[Tecumseh]

James' soak roll against the tear gas lasts for the duration of the toxin's speed. In this case, that is 1 Combat Turn, so James is free to dance around in the cloud as much as he wants until CT4 IP2. If he is still exposed at that point, he will need to soak again with the Power of the toxin at +1 due to prolonged exposure. (See p. 409.)

Spirit dodge: Reaction + Intuition - Wound - Third Defense: ?d6t5 6 hits

The Redline shot clips the spirit but does it no apparent harm.

21 - #7 - air spirit
Another Engulf attempt.
Engulfing James: Agility + Unarmed - Wounds: ?d6t5 7 hits

20 - Illeana's air spirit
Let's figure out where the Illeana's air spirit is. James told it to get the Desert Strike at CT3 IP1. It's running rate is 12 meters per turn. Here are some running tests to cover CT3 and CT4 IP1:
Spirit sprinting: Strength 0 + Running 3: 3#3d6t5 0 hits 1 hit 2 hits

Oh, I guess I said earlier that the spirit had Strength 1, not Strength 0. How generous of me. I'll add some dice: Strength 1: 3#1d6t5 0 hits 0 hits 0 hits

That's three hits total, which represent 30 additional meters of sprinting.

After CT3 (12 meters + 10 sprinting) and CT4 IP1 (6 meters + 20 sprinting), the spirit is 48 meters of the way to the Desert Strike (which is 110 meters away).

Go ahead and roll your defense because that will determine how the rest of the IP plays out.

[rednblack]

Spirit dodge: Reaction + Intuition - Wound - Third Defense: ?d6t5 6 hits

Nice roll, Air Spirit.

21 - #7 - air spirit
Another Engulf attempt.
Engulfing James: Agility + Unarmed - Wounds: ?d6t5 7 hits

And again?!  This thing is a beast, and it just refuses to go down.  James is going to sink 1,000 nuyen into this fight and come away empty handed because some lowlife smuggler mage summoned a fraggin' djinn.  Or, he's going to die.  That could happen too.

James will go Full Defense.  I have: REA (7) + INT (9) + AGI (11) - Environmental Mods (4) = 23 dice.
Defense: 23d6t5 9
Thank Ghost.

20 - Illeana's air spirit
Let's figure out where the Illeana's air spirit is. James told it to get the Desert Strike at CT3 IP1. It's running rate is 12 meters per turn. Here are some running tests to cover CT3 and CT4 IP1:
Spirit sprinting: Strength 0 + Running 3: 3#3d6t5 0 hits 1 hit 2 hits

Maybe I'm giving a Force 3 Air Spirit too much credit, but I figured that she wouldn't Materialize until after she got to the Desert Strike.

I took the -4 Environmental Modifier for this Defense Test, but is James far enough out that he's back to the -2?

Reprinting the list of combatants here so I can keep better track:

#1 - male elf sentry standing lookout on one end of the sub, assault rifle
#2 - female human sentry standing lookout on the other end of the sub, assault rifle + Horizon Flying Eye drone above her
#3 - ork male standing on the conning tower, pulling up packages out of the sub via rope, no visible weapons but there might be something within reach that's out-of-sight
#4 - same as #3 7P
#5 - male troll in one of the airboats, loading packages for transport, an LMG within reach 6S
#6 - female dwarf in the other airboat, also loading packages for transport, carbine within reach 1S
#7 - air spirit on patrol 4P

[Tecumseh]

In my head the air spirit was materialized in order to take instructions from James. That's why I had it flying in the physical realm, although I grant that you have a good point about it being faster to dematerialized, travel astrally, then rematerialize.

Upon further reflection, I'm going to say that the air spirit was not materialized. Now whether a spirit could receive instructions verbally while the spirit on the astral is somewhat suspect, but James request is simple and direct and not open to misinterpretation, even if the speech doesn't make it to the astral. (In the future, more complicated requests may require the spirit to materialize first to receive its instructions.)

So we will say that the spirit traveled astrally during CT3 IP1 with a Free, materialized with a Simple, then grabbed the Desert Strike with its other Simple. It's flight to James begins on CT3 IP2, at which point we may resume using the previously made rolls. At the end of CT4 it will have covered 48 of the 110 meters.

If James is out by the male elf - north of the conning tower - then he is back to -2 environmental modifier. He will be in -4 if he is to the east or west of the conning tower (likely because he wishes to be in cover).

Remaining actions of CT4 IP1:
18 - #6 - female dwarf
11 - #5 - trollbro
9 - #4 - ork in conning tower

#6 - female dwarf
She now has an angle on James again so she will open fire.

