Recently a team of gnomes were tasked by Tyrman “Mad Dog” Bladebreaker to assist the Gnomish Military with stolen equipment. G4 Members Kascryn, Rovette, and Candykettle all attended and helped hunt down the rampaging military vehicle. Catch up on previous exciting entries or continue on to enjoy the tale:
Rise of Thermaplugg
(Part 2)
Grand Theft Spider Tank
Written by Tyrman Bladebreaker
Kascryn Copperhollow trudges through the snow toward a fully armored soldier of Gnomeregan. The rogue wore his usual stealth fatigues along with a few precautions regarding the radiation. Learning from recent missions to take this unseen threat seriously. Adjusting the light mask he wore, the Agent studied the gnome who joined him. The newcomer wore the colors of their people proudly and kept pace with him silently, clearly skilled in the art of stealth. His counterpart seemed to carry more gadgets, wearing an impressive set of goggles and twin chain-blades.
For the past few weeks, G4 has been tasked with the investigation of finding a gnome named “Blightgadget”. However, during this investigation, levels of radiation have been on the rise around New Tinkertown and Gnomeregan. Many reports of strange activities have been unfolding, including theft of a siege class spider tank from the Gnomish Military. The lone soldier stands near the hanger outpost waiting for assistance.
Kascryn approaches slowly, his mask has an additional attachment with radiation equipment. He nods in greeting.
“Greetings. I’m Ka… er… Agent Copperhollow. This is Rovette. I hope you’ve been expecting us?
Rovette approaches with Kascyrn.
His goggles making a whirring sound as he zooms in on the soldier, “Greetings,” he echoes, “I am Rovette, Master Shaw has sent me to help investigate this theft.”
“Nice to meet ya, I’m Private Geartaggle.”
The soldier nods at each before a muffled click sounds from his helm, “Of course! You must be the militia group here to help. As you can see,” He motions behind him, “We’re having a spider issue.”
Rovette’s goggles zoom in on Private Geartaggle. The soldier rests a regulated military rifle against his shoulder and his belt lined with explosives. It was impossible to see their facial expression through the sealed helm, but he remained calm as a sudden boom came from the south. Enough to cause fresh snow to fall from the nearby trees and the ground rumbles.
“Do you need gear before we head out? The tank was last spotted in this area.”
Kascryn revealed his own explosives, Scrap Grenades. A gift from their Dwarvish cousins in hopes to incapacitate the stolen armored vehicle. Private Geartaggle warned it may not be enough but was assured the pair had no intentions to go head-long into a direct assault against the spider tank. With a curt nod, the Private wishes them luck and sends the prepared special agents on their way as he radios in the situation.
Taking lead, SI:7 Rovette scans the nearby area finding tracks in the snow and broken branches leading south east toward Iceflow Lake.
“Well at least Spider Tank Raider Class aren’t subtle or hard to follow.” Kascryn smirks.
Rovette winks and adds, “After you, good sir.”
True to their craft, the pair would hardly make a sound or leave a trail as they carefully step through the snow, passing through the broken tree line. Climbing a fallen frozen tree, Kas uses simple hand gestures to communicate with Rovette. The SI:7 operative scans the area and finds a trail leading toward the center island to the south.
“There’s also a blast hole in the lake and it might not be stable.” Rovette whispers.
“How far does your grappling hook fire?” Kascryn asks after noticing the gadget dangling from Rovette’s belt.
“About 40 yards. Can’t carry much more chain than that without killing myself with the weight.”
As the rogues prepare to hook-shot an old fishermans’ boat, another gnome approaches silently. Wearing her tight combat leather, Sophia Candykettle catches up. Panting as she stopped and slid slightly on the edges of the lake. While she wore a blindfold, she uses chi to focus her sense of touch and balance.
“Candy! Be careful! The ice is unstable!” Kascryn whispers, giving her warning.
After she climbs onto the fallen tree, she holds onto Rovette’s belt. The agent takes aim and fires the hook at the boat and grapples them safely into the old boat. Kascryn quickly runs down the rope and lands in the boat gently on his feet, nodding his thanks to Candy and Rov.
The other rogue pulls out one of his chain blades and flips a switch making the blades turn to the side making it into a fine auto paddle. Putting the blade into the water and the blade starts to paddle the boat and the occupants toward the island. The old boat seems to hold, although it seems worse for wear.
Another boom from the south west, seems closer now.
“We need to move!” Candykettle says with determination.
Reaching the other side safely, they waste no time to reach the edge of the island. With another quick scan, Rovette discovers a swath of destruction leading to a demolished camp and beyond that a large spike in radiation. Closer inspection revealed it to be a small military outpost. S.A.F.E. equipment, ammunition, explosives, and other military grade items litter the snow and debris. As Rovette and Candykettle pick up supplies, Kascryn looks around carefully, trying to figure out if this is left over from a squad who were ambushed or stolen things. He curses as he moves some snow, revealing a limb of a fallen soldier.
“We have to stop this tank and fast.” Kas mutters grimly.
Just past the tree line, it is clear to see a spider tank popping random shots into the nearby settlement across the frozen lake. Gnomish soldiers and a few mountaineers are behind cover doing what they can. They’re not going to last the longer their makeshift barricades were being pelted by a hail of gunfire. The spider tank looked modified, whoever stole it had the experience and had time to alter it to their specifications.
