EH-RK balances the shields, restoring those quadrants that are depleted
Manteca rights himself and takes a deep breath. "Boreal... please... do whatever you can so that we can stop rolling the ship."
"The rolling is getting in my way too." She complains as her shot goes wide again
"You're the pilot."
When Allison is done piloting you probably want to change the ship. A once eaten breakfast makes a nice spiral in low shuttle gravity during some rolls, but once it hits the wall it is just plain disgusting.
The shooting is way off, but even though the enemy ship flees at full speed, it is still in reach of the coil gun at least.
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Eric boosts power to the Shields, attempting to restore their functionality.
Humanoids: There is now a ninety four point seven seven two probability that we survive this encounter. That was most excellent shooting Kasatha Dame Tannehauser. I see my algorithm was helpful.
It was not helpful.
”Thank you. It was.” Tannhäuser replies, not even looking as she pulls the trigger one last time.
Manteca watches his breakfast for a moment, his antenna lying flat against his head as though slumped in defeat. As the ship goes to low grav, he holds onto the doorframe with both arms and wedging both legs into the doorway.
Dame Tannhauser, please finish this, he pleads telepathically.
As he watches the shot go wide, he squeezes out a single tear. It, too, floats in the low-gravity before being subsumed in a still-floating spiral of breakfast.
Tannhäuser manages to waste another round of bullets without effect and the enemy ship evades the shuttle. With the sensors you can track it though and find that it lands on the Rock behind the Acreon. Shortly after you arrive with your shuttle at the Acreon too.
The Acreon is an old prospecting and mining ship that has seen years of hard use in the asteroid fields and hard vacuum of the Pact Worlds and beyond. It’s a boxy and ungainly ship, and its patched and repatched outer hull bears the scars of countless micrometeorite impacts and is faded from exposure to the radiation of space. The Acreon floats alone in space, far from Absalom Station, its only companion the misshapen asteroid called the Drift Rock, which is tethered behind the ship on long tow cables. The Acreon’s transponder broadcasts a repeating message that the ship is under quarantine by order of Absalom Station security, warning away any curious onlookers and wouldbe explorers.
Dr. Imani slumps against the wall of the ship, breathing heavily. "Is... is ship combat always that, erm... unsettling?" As soon as the doors open, he is off the ship and onto the rock, laser at the ready.
"No, it's usually much friendlier and personable than the normal combat that also involves killing people trying to kill you." she offers to the doctor.
The flying video drone raises into the air again as the shuttle comes to a halt near the Acreon.
Eric comforts the Shirren Shirren Manteca Imani, it is highly probable that we will be involved in at minimum four point seven seven more ship combats if we continue our careers as mercenaries. You have time to get used to it.
The flying video drone raises into the air again as the shuttle comes to a halt near the Acreon.
Tannhäuser gently grabs hold of the drone and makes it face her. "Dearest Nor, I don't suppose you would know what that ship was and why it attacked us?"
"I can tell you that this ship was a DEATH’S HEAD NECROGLIDER, a space ship of Eoxian design. But who piloted it and why it attacked you is beyond my knowledge." the answer from Nor comes via the drone.
"Can someone scan the ship and the rock?"
"Thank you." Tannhäuser replies to the drone before releasing it.
Indeed Vesk Boreal Typhon. That would be a logical first step. Scanning now.
The Drift Rock is a rocky asteroid only a few thousand feet in diameter with an unremarkable, irregular surface. The asteroid has no atmosphere and is primarily composed of rock and metal. Strangely, the sensors can pick up no additional information, as if the Drift Rock itself is interfering with the sensor readings.
The Acreon reads as if it is an abandoned spacer...which it is. Life signs are negligible and highly unlikely. The airlock is open, so anything inside would need to be space suited. The Rock, is unremarkable except for the scan interference I am experiencing. I suggest a course of action that docks us with the Acreon. Perhaps the Crew Log might shed light on what happened here.
Allison does a turn of the shuttle and with a hard smack docks it at the open airlock of the Acreon.