Agility + Automatics + Smartlink - Moving Vehicle: ?d6t5 2 hits

The bouncing airboat seems to be affecting her aim.

#5 - trollbro
Not visible without an Observe in Detail

#4 - ork
Not visible

James has 2 hits to dodge at -6 burst, -2 environment, and -1 second attack. Then it's on to CT4 IP2.

[rednblack]

So we will say that the spirit traveled astrally during CT3 IP1 with a Free, materialized with a Simple, then grabbed the Desert Strike with its other Simple. It's flight to James begins on CT3 IP2, at which point we may resume using the previously made rolls. At the end of CT4 it will have covered 48 of the 110 meters.

Unfortunately for James, Materialization is a Complex Action. 

Defending against the shooty dwarf I have: REA (7) + INT (9) + AGI (11) + Combat Sense (4) - Burst (5) - Environmental Mod (2) - Subsequent Attacks (1) = 23 dice.
Defense: 23d6t5 8

CT4 IP2
Simple: Toss Smoke grenade at air boat with female dwarf and trollbro.
Simple: Pick up Alpha.
Free: Activate Pulse Weave
Move: Toward west side of conning tower if it is out of the AoE of the CS/Teargas.  Toward the north if not.

For throwing the grenade I have: AGI (11) + Thrown Weapons (4) + Aerodynamic Spec (2) - Ranged Weapon in Melee (3) = 14 dice.
Throw grenade at air boat: 14d6t5 8
On a dime.  Unfortunately, they will probably Run For Your Life, and leave the smoke bubbling up in the swamp water.  Would've been a great roll to target the dwarf.

Ok, so James has an Ares Alpha (or some knockoff that will immediately feel wrong in his hand) in his left hand, and the Redline in his right.  James is going to need to pocket the Redline (Simple Action) unless he wants to take a penalty (-2?) for shooting tests with the assault rifle.  I can't remember if you double recoil penalties for this kind of poor shooting discipline as well.  Also, it only makes sense that James would need to pocket the Redline before switching Wireless Off, etc. on the AR.

[Tecumseh]

Hmm, yes, Materialization is a Complex. Alright, so:

CT3 IP1 is materializing (complex)
CT3 IP2 is grabbing the Desert Strike (simple)
CT4 IP1 the sprinting begins

This might take a while.

When James turns to chuck the grenade at the airboat, he sees that the troll is driving it and has spent his last action spinning the airboat around so that it is no longer going in reverse. It is now pointed away from James, which has broken the dwarf's line-of-fire (as she was on the front of the boat).

The troll doesn't get a dodge, per se, but I will roll some dice to represent the moving target and the fact that the large fan at the rear of the boat provides cover. James has so many hits that the attack is likely to succeed anyway, but I'll give them their fair chance.

Airboat defense: Defender in a moving vehicle 3 + Good cover 4: 7d6t5 1 hit

Thinking about it, James probably should have had a range penalty - either -1 or -3, if I ever figure out the acceleration rate for airboats - but that's not enough to affect the outcome at all.

James lobs the grenade perfectly and wonders for a moment why he's not playing professional sports instead. The grenade detonates inside the airboat and begins spewing smoke everywhere.

James' magical intuition tells him that the moving airboat is going to create a significant amount of wind/breeze that's going to push the smoke backward. The bad news is that the smoke won't affect the piloting of the boat significantly, but the good news is that the trailing smoke screen will make it extremely difficult for anyone to shoot off the back of the boat at James. (The reverse is also true.) The smoke grenade burns hot so James feels that it is unlikely that the dwarf or the troll will pick it up to throw it overboard, or if they do they will burn their hand.

As for the remainder of James' actions, the Ares Alpha is still on a sling connected to the elf. I don't think you've taken any actions to cut or otherwise remove the sling yet. As such, if you wish to move with the Ares Alpha then you will technically be dragging the elf's body with you. James is strong enough to do so, but it is awkward. Using the Alpha while it is still connected to the elf will incur a -4 penalty. Cutting the sling or removing the sling's clip will take a Simple action.

James immediately recognizes the Ares Alpha as authentic. It appears that whatever these people are smuggling is profitable enough to properly gear up.

According to 4E's Arsenal, firing a rifle-sized weapon (or larger) with one hand is a -2 penalty. Arsenal did not include any ruling about the recoil doubling in that situation.

