Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
- 965 All Categories
- 17 Games
- 1 aw2-mapbp
- 365 Richland
- SDHSR
- 4 two-detroits
- 96 aw2e-dvfp
- 53 ISS Tsiolkovsky
- 82 Fury
- Urban Shadows
- 24 LadyB
- 11 AnR
- 4 Junk World 2.0
- 68 PnR
- 23 DRYH
- Jeffland
- The Few
- 11 Other
- 11 General
- 576 Complete
- 12 burning-empires
- 8 aota-jam
- 17 Uncharted Worlds
- Uncharted
- 23 nullptr-veil
- 9 ajax-motw
- 2 tqy-am
- 52 NOVA
- 11 Serene Apocalypse
- jenn-soti
- 63 SWAW
- 13 Blades
- 2 Fall Of Magic
- 12 Generations
- 25 LA Monsters
- tqy
- 32 nupocalypse
- 120 Snowpocalypse
- 136 Junkworld XIII
- 27 Big Maul
- 6 ESC
- 1 Murderous Ghosts
- 17 ANN_pilot
[DVFP] Playing Hardball (C 4.2, M 4.2)
You've broken off from Esco and his crew to chat with the Skorpions by Arena. You just asked a scrawny guy who was part of the gang that helped out during your race (he didn't race, he's a mechanic) how the team was talked into this. He nods, "Dokken came by and challenged us, and then Quiet Riot talked a bunch of trash about how good she was onna bike."
Ace comes down the corridor that leads into the arena, looks right at you, "Stay-Cinch! Hey girl, you can't stay away from the life, yeah?" She comes up to give you a quick, firm hug, then hovers near. "Joe's Girl will be tickled pink to hear you're around. Hey, your car's in great shape."
What do you do?
Comments
Why'd they come and challenge the Skorps? Now?
"Hey Ace! Ain't you a sight," I enthusiastically return her hug, exhale for what feels like the first time all morning.
"Good to hear it, Ace... Hey... looks like the word ain't out yet... Fronters pretty much dusted the Irons... so... looks like we may be callin' here home for the time being... I wondered if anyone's been out lookin' for us?"
There's an obvious reaction from the Skorps. The one that was talking earlier bugs out a bit.
Their reaction brings the reality back to me. My mouth is dry all of a sudden, of course it it... all night drivin' and not a rest. I grasp Ace's shoulder just for the support. The touch.
"I uh..." damn, ever have that feeling like you're in a dream or something? Like this ain't real? I feel hot... "yeah I gotta be fuggin' somewhere right? Y'all watch yourselves... the Crüe ain't playin' it easy... I don't know why they got themselves in the arena... don't make sense to me."
Joe's Girl comes out to give you a hug and a kiss, a promise (or a request) for more after the match. She notices how tired you seem to be and doesn't ask you to ride with them.
We skip ahead to you sitting in the crowd with Roark and Ace watching Joe's Girl and a bunch of riders coming towards the center of the arena, racing for the ball.
Motley,
QR surges forward, screaming and laughing as she heads for the ball.
So, here's the deal. Gigg and Last asked you to pull the eyes of The Fat Man's goons with whatever you're doing out here. I'm putting a countdown clock on it. It starts at 6 o'clock because they're all on high alert.
For now, you're trying to play this game of hardball in an entertaining manner, making all kinds of noise and drawing eyeballs. Let's see you Seize the ball By Force. You have a new option in that move - move the clock down a tick. If you choose it, the clock drops to 3 o'clock.
Now, Gigg and Last and the Zons, they can move the clock up. So can time. You can't hold their attention forever, Motley. But maybe you can hold it long enough. Let's see that roll!
Seize by Force (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 2, 2. Total: 6)
I sit and my eyes are on the arena floor, but my mind is back in the Irons.
"Got a lotta folks out..." I answer her, hearing those booming guns in my head, "we had some warnin' thanks to the gang but..." I shake my head, "middle of the cold night... we scattered into the sand... I picked up everyone I could find..."
Shiite, what am I even doing here? I should be out looking for scragglers... big guns be damned... oh yeah. Out of fuel. I gotta take care of that.
