WW2 Supers d6: Mission Two: A bit of 'hell on Guadalcanal

[max_vale]

'The Ridge', island of Guadalcanal, Night of 13-14 September, 1942


The battle all along a ridge south of Henderson Airfield in the dark, early morning hours of a hot, humid September night on the island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific continued with raw fury.....

The members of SST 4 continued their fight against their Japanese Counter Parts of Special Unit 781 as the 'ordinary' Marines and IJA soldiers all around them continued their own battle as well......

First, Doc Franklin, with complete disregard for his own safety, moved quickly over to the fallen Elias Tucker and drawing deep on his reserves of Willpower, he laid his hands upon the terrible chest wound and called upon his Talent Power to heal the worst of the Coastguard Radar Operator's injuries. Elias was still in a lot of pain and unable to move much; but he was no longer in danger of quickly seeing any lights or getting fitted for a white robe and a set of wings. For the Corpsman Carl Franklin however, the efforts were enough to cause the sailor to drop to the bottom of the foxhole in utter exhaustion*....

Next a combination of events occurred which thru many of the members of SST 4 into confusion for a moment as they tried to figure out exactly what had happened and in what order....

CPL Wade MacGyver utilized his Gravity Lift power to cause the Copper-encases IJA Super to 'fall' upwards at JUST about the same time LT Acme remembered he couldn't utilize his 'Touch Charge' Power on living beings, so he reverted to charging one of his remaining rocks he carried and tossing it towards 'Copper-Top', who suddenly wasn't there and instead the rock bounced once, twice and came to land a few yards behind 'Flame hands'.....

As the IJA Super protected by a layer of Copper Armor slammed back to the ground, right on the edge of the foxhole holding Rifleman Gurung, he slowly started to get up and was attacked on the flank by a snarling 'Wolf-man Roker'....whose claws and teeth were unable to penetrate the metallic hide....

A scaly Rifleman Gurung then rose up from his fox-hole with a glowing blade of purple light in his hand and he sliced his weapon completely thru 'Copper Top's' top....causing the body to suddenly turn back into a now-headless 'normal' corpse. A moment later, a red beam of light cut across the battlefield from over a hundred yards away and settled on Gurung's head. The Gurkha felt a tremendous impact on the back of his scaly head and he collapsed into his foxhole like a puppet with its strings cut off**....

With 'Copper Top' briefly thrown up into the air and then on the ground, 'Flame Hands', the IJA Talent moving behind him and using him as a Shield, was now exposed. He took the opportunity to stretch his hands out and cut loose bursts of flame at both CPL Wade MacGyver and Wolfman Roker. Wade's Shield Power was able to deflect the blast and keep it from burning him, but Roker was NOT so lucky and a high-pitched "YELP!" of pain was heard, along with the odor of burnt hair as the Radioman's fur caught fire and he dropped and rolled along the ground to put out the flames, but was now badly hurt and angry***.....

A moment after this, Marvin Acme's 'bomb' exploded behind 'Flame Hands', turning the Japanese Talent into a bloody pulp and ending that threat forever....

Meanwhile, SGT Charlie 'Dutch' Van Horn had dropped to the bottom of the connected foxholes and crawled towards Myer's position to be able to get a bead on the deadly 'Red Beam' Sniper Talent. He grimaced at the pain this caused his own wound, but the tough Pennsylvania farm boy ignored it and called up his own "Eagle Eye" Talent as he carefully looked over the rim of the far Foxhole, close to Myers now' and with it, he was able to 'zoom' into the IJA Sniper's position some 125 yards and he saw (and 'felt') him use his Red Beam Power to cut across to one of his teammates and pull the trigger. At about the same time, Dutch could also see an IJA Officer directing two regular IJA troops to move a 70mm Batallion Gun into position to fire at Edson's position behind them and for an obviously super-strong IJA Talent to move some crates of shells for the weapon as easily as regular troops might carry firewood....

