Chapter 3: Red dwarf and purple planet

No we need to move soon or any chance of surprise if lost.

If we come in from the west we can take the building with the hostages then cross the northern bridge to where they have that hatch covered. We just use the supply drop off as a cover for the attack.

Jerry and Anu, the technician from the workshop, join you as you discuss your plan to defeat the pirates.

Ey there! Heard that our friends at the camp are getting nervous. Well Anu and I, we made a little something. Jerry loudly exclaims
They proudly present a device that is about a big as a human head with wires and electronic components sticking out of it.
We call it the "BRRRZZZ". We bunched a power cell and a lot of capacitors together. If we activates this baby and throw it at one of the pirates it will give them a nice little shock and send them sleeping for a while.
If you plan to use the food delivery as a distraction we could incapacitate on of them. We only need a way to get rid of the other one.

Dr. Salmberg looks in a strict but also slightly amused way Well. And what about the other ones, who are not standing guard? I guess you don't have a lot of those?

Adonis who was rather quiet the whole time interjects Then we split up. While a few of us help with the delivery the rest can take out the other pirates. The hills on the east of the camp should provide ample cover for a hidden approach. And we still have our signal jammer so we can prevent them from coordinating.

Dr. Salmberg sighs. Well I don't have a better plan. So who is helping with the delivery and who is willing to sneak up to the camp?
I think more than two or three people guarding the food delivery would be suspicious. I could organize some help for any of the teams if you like.


Now we're talking! Jerry exclaims enthusiastically Anu and I are ready to help you in any way

You can assign Jerry and Anu to any or none of the teams. Whilst Jerry seems more like a lean guy, Anu is rather burly.
You can assign up to three people to the delivery team. Per default they'll help with the delivery.

ChiHiRu raises five of his tentacles, keeping two on the tablet and standing on one. "ChiHiRu has many of those. Take care of many pirates."

I've been here for a while so i think i'd be best as a delivery guy Says Scott while rubbing his bold head

It is best that those delivering are people they would recognize. Someone new might cause suspicion especially since we just touched down.

Hmmm.. well we could put someone into one of the delivery boxes. Or we could dress an unfamiliar person up. With a hood and cloak or something
Jerry says while stroking his chin

"Pirates asked to speak with new arrivals. They will have questions. Good distraction."

So I'll summarize who joins which group as far as I've understood. If I made an error just correct me.
If this is the correct distribution I'd assign Jerry to the distraction group and Anu and Adonis (From we unfortunatly haven't seen a post in a while) to the assault group.


Distraction Group:
-Dotty
-Scott


Assault Group:
-ChiHiRu
-Derek

Okay I'll move us forward to the next day. The final composition of the groups is:

Distraction Group:
-Dotty
-Scott
-Jerry


Assault Group:
-ChiHiRu
-Derek
-Jeff
-Adonis
-Anu

---

It is already dawning and after discussing the plan Dr. Salmberg invites you all to supper.
While no one talks about the hostage situation and its possible resolution, everyone seems to be aware of the task that await you tomorrow.
Soon after the supper you all go to bed and catch as much sleep as you can...

On the next day you all have breakfast together when Dr. Salmberg is storming in.
The pirates just contacted me again. They are growing impatient. I said I'll send one of the traders with the food delivery. We should move fast. I'll be in my office and keep in touch with you over radio.
A groaning goes through the group and you quickly finish your meal before moving to your respective groups

---

Distraction Group:

When Dotty arrives at the electric car it is already loaded and charged for the tour. It is shaped like a pickup truck and two large crates are strapped to the loading bed.
Jerry greets you and slaps one of the crates. We're loaded and ready. Just saw ChiHiRu and the others moving leaving the camp.
You all hop in and Jerry steers the car through the camp and onto a dirt track. After a short while of driving you can see the two pirates guarding the remote camp from their elevated position.
They stretch their neck, look around the area and then descend down.
With their guns ready but pointed at the ground in front of you they beckon you to stop the car.
Showtime! Jerry says. It should sound jokingly but you can clearly see that he feels quite uneasy.
Let's leave the car and "greet" them.


Assault Group:
ChiHiRu leads the rest of the group through the undergrowth on the same way he already lead Dotty.
An animal that is about as big as a german shepard dog and looks like a mixture of a fox and chicken follows the group for a while. It looks as if it is waiting for a suitable moment to attack you but shortly before you arrive at the last hill it leaves you alone, presumably looking for a more promising target.
You climb the last hill before the camp, crawling the last meters to the top.
You can see down at the pirates. The hostages all seem to still be in the building as you can't see any of them working. One pirate is just inspecting the hatch while the other two are eating their breakfast in front of one of the tents.

You are outside of the picture, on top of the hill east of the building with the satellite dish on top

A little bit before reaching the camp, ChiHiRu lights up a cigarette. That always get him ready for action.

Once they have a line of sight, he'll watch for any tactical advantage that couldn't be seen from the picture. He'll share what he finds and then wait to see if somebody will naturally take the lead of the assault or if he'll take point.

Yes you are approaching from the south.

Scott nervously rubs his mechanic hand. Yeah. Let's act our parts next he starts to get out of the car with hands rised

Dotty lets out a long breath and gets out of the vehicle, she’s spent much of the drive slowly running her hands over every surface of her two handguns.

"Okay fellas, one rule," Dotty says with a smile as she grabs the bottom of her hoodie and pulls it up over her head, "if ya ain’t wearing gloves, don’t touch me no matter what cuz I don’t wanna kill you." She checks herself out in the mirror, adjusts her hair quickly before straightening her black tank top which bares a purple skull with rainbow pigtails. "Ready to go get shot?" She winks and wiggles her hips a little before heading up the road.

Derek moves in with the assault team from the east trying to keep low and out of sight, waiting for the diversion team to get their attention before moving to where he might be noticed.

Distraction Group:

The two pirates with their rifles approach you. Both still point their guns at the ground.
When I came with Anu or Scott they always pointed their boomsticks right at us. I think they want to make a good impression on you Jerry whispers to Dotty.

About 2m/6.6ft. away from you they stop. Both are men about 1.8m/6ft. tall and are rather slender. They are wearing the same black and gray striped suits that Dotty saw in the wreck. Their eyes are bloodshot and they seem to be very tired. Nevertheless both seem to be ready to use their guns if they feel the need to.
I hope you brought better food this time. The last delivery was barely edible. But with a bit of luck we won't need your deliveries any longer. the left one grunts.

The other one nods towards Dotty
Are you with the traders we saw land? We have a proposal for you. I hope the others didn't tell anything bad about us.
As the pirate speaks the last words his eyes narrow into thin slits and he shoots a vicious gaze at Scott.

You can make a Perception check. If you roll a 10 or higher you discover the following:

---

Assault Group:

As you all wait for a moment to strike you notice that all the pirates become agitated by the food delivery. The two pirates at the tent stand up and focus the entrance of the camp. They can't see the guards from their position but it seems as if they can't wait for the guards to be coming back.
One of them even seems to try to make himself look good by tucking at and brushing over his flight suit.
The pirate at the hatch is still focused on the hatch and is not looking around.
If you want to you could probably sneak into the camp now. Maybe you could even try to take out the two pirates at the camp, the pirate at the hatch, or if you split up, all of them.

If you want to sneak into the camp I'd need a Perception/Sneak roll from you all.