World War II - The Vanguard Issue #4 - The Battle Of Britain!

Into the comms room, P'ertaria activated the systems herself as P'utinarians stepped aside for her. She frowned. "The Nazis have sent a number of threatening messages. They say they know we are in league with the Anyman and that all P'utinarians on Earth will be slaughtered without trial unless we hand you over." She shook her head sadly, then turned to Anyman.

"The alien fleets will hear the message, or you can send it to just one fleet. What would you like to say?"

"Hmmm ... I think talking to them separately might be best for now," Anyman said after thinking a bit. "Let's see if we can make them cautious of both us and the other fleet. Connect me with the Skrall first, I think."

[once connected, I'm assuming not visual?]

"This is Anyman, one of the Protectors of Earth. You are to cease moving towards Earth and her moon or I will take steps to wipe out your fleet. I will either do it myself or I will have the other fleet, the Qrii, that is moving in do it for me. You should also be aware that onboard this vessel is a weapon so powerful that it can wipe out a significant portion of your fleet in one shot."

"Don't make me hunt you down and wipe you out! You DO NOT want to meet me personally! It will be the last thing you do!"

He signals to cut his transmission and waits for a reply.

ooc: Big Bluff can sometimes work. Hoping his actor skills helped a lot in what he tried.

There was a pause, then ...



"The image is one way." confirmed P'ertaria. "The computer will translate into English."

"Now hear this, Earth being! We of the Skrall Galactic Empire do not take kindly to threats! Our power is unmatched! Our technology so far in advance to your puny backwards stone age sticks and rocks that it seems almost unfair to smash you beneath our heel! Instead you should consider your deaths an honour! We are able to detect your vessel but the shields prevent further detailed scans, so I will assume you lie! However, your posturing amuses us! We will allow you to become our slaves if you surrender the vessel you are on and divert all Lunarium supplies to us! This is also a great honour! We will also keep the slaughter games to a minimum and require no more than 10,000 deaths of your sub-species at a time for our amusement. This is a better deal than I would normally offer, but your tenacious message amused me, and that should be rewarded. I shall give you ample time to consider."

There was a momentary pause.

"Your answer. Now."

Boadicea rolled her eyes. Then she took a look at the scanners and paled. She whispered. "They've sent a portion of their fleet this way. Computer counts... just over a thousand ships!"

"How soon before Frostbot gets here," he asks her. "And can your planet builder take out most of those ships coming this way?"

Meanwhile, he was planning on what to say to the Qrii to get them to attack the Skrall.

Boadicea looked over from a console. "The other V-Ship." she frowned "Maybe we should number these things. Anyway, all it can manage is orbit. I guess we'll have to risk being intercepted and send our V-Ship - that we arrived here in - back to Earth to collect the robot. As soon as we're in orbit, it'd be a matter of minutes for it to get up there. It doesn't have the fuel to get out here, at least not at a speed that would make a difference. We are at the very edge of the solar system remember."

P'ertaria ran some calculations on the computer. "The gravity cannon is about ready to fire. We can create a singularity field in their path that will drag those ships in. Bear in mind though, that the Skrall will see that as an act of war. They know the general capabilities of this ship, and will know the capacitors need recharging. It's whether they want to risk losing ground to the Qrii who are..." she scanned again. "Closing in on Earth. They are past Saturn. The Skrall and Qrii - aside from the contingent heading towards us - will arrive at roughly the same time."

Boadicea turned on the strange chair she was trying to get comfortable on. It was more like a cup, and not suited for human posteriors. "Want me to take the V Ship and head towards Earth whilst you issue threats and call the aliens names from here?" she smiled sweetly.

ooc: Been busy today. Getting ready to have cataract surgery on Monday. Will try to catch up tomorrow.

Boadicea turned on the strange chair she was trying to get comfortable on. It was more like a cup, and not suited for human posteriors. "Want me to take the V Ship and head towards Earth whilst you issue threats and call the aliens names from here?" she smiled sweetly.