"Far as I know it... they collapsed the whole place, least the way in... Iron's ain't gonna be much use to anyone for... for a long time... and I'm pretty sure the diamond was the target. Can't be much left... Most of the crew though. Diamond crew... they got clear."
I expect someone'll come along and mine and haul the place open... but it won't ever be the same.
Ace pats your leg, showing support and concern.
Motley,
Quiet Riot comes up on the ball first, the bigass ball bearing that it is, almost half as big as a bike's wheel. She turns her wheel to knock it over towards Queen, but Joe's Girl pops up a wheelie, and rides up the side of QR's bike, running over her back tire, throwing QR down, and ruining her bike.
Now the Skorps have the ball, and they're pushing hard towards the goal, racing on a nearly full out press.
What do you do?
I finally take a breath, it feels good to share the story.
"A bath... yeah I wish," the action on the floor gets my attention, though, I cringe as QR takes a fall, but it doesn't look like anyone's tryin' to play this lethal... thank goodness.
"Esco'll turn shiite into sunshine, Roark, pretty sure he's settin' up shop in these parts sometime soon... maybe real soon."
Still wondering about his intentions with Dremmer's place. Pretty sure I know... hey. Maybe that's a sort of payback for what Dremmer did. In a way.
Roark and Ace both cheer for Joe's Girl, and she keeps rolling forward, cutting near the goal to wait for a chance to score.
I join them, caught up in the moment, "come on, Girl!"
I take the flask, drink, hand it back, "pfft, I ain't got nothin' to speak of... think I could sleep just 'bout anywhere right now. I'm runnin' on fumes as it is."
Yeah... spend all night makin' runs. But sometimes you deal with it.
"Are you offerin?"
I curse as I see Riot go down. "Dokken you and Tesla be ready to take that ball and deliver it" I shout over the crowds and engines and I pull back the throttle. I charge straight at the side of the charge, with the intent to broadside them right at the front tires. I begin screaming as I approach knowing the pain I am likely about to experience. I am hoping the certainty of my game of chicken is enough to throw them off their game. I am glad Marigold isn't here to watch this insane stunt, she would not be happy.
Motley,
That's right, Marigold was back at The Irons, finishing up her stint for Esco. She wouldn't like this, not one bit.
Let's see you and yours Seize by Force. You've got a -1 Forward since you're down a body. Taking definite hold can mean scoring, of course. Don't forget you can keep the clock from advancing as an option.
The game is played to three. They're about to score.
Sieze by force (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 3, 5. Total: 10)
Choose :
You take definite and undeniable control of it
I keep the clock from advancing
"Yeah, sure thing... like old times," I comment as I watch. Motley's putting a lot into this, he must have some stake in the game, maybe.
I hear that gunfire, too. A shiver runs through me. No way they brought the fight to the Depot. So quickly? No... that's not the sound of Frontie guns.
Hey I realize I'm right here in the arena, practically on top of the Skorp's garage. My car must be in range. Something's going on and I'm tired of being in the dark.
I concentrate on my uplink, find the car and remotely power on the scanning array. Ok girl... be my eyes.
Opening my brain (Weather Eye Sharp+2)
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 5. Total: 11)
Joe's Girl pulls off a score by kicking the ball (that had to hurt) past Tesla, but then QR runs over to hop on Whitesnake's bike behind him after putting her helmet on her right foot. The crue coordinates and even down one, you press the attack. Queen is the one who scores the first time, he plants his front tire and tilts forward to swing his back tire against the hardball, sending it flying for the goal to tie up the game. The crowd erupts with excitement.
To keep track of the crue down in the arena:
- you
- Dokken
- Tesla
- Motorhead
- Whitesnake and Quiet Riot (currently bikeless)
- Queen
You've got the hardball now, Motley, and your crue's eager to push this along. Dokken's angling to work as the hitter, aiming to take down Joe's Girl, their star. What do you do?
You poke through The Feed, scoping through satmaps and listening to automated reports along with the overlay of all the eyeballs glued to the action in Depot. You catch sight of Gigg firing a fuggin' mortar into The Fat Man's palace. the picture's grainy, like a camera from far off zoomed in.
