A Time For Secrets - Island Defense

Combat Round 1.4
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (4/4)
Ashe 17 (3/4)
- Spirit (3/3)
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (3/3)
Viking 11 (3/3)
- Spirit (3/3)
Specter 10 (3/4)
- Spirit (2/3)

The battle raged on, and there seemed to be some semblance of a victor rising from the smoke of the battlefield, but the fight was young yet, and much could happen to change the tides of the fight. The Boat's motor sputtered violently, but hung on to it's tenuous grasp on life, continuing to propel the boat further forward. There was no longer any chance to stop the attackers from reaching the shore. If the engine were to die now, the boat would easilly coast the remainder of the way, losing little speed in it's final moments before colliding with the land. As things were now, the boat would likely glide quite a ways up the beach before coming to rest, and it would not be comfortable for the attackers.
The gunmen had stopped their Suppression Fire, tucking their heads down and bracing for impact. There was little that they could do from the guns anyway, as they didn't know precisely where their opposition was located. Their shooting thus far had been a "desperate measure" intended to stave off their demise long enough to reach high ground; or at least even footing, with the defending team.

"Got her! She's tied! Laying down!" Eleanor's multitonal voice blared over the common line, sharing her news with the entire team; she had not managed to hide any of the strain she was facing. Effectively, Eleanor had just effectively given the team permission to shoot at any head that stuck itself up over the lip of the boat.

Kesslan: Your turn.

Perception Test: 3 Hits
Using magnified vision, distracted, using vision enhancement

Actions:
Free: Respond to Elanore
Simple/Complex: Held

"Who is she? I need details Elanor" Kesslan responded calmly over the comlink, while mentally thinking 'and why should I care?'. It was hard to simply fight off instinct and just hold off attacking once the battle was joined, but by the same token some of those same instincts knew the value of waiting to pounce as it were. Years of training under the Azies had helped him know when to try and ignore instinct as well, which helped balance things off, but it was still hard sometimes and he didn't like all these vague details in the middle of a fight and he started to wish he'd had the foresight to pick up a few of those micro recon drones. It also struck him that he should really make sure everyone had a tacsoft up and running for times like this, as it would make co-ordinating everything far more efficient.

All things to deal with later however. For now he just kept his scope sweeping about along the boat's profile looking for a target.

Combat Round 1.4
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (4/4) - Action Held
Ashe 17 (4/4)
- Spirit (3/3)
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (3/3)
Viking 11 (3/3)
- Spirit (3/3)
Specter 10 (3/4)
- Spirit (2/3)

Ashe groaned louder this time, sitting up and rubbing her head. Anyone nearby would be able to see and hear her movement clearly, as there was virtual silence. Since the gunfire had stopped, the only sound in the air was the unending sound of waves crashing on the shore. At the moment, not even the everpresent birds were chirping in the air - startled and silent due to the loud ratchetting pops of the Automatic Guns peppering the woods with their lead.
"Can't... Talk... Don't... Shoot.. The... Red..." Eleanor responded, the strain of whatever she was up to was permeating her multitonal voice. Despite that she was clearly otherwise occupied, a bright red "body" shape was suddenly overlayed on everyone's Image Link, showing a body and orientation of that body; presumably, it was the person Eleanor was trying to keep alive. At least she was giving you a clear objective! Not much is clearer than an AR overlay.
Game Stuff - A Perception Test (1) will reveal that the person is most likely below the surface of the water at the moment, lying in what is likely the bottom of the boat.
Kesslan: Your action is held; you may act again at any time.
Specter: You're up.

The glowing colours in the astral gave Specter some help in keeping an aim on the attackers. She focused on one of them. How dare you to attack us?[color=blue]Her mind reached out into the mana, and through the guys aura into his mind, forming the construct of a thought, a reaction, an action. My colleagues betrayed me. Quick shoot them before they shoot me!

Spell: Influence Force 5. One of the Attackers: "My colleagues betrayed me. Shoot them before they shoot me." Magic5+ Sorcery4+Totem advantage (manipulation)2=11d (11d6. hits(5)=3)

She tried to insert that thought, that sudden inspiration into the attackers mind.

Resist drain from Influence spell force 5. Threshold 5/2+1=4. Cha6 +Will 5 =11d (11d6. hits(5)=2) (Specter gets 2boxes stun, to a total of five boxes. Specter now has a modificator of –2 on her rolls.)