"You mean the newly christened HMRS Anyman," Lance replies, having just decided that it wasn't TOO MUCH of an ego thing to name a ship he captured after himself. "Sure! Go ahead and do that. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to convince the Qrii that the Skrall have joined our side."

ooc: HMRS {His Majesty's Rocket Ship} and yeah I know it doesn't look like a rocket ship but that's what they were called back then ....

"Put me through to the Qrii," he orders the Communications Officer.

Once that is done.

"Greeting to the Qrii. This is Anyman, a Protector of Earth and this System. If your visit is peaceful, I welcome you," he says in his best actor's diplomatic voice. "If your purpose is to plunder or invade our system, I must warn you, in all good conscience, that myself and the other Earth Protectors along with our friends of the Skrall Empire, who as you can see is even now sending an escort fleet over to join my ship, will be forced to destroy your fleet."

"My friends, the Skrall, tell me that you are a blood-thirsty race who never listens to what others have to say. That the only way to ever get you to listen to somone is to utterly destroy one of your biggest fleets and then try to talk to the surviving ... er .... is Queen the right word? I think that they are overexagerating your racial tendencies because they see you as a threat to their empire."

"I do hope that they haven't launched their new stealth force at you while we are talking," he says sweetly. "I asked them not to but you know how they are ...."

"If you were to pull out of the system past our last planet and then send a small escort fleet with a representative, we would welcome the new contact."

He leaves it hanging there, hoping that the Qrii will now worry a great deal about the Skrall and become even more cautious in their approach. Time is what he needed. Time he didn't have because he had to recontact the Skrall quickly.

Boadicea grinned then rolled her eyes and turned before leaving for the hanger deck "Try not to start a new war - we have enough on our plate as it is!"

Anyman turned to the screen to say his piece to the Qrii. Unlike the Skrall they didn't send pictures across, but from the databanks on the P'utinarian ship it was clear they were some kind of insectoid race, far removed from human in most respects, though some had a humanoid form, with arms, torso and legs.

The computer translated the series of clicks and ticks the Qrii sent by way of reply. "What you or your Skrall allies attempt is immaterial. You shall all be devoured to become part of the great hive and service the colony. We shall establish a <translation.... CLACK, CLACK... locustoid colony> on the class M planet in the third orbit of this systems' star, in order to swell our numbers and overwhelm any resistance you will put up. Your bodies shall feed our young. That is all."

P'ertaria watched as a light blinked off. "They've cut communications. And..." she glanced at another screen "Launched something towards Earth. It's heading to..." she broke off to run a number of computer simulations before adding "the North American continent (OOC where else?) but will take an hour or so to cross the intervening space. It appears to be biological rather than some kind of weapon?"

The Skrall came back online "Your Qrii allies shall be wiped out, Earthman!" screeched the reptilian leader of the fleet. She turned to something off screen. "Make sure the Qrii missile is stopped, and prepare our own forces for ground assault!" she turned to the screen again, addressing Anyman "Surrender and you shall be kept alive - for a while. We need information, Earth Man." The screen winked off.

P'ertaria looked at the screen again. "Part of the fleet heading towards us is diverting to Earth. Our conventional defences, now that they are powered up, should handle the rest when they get here. Oh... scans show the Skrall and Qrii ships are mobilising. Projected site of battle... the orbit of Jupiter!"

Whilst antagonising both fleets had mobilised them into action, Anyman knew that whatever was left after a titanic battle would be easier to handle. All that remained now was to sit back and watch the fireworks!

P'ertaria burst that bubble. "Long range scans shows incoming vessels from different directions coming in at hyper speed. No recognition codes we recognise. Looks like these newcomers are late to the party but determined to take a share of the spoils!"

P'ertaria burst that bubble. "Long range scans shows incoming vessels from different directions coming in at hyper speed. No recognition codes we recognise. Looks like these newcomers are late to the party but determined to take a share of the spoils!".