PFC Roger Myers carefully, slowly and painfully maneuvered himself into a position behind his Johnson and seeing the IJA 'Red Beam' Talent use his power and then fire a shot, the Marine took a deep breath, aimed carefully, let the breath go and stroked the trigger. Five rounds of .30-06 caliber flew down-range and in a beautiful sequence, he stitched his shots all across the man's chest, dropping him forever. His savage grin of triumph was short lived however as he realized there was still an IJA Officer and a gun crew setting up an Artillery Piece to fire on Colonel Edson....and he only had 2 bursts left in his clip.....



OOC: Okay, all of the Japanese Talents save the Super Strong one down by the 70mm Battalion Gun have been eliminated, so yay! Of course, you DO have said weapon, 100 yards away to worry about...along with the 2 IJA soldiers, 1 IJA Officer and Super Strong Talent to still worry about....

*Tucker is now merely Wounded (-1D to all actions until treated)....and moving VERY gingerly. Franklin is alive, but basically in such a state of exhaustion, he can't really do much of anything right now.....

**Gurung's Armor Power saved him from the bullet penetrating, but it did enough to knock him out and he'll have a blinding headache when he comes too in a bit

***Roker is Seriously Wounded (-2D to all actions until treated)....he IS Still in Wolfman form; which will allow him to take actions he otherwise could NOT do if in 'human' form....but he's in a bad way.



Everyone....please keep looking at your character sheets and abilities and Weapon Capabilities......Acme can't charge up living things...this includes Talents that can make their bodies be covered in metal....I probably didn't spell that out enough amigo, apologies....so I just did the next best thing....I hope that's cool.

Myers couldn't use 'half his remaining Luck'...he had 1 Luck Point.....it was used....and it worked out great. Also, his Johnson can't fire 1 shot.....so I had it fire 1 burst.

I spent Will as I figured people needed (if you don't specify a number, I try to go with minimum needed to activate/keep active).....here are the current WP/Luck Point Counts of all characters:

Acme: 15/1 (WP/LP); Wade: 6/1; Gurung 8/2; Dutch 8/3; Roker 6/1; Myers 8/0.

Dutch has 4 rounds in his M1 Garand right now; Myers had 10 rounds in his Johnson LMG; Wade has a full Shotgun (6 shells); Acme has 15 rounds (3 bursts or 15 single shots) in his BAR; Tucker has 3 rounds in his Springfield Rifle.

[GreyWolfVT]

Wade with the man made of copper out of the way aims his shotgun at flame hands and fires twice (use luck point please).

[max_vale]

OOC: Flame Hands was killed by Acme's rock bomb

[ateno]

Elias makes sure Doc is comfortable, grabs his rifle, pops up from the foxhole looking at the situation.

If he has a chance he will fire at the closest of the troopers that will actually fire the weapon.

To himself: "Super strong should be in the engineers, not doing the work of mules.

[GreyWolfVT]

OOC: Flame Hands was killed by Acme's rock bomb

humm alright well hmm next best target that is likely not bulletproof I suppose.

[Urson]

Dutch
ALL SST! ON ME!
IF Dutch can get closer to the howitzer while under cover, he will. If not, he'll fire fire 2 shots at the Japanese Officer directing the gun crew.

[Rex]

Gurung

Out cold.

[BackworldTraveller]

Roger

It seems unfair that the gun crew get a free shot at the Colonel...Now luckless, I'll just have to rely on...well dumb-luck! The guy on the firing lever seems the most likely to cause the most damage. Aim carefully and fire one burst into the dark. If nothing else, the gunner can test his bravery - hopefully choosing death!

[Monsieur Rose]

2nd LT Acme

Marvin blinks as the scene rapidly evolves in front of him. Once he processes that all near enemies are down, he shifts to assessing the team. He runs over to examine Roker and Gurung, trying to stabilize them if necessary.

