Please stand by. Guidance will be with you shortly.
You have been summoned to the Lorespire Complex, the heart of the Starfinder Society on Absalom Station. You received this mission assignment on rather short notice, and have not yet heard any of the details involved.
The building’s receptionist, a lashunta who is polite but looks a bit overworked, greets each of you as you arrive and then shows you the way to a small meeting room. The room is empty apart from some chairs and a cluster of sleek black computers against the far wall. He invites you to take a seat while you wait and then hurries back to his duties.
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“Mr. Dion Voss, right?” The slender woman known as Bat Elf nods towards the Lashunta receptionist. She’s wearing a bat mask and a cape, and she’s beaming. “Good to see you again, citizen! Don’t be surprised that I know your name, even though you didn’t share it. I’m Bat Elf, defender of justice, and I believe in research! Together, we stand between evil and the good people of Absalom Station! Thank you for your selfless service, as we all work together to eliminate CRIME!”
“Miss Apastron! Wait!” A wizened looking android runs into the room, wearing a tuxedo and carrying a camera over his shoulder. He’s an older model, one that went out of vogue over a hundred years ago. “You’re supposed to wait until I’m filming to do your speeches!” As he passes Mr. Voss’s desk, he notes a line further down the page of the holoscreen: “Yes, that’s Sonarisa Apastron checking in. She’s... er... changed her name.”
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Bat Elf shakes her head at the name, ‘Miss Apastron.’ It’s understandable that Alfred makes the mistake. Absalom Station personnel made it too, and some of Bat Elf’s online forms still bear Sonarisa Apastron name. It’s a bit like having a ghost twin that dogs your steps, but Bat Elf is patient. She knows who she is, and soon everyone else will too.
“Alfred,” she says gently, “you know the person who bore that name died of a broken heart. There’s only Bat Elf now!” She looks up at the ceiling. “Guidance, a bit more light while we’re waiting, please. It’s time for another show!”
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
As the lights come up, Bat Elf smiles into Alfred’s camera. “Greetings, Bat Friends!” she waves. “This is Bat Elf, with another exciting Batcast for all of you! We’re waiting to see what mission the Lore Spire Complex gives us this time. Will it involve sketchy vesk pawnshops in the downlow? Eliminating enraged feather dusters in abandoned warehouses? Protecting innocents from the depredations of the corpse fleet? We don’t know! But when we do, we’ll keep you advised and up to date!”
“But first, let’s meet today’s Bat Team!” Bat Elf turns towards the next hapless Starfinder to come in the door. “Hello, future wingmate! Would you like to introduce yourself to me and all the Bat Fans that are eagerly watching? We’re all eager to know what skills you bring when we work together to fight crime!”
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The door opens and a young, tall Lashunta woman enters. Her eyes widen and she hesitates...Am I in the right place? Sharmain asks herself.
"Umm, hello?" a sweet voice utters with slight trepidation. "I seem to be in the wrong room. I am here to report for my first Starfinder mission. I am so sorry, to interrupt your show."
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Ratatat walks in, sees what's going on, then looks directly into the camera, bows and says, "Hello everyone. I'm a warrior philosopher, pursuing studies in the art of war. At this point in my career, I'm most interested in the doctrine of shock and awe."
Ratatat pulls out a laser rifle in one hand and a pulsecaster rifle in the other and says, "Please meet my dear friends, Shock and Awe!"
He holds up the pulsecaster rifle then the laser rifle, respectively, as he states their names.
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“It’s no interruption, wingmate Sharmain!” Bat Elf smiles at Sharmain, “Alfred here films all my missions. You and I are here for the same reason! So... What do you do for the team?”
Then Bat Elf grins as Ratatat does his introduction. “You name your tools too? Excellent! I’m sure this mission will offer us opportunities to have many philosophical discussions together, Ratatat!”
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A rather tall and lengthy android walks into the main lobby his skin shimmering a purplish hue and the circuts running along the surface of his skin dimly glow a dark blue if not balck color.
Striding up to the crime fighter, taking the tricorn hat from his brow he sweeps down in a gracious bow. "Ahoy! and well met. The names Balthazar Edison, Captain Balthazar Edison. Pleasure to be making your aquantance Bat Elf. Seems I too have been requistioned for this mission and I do hope we can all work well together." Bringing his hat back up and firmly placing it on his head he looks about and attempts to shake everyones hand that will allow it.
"Don't let the title fool you as I am not tyrant. If another is of a better fit to captain the ship I will gladly play first mate or man the weapons." Looking to the Lashunta he says "I have heard from about the station you are a crewmate who be ready for action. Pleasure to be meeting you I don't think I caught your name though.