CT4 IP3
6 - #8
1 - #7 - air spirit
0 - James - Full Defense

#8 - action hidden

#7 - air spirit
The air spirit will attempt to Engulf again. James' magical intuition tells him that the air spirit's tactics have shifted away from "kill" and to "delay".

Engulf: Agility + Unarmed Combat - Wounds: ?d6t5 6 hits

Roll your defense, then initiative for CT5.

[rednblack]

James cut the sling to the elf's Alpha in CT4 IP1, covered in this post: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=23135.msg449480#msg449480

IC posts haven't caught up to CT4 yet.

For Defense against the Spirit I have: REA (7) + INT (9) + AGI (11) + Combat Sense (4) - Environmental Mods (2) = 29 dice.
Defense: 29d6t5 7

CT4 IP3 Free Action: Turn Wireless Off on Pulse Weave.  It should be locked "on" until CT8 IP2.  Anyone making "direct physical attacks" on James suffers a -4 modifier, -2 if they have flare comp. 

#7 - air spirit
The air spirit will attempt to Engulf again. James' magical intuition tells him that the air spirit's tactics have shifted away from "kill" and to "delay".

This is interesting.  The Spirit's doing a great job of it too.  I feel like it needs to be dealt with, but I also have a very limited amount of time before the sub starts diving, and the air boat puts some real distance between itself and James.  Then there's the drone rigger with incoming to consider.  Yeah, that could be bad.

Initiative:Initiative: 16+4d6 29

Assuming that James will be going first.  If not, hopefully I'm not throwing away any really good rolls here.

CT5 IP1 .
Simple: Pocket Redline
Simple: FA Burst at Spirit
Free:
Move: Walk north.

For shooting the Spirit I have: AGI (11) +Firearms Group ( = 19 dice.
For recoil I have: Free Point (1) + STR/3 (3) + Base Alpha Recoil Comp (2) = 6 so no recoil penalties yet.
Shoot Spirit: 19d6t5 5
Even with the -5 he could dodge that.  Way he's been rolling, he just might.
Base damage is 11P -2AP +/- ammo.

James is at ?/42 Alpha, 1/5 Redline, 1/5 Edge.  If the Alpha was full when combat started, it would have 30 rounds left -- James is likely to pay attention to these kinds of things -- but he has not taken an action to read the counter.

I can't wait to see whether or not the gun has been bricked.  Or even better, outfitted with a Safe Targeting System.  I don't even want to think about the Advanced Safety System. 

[Tecumseh]

James needs to subtract 3 for being a shooter in melee combat.

- Attacker in Melee Combat 3: 3d6t5 0 hits, three 1s! a good roll to get three ones on

James keeps his five hits.

The air spirit borrows a trick from James' book and goes Full Defense.

Air spirit dodge: Reaction + Intuition +Full Defense - Wounds - Full Burst: ?d6t5 5 hits

Air spirit dodges and continues its antagonism of James. I suppose the stalemate standoff between the supersoldier and the relatively routine spirit should be instructive, both ICly to James regarding his limits and to GMs conscious of game balance between magic and mundanes. Either that or this shows you what an encounter can be like with high-initiative combatants who use Full Defense liberally.

In better news, the gun does not seem to have any safety measures enabled. The counter at the rear of the weapon indicates 30 rounds remaining.

CT5 IP1
29 - James
20 - #6 - female dwarf
15- Illeana's air spirit
13 - #5 - trollbro
13 - #7 - air spirit (previously 23)

#6 and #5 - action hidden without Observe in Detail

#7 - air spirit - Engulf James: Agility + Unarmed - Wounds: ?d6t5 4 hits

CT5 IP2
19 - James
10 - #6 - female dwarf
5 - Illeana's air spirit
3 - #5 - trollbro
3 - #7 - air spirit (previously 23)

Back to James.

[rednblack]

Air spirit dodges and continues its antagonism of James. I suppose the stalemate standoff between the supersoldier and the relatively routine spirit should be instructive, both ICly to James regarding his limits and to GMs conscious of game balance between magic and mundanes. Either that or this shows you what an encounter can be like with high-initiative combatants who use Full Defense liberally.

True.  Looking back it may have been advantageous to snipe the Spirit from distance, as the confusion sown by the grenade didn't buy James much time, and with a surprise round he may have dropped half the number of combatants it's taken him 5 CTs to drop the way I played it.  OOCly, I should have paid more attention to the Defense pools of an Air Spirit.  Man, those guys can book it.