"Time to update the others," Lance Allard says. He then leans back and sends a mental message [which I've posted on our mental message group]

P'ertaria shook her head "You people amaze me. Is there no end to the list of things you can do?" She looked down at a panel. "The 'HMRS Anyman' is away. En route to Earth. At top speed... hmmm. Boadicea is clever. She's taking a circuitous route that will take slightly longer but means the Skrall and the Qrii cannot intercept her before she gets to Earth orbit."

"Orders regarding the new vessels? Treat as friend or foe, or simply watch it out?"

P'ertaria nodded. "this situation is getting out of..."

A large screen on the wall flickered, and an image of a blue skinned figure in a costume came up. He - presumably it was a he - spoke in a language that had everyone shaking their heads and wondering what he was saying. The alien seemed to know this, and turned to say something off screen, then back to the viewer. Again with the alien tongue, but the P'utinarian computer started to compensate and speech - in English - started to come through.



"...us the Star Guard. We are a peacekeeping force gathered from across the cosmos to ensure the cosmic balance is maintained. It has become clear this backwater system will soon be contested between two galactic powers. Unfortunately, there will be casualties, and whilst we regret the annihilation or, at best, slavery, of a sentient race, sometimes this is the price to pay for cosmic peace. However, we are not here for that. We monitor the fabric of the universe, and in this system there is an individual - or individuals, the readings are confusing - that upset the balance. Cosmic powers. We are here to destroy them, and right the balance. We are recalibrating our systems and will home in on these... powers. If you harbour one on board your ship you must hand over the being for summary execution. The crime is that such a creature exists. The penalty - death. Imperator out."

P'ertaria turned to Anyman "We can't... they...do they have the power to... to...?"

Another P'utinarian called out. "Scan indicates the ship has changed course. It is one of a small convoy... all warships. The lead ship is heading... towards us!"

Lets go with Grade One and see what happens. So I need ... um ... six Dark Power points just to be on the safe side. That should net me more than the 20 points needed even with bad dice rolls. Can I use any extra points to temporarily raise my Ego for the purpose of increasing the percentage chance something good happens? Not for the EGO roll but for the straight percentage chance of good stuff happening. Would hate to get the power and not roll any luck.

Hero points if needed so as to not blow up Jupiter so the Dark Power won't get away from me.

OOC You can use a hero point to roll the bad dice again (in combat they are more effective, adding to the previous die roll). Even with 6 points should see you able to call on Grade 2 Prob Manipulation with a reasonable roll (60 dark power needed). [1,4,12] = (17) Anyman [5,7,6] = (18) Dark Power [2,9,4,7,9,4] = (35) Dark Power. Heh, or not. Looks like a hero point required anyway with the lousy roll for you and average for the Dark Power... Anyman has 12 Hero Points left (the roll came up 2d10=15) and you have 70 points to spend (enough for Grade 2 if you want, or have 50 points to use on something else). You can use the Dark Power points to boost Anymans Ego on a one for one basis. Ok, seeing as you want a mile long spacecraft to move through the middle of an interstellar war without a scratch and for the other ships to somehow lose control and crash into each other... well, that's not *quite* beyond the realms of possibility. It *could* happen so it gives you a chance. Hmmmm. It is actually beyond the scope of Grade 1 Probability manipulation, simply because of the scale of the the task.

"To alter probability in this way takes 1 Action. The referee will calculate a rating from 0-10: 0 being impossible for the character to cause. This rating is multiplied by the character's Ego value to give the percentage chance of the piece of luck occurring. The player rolls 1d100, if the score is equal to or less than the percentage chance, then the piece of luck has occurred. The rating is equal to 10 minus the CONCENTRATION FACTOR. This is made up of three elements: Area of desired effect: The area of effect relates to the end result of the hero's actions. Simply because the character is attempting to make a small part of a car engine to malfunction, the area of effect is not small. The end result is that the car will break down and the car is large."

