Reflexively N97 takes the rifle, and then a simple reply of thanks runs over his chest display, this time in muted earthy colors.

Turning he looks at the leutenant. "Observation: Perhaps one unknown trail is like another? At least we will make better time on a path."

As Private Oro passes by he takes one of the grenades and begins working on it, setting it for the ambush.

When finished he works on three others, passing two to Lt Atala to place, and two to Ensign Kixue.

Liaka curses again in Twi'lek. She really has no idea if taking the path or trekking across the wilderness would be the better option. "OK, we'll head off on the path, but find a good place to split off away from there once we are well clear of this place. Oro, could you scout ahead, the rest of us will follow. Keep the comms open but use them only if you have to."

She is not convinced at all that using so many of the grenades they have is wise, but has to acknowledge that if they can set a good trap for anyone looking for survivors that alone will slow down any pursuit, as the pursuers will be forced to move at a slower pace to avoid similar booby traps. At least if they pursued on foot or on speeder bikes.

With Oro forging ahead, and the droid busy putting the final touches on his trap, Liaka draws her blaster pistol, makes sure it is set to kill, and starts moving after Oro at good speed. She looks back. "Hurry, we have to move, now!"

The lithe Twi'lek runs after the stealthy Zabrak up the dark path, her goggles making sure her vision is relatively good despite the torrential rain. She looks at her crono. It would be less than six hours until they lost what little daylight they had in this horrible weather. Assuming they could lose the ambushers, who were bound to pursue them, they would soon have to struggle against the elements just to survive. They had some food, a tent and some other survival gear, but had little knowledge about the dangers on this planet. Her knowledge on wilderness survival was mostly from her years with the freedom fighters on Ryloth. The landscape and weather here was very, very different.

The small band of rebels run up the slippery path in silence. Liaka stops periodically to turn on her thermo-vision and look behind them to see if any pursuers are getting close enough to detect. Soon she is soaking wet and muddy from slogging on. As they get further from the crashed speeder they all wait to hear if the booby traps set by N97 would go off.

After planting the explosives in locations likely to be traversed by the people who shot down the speeder Liaka runs with the rest of the rebels up the narrow path. Stopping for a moment she assesses the situation. Oro has already moved further up the path to scout the road ahead. “We need intelligence, we must know what hit us, and if possible, take them out. Given the heavy armament and the willingness to fire without warning or provocation on a civilian-model speeder it is likely it is the Empire, but we never know unless we investigate.”

She looks around, conscious of the fact that their attackers could be close. “You guys hold position here. I’ll slink past that rock over there and try to observe them as they come. Keep the link open but maintain comm silence unless it’s an emergency. Oro should be back soon from scouting up ahead. Inform him of the plan when he returns, if I’m not back before that.”

Not waiting for questions the lithe Twi’lek half-runs back down the path, to a large rock she had noticed before. There she drops on to her hands and knees and makes her way through thick grass she had initially mistaken for a bush. She tunes up her combat scanner to track motion, heat and even metal coming from the direction she finds most likely that the attackers arrive from.

It is a particularly miserable crawl through the dirt in the heavy rain and for a moment Liaka finds herself wishing she was back on Ryloth with her freedom fighter friends. At least there it wasn’t so wet and muddy. She draws her blaster pistol, just in case someone does manage to defeat her scanner and get close enough to sneak up on her, and peers out into the rain, her goggles feeding her information from the scanner, allowing her to see much better in the torrential rain than she could have dreamed of.

"Reply: Yes Ma'am" scrolls across the chest of the droid in an automatic and disciplined manner.

Turning he follows the lead of the others in finding a position of advantage. Exchanging hand signals relating to positioning, the droid surveys the ground, trees and cover for an effective placement. He turns up the slope of the mountain and lodges himself a short distance from the curve in the path. Looking over toward Ensign Kixue he displays, "Statement: I will follow your lead." Even though likely a redundant statement, this was his first mission with the human, and he wanted make sure that the soldier was comfortable that N97 new his place in the group.

Kixue nodded to N97 in conformation of his statement. He takes up a concealed position behind a boulder. He holsters his weapon and pulls out his electrobincolors. Glancing down the path they just came Kixue keeps a careful eye on Liaka, scanning the reigion around her to make sure that no one else is sneaking up on her position that they might have missed. After a few minutes of scaning the area he then turns to N97.

"We should take up ambush positions so that we can provide the L.T. with cover fire if things get a little to hot for her down there."

As if in confirmation, the Droid pulls the blaster rifle around in front of him. Checking its status he confirms working condition. Bringing it up in an almost human like manner he places it in front of his optic sensor, calculating distance and range. As a member of the alliance he has had many 'opportunities' to have to fire weapons in personal range, and the rifle is not a stranger to him, however he would hardly say that this is a skill he is completely comfortable with.

