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System Supervillain, Chapter 114
🕑 Added 2024-11-28 19:47:03 +0000 UTC
Chapter 114 – Lockdown
The next moment, a siren sounded, before I heard the sound of doors slamming shut and the whooshing of air being sucked out of the compartment by the environmental controls. One of the consoles in the computer center lit up with a message that my HUD translated as ‘ABORT CODE:’, with a flashing prompt. Obviously asking for input from the IT guys. Too bad they were dead right now.
“Interesting. The Uprising Controls have a back door written into them. The technicians in the Computer Control Nest can override even the Emperor-level lockout, with the right code, so long as they’re in the CCN. Probably a kludged-together failsafe response in case someone is able to hack into the systems, and attempts to disable a ship. Which means that we’ll need to eliminate anyone in the CCN if we want to use this again on other Gel-nak ships.”
“Well, that’s something, at least. I was starting to worry that these Gel-nak were too stupid to be worth my time. But it seems that at least a few of them have a brain. So, do you have a new target for me?”
“Looks like roughly 15% of the Worker Caste are in compartments with survival suits. Hmm. The carrier deck is almost completely depopulated. Looks like you got all the pilots and flight crews, except for a few taking shelter in shuttles and fighters, but with the lockdown in effect, hangar bay doors are locked shut, so they aren’t going anywhere, unless they blast their way free.”
“Keep an eye on them. We may want to go back that way before leaving the ship, so we can snag some toys. How about movement around the ship? Do I need to go misty, or can you open doors for me?”
“With the Uprising Controls in effect, the Emperor-level password needs to be typed in manually on the door controls to move between compartments, but that will release the lockdown in the sector you’re moving to. The question is do you want to hunt down all the crew, compartment by compartment, or do you want to go straight to the leaders, before they start getting ideas?”
“They haven’t struck me as being terribly intelligent so far, especially since they clearly didn’t bother to do any scouting and find out what people on Earth were capable of. Still, they might do something stupid enough that it will be a problem, so we’ll start with the leaders. Have a direction for me?”
“Command Nest is three decks up, middle of the ship. Whatever else you can say about the Gel-nak, they did realize that the least vulnerable part of a warship in space is in the core, and put the bridge there. No reason to have superstructures leaving the bridge exposed when you are in space, and can’t see anything, anyways.”
“What kind of welcome should I be expecting?”
“Two leaders, two warriors, and a bunch of dying workers. There don’t seem to be any survival suits on the bridge. Leaders and warriors are all armed and armored, though. Warriors are carrying two-handed blaster rifle things, but they have a big, two-handed sword, as well, looking like if someone crossed a longsword with a cleaver. Leaders a smaller pistol and one-handed blade.”
“Four on one, on their turf, huh? Well, at least that will make things interesting. Going to mist.”
With that, I turned myself and my gear to an icy mist, all but invisible as I flew up into the ventilation system, the only sign of my passing the aura of cold my mist form gave off. Fortunately, the lockdown had not sealed all the vents. Or, rather, this version of the lockdown didn’t. After all, this was an uprising lockdown, so being able to vent the air from the sector was important. No doubt, there were locks in place when only parts of the ship were in an ‘uprising’, or when they had an actual hull breach, which would definitely slow my progress through the ship, but those weren’t in play right now, so nothing stopped me from taking the quick route between floors.
Thankfully, there were competent engineers designing the ship, so it was not that difficult to navigate through the vents. Three decks up, and roughly four compartments further aft, I found what I was looking for.
The bridge, or Command Nest, as they called it, was square, and roughly eight meters on a side. The number of consoles and control stations in the room clearly meant that this was supposed to be the bustling heart of a warship. Unfortunately, out of the twenty beings currently in the Command Nest, only four were alive, which meant this heart was less bustling and more seizing.
The Leaders were immediately obvious. While they were only slightly larger than the Worker caste, they had distinctive frills on their head, like a mowhawk or sail fin, and they were sitting in what were obviously command chairs in the center of the bridge, arguing about what they should do. Neither were concerned about the workers who were dead, they just cared about getting back in control of the ship, so they could witness Earth’s surrender. They were wearing armor that covered most of their bodies, but left the head and hands free. However, there was the shimmer of an energy field around the openings, clearly their version of a helmet and gloves. Those claws and teeth did look dangerous, though, so I’d have to avoid them.
