Hodges' eyes slowly shift to the ceiling as he hears faint metal clankings, likely droid feet.

'Guys, we have a problem...' He hears Slate say.

"Slate.... start looking around for a vent or access hatch...." Hodges orders. "Tell the others to do the same."

The fighter himself remained where he stood, in case it was just a diversion, though he searched the seeable area of ceiling for any place they might enter. If the droids were seperating to surround them, their odds were even smaller than before. No army can fight a battle on two fronts... Let alone half a dozen men.....

"This is Lieutenant Omega, CT 0084 4573. Do you know who is attacking troopers? What's the size of the enemy force, how many clones are still fit for combat? We need to know troopers!"
"The Separatist's Lieutenant. We are unable to determine the amount." Gyro paused a second to regain some composure. "We have about seven men in fighting shape, one wounded and 8 MIA. Our 4 NCO's are missing too.

Slade looks over to Hodges and back up to the roof before reaching for his commlink. "Guys, we have a problem.... The droids are on the roof now, be ready for anything."
Gyro heard the message; it wasn't good. Turning back to the comlink, Gyro said, " Uhh, hate to be the bringer of bad new, but the droids are enveloping us. They are on the roof now." Gyro checked his weapon charge. This was going to be a fight now...

The seconds which slipped by during the wait for a response from their possible rescuers were agonizing; it wasn't until the next message came through that Riggs was able to release his breath.
"This is Lieutenant Omega, CT 0084 4573. Do you know who is attacking troopers? What's the size of the enemy force, how many clones are still fit for combat? We need to know, troopers!"

The voice was gruff, like that of one accustomed to many years of combat; such an ally would be quite handy to the team if he'd heed their plea for help. Gyro, already at the com, answered the voice's question accordingly:

"The Separatist's Lieutenant. We are unable to determine the amount. We have about seven men in fighting shape, one wounded and 8 MIA. Our 4 NCO's are missing too." Then, a momentary pause set in; Gyro seemed to be listening to something, shoulders cocked slightly. He turned back to the comlink and said, as if speaking to everybody at once, "Uhh, hate to be the bringer of bad news, but the droids are enveloping us. They are on the roof now."

Riggs choked as his heart almost leapt into his throat. Throughout this whole mess, he'd never been directly involved in any real combat; now, there was a high potential that he'd have to face some real enemies. The blaster pistol he now held tightly in his hand was cold, filling him with dread. Nevertheless, there was no time to be scared- taking his initiative, he voiced his next actions.

"Guys, I'm going to go out and help Hodges and whomever else is out there. Gyro, soldier-" he addressed the clone- "thanks for all the help!" One had to be courteous. With that, he jogged to the door and called out to Hodges: "D'you need backup?"

"D'you need backup?" Hodges heard Riggs call behind him, and turns to look at the clone.

"Aye, we are all going to need backup, but we will do better if we center ourselves in one room. As that is impossible while guarding the door AND using the comms, I suggest you guard that door way and call out if you see anything." He responded quickly, suppressing his own fears as much as possible by assuming just a bit of command. Opening up his helmet comm, so those around him could all hear, he begins, "Alright troopers. This is going to be a tough fight. And do not doubt, we will be fighting. We... May not survive. But I think I speak for all of us when I say we aren't going to give these gear heads an easy victory. And IF we can hold out until backup arrives, I want them to see a pile of scrap metal so high, they can build a new ship out of it." He grins to himself, shutting down the comm and adjusting his grip on his rifle, nodding to Slate.

"The Separatist's Lieutenant. We are unable to determine the amount. We have about seven men in fighting shape, one wounded and 8 MIA. Our 4 NCO's are missing too." Then, a momentary pause set in; Gyro seemed to be listening to something, shoulders cocked slightly. He turned back to the comlink and said, as if speaking to everybody at once, "Uhh, hate to be the bringer of bad news, but the droids are enveloping us. They are on the roof now."
Slamming his fist onto something the troopers couldn't see the clone who called himself Omega cursed. "Listen here troopers, we're 20 minutes away from your location. I want you to prepare for a fight. Take this seriously, it ain't no training sim. We'll contact the nearest Capitol Ship as soon as possible. Stay strong troopers, Omega out." With a salute, the hologram shut down and once more Gyro and the trooper were left alone in a quiet room.