'Comfortable', now he is even thinking more like an organic. It took him several decades to be able to finesse the slang, innuendo and verbiage organics like to throw around, and now he apparently is even thinking using such things. How far he has come from his creation. At this point he isn't certain his memory tracts of those times are even reliable.

The rain thunders down on you as you lay, creating a chorus of the crackling fire from the speeder, the drumming of raindrops on your kit and the ominous rumble of thunder above your heads. N-97 can feel the rain seeping into his joints, and a subroutine files away the need for an oil bath and full maintenance turnover at the next possible opportunity. For the others, things are no better: Liaka can feel the rain seeping into her uniform, and shivers as the cold rapidly permeates through her; Kixue huddles in his position, confident that it is at least blaster-proof, if certainly not weather-proof; he looks back to see that Geoff and Oro have taken up similar positions: Oro has slithered through the mud into a position behind a fallen tree, and as Kixue watches he daubs his face with mud from the ground as makeshift camouflage, while Geoff readies his weapon for assumed action.

After some minutes, first one contact, then a steadily rising number begin to appear on Liaka's scanner. They are advancing from up the ridge, moving cautiously, unsure of where you are or if you survived, but simply following the trajectory along which the dying speeder plummeted in its final moments. They advance down the trail, nine of them, their spacing and formation evidently not those of a military formation, towards your newly-established kill-zone.

Liaka continues to observe the nine beings moving closer to the downed speeder. For troops that had the kind of firepower they had witnessed, they seemed to move in an undisciplined manner that suggested they might not be soldiers. So, that seems to suggest they are not Imperials. That's good news at least. But who else had this kind of firepower on this planet? Local freedom fighters? Mercenaries working for the Empire? No way to tell at the moment.

She looks in the direction of the rest of the rebels and slowly holds out her hands in their direction, using hand signals to tell them that there are nine beings approaching. She then holds up her hand with a flat palm towards her allies, indicating that they should stay put for now.

The cold and miserable Twi'lek continues to observe the nine beings as they get closer to the speeder. Their reactions to the explosives could be an indication of what they are made off. She also continues to scan in the direction they came from. This could be the advance party for a much larger force and she is determined not to get caught out of position. Perhaps if they split up to look for the group they would get an opportunity to grab a prisoner to interrogate. What they need now is information.

Kixue gave a nod to acknowledge Liaka's obserations. He used his own pair of electrobincoluers to see if he could spot anything and then glanced about to see if the others were in position.

The group of figures - nine in all - unknowingly passes the first set of grenades and enters the group's killing zone. It is obvious that they are not any sort of formal military: they look to be wearing cast-off military fatigues, lack proper night-vision gear or effective body armour, and are armed with an eclectic assortment of weapons. The leading group of five are armed with pistols, and one of their number appears at least to be wearing some body armour, while the four behind are armed with blaster rifles; they are hanging well back, attempting to avoid being caught up in any close-quarters battle if those in front were suddenly engaged. The leading figures reach the speeder, and are for a moment bathed in the glow of its fires, before they begin moving ahead again under an apparently unspoken command.

Edging around the speeder, the leading group set off towards you, advancing cautiously - if without tactical finesse - up the hill, through the trees, towards your position.They are just beginning to pick up their pace and move more readily, with the rear group paused for a moment to inspect the speeder, when the night is split by the twin cracks of the grenades mounted to the trees detonating, in the process splintering the trees apart, further adding to the damage as deadly splinters tear into weakly-armoured bodies. The two men leading immediately fall dead, blasted back by the devastating attack; the two just behind are only too happy to take the opportunity to break and flee back down the slope. Only the armoured figure holds his ground - whether momentarily stunned, or readying to return fire, you do not know.

Liaka observes the attackers from her vantage post. They could play cat and mouse all night in an unfamiliar territory, but if those guys knew the lay of the land they would probably be able to find them no matter how hard they tried to evade them.

As they get closer to the speeder she gives Oro and the rest of the guys hand signals. One for ambush. Another for on my command. Liaka draws her blaster pistol and aims for the armored figure that is closest to her. She hopes the rest of the rebels are ready for this. At the last minute she squeezes the trigger a little, activating the holographic sights.

Her target seems to notice the small crosshairs that form a meter in front of her blaster, but by then it's too late and Liaka fires several blasts into his torso, surprised to see that what ever N97 had done to her blaster had made it slightly louder, and the blasts much more powerful. She sees the armored figure reel from the hits before ducking down again into cover.

So, shooting at the armored figure at short range. First, a maneuver to draw the pistol. Then an action to shoot. The combat scanner negates 2 setbacks, and the custom grip negates one more (for some reason...). 2 boosts for accurate, one for an incidental aim thanks to the electronic sights.

