "Huh?"

<<Command accepted. Initiating maintenance section realignment.>>

As soon as the computerized voice finished its sentence, Jack felt the ladder he was on suddenly lurch sideways. With a loud slam, the passage beneath his feet suddenly closed, and he was forced to hold onto the ladder with all of his strength as the now-sealed-off section of the maintenance shaft accelerated along some sort of track. Why the hell this was happening, Jack had no idea. But he did know who was responsible. Adorning the ship design company's name with colorful expressions, Jack held on until, with another sudden lurch, the section stopped moving. Slowly, as if unwillingly, the metal hatch above him opened, and Jack climbed up, finding himself in the cluttered mess that he recognized as a corridor of Habitation level 3. Though relieved, he is in no mood to take his recent experience lightly.

"That does it. If I survive this, I'm paying these idiots back. One gallon of nerve gas per every sweatdrop."

"All right, I suppose I can agree to that." he says, taking his pistol back as he follows Wilks to the elevator. At least as a pair they'd be slightly less likely to both die horribly. Besides, Wilks would make for great ablative shielding.

"And what do you mean, 'coward'? I'm not the one decked out in the gutted remains of a tank."

Spoiler

Take pistol:[3]

Stepping out into the light ring emitted by Wilks, Der Hummelsaft puts his hand on the blaster pistol, still held by Wilks's armored gauntlet. "All right, I suppose I can agree to that. But don't call me a coward. At least I'm not the one walking around in the gutted remains of a tank."

Hummelsaft attempts to take the pistol, but Tyler's grip suddenly tightens. Der is not amused. "What's the problem, man? Let go of my gun! If you want me to help then don't be a dick, let me have it! Let.."

Suddenly hit by a realisation, Der Hummelsaft makes a desperate attempt to wrench the blaster out of Tyler's hand, but it's too late. With a quick motion, Tyler Wilks flips the gun in his hand, grabbing it by the handle and pulling the trigger in a fraction of a second. Trying to retain his grasp of the weapon, Der inadvertedly directs its barrel right into his abdomen, where the high-energy discharge obliterates everything in its path, disintegrating skin, muscle and internal organs. Having barely avoided swift death from a severed abdominal aorta and left with a huge cauterized hole burned into his abdomen, Der nevertheless somehow manages to keep himself conscious. Overcoming the searing pain, he keeps his weakening grasp on the blaster, as if still expecting Tyler to let go of it. Surprised by his crewmate's persistance, Tyler holds the weapon up, by extension allowing Hummelsaft to remain on his feet.

"Der Hummelsaft. Ever the determinator. You should know, I don't really have anything against you. But. No one. Makes fun of my suit."

============================================
Character statuses:

Name: Tyler Wilks
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Perfect, mild pain.
Equipment:
-TRXX-1 Blaster Pistol (+2 laser damage) (shared)
-CAW-1a Assault Rifle (+1 to-hit, +1 pierce damage)
-Armored Space Suit (+1 to resist energy damage, +1 to resist physical damage)
-Multitool (+1 to making broken things work again)
-MP3 Player w/ Headphones
-Toiletry Kit
Skills:
-Assault Rifle Champion (+1 to hit and +1 to damage with assault rifles)
-Low-G Hero (+1 to actions taken in less than 0.5G's gravity)

Name: James Khan
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, Level 3, side corridor.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Lasgun (+2 Energy Damage)
-Combat Armour (+2 to resist Physical damage, +1 to resist Energy damage)
-0.5L vial of ethanol
-Packet of Bubblegum
Skills:
-Medic (+1 to Medical Rolls)
-I've been in space! (+1 to actions to operate shipboard machinery)

Name: Matt Frehley
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, lower portside diagonal corridor.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Ravager-11 Assault Rifle (+1 Armor Penetration, +1 to melee attack)
-Reinforced Combat Armor (+1 to resist physical damage, +1 to resist energy weapon damage)
-Omni-Tool (+1 to technology interactions)
-Elevator location schematic for Habitation L4 (0/3 elevators checked)
-Spray Deodorant
-Lighter
Skills:
-Firearm Training (+1 damage with slugthrowers)
-Quick Reaction Time (+1 dodge)