The mana flowing through her took it’s toll. Specter felt dizzy.

Combat Round 2.1
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (4/4)
Kesslan 19 (1/4)
Ashe 17 (1/4)
- Spirit (1/3)
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (1/3)
Viking 11 (1/3)
- Spirit (1/3)
Specter 10 (1/4)
- Spirit (1/3)

It finally happened. The boat, which had been speeding toward the shore, finally managed to make landfall. And, likely, "landfall" would turn out to be an apporpriate description. The boat came in at such a high speed that the rear end of the boat lifted up off the water while the entire boat skidded, hard and loud, losing speed at an alarming rate. There was no possible way for anyone in the boat to have been prepared for this, and the only way to have survived it would have been to be lashed down. Completely.
Lucky for the defenders, they had managed to sufficiently "distract" the crew piloting the boat to make a smooth landing impossible. Further, as far from a "Smooth" landing as this may be, the attackers may choose to forgo further attack... It would be impossible to know.

Specter, seeing an opportunity to finally directly target one of the opponents, unleashed a powerful and ultimately deadly spell of his own. Hitting one of the attackers in the center of the boat with an Influence spell, Specter essentially managed to convince the attacker to let go of the boat; flying through the air uncontrollably, and unlikely to survive. These bruises would likely prove fatal.

The spirit battle continues, being carried forward by the speeding boat, the spirit battle also finally made landfall. They were more visible now: occasionally flickering as a Living Flame, or the bright white Lightning of a sword, slashing through the air. But the battle was joined, in earnest, in the Astral.
For those of you who can see in the Astral (and are looking), the Flame which Ashe summoned was taking center stage in the fight at the moment, and looking significantly worse for the wear. Both of the enemy spirits seemed to have turned their attentions on the Flame, attacking it with reckless abandon, but, exposing their defenses to the incoming attacks of the Valkyrie and the "Banzai" Beast. While, to the Flame, the "one sided" fight seemed to be a losing one, an outsider would likely think otherwise: it appeared, at the moment at least, as though the fight would end in the Defender's favor on the Astral Plane. It would be a close one, a "nail biter" so to speak; but the results were starting to solidify even now. Only outside intervention would change the outcome of this fight.

Kesslan: You had a held action from last round. You may roll a Perception test to see inside the boat as it up-ends: Threshhold 2 gives you Alexia (it's easier, since she's red on your AR overlay); threshhold 4, to see a target. You may now use that action. If you choose to shoot: apply the penalty "Attacker is running" (-2) penalty to represent the erratic movement of the boat as it tries to tip over (that said: none of them have cover...).
- Once you've finished posting your last action; you may post immediately what your next action will be, as we'll have arrived at the top of the order.

Round 1:
Perception Test: 3 hits

Almost impassively Kesslan watched the boat upend and the one body go flying. What did catch at least some interest was a brief view of what ever it was Elanor was trying so hard to protect, and it seemed to make sense when that thing turned out to be a person, or at least what at a quick glance appeared to be a person. He didn't get a clear enough view of any potential targets however, and so simply waited and tried to gauge the distance to the boat. At this point he started to suspect he might well be better off launching a proper assault before any of the boat's occupants had a chance to recover, but then again it could also potentially prove to be a near suicidal move if there was too much ground to cover.

Round 2:
Free: Speak
Simple: Observe in Detail 4 Hits
Simple: (Held)

Part of Kesslan's instinct told him to rush up and engage in combat, but that part of him that made him an intelligent being told him the distance was too far and training told him that with a sniper rifle, one only had to be patient. Thus he stayed put, but that didn't mean he had to stay completely idle as he started scanning the crash sight for any targets. "LT, Griefer. Move up I'll cover." he pinged over the comlink. He figured they would have a little time to get moving before the enemy got back to their senses, and any of them after that would have to reveal themselves to fire upon either of the men he'd ordered to move forward, and if the enemy gave their position away, that meant he could put a very large bullet through them.

Combat Round 2.1
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (1/4) - Simple Action held
Ashe 17 (1/4) - Held Action
- Spirit (1/3)
Bad Guys - Held Actions
LT & Greifer (1/3)
Viking 11 (1/3)
- Spirit (1/3)
Specter 10 (1/4)
- Spirit (1/3)

Sorry for the delay all. Post is here; the fight is back on!

