Give and Take (L 2.2)

You emerge from the covered junk and head toward the boat where Hedges and Pellet were moments ago. As you leap from one boat to another, you spot Shrike fighting Hedges with one of her long knives while Hedges dodges out of the way, just barely. Hedges is bleeding from a couple of long slashes, while Shrike has a wicked gash on the side of her neck. Lying at their feet are the bodies of a pair of Rafters who are bleeding out. Kes is hidden somewhere, sniping folks. There are more Rafters rushing towards the fight, melee weapons in hand. They'll probably try to stop the fight, but once they see the corpses of their fellows, some blood will be spilled.

What do you do?

We're in it now. There is no time to pause to consider if going on the offensive in Raftland was the right move. We plan as best as we can before launching into any attack, but even the best-laid plans eventually go to dren. Now is the time to act on pure instinct and years of martial training. Looks like Hedges managed to get past Shrike's defenses, but I'd bet on my fierce raptor to exchange six blows for each one she takes. Just don't kill him...yet.

I climb to the top of a boat with a tarp-covered canopy and launch myself down onto the backs of the Rafters running towards the two combatants. With my duster fluttering behind me, I am the monsoon here to wash over Raftland. I spin and slash, duck and parry. Cutting and twisting my way to my allies' side.

You leap off one boat onto a pair of unsuspecting Rafters, slamming them to the deck. You hit them hard, but as you land, your left knee gives out on you, Litch - the product of getting old. A younger you would've landed that without a scratch a hundred times out of a hundred. This time? You take 2 Harm AP from your own body betraying you. It sucks. Shrike didn't see it - she's busy. Kestrel did, she'll be watching over you instead of Shrike now, making sure you're okay before she covers Shrike again.What do you do?

For the second time in recent history, my aging body isn't able to manage the demand I put on it. A muffled groan escapes my lips as I slide on the deck, my body going one direction and my planted leg twisting painfully another. It's probably sprained and it'll be difficult to put much pressure on it...when the adrenaline wears off. That chemical is still pumping through my veins in the moment, though and I hobble my way towards Shrike's side.

When I'm about forty feet away, I halt and chuck a hatchet underhanded towards Hedges legs, hoping to distract him if not wounding him, and giving Shrike an opening.

You plant your foot on an unsteady platform - something you've done a hundred times. Your will carried you to this point, but your knee didn't make the trip. As you swing your arm forward to throw the hatchet, your knee buckles completely, throwing off your aim and sending you to the deck. Pain shoots up your leg and blurs your vision for a few moments. You hear combat around you and lose your sense of direction.The worst part, Litch? The Rafters rush around you, like you're a downed opponent, like you've fallen, like you don't matter.

You hear Shrike dive into the water as more shots are fired - did she escape, did she fall, hard to tell.

What do you do?

I gasp as I hit the platform, my teeth clenched and wincing. This mission has been a failure, largely because of me. I pushed my body further than it could take me and now we three will suffer the consequences. I try to push myself from a prone position to my knees, but my limbs can't take the pressure and I collapse back down. I can't see Shrike. There are too many bodies in the way and my vantage point is poor. I think the shots being fired belong to Kestrel's weapon, but I can't be certain. This is a lost cause and it's time to make a retreat.

I start to roll my body towards the dock edge, hoping the water will be kinder to my aches than the land has been. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to swim away from the chaos and locate my ski. But honestly, I just need to get away to a place where I can regroup.

They ignore you, Litch. The Rafters are more worried about Shrike and Kestrel and you're able to slink away to the water. You tread water and carefully swim back to your ski to find it untouched. Kestrel is there waiting, her rifle pointed back towards the Rafters as if one might pop up any minute. Shrike is nowhere to be found. When Kestrel urges you to go with her, what do you do?

Climbing onto my watercraft took more effort than I would've liked, but I'm on it now. My knee is still humming with a dull ache, but now I can center my bodyweight on something else. The smart move would be t retreat to safety and wait for Shrike to join us, but I haven't made the smart move once in the last hour and I don't intend to do so now, with one of my own possibly still in harm's way. I lean over to her and say, "We need to find her, but let's stick together and stay away from the main commotion. Maybe she's swimming back to us."

Kestrel's right. I'm a liability in my current condition. I don't admit as much, merely nodding and saying, "Yeah, fine. You go ahead, I'll take our rides out to the mouth." I inform her, referring to the entrance to Raftland. "Don't engage, though, unless it's to save her. It's enough of a frellup as it is."

You retreat with skis in tow to the mouth and wait for what feels like half an hour but is probably five minutes. Eventually, you spot a small boat with a noisy outboard motor coming your way. Kestrel is at the rear of the boat guiding it towards you and a very wet and angry Shrike is huddled in the middle with a blanket around her shoulders. They abandon the boat and get on their skis to ride off with you towards The Roost again. Shrike mutters that she "didn't get Hedges" and that's all she'll say about the utter failure that was your kidnapping mission.

End Scene