The size is considerably larger than 8 (the maximum) so the Concentration factor for this is 5

Add 5 if the effect is theoretically possible but would normally never happen in a hundred years, such as a large piece of masonry falling from a building in the vicinity of a villain. Add 7 if the effect is, in theory,
impossible.

We'll make that a 6. Not hitting a mile long spacecraft with thousands of shots has to be near impossible.

Control: The effect can either be uncontrolled or controlled. If the character has a specific effect which they want to occur then they add 1 to the concentration factor. Uncontrolled events add nothing to the concentration factor but will only comply with the character's intent in general terms.

That would be a 1 then (you want the other ships to crash into one another)

That would put the concentration factor (which multiplies your ego of 12 for a percent chance of success) at 10-12=-2.

I'll say Grade 2 Prob Manipulation adds +5 so you can add that and spend the remaining 10 points on ego, and use a hero point to reroll if it all goes wrong. That would give you a 66% chance of success and two rolls at it. Not bad, but the dice say... 1d100 → [4] = (4) . No hero point required.

=========

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" screeched P'ertaria.

She reached to drag Anyman away from the bridge controls, where the confused P'utinarians looked on. "I thought you had a plan to draw the enemy away, but you've led us back to where their forces are fighting it out! LOOK!"

The vast viewscreen showed two interstellar fleets lighting up the blackness of space with blasts and torpedoes, silver specks darting about whilst the larger ships got stuck in with their full range of weapons!

The P'utinarian helmsman adds, nervously "At highest non warp speed we'll pass right through the battle site but... computer predicts a 96% percent chance that not only will we be struck, we'll be destroyed!"

P'ertaria grabs the front of Anymans coat and shrieks, hysterically "ARE YOU CRAZY??? WE ARE GOING TO DIE!"

"Scanners show the trailing ships are catching up. They appear to have exchanged fire already with the Skralls..."

"Like two dogs fighting over a bone." said Allard calmly, though sweat ran down under hit hat. "Please, unhand me." he asked P'ertaria quietly. She looked embarrassed and turned to the bridge crew "Prepare to get us out of here, maximum..."

"BELAY THAT ORDER!" barked Anyman in his most authoritative tone. "Set course straight through the conflict. Will be through it in seconds. 4% chance of survival you say? I like those odds..."

The high council members had joined the group on the bridge and shook their heads in disbelief...

=========

<"I can't believe what they are doing. That ship, despite its size, will be cut to pieces!"> said the Captain on Imperators ship...

The Star Guardian narrowed his eyes. At first he'd thought they were running, but their course around the planets led them back here, to where the Skrall and Qrii engaged in battle. Clearly they wanted the ultimate prize - the largest discovered store of Lunarium in this section of the universe, possibly ANY universe. Of course, these backward humans didn't understand what they had... nor what was living amongst them - cosmic level deities in mortal form.

<Break off pursuit, move to safe distance. If that thing explodes it will take a large chunk of nearby space with it!>

Imperator shook his head then addressed the other ships in the fleet. <"This is Imperator to the Star Guard. Be ready. The situation is not what it seems. We have scanned an Omega level deity and I believe a being aboard their ship is it. As such, we should not only expect and prepare for the unexpected, but the impossible!">

Little was he to know his choice of words would be prophetic! Imperators incredible 'Sixth sense' that warned him of danger rarely registered on this scale. By any measure he was a supremely powerful cosmic warrior himself, unmatched in battle, but he was uneasy, even with the might of the Star Guard to back him up. They'd been sent to discover the space/time ripple and the converging forces on this space sector, then discovered the place was home to a number of Omega plus level individuals. Simply put that distant scan had proven inconclusive because of the range, but if it turned out to be true, the beings could upset the balance of power in the quadrant... and word was floating about that the DEVASTATOR itself had sensed the power and sought it for its own!