Kesslan wisely held his position as the rear-end of the boat finally succumbed to gravity, falling back down to the earth with a mighty crash. The boat bounced a few times, finally coming to rest on it's keel, tipped slightly to one side. Though, not as much as would be expected; the boat carved such a deep furrow in the earth around it, it managed to lodge itself in an upright position. Likely the crach could be heard for at least a mile. Luckily, there shouldn't be anyone else to hear it in that radius.
Kesslan, like the trained soldier that he was, hunkered down behind his rifle, providing cover for his two crouching colleagues moving forward carefully. Ashe, for her own part, seemed to be fully shaken out of her deep-sleep by the thundering boom that happened with the boat hit the ground. She was already sitting up, but had been supported by a tree from behind her. The crash caused her to bolt upright, only to collapse again with a Gasp. This time, she sat up more slowly.
"What's happened?" She asked, holding her hand to her head. The bright glowing orb which had been surrounding her previously had "backed off" a bit, but was right next to her still. OOC: Anyone looking in her direction: Perception Test. Threshhold 2 will tell that she's bleeding (it's fairly obvious, but there's greenery in the way, and you're all distracted), 3 to see that it's in the shoulder, and 4 to tell that it could be serious. No metagaming here: if you don't hit the test, you can't tell. Ashe opted to stay seated for the time being, keeping her hands to her head. If there was something wrong, she didn't offer any information to anyone; either becuase she wasn't aware, or because she didn't think it was serious.

The Boat
All remained quiet as the boat settled. There was no immediate movement. No sounds of the returning gunfire. There wasn't any groaning, screaming, or sounds of pain. There wasn't even any obvious sounds of imminent explosions from the boat itself. Strangely, the boat was settled and silent.

The Spirit War
The war of the Spirits raged on without regard for the apparent lack of action from their Material World counterparts. The relative inaction on the material world was put in stark contrast with the impressive amount of power being unleashed on the Astral. Though, as the war raged on, the likelihood of a turn-around between the two groups was narrowing.
- Specter/Viking: Roll attack rolls for your spirits - On your turns.
Ashe's Fire Spirit had had enough, the flame finally snuffed out, and the two -now battered- Air Spirits which had traveled with the boat turned their attentions on the Beast and the Valkyrie which had been attacking their backs. And just as they did, a glow appeared about them. The Beast, and the Valkyrie both instantly recognized it. The Spirits were the subjects of an Astral Armor spell, seemingly at the very moment they needed it the most!
- Anyone Percieving this may roll an Assensing to attempt to locate the source of the spell.

Viking: You and your Spirit are up.

Held Actions Order (so far):
Bad Guys
Ashe
Kesslan

{Health: 0 / 10P and 5 / 10S damage, NO Wound penalty, -1 Stun penalty} | {Edge left: 4/ 5} {Defense: 3; Initiative: 6(; IP's: 1(3)} | {Ballistic Armor: 6(9); Impact Armor: 6(9) |

... There is nothing I can do ... thought Viking as he got word back from Valkyrie on her front. here on this side it was not much better, the suppressive fire had ended for the time being, but it could erupt any moment. He also noticed two of his comrades on the advance to the boat and decided to help. LT would receive an armour spell. @LT >Armour spell incoming, Use it wisely.<

Spoiler:

AS Viking slumped under the weight of the spell just cast, on the boat the fight went on, Valkyrie and the beast spirit put their power together to finish the fight with the air spirits as soon as possible and return to the Human plane to help their masters.

Spoiler:

The Beast roared and hit the Air spirit with it’s katana, or so it looked if someone were observing the fight.

Astral combat. F4+Astral combat4=8d (8d6. hits(5)=2)

Specter though looked through her binoculars at the boat.

Perception test to see if the girl is bleeding. Defaulting-1 int3+binoculars3=5d (5d6. hits(5)=3)

Not much movement there. But the girl doesn’t look too good. I need to get her out of there. Carefully, the albino elf reached out into the mana, softly wrapping it around the girl to spread the pull equally as to not hurt her and lifting her up, getting her out of the boat quickly and towards herself, safely behind the cover.

Spellcasting Levitation force 5. Getting the girl out of the boat fast but carefully and put her behind cover. Magic5+spellcasting4-stun2= 7d (7d6. hits(5)=4)

Drain for levitation spell F5 F/2+1= threshold 4 (11d6. hits(5)=5)

The mana was kind to her this time. It rushed through her without pulling on her essence at all.

