Shadowrock, Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Chapter 8: Skirmish

Initiatives:

Pussycat’s Initiative: 10d6 = 5 hits, 2 Miss (Init 15, 3 Passes)

TechKat’s Initiative: 10d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 15, 3 Passes)

Tigress’s Initiative: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 11, 3 Passes)

Cougar’s Initiative: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 11, 3 Passes)

KittyKat’s Initiative: 9d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 13, 3 Passes)

Lioness’s Initiative: 9d6 = 5 Hits, 0 Miss (Init 14, 3 Passes)

Blackhand 1’s Initiative: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (Init 8, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 2’s Initiative: 7d6 = 4 Hit, 0 Miss (Init 11, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 3’s Initiative: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (Init 8, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 4’s Initiative: 7d6 = 2 Hit, 1 Miss (Init 9, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 5’s Initiative: 7d6 = 0 Hit, 2 Miss (Init 7, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 6’s Initiative: 7d6 = 3 Hit, 2 Miss (Init 10, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 7’s Initiative: 7d6 = 0 Hit, 2 Miss (Init 7, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 8’s Initiative: 7d6 = 3 Hit, 0 Miss (Init 10, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 9’s Initiative: 7d6 = 2 Hit, 0 Miss (Init 9, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 10’s Initiative: 7d6 = 3 Hit, 2 Miss (Init 10, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 11’s Initiative: 7d6 = 2 Hit, 1 Miss (Init 9, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 12’s Initiative: 7d6 = 4 Hit, 1 Miss (Init 11, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 13’s Initiative: 7d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (Init 8, 2 Passes)

Blackhand 14’s Initiative: 7d6 = 4 Hit, 1 Miss (Init 11, 2 Passes)

Blackhand Lieutenant’s Initiative: 8d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 12, 2 Passes)

Pass 1:

Pussycat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 1): 16d6 = 7 Hits, 2 Miss

Blackhand 1’s Defense: 4d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (4 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (12S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 1’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (10S Damage)

Blackhand 1: 9/9 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

Blackhand 1: 1/10 Physical Monitor

Pussycat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 2): 14d6: 4 Hits, 2 Miss

Blackhand 2’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (11S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 2’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (9S Damage)

Blackhand 2: 9/9 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

TechKat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand Lieutenant): 13d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss

Lieutenant’s Defense: 5d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (4 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 10S(e), -half AP

Lieutenant’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (8S Damage)

TechKat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand Lieutenant): 13d6 = 5 Hits, 0 Miss

Lieutenant’s Defense: 3d6 = 1 Hit, 2 Miss (4 Net Hits) (Glitch)

Semi-Auto: 10S(e), -half AP

Lieutenant’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (7S Damage)

Lieutenant: 10/10 Stun Monitor

Lieutenant: 5/10 Physical Monitor

My wired reflexes kicked into high gear, and I turned my Fubuki on two of the closest gangers. Two quick bursts, and two more targets were kissing the pavement, down and out. But then, gangers were not corpsec. They were weak individually, but numbers still mattered.

TechKat turned and drilled the one who looked like he was in charge (on account of our being able to see the dermal plating showing under the armor vest he wore). Any gangers that had serious implants like that was important, since gangers weren’t known for having tons of cash on hand. Two rounds sent him to the ground, but the electricity coursing through his system clearly didn’t agree with him, as he ended up flopping into a face-down ass-up position, with his face in a puddle of something I didn’t want to identify. Bad luck, there.

Lioness’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 14): 11d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss

Blackhand 14’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (11S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 14’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 0 Hits, 2 Miss (11S)

Blackhand 14: 9/9 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

Blackhand 14: 2/10 Physical Monitor

Lioness’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 13): 9d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss

Blackhand 13’s Defense: 4d6 = 0 Hit, 1 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (11S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 13’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 3 Hits, 0 Miss (8S)

Blackhand 13: 8/9 Stun Monitor

Blackhand 13’s Resistance test (Threshold 3): 5d6 = 0 Hits, 4 Miss (Critical Glitch) (Incapacitated 5 Combat turns)

Blackhand 13’s Damage Resistance: 3d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (5P Damage)

Blackhand 13: 5/10 Physical Monitor

KittyKat’s Spellcasting Test (Orgy, F5): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Blackhand 8’s Resistance Test: 2d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (5 Net Hits) (Incapactitated)

Blackhand 9’s Resistance Test: 2d6 = 0 Hit, 0 Miss (6 Net Hits) (Incapactitated)

Blackhand 10’s Resistance Test: 2d6 = 2 Hit, 0 Miss (4 Net Hits) (Incapactitated)

Blackhand 11’s Resistance Test: 2d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (5 Net Hits) (Incapactitated)

Blackhand 12’s Resistance Test: 2d6 = 0 Hit, 1 Miss (6 Net Hits) (Incapactitated)

KittyKat’s Drain Resistance (2S): 13d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss (No Drain)

Tigress’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 3): 12d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss

Blackhand 3’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (2 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (10S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 3’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (6S damage)

Blackhand 3: 6/9 Stun Monitor

Blackhand 3’s Resistance test (Threshold 3): 5d6 = 2 Hits, 3 Miss (Incapacitated 4 Combat Turns)

Tigress’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 4): 10d6 = 3 hits, 4 Miss

Blackhand 4’s Defense: 1 Hit, 1 Miss (2 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (10S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 4’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 5 Hits, 1 Miss (5S damage)

Blackhand 4: 5/9 Stun Monitor

Blackhand 4’s Resistance test (Threshold 3): 6d6 = 1 Hits, 0 Miss (Incapacitated 4 Combat Turns)