Cinch, you could, if you wanted, snuff out that camera's feed. It's the only one with "eyes" on the palace right now. Or you can report it, which might not be a terrible idea because you see a trail of bodies in Gigg's wake leading up to the doors of the palace.
What do you do?
Feels good connecting with my car. It's familiar... nostalgic even. And I zone out a bit as I scan the feed, probably just look as tired as I am.
But what? Gigg? What the hell is he up to now? Gigg is in the middle of every fuggin' thing that seems to be happening these days. And this... uh... this is concerning. Fat man is no friend of mine. Pretty much an unchecked despot, as far as I can tell and recently I've soured to the thought of calling in the FPS.
I certainly try to focus. Eyes still on the match down on the floor but there must be somewhere better I could be.
I lean over to Ace, "hey Ace, think I can get down to the garage? Watchin' this has got me feelin' homesick for my wheels."
I whistle at the crue and we form up into a wedge with Dokken in the middle with the hardball. This is a plan we have worked out before. We head straight in at the goal but at the last minute Dokken will fire the ball directly at Joe's Girl head hoping to knock her out or cause her to wipe out on the bike.
Motley, that's a complicated move. Let's see you roll Pack Alpha to pull it off!
I settle down, not happy but... yeah the match is pretty fuggin' exciting right now, I wouldn't want to leave either, normally.
Too bad we ain't got a cold drink.
"Yeah... sure thing, Ace, thanks."
I add my voice to any cheers that rise during the game, hey it's my team too.
Pack Alpha (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 5, 3. Total: 10)
The crowd watches with fervor as the crue charges and surges forward. It looks like they're going to score, when Dokken pulls out a move where he rides right up on the hardball from the side and hits it like a cue stick driving a cue ball to the corner pocket. It flies in the air, a gleaming orb of gray, headed right at Joe's Girl. The lead rider has a moment, a decision to make. Bail and let them score, or take the hit.
Joe's Girl decides to duck out. She slips off her bike backwards, away from the hardball, and watches as it hits her handlebars, sending the bike toppling over, ruined. She is already moving, trying to find a rider nearby to keep playing. The crowd boos at Joe's Girl for bailing, you hear cries of "Coward!" and "Wussy!"
The crue scores their second goal, and now it's nearly over, just one more. QR lets out a ululating cry while Queen raises a hand in triumph.
Cinch, when Ace sucks in a breath and shakes her head, and Roark makes a sound of displeasure, what do you do when Joe's Girl chickens out? What do you do when she looks up into the stands, and sees you for the briefest of moments?
Cinch and Motley,
To the south the arena's shocked by the sound of a legitimate fuggin explosion. Like artillery. Cinch, that mortar has gone off. The Fat Man's guards are all looking at each other, one guy's calling out to the street to know what's up.
You see red smoke rising high into the sky. Someone is attacking the palace. And everyone knows.
What do you do?
I look up to the explosion and the smoke, knowing that our diversion apparently is over. I hope we gave them the time they needed"... now we finish this!" I mutter as I lean into my bike. I raise my fist in the air and draw a circle in the air to signal to the crue to wrap this up. We press the Skorpions and we need to press that advantage.
Dokken, Tesla, and Whitesnake should push hard hoping to overwhelm the team especially with Joe's Girl at a disadvantage.
True, I think, we still have to exist after all this. I look at Dokken, "Let's make sure the Skorps know who the Crue are. Let's win this mother fugger. It's our reputation on the line." We can figure out what to do with Last and the Amazons after this...
The team doesn't have a problem with this, and they rev engines and ride hard in an attempt to win this match. Why don't you give me another Seize by Force to score the winning goal?
Ok that's all I can sit still through.
I scoop up my helmet and hurry out of the arena, just give Ace a nod on my way out. Maybe I'll be back for sleeps, maybe not.
Ok. You know I hadn't considered the benefit of cutting the feed... I have a feeling people would like to know about the fall of the Fat Man, and who done the deed. So I'm not inclined to shut it down. Gigg may burn up tryin' whatever he's tryin' out there but maybe he deserves the chance to be seen doin' it.