Bad Guys, then Ashe
As the boat finally came to it's resting place, the silence of the island deepened. The former thrill of a firefight had entered in to a momentary lull, allowing the 'Runners to catch their wits and bearings. Perhaps, even, dulling their hightened battle senses. But we hope that's not the case, obviously. The Denizens of the boat were under no such misgivings, clinging for dear life to whatever they could find. Not all of them made it, but those who had were now in a fight with their backs against the wall. They likely knew that this was a win-or-die-trying fight for them, and were unlikely to hand this one to the 'Runners on a silver platter. And they still had some tricks at their backs.
The situation, tense but seemingly at a stalemate, was brought to a head in an instant when the "leverage" that the attackers had brought with them was suddenly, and brilliantly, "whisked" away from right beneath their noses! Now, up the creek, and literally without a paddle, the attackers were driven in to a frenzy.
"Hngh!!" Ashe's voice thundered over the open Comm line. Though no forthcoming follow-up communication was presented to the team. Ashe, it seemed, had little more to add to the situation. Interestingly, her timely comment came as the Shooting started up again. There was a renewed stream of lead being sent out of the boat. Due to the orientation of the boat, the gunners were entirely invisible to Kesslan, LT and Greifer, as the boat was rocked slightly away from them. Conversely, the Magic Team now had clear and clean line-of-sight on one of the Gunners, and may be able to put together a reasonable attack plan.

Astral
As the Fire spirit winked out, the Air Spirits turned to their new targets. With the battle looking everything but won, the Air Spirits suddenly shimmered with an Astral Armor spell, evening the odds again. Despite that, the two Air Spirits were already damaged goods. With Armor, they might have a chance, but this was, at best, a long shot.
The Valkyrie broke the reverie, screaming in with an overhand swipe with her lightning tinged blade. A fearsome sight to behold. The Air Spirit (heretofore called "#1") she was attacking raised her nearly inconsequential arm to block, looking for all the world as though it was about to get sliced off. Just as the fated moment arrived, however, the Armor glowed more brightly at that spot, stopping the blade from successfully severing the arm. Some further damage seemed to have been done, leaving #1 looking further battered. Immediately, #1 attacked back: Valkyrie: Defend (Astral Combat: Forcex2) against 3 and then (if applicable) Resist (Force) against 5+Net.
The Ape furthered the Assault, attacking it's Air Spirit (heretofore called "#2") in turn, and seeing a similar effect, though the Armor spell seemed to have been more effective against the Ape's blade (Read: Fewer Successes....). #2 attacked the Ape, also with what would appear to have been fewer successes: Ape: Defend against 1 Success and then (if applicable) Resist against 5+Net.

Game Stuff:
Alexia is now flying through the air at a reasonably high rate of speed: somewhere approximating a full-speed-run away from the boat, and perpendicular to the two lines of fire. She is clearly visible to any who would look at her. Kesslan/Specter/Viking: This mean's you can see her aura unobstructed, and may make an Assensing test.
LT/Greifer both drop prone immediately.
Everyone is again in Threatened Ground, and anyone not Prone will have to make Reflex and Soak tests to avoid damage (Other than LT/Greifer, no action is required at this time, as you all remained prone).

Kesslan: Your held action is upon us. As stated above: there is no clear line of sight on an attack: the turret operator is strafing, and will have "Partial Cover (+3)" against any attack you make. The far turret is entirely out of Line Of Sight. Your Assensing test is without the "Distracted" modifier, as you've already allocated an action for Observe In Detail - and shifters are naturally dual-natured.

Round 2:
Simple Action (Previously Held): Speak

With the individual that Elanore had so recently been concerned about suddenly being levitated through the air and the gun fire being renewed from the boat, Kesslan saw no need to drag things out about being careful anymore as to what happened to the boat itself, much less it's remaining passengers. "Target's clear, geek em all.". He suddenly found himself wishing he'd grabbed one of the assault cannons instead, or maybe a grenade launcher. Either would have put an end to this fight right quick, but the Barrett was still able to do so quickly enough as well.

Round 3:
Free: Called Shot - Gunner
Simple: Fire Weapon (5 Hits)
Simple: Fire Weapon (6 Hits)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3302812/

Kesslan swung the large rifle around in the general direction of the one gunner he had some sort of line of sight on. While he didn't have AV rounds, the APDS would have to be the next best thing, and as armour piercing rounds just might do the trick of blowing past what ever cover the gunner had. His main concern at the moment after all wasn't taking out the gunner, it was getting him to stop firing so LT and Griefer could continue to advance. With the gun nest more or less in his sights he squeezed the trigger, adjusting for the weapon's recoil and fired again.

