Stefano's Prison Raid

[Kitsune413]

Devil's Rock - Federated Suns - Date: ??? - Time: 0300

The raiding forces had been blessed with a heavy fog this morning which made it even safer for the Karnov to approach the target. The mechs and vehicles had begun their assault on the towers and defending forces to allow the Karnov UR Transport to make it to the prison on time and without harassing gunfire from the prepared emplacements.

Though the plan had involved the Karnov deploying the Jump Troops from a higher altitude, the fog made it safer for them to come in lower and also made it more difficult for the troopers to land if the disembarked at a higher altitude.

A reinforced platoon of jump troopers, which made it equal to a normal infantry platoon fell onto the roof of the prison.

Valentina Virciglio could hear a report of gunfire as the first squad cleared a guard on the roof, an Engineer from the Combat Engineers Platoon that had accompanied the Jump Troopers shouted clear as they blew the door.

Her first challenge would be to fabricate a reason for her squad to break off from battle.

(A successful protocal check (Between difficult and very difficult, so +2) can be used to convince the Platoon Leader of a reason to break off.)
(A very difficult (+3) Charisma attribute check can be used as well. The Platoon Leader is male, if using the attractive trait modifiers.)
(A very difficult acting check (+3) can also be used.)
(Don't be afraid to ask about any other possibility as well.)

[Daryk]

Valentina looked around her squad of hardened 'soldiers' and gave them a thumbs up.

Keying her mic, she said, "OK, LT... you've got the primary target, we've got the secondaries.  See you back here on the roof in 15.  Expect 20 of us."

On the same channel, another voice keyed in, "Ryan, this is Moro.  Forza Deici is operating under my authority.  They'll stay out of your way, just stay out of theirs."

[Kitsune413]

The radio chatter was full of constant replies of, "Contact!" as the Squads progressed into the Prison. A loud staccato of gunfire noises could be heard throughout the prison as the Jump Troopers did battle with the garrisoning forces.

For a Free Worlds League and now Federated Suns Prison the place felt decidedly third world. The Free Worlds League had used it as a facility to warehouse political opponents and forget about them during the Civil War and it didn't seem like the new ownership had improved much.

The Gunfire had obviously awoken many of the prisoners, who were beginning to make a cacophonous sound. Shouting and the sound of fists slamming against metal doors filling the facility.

(Make a perception roll and an initiative roll. Fumbled perception rolls can lead to friendly fire. Just an acknowledgement if you're wanting to use edge.)

[Daryk]

Having broken contact with the friendly jump platoon, Forza Deici made their way into the other wing.  They mostly only dropped guards, but the occasional prisoner that took a stray bullet didn't faze the hardened killers. Finding their first target, Valentina called a name out, then followed in Italian with, "We're here for you.  Come forward."

The woman on the other side of the bars initially recoiled, but then squared her shoulders and took two steps forward to look the squad leader in the eye.  Smiling, Val handed her a pistol and a respirator through the bars.  The woman laughed instantly, spun around and shot her cell mate three times while the squad cut the lock on her cell.  "I've hated her for three years," she said in Italian, striding through the now open door.  Holding up the respirator, she asked, "What's this for?"

The trooper carrying the grenade launcher patted his weapon and said with a wicked grin, "Gas lacrimogeno."

Val put the woman in the middle of the squad, and told her to conserve her ammo.

The next few extractions went similarly, with more or less murder.  Only one emptied her clip, and Val reluctantly handed her a fresh one, with a somewhat more firm admonishment to conserve ammo.

Coming to another cell, Val called out in English, "Bo Wei Wei, we're here for you.  Come forward."

The other women who'd been freed so far looked at each other questioningly with this change in procedure.  As the woman came forward in her cell, Val calmly shot her once, right between the eyes.  Turning on the others, she said, "That's what I mean when I say conserve ammo, capisci?"

Nods all around confirmed the message was understood, in English or otherwise.

As the group rounded a corner, the snap and hum of laser fire rang out.  The point man flattened himself to the deck, but didn't seem too injured, thanks to his body armor.  "Medico!", he called anyway.

"Cease fire you dumb *****!  It's us, Forza Deici!" Val called out, reasoning that the prison guards wouldn't have energy weapons.  None of them so far had had them...

[Daryk]

After the second man pulled back the first, Val keyed her radio and said, "LT, get your point under control... they just shot one of my men.  Lucky for him he was wearing body armor."

"CEASE FIRE, CEASE FIRE" carried over the din in the echoing halls, then Val received a radio response: "Engaging the guard force turned us around.  Come to us."

"Roger," was all Val said before releasing the talk button, but a stream of Italian invective followed before she said, "Forza Deici, listen up!  We're going to the friendlies who just shot at us.  Easy on the triggers!"

