Situation: The Romulan Constitution mock-up is currently engaging an aged and damaged D6 cruiser and the Columbia. I will be rolling initiative for each round and for each NPC ship.
Ships status at the beginning of round:
D6 status: Shields at 40% and sensors are offline for 1 more rounds; Weapons and Move maneuvers will be at a -5 penalty with a potential system breakdown on any failure (System Reliabilty test TN 8 failure; TN 12 on Complete Failure; TN 15 on Disastrous Failure)
Columbia status: Shields at 50%, 12 protection, 3 threshold; 9 structure left; No Tier 2 Tactical maneuvers, -1 to Command maneuvers, and -1 to Computer Use tests.
Connie status: Shields at 30%, 13 protection, 2 threshold; 22 structure left; -1 penetration to all arrays,
Propulsion OFFLINE, -3 to Initiative, -2 to Tactical maneuvers, -1 to Command maneuvers, -1 to Computer Use tests
Starting Ranges: Gr'Toth is medium range to the Romulan; Columbia is Medium range to the Romulan
Situational Modifiers and Conditional Rules: The CODA system makes no reference to weapon re-charge and so I am going to apply the following rules:
- Phasers may be fired each round [Ready]
- Photon/Disruptor Torpedoes need 1 round to re-charge [Columbia Ready; Gr'Toth Ready]
- Plasma Torpedoes need 2 rounds to re-charge [Charging 1]
So if you fire your photon torpedoes in round 1, you cannot fire again until round 3 - so be careful when you plan multiweapon fire maneuvers.
Carryover bonuses: Columbia has a Lock On the Romulans +3
Note regarding map: I have shown a range display for the combatants; each display shows that allied ship's position relative to the Romulan attacker.Initiative:
Federation - 13
Romulans - Roll(2d6)+3: 5,2,+3 Total:10
Klingons - Unable to act for 1 more rounds
The Columbia's phasers flashed blue, striking the Connie as she raced past. The close range gave the weapon's a more effective punch and the Romulan ship's shield were drastically reduced.
On board, Korvona held on tightly as her ship shook violently and panels burst and exploded around her.
And then... nothing.
The Connie was a patchwork of systems that were meant to deceive – not engage in a prolonged battle.
"We have no forward mobility!" cried her helmsman.
Darkan looked at the viewscreen, his face momentarily puzzled while his brain registered what he was seeing. The Romulan ship's nacelles flickered and then went dark, although its momentum carried it forward in the frictionless bounds of space.
Tactics - (6+4)+3 = 13
"Did they just lose their engines?" queried Darkan aloud, more to himself than anyone else.
OOC: To determine opposing ship's shield frequency requires extended TN 50 Sys Op (Sensors) test, intervals measured in rounds. Successful attacks ignore opponent's shields entirely until they are remodulated. I guess that will take awhile to get unless the Narrator is kind enough to allow a number of tests beginning in the round when the order was originally given.
"We're gonna need some help on this." To the bridge, "Do we still have communications?" There's obviously something wrong with the Klingons; Grahm, keep it quiet, but if their weapons are operational, see about linking their weapons to ours so they will fire upon the same target. I'm gonna try to talk to the Romulans, but Stonn (OOC: or whomever) get me those shield frequencies -- we need that ace up our sleeve if I can't talk our way out of this."
OOC: Doug, how much talking can we do before we have to post maneuvers?
[OOC:] Hey Matt, I already gave Shawn the extended test instructions via PM, so we just need to wait until he gets a chance to post.
As far as talking goes, you guys can talk until your blue in the face if you want. (D It is your initiative so you can commence the converstaion and there will be no more maneuvers conducted if you can keep a debate going with Korvona - if you cannot tho, you have sacrificed your initiative into round 6.
Understand that while you 'talk', Korvona's crew can be getting their systems back online. >:D
"Close?!?" Anderson thinks to himself, apprehensive about getting so close to that plasma weapon yet again. That last hit really rang his bell. His mind was still reeling from the death and destruction dealt the Columbia.
Wiping the sweat from his brow he checks his sensors and plots a course directly towards the romulans and feeds it to the helm. I hope this works. "Course plotted and laid in, Skipper" He said, watching as the action unfolded on the viewscreen.
Roll (2d6)+9: 6,5+9 Total: 20
[OOC:]Sorry for the delay, it's been a hell of a week.