He shivered, remembering his former master. Even his own, vast power could not stand against that! Nothing could!

He turned to the screen to watch the battle play out...

=========

"Shields to full, engines ready for purge on your mark... sir." said the Helmsman

"At full speed we'll not be able to open fire effectively - we'll be nothing more than a sponge to soak up the shots!" wailed P'ertaria.

Anyman knew his power wouldn't, couldn't last long. It was this was... or nothing!

He summoned the being inside, and felt a rush, a flood, of power overwhelm him! He staggered, clutching his head, and damped it down with a colossal effort of will! Stood on the bridge with the vast screen covering the wall and showing hundreds of spacecraft battle it out in the inky blackness of the void, he barely heard the crewman call out "incoming ships!". Anyman sifted through his mind, found the effect he would like to happen, and wished it were so.. then he shouted "Go! Purge! Whatever, NOW!"

The ships great engines fired at full thrust, surprising the chasing pack of Skrall craft and heading straight to the battle! The others - under the leadership of the blue fellow in the cape - had broken off. There was nothing he could do about that, but he felt power swell in him...

"Impact in... 3... 2...1..." shouted another crewman...

Anyman released the probability bubble from himself... it passed without touching the ship to envelop the exterior of the great vessel... and exploded outwards, unseen, but its effects felt and witnessed by those who would later state they had seen the impossible!

The great worldship passed at exactly the right speed and course so that shots passed over and around it, missiles missed it by inches, debris glanced from shields harmlessly... On the viewscreen of the bridge all became a blur, and one of the helmsmen turned as if in slow motion "Wwwweeeeee aaaaaarrrrrrrrreeeeeee....." he started.

In the wake of the vast ship its great engine 'wash' effect combined with the unreality power Anyman had invoked! Ships collided with one another, lasers struck friend and foe, missiles exploded and caused a chain reaction between vessels that lit up the space behind the great vessel. It all seemed to happen simultaneously, with the ship powering through, impossibly, unharmed and slowing tens of thousands of miles away, leaving hundreds of mushrooming explosions in its wake!

On the bridge the crewman finished his words "...through!" he gasped!

There was silence on the bridge as the screens showed devastation behind the great craft... it hadn't destroyed all of the ships, but it had destroyed enough that the fight had been blasted out of them, and the survivors limped away in every direction, running from... something they'd seen and experienced that would be told of in legends down the ages.

They still didn't believe what they'd seen, neither did the P'utinarians on the ship...

On board the Star Guard vessels, watching from afar, a pin would have been heard to drop on the bridge of each ship. Imperator mouthed the words <"impossible...">

Back on the P'utinarian craft, a crewman turned slowly in his cup like chair and confirmed, quietly, a touch of awe and dread in his voice... "The... the alien fleets are 75% incapacitated or destroyed, and the remainder do not collectively represent a threat to us... How...? I mean, I ... what just...?" The others couldn't explain it, and right then, on the crowed bridge with over 50 crew in attendance, plus High Council members and others, every pair of eyes turned to look at the man in the hat and trenchcoat, bandages covering his skin, eyes covered in shadow and calmly watching the screen...

=========

On board one of the larger remaining Skrall vessels...

<"Send urgent message to Skrall high command ... tell them... "> the officer paused and looked at his first officer for the next words. A shrug said it all - and nothing! <"Tell them...we need more ships. Lots more ships! But... on second thoughts... what if the same happens to them? The Empire will be defenceless! This disaster will already be common knowledge around the Galaxy!">

He looked around the bridge, and a Science Officer confirmed what they all thought <"We are a laughing stock, and ripe for invasion. That's what this will look like!">

Little did they know how prophetic THOSE words would be!

"Transmit the following message to all ships," Lt. Cmdr Lance Allard said calmly. [Boy! What a great actor he is, pretending to be calm!!!]