"What's going on, Dutch?" Acme asks and learns of the next threat. "Right. Who's still up? Lead the way, Dutch."

He'll go with Dutch if there's an option, otherwise, he'll fire a burst at the gun moving troops.

[max_vale]

'The Ridge', island of Guadalcanal, Night of 13-14 September, 1942


The dark night was beginning to lighten as morning rapidly approached, but the sounds of screaming and gunfire and explosions still assaulted the senses as the battle continued to rage....

A returning-to-human-form Roker who was bleeding and smoking dropped down close to an unconscious Gurung and Doc Franklin stirred and crawled over to both of them to do his best to treat them, completely ignoring all incoming fire and giving zero thought to his own safety....

Corporal MacGyver saw that both of his intended targets; the man made out of Copper and the man with the Hot Hands were both down, so he turned and raised his Shotgun to the solider and fired at one of the Japanese crew of the 70mm Battallion Gun over 100 yards away. The shot was EXTREMELY long range for his buck-shot 12 gauge, but somehow he managed to pepper one of the crewmen with some pellets, causing the foe to briefly fall away from the firing lever; though not enough to eliminate the enemy for good. The Marine's self-satisfaction with the long-range accuracy was short-lived though as the Super Strong IJA Talent whipped around a Type 96 LMG he had on a strap on his broad back and fired a pair of bursts quite accurately at the U.S. Marine Talent. Mac's Shield saved him from getting shredded, but enough 6.5mm rounds tore thru the barrier to slam into his legs with enough force to drop Wade to the ground, screaming in pain and clutching his wounds*.....

LT Acme checked on the status of Gurung and Doc; noting that the first was out cold with a bruise on his head; but breathing steady....the latter was already crawling towards the wounded....he was one HELLUVA fine sailor. Rising up and cutting loose with a burst from his BAR; Marvin's wounds ached and they caused him to wince and not have the steadiest of hands for the heavy weapon. His 5 round burst ricocheted off the gun-shield at the front of the weapon and Acme kneeled down in his foxhole as the Super Strong Talent cut loose with a Light Machine-gun. Mac bellowed out in pain and fell to the ground clutching his legs and the Marine officer snarled in anger and frustration....

SGT 'Dutch' Van Horn saw that there was no easy path to get closer to the enemy; doing so would just expose them to more enemy fire; so he took a deep breath, raised his M1 Garanad and let loose a pair of shots at the Japanese Officer. His first shot was JUST high and the Pennsylvania farm-boy cursed and lowered the barrel a bit and fired again. This time his shot slammed right thru the man's upper chest, causing him to half-spin and fall in a heap. The Officer attempted to get up for a second and then stiffened and fell unmoving to the ground....

Elias Tucker took a deep breath, did his best to ignore his painful bruises and took careful aim with his Scoped Springfield. He saw the man flinch as some pellets from Wade's shotgun blast hit him, but he didn't fall and stayed on the firing lever. Elias let the breath go and stroked the trigger. A heavy .30-06 slug flew straight and true and hit the IJA soldier in the head, just below the helmet. The soldier fell to the ground, never to rise again....but the Coastie cursed as the other Japanese soldier moved to get into position on the firing lever; shoving the corpse of his companion to the side....

Gurung for a few moments was back in his native land....watching snow flakes fall in the mountains....the smell of curried meat wafting into his nostrils.....then there was a dull ache of pain and his eyes opened and he saw the earth of his foxhole all around him and felt the dull ache at the back of his head. Slowly, very slowly he sat up and he saw a burned and bloody Roker nearby as Doc Franklin crawled over to him to start to treat his wounds. Then with a thud, a howling in pain MacGyver landed nearby, clutching his legs which were bleeding from several wounds....

