White Hell Dive [Night 1]

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Kannon
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White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Mon Jul 07, 2025 2:52 pm

Image

"We are approaching the night side of Lankiveil. To protect your mission, I will not make landing. You will use drop pods instead. You are going to be ejected over the snowpack on the glacier north of the Bifrost Eyrie. After you make landing, ensure that your pods remain hidden. The deployable reflective coating is included but be sure to kill all of your pod's heat signatures. The rest of the mission equipment, including the explosives, is distributed among the pods for equal weight."

"We will maintain communication. Our spy eyes pepper the landscape and provide us with a network of relays on the ground that don't rely on long-distance amplification and transmission. Ground comms are mostly safe for you to use without risk of detection. I have the eyes wired to the frigate's comm system, so I will always be listening, but have to limit instruction and guidance to the minimum. I will be lying low on the moon, so the comm delay will be roughly 10 minutes until I leave the hiding for the final stage of the operation. You have to be aware of the mission parameters now."

"Don't split without justification. Converge on the Eyrie as soon as possible but if anyone suffers from a landing problem, organise retrieval before anything else. In the Eyrie you will find Kova, a local who has proven his loyalty to us. The Harkonnen can be counted on in this regard. After all, their planets have given us both Duncan and Gurney in the first place."

"Treat Eyrie as the staging ground of your operations. The Harkonnen rarely keep eyes on something they think they have obliterated. The Slaughterhouse where Gurney is most likely held is to the southeast of it. Kova may have secured some local guides in addition to himself, but be prepared to address betrayal quickly if that happens. Be mindful that the local Buddhislam is as pacifistic as one can get, not unlike the Muadh creed you are already familiar with, hence do not advertise violence."

"Some eyes to the south of the Eyrie are defunct. This shatters the pre-determination of the best approach to the Slaughterhouse. There has been no noticeable tampering with the others so I assume they were rendered useless by causes unrelated to the Harkonnen, but their frequencies were cut off from main comm structure just to be sure. The spots are marked for you on the holomap, perhaps you can retrieve some and add data to our projections."

"We have no maps of the Slaughterhouse. It's a new structure, and no-one except Gurney has ever escaped it to tell the tale, and even he could only pass the SOS. It is likely, however, that it is an underground complex with several points of entry over a larger area. We may have spotted one on the cliffside overlooking the Tula Fjord, but it may be a false lead."

"Until I receive a high-fidelity understanding of the situation on the ground, the optimal strategy to approach extraction will be determined by you. The building is ferrocrete on the outside, but given its impenetrability deeper iridium-plated layers are to be expected. It can mean that once you go in, I am unable to assist. But once you get Gurney out, I'll be ready to come in hot for extraction."

For now, Hawat decided to make a pause and not touch on the other issue on the table. It had become more loaded after the events on the moon. Cognitive overload of computationally untrained individuals was counterproductive.
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Efren Lanville
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Efren Lanville » Mon Jul 07, 2025 9:06 pm

Efren gave the standard military response right away, "Understood, sir."

Special ops training prepared him for just a situation as this. He didn't need to know more than what had been told him... in fact it was often better to know as little as possible to preserve the secrecy of the mission, but he assumed some of the more free-thinking members of the squad may have questions and waited to see their responses.
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Ambrose Pantazis
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Ambrose Pantazis » Tue Jul 08, 2025 4:08 am

Ambrose winced at the mention of spy eyes. Although he was certain they would be using a different technology than what he'd encountered in the jungle, it still brought on an uncomfortable association. He had learned much from working on the mechanical eye, as borderline heretical as that may be.

"What is the window of time we are looking at between when we drop and when we need to conduct the rescue? I may be able to take a look at that comms trunk and get the eyes synced back up if the southern route offered our best approach."
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Tue Jul 08, 2025 4:17 am

"The chance of detection of our activity and therefore also mission failure rises exponentially after a few days. Three to four. Groundwork is useful up to a point."
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Bernard Martikova
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Bernard Martikova » Tue Jul 08, 2025 5:43 pm

Land in the pods.
Scout the area.
Find the target and escape.
Going in mostly blind.
Longer we're there, the longer we risk being caught.