For Defense I'm going to neglect Full Defense with the hopes that it's worth the extra pass.  Of course, if James gets Engulfed, he may just need to fight his way out, and then head back to Illeana with his figurative tail firmly between his literally chromed legs.

For Defense I have: REA (7) + INT (9) + Combat Sense (4) = 20 dice.
Defense: 20d6t5 6

CT5 IP2
Simple: Turn Wireless Off on Alpha
Simple: FA Burst at Spirit
Free: Curse liberally under his breath.

For Shooting I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group (8) - Firearm in Melee (3) = 16 dice.
Shoot Spirit: 16d6t5 7
Limited to Accuracy 5.  Even if I left the Wireless On, it's not James' smartlink.  Spirit is at -5 to Defense.  11P -2AP base.

James is at 24/42 Alpha, 1/5 Redline, 1/5 Edge

A quick question.  If grenades in the Alpha were set to Wireless Trigger, and James turns Wireless Off, what happens to them?

[Tecumseh]

Hmm, good question. I would say that a mini-grenade (to be used with a grenade launcher) would default to motion sensor. A hand grenade would default to a timer.

Do Data Trails or Rigger 5 discuss Ownership in any more detail? It is a nebulous concept, certainly.

Air spirit dodge: Reaction + Intuition + Full Defense - Wounds - Full Burst: ?d6t5 5 hits, the standoff continues

James feels the submarine vibrating beneath his feet. It begins to move slightly.

CT5 IP2
19 - James
10 - #6 - female dwarf - action hidden
5 - Illeana's air spirit - chugging along
3 - #5 - trollbro - action hidden
3 - #7 - air spirit

Air spirit will attempt to Engulf once again: Agility + Unarmed - Wounds: ?d6t5 8 hits

I am uncertain of whether a Limit should apply. It seems reasonable that the Physical Limit might apply, given the nature of the attack. The spirit's Physical Limit is 7, which would subtract a hit. Still, better be careful or James might end up in Oz.

James is on his own for CT5 IP3, so declare and roll as you see fit.

[rednblack]

Engulf is really one of the nastier powers.  12P -6AP is a pretty nasty little jolt.  James better go Full Defense.  Goodbye extra pass.

I have: REA (7) + INT (9) + AGI (11) + Combat Sense (4) - Environmental Mods (2) = 29 dice.
Defense: 29d6t5 12

Some more questions.  An HE grenade went off just above the deck of the southern edge of the sub, and on the conning tower.  Neither seemed to do any structural damage to the sub itself.  Would James have any knowledge as to whether this is about on par for what a sub of this size and general make could absorb?  Does he feel that any additional damage to the sub hull, whether though grenades, FA burst at point-blank, etc. would likewise be negligible?  I'm going to roll LOG (4) + Demolitions (4) = 8 just for fun.
Demolitions Knowledge: 8d6t5 3

Also, is the propeller at the N or S side of the sub?

So, I've got a sub beneath my feet about to dive, an air boat loaded with illicit goods making a getaway, and a battle of attrition going with a spirit that realistically will need two additional hits to Disrupt.  I guess there's a chance that if James began a tactical retreat the Spirit would cease its harrying of him, but I'm unsure why an order like that would be given.  The smugglers would have to assume that James has transportation nearby -- I mean what kind of a fool would be out alone in the swamp without transpo -- so they'll need him delayed, or dealt with until they put some kilometers between themselves and him.  So I can hope for a lucky roll sometime between now and when the sub either submerges fully or James runs out of ammo, switch back to melee where my pools are slightly larger and my Limit is much higher, but I can't subtract dice from the spirit, or I can spend my last point of Edge to Push the Limit and hope for a knockout.  I'm honestly not sure which is the best of the above options.

Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 23
Not off to a great start this CT.  James is really starting to overthink things and doubt his capabilities.  The lag is taking its toll on his performance.  I'll wait to declare actions.

[Tecumseh]

Your summary of the situation is largely correct.

As long as he goes Full Defense, James is in no real danger. He has roughly double the number of dodge dice than the air spirit has attack dice. I'm actually not entirely sure how to do the math, but my crude estimation is that James' odds of dodging the air spirit are in the neighborhood of 99.66%. If we agree that James perpetually goes on Full Defense then I'm fine if we stop rolling for the long-shot attack and the almost-certain dodge.

James is in no real danger at the moment; the only questions are what are his objectives and will he be able to fulfill any of them.

Some options + some things James might think/suspect:

1) If he dispatches the air spirit, then a summoner will simply conjure up another one (if there is indeed a summoner nearby, and this spirit isn't simply for hire / on loan from someone else remotely).