The jump platoon had their share of walking wounded as well.  The body armor Moro had insisted on seemed to have paid off, as there were exactly zero stretcher cases.  Val pushed her way to Lieutenant Ryan, her Auto Rifle at the low ready.

"All right LT, you don't want to go the way we just came.  We've been shooting out the lights and cameras as we go, so it's a little dark.  We haven't seen any night vision on the guard force, so we're pretty sure they're not following us.  You need to get back to the other wing so we can finish up in this one.  I can give you a local as a guide, but you have to make sure she gets on the Karnov.  I've given her a pistol and a respirator so the tear gas won't affect her, but she has no body armor."

Ryan pinched the bridge of her nose.  This job had NOT gone as planned, and there were way more guards than expected.  Fortunately, they were wearing flak armor, so her platoon's laser rifles were making short work of them.  That didn't mean it was easy.  And now here she was being told what to do by a glorified squad leader.  "Thanks... Sergeant, is it?"

"Just Val.  Forza Deici doesn't use rank.  You want the guide, or not?  We both have work to do."

"Yes, I'll take her.  Will Fallone know her?"

"Yes, of course.  I'm giving her a vibroblade too, just in case." Turning, she continued in Italian, "Sofia, get up here!  I need you to show this nice Lieutenant where Cara Fallone's cell is.  And take this.  They'll make sure you get on the Karnov."

The convict that came forward nodded and somehow tucked the vibroblade away in her jumpsuit.  She held the pistol in her right hand.  Val knew that her clip was still full.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant.  Right this way," Sofia said, pointing.  Her English wasn't unaccented, but the Italian was well suppressed.

"See you on the roof LT," Val said as a farewell.

Getting back to work, Forza Deici continued to gather their targets.  There were few guards in this wing for some reason, and they didn't pose much of an obstacle, but the second to last collection insisted on bringing her cell mate with her.

"She's my cousin!  It's her first time inside!  I can't leave her!  She's good with computers... Mama would understand!" she pleaded.

"All right, all right, but you've only got one respirator between you, and it's YOUR job to get her on the Karnov!" Val finally relented.  The convict and her cousin hugged Val and blended into the growing crowd.

Coming to another cell, Val called out in English, "Chen Feng Mian, we're here for you.  Come forward."

"Screw you Fallone!  This prison's mine to run once you pull your people out!" came the call from the cell.  While the freed convicts shouted insults, Val looked more closely inside the cell.  She could see two mattresses with a struggling bound woman between them against the far wall.  Chen must be using them as cover, she figured.  "So much for the easy way," she said to herself.  To the rest of Forza Deici, she said in Italian, "Clear it back.  This one's going to be messy."  Then she pulled a hand grenade from her belt and set the fuse to one second.  Pulling the pin, she thrust her arm through the bars, flipped the grenade toward the back wall, and quickly withdrew around the edge of the door.

The explosion was deafening, and the unprotected convicts clapped their hands to their ears.  One forgot she was holding a pistol, and drew a thin trace of blood when she slammed it into the side of her head.  Forza Deici's Lyran surplus helmets provided more than adequate hearing protection, which was good, because Val whipped back around the door's edge and emptied a long burst into the cell.  "Cut the lock, Lorenzo," she said curtly.

Lorenzo didn't even acknowledge the order before cutting into the lock mechanism with his vibroblade.  Once the door swung free, Val strode into the cell and emptied another long burst into the mattresses without a word.  Only then did she flip them over.  Slapping a fresh clip into her Auto Rifle, she fired a third long burst into the body of the defiant Chen Feng Mian.

Striding back into the hall, she looked over the nine convicts she'd previously admonished to conserve ammo, and said, "Also, don't EVER cross me."

Appreciative nods were all she got in response, except for the one convict's young cousin.  Her eyes were wide as saucers.

Collecting the last woman to be freed was anticlimactic, but then Val gave the order to distribute all but one of the remaining vibroblades to various cells on their way out.  That would sow some additional chaos in their wake.  Each cell was warned that tear gas would be used and to go the other way from the retreating Mafiosi.

Keying her mic, Val said, "LT, we're headed for the roof.  See you there."

"Roger," was all the acknowledgement she got.

On the way to the roof, Paolo, on the grenade launcher, dropped tear gas grenades at every intersection and corner.

As promised, Val brought 10 convicts to the roof.  Fortunately, none of them were wearing body armor or carrying any heavy gear, so everyone easily fit on the Karnov, even if a seat belt or two had to be shared.  Ryan's platoon had Cara Fallone and their guide already aboard, and fortunately took no KIAs.  Plenty of body armor was going to need patching though.  Paolo turned at the roof access and emptied the rest of his clip of tear gas grenades down the stairs before boarding the Karnov.  Val was the last to board, and she blew the prison a kiss as the chopper gained altitude.  Mama would be pleased, even if there was an extra in the batch pulled out of Devil's Rock.