Roger Myers did his best to ignore everything around him but the sights on his Johnson and his target. Shifting behind the butt of the gun, tucking it into his shoulder and ensuring it was well-rested on its bipod, he moved the weapon to cover the two IJA soldiers crouching down behind the 70mm Howitzer. One of the men took some light wounds from pellets, then dropped from an excellent head-shot. The other soldier shoved the body aside and moved to get into position to fire the Artillery piece. Roger took a breath, let it go and let fly a 5 round burst. His fire stitched the target's torso and did the macabre 'machine-gun-cha-cha' for a moment, then fell into a pile. Myers took a quick gander at the situation and saw that the only still standing target was the damn Japanese Talent glowing with light and holding a Type 96 LMG like it was a kid's toy gun and firing it accurately at his companions. He had one burst left in his weapon.....



OOC: Okay, only enemy left is the Super Strong IJA Talent wielding a Type 96 LMG. Acme has 2 bursts (10 rounds) left in his BAR and 1 Luck Point; Dutch has 2 shots in his M1 Garand and a whopping 3 Luck Points; Tucker has 2 rounds in his Springfield; Myers has 5 rounds (1 burst) in his Johnson LMG. The others are all alive, but in various states of Seriously Wounded or Shaken up and not really able to do much at the moment besides choke out some words; move a tiny bit, etc.

[Rex]

Gurung

Gurung drags himself towards MacGyver, planning on trying to stop his bleeding. "Doc, MacGyver is hit bad."

[Urson]

Dutch
Dutch aims center mass on the Powerhouse. He fires both rounds. And uses a Luck Point

[ateno]

Elias will work the Bolt action, focus and fire at the strong talent. Using a luck point to fire before the type 96 chews up any more of his team.

[BackworldTraveller]

Roger
With all the supers concentrating on the one target, Roger feel's his additional involvement will be superfluous. He looks about looking for any group of the enemy that need encouragement to give up, picks the leader (of a bunched group) and fires the last of his ready ammo.
Well I hope that's it, I'm out!

[Monsieur Rose]

Acme

He watches Mac drop and curses. He shouts orders to the others at the same time they do it anyway. "Get that bastard down!"

Knowing Doc is spent, Acme moves to help deal with the wounded in the conventional sense.

[GreyWolfVT]

Wade keeps clutching and crying out in pain trying his damned best to try and staunch the blood flow as best he can. Between the pain he calls for a medic "Medic!"

[Zhym]

Roker keeps low in the hole. The injuries seem a lot more painful when he's not in wolfman form.

"Ow," he says weakly. "Medic?"

[max_vale]

'The Ridge', island of Guadalcanal, Night of 13-14 September, 1942

For the Talents of SST 4, the battle along the ridge had reached its climax and they would all fall exhausted into their foxholes and be mere spectators for the end of it......

SSGT 'Dutch' Van Horn fired off the last two shots in his M1 Garand and hit the IJA Super Strong Talent with both rounds, causing the man to flinch back and then drop to one knee, but NOT fall to the ground.....leaving the Pennsylvania farm boy turned Marine NCO to shake his head in anger and admiration for his toughness.....

Radarman 3rd Class Elias Tucker watched his target get hit...then hit again...and STILL not fall through the scope of his Springfield 1903 Bolt Action Rifle. Taking a deep breath, the Coastguardsman let it go and stroked the trigger. His heavy .30-06 round slammed into the IJA Talent's head and he finally fell in a pile...the Type 96 falling out of his hands and clattering on the ground nearby....

PFC Roger Myers found a Japanese NCO or Officer on the far right flank, shakily getting to his feet and yelling out to nearby soldiers. Letting fly with his last 5 rounds, he put his target down for good and with no more ammo left in his clip OR in his pockets, he took a deep breath and sank down into his foxhole for a moment's peace.....

A still somewhat-dazed Gurung did his best to ignore his aching head and move to help staunch the blood flowing from wounds in CPL MacGyver's legs; noticing LT Acme moving over to do the same thing. Nearby, a bleeding and smoldering Roker weakly called out "Medic".....