"To all ships! This is Anyman, one of the Protectors of Earth. You have just seen a demonstration of my powers at its lowest level. This system belongs to the people of Earth and no one else. The Lunarium is ours and no one elses. You behave yourselves for a few years and then send a peace delegation to England, one of the smaller islands just north of a large continent, and we will see about negotiating the sale of some of OUR Lunarium."

"All fleets are commanded to leave this system as soon as you rescue your survivors in damaged ships. You stay past that time and I WILL DESTROY YOU!!"

"Anyman out!"

He cuts the transmission.

"I need a drink," he mutters. "A triple!"

"Keep an eye on that Imperator fleet," he orders the crew. "We may have to blow the command ship out of space with that planet making weapon of yours."

His hands start to shake at this point and he sits down, trying to regain control of them.

The message transmitted, the P'utinarian crew looked at the readout showing the solar system. Enemy ships were red dots, and they all seemed to be moving away.

"It's working!" gasped a crewman. "They are moving out!"

There was much cheering and clapping of Anymans' back, shaking his hand, but Anyman himself stayed calm, staring at the dots moving away.

"Hmm, that's strange." said a crewman nearby. Anyman caught the query and moved over to look at the P'utinarian's screen whilst the rest of those on the bridge celebrated in the background. "That fleet that came in last. We counted around a dozen ships. Yes..." he said, checking the readings. "Long range scan only shows 11. I wonder what..."

BANG!!!!

<<ALERT ALERT ALERT>> droned the computer, voice speaking in English as many of the P'utinarians consider it one of their 'base' languages (German being the other)



"Scan shows a ship has... decloaked! It punched through our shields and rammed us! We've been boarded! Deck 217! All hands! ready for boarders!" shouted the Crewman. The crew sprang into action and P'ertaria moved to Anymans' side. "Skralls, you think, or these blue skinned newcomers?"

"Scan shows a ship has... decloaked! It punched through our shields and rammed us! We've been boarded! Deck 217! All hands! ready for boarders!" shouted the Crewman. The crew sprang into action and P'ertaria moved to Anymans' side. "Skralls, you think, or these blue skinned newcomers?"
.

"God hates me! That's all there is to it," Anyman muttered outloud as he headed for the breach below decks. "Not even a nice simple 72 hour pass before the next crisis! I bet Emma totally thinks that I have forgotten about her."

"Wait a minute! Deck 217!?!?!?! How many decks does this ship have," he complained as he boarded the elevator for the proper deck.

P'ertaria shrugs. "This ship and others like it were built to be a home to thousands upon thousands of us. I shall deploy defence drones to combat intruders but..." she looked at a screen, a second before a display went dark. "I fear they may not be enough..."

=========

Anyman stepped out onto deck 217

The lights overhead were out, but those running along the corridor pulsed red, for the alert status the ship was in.

Glancing up and down the corridor, Anyman frowned. Leaning into a console on the wall, he morphed his fingers to become thin tendrils to activate it, and leaned in. "P'ertaria? What's on this deck?"

"Nothing much. Hydroponics filter relays run through the deck. They service the ship with breathable air and... oh. The environmental controls run through hub zeta seven and can be accessed through a distribution node. The intruders can turn off the life support from there! You have to stop them!" she wailed. "I'm sending security up there. The drones have gone silent. They encountered... something... but there's no readings from them now..."

Anyman rolled his eyes. Just another day at the off... ice?



As he rounded a corner, he saw a strange creature, part humanoid, part scorpion, waiting for him. it had that blue skin that the man in the red costume had, but this was a different kind of creature. It spoke in an alien tongue, and it became clear that without some device to translate, there would be little point in reasoning with the creature. It spoke again. Then it raised its tail over its head, and the tip started to glow... and move towards Anymans direction!

OOC 1d10=2 Anyman, 1d10=4 Creature. It needs an action to fire its energy blast. Anyman is 10m away, but only 2-3m from rounding the corridor back to where he'd come from. You have 4 frames.