This was going to be a great time. "Yes sir. We'll get it done." Ambrose asked what he was thinking of, so that saved him the time to even mentioning it.
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Kiran Alsahar
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kiran Alsahar » Wed Jul 09, 2025 3:24 am

Kiran nodded. They were there largely because of the need for interaction with the Buddhislamic locals. It would be interesting to see how their cultures overlapped... which would also be useful to the mission. Their mind was already whirring away at potential strategies and how to best make use of their contacts.

They nodded. "Yes, sir. Sounds like our contacts down there will be a key asset to getting this done in the necessary time frame. Any other important details I should know about them ahead?"
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:33 am

"In religious terms, I trust your acumen in finding the right leverage. Unlike Kova, most of them are not radicalised, however. They have been accommodating Harkonnen rule for millennia and have long developed their own unique spiritual coping mechanisms within Buddhislamic and Jainist doctrines."

Thufir didn't enjoy the next part in the slightest.

"The time around the extraction is going to be our only window of opportunity to destroy the spice vault. Which means that verification it is still there and planting traditional explosives will have to have happened by that point. Which in turn means that the access point will have to have been secured by a part of your team in advance of extraction. Else it is only atomics, and potentially an exercise in futility with major strategic repercussions. Our discovery at the moon base has made this objective more central than originally planned. We have to adjust."

He pointed to a spot in the projection of Aarnikotka. A distinctive northwestern corner of it where the glacier descended straight into the sea, like a beast lapping water. Just north of three lone islands.

"It is far from the Eyrie. Kova will know where to commandeer an ornithopter or a fishing vessel, however. If not, I will have determined it remotely. Either way, this means acting concurrently to securing the extraction pathway. Which in turn means you will have to split the effort soon after landing."
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Efren Lanville
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Efren Lanville » Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:47 am

“How would you like us split, sir?” Efren asked.
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Bernard Martikova
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Bernard Martikova » Thu Jul 10, 2025 6:59 am

Bern thought of a moment, considering how the group will be split for the most part. "Probably should establish a rally point or a time sync once we're split. Also, for whatever reason, if the relay net goes dark, are we prioritizing signal silence or bursts for updates?"
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:02 am

"Trade-offs and calculated risks, Sergeants. We've trained you to think on your feet. You know what must be accomplished, find the way. Decide on the split before leaving the Eyrie. I will be there throughout, watching, listening, ready to intervene in dire need."

---

[Once per time slot per team, contact with Thufir will yield the Valuable Facts bonus to a single roll you are about to make. There will be a hidden detection counter, however.]
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:18 am

[Once you're done talking with Thufir.]

Helldive

You are riding your individual bullets to the surface. This means two consecutive Piloting - Aerospace Rolls. The first one is at Easy with one Challenge and involves macro-targeting - how far from the Bifrost Eyrie you are about to land. The second is at Average with 2 Challenge and entails micro-targeting the right spot to hit the snow. Failure will mean GM-crafted difficulties while Despair means a more ominous outcome - aerobraking suspensors didn't work. If and however the second roll goes sideways, you can have a way to mitigate it - an Athletics, Coordination, Piloting - Surface or Survival roll at Hard with 1 Challenge that gives you a nicer crash-landing if it succeeds.

Buffs from Leadership-related talents must be applied and/or rolled for before the Helldive. In addition, those with at least 2 Ranks in Piloting can give parting tips to others, which count as Assist Boost on both Piloting rolls. However, after the dive begins all pooling rules are individual until successful landing.

Don't rush your rolls. Plan it out. Consider statements.
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Ambrose Pantazis
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Ambrose Pantazis » Thu Jul 10, 2025 2:33 pm

"When we land, I'll head straight south for those eyes. More information only improves the chances for our operation."

Ambrose looked over the drop pods, basic foot pedal rudder controls. Not the most intuitive, but the best option for such a limited cockpit. "We'll be steering with our feet, rotation and counter rotation to adjust course. These are inverted, so pump left to pull clockwise or right, pump right to pull counterclockwise or left. Heads up, there will definitely be high G forces applied and you're going to be flipping over as you navigate. Luckily, those G forces will probably keep you from hanging from your harnesses or feeling like you're falling out, you'll just be pancaked into the chair. Pick a point on the distant horizon as a reference for orientation and don't fight it too hard. Being a little off course is better than over correcting and getting drawn into a spiral. You'll build up too much rotational force, hit higher Gs and maybe pass out." Ambrose slaps the side of a drop pod and takes on a grin, "My best tip is lay back and enjoy the ride. Don't get many chances like this."
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Efren Lanville
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Efren Lanville » Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:10 pm

Efren listened attentively to the experienced pilot and took what mental notes he could.

