Perpetual
This too shall pass.
Beckton brought them to a screeching halt in a cloud of acrid-smelling tyre smoke. Both agents left the vehicle immediately, taking cover behind their open doors and firing from behind them in the manner of policemen.
The headlights threw long shadows through smoke from the car - whether solely from the tyres or also indicating a damaged engine, Beckton didn't know - while he emptied his weapon and reloaded swiftly.
From Osterley's position came the distinctive clink of an armed grenade. She rolled the smoke munition out in front of them and, after a moment to let it develop, grabbed Newkirk to make a run for the lobby.
Despite the smoke, firebolts flashed again. Newkirk tripped up Osterley, causing the first to miss, and threw out a hand - the second, aimed at Beckton, splashed off an invisible shield and dispersed in a smoky flash.
Beckton ducked behind the car to reload again, pulling a drum magazine from the depths of his coat.
"Go, I'll catch up with you! Find Bleecker!"
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Comments (5 so far!)
HSAR
Newkirk continues to demonstrate the power of near-future divination in combat scenarios, though the astute reader will note that he now appears to be attempting to reduce the use of his power by using more conventional means of avoiding attacks.
Of particular note is Newkirk's re-used of the spell Shield, but here shown cast with considerably more gusto. In the fifth (and most preceding) editions of Dungeons and Dragons from which I have taken the spells, Shield provides a fixed bonus that makes a targeted character harder to hit.
- #3932 Posted 6 years ago
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HSAR
However, I've chosen to take a more liquid view of the spell and hold that Newkirk is free to use as much or as little power as he likes, with a corresponding increase or decrease in defensive power. The previous usage in "Fall Rot" (#42041) was far more trivial, as the shot was hastily taken in panic. Here, where the enemy is in an entrenched position with an excellent view of Beckton and his flimsy cover, the attack is not so easily disposed of. Beckton's existing Mage Armour protection (which has not yet expired) would not have been sufficient to deflect the attack and Newkirk is forced to expend considerable, scarce resources in order to defend his ally.
- #3933 Posted 6 years ago
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HSAR
The Thompson submachine gun was commonly issued with 20- or 30-round magazines - light, uncomplicated and sufficient for general use - but also available were 100-round circular drum magazines that offered a considerable upgrade in firepower at the cost of being unwieldy, less reliable and prone to rattling at inopportune moments. Beckton clearly thinks that this is the right moment to use it.
Operation Perpetual was another "Club Run" operation run by the British Royal Air Force. At this point in the war British naval forces were waning while Axis power waxed; submarine threats loomed large and Club Runs became more complex with larger escorts for the increasingly-targeted carrier ships. Operation Perpetual showed the eventual results of such dangerous naval maneuvers; after flying off 26 Hawker Hurricane fighters for delivery to Malta, the carrier HMS Ark Royal, pride of Force H / The Club, was struck by a torpedo and sank 30 miles of Gibraltar.
- #3934 Posted 6 years ago
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Robert Quick
"She rolled the cylindrical shape of a smoke munition out in front of them" is clunky. I think it's because you're trying to fit in too much information into a single sentence. I almost fell for your tyre trap lol but I figured it might be a legit spelling before I said anything.
- #3938 Posted 6 years ago
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Inspired by (sequel to):
The laboratory was a large and blocky building. It was set back from the road, but no fence surround…
Bowery- Published 6 years ago and featured 6 years ago.
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HSAR
The M16 (and its successor, the M18) smoke grenades were used extensively by the United States armed forces during the Second World War and following conflicts. Coming in various colours and used for both signalling and concealment, it had a simple cylindrical design with a ring-based safety at the top (unlike the pineapple-shaped explosive grenades).
Unfortunately, and this seems to reveal of Osterley a certain inexperience with combat against spellcasters (which is admittedly a rare experience to survive), arcane attacks are not purely guided by visual means. This is demonstrated in "Petite Plutonium" (#41664), and a trained offensive magic user is far more adept at targeting than Beckton is.