Name: Unit 4
Species: Anthromorphic Robot
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, the Hub.
Health: Destroyed.
Equipment:
Skills:

Name: Jack Ross
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 3, a corridor.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
- P45 Combat Handgun (+1 pierce damage)
- Sunglasses with holographic overlay (+2 to-hit with weapons)
- Datapad (+1 computer use)
- Rusty Crowbar (can force doors and locks open)
- Cigarettes
Skills:
- One-handed shooting (+1 handgun accuracy)
- Quick thinker (+1 dodge)

Name: Der Hummelsaft
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Huge hole in the abdomen.
Equipment:
-TRXX-1 Blaster Pistol (+2 laser damage) (shared)
-Slick coat (+1 persuasion)
-Sictes Pistol (small enough to be concealed)
Skills:
-Master Investigator (+1 to search)
-Gunfighter (+1 to-hit with guns)
-Precise aim (+1 to hit a held item)

==============================

The struggle continues!

[Norade]

Thinking to himself, The poor trusting fool... Tyler pulls the trigger on the pistol again before letting go and heading to the elevator again. As he moves he makes his rifle safe not wanting to waste what little ammo he has left.

[OmegaChief]

Grumbling to himself and kicking a random peice of garbage, James resumed his search for a way up to the enxt level,a fter all how big and/or mazlike could this one possible be?

[The Vortex Empire]

Matt heads to the maintenance elevator he found, desperately hoping his guess would be a lucky one. On the way there, he attempts to access the ships surveillance systems on his omni-tool, trying to locate what survivors may still be left. He also attempts to discover what he can do with the ships systems to hurt their chances of escape.

[chitoryu12]

Jack cracked the stiffness out of his knuckles, neck, knees, toes, and hips as he got to work trying to find his way to an elevator. After his wild ride through the maintenance shaft, he was in no hurry to try taking those again.

He suddenly remembered what was weighing down his pocket: his datapad. Hopefully, it would have a map of the ship so he could find exactly where a working elevator was.

[born in shadow]

Realizing the sudden hole in his stomach was in no way good for his chances of escape, Der Hummelsaft did the first thing that came to mind: vomited the bloody remains of his gut onto Wilk's face, "I really hope I wasted enough of your time."

Pulling up his Sictes pistol, he aims it as best he can from a foot away, hoping to put a round directly into his slightly less mortally wounded foe's eye. With a sad smile, he squeezes the trigger.

[CSJM]

===================
Turn 5!
===================

Thinking to himself, The poor trusting fool... Tyler pulls the trigger on the pistol again before letting go and heading to the elevator again. As he moves he makes his rifle safe not wanting to waste what little ammo he has left.

Spoiler

Fire:[5], Hummelsaft dodges:[5]; Return to elevator:[5]

Tyler pulls on the gun, levelling the blaster with Hummelsaft's face. He's about to pull the trigger when, with a deep gurgle, Hummelsaft belches forth a bloody mess of stomach juices and half-digested food, almost obscuring Tyler's vision with the thick, slightly chunky goo! Not expecting such a move, Tyler fires the blaster in Hummelsaft's general direction, but can't tell whether the shot hit anything. When the murky twilight beyond his vision breaks loose with another hail of tiny slugs, he throws the blaster away and runs back to the elevator. "Ah, screw this! Good luck rotting here, Hummelsaft!" He soon finds the cabin, just as dead as he left it earlier, though a quick glance over the thing tells him that nothing is broken except the mangled control panel. It should be repairable - and he could have probably repaired it with his multitool if he ever cared to.

Grumbling to himself and kicking a random peice of garbage, James resumed his search for a way up to the enxt level,a fter all how big and/or mazlike could this one possible be?