Ammunition in Weapon: 10/14 APDS (9P -8AP)

Combat Round 2.2
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (2/4)
Ashe 17
- Spirit (1/3)
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (1/3)
Viking 11 (2/3)
- Spirit (2/3)
Specter 10 (2/4)
- Spirit (2/3)

Kesslan takes two careful shots, timing the trigger pull with his breath and making sure that his sights are perfectly on target with the Gunner who is strafing his team. One. Two. On target. Kesslan watches the Gunner recoil with each shot as they are placed somewhere in his torso. It is impossible to tell from Kesslan's position how close to "kill shots" they may be, or how effective they were through his armor, but he can see that they at least had some effect. The Gunner goes down, and the strafing fire ceases.
There is no further sound coming from Ashe. The glowing Orb which surrounded her the first time she went down surrounded her again, it's light intensity seeming to increase and decrease rhythmically, perhaps akin to a heartbeat. With the visual obstruction, it is impossible to tell what has happened to her, but the only conclusion at this point is that it's "not good". As the last time this glowing Orb surrounded her was just after the boat opened fire at the team.

But, as soon as the Gunner went down, another took his place. Or perhaps it was the same one. And this time, Strafing Fire didn't seem to be on his mind. This Gunner had seen how effective that had been for his comrades (or learned from his own past mistakes) and was determined to have some more effect. When he stood up, the first thing he did was press a button or something, deploying an armored plate behind the mounted gun. It would effectively cover his entire body, leaving very little available to shoot at from in front. Kesslan, LT, and Greifer had all seen the like, as most mounted guns had an armored attachment to cover the gunners. Why it hadn't been deployed yet was strange, but it hadn't.
With his available time, the Gunner took 1 Burst Fire shot at Kesslan himself. He hadn't had time to Aim, or really attempt to fire with accuracy, but he knew that the sniper is the one to target, at least this time. Kesslan: Incoming 3-bullet burst. Reaction against 3 (or Reaction+Dodge if you're willing to sacrifice your next action). Then (if he hit) Soak 11-Reaction at AP-1

Viking: You're up.

Viking - {Health: 0 / 10P and 5 / 10S damage, NO Wound penalty, -1 Stun penalty} | {Edge left: 4/ 5} {Defense: 3; Initiative: 6(; IP's: 1(3)} | {Ballistic Armor: 6(9); Impact Armor: 6(9) |
Valkyrie - {Health: 2 / 10P and 0 / 10S damage, NO Wound penalty, NO Stun penalty} |

Noticing that Ash had really been absent for a while and the the glow had reappeared, Viking decides to investigate that situation a bit. He feels worn out, all the spells he sustains and the spells he did cast to boot are making him feel like a empty battery. Being still prone Viking crawls to Ash's location to see what's up with that spirit perceiving only part of the picture makes him worry, partly because it's his employer, partly because he really did like Ash, and most of all, because he would prefer Ash to be in charge not Kesslan.

All he saw was Ash's Legs, so he decided to change to astral sight to see what is going on there.

Valkyrie was still on the offensive trying to finish the fight as fast as possible
attacking the Air spirit #1(3) But the attack from Spectre hit her unexpected and did some mild damage(2P)

Now that the possible ally was out of the way, Specter felt no need to hold back on the most effective battlespell she had. Like she had, mere moments ago, she reached into the mana, pulling and pressing and pushing, amassing raw energy in one tight spicky ball, which could only be seen on the astral. The task took all her concentration. But when she thought it was sufficiently strong, she placed it inside the boat, next to the one attacker she could see, and released the compressed energy.

Casting a manaball (Area effect) spell force5. Magic5+Sorcery4-stun2=7d (7d6. hits(5)=1) (Argh… only one hit)

Drain for Manaball Force5 f5/2+2=4,5= threshold 5 charisma6+will5=11 (11d6. hits(5)=5) ( Woohoo, at least no drain)

The spikes didn’t seem too big to her. But they sure should hurt, she thought.



The baboonish spirit in the old japanese uniform sliced and diced at the air spirits armour with rage. Unfortunately, he seemed to lack somewhat precision.

