Max is trying not to trip over himself as he simulataneously flees the scene while also coordinating the group's most-effective route of expeditious retreat.

"Go that way...No! Wait! That way!"

Semo stumbles along, the crate of salable weapons on his broad back. It's all he can do to keep upright and stay on the trail of the man in front of him.

*Bakata... They're splitting up again! Offenders on bearing 190 AND 295!*

*Industrium's been closed off, drones are seeking the pump tunnels now.*

Without GPS or even Mapquest, Max does his best to steer Semo, Angel, and Arketta through the back corridors, using his stolen vox to keep them away from the Kansatai signals. It's like playing Pac-Man in the dark.

Suddenly the drone behind Max's group makes a horrible crash as it takes a turn too short. It kareems off the gantry to the surface level, righting itself just in time to spot Arketta beating a hasty retreat around yet another corner. Its strobes are out now, and a pitiful metallic whine has replaced the siren.

(somebody rolled a 1)

Elsewhere, Taylor slams full-force into what appears to be a cul-de-sac. The two remaining drones scream towards them, but Davis swipes the Gatecrasher on one of the hab doors and Hugh's group piles through the doorway, overturning furniture and scattering piles of clothing before bursting onto the main thoroughfare. Bystanders topple as Taylor shoves his way through the crowd. A Kansatai skimmer closes in from above, humming mercilessly. The drones finally maneuver their way through the hab as well and begin their wailing pursuit anew.

*Dropteams inbound, 40 seconds.*

*This is Control. Kansatai down at offenders' first location. All units are clear to engage.*

Semo continues to follow in Max's footsteps as they seek escape. They seem to be down to one drone in direct pursuit, which manages to smash itself on some kind of post sticking out horizontally near the corner.

"Angel... Can you put... that thing out of... our misery?" Semo gasps from under his load.

"We need to get out of the streets!" Davis yells, and starts looking for somewhere, anywhere that's bigger than a hab and indoors.

Angel nods and turns, putting a few shots into the ailing drone pursuing them, keeping his eyes up for any additional visitors.

Angel's rounds strike true and the drone explodes. Shrapnel clatters off the alleyway superstructure. Semo, Max, Arketta, and Angel continue their blind flight through Hab 3.

*Unit 6, my drone went down on grid 12 dash 3. I'm tracking on thermal, request additional units.*

*Negative six, backup is sweeping the pump tunnels. Retasking drones from unit 5 until dropteams arrive.*

One of the drones following Hugh's team suddenly arcs up over the crowded street and heads to the south, disappearing into the labyrinth between habs.

Semo's drenched with sweat and bent double with the weight of the crate, but even he can see the Kansatai skimmer through the fire escape-like grating between alley levels. More than the drones, they have to lose that.

Out on the street, Davis pours on the speed and leads the team towards what he prays is some kind of indoor plaza. The double doors cycle as they approach and they duck inside.

Perfect, thinks Davis. It's some sort of merchant hub of some kind. Basic foodstuffs, workmanlike clothing, staples of life, that sort of thing.

*You found the fuckin' Wal-Mart,* Taylor pants.

The drone-siren gets louder, and the team heads off into this new maze of frightened bystanders and unfamiliar wares.

"Max..." Semo pants as he runs with the crate on his back. "We need a crowd... to get lost in."

fanchergw wrote:

"Max..." Semo pants as he runs with the crate on his back. "We need a crowd... to get lost in."

Max smiles, pulling out his Colt and empties the clip into the air.

Hugh, Taylor, Mellish, Davis, and Luis shove their way through the store, eventually coming to the back wall. There's an employee entrance that gives way to Davis' gatecrasher. Hugh's team is back inside a labyrinth of gantries and boxes upon boxes of wares. The Kansatai drone's wailing grows as it reaches the back of the store, then fades as it passes by. One last swipe with the stolen device, one furtive creep through another back alley, and Hugh's team appears to have lost their pursuers.

Max, Semo, Angel, and Arketta burst out onto the street, in full view of God, the skimmer, and everyone. Max unloads his sidearm into the air. The staccato bangs start a free-for-all in the road as bystanders run for cover. While the crowd creates a chaotic whirlwind of people, the effect isn't quite what Max hoped for. Max's team is the eye of the storm, and he hears a distressing tidbit over the Kansat vox:

*This is unit 6! I'm under fire! Weapons scanners are negative!*

*Unit 6, you are cleared to engage.*

There's a snap from the skimmer and the roadway next to Max geysers upward, showering him with stinging fragments.

Angel goes for whatever cover he can and drops to one knee, raising his rifle and looking for - anything - on the skimmer that looks tempting.

Max slams another magazine into his Colt as his team rabbits for cover. The skimmer fires a couple more times - white pulses crater the throughfare, further scattering the crowd in all directions.

Angel takes cover under the balcony of a 2-story hab and sights in on the skimmer. The air ripples around the vehicle's wide "feet", articulated armatures that must make it float. The ball turret that's firing at you is located right on the skimmer's broad, flat nose.

*Unit 6 to Control, offenders taking position on grid 9 mark 2, dropteams be advis-*

Angel goes for the armatures. Two of Mesas Negras' prototype AP rounds plunk into the undercarriage, prompting a jet of sparks and a cloud of smoke from the impact points. The skimmer lists, whining with the overload, but the pilot compensates and switches targets. The pulse-beams hit the balcony above Angel and shower him with foamy not-actually-concrete debris. Arketta opens up now, spitting a three-round burst into the skimmer that does little more than hole the fuselage. Her rifle's not loaded with the AP rounds, and it shows.

Max notices the skimmer's not transmitting anymore. Someone's shots must have silenced its vox.

Seeing as how it seems to have turned into a firefight with the skimmer, Semo figures it's about time he got involved. Yanking a grenade off his belt with one hand, he attempts to toss it into the skimmer with the Kansatai.

admiralducksauce wrote:

Max notices the skimmer's not transmitting anymore. Someone's shots must have silenced its vox.

"Rock on! You knocked out their communications! Let's move before that skimmer starts firing more indiscriminately." smirks Max to Angel and Co.

Angel ducks as he's showered with building material and fires another burst while relocating to less - pulverized - cover.

Max runs for another alleyway as Semo yanks the pin on a grenade. Angel's hasty burst whips past the skimmer, but Semo's frag arcs up, clattering across the skimmer's dorsal side for a split-second before exploding. There's a thunderclap and a black cloud of smoke; the skimmer slides backwards, tilting skyward and out of control. It clips the top of a hab-module, spilling plascrete debris and jagged metal across the crowded street before igniting in the maze of back alleys. The explosion and subsequent pillar of smoke draws in more Kansatai skimmers, but Max and his team are gone. Only the cries of wounded bystanders among plaintive drones remain.

*Control to all units - unit 6 is down at grid 9 mark 4.*

*Dropteams on site, no offenders on scopes. Recalling drones and alerting Osadai.*

*Osadai are their... pear-medics,* Arketta whispers in English. *Usually skimmers with kauka for worst hurt, foam for 'normal' injured.*

Fortunately, his toss is on-target and the grenade does his job.

"Let's go, let's go!" Semo calls out, hoping Max can find them some cover to disappear into. Don't want to wait around until the next wave of Kansatai appear.