2) James may or may not be able to catch up to the airboat traveling full speed. However, Illeana's air spirit could probably interfere with the airboat's fan enough to slow it down to the point where James could catch it.

3) Illeana's air spirit could be used for other general mayhem and hilarity, perhaps even on the submarine itself, although it is fragile.

4) If he opened up with full-auto on the sub, James thinks he could eventually punch a hole in the hull. In addition to the ammunition that's in the Ares Alpha, the elf presumably has some more clips available on his person. The same is likely true for the female human and her assault rifle. Another option would be to take the mini-grenades from the Alpha and fashion an improvised explosive, which would be doubly effective underneath the water line. (Given James' air tanks and heightened ability to swim, the submarine diving does not represent a significant hurdle.) Of course, accomplishing this with the air spirit in his face will be a chore. The hole in the submarine might not be large - probably not enough to capsize the boat - but it might provide some new options.

5) The submarine's propeller is on the south side of the boat. James thinks that the submarine is moving south / backing up.

[rednblack]

Taking a cue from chess, one of the planning strategies is to create an ideal board state in your head, and then work backwards to see if you can achieve that plan realistically.  In an ideal world, the submarine is sunk, its crew is dead, the Spirit is Disrupted as a result, and then James goes invisible, uses Tracking to keep up with the air boat, and snipes the remaining pair at distance.  Then he's able to pilot the air boat back to Illeana, and can be all sorts of pleased with himself outwardly while he questions his capabilities against magic and feels a renewed sense of awe toward Illeana, one that will be "complicated" by his own limitations.

Now, can we get there?  If the submarine starts to dive that will help James achieve his goal.  He can daisy-chain some minigrenades together, loop them through the sling in the Alpha to better keep them in place, and detonate them against the hull.  If he's able to do that fairly low on the sub, say attached to one of the fins, the sub would continue to take on water even if they brought it back to the surface. But what if the sub doesn't dive?  I can't believe that they'd want James running around the top for very long, and if they do have a summoner on board, they'll know about the severity of the standoff that's ensued.  If they don't dive soon, it means they must have something else up there sleeve, or something incoming.  So, let's map out the next few CTs, and see how that develops.

CT6: 2 passes with going Full Defense
Free: Full Defense
Simple: Turn Pulse Weave Off
Simple: Observe in Detail Perception + Visual: 17d6t5 6

Free:
Simple: Grab Spare Mag off Elf (if available)
Simple: FA Burst at sub (mostly to encourage diving)

CT7 Initiative: 16+4d6 30 2 passes with going Full Defense
Most of this pass is going to be spent with James making his way to the south end of the sub.  We'll throw in another Observe in Detail.Perception: 17d6t5 5



 

[Tecumseh]

The elf appears to be packing explosive ammo in the Ares Alpha. The elf has a full clip of explosive ammo available on his person, as well as an extra clip of HE grenades for the Ares Alpha.

After six rounds of explosive ammo, James notices that the hull is starting to give slightly. It certainly makes quite a noise and would probably be alarming to anyone inside the sub / echo chamber.

He thinks that if he puts a full clip into the same place on the sub then he might be able to punch a fist-size hole in the hull. The female human presumably has more ammo available.

Go ahead and keep declaring/rolling. The sub doesn't exactly accelerate quickly. It has not started diving yet.

[rednblack]

Well, that's promising.  Let's try staying on the north side for CT7 and focusing fire.  James should get 2 passes of laying down fire.  Assuming James could grab the extra clip for the Alpha with 1 Simple Action, and will need to spend another Simple Action to grab the clip of grenades.

CT7 IP1
Free: Full Defense
Complex: FA Burst at sub
I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group ( - Called Shot (4) - Firing in Melee (3) = 12 dice.
Shoot Sub: 12d6t5 5
Hitting 5 Accuracy.  Damage is 12P -3AP, staged to 17P -3AP
Oddly, by RAW James is better off switching the Alpha to single shot and letting loose with 1 bullet at a time as the sub can't Dodge and damage isn't increased by extra rounds, but that's silly, so I'll leave how damage is modified up to the GM.  I neglected to take Recoil into account.  Hmm, let's not do anymore Complex Bursts from here on out.

James is at 8/42 Alpha, 1/5 Redline 1/5 Edge

CT7 IP2
Simple: FA Burst at sub.
Free: Drop mag
Simple: Reload Mag
I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group ( - Called Shot (4) - Firing in Melee (3) = 12 dice
Shoot Sub: 12d6t5 2
Damned Spirit is harrying him pretty bad this pass it looks like.
Damage in this case is staged to 14P -3AP.