As Ratatat shows off his 'guns' Balthazar claps in good form "Very nice equipment indeed but its a good thing to remember that it's not the Gun but the mind that makes a good solider a good one."
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Sharmain's head swivels first to one new arrival and then the next, her eyes grow wider still, then she turns back to Bat Elf.
"Hello, I am Sharmain. As I said, this will be my first mission with the Starfinders. I joined them recently as a way to further my studies of all our races and the many others that are out there in the universe."
Sharmain offers or accepts handshakes all around.
Eyeing the various weapons with a little envy, Sharmain adds "I really wanted to bring a Shadowstaff with me but that purchase must wait. I see now it will give me time to determine a suitable name."
She looks around again. "You all look quite experienced, I'd love to hear something of your previous adventures."
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A young male Ysoki enters, his nose twitching as he takes in the scents of the room. He is dressed in workman’s coveralls, has the mark of an exocortex on the left side of his head, and caries a duffle bag over his left shoulder and holds a long case in his right hand.
He looks around at everyone and says: "Hello, I’m Zac. Um.. what’s with the camera?”
As you’re talking amongst yourselves, you hear a beep coming from the computer cluster on the far wall, and then the Starfinder Society emblem at its center shines and begins projecting a stream of holographic light. The light takes the form of an undefined humanoid figure, standing directly in front of the chairs closest to the servers. It pauses momentarily when it notices the android pointing a camera in its direction, but then begins speaking as if nothing is out of the ordinary.
“Greetings, I am Guidance. I have a new assignment for you. Please observe.”
The projection gestures a flicking hand to its side, and a stream of data detailing an outpost made of interconnected circular chambers scrolls beside it. “The Knights of Golarion, one of the of the Pact World’s most prestigious organizations, recently discovered a dataset detailing the location of an outpost abandoned over two hundred years ago. They refer to it as Colony-293. The Knights have requested that the Starfinder Society dispatch a team of agents to secure the site, along with any remaining equipment or data. Your team will travel to this outpost and retrieve as much information about it as possible. You should also salvage any relevant equipment, which the Society will take as part of its payment. If you have questions, now is the time to present them.”
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Zac records the stream of data with his custom rig, and looks at the image of the outpost. "How big is this outpost? Are we looking at a couple of square kilometers or only a few hundred square meters? Also, does the dataset say anything on who built and then abandoned it and why?" Zac addresses the others: "Does anyone know what ship we are being assigned? I hope it isn't a lumbering Drake."
Guidance patiently answers all of the questions.
"The outpost itself is a prefabricated modular design, made by Veylen Enterprises. The model used to be quite common. They are usually not very large, no more than several hundred square feet, though we do not know what modifications might have been made. According to the recovered data, it was built by the Knights of Golarion themselves, as a monitoring station for other colony planets in the area. They do not know why it was abandoned. The records confirm that the outpost was established, but communications were limited after that. No reports or responses have been received in over two hundred years. This is part of the reason you are all needed to investigate the site.
"As far as we know, no one else in the Pact Worlds is aware of the outpost. We do not have information about inhabitants on the planet or on nearby worlds, so it is possible you might encounter unknown races. If that should happen, endeavor for a peaceful contact, and keep the reputation of the Starfinder Society and the Pact Worlds in mind.
"The records indicate a temperate grassland environment around the outpost, and gravity very similar to our galactic standard. The atmosphere was apparently safe to breathe, but there was some kind of abnormality that disrupted their technological equipment. Perhaps as you approach the planet you will be able to learn more. Beyond the environment of the planet, it is unknown what threats may exist at the outpost. You should be prepared for many possibilities, such as pirates, large predators, hostile native cultures, or supernatural events.
"As for the ship, you have indeed been authorized use of a Starfinder Society vessel, with either a Drake or a Pegasus frame. The choice is yours."
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Bat Elf gestures to Alfred to keep filming throughout the mission briefing.
“Do you know how this came to the attention of the Knights of Golarian after all these years? Was it simply a random record check?” Then she pauses. “Since we know that the outpost was made by Veylen Enterprises... can we download layouts of their modular designs to know what to expect? Also... I’m assuming that this outpost was founded post-Gap, since we know the name of the company that created the outpost. Do we have any idea how far after the Gap it was founded?”
When the question of ships comes up, Bat Elf is decisive. “If we’re going to be choosing a Batmobile for this mission, I’d like it to be the Pegasus. It’s fast, it’s sleek and it has labs for our Bat Science!”