He watches as the attack appears successful and the Constitution mockup appears to come to a dead stop. He checks his navigational sensors to determine amount and type of debris.
Roll (2d6)+9: 4,4+9 Total: 17
"Engineering, get those fires out and shore up the shields. Grahm, Lock On to the Romulan vessel, we need to be a credible threat. Helm, prepare for evasive maneuvers even without my command. Open hailing frequencies, Ms. Townshend. Adjust the video so it will tighten just on me. Here goes nothing..."
1) Lock On
2) Come About for the +5 protection
"Romulan vessel, this is Commander Steven Darkan of the USS Columbia. We've got you in our crosshairs and are prepared to destroy your vessel if you do not power down your weapons, drop your shields and surrender. The alternative is for us to continue to beat each other into oblivion. This is our only chance to survive this encounter. I don't know about you, but enough good people on both sides have been lost today."
OOC: There are times when I really like the dice roller...
Persuade - (6+6)+6+4=22
Tactics (next round) - (6+5)+3=14
OOC: And now that Ive used up all my good will it, we're screwed :SS
Pushkin holds on tightly to his console, giving a worried look to it. That's all he needs is for it to go up again in his face. He makes sure to keep the Columbia steady after that Plasma torpedo sending her for a little tumble. He gives a look to Anderson after she calms down before tapping the keys to follow the Captain's command. "Coming about, aye." He looks to the viewscreen as the ship starts to turn, bringing the Romulan Connie onto the screen.
Maneuver 1: Come About TN 10
Sys Ops +12, Specialty +2, Dazed -1 = +13
Roll (3d6) (Evasive Maneuvers Roll 3, keep best 2):4,1,3 +13 Total: 20.
Stonn was working as quickly as he could; his long fingers dancing across the lighted console as he searched for the information the Captain required.
***
OOC: Sorry for the delay... holiday travel+spotty internet=hard to post. :(
Sensors test (TN 50 - Extended)
OOC: Technically, this action started two rounds ago, so I will roll for Rounds 4, 5 and 6 here, OK?
Roll(2d6)+11
Round 4: Roll(2d6)+11: 4,5,+11 Total:20
Round 5: Roll(2d6)+11: 1,1,+11 Total:13 - please add 1 Courage to bring it to 16. Will work it into the narrative.
Round 6: Roll(2d6)+11: 4,1,+11 Total:16
Total = 52
***
Moments ago, Stonn had almost lost the signal entirely as the Romulans' weapons disrupted systems throughout the ship. Fortunately, he was able to quickly shunt extra processing power to the sensors and retain the momentarily-tenuous lock. He had heard the Captain's request for an update, but he was deep in concentration... and then, he had it. He turned and faced the Captain, his voice rising above the din.
(OOC: More to come after I find out what Stonn has learned.)
[OOC:] Okay, first things first... Gahm acheived a Lock On last round and it still is in effect, so you can choose another ship maneuver if you want.
Second, I am correcting Stonn's sensor tests - as I stated in the PM to you Shawn, scanning for shield frequencies are full-round actions, but Stonn also was performing electronic-counter-counter-measures:
Sensors test (TN 50 - Extended)
OOC: Technically, this action started two rounds ago, so I will roll for Rounds 4, 5 and 6 here, OK?
Roll(2d6)+11-5
Round 4: Roll(2d6)+11: 4,5,+6 Total:14
Round 5: Roll(2d6)+11: 1,1,+6 Total:8 - please add 1 Courage to bring it to 16. Will work it into the narrative.
Round 6: Roll(2d6)+11: 4,1,+11 Total:16
Total = 41
Still need to continue scanning in next round. Also, I want to remind Stonn that he detected some inbound warp signatures about two rounds ago... see the PM I sent Shawn. ;)
Lastly, I need to make some rolls for the following Narrative.
Roll(1d6)+2: 1,+2 Total:3
--More to follow in the AM.
Darkan's face appeared on Korvona's viewscreen and the Romulan stared at him, unable to decide on what to do with the sudden change of events. Her mind was still registering the calls from her operations officer regarding the loss of all propulsion.
"There is no reply from engineering, sir."
Korvona gave an unsteady nod as she formulated some kind of plan. She turned to the viewscreen and focused on the Earthling's words.
"...I don't know about you, but enough good people on both sides have been lost today."