After a moment he felt the welling feelings of anxiety, trepidation, and inadequacy that come upon everyone in a moment like this. Maybe not everyone was feeling it... But despite his training and his normal sense of confidence he knew he was and he had been raised to confront those feelings when he experienced them. Speaking about the reasons one did things often brought them into the world... Where he could interact with them more fully.

"Hey everyone.... Let's keep our heads on a swivel. Watch each other's backs. If one of you goes dark on landing. Don't lose it... I'll come for you. No one gets left behind."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "This isn’t just another op. This isn't about a base or a fortress or ticking off coordinates on a map. It's about the people we care about. The ones waiting back home. The ones in this room. The people here and elsewhere... the ones still trapped under Harkonnen boots. We're not doing this because it's easy. We're doing this because no one else can."

"There’s danger, yes. The kind that writes its name in the roots of planets. But each of you carries something more powerful than any explosive in those pods: You carry people. Hopes, dreams, lives, love... That’s what the Harkonnens will never understand, and never be able to kill. "

"That puts a lot of pressure on us I guess... But they do say that pressure makes coal into diamonds... So lets go out there and fucking shine."

Efren offered a soft smile and then a salute across his chest, "See you on the ground."

--------

D1 Pre-Diving Leadershipping Speak for those Statement,: 3eP+1eA+2eD 4 successes, 1 threat
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Using Inspiring Leadership: If successful, a number of allies not exceeding [their] rating in Presence within short range add an automatic success result to their next skill check.

Presence 4 and there are 4 of us. So a free success for everyone's first roll.

Player pool: 3
GM Pool: 1
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Ambrose Pantazis
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Ambrose Pantazis » Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:13 pm

Ambrose climbed into his drop pod and prepared for the launch. The anticipation spiked his adrenaline, this natural high was what he chased every time he dosed up. The drugs were a good substitution, but they couldn't compare in the end.

As the pod launched, Ambrose felt himself pressed back into the seat. He relaxed his body and sunk into the sensation, reveling in it. Rather than feathering the pedals to tamper his speed, Ambrose let gravity control his descent, making little adjustments to keep on target. The temptation to keep his momentum going and let fate take the wheel as he closed in on the point of no return was great, but Ambrose remembered Efren's words, "You carry people. Hopes, dreams, lives, love..." There was too much riding on this mission. Ambrose couldn't give in to his personal desires. There had been enough of that already. He gently pumped the pedals, oscillating his drop pod and bleeding off speed so he could more easily control the descent.

He took his own advice and picked a spot on the horizon, expertly guiding his drop pod to his assigned landing zone. A relatively soft landing by drop pod standards found Ambrose on the ground and quickly deploying the reflective coating to conceal his presence.

-----
D1, WHD, Piloting, Drop Pod #1, Excess statement upgrade: 4eA+1eC 0 successes, 2 advantage
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+1 success from Efren, Success.

D1, WHD, Piloting, Drop Pod #2, No Excess: 3eP+1eA+2eC 4 successes, 2 advantage
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4adv unused (forgot to boost second roll, but wasn't necessary)
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Efren Lanville
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Efren Lanville » Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:21 pm

Efren made his last preparations after listening to all that the others would say and do before entering his pod.

He set his course to follow Ambrose as best as he could... He had training on drops like this before... But something was amiss... And he didn't have the experience to know what that would be...


-----

D1 Hell Divers, Roll 1, Bonus from Ambrose, Roots Statement: 1eA+1eP+1eC+1eB 1 success, 2 advantage, 1 Despair
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:47 pm

Efren had done everything right, at least to the point he was technically able. In Lankiveil's upper atmosphere brutal, alternating winds can skew best-laid landing plans. One such gust hit him at an inopportune moment, the drop pod titled to the side, exposing the stabiliser to the burn. It did chip off soon after, and the pod entered uncontrollable rotation, quickly nauseating its passenger.

What had Abrose said about this eventuality? Efren could muster his scattered thoughts only with great difficulty. The inhospitable, frozen world was coming on and off into his view, blue-white-grey, than the night sky, then again, too fast, too fast...

[Next roll is at Hard i.e. one Purple added.]
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Efren Lanville
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Efren Lanville » Thu Jul 10, 2025 6:11 pm

Ambrose's words came to him in that moment as the pod began to spin out of control...