Spoiler

Search for exit:[6]

Wading around in the trash was never a favorite pastime of James Khan, but the situation necessitated a thorough examination of the corridor in front of him. Things were so bad in here that an important survival device or escape hatch could easily be lost, covered by tons of refuse or by what seemed like an inch-thick layer of grime and dust on the walls. Trying as hard as possible not to touch anything too disgusting, James went on, paying attention to anything that stuck out from the horrible mess around him. A very high-pitched, but severely muffled hum of a motor attracted his attention, and James looked into the large room from which it came, half-expecting to see a robot being slowly consumed by a giant sentient grime. What he saw, though, was slightly less disturbing.

Suspended amidst the room by a great array of wires and a pair of very thick pipes, burning up electricity to perform at least a part of its function, there was a massive air conditioning unit. Looking at it, James thought the thing hasn't seen maintenance since the ship was made. It struggled to pump air through its cyclone filter, which was so covered in thick grime and bits of trash it was a wonder that any air got through at all. James guessed, correctly, that the conditioner was being fed clean air from the second level, through the big pipe that connected to the ceiling. Seeing the size of the pipe gave James an idea. If he were to stop the conditioner, he could probably climb through to the air purifiers on the second level. The plan had a tiny flaw in it - along the way, he would be blasted by a wind of incredible strength - and if he made it through, there was still the massive running fan that created said wind on the other side. Though dangerous, the route neatly avoided a lot of wading through the trash that would be required to find another one on this level, and James stood for a while, pondering the implications of either choice.

Matt heads to the maintenance elevator he found, desperately hoping his guess would be a lucky one. On the way there, he attempts to access the ships surveillance systems on his omni-tool, trying to locate what survivors may still be left. He also attempts to discover what he can do with the ships systems to hurt their chances of escape.

Spoiler

Luck roll:[3], Access surveillance:[1]

Taking brief glances at the blurry map, Matt ran as fast as he could, following a short but incredibly winding route through the crazy layout of the less-used sections of the level. Finally, at the end of a dark and dusty corridor, he found it! Having seen no use for as long as the ship existed, the dimly lit cabin of the elevator stood covered with a thick layer of dust. Carefully, so as not to call an avalanche of dust onto his head, Matt reached up and wiped the dust off the sign above the cabin doors, barely containing a victorious cry when his fingers uncovered the words "Habitation Level 3" on it. Giving the doors a few good kicks to blow off the dust, Matt pressed the touch-panel. The doors immediately opened.

"So far so good!"

But when he pushed the "Go" button in the cabin, nothing happened. A few seconds later, a computerized voice from a speaker somewhere in the ceiling explained:

<<Warning, elevator shaft misaligned. Please wait seventy-nine seconds while the problem is being fixed. Thank you.>>

Slightly lowering the volume, the voice began a countdown. Figuring that it's better than nothing, Matt decided to try and access the ship's surveilance system through his omnitool while he waited. It could be useful to know how the other survivors were faring, if there were any. But to his dismay, no option for "surveillance" came out on the ship systems menu. He tried several times, looked in several unlikely places, but there was nothing! "Wait, this can't be right." It's as if the ship didn't even HAVE a surveillance system! But then again... Concentrating hard, Matt tried to remember any time, any occasion, any half-forgotten early-service event where he ever saw an internal security camera. There were none. It only now struck Matt. The ship had no internal surveillance at all! Utterly shocked by the realization, Matt remained in the cabin, deep in thought as the computerized voice quietly continued its countdown.

<<Fifty-five...>>

Jack cracked the stiffness out of his knuckles, neck, knees, toes, and hips as he got to work trying to find his way to an elevator. After his wild ride through the maintenance shaft, he was in no hurry to try taking those again.

He suddenly remembered what was weighing down his pocket: his datapad. Hopefully, it would have a map of the ship so he could find exactly where a working elevator was.