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Sharmain's head starts buzzing as her colleagues fire off multiple questions. This is it! she thinks, I am really going to leave Absalom Station and venture into space - into the unknown!
Her heart starts to race when Guidance mentions the possibility of First Contact. Really? On my very first assignment? Maybe Desna smiles on me after all.
"Would the Knights have been likely to set up automatic defences? If so, what may we do to be recognized as friendly, or disarm them if needed?"
Calm starts to descend as reality sets in and the need to plan and prepare is faced head-on. This is what she has trained for. She may be new but she is willing and able.
"The colony was founded in 94 AG. As for why this has come up now, it was a random discovery. I gather one of their technicians was wiping old archived data, when he realized some of the information was unfamiliar and potentially valuable. They do not expect the colony to have significant impact on their organization's present-day operations after all this time, which is why they have hired us to investigate rather than going there themselves."
The holographic figure waves one hand and the colony data scrolling past fades out to reveal a series of basic geometric shapes: cylinders, domes, and thin rectangles. "I can show you the designs for some of Veylen Enterprise's modular building formats, but I do not know whether it will be useful. By their nature the prefabricated rooms could be assembled in many possible configurations, with enclosed hallways connecting them. The limited data we have does not indicate how the outpost at Colony-293 was built.
"The Knights of Golarion did not inform us of any automated defenses, although it would not be unreasonable to expect something of the kind, given the nature of the outpost. Whether such measures would still be functioning after all this time is another question." Guidance pauses for an instant and then continues. "I am contacting one of their representatives now. If they have any suggestions to offer, I will send the data directly to your ship before you leave."
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Turning to her more experienced colleagues, Sharmain explains "This is my first Starfinder mission and my first time off Absalom Station though I did pass basic piloting instruction in local space here. I will leave the selection of a ship to those with more knowledge and experience than I.
"Do you have any suggestions for further purchases I should make? I have the very basics" she says, indicating her laser pistol, knife, medkit, and flashlight. "Will the ship have all the supplies we need? Will the Society provide anything else?"
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"Ah! Good question! It's important that the Bat Team always be prepared! May I look through your inventory?"
When Sharmain nods, Bat Elf takes a fleeting glance through it. "Ah, this is a good basic rollout. Second Skin armor -- good starter set, and it fits under regular clothing so it will serve you well through much of your career. It also has an integrated comm unit. Survival knife! Another excellent choice! It will help you with up close combat, or anytime you need to open something or cut a cable. Azimuth Pistol... Yes, solid. You'll want another backup weapon later when you can afford one. I've got a Static Arc Pistol on order -- so I don't have the Bat Zap yet -- but they're good for live capture. It doesn't hurt to get something that fires real bullets in case you come across creatures that are immune to plasma fire. Still, all excellent weapons."
Bat Elf looks through the rest of the equipment. "Medkit, battery, flashlight, hygiene kit, starstone compass!" Bat Elf grins, then repacks it expertly. "Excellent choices! You might want a healing serum, but this will get you started. You should know that anything that we find on a mission we can use, but we'll have to turn it in to the society once we're done at the end."
"As for my ownself, once we're on the ship I can show you many of the Bat tools I have strapped to my Bat Belt!" Then Bat Elf pauses. "You might also want to get yourself some good theme music. That's important to any budding superhero."
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Faria smiles and shakes her head, making clear she has no more questions.
Just before we get on board our ship, she motions for her companions to pause for a second, and prays aloud briefly, calling on the Lady of Light for her aid. If any other party members are clear followers of a divinity, she welcomes them to add prayers to any other goodish deity.
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Listening to everyone's questions and the subsequent answers provided by Guidance Balthazar nods with a bright smile and then speaks in a blooming voice "THE WONDERS OF A... racing up the aid looks startled. Reaching up to his throat he depresses a small node and speaks again
"Oh sorry about that. I really should remember to turn that thing off sometimes. I have no further questions for Guidance thank you for your knowledge."
As the Starfinders make their way to the docking bay Balthazar begins checking his gear patting his jacket then frantically turning ot his pockets and bag he starts to panic "No, no, no I can't leave without it!!!" a small compact disc case, something so archanic, slides among his belongings. He visibly calms down snatching the case up and tucking it into a pocket he stows the rest of his gear and looks at everyone "What?"
Arriving at the docks he looks over the Pegasus class Starship with a longing expression one most spacefarers who know. "This beauty is quite a wonder isn't she." placing a hand on the prow he seems to commune with the ship. "Whos Ready for an adventure?"