James is at 42/42 Alpha, 1/5 Redline, 1/5 Edge.

Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 31
So 3 passed for CT8 with going full Defense.

CT8 IP1
Free: Full Defense
Simple: Grab extra clip of grenades
Simple: FA Burst at sub.
I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group ( - Called Shot (4) - Firing in Melee (3) = 12 dice
Shoot Sub: 12d6t5 4
Damage is staged to 16P -2AP

CT8 IP2
Simple: Take Aim (extra die)
Simple:: FA Burst
I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group ( - Called Shot (4) - Firing in Melee (3) + Take Aim (1) = 13 dice
Shoot Sub: 13d6t5 0
By Ghost, he nearly missed the broad side of a barn.  Hopefully Illeana wasn't watching through her Spirit's eyes on that particular burst.
Base damage is 12P -3AP.

James is at 30/42 Alpha, 1/5 Redline 1/5 Edge.

I'll see where this gets us before I declare for the last pass.  James will shoot another burst if there isn't much of a hole, or consider switching to grenades if there is a fist-sized or better hole.  Would I be looking at the regular -4 Called Shot for putting a grenade in the newly-fashioned hatch?

[Tecumseh]

Let's get more abstract about this to save ourselves some time and effort.

First, we'll buy hits. James consistently has 12 dice even after the penalties for called shot and being in melee combat. That equals three hits.

Second, we'll use the optional rule from Run & Gun where dodging penalties that take the dodge pool below zero stage the damage up by 1 box per 2 dice. Since the sub can't dodge, that gives an FA burst (-5 to dodge) a +2 DV bonus. That avoids the silliness of having it be better to shoot one round at a time.

Third, James' average initiative is 30. That's right on the cusp between 2 IPs and 3 IPs if he takes one to go on Full Defense. We'll say he averages 5 IPs per 2 CTs. We'll say he can squeeze off one FA burst per IP.

Without checking the books, I believe James needs a Simple action to eject the empty clip if wireless is off. It doesn't significantly change anything, but I thought I would note it.

Base damage is 11P -2AP plus +1P -1AP from ammo plus +3P from net hits plus +2P from called shot plus +2P from undodged burst. That makes for 18P -3AP per IP. If the sub is also buying hits on the soak, that means James is doing enough damage to tear it up even if the sub has 74 dice to soak (before AP). (Vehicles don't have hardened armor, do they? They soak like normal, with no auto-hits, right?) There was a thread complaining about the lack of submarines in Rigger 5 so I'll presume that there aren't any stats available. If I convert the Krasnay Sormova Partisan from Arsenal (which I have no idea is comparable or not) then the current sub would have something like Body 23, Armor 18. In other words, James is chewing it up, one bullet hole at a time.

After missing his shot at CT8 IP2 - we can say that the air spirit grabbed the Alpha and yanked it at the right moment - James pauses and sees that he has torn up a good hole. However, the hull looks much thinner than James was expecting: just a few millimeters of steel. Peering inside, James sees that there is a second hull (the pressure hull) beneath the lighter, outer hole. He may (or may not) know that the light outer hull is for hydrodynamics and that the inner hull is actually to resist the pressure of being underwater.

James does need a called shot to fire a grenade into the hole he has created, but he can buy hits and automatically succeed. He should be wary of being too close to the grenades when they detonate though, as the outer hull is not as strong as he initially thought. He can continue firing to the inner/pressure hull if he wants to see what that accomplishes.

If the sub dives, James has the opportunity to rig an improvised explosive with the HE grenades, knowing that they will be more effective underwater. The tricky part will be triggering them, as the water will potentially interfere with the wireless signal to detonate them.

The sub is now moving more steadily, but has not yet begun to dive.

Where did we leave off with Illeana's air spirit? Let's buy hits for it too, which means 4 running dice = 1 hit = +10 meters per IP due to sprinting. It will average 2 IPs per CT. Base flying speed is 8 meters per CT, to which we will add 20 meters of sprinting. That's 28 meters per CT, or 14 meters per IP.

Halfway through CT5 it had covered 48 of the 110 meters. That leaves 62 meters to go (or a few more, as the sub is now moving), or 5 IPs. That means the spirit will arrive with James' Desert Strike at the end of CT7. As it is currently CT8, James now has it available. The spirit will hold it until James accepts it, at which point the spirit will be available for a new task.