And the roll:

Shooting at armored baddie: 3eA+1eP+3eB+1eD 0 successes, 6 advantage

You can't make this **** up. Honestly? WTF do I have to do for this Orokos-bantha-poodoo to work? Hold on. *scroll scroll scroll* I forgot the ambush boost.

Forgotten boost for ambush: 1eB 1 success

Well thanks for that. It is a hit with 10 total damage. I'll use three advantages to crit.

Crit on armored guy: 1d100 24

This is Off Balance, gives the guy another setback on his next action.

Two advantages will give the guy a setback to his next action and the last one to pass a boost to the next PC to shoot.

I'll then burn 2 strain for a second maneuver to take cover.

So, unless he negates some of the setbacks for the rain the guy Liaka shot will have 5 setbacks on his next check! Six if he shoots Liaka or someone in cover...!

The armoured figure rocks back under the fire, but he is at least quick to respond as he releases a spray of shots back towards Liaka in the vain hope of hitting the unknown shooter. His pistol looks small, but it fires with a deep, throbbing growl that you can't help but be unnerved by - especially when you see its effect on any matter it touches.

Targeting Liaka: 2eP+1eA+1eD+6eS 1 failure, 1 advantage

The shots fly over Liaka's head and slam into a tree rising behind her. The wood simply vanishes, annihilated in a spray of bark, splinters and wet chunks of wood that rains down on her, cutting into her skin and causing to shrink even deeper into cover. The shock that the man's weapon - evidently a disruptor, a weapon made illegal by the articles of war for a reason - leaves on you is such that he has a few frantic seconds to retreat back down the track towards the speeder, while you can only watch in horror.

Even though the rain is limiting his optical sensors, N97 is able to calculate the trajectory and angle of his attack. His calculations show him that his chance at a meaningful hit on the armoured figure is fairly low, especially as he flees. Instead he decides to try to slow him down by setting up covering fire for ​Ensign Kixue Noman and the others. Sending a multitude of shots in front of the figure he tries to distract the figure and slow him down. Even as the bolts of light energy hiss from his rifle, N97 is continuing to make calculations on other targets.

[OOC: Action to assist the next one targeting him, I think a boost to someone is likely better than 4 SB and 2 purple against my 3 green. Then an aim maneuver for the next target (or him if he is the closest one)]

The unknown hostiles fall back, looking to consolidate their position and find a point from which to return fire. Instead they blunder back towards where your grenades have been carefully placed. At the last second though, the armoured man seems to see them, calling out to the others in warning. Two of them, those armed with pistols, who have already been fired upon and are perhaps more alert, drop to the ground at his word, falling out of the line of fire. Their comrades are not so lucky, and as you watch two are lifted from their feet and flung across the clearing by the blast, while the others stagger back in shock from the blast. They are stunned, and for a fleeting moment even open to your next action.

The sound of explosions thundered around Kixue. He was extremely glad that for a change in this long encounter they weren't the ones being subjected to heavy fire. The distance from the explosions also gave him some comfort that his ear drums would survive this encounter relatively intact. The second explosion sent more men scattering and diving for cover and it was now that Kixue knew to act. He aims his weapon down into the kill zone and takes careful aim. The rain, combined with distraction of trees and foliage on fire made targeting the group of soldiers difficult.

Then a moment later Kixue opens fire. His pistol lets off of volley of shots into the ..... mercs? He assumed they must be mercs based on their equipment. With precision fire Kixue laid down a series of shots that he hoped would make forcing their leader to surrender easier by making him realize he was out numbered and out gunned.

One pirate drops dead, his pistol flying from his hand as Kixue's shots punch into him. The man beside him takes three powerful hits to his chest, which only his body armour stops from being directly lethal; he is barely able to bring himself up again to move back into the fighting. The men beside him, however, are somewhat more prepared, and together they raise their rifles and blast back at the source of the fire.

Targeting Kixue: 1eP+1eA+1eB+2eD+4eS 4 failures, 4 advantage

The shots miss, but in firing they bring down the cover above Kixue's head, the heat of the blaster bolts flash-igniting the foliage. Already the rain is putting out the fire, but for a few moments, Kixue is silhouetted in his position, advantaging the enemy' next attack.

The cold rain continues to come down on N97, plinking softly off of his metal body and run down the riot shield he uses as part of his armor. Of course it wasn't the temperature that gave him trouble, nor even the water, it was the havoc it played with his visual sensors.