The small group of agents collaborate to bring down the dangerous vehicle. They were at an advantage as they were located behind it and out of view. But the longer they took, the less time the soldiers and dwarves had. Calling to the squad across the lake to concentrate their fire under the tank will cause it to become immobile. Using Kas’s Scrap Grenades to further incapacitate the tank, the SI:7 operative would use his grappling hook to attach to an EMP generator to emit a disabling pulse to the machine. While Rov assembled the device, Sophia called in the request.
The rate of fire slowly stops on the tank. The figures behind cover seem to shift and get into position while avoiding gunfire from the tank. Soon, a message is sent back to the team before they open fire onto the lake. The ice seems to crack! With the added weight of the tank itself, it would fall through. The front legs seem to be slowly pulling itself up. They need to act fast before it pulls itself out.
Without wasting time, they leap into action. While Rovette flanks to the right to use his grappling hook on the front right leg and pulls hard toward the rear, Kas takes the left as he sprints forward to haul himself onto the tank’s left leg. Meanwhile, Candykettle taps into her Chi to deliver a powerful kick to one of its back legs to destabilize and delay its recovery.
As the legs of the tank lock up, a vox opens suddenly followed by a screech; “WHAT THE RUSTY BOLT-LICKING TROGG SNIFFING FEL WAS THAT, EH!?”
A low thrum builds as electricity arcs from the front before blasting all over the hull.
“Activating the sparky spark spark!”
Kascryn kicks off the leg, attempting a back-flip to land safely on the ice and manages an awkward but successful landing back on his feet at the edge of the tank. He is up and ready with his paired daggers. He then fiddles with his belt and removes a Scrap Grenade from his belt. Pulling the “pin”, he tosses it carefully at the tank. Channeling her chi, Candykettle diffuses the shock through a Chi shield. The monk continues to focus on the legs. She studied with the Hidden Master and punched her way out of a 90′ tall bug. She can punch a spider-tank! Unfortunately for Rovette, the agent was knocked down by the shock. His goggles, which serve as his eyes, begin their “rebooting” process.
The spider tank is still stuck in the lake as it struggles to move. Clang! The hardened punch dents the military vehicle! The explosion causes it to rock, but it still seems operational. The vox opens again; “YYEEEEEAAAGH! STOP THAT, EH!? COG ME SIDEWAYS!”
Vents slide open and a green fog rolls out of them! Unfortunately for the crazed driver, each gnome was prepared, and the radiated cloud would have no affect and their protective gear kept them from harm.
Kascryn and Candykettle continue their assault. Sophia growls with anger and forgetting herself for a moment fires her wrist mounted taser into one of the open vents. She curses at the tank in goblin. Watching the twitching leg trying to escape the ice, the Gnome Ops Agent rushes forward with his pair of daggers, he looks for wiring or a vulnerable place in the plating to cut. However, Kascryn’s attempt to stab the tank bounce off its armor harmlessly, he skids back with a scowl.
“YEEEEEGH! NONONONO!” The vox cuts off as the tank protests, trying to pull itself from the ice. It will not be long before it is clear! A power seems to be building within the vehicle.
Rovette’s “eyes” finally re-calibrate. He adjusts his goggles and huffs. “Alright, you’ve asked for it. Y’all ready?” He pulls out the remote for the EMP and waits for his friends to stand clear of the tank then says, “CLEAR!”
As the others leap away from the vehicle, Kascryn chucks another Scrap Grenade to further stall the tank. Rovette depresses the button and the EMP generator hums loudly behind them. He connects the chain from his grappling hook to the lead on the generator. He waits for the generator to finish winding up and releases the button causing a surge of electricity course through the chain and grapple to the tank’s leg. All movement stopped as each leg of the spider tank seized and sunk into the frozen lake. The headlights flicker and fade. The hull of the vehicle remained above the freezing waters. Within, the others could hear incoherent screaming and cursing.
Rovette waits for the energy to dissipate and leaps up on top of the tank. Stomping on the top of the tank he revs his chainblade then shouts, “Stand clear of the hatch in there.”
Candykettle joins him as he saws through the hatch while Kascryn readies a fan of throwing knives in case they come out swinging. Sparks fly as metal tears through metal. The blade kicks into a lower more powerful gear as he slices the hatch hinge off. As the pair atop the tank assist each other lifting the hatch, Sophia frowns slightly as the hairs on her neck stand up. As the hatch lid barely lifts, Candy concentrates her chi and wraps the occupant in a weave of chi, paralyzing them.
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!”
The figure within screams before going limp. Staring up with milky green eyes, the leper wore rich purple robes that were very well preserved and a well-groomed goatee. The mage failed to cast their polymorph spell as her monk senses picked up on the arcane signature. As they pull the addled mage from the cockpit, there would be no resistance from the leper. Their eyes frantically stare at each gnome but his face is locked in constant surprise.
Rovette calls in for a MedEvac. It would not be long before a transmission radios into everyone’s communication device.
*Bzzt*
“This is Private Geartaggle! We’ve received your call and on our way! Standby, eta five min!”
The sound of gyrocotper blades could be heard in the distance.
*Bzzt*
“Hell of a job out there gnomes, thanks for the assist. Private Geartaggle, out.”