“Well that was, err… exciting!” I step forward my las-pistol forgotten but still in my hand, the adrenaline of my first combat experience still pumping through my veins giving me a slightly wide eyed look.

“I believe they may have been after this” I hold out my las-pistol without thinking “erm, no I mean this…” holding up the well crafted bag “…one of them pointed at me and shouted ‘he has it’, so I can only assume they meant this bag” I will fidget slightly before continuing “I err, found it in the morgue” I empty the contents out so everyone can see.

*a best craftsmanship hand mirror, a stub revolver of best quality and a letter with a broken seal*

“Well that is what I think, why else would they shout out 'he has it’?”

In Dammek's turn, he would tike to Full Action move out the door (since he did a Full Move last turn he should be close enough to do so) and take a final overloaded shot at the attackers, hoping to bring one of them down as they flee [target 24 (+10 single shot, -20 for a presumably running target); rolled an 88 for a wild miss]

Dammek charges out the door after the intruders, taking a parting shot at their retreating figures, but his shot flies wide. As the enemies escape, he swears loudly.

From that position, does he still need a survival check to pick up their trail?

You wouldnt need a survival test if you continue running into the dark alley where the men headed into.

[i will hold off saying the above if everyone decides to chase, so will wait to see if Cade and Asterius also run off]

[i'm sure I'd have to make several "survival" checks, but they'd be using the Dodge skill ]

Dammek swears again and slows to a stop. No way on Holy Terra was he about to charge into a dark alleyway after four heavily-armed men all by himself.

He turns to the rest of the party and yells, "They went that way!" as he points in the direction of their fleeing enemies. "Those lawbreakers seek to escape the Emperor's Justice! There's still time to hunt them down! Asterius, lead the way!"

Dammek also swaps his partially depleted laspistol charge pack for the fresh one from his combat webbing.

"Let's get these fethers..."

I look at the member of the group closest to my gear on the ground (I believe it's Dral) and ask him to grab it.

As I leave, I turn to Thrain and say:

"just another day at the office. Stay with your partner, he's hurt."

I nod to the old man in acknowledgement of his courage and run towards the alleyway, shotgun ready.

As you reach the dark alley, it is already empty. A lot of small pathways, stairs and ladders lead in different directions.

A window closes rapidly and some curtains are being closed.

A small amount of fresh blood leads over a ladder onto a roof.

A sound like snapping in clips seems to come from anywhere close.

Cowardly bunch. Or clever. Cade couldn't decide which. As soon as they realized they couldn't overcome the resistance provided by Cade, and the rest of the group they had run off. A basic hit-and-run operation? Or.... Cade's eyes narrowed. This could be a trap. He'd have to keep his eyes wide open. Regardless, Dammek and Asterius had run out, and, with four enemies ahead of them, Cade couldn't let them go alone. Two on four was hardly a fair fight. Cade, laspistol still in hand, ran out after them. Noting the alley, that Dammek was indicating, Cade followed Asterius and the Penal Legion convict in.

Cade very nearly missed the blood on the ladder, as he sprinted through, but stopped to run his finger over it. "This is fresh." He commented. He slid his las pistol back into its holster and began to climb the ladder. If their adversaries had escaped to the roof then they could continue the pursuit there. Of course. It could be a trap. Cade wasn't discounting that possibility. However, if it was a trap, he felt they had no choice but to spring it. And, if it wasn't a trap, and they weren't up there, the blood being merely an unfortunate coincidence, he reasoned that he could still gain a vantage point over the alley.

[i'm assuming we're in "half-narrative time" here, and apologize in advance if I'm robbing someone of their action]

I move forward quickly, making use of dumpsters and walls as cover and, taking advantage of Dammek's and Cade's military training, gesture for them to follow me in a tactical advance pattern, with Cade in the rear as the designated marksman.

[Note: I don't know how extensively everyone here is familiarized with urban military operations, but urban tactical forces usually move in teams of three, creating a triangle that proves covering positions to the forward member of the team.

In this way the members of the team may cover a lot of ground very quickly without leaving open spaces.

BOPE, the equivalent of our "SWAT" team in Rio de Janeiro, one of the best urban assault forces in the world, uses this technique extensively.

As a member of the Arbites, trained in command, I'm assuming I'm familiarized with urban assault tactics, and that is what I'm gesturing them to do, hoping that they know what they're doing! As a precaution, I roll command: 28 and Awareness: 84 with reroll at -10, 41]

I quickly gesture for Dral to stand a little farther behind us, in order to not get in the line of fire and provide us with psychic support.

A sound like snapping in clips seems to come from anywhere close.

[As in weapon clips? ]

[Awareness, target number 33; rolled a 43 for 1 DoF]

Dammek follows Asterius down the alley in combat formation, sweeping his pistol over the windows and rooftops. He does his best to check the surroundings for hostiles, but there are so many possible hiding places!

Dammek call softly to Dral: "Hey Brain, fire up that auspex of yours and see if you pick up anything. Those fethers could be hiding anywhere, but they can't have gone very far..."