The Warriors were also obvious, as they were bigger and thicker than the other Gel-nak. Not enough to warrant the ‘growth’ power, or anything like that, but they were big bruisers who looked strong and tough, but not too bright. With nothing to shoot, they were just standing near consoles, looking bored. Which was fortunate, since they were wearing armor similar in size to the Leaders, but less ornate, and their weapons were more intimidating.
The Workers were in their normal uniforms, and most of them were huddled by the only exit to the bridge. They’d tried to escape, and get to the survival kits just outside the bridge, but couldn’t override the lockout. The two or three that weren’t by the door had apparently tried to take on the guards in desperation, and met the business end of their weapons instead.
Hmm. Judging by the condition of the bodies, the blasters those guards had were pretty powerful. One was missing a large portion of their chest, in a circular area, while another had most of their head removed. And there were a few burned ones, as well. Something high-intensity. Flamethrower? No, no air. Plasma, then. Either way, these weapons were clearly not something I wanted to experience, myself. But how to avoid it was the question.
A quick check of the corridor outside showed four more warriors, all standing dumbly in the Gel-nak version of at ease. One would think that they’d try and break into the bridge and help their leaders, but clearly they were more of the ‘do only as ordered’ type. Probably would end up standing there until either there was an attack, or their shift was up, and they had to find their way back to their barracks, or wherever they slept.
Honestly, I couldn’t fault them too much. Nothing I’d seen so far in the Gel-nak gave any feelings of ‘professionalism’. Their entire society seemed to be based around forcing obedience. Probably some more complex social hierarchy things that I hadn’t figured out, yet, but the basics were obvious, given that they had different castes, and different classes of both citizens and slaves. Everything was about ensuring that those ‘below’ submitted to those above.
Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t the submissive sort.
Slipping back onto the bridge, I considered my options. Really, the best choice was to cloak the bridge in a mist too thick for them to see through. That would, at least, let me know of any sensors they had which could detect me in my mist form.
All four Gel-nak started as I unleashed my mist. I made it so that I could still see through the mist, naturally, but I was not so kind as to allow the Gel-nak that advantage. The two warriors pulled out their big, cleaver-like weapons, making the correct assumption that they would be less likely to hit the leaders that way. The Leaders, on the other hand, hopped up from their chairs, and both had their blaster pistols in hand, even as they barked out orders for someone to clear away the mist. Even as I floated down into the room with them, they didn’t turn towards me. None of their electronics could find me when I was mist, it looked like, which gave me a huge tactical advantage.
Turn Order
Segment
Turns
1
2
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade
3
Gel-nak Warriors
4
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade
5
Gel-nak Warriors
6
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade
7
8
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade, Gel-nak Warriors
9
10
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade, Gel-nak Warriors
11
12
Gel-nak Leaders, Iceblade, Gel-nak Warriors
Segment 2:
Iceblade: +2 CSL to DCV (DCV 12)
Iceblade: Sustaining Mist Shroud (1 END per phase)
Gel-nak Leader A: Martial Dodge, +5 DCV (DCV 18)
Gel-nak Leader B: Martial Dodge, +5 DCV (DCV 18)
Iceblade uses Martial Strike: +2 DCV (DCV 14), +2 DC Weapon Strike
Iceblade’s Attack Roll (Warrior 1), OCV 10: 3d6 = 8 (Hits DCV 13) (Hits)
Winter’s Wrath: 5d6-1 = 15 BODY (7 rED after AP)
Stun Multiplier: 1d6-1 = 3 (45 STUN) (x2 Vulnerability to Ice/Cold) (7 rED after AP)
Iceblade: 46/50 END
Warrior 1: 22/30 BODY
Warrior 1: -28/55 STUN (Knocked Out)
The two leaders looked like they were focusing mainly on being on the defense, which wasn’t a terrible idea, honestly. At least, it was certainly a better idea than going off and shooting blindly. Especially since I was certain there were things on this bridge that would not react well to blasters. Besides me, of course.