I head down to the garage. Don't know what I'm gonna do out there... but I gotta be out there.
Choices are:
You take definite and undeniable control of it.
You impress, dismay, or frighten your enemy.
I scream, "WE ARE THE MOTHER-FUGGING CRUE, YOU CAN NOT WIN!" and begin rallying the whole group to go down the field as a solid line. I lead a chant for all to hopefully pick up,
"MOTHER-FUGGING CRUE! YOU CAN NOT WIN!
MOTHER-FUGGING CRUE! YOU CAN NOT WIN!
MOTHER-FUGGING CRUE! YOU CAN NOT WIN!"
The crue does pick up the chant, the ones on the field of the arena with you and the ones up in the stands. The crowd feels the energy, and they pick up, too. You can hear each distinct voice near you. Even Tesla is screaming, and he's not a loud kind of guy.
You are a tidal wave, roaring bikes and screaming bikers. The hardball's picked up in your wave, and the Skorpions are out of position, unready for this assault. You leave the goal behind and all converge on the enemy territory. It's a risky gambit, one false move, and they'd have an easy score. They could tie it up. But they don't. They lose to the motha fuggin' crue.
Who takes down their goalie hard and gets injured making sure you win?
Who scores the final goal, Motley?
I watch as Quiet Riot begins pushing the hardball forward. She screams with a passion that is true to her spirit. When it looks like she wont be able to get the shot, I see Dokken out of no where ride his bike straight at the goalie. He actually leaps from his bike sailing through the air to everyone's surprise. Apparently the goalie is quite surprised when he is tackled by Dokken. They roll along the ground as Riot takes her shot, smacking the ball into the goal.
I wish Marigold was here, I wonder exactly where she is...
I consider what Dokken says for a bit but only a bit. "Dokken we did what we needed for the Crue to show the rest the bad asses we actually are. Now lets go help some of our own. We're the crue, we can handle anything can't we." I smile at him and hold out my fist for a bump. "Right?"
Act under Fire (+cool)(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 4. Total: 10)
"This sector is under immediate FPS Priority Lockdown by order of Subwarden Arcpenny, strike squad in en route! All on the premises when the strike squad arrives are considered material witness and subject to indefinite incarceration!"
What do you do?
I smile and look back over my shoulder, "Looks like we may be getting some fugging Fippers ! Let's get to the action at the Fat Man's before all the fun is over."
What do you do?
I look impressively at the carnage and submission that Gigg, Last & the Amazons, and Cinch have imposed. I nod approvingly and yet mildly disappointed at not being able to participate. That thought gets pushed aside, the crue was able to make an impression themselves, one that will go a long way in this Blaze-filled place. Of course not if this overthrow of the Fat Man doesn't succeed.
I eye the opening that that former made to get in, I almost throttle up and charge in but my gut makes me hesitate a moment...
Read a sitch (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 6, 2. Total: 10)
Your best way in is through that big hole, but that's a fight. If you ride around, there are windows around, you can keep eyes on things. If you want to hook up with Gigg, you're on the wrong end of the place.
What do you do?
I signal the crue to wait and keep quiet. I look to Dokken and while keeping my voice down, "Dokken, pass the word, we watch this new troop moving in, see who they aim to shoot at, then we move in behind with Gigg & the Amazons on the other side. Then we thrash the shade out of 'em. Everyone needs to be ready to move if they change their mind and head our way. And for Harley's sake tell Riot if she can keep her trap shut and I will rent her a couple of those pretty boys over at Esco's for the night."
I then settle down and watch which way they seem to be moving ... away or towards us.
"Dokken, there's a difference between being skittered and being smart. You gotta learn that if you ever wanna be Alpha. Don't worr your choppah sword will get its taste of blood soon enough. We are just playin' to our strengths since we goin' 'gainst a fresh group of heavily armored thugs. Now pass on my words and do it quick."
I try to make eye contact with Whitesnake hoping he heard what I said too. I know they are anxious, hell I am too, but I've lost too many of my own in recent weeks and I aim to not lose anymore like that again.
Pack Alpha (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 1, 3. Total: 6)