In his 'mind', in the parlance of the organics, he has many ongoing goals and tasks he wants to accomplish. He has been around enough to know that the battle against the Empire is only temporary. And either he will survive it, or he will not. He has to act as if he will survive, as inaction is contrary to his core programming, and would also have a high chance of leading to his own demise. So he adds an optical upgrade to his list of tasks to do when he gets the resources and time. For now, don't get destroyed; help the rebellion.

Geoff and Oro raise themselves from behind the log where they had been sheltering. Geoff is aware that he is hardly a skilled combatant, but then the enemy is unlikely to know as much - he hopes, they did surprise them very effectively, and it's possible they may yet have more intelligence available. Conscious that he needs to contribute something meaningful to the firefight, he looses a spread of blaster bolts towards the enemy, hoping to pin them down, focusing especially on the location of the armoured figure he had seen. He cannot tell if he has been really effective, but he hopes so. If nothing else, he has made it obvious that the Rebels have the firepower to resist.

Oro is less thoughtful in his own response, answering the hail of incoming shots by hefting a grenade in one hand and tossing it towards the enemy. The small sphere clatters to the ground amidst the huddled enemy, and before they can think to move away it detonates powerfully. Two of the pirates fall dead, while those that remain are now seriously injured, and begin to rapidly give ground. One raises his rifle, though, and returns fire towards the clearest source of incoming fire - Liaka. His fire achieves nothing save spraying her with yet more wood debris though, and she comes up eager to get her own back.

Attacking Unknown 2: 1eP+2eA+1eB+2eD+3eS 3 successes, 2 threat

Targeting Liaka: 1eP+2eA+1eB+2eD+3eS 0 successes, 1 advantage

Liaka curses again, spitting a bit of mud that hits her face as she hugs what little cover she has. When Oro's grenade goes off she uses the distraction to quickly pop out at a slightly different spot. Seeing that the enemy seems distracted by the explosion she takes a moment to aim at the apparent leader of the enemy forces and shoots several blaster bolts at him. She smiles grimly when one of the bolts hits the man square in the face, and then quickly rolls back into cover, trying to get as much solid ground between her and the enemy as possible.

Liaka shoots at the armored figure at short range. She aims as an incidental, and again as a maneuver. Then an action to shoot. The combat scanner negates 2 setbacks, and the custom grip negates one more (for some reason...). 2 boosts for accurate, 2 for an aim.

Shooting armored figure again: 3eA+1eP+4eB+1eD+1eS 2 successes, 3 advantage

That's nice. So that will be 11 damage and I'll activate a critical hit as well, using all three advantages:

Crit on armored guy, +10 for previous crit: 1d100+10 54

This is a Fearsome Wound, which increases the difficulty of Willpower and Presence checks for the rest of the encounter. Seems like the leader is losing hope and is having a hard time controlling his men

As the armored figure topples down, Liaka senses that the battle, if it could be called that, is turning in their favor. From her cover she shouts loudly in the direction of the retreating gunmen: "Your position is hopeless. Surrender now or you will all die. Throw down your weapons and kneel with your hands on your heads. Do it NOW or you will all die here today."

There is silence from behind the speeder for a long time before you see the rifle go skittering out from behind it. You tense, aiming your weapons towards it, but after a long moment it becomes apparent that it does not present a threat, and you redirect your aim back towards the speeder, where the last enemy is no doubt considering his options.

Kixue curses heavily as his position becomes exposed by the fire from above. He checks himself to make sure he's not on fire before he darts behind a new position and then aims his weapon down at the remaining targets.

"Do as the L.T. says and you wont be harmed. We'll give you to the count of three before we'll have to make a choice for you"

After the demands of his are given, and only a partial response is returned, the Droid decides that staying in cover is not going to convince the remaining fighters to give up. So the Droid advances on the remaining troops, moving toward the back of the shuttle, staying as low as he can to avoid possible incoming fire. Rounding the back he presents his arm to the remaining troops, his Goo-gun arm.

In fully open position it looks like a wicked industrial tool, and the heat of the firing nozzle causes steam to rise as drops of rain touch it. He hopes that this will add conviction to follow the L.T. and Ensigns' commands.

[ooc: if it is medium then 2 maneuvers (will use 2 strain and fire on anyone who does not give up. Let me know and I will put in roll, just let me know the difficulty). N97 has his riot shield up so adds 2 defense and 2 deflection to attacks against him should they fire].

Liaka gets slowly up from her cover, pointing her blaster pistol towards the enemy. She slowly advances, conscious of the fact that the surrender might be a ruse. "Oro, Geoff, cover us," she says as she moves forward with the droid. "Down on your knees," she shouts at the enemy combatants. "Keep your hands where I can see them."

The last man, a human with close-cropped hair, is on his knees, hands behind his head, cowering in fear before the droid.

"Please," he groans. "I give in. I surrender. I'll do anything. Just get the death-droid away, please," his fear is palpable.