Find the point on the horizon... focus on where you are going... a little variance is not the worst outcome. Find the path...

...I don't know the path you want to walk, Eph Ren. I don't know if this path between exists.

I don’t know what my future holds… But I know I wish to be fully myself... Not half of anything, but a whole person.

Don't you belong more among the destroyers?

I am not a destroyer... I am a... steward... a protector.

The Old Mother was the Garden's protector, not you.

I am the lightning bolt... God wanted you to have a protector... He sent me...


And there it was... like a lightning streak he identified the point on the horizon and slowed the spinning... And followed along the path between the spinning... straight to his destination.

------

D1 Hell Divers, Roll 2, Bonus from Ambrose and Advantage, Roots Statement, Despair Difficulty: 1eA+1eP+2eB+2eC+1eD 1 success
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Kiran Alsahar
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kiran Alsahar » Thu Jul 10, 2025 7:13 pm

This was utterly beyond Kiran's experience, and frankly, the idea of basically falling onto the planet was absolutely terrifying. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath, reciting the Litany in their head as their forced their muscles to relax, their heartbeat to slow, their mind to focus on Ambrose's advice.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.


Whatever would happen would happen. All they could do was follow the advice and let their mind function.

The pod flew true.

Raw agility (no piloting) v Easy with 1 challenge
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Net Successes: 0; Net Advantages: 0
Adding the boost
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Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: 1
[Edited to Easy, this is the first one.]

Average with boost from Ambrose
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Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: -2
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Kannon
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Kannon » Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:35 am

Regardless of any mid-flight uncertainties, the three of them landed safely on the glacier within range of sight of the tall stone ruins nestled in the valley below, their edges teeth-like against the deep violet shades of the night on Lankiveil. Kiran was seeing the least as their pod had dug deeper into the snowpack on impact [Threat]. The temperature outside was apparently c. 240 K, their cabin readout said.

The view that would unfold before each of them from their scattered landing spots once they would get out was that of severe, pristine beauty. From there, the world was a canvas, with the ruins but a sketch, now partially erased from a place that may have been a palimpsest anyway.

A canvas to receive our desires. The line popped up in Kiran's mind out of nowhere. Was it adab, the demanding memory?

For Efren, it was a hauntingly alien landscape. His experiential mind had never learnt a wasteland of this kind before. What roots could be grown in barren ice? Was there anything that could grow roots here? Or everything that had once been was erased with every new snowfall?

For Ambrose, it was hardly the time to become philosophical. They had to find a man.

---

And the said man was ready, on the lookout, waiting for the blazing meteors to come down from the skies. Now from his vantage point he had seen one-two-three of them hit the ground.
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Bernard Martikova
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Re: White Hell Dive [Night 1]

Post by Bernard Martikova » Fri Jul 11, 2025 5:56 am

Bernard's was all nerves, even if he didn't try to show it. As he settled in, he nodded to everyone at the surface and to the other Sgt there. "Race you to the bottom, Efren." A slight smile showed as the pod was sealed before he was alone and the absolute fear he felt could be shown in private. A few moments later, the ride began.

The pod rattled like a coffinside on fire as Bern plunged through the atmosphere of Lankiveil, the icy moon already a pale memory in the black above. Fire licked the edges of his viewport; alarms screamed warnings. It wasn’t flying—he wasn't a pilot. This was falling with instrumentation, and he was trusting it more than his own trembling hands. Through it all, he clutched tight to the harness and forced his thoughts away from the burn and the drop and the gut-wrenching descent. Instead, he saw Hadrian. Saw him out there in some storm-buried ravine or dilapidated ruin, coaxing information out of strangers, risking knives in the back for a cause he really didn't signed up for. If Hadrian could face that with a smile and a half-broken compass, Bernard could get himself to the ground in one piece. He muttered a prayer—not that he believed—but because the rhythm of it quieted his panic. The pod screamed. The clouds tore apart. And Lankiveil’s glacier loomed up from the dark like a waiting god.

~~
Falling with style. (Pilot Skill.1 free success, Invoking Statement: "I think back to home to keep me stable", 1 boost from previous rolls.)
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Net Successes: 4; Net Advantages: 2


Falling with style, Part Deux. (Pilot Skill. Invoking Statement: "I think back to home to keep me stable", 1 boost from previous rolls.)
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Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: 0
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