He was right in one respect - too many of her people had perished thus far in this little escapade. She looked at the mortality report that she had been given moments before. The battle had claimed ten of her crew so far and all they were here to do was to help in a Klingon coup... not to die for the barbarians! All the Romulan Star Empire wanted to acheive in their part was a war between its enemies.
"Delegate Korvona, we are still getting no answer from engineering. Internal sensors are starting to detect heavy rads in all ship sections surrounding the warp core! Sir, I think we have a core breach!"
The Romulan operations officer was mostly right.
The mock-up Constitution had passed very close to the Columbia in its strafing run and Grahm had taken full advantage of the range. His phaser fire had struck the vessel and a greater portion of its power had overcome the shields striking it in a critical area. The attack had caused the warp cooling unit to buckle and break free from the couplings that held it to the deck. Once free, the many lines that flowed to and from the warp core burst and in milliseconds the bulkheads were immersed in highly-radiated coolant.
The crewmen closest to the disaster were the lucky ones; their lives extinguished quickly. It was the others in the immediate surrounds that suffered most, as the radiation attacked their bodies causing their cells to burst and internal organs to fail. They died fast, but not fast enough to not be aware, their eyes and lungs filling with the life blood now freed from the veins that once contained it.
The warp core, now deprived of the cooling fluid, began to super heat. The power and heat burnt through all transfer conduit and shut down the ship's flow of power. Back-up systems immediately went online and transferred all systems to auxilliary power, but due to the faulty designs of the vessel, its many systems were slow to react, by only mere seconds.
And so, Korvona was unaware as her ship began its course towards immolation.
On the Columbia bridge, Stonn became aware that the Romulan's warp core was on the verge of exploding as the Romulan operations officer informed his commander that they had a radiation leak.
[OOC:] what a sad turn of events for the Romulans. :(
Grahm made a semi-good attack, but it was enough to cause structural damage and reduce shields. The shield track gave them a critical hit, and the structure hit gave them a critical... and then I rolled double 6's on the critical hit track!
The propulsion track was reduced to offline and then I rolled for the core breach. Reliabilty test failed cause the ship systems are/were very faulty and then a critical and minor core breach result!
Needless to say, what may have been a longer battle has just ended! ;)
Good job guys!
OOC: Are we going to continue the encounter: attempt to save the Rommies, more to exposing the conspiracy, etc. or are you gonna halt the action there?
OOC: Hey Matt, all I will say is there are 3 rounds (including this one) before the core explodes. We are coming to the end of the Episode, but how dramatic its end is still to be seen.
Pushkin continues to watch the Romulan mock-up hang there in front of them. He gives glances to his console, making sure to keep the Columbia under control. He glances in the direction of the XO. "Radiation leak?" He looks back to the ship before looking to his controls, making sure the board is green and warp power was available.
OOC: Before Darkan says anything, I want to make sure of what he knows/has been told regarding the impending destruction of the Romulan vessel.
[OOC:] I am going to wait for the other players to put their dialogue in Matt, instead of just saying that Darkan knows... but I will only give it a couple more days.
"Captain," Stonn said from his station, "the Romulan vessel is heavily damaged. It's warp core is becoming rapidly unstable. We should move away from the vessel quickly and notify the Gr'Toth to do the same, if possible."
He stared back down into his sensor hood - he had seen something earlier, but he had been focused on the battle.
"Sir," he said once more, "two Klingon warp signatures are en route. They appear to be B'Rel-class scouts and will arrive within the hour."
***
OOC: Sorry about the delay. I caught some terrible flu and have been sick as a dog for a week. :(
Darkan nodded. "Do it. Romulan ship, we have detected that your warp core is about to breach. Abdandon ship and we will retrieve your escape pods."
"Follow the Klingon ship out and prepare to transfer as much power as you can to aft shields if we need it."
Pushkin drags his attention away from the damaged Connie, looking back to the Captain. "At what speed, Sir? Proceed on thrusters in case they eject escape pods?" He asks before turning back to his station. He does cast a look to Anderson as he starts to slowly turn the ship in the direction of the Klingon Cruiser. He shifts in the chair, ready to hit the throttle.
"Trail behind the Klingon cruiser, keeping us between it and the Romulan ship. If escape pods are launched, we may need full impulse in a hurry." To Stonn, "Have all available personnel and cargo transporters on stand by."