Cougar’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 7): 17d6 = 7 Hits, 2 Miss

Blackhand 7’s Defense: 8d6 = 1 Hit, 3 Miss (6 Net Hits)

Monofilament Sword: 13P, -1 AP

Blackhand 7’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (10P Damage)

Blackhand 7: 10/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

Blackhand 6’s Attack Roll (Cougar): 8d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss

Cougar’s Defense: 7d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss (1 Net Hit)

Semi-Auto: 6P, -1 AP

Cougar’s Damage Resistance: 20d6 = 9 Hits, 1 Miss (No Damage)

Blackhand 6’s Attack Roll (Cougar): 8d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss

Cougar’s Defense (7d6) = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (No Net Hits)

Blackhand 5’s Attack Roll (KittyKat): 8d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss

KittyKat’s Defense test: 4d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (No Net Hits)

Blackhand 5’s Attack Roll (KittyKat): 8d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss

KittyKat’s Defense test: 4d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (2 Net Hits)

Semi-Auto: 7P, -1 AP

KittyKat’s Damage Resistance: 14d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss (3P Damage, Converted to Stun)

KittyKat: 3/10 Stun Monitor

Lioness brought her machine pistol up, and fired off two three-round bursts. The shock ammo sent them both down to the ground. One was out, but the other? Well, he was still conscious, but doing the ‘taser dance’. Which was unfortunate for him, since he’d been trying to pull his gun out of his waistband when he got shot, and ended up shooting himself in what I hoped (for his sake) was just his upper thigh.

KittyKat’s eyes glowed with inner fire for a moment as she cast a spell. The next instant, five of the gangers were on the ground, moaning in pleasure, like they were getting the best head of their lives. They didn’t seem capable of even seeing straight, much less pulling themselves up to fight. Just another reminder why you wanted to have magic on your side.

Tigress pointed her Fubuki and sent two quick bursts out, and two more gangers were doing the taser dance on the ground. They weren’t out, but they weren’t a threat. She laughed, and said, “Against scrubs like these, this shock ammo is too good Almost feels like bullying!”

Cougar darted forward towards the last group of enemies still standing. She didn’t bother with ranged weapons, but instead brought her sword down, on the ganger’s shoulder, cutting deep. The wound wasn’t instantly fatal, but from the way he was sprawled on the ground, he’d be dying before too long.

But that still left two gangers standing. The one closest to Cougar managed to get his gun out of his pants, and fire twice. The Predator struck home once, but Cougar’s armor was too thick for the regular rounds to penetrate. Probably wouldn’t even bruise.

The other one, however, focused on KittyKat. “Fuck, mage!” Two shots from his Predator rang out. One went wide, but the second struck her, center mass. She grunted, telling me she felt that one, but it didn’t look like the round penetrated. Probably was going to bruise, though, unless she healed herself later.

Pass 2:

Pussycat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 5): 16d6 = 8 Hits, 1 Miss

Blackhand 5’s Defense: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (8 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (16S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 5’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 1 Hits, 0 Miss (17S Damage)

Blackhand 5: 9/9 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

Blackhand 5: 8/10 Physical Monitor

Pussycat’s Attack Roll (Blackhand 6): 14d6: 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Blackhand 6’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 0 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: +2 DV (13S(e), -half AP)

Blackhand 6’s Damage Resistance: 6d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (11S Damage)

Blackhand 6: 9/9 Stun Monitor (Unconscious)

Blackhand 6: 2/10 Physical Monitor

Two more bursts from my Fubuki, and the last two Blackhands were down. We quickly went around finishing the rest of them, since the taser dance only lasted so long, and KittyKat would need to drop her spell before she tried healing her wounds. Plus, it made it easier to loot when the people you were looting weren’t likely to wake up in the middle of things.

As far as the loot went, well, it wasn’t terribly impressive, as far as the take from the gangers went. A bunch of Predators, armor vests, knives, and the lieutenant had a Roomsweeper. They also had commlinks, and TechKat busted open the basic bitch encryption in seconds, to find that there was two hundred nucred on each, for a take of 3k nucred. We could fence the weapons and armor for another 4.5k, probably, especially since only one of them had any real damage other than some bloodstains.

Our unlamented, soon-to-be-late Mr. Johnson had the credstick with the other 15k of our pay, plus another 6k on his commlink. Some low-profile armor in addition to the armored clothes, and a fancier gun, which TechKat said was chipped with a biometric safety, and a tracker. Which made it more trouble to fence than it was worth. Plus, the fancy clothes would need to be retailored to fit their new owners, which made them worth less than the armored vests, honestly.

Then, we had sixteen bodies. Mr. Johnson didn’t have any obvious augments, but the Blackhand Lieutenant had that cyberspur, and the dermal plating, while the rest of them had handrazors. Lioness called the extra van over, and we began piling the bodies in, all except Mr. Johnson, who we kept in the main van, gagged, naked, and bound hands and feet. We wanted to ask him some questions before Cougar got to eat her fill.

Speaking of Cougar, she looked up from her commlink, and said, “Right, I just got off the line with Mel, my girl in Tamanous. Fifteen fresh corpses with low-grade cyber that they can ‘reclaim’ comes to a rough total of 15k, standard rate if they pickup, but if we take the risk of carting all the corpses to their ‘chop shop’, they’ll throw in an extra 1500 nucred, and we’ll be able to fence the armor and weapons there, too.”

I nodded. “All right, then. Good thing we were already loading up the bodies.”