--------------------------------------------------
Hodges, Slade, and Riggs stood in the hallway, listening closely they could hear the clanking on the roof. Looking up to the roof Slade gasped. "Guys, I think they're cutting through," Pointing upwards, the three clones could see sparks falling down to them. "this, is going to be a problem." With a groan Slade backs away and aims his rifle towards the roof.

"20 minutes..." Gyro thought about the time that it would take for reinforcements. Even so, it was only two reinforcements. How could any two troopers take on a whole droid force? However it would be done, Gyro couldn't figure out any other course of action. Disabling the safety, Gyro pulled his pistol. He commed every clone trooper in the vicinity. In his mind, his voice was bold. In reality, it was shaky: "Ok guys... 20 minutes until evac arrives... let's... show these droids what were are made of!"

Gyro marched out into the hall, one of his pistols drawn. He was not going to be afraid of droid scum; Gyro would destroy as many of the tin cans as showed up! Then he would destroy even more! No amount of droids would keep him from actually being in space! With renewed confidence, Gyro disabled the safety from his other blaster.

Hodges gritted his teeth as sparks began falling from the ceiling. The gearheads were cutting through. They had 90 seconds, maybe less....

"I don't suppose any of you boys grabbed any explosives...." He growled into his comm.
"I'm thinking those clankers need some help making a hole, and i love to be helpful." He adds with a chuckle, trying to hide his nervousness, rifle not moving an inch from the soon-to-be point of entry.
"If any of you have any Detonite, now is the time to use it. Right where they are cutting. I want that door they are making to take a few of them apart."

Indeed, it was apparent that help was needed; Hodges turned to Riggs in response, and nodded. "Aye, we are all going to need backup, but we will do better if we center ourselves in one room. As that is impossible while guarding the door AND using the comms, I suggest you guard that door way and call out if you see anything."
His directions were quick- for surely he was feeling as fearful as they all were about now- but they were directions, and it gave Riggs a distant comfort to be set with a task to occupy himself with whilst still being useful to everyone else.

"Roger that." He jogged down the hall to the specified doorway and turned to face the others, and found himself staring at a shower of sparks pouring from the ceiling. They were being gutted from the outside; he could picture a swarm of droids rushing in from the holes in the thousands, and it was not a pleasant thought. His vision refocussed to the scene behind the sparks: Gyro had joined them, had released the safety on his pistol. Hodges' voice floated in on his comlink.

"I'm thinking those clankers need some help making a hole, and I love to be helpful. If any of you have any Detonite, now is the time to use it. Right where they are cutting. I want that door they are making to take a few of them apart."

Detonite?? "Ah, kriffit- I only have a frag grenade," Uttered Riggs through his own com. "Will that help? I can toss it over if need be!"

[Current Map: Map ]

The five clones stood in anticipation as the sparks continued to shower down. As they watched terrified, the 5ft square of ceiling dropped to the ground with a loud metallic smash.

As quickly as it fell, four B1's followed close behind blasters raised and ready to fight.

[Initiative: Gyro, 1; Hodges, 25; Riggs, 17; Slade, 24; Droids, 20*]

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(post in Q&A your intended actions. I'll make rolls and adjust map accordingly)

"So, how long till they..." Gyro voice drifted away, as he looked up to the ceiling. Sparks continued to pour down. Fortunately, the armour Gyro was wearing protected him from any burns they could have caused. "Gee, I wonder..."

In a sudden thump, part of the ceiling collapsed. Gyro stepped back and faltered. When he was coming out, he had not intended for a firefight.

5 B1's leapt down the hole. Well, unless they had a ray shield, that hole would leak atmosphere. That gave them 20 minutes or so until they started to run out of air. Unless they patched it of course. Gyro stewed over the fact that they wouldn't have enough time to escape without sealing that hole... or moving to a place and blocking off this area.

In his thoughts, Gyro momentarily forgot about the droids, until one spun to face them. Gyro had both his weapons drawn, but had not aimed them out of concern for the atmosphere. Stumbling backward, Gyro sealed his armour and fired both his pistols. Hopefully, he hit something.

(OOC: Gyro moves back and fires two shots at the droids.)