Quote from: GandalfOfBorg on Dec 07, 2007, 07:40 PM
"Trail behind the Klingon cruiser, keeping us between it and the Romulan ship. If escape pods are launched, we may need full impulse in a hurry." To Stonn, "Have all available personnel and cargo transporters on stand by."
"Aye, sir," came the reply from Stonn. The cargo transporters generally weren't used to transport life forms, but they could be used in an emergency with proper tuning. The tall Vulcan reasoned that the current situation qualified, though Romulans were notable in their resistance to capture.
Generally, Romulan commanders and crew perished with their vessel, often initiating destruct devices to avoid capture and intelligence-gathering when the outcome of a battle was certain... then it hit him.
"Captain," he said with a tone that sounded uncharacteristically startled, "We should consider that the Romulans may destroy their vessel in an effort to not only hide their deception, but to eliminate all witnesses, as well. In fact, sir, I presume that this is their most likely course of action. I recommend that we move away at maximum speed and ensure that the Gr'Toth does the same. Their survival and testimony will be of utmost importance regarding the veracity of our claims.
"Their warp core will explode in any case, but if the Romulans choose to augment their impending destruction, one destroyed vessel could easily become three."
[OOC:] Shawn! You reading my notes or something? Beat me to the punch! :>
It was to soon. She actually was still a bit shocked that it was this way at all. The battle had been going superbly, and for the most part, in her favor. She knew that the Federation vessel had felt the last plasma volley that they had delivered. One more and things may have been different.
The thought of death was also very clear in her mind and though she was willing to give her life for the empire, the fact that her life was at its end also had her in a bit of shock.
She heard Darkan's voice speaking to her along with reports given her by the operations officer aboard her ship. The Constitution was rapidly heading to its fiery destruction - a glorious one.
Korvona shook her head and looked up to the viewscreen, "Captain Darkan... you know that that is not possible. We are warriors. We live by a warrior's code. I applaud yours and your crew's skill - an unexpected turn of events." Her eyes seemed to stare off, then she straightened up, "All is set in motion. The presence of this ship and your own, only furthers our goals. The destruction of this ship only increases your guilt... I believe you Earth folk say, 'the smoking gun?'"
In the Constitution's engine room, the few engineers that were still alive watched as the core superheated and became incandecent. The bulkheads around it were turned to slag in seconds as the FTL drive went critical. The ship's computer core, which still functioned and realized its impending doom, activated a series of networked high-intensity explosives throughout the Romulan vessel . Each were placed along primary seams and bulkheads of the ship to shred it to pieces.
"Soon there shall be pieces of a Federation vessel drifting throughout this sector of space and none will ever know that it was not a Starfleet ship. The Chak-ruth house is making its own move on Qo'nos and soon, if all goes as planned... the Federation and the Klingons will be in a heated war. Forgive me if I do not wish you luck..."
Korvona's screen went black.
The warp core shone like a star and then it burst its bonds. The energy contained was released on all spectrums first as x-rays and gamma rays, then ultra-violet and heat. In moments, the ventral hull was consumed and the upper saucer was blown free. While the warp core overloaded, the nuclear explosives that laced the ship also went off adding to the energy output and even at 50,000 km away, the Columbia and Gr'Toth felt the effects.
Shards of the Constitution mock-up were accelerated to light-speed in milli-seconds and the two starships could not escape the hail of shrapnel that came their way. The Gr'Toth had it worse for they never knew it was coming and even though the Klingon vessel had its deflectors operational, the large fragments penetrated and tore into her already battered hull.
The Columbia fared better.
Pushkin had the ship's engines ready to accelerate if the Romulan vessel exploded. When the white flare burst out from where the Constitution mock-up had been, the helmsman tapped the console command to initiate warp speed. The Columbia's systems reacted in seconds, but in its incredible complexity, the ship's computer was still man-made and was unable react faster than the nuclear reaction at 50,000 km distance.
Like the Gr'Toth, the Columbia's deflectors were overcome by some of the larger fragments and a length of nacelle skittered across the upper hull. It tore through sensor palettes and nicked through the upper rollbar. Second came the electro-magnetic pulse; the already overwhelmed defensive systems diverted most of the seconday effects, but not enough for the ship to have its power winked out.
The Columbia came crashing out of warp and its crewmen were thrown to the deck. All went black.