Ivy and Chrome PbP Forums

“She should be safe up here as long as she’s strapped in and can’t move around,” Shep says. He does a quick sweep of the rooftop—matching the view against memory—checking for any exterior ladder, maintenance access, or anything that might let something climb up from the ground. He spots an old, frayed rope ladder, which is in dire need of repair or replacement. It's generally thrown down the side in case of emergency. No human footprints are spotted on the rooftop.

"Shep, my passive readings show that at least some of the people are living humans." Carl updates.

Nico peers over the edge of the roof, seemingly taking count of the shambling herd below. He leans back and hand signals, "Seven down below." (Basic Radio check = success)

Shep spots another rope ladder in need of replacement, set to the side of the service hatch, in case the inside escape ladder is inaccessible.

"Where are you scanning, Carl? Inside or out?" Shep acts Carl to clarify his analysis as he uses the optical zoom to take a closer look at the figures in the immediate vicinity.

"Where are you scanning, Carl? Inside or out?" Shep asks Carl to clarify his analysis as he uses the optical zoom to take a closer look at the figures in the immediate vicinity.

"Inside," Carl replies as Shep observes thermal and infrared movement just a few rooms away from where the service hatch enters into the building. Shep figures that Carl is capable of calculating the average body temperature of each person, even through thick walls. It looks as though they're quietly huddled, hiding in that room.

OOC: Going off of the earlier success with basic radio.

Nico signals, "Reinforcements inbound."

Shep signals Nico to follow him to the hatch. Turning the external audio volume way down, he says, “Infrared scans indicate we’ve got multiple bogies throughout the interior, with survivors huddled in a few rooms away from the hatch—approximately there.” He points to where Carl flagged the cluster of surviving heat signatures. “I’m open to alternate ideas, but my vote is we drop in, clear the zombies inside, secure the building and then see what medical personnel we’ve got. Hopefully most of them.”

Shep signals Nico to follow him to the hatch. Turning the external audio volume way down, he says, “Infrared scans indicate we’ve got multiple bogies throughout the interior, with survivors huddled in a few rooms away from the hatch—approximately there.” He points to where Carl flagged the cluster of surviving heat signatures. “I’m open to alternate ideas, but my vote is we drop in, clear the zombies inside, secure the building and then see what medical personnel we’ve got. Hopefully most of them.”

Nico walks over, looks down, pauses, then says in low volume, "Yep, I think there's three in the room you just pointed out. There are two bogies moving around... what I assume is a hallway. One of them is incredibly big for a normal human. Hard to tell, they're getting colder and emitting less radiation thanks to... being dead..."

"This fella is pretty smart." Carl adds. "I wouldn't mind seeing the schematics, whitepapers and blueprints of his flying unit. After all this time, I'd like to know what advances in technology there are." He pauses, then, "I like your idea, by the way."

"So, do you have a preferred method of dispatching the zombies? Or do you care?" Nico asks, obviously being mindful that the zombies used to be people that Shep knew.

"I'm thinking rail gun only as a last resort," Shep says in a tone that implies that should be obvious. "One round would rip right through them—and probably through the next few walls, into whoever's on the other side. As for the rest…" He pauses. "Do what you gotta do. Our priority is the living—the dead are no longer human. Keep an eye out for the pixies like the girl back there; it's almost impossible to tell them apart until it's too late. Slightly elevated body temp, since they aren't completely dead yet." He still feels a tug of guilt about misleading Nico about who he is, but the alternative is getting arrested—or at least taken in for questioning. The lies will probably catch up to him eventually, but he needed to sell the charade somehow. That’s a problem for a different day.

"I'm thinking rail gun only as a last resort," Shep says in a tone that implies that should be obvious. "One round would rip right through them—and probably through the next few walls, into whoever's on the other side. As for the rest…" He pauses. "Do what you gotta do. Our priority is the living—the dead are no longer human. Keep an eye out for the pixies like the girl back there; it's almost impossible to tell them apart until it's too late. Slightly elevated body temp, since they aren't completely dead yet." He still feels a tug of guilt about misleading Nico about who he is, but the alternative is getting arrested—or at least taken in for questioning. The lies will probably catch up to him eventually, but he needed to sell the charade somehow. That’s a problem for a different day.

"Roger that, sir. I'll cover the rear, if you don't mind." Nico replies as he kneels down next to Nova, "Don't worry, we're getting you some help," Nova gratefully nods as Nico rejoins Shep near the hatch. His C40-R rail gun stowed back over his shoulder.

OOC: Any further actions before opening the hatch?

Shep does one more sweep with the optics, confirming the positions of every heat signature and shambling corpse he can before committing. Satisfied he’s got the best read he’s going to get, he moves to the hatch. He pauses at the hatch. A straight descent would be fastest. He runs through metrics in his head. Thinking about the floor structure he calculates that a low-burst thruster pulse, if he times it right, should spread the force of his impact wide enough not to punch straight through the clinic floor. OOC: I'm assuming this will be some sort of knowledge roll for Shep to have a decent guess about whether that would work without lighting the place on fire or causing something else to go sideways.

Shep does one more sweep with the optics, confirming the positions of every heat signature and shambling corpse he can before committing. He sees that nothing's really changed. Satisfied he’s got the best read he’s going to get, he moves to the hatch. He pauses at the hatch. A straight descent would be fastest. He runs through metrics in his head. Thinking about the floor structure he calculates that a low-burst thruster pulse, if he times it right, should spread the force of his impact wide enough not to punch straight through the clinic floor.

Shep knows that a prolonged burst will burn everything within a four foot radius of his descent. However, a intermittent bursts may work. The thruster wash will cause a mess. He drops down trying to use his gyro stabilizers and vertical thrusters to slow his descent, only to blow papers and small objects all over the room. Upon landing, his thrusters melt the linoleum flooring as the weight of his power armor threatens to crack the supporting floor studs.

OOC: Failed pilot check (rolled 85%) Sorry.

Nico's SAMAS' head appears, obscuring the view of the sky, "All clear? Is the floor going to hold?"

The room, which looks to be an office room for Doctor Benson, is now a mess. The door, which leads to a main hallway, was blown shut upon his entry. The sounds of muffled, terrified screeches and screaming can be heard from other rooms. A window overlooks the north end of town, towards Lake Crenshaw. A few shambling members of town aimlessly wander outside. Many peer towards the window with yellow-eyed curiosity.

"All clear." Shep quietly calls back up. "I don't know if the floor can handle another hard landing, though." He looks at the surroundings so he can give the lieutenant a quick rundown of options based on what he sees.