Spoiler

Find elevator:[3], Search datapad:[6]

He'd forgotten how unpleasant this level had actually been. Wading through the heaps of trash that smelled faintly of reprocessed foodstuffs, Jack slowly made his way toward the level's Hub, thinking that if the elevators there still work, they'd be the easiest route out of here. To make the trip more bearable, Jack took out his datapad, hoping to find some relevant information on the troubles he could be facing ahead. Tapping his way through the database, Jack encounters a lot of information on the ship's systems - make and model, maintenance cost, average purchase cost from major suppliers, black market purchase costs... nothing about the ship's layout, though. Jack is almost ready to abandon his search, when the words "Area Schematics for Habitation Deck" light up on the screen. "F__k yes!" He briefly looks over the map.

The quickest way from level 3 to level 2 are the hub elevators, but they don't lead from level 2 to level 1, due to structural concerns. Instead, a number of elaborate staircases and small open lift platforms were available around the edges of the level, leading into the beautiful domed structure of the ship's nose section. Made from seven feet of transparent aluminium, the level's outer casing allowed to enjoy the views of outer space and any planets the ship happened to be passing by. The nosecone always loomed in the "sky" like a massive spire, but wasn't used for anything - until the captain bought that pod, of course. Now, instead of the simple column that held up the cone, the center of level 1 was occupied by an elaborate construction that allowed the pod to launch with as little effort as possible. Jack fantasied about flying out on that pod, but restrained himself. "No, I'm not there yet. Alright, now what about those lifts..." He opened up the map of the second level, trying to memorize the locations of stairs and lifts, but suddenly his foot caught on something on the floor. Shifting his weight to the other leg so he could untie himself, Jack unwittingly stepped on an empty box of Safeguard soap pellets, lined with their patented Zero-Friction Coating that preserved the pellets in transport. With one foot in midair, tangled in a length of wire, and another standing on a friction-free surface, Jack did the only natural thing to do.

Flailing his limbs and screaming incoherent insults at no one in particular, Jack fell flat on his back, letting his datapad fly. Even with his head ringing from the sudden encounter with the floor, Jack could hear the terrible sound of his only reliable source of information having a sudden violent encounter with a hard metal surface.

Realizing the sudden hole in his stomach was in no way good for his chances of escape, Der Hummelsaft did the first thing that came to mind: vomited the bloody remains of his gut onto Wilk's face, "I really hope I wasted enough of your time."

Pulling up his Sictes pistol, he aims it as best he can from a foot away, hoping to put a round directly into his slightly less mortally wounded foe's eye. With a sad smile, he squeezes the trigger.

Spoiler

Vomit on Tyler:[3], Attack:[6], Tyler dodges:[5-1]

Der Hummelsaft's vision was blurry from pain and nausea. He managed to see Tyler pointing the blaster at his face, but was overwhelmed with his stomach's sudden desire to empty itself. In a last attempt to humiliate his opponent before the fight was over, Hummelsaft raised his head, directing the gush of bloody vomit at Tyler's face. He hardly hoped to achieve anything - but he did. Surprised and disgusted by the attack, Wilks recoils, yanking the support from under Hummelsaft's hands and firing blindly into the space above Der as he falls to the floor. Given new hope, Hummelsaft points his tiny pistol in the direction of the glowing figure and pulls the trigger as fast as he can. The Sictes pistol, not quite designed for such abuse, promptly overheats and jams up, but it allowed its owner at least a few more minutes of life - throwing away Der's blaster, Tyler Wilks retreated back to whence he came from. Straining himself, Der Hummelsaft shouts at the diminishing glowing blob in the corridor's darkness: "I really hope I wasted enough of your precious time, Wilks!" Exhausted, he slumps to the ground.
============================================
Character statuses:

Name: Tyler Wilks
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, at a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-CAW-1a Assault Rifle (+1 to-hit, +1 pierce damage)
-Armored Space Suit (+1 to resist energy damage, +1 to resist physical damage)
-Multitool (+1 to making broken things work again)
-MP3 Player w/ Headphones
-Toiletry Kit
Skills:
-Assault Rifle Champion (+1 to hit and +1 to damage with assault rifles)
-Low-G Hero (+1 to actions taken in less than 0.5G's gravity)

