Invasion!--Revolution: Alliances

[weatherwax]

All patiae are still. A pause in action.

Don't move, Gil says, a dull blue sadness washing over the humans. Those weapons are lethal. They didn't come for us, but it's too late. We're sure to be found out anyway. One look into your minds, and they'll know everything. Resist, and they'll be suspicious, and force you to obey. Control will be next, and then we are all lost. Might as well be dead.

I'm sorry to speed things along. It isn't pleasant. But we need your help. Work with what you have. Get to the ship!

There's a sensation, like the mind is being massaged, squeezed, mushed about. All feel a rush, a wooziness, a small tinge of headache at the temples.

One of the eight Board Patrol's eyes widen.

What --

Sisu, that's the Mental! Gil says quickly, too quick to hide his thoughts.

Before the Patrol has time to react, Sisu pulls Cecil's gun from under his shirt and shoots the wide-eyed Patrol member in the head. The member falls to the ground as the Patrol leap into action, dodging as Sisu shoots again and firing their weapons at Gil, Sisu and the maroon patia. Bright violet beams stream from the end of the Patrol weapons, a crackling sound filling the air. The maroom dock worker bolts past the humans, but is caught in the back by a beam and stumbles to the floor. Gil dives to the floor, and the humans feel him release them from his protection. A wave of concentration erupts from Gil. Three of the Patrol seize up, eyes growing wide, shots growing erratic. Sisu fires once more before being caught in the chest by the leader of the Patrol. He slams against the wall, holding his wound, gun skittering across the floor.

Get to the ship! Gil cries desperately.

[balthazar]

Jason is calm. By the time the shooting starts, he is already moving, sprinting headlong into battle. He is unarmed, but that never stopped him before. And from the looks of things, the pataie in the dock patrol aren't well trained in the use of their weapons. Certainly not as well trained as the North Korean and Chinese soldiers he's faced in the past, and they were expecting an attack. These believe him to be mostly harmless, a notion that he will take great pleasure in disabusing them of.

[CCC]

Retreat is obviously not going to work. Cecil spins the cart round and, using it for cover, charges at the dock patrol Patiae.

Outside of his bankvault door, he's deliberately not thinking about a bomb hidden in one of the boxes. Very deliberately; in fact he's thinking about how he mustn't think about the bomb hidden in one of the boxes. With any luck, that'll discourage wild shooting on the part of the Patrol... long enough for the cart, and its blatant lack of bombs, to knock into and hopefully knock over the nearest patrolalien.

If Cecil's gun happened to be dropped somewhere that he can pick it up from as he charges past, he will do so.

[Stan Cold]

Richard somewhat reels from the "Mental", but then smiles. Not an "I love serving the masters!" smile, but a "something beautiful just happened and you're all gonna die" smirk.

"Please, fellas, guns make me terribly nervous!" With that, Richard attempts to rip the guns from their hands. WITH HIS MIND!

[AlternateTorg]

Despite Gil's admonition, María sees that no one is heading for the ship, and determines to help them. She takes cover and watches Jason, Cecil and Richard swing into action; and when one of them gets close to an enemy, she focuses on Sisu's mind. His pain floods her, threatening to overwhelm her. Can't take too much, she reminds herself, and backs off somewhat. As much as she'd like to take all his pain away, her power is still weak. She then attempts to redirect that pain to the enemy, hoping to stun them and make them an easy target for the others.

[Ruan]

Tom takes cover and focuses his thoughts. While it might not be as effective as Sisu's, he begins extending physical protection to the rest of the party.

[weatherwax]

As Jason rushes the Patrol Board, the four unaffected patiae aim for him. All four patiae are successfully distracted by Cecil's thoughts of a bomb on his dolly. Three run from the cart (the patia named Eli and the Leader are in this group). One backs away, suspicious, and aims at Jason still. He fires at Jason, but misses as Jason barrels into him and brings him to the floor, still holding his wand.

The cart hits no one.

Cecil reaches for his gun, and just barely snags it on a finger as he passes by. The gun has three shots left.

Richard attempts to pull the wands away with his mind. One wand is tugged from the grasp of one of the three confuddled patia and falls to the floor near his feet. Another shoots out of the hand of the patia named Eli flies across the room and bounces off a wall.

The pain Maria redirects hits a running patia (not Eli or the Leader). He stumbles to a halt and leans against a wall, grimacing.

Tom successfully protects Maria, Jason and himself from physical mental attacks (PMAs).