Hodges did not have time to respond to Riggs, as the droids finished their cut, a large slab of metal crashing to the floor, followed immediately by 4 B1 droids, blasters raised and ready to fire. Wasting no time, Hodges quick-steps forward, turning his gun and aiming a blunt smash for the nearest Droids facial plate, then ducking as he spins away to the left, not waiting to see if his attack had done any damage, and fires at the next B1 standing in the hall between the Dorm and security room at point blank range

Just as the words escaped his lips, it seemed, an enormous square of the metal ceiling above their heads came to the floor with a crash, revealing a rather poorly-wrapped and unwelcome gift; all things taken into consideration, the four droids now standing in front of them were only standard B1s, but it filled their hands nonetheless.

A flurry of activity was stirred up immediately, but Riggs' first priority was the Medbay just behind him. He wouldn't abandon his team, but they needed all the resources they could get- the Medbay was one of them, a potentially safe place to go if things got really bad. He stepped backwards and worked the doors to seal; when they did, it was the droids' turn to meet their makers.

One of them was directly in front of Gyro. Riggs took some care in aiming his shot so as not to hit his ally, then gave it a piece of his mind. Heaven hoped the shot would land.

As soon as the droids enter the hallway Hodges leaps into action. Stepping forward he swings his gun towards the B1 in front of him and misses as he steps away before his hit connects. [3 rolled on attack]

Slade immediately follows up by firing his blaster rifle at the same droid Hodges has swung at. While his aim could've been better, he still manages to drop the droid to the ground with a shot to the chest. [13 rolled on attack, 12 damage]

The remaining 3 droids react to the clones hostility with their own. The first B1 aims at Slade and fires, barely missing the clone and hitting the wall. [Droid 2, 15 rolled on attack]
The B1 in front of Gyro manages to hit him in the chest with his blaster rifle with a well placed swing at the chest. [Droid 3, 22 rolled on attack, 4 damage]
The final droid fires at Hodges as he steps in front of him, yet still manages to miss due to poor aiming. [Droid 4, 3 rolled on attack]

Riggs immediately jumps to the door controls of the medbay and manages to seal them with little effort and a suprised Batter staring as they close. [10 rolled on Use Computer] With the Medbay temporarily safe, Riggs turns his blaster pistol upon the droid who just hit his friend Gyro. With a satisfying thud the droid falls to the ground as the shot tears through its head. [18 rolled on attack, 15 damage]

Gyro, shocked by the sudden appearance of the droids falls backwards onto the ground, firing two shots into nothingness as the droid before him falls to the ground. From his position on the ground he could see that he was right to seal his armor as there was nothing through the whole but the darkness of space.

[Round 1 complete. Current Map: Here]

EDIT:(Finally fixed the tech issues. Map is up and posting can continue!)

Hodges continues with his momentum, ignoring the blaster bolts that streak by closer than he cared to admit, bringing his rifle up, barrel mere inches from the new B1's face, and fires, hoping to end it quickly as the need to seal his suit rapidly becomes more and more important, but unwilling to do so until the major threat is eliminated.

However, the need is soon too much, and again, the clone was moving before he even watched to see if his attack was successful and he slips to the left of the droid, and out of Slayt's way, his back slamming into the wall as he focuses on sealing his suit, cursing his stupidity for not doing so when the droids had begun cutting a hole in the roof.

He recalled briefly being scolded on numerous occassions for forgetting these minor, yet life saving details back in basic training. And now, because of his poor preperation skills, it was possible he would die, in the first fire fight he had been in in this war.....

In the midst of being startled and the skirmish they'd been thrown into so suddenly, the shots he fired upon the offending B-1 in front of his ally dropped dead as a well-aimed blast tore apart its head. "Score one for me!" He cheered over the still-open comlink.

The next objects of attention were one remaining droid, which Hodges seemed already to have in control, and the jagged hole in the ceiling- through which precious oxygen was rapidly escaping. His next imperative was to seal his suit- and fast. With a step to the side, he pressed himself against the wall behind Gyro and fumbled with his armour in a determined effort to get it sealed properly. It was selfish, but it would keep him alive long enough, potentially, to finish the battle and work on closing up the hole.
As he did, he suddenly realized the foolishness in sealing Batter in the Medbay- for he would have been very handy in this situation about now- and cursed himself.