Name: James Khan
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, Level 3, Main Air Conditioning.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Lasgun (+2 Energy Damage)
-Combat Armour (+2 to resist Physical damage, +1 to resist Energy damage)
-0.5L vial of ethanol
-Packet of Bubblegum
Skills:
-Medic (+1 to Medical Rolls)
-I've been in space! (+1 to actions to operate shipboard machinery)

Name: Matt Frehley
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, portside tertiary corridors, backup elevator to Habitation Level 3.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Ravager-11 Assault Rifle (+1 Armor Penetration, +1 to melee attack)
-Reinforced Combat Armor (+1 to resist physical damage, +1 to resist energy weapon damage)
-Omni-Tool (+1 to technology interactions)
-Elevator location schematic for Habitation L4 (1/3 elevators checked)
-Spray Deodorant
-Lighter
Skills:
-Firearm Training (+1 damage with slugthrowers)
-Quick Reaction Time (+1 dodge)

Name: Unit 4
Species: Anthromorphic Robot
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, the Hub.
Health: Destroyed.
Equipment:
Skills:

Name: Jack Ross
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 3, a corridor.
Health: Perfect, mild pain.
Equipment:
- P45 Combat Handgun (+1 pierce damage)
- Sunglasses with holographic overlay (+2 to-hit with weapons)
- Datapad (+1 computer use) (lost)
- Rusty Crowbar (can force doors and locks open)
- Cigarettes
Skills:
- One-handed shooting (+1 handgun accuracy)
- Quick thinker (+1 dodge)

Name: Der Hummelsaft
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, in a corridor near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Huge hole in the abdomen.
Equipment:
-TRXX-1 Blaster Pistol (+2 laser damage) (lost)
-Slick coat (+1 persuasion)
-Sictes Pistol (small enough to be concealed) (jammed)
Skills:
-Master Investigator (+1 to search)
-Gunfighter (+1 to-hit with guns)
-Precise aim (+1 to hit a held item)

==============================
The Random Number God favors Hummelsaft so far.

Quick clarification: Matt's elevator will start moving once he's done with his next action, i.e. just before the next turn ends.

[The Vortex Empire]

Idly kicking the wall, Matt curses the IDIOTS who made this ship. He decides to simply wait for the elevator to fix itself, figuring that any attempt to speed up the process could make it worse.

[Norade]

First things first Tyler cleans off his visor using his some of the contents of his toiletry kit. Once he can see he looks about the elevator and finds that only the damned control panel is busted. As he sets about fixing it he wonders why he'd left it so long and kept using the stairs each day instead.

[OmegaChief]

Well he was getting somewhere at least, that was good, James thought to himself as he waded his way through the sea or garbage as he made his way to the controlls to stop the Air Conditioner.

He also puzzled about how to stop the big choppy fan, least he become human sushi, an idea ocored to him and he glanced around the room for any kind of long metal pipe he could use to jam the fan shut, of course if he couldn't find one, he'd jsut climb the shaft and blast the damn fan with his gun.

[born in shadow]

Covering the gaping hole with one hand and grabbing his blaster off the floor with the other, Der Hummelsaft does his best to recall the location of the nearest emergency medical kit. Figuring it won't do him any good if he bleeds to death in the damn pod, he sets off in whatever direction he manages to recall.

[chitoryu12]

Shitshitshitshitshit

Jack had bought that datapad 5 years ago, and it had served him very well. It was practically his closest friend on the ship, never having liked the other crew members much. And now, it was gone....

Jack got up, stretching his back out as it throbbed from his rough landing. Now he was pissed.

It was time to find the stairs.

[CSJM]

Had things to take care of, sorry for the delay.
===================
Turn 5!
===================

Idly kicking the wall, Matt curses the IDIOTS who made this ship. He decides to simply wait for the elevator to fix itself, figuring that any attempt to speed up the process could make it worse.

Spoiler

"Wait" succeeds automatically.