As he rounded a corner, he saw a strange creature, part humanoid, part scorpion, waiting for him. it had that blue skin that the man in the red costume had, but this was a different kind of creature. It spoke in an alien tongue, and it became clear that without some device to translate, there would be little point in reasoning with the creature. It spoke again. Then it raised its tail over its head, and the tip started to glow... and move towards Anymans direction!

OOC 1d10=2 Anyman, 1d10=4 Creature. It needs an action to fire its energy blast. Anyman is 10m away, but only 2-3m from rounding the corridor back to where he'd come from. You have 4 frames.

.
Glad he was finally able to stretch as far as he could when he was Putty, Anyman reaches out and slams away with his morphed fists.

actions - stay right where I am and punch away all four frames.

OOC Four attacks by stretching. Your max range with grade 1 is lousy, I mean 6m, but I'm happy to charge you 1htc per m over if you're ok with paying it. You need only pay once, deliver 4 blows, then shrink back to usual size. [10,6,2,6,-17] = (7) hit +7htc +25htc = 39htk reduced by dividers (5!) to 8htc. [3,2,2,6,-17] = (-4) miss [8,6,2,6,-17] = (5) hit +5 htc +25htc = 35htc reduced to 7htc [2,8,2,6,-17] = (1) hit +1 htc +25htc = 27htc reduced to 5htc. That's a total of 20htc. Despite your foes 5htc/htk dividers (and inability to dodge) that's not shabby at all!

Grimacing slightly as he stretched out a hand Anyman slammed punch after punch on the hard steel like exoskeleton of the creature. It seemed surprised to not only feel the blows, but be harmed by them! Determined, it lowered the nasty looking tail and fired two powerful energy pulses from it!

The first struck home and Anyman grimaced, knowing full well his ability to heal lethal damage was severely impaired! The second missed as the man in the hat danced aside.

OOC 5 points apiece. -3DD. [4,7,3,6,-17] = (3) hit 8htc 7htk [3,1,3,6,-17] = (-4) Miss The creature is on 15/25 energy round 1 of 5. It's lost 20htc, Anyman has lost 4htc. Initiative [7] = (7) Anyman [4] = (4) Bad guy. 2 frames. Same again?

Remember, I got grade two stretching at the same time I lost my ability to heal normally. You never updated the character sheet on that. And yes, same again.

"You want to surrender and leave or do I take over your ship after I finish you off," Anyman says in every language he knows as he continues to attack.

The alien looked up quizzically at Anyman, shrugged, and waved a 'come on' - presumably one of the few gestures understood universally between warriors. Anyman obliged.

OOC And how. [9,9,2,6,-17] = (9) hit, DOUBLE [10,7,2,6,-17] = ( 8 ) Hit +8htc +25htc = 41/5 for 8htc. Alien has taken 28htc. The double comes up with [7,10] = (17). Pow! That's a total of 35 for the hit roll. 18 Accuracy, +12 from the punch +25 from strength equals 55/5 = 11htc. Alien has taken 39htc so far. He's definitely feeling the strain now.

The Alien definitely had an angry look on its face now. It summoned its most powerful blast and let loose with its remaining energy...

OOC Alien uses 8 and 7 points, finishing off its energy in round 2 of 5. [10,9,3,6,-17] = (11) hit, 44htc, 44htk, dividers reduced to 1/1. [1,9,3,6,-17] = (2) hit, 7htc 7htk. Suddenly it's all change! Anyman MUST respond somehow to one or both shots or he's dead! That roll of 19, coupled with the multiplier of 8 really turns things right round. Hero Points are an option of course. Help with a dodge or simply reduce the damage by 2D10 and hope for a reasonable roll. Suddenly this is all turned around!

ooc" Giving me all those numbers confuses me. Did I take 7HTK or 44HTK?

If it is 7, I'm ignoring it. If it is 44, then I'm dodging and using a HP to make sure I dodge well.