Astral combat. F4+Astral combat4=8d (8d6. hits(5)=1)

Combat Round 2.3
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (3/4)
Ashe 17
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (3/3)
Viking 11 (3/3)
- Spirit (3/3)
Specter 10 (3/4)
- Spirit (3/3)

Astral The formerly one-sided battle raged on, nearly unchecked, and certainly inconsiderate, of the physical battle which had rekindled in the past few moments. The enemies were using the boat for cover, while turning their weapons loose. The Astral Spirits were waging what seemed to be a losing war of defense in an attempt to restrict the Team's spirits access to the enemy.
Both Air spirits received the attack, with varying degrees of "success". In both cases, their newly formed Armor Spell seemed to assist in their defense, but there was only so much additional armor could to to supplement their already damaged defense attempts. At least, until they could even the playing field by causing some damage themselves. Neither Air Spirit had been stopped yet, though they were showing signs of "wear and tear" from the fight they had yet put up - though on hindsight, it looked like they had been sorely outclassed from the outset! And the battle raged on.
Valkyrie: Defend against 4; then resist 5+. Baboon: Defend against 2; then resist 5+.

Physical
Another (or perhaps the same) enemy goes down. Kesslan's rifle is on fire! LT and Greifer take the opportunity created by a momentary lull in the strafing gunfire to rush the boat, closing the distance entirely and dropping for cover with their backs against the boat wall. There was no way the gun would reach them there, nor was it likely that the enemy had noticed their final dash.

Kesslan: Your turn.

Actions:
Free: Speak
Simple: Observe in Detail 3 Hits
Simple: Held


"LT, Griefer, grenades if you got em." Kesslan calmly ordered over the link. He kept scanning the boat for additional targets, focusing on finding more targets to either take out or suppress for the time being. He was at least peripherally aware of what was going on with everyone else but he realized there was a great deal of information he could use right now that just wasn't available. Much of it though was for lack of a proper setup. Subscribed embedded biomonitors and other sensors would let him know how everyone was doing, while a proper tacsoft network would do wonders right about now. Alas there wasn't a thing he could do about it just this moment.

Free :hold
Complex : Assensnig(1)


Viking Assenses this curios situation Ashe is in to see what is going on here.

Too close. Damn it guys. She couldn’t use her best weapon as the others were too close to the attackers. Well here comes plan B.

She focused on one of the attackers, reaching out into the mana, and through it, into his thoughts. Then she applied gentle force to twist and turn them and push in a strong new idea. “Throw away all your weapons to show your surrender.”

Influence spell Force 5. "Throw away all your weapons to show your surrender" Magic5 +Spellcasting4 -stun2= 7d (7d6. hits(5)=1)

Drain for Influence F5 =f/2+1=2,5/2+1 rounded down =3 Cha6+will5=11d (11d6. hits(5)=7) (Yay no drain)

Maybe we can interrogate him later, if he survives, Specter thought. It wasn’t much to do, but she did what she could to help the team.

Combat Round 2.3
Initiative Order:
Kesslan 19 (3/4)
Ashe 17
Bad Guys
LT & Greifer (3/3)
Viking 11 (3/3)
- Spirit (3/3)
Specter 10 (3/4)
- Spirit (3/3)

Astral
First one, and then the second, of the enemy spirits winked out of existence. Damage, without really paying close attention, was difficult to guage in the Astral, and so frequently the fight would go on, full-bore, right up until it was over. There was rarely anything like what happens in the physical plane, where the battle "winds down" as the forces tire. The astral battle was completely over. The opposing spirits were no longer defending their team, and if the physical soldiers didn't turn the tide of their battle, and quickly, the Island Defenders would soon succeed.

Physical
A hail of bullets soon opened up on the boat, some of which pinged harmlessly off the still well armored hull. Most of the bullets, however, found a mark. It was hard to tell the exact order of events, but seemingly perfect coordination caused the one remaining fully-healthy soldier to stand up, just as LT and Greifer opened fire.
And just like that, the battle was over.

"Everyone report in. Any casualties?" Kesslan pings the whole team over the comlink. "LT, Griefer, check for survivors in the boat. If there's any still left we will need to interrogate them, otherwise just grab their comlinks and we'll have to see what we can pull from those." Even as he started tossing out orders, Kesslan slowly stood up taking his large rifle with him and started heading in the direction of the boat. He wanted this whole mess cleaned up quickly. If one group came, then it was entirely possible more might come in the near future and the more time they had to prepare for such a potential eventuality the better.