Matt gives the cabin wall a wholesome kick. "Goddamn idiots." Having nothing better to do, he leans against the wall and tries to set his thoughts into order. Seconds tick away, announced by the rasping voice of the computer. Suddenly, Matt loses balance! He grabs a railing inside the cabin to avoid falling, at the same time trying to figure out what the hell happened. It doesn't take him long. With a satisfied whirr, the cabin doors open and leave Matt's nose exposed to a violent assault of the awful fragrance that lay beyond. The smell is unmistakable - this has to be a corridor on level three. Matt must've fallen asleep, lulled by the monotonous counting of the computer. Covering his nose as well as he can, Matt steps out of the elevator and begins walking through the narrow side corridor of level 3, hoping to reach an air-conditioned area sometime soon. "Uagh! Thus us duskustung!"

First things first Tyler cleans off his visor using his some of the contents of his toiletry kit. Once he can see he looks about the elevator and finds that only the damned control panel is busted. As he sets about fixing it he wonders why he'd left it so long and kept using the stairs each day instead.

Spoiler

Fix elevator:[4+1]

Wiping his helmet with a very handy towel from his toiletry kit, Tyler sets to examining the damage he so carelessly inflicted on the elevator's control panel. It turns out to be better than he thought. Cutting up a few wires and cross-linking them to bypass the broken power conduit, Tyler manages to reactivate the elevator's power supply, causing it to immediately light up. Deciding to waste no more time, he steps into the cabin and pushes "go". The computer begins saying something about a misaligned shaft, but the cabin starts moving before it can finish the sentence, and Tyler is back in the Habitation Deck by the time it says "Thank you".

Well he was getting somewhere at least, that was good, James thought to himself as he waded his way through the sea or garbage as he made his way to the controlls to stop the Air Conditioner.

He also puzzled about how to stop the big choppy fan, least he become human sushi, an idea ocored to him and he glanced around the room for any kind of long metal pipe he could use to jam the fan shut, of course if he couldn't find one, he'd jsut climb the shaft and blast the damn fan with his gun.

Spoiler

Deactivate conditioner:[2+1], Find pipe:[2]

Looking around for a way to disable the powerful machine, James Khan sees a few cables that don't seem to be there for support. Examining them closely, he sees that two of them supply purified water from the second level, while the third is none other than the main power supply cable for the conditioner. Without thinking too long, James pulls on it, unplugging the machine - there was a very large wall socket beneath all the grime on the wall. The high-pitched wailing of the machine's internal fan quickly begins to recede, but James notices a problem with his brilliant plan. The fan won't stop just because it lost power - its mass will keep it spinning for quite a while, two minutes at the least. "Well" he thinks, "at least I'll have time to find a way into the thing." James begins looking around for something to pry the case open, or at least stop the fan with - but for all the trash around here, there's nothing quite long and sturdy enough for the task.

Covering the gaping hole with one hand and grabbing his blaster off the floor with the other, Der Hummelsaft does his best to recall the location of the nearest emergency medical kit. Figuring it won't do him any good if he bleeds to death in the damn pod, he sets off in whatever direction he manages to recall.

Spoiler

Find Medikit:[1]

Der Hummelsaft clings to life, focusing his willpower to overcome the pain and make his body move. With incredible effort, he crawls along the dark corridor, hoping to find at least something that will help his condition. But there's nothing. To make matters even worse, the strain he put on his injured body has aggravated the cauterized blood vessels and Hummelsaft leaves a bloody trail on the floor as he keeps crawling along the corridor into the darkness ahead.

Shitshitshitshitshit

Jack had bought that datapad 5 years ago, and it had served him very well. It was practically his closest friend on the ship, never having liked the other crew members much. And now, it was gone....

Jack got up, stretching his back out as it throbbed from his rough landing. Now he was pissed.

It was time to find the stairs.