I materialized next to the warrior on the left-hand side of the room, right as I brought my blade down. His armored suit put up some defense, but not nearly enough. The warrior staggered, his blade falling from his hand and clattering to the ground before he fell forward, crashing to the ground, unconsciousand.
Segment 3:
Iceblade: +2 CSL to DCV (DCV 14)
Warrior 2: +2 CSL to DCV with HTH combat (HTH DCV 12)
Warrior 2 uses Offensive Shot: -1 OCV (OCV 9), -1 DCV (DCV 9), Range +0, Strike +4 DC
Warrior 2’s attack roll (Iceblade), OCV 9: 3d6 = 12 (Hits DCV 8) (Miss)
Warrior 2: 53/60 END
Iceblade: 46/50 END
Warrior 1: 22/30 BODY
Warrior 1: -28/55 STUN (Knocked Out)
Warrior 2: 53/60 END
“RHUK!” The other warrior yelled something in a panic, before firing a bolt of green nastiness in my general direction. It wasn’t anywhere close to hitting me, but the fact that he got it as close as he did suggested that his armor had nonvisual means of targeting me, at least while I was solid. Good to know.
Segment 4:
Iceblade: +2 CSL to DCV (DCV 14)
Warrior 2: +2 CSL to DCV with HTH combat (HTH DCV 11)
Leader A’s attack roll (Iceblade), OCV 13 = 11 (Hits DCV 13) (Miss)
Leader A: 77/80 END
Leader B’s attack roll (Iceblade), OCV 13 = 7 (Hits DCV 17) (Hits)
Electroblaster: 12d6 = 45 (13 Normal BODY) (50 ED)
Leader B: 77/80 END
Iceblade uses Martial Strike: +2 DCV (DCV 14), +2 DC Weapon Strike
Iceblade’s Attack Roll (Warrior 1), OCV 10: 3d6 = 10 (Hits DCV 11) (Hits)
Winter’s Wrath: 5d6-1 = 24 BODY (10 rED after AP)
Stun Multiplier: 1d6-1 = 2 (48 STUN) (x2 Vulnerability to Ice/Cold) (10 rED after AP)
Iceblade: 42/50 END
Leader A: 26/40 BODY
Leader A: -16/70 STUN (Knocked Out)
Iceblade: 42/50 END
Warrior 1: 22/30 BODY
Warrior 1: -28/55 STUN (Knocked Out)
Warrior 2: 53/60 END
Leader A: 26/40 BODY
Leader A: -16/70 STUN (Knocked Out)
Leader B: 77/80 END
The ‘Supreme Commander’ snarled, and yelled at the warrior. “THAT’S NO RHUK, YOU SOFT-SCALED IDIOT! RHUKS AREN’T REAL! AND WATCH WHERE YOU’RE FIRING! IF YOU PUT A HOLE IN THE HULL WITH THAT DISINTEGRATOR, I’LL HAVE THE ENGINE WORKERS SEAL IT WITH YOUR HIDE!” Hmm. Rhuk was a proper noun, then? Some kind of mythological creature, perhaps?
I didn’t have time to go into Gel-nak mythology, as the two leaders shot at me with their pistols. Unlike the nasty green blast the warrior sent my way, these blasts were more like lightning. Some sort of electric stun attack, probably. The one hit they got on me failed to penetrate my armor, once again making me applaud my decision to focus on defense, rather than offense with this loadout.
I moved closer to the two leaders. Yes, that put me in harm’s way with their blades, claws and the like, but it also meant the warrior was less likely to try any kind of area attack. That was the obvious answer when someone was too slippery for you to hit, after all: hit everything in the area. And the only way to discourage such actions was to make sure the area was full of people or things they didn’t want hit.
My blade lashed out again, and this time, I caught the Supreme Commander in the chest. The arrogant lizard managed a curse as my blade cut through his fancy armor, but didn’t manage more than that before collapsing back into his chair, unconscious. Of course, I’m sure he was much more impressive, usually, but, well, they were cold-blooded, which meant I was basically a fairly hard counter for them. But I couldn’t stop now, there were still two lizards left to skin.
Comments
Chris M.
💗 nice chapter. thank you. 💗
Robert Gardner
TFTC