[i'm assuming we're in "half-narrative time" here, and apologize in advance if I'm robbing someone of their action]

I move forward quickly, making use of dumpsters and walls as cover and, taking advantage of Dammek's and Cade's military training, gesture for them to follow me in a tactical advance pattern, with Cade in the rear as the designated marksman. [Note: I don't know how extensively everyone here is familiarized with urban military operations, but urban tactical forces usually move in teams of three, creating a triangle that proves covering positions to the forward member of the team.

In this way the members of the team may cover a lot of ground very quickly without leaving open spaces.

BOPE, the equivalent of our "SWAT" team in Rio de Janeiro, one of the best urban assault forces in the world, uses this technique extensively.

As a member of the Arbites, trained in command, I'm assuming I'm familiarized with urban assault tactics, and that is what I'm gesturing them to do, hoping that they know what they're doing! As a precaution, I roll command: 28 and Awareness: 84 with reroll at -10, 41]

I quickly gesture for Dral to stand a little farther behind us, in order to not get in the line of fire and provide us with psychic support.

Being under Cade, who quickly climbs up the ladder, your awareness spots something strange at the top of the ladder. It can hardly be seen from here...but looks like a...trigger...and Cade is almost there...

A sound like snapping in clips seems to come from anywhere close.

[As in weapon clips? ]

[Awareness, target number 33; rolled a 43 for 1 DoF]

Dammek follows Asterius down the alley in combat formation, sweeping his pistol over the windows and rooftops. He does his best to check the surroundings for hostiles, but there are so many possible hiding places!

Dammek call softly to Dral: "Hey Brain, fire up that auspex of yours and see if you pick up anything. Those feathers could be hiding anywhere, but they can't have gone very far..."

Yes - as on reloaded weapon clips. But you are not able to locate the source of the echoes.

Just seconds for Cade to reach the roof...

Some of you hear "Wha... I'm not your lacke... Hold up!" as you run off. Grumbling I reach down and grab Asterius' dropped gun and torch as I run to catch up with the team. At Dammeks prompting as we reach the ladder I pull out my Auspex and scan in the general area Cade is heading up to and beyound.

Some of you hear "Wha... I'm not your lacke... Hold up!" as you run off. Grumbling I reach down and grab Asterius' dropped gun and torch as I run to catch up with the team. At Dammeks prompting as we reach the ladder I pull out my Auspex and scan in the general area Cade is heading up to and beyound.

Please make a Tech-Use Test

I purse my lips as I look at the bewildering read out of the Auspex (I do not have tech use) and whisper to Dammek "do you know how this infernal thing works?"

As I see Cade advancing recklessly, ignoring my command, I order:

"HOLD."

I do not scream, but just use my most forceful voice, the one our drill sergeant used to wake us up with before our morning Book of the Law reading lectures.

As Cade holds, I say nothing, just scowl (of course) and point with my chin at the trigger, my shotgun ready.

Cade can also see it now.

It seems to be a trap which was set up in a hurry. A kind of thread, which runs at the top of the ladder.

You have no doubt that the wrong move or careless trial to remove it would trigger something...unpleasant, which is hidden on top of the flat roof.

To remove the trigger safely, you need either a succesful Security (+20) Test or Sleight of Hand (+0)

Before removing the trigger, I gesture for Dammek to provide us with support fire so that Cade and I can give a quick scan of the premises.

We have to move quickly, and I don't want them to aim at us with our pants down.

As you need to be up at the ladder, whoever tries to disarm the trap would be quite exposed as he does.

Currently, Cade is on the ladder, 1m from the trigger, the others are at the bottom of the ladder in the dark alley.

Only those with nighsight equipmnt of some kind can see much. All others suffer -20 on all tests that rely on sight due to the twilight.

That's why I wanted Cade to scan the area.

As he is on higher ground, he is able to have a good look up there, while I check down, with Dammek giving us support.

Note that it is only a very quick look, so that after it Cade can move up, cover me and we may either move on or I'll release the trigger.

Cade heard Asterius yell to stop, and did so, looking intently at the top of the ladder. There it was! He saw it now, a simple wire across the top of the ladder. Simple, but doubtlessly effective. Cade climbed closer to the trigger but made careful note not to touch it, to see if he could scan over the top of the ladder.

[Awareness Test: Perception: 39, rolled 95. I'm just gonna assume I saw nothing, with a roll like that]

Cade glanced down at Asterius. "I can't see anything up here." He informed Asterius, before adding. "Does anyone here know how to disarm a trap like this?" For Cade himself was uncertain. He could certainly try, but hoped Dammek or Asterius might have better skill at it than he would. (If either of them have the Security skill, Cade will make way on the ladder for them to climb up, even if that involves getting off the ladder).

Gaunt,

How long would it take me?

Just a flick of a knife or is it a complex action?

It depends on your DoS. It takes 4 turns minus your DoS (at least 1).

Be carefull though. The trigger is...uhm...triggered...if you score 3+ DoF.

Would there be any problem with just avoiding it?

BTW, I'm assuming it's rigged to detonate a grenade or land mine, am I correct?