Spoiler

Find stairs up:[2]

Jack stands up and begins brushing himself off. Looking at the crumpled Safeguard box on the floor, he loses his temper and violently kicks the remains of the box away. "Damn box! Damn this trash, damn this level, DAMN THIS WHOLE F__KING SHIP!!" He turns around and runs to where he thought he heard his datapad falling. Squatting, he begins digging through the trash, paying no attention to the grime and various unpleasant substances that begin to cover his hands. Finally, he finds it - his datapad, screen hopelessly broken, battery compartment lid and batteries missing, but still whole. And maybe sometime - if he survives this - repairable. "Eh. Damn. Don't worry old friend, we'll get through this just fine."
============================================
Character statuses:

Name: Tyler Wilks
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, near elevator to Engineering level 1.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-CAW-1a Assault Rifle (+1 to-hit, +1 pierce damage)
-Armored Space Suit (+1 to resist energy damage, +1 to resist physical damage)
-Multitool (+1 to making broken things work again)
-MP3 Player w/ Headphones
-Toiletry Kit
Skills:
-Assault Rifle Champion (+1 to hit and +1 to damage with assault rifles)
-Low-G Hero (+1 to actions taken in less than 0.5G's gravity)

Name: James Khan
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, Level 3, Main Air Conditioning.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Lasgun (+2 Energy Damage)
-Combat Armour (+2 to resist Physical damage, +1 to resist Energy damage)
-0.5L vial of ethanol
-Packet of Bubblegum
Skills:
-Medic (+1 to Medical Rolls)
-I've been in space! (+1 to actions to operate shipboard machinery)

Name: Matt Frehley
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 3, portside tertiary corridors, backup elevator to Habitation Level 4.
Health: Perfect.
Equipment:
-Ravager-11 Assault Rifle (+1 Armor Penetration, +1 to melee attack)
-Reinforced Combat Armor (+1 to resist physical damage, +1 to resist energy weapon damage)
-Omni-Tool (+1 to technology interactions)
-Elevator location schematic for Habitation L4 (1/3 checked, L4/L3 elevator found)
-Spray Deodorant
-Lighter
Skills:
-Firearm Training (+1 damage with slugthrowers)
-Quick Reaction Time (+1 dodge)

Name: Unit 4
Species: Anthromorphic Robot
Location: Habitation deck, level 4, the Hub.
Health: Destroyed.
Equipment:
Skills:

Name: Jack Ross
Species: Human
Location: Habitation deck, level 3, a corridor.
Health: Perfect, mild pain.
Equipment:
- P45 Combat Handgun (+1 pierce damage)
- Sunglasses with holographic overlay (+2 to-hit with weapons)
- Datapad (+1 computer use) (hopelessly broken)
- Rusty Crowbar (can force doors and locks open)
- Cigarettes
Skills:
- One-handed shooting (+1 handgun accuracy)
- Quick thinker (+1 dodge)

Name: Der Hummelsaft
Species: Human
Location: Engineering deck, level 1, in a corridor near a damaged elevator to Habitation level 4.
Health: Huge hole in the abdomen, Light Bleeding.
Equipment:
-TRXX-1 Blaster Pistol (+2 laser damage) (lost)
-Slick coat (+1 persuasion)
-Sictes Pistol (small enough to be concealed) (jammed)
Skills:
-Master Investigator (+1 to search)
-Gunfighter (+1 to-hit with guns)
-Precise aim (+1 to hit a held item)

==============================
The RNG is merciless today.
Hummelsaft: Light Bleeding isn't dangerous, but subsequent epic fails or overshots will intensify it, and once it reaches Heavy Bleeding, you begin risking death every turn.

[Norade]

The lift reaches the right floor again and Tyler tries to undo the fix to the control panel so nobody else can use the lift without fixing everything. However, he doesn't try for long moving on and just smashing the thing with an armored fist before he goes if the unfix doesn't seem to work. After that he goes looking for the elevator leading up to the next level, because even should it be out of order at least he can climb the shaft.

[CSJM]

Uh.. oops. Okay, the timed edit function is frustrating. I missed Hummelsaft's +1 to search ability, so read his action description as lacking the last sentence, and his status as lacking the "Light bleeding" entry.

[Norade]

Just write a new entry for his update.

[The Vortex Empire]

Matt stumbles through the stench, looking for an air conditioned area of the ship. ALong the way, he keeps an eye out for maps of the area.