A clearly exhausted 'Doc' Franklin crawled over to them and stopping at Roker first, he laid his hands on the Radioman while saying in a bone-tired but still good-natured voice; "For God's sake Fred, you're in the damn Navy....we don't have Medics, we have Pharmacist's Mates or Corpsman.....call me an Army dog-face term again and I'll never heal your burned doggie butt again, okay?" While croaking out his joke, he laid his hands on the 'Wolf-man' and soon, Roker was feeling immensely better, though still exhausted and sore all over....

Franklin then closed his eyes, took a couple of deep breaths and then shambled over to Wade and clutching his legs he summoned his Talent Power one last time and most of Mac's wounds closed over, though not entirely. Doc, with eyes clearly unable to stay open, slurred out to Gurung and Acme, "Wrap up any wounds still bleeding.....and keep him on his back.....I just....need....to.....res.....", he was unable to finish before dropping his head onto his arms and falling into a deep sleep/unconsciousness.....

At about the same time, a fresh Company of Troops from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment arrived to reinforce the position and Edson quickly directed them into positions to stop several more 'wave' attacks over the next couple of hours......beating back each attack and remaining standing while all the Marines in front of him were kneeling, diving, flat on their stomachs or in foxholes.....it was one of the most insanely heroic things any of the Marines had ever seen.....

While this was happening, the members of SST 4 stayed in their Trenches....huddled together....exhausted and barely conscious or not conscious at all....until all of them found themselves blinking their eyes against the light of the rising sun and two new sounds hitting their ears.....the first, was a quiet that took them all a minute to identify.....

The sounds of guns and mortars and cannons had stopped. The second was the familiar droning sounds of plane engines....U.S. plane engines.....the engines of SBD 'Dauntless' Dive Bombers!




As the members of SST 4 raised their heads out of the foxhole, they were greeted with the sight of hundreds of Japanese corpses lying all over the Ridge, along with perhaps a Company's worth (150 or so) still standing, down near Hill 80. These survivors were the target of the 3 SBD bombers from 'The Cactus Air Force'; and with .30 caliber machine-guns firing and High Explosive bombs dropped on them; soon, most of the Company had been obliterated and the remnants had scattered into the Jungle......the battle was over and the USMC has held the line!

Doc Franklin came too and with some water and a quick breakfast, he was soon utilizing his Talent Powers again to fully heal his Teammates and SST 4 was able to head back to Henderson Field and get some much needed rest. As they trudged back to their barracks, they heard the chatter from the Marines all around them about Edson holding the Ridge and it was no surprise, that from this day forward, the battle would forever more be known as the 'Battle of Edson's Ridge'.....




OOC: Feel free to put up some 'Post battle chatter' posts if you like. I'll have one more and then we'll move on to the next mission.

[ateno]

Elias would have done his best to look for the red beam talent and his rifle, it could perhaps be a advance in Japanese technology. But, being a talent it could be a rusty toy pistol he talented into a rifle he can shoot thru tanks. He also takes the Katana he took off the officer and dies his best to wrap and tie it and attach a address to the President. He brings it to S-2, and asks they ship it to the president, if they laugh at him. He says he used to work for the presidential staff and this was a direct request from the president. And he can talk to LTC Harrison, he works at S-2 on General Vandegrift's staff.

Elias will keep his dented helmed with the grease pencil, as a reminder that there is always the potential there is someone better.

RD3 Tucker

[Urson]

Dutch
Dutch did everything he could to help his teammates, both in the recovery on the battlefield, and whatever brief rest time they got before being sent out again.
He spoke with the higher- ups, recommending commendations and medals for all of them, especially Franklin.
Corpsman, that was some of thebravest,
stupidest, behavior I ever saw. Thank you.
He starts to leave, then turns back. The idea scares the hell out of me- but can you " borrow" health from one person and give it to another one?