Once you're ready and leave the Shuttle you find yourself in a creepy situation. Flickering emergency lights do little to dispel the darkness inside the derelict ship, and the sense of abandonment is only heightened by the apparent lack of any movement or life inside its airless corridors. Artificial gravity is still functional, however, so there’s likely still power to run essential systems and possibly restore life support and atmosphere to the ship. Unfortunately, there are still no obvious clues as to the fate of the Acreon’s vanished crew.
Manteca enables his suits environmental protections and draws a strange gun-like contraption. He carefully loads a blue-grey substance into a long, finned syringe that he carefully loads into the back. "Sedative," he explains without prompting. "Intended for personal or medical use, but it has had more, ah, militant uses before. Particularly when delivered at range like this device is designed to do." He also draws the laser pistol. "I must confess, the lighting malfunctions make the whole thing seem rather sinister."
”Being a ghost ship with no sign of the crew certainly doesn’t help either.”
While you stand in the open airlock a blue creature, the size of a wolf looks around the corner. Quadruped muscular figure, no fur, tentacle like appendages instead of hair, eyes glowing yellow in the flickering light and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Tannhäuser tilts her head at the strange creature before letting out a whistle and motioning with one of her hands. "C'mere," she calls out to it like one would a dog or cat.
The creature doesn't need a second invitation. It charges Tannhäuser.
Type disease (injury); Save Fortitude DC 10
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Effect No latent/carrier state; an infected creature that dies
rises as a void zombie (see page 61) 2d4 hours later.
Cure 2 consecutive saves
"OW! Bad! Bad... whatever you are!" she cries before slashing at the beast with her hand and the half formed black blade in it.
Manteca gives an alarmed trill and fires a shot from his laser, before retreating back to the ship.
Boreal will step to a flank with Dame Tannhauser
Humanoids! The creature carries a deadly disease!
Eric draws his tac-pistol and fires at the creature.
”Joy.”
Tannhäuser cuts the creature badly, Manteca's laser has no effect on the akata, but Boreal cuts it down with her Doshko.
Manteca peers out from around the corner of the docked shuttle. "Well... I'm willing to bet we found out what happened to the crew. We should be on the lookout for the crew's reanimated remains and for any other akatas that may attack." He also holsters his laser. "Won't be needing this with their fire resistance..." Sighing, he draws a small knife.
Tannhäuser crouches over the beast to inspect its corpse, prodding it a few times. "So they carry a disease and are resistant to fire. And reanimated remains? Is this something they can do or does it have to do with what Nor sent us to get?"
"It is related to the disease they carry - those slain by it return as a walking receptacle for the akatas' larval young until the creatures are prepared to exist outside their reanimated hosts." Manteca shudders at his own description. "Ghoulish to say the least."
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"Ah," Tannhäuser lets out before looking down at the Akata. "You were just looking for a place for your babies." she says while gently petting the corpse's head.
Manteca telpathically connects with the party members.
Door to the left - I would volunteer to open it, but... The party members get a psychic impression of frailty and shame.
Boreal grunts at the doctor, moving to the door he stands to one side and readies to open the door, waiting for someone to take up position on the opposite side.
At Boreal’s non-verbal cue Tannhäuser takes up a position opposite of her.
Boreal opens the door, and follows Tannhauser in hot on her heels
A cargo hold, this large room contains a small science lab, compact mining equipment, and collected rock samples from the Acreon’s prospecting mission. And two Akatas.
"Augh! I know you are just looking for a nest for your offspring, but, LOOK ELSEWHERE!" Tannhäuser growls before retaliating.
Manteca creeps up to the doorway in time to see the madness burst loose. He gives a cheer at Tannhauser's strike against the akata. "Tannhauser, I don't believe they're intelligent - just keep stabbing them like you are! They'll understand force!"
Boreal will wind up and swing at the beast that Tannhauser struck, as she roars defiantly at them both.
"I don't care if they understand force, I just hope they understand dying!"