The Leader fires his weapon at Cecil, but misses.

Eli makes a break for the disruptor, but does not reach it this turn.

Eight enemies
Number 1 (mental protector): dead
Number 2: armed, unaffected my mental attacks, thrown on ground by Jason
Number 3: armed, stunned by pain mental attack
Number 4: armed, confused by Gil
Number 5: armed, confused by Gil
Number 6: unarmed, confused by Gil
Leader: armed, unaffected by mental attacks
Eli: unarmed, unaffected by mental attacks
Enemy Physical Protector unknown

[balthazar]

Jason rides the pataie to the ground, slamming his forearm across the alien's neck just below the chin as they impact the ground, in a blow designed to crush a human's windpipe, but with a pataie's differing physiology, just might break it's neck.

[CCC]

Cecil spins the dolly round, and races for the disruptor as well - more intent on preventing Eli from getting to it than reaching it himself. He ducks down behind the dolly as he runs, keeping it and its suspiciously specific lack of a bomb between him and Leader. If he shoots at me and hits it, he'll blow himself up as well, so at least I won't die alone, thinks Cecil, briefly.

He clicks the safety on on his pistol. No need to waste the last few shots. But he does hold it ready - in case it should be necessary to use it suddenly.

[AlternateTorg]

María takes a deep breath and attempts to extract another wave of pain from Sesu, this time specifically targeting Eli, hoping to give Enver the edge he needs to get the wand. She hopes this is helping Sesu. Knowing the enemy can't hear it, she yells from behind her cover: "Enver! Toss me the wand if you can spare it so I can cover Sesu!"

[Stan Cold]

Richard picks up a wand and attempts to shoot at, well, anyone who looks threatening.

[Ruan]

Tom continues to hold his protections on his fellow team members even as he narrows his eyes at Eli. He's going to try to hit the patiae right in the back of one of his legs... with a mind bullet!

[weatherwax]

Jason's attack on his patia does not crush his windpipe, as there is no windpipe to crush. Nor does it break his neck, as his neck seems to be made of some thick, flexible material rather than vertebrae. As if rather than a neck, a patia's head is more of a stalk that holds the brain and eyes. The patia's thoughts are red as he manages to slip a hand under Jason's chest and pushes Jason off him, jumping up and aiming his weapon at Jason.

Cecil successfully blocks Eli's progression to the disruptor with the dolly, though Eli is not affected by Cecil's thoughts of bombs. Eli reaches out a hand and squints his large eyes. The disruptor flies toward his hand. Maria's attempts to cripple him with pain are felt for a moment by him, and the disruptor dips in midair, but the effects do not last long and are shaken off by him. Eli acquires the disruptor.

The effects of Maria's first attack are still felt on patia 3, though they are beginning to dissipate.

Richard's firing on the patiae is mostly harmless due to not really knowing how to work the wand -- until with a burst of anger from him, a violet beam strikes Jason's patia in the chest. The patia's eyes widen. He then falls to the ground, dead.

Tom's mind bullet!! at Eli is absorbed by the protective PMA shield over the Board Patrol patiae.

Gil still has a grip over the cunfuddled patiae, but it is slipping. They seem less wide eyed.

The Leader's thoughts are a deep black as he aims his attack at Gil. A PMA scratches across Gil's chest, wounding him. One of the cunfuddled patia shakes free of Gil's grasp. The Leader is revealed as the Physical Protector.

Eight enemies
Number 1 (mental protector): dead
Number 2: (Jason's patia: dead
Number 3: armed, stunned by pain mental attack
Number 4: armed, confused by Gil
Number 5: armed, no longer confused by GIl
Number 6: unarmed, confused by Gil
Leader: armed, Physical Protector
Eli: unarmed, unaffected by PMA, has disruptor

[Stan Cold]

"Neat!" Richard says enthusiastically at his kill. He then attempts to disarm the Leader with telekinesis, Kyle.

[AlternateTorg]

Richard's anger splashes against María mind, as does his surprise and enthusiasm at the result. She feels a flare of rage herself at seeing the Leader injure Gil. "Kill the Leader!" she yells to her allies. She takes some of Gil's pain and casts it back at the Leader. Trying to get creative, she attempts to take some boiling oil from her "mental fortress" and envisions throwing it all over the Leader, hoping that the vivid imagery will strengthen her attack. She also tries to funnel the anger she feels to Richard, hoping it will give him extra "ammunition" for his wand.