Guidance watches the discussion impassively, and when it becomes clear that there are no more questions, the projection raises a hand. "Very well, a Pegasus frame vessel is being prepared for you as we speak. I have sent the coordinates of the departure dock to your comm units. You are free to leave whenever you are ready. Safe travels, Starfinders."
The projection blinks out and you are left to begin the mission. You have time to make purchases or handle other business before you leave the station, and then you prepare the ship for departure. As promised, Guidance sends a message before you leave, but it says only that the Knights of Golarion do not have any records of standard security passwords or defense procedures from that time, so they have nothing in particular to help you get into the outpost.
You enter Drift space and, thanks to the randomness inherent in this mode of travel, it takes 10 days to reach the system in Near Space that is your destination.
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Bat Elf listens to Ratatat’s target practice, and applauds. “Very nice! But you should really make that into theme song. Let me show you what I mean!” She steps out of the door and then leaps in, singing,
♫ Na nana na nana Bat Elf! ♫
She strikes the kickass action pose, then says, “Every hero needs a theme song that’s simple and catchy. Have you considered possibly doing this?” Bat Elf starts tapping out a rhythm, then chants.
♫ Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
I don’t mean to stand here and boast
But when I shoot, they’re all ghosts
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
You bring the bullets I’ll bring the brains
You bring the bullies I’ll give you remains
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
I’m a philosopher with the tiniest flaw
I love to pontificate with my Shock and my Awe
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
When trouble comes knocking who will you call?
Let’s get this fight rocking — I’ll give it my all
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
Ratatat-tat-tat Ratatat-tat-tat
Yeah... try to beat that! ♫
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Sharmain accompanies Zac on the shopping detour to purchase a healing serum.
Once on the ship, she observes the others, taking notes and emulating them when she thinks no one will notice. She will also use the ship resources to further her studies as she may. In addition to a little weapon practice, Sharmain practices her spells so she will be prepared to support her team.
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Once at the ship, Zac hurries inside to claim a bunk, and store his gear. Before the ship leaves dock, he gives it a thorough inspection. He walks the outside of the hull inspecting hatches, weapons, antennas, thrusters, etc. He then comes inside and double checks life support, power systems and avionics.
Once underway, he spends a good amount of his time reading the maintenance logs, system manuals and familiarizing himself with the various ship systems. That way if something breaks or is damaged, he will be in a better position to repair it.
Plus he thinks it’s fun.
When he is not reading system manuals and logs, or crawling through maintenance access tubes, he makes an effort to socialize with the rest of the crew and tries to get to know them.
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After an uneventful and occasionally musical trip through the Drift, you engage the thrusters to drop out of Drift space, and emerge over a planet that looks like the image you were shown back on Absalom Station. However, just as the planet appears on the main viewscreen, alarms suddenly blare. A slender form emerges from the distant void, slithering from out of the planet’s shadow. It moves directly toward your starship, as if drawn to it.
You can attempt a scan from the science station to identify what it is.
You recognize this to be a single, massive creature: a spacer legend known as the Besmaran whelp. It’s a catchall title for a wildly diverse group of immense space-dwelling aliens. Scientists haven't quite worked out yet whether it's a single species or several related ones. A Besmaran whelp is said to have a long wormlike body, two appendages, and a narrowed tail. They usually feed on energy, their favorite meal being starship power cores.
You can get more specific information about this particular Besmaran whelp by scanning it as it gets closer.
“May I help you, Miss Sharmain?” Alfred asks, gently. “Perhaps we can figure this out if we work together and compare notes.” He puts down the camera for a moment to look over the scans, his cybernetic eyebrows wagging higher and higher. “Oh my. Is that a Besmaran Whelp? I thought those were spacer legends.”
He hands the scanner back to Sharmain.
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Bat Elf listens with fascination to Sharmain and Alfred’s explanation of the Besmaran Whelp. “So you say that’s a catchall title for a wildly diverse group of immense space-dwelling aliens. Interesting... Have scientists worked whether it's a single species or several related ones?” Bat Elf glances at the scans, then looks to Sharmain. “Whatever the answer, this one appears to have a long wormlike body, two appendages, and a narrowed tail. What does something that big feed upon, do you think?”
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"Thank you, Alfred"
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Sharmain replies to Bat Elf, "Right now it is probably most interested in us, well, our power core actually. They are believed to feed on energy. I don't know if there is any way to communicate with it and convince it to leave us alone. I'd rather not hurt it if we don't need to but of course, I am not willing to risk the ship or our mission.
"Any ideas, anyone?"
Bat Elf finds nothing in a cursory look at the ship’s computer files, but does not have much time to dig deeper because the creature is approaching very rapidly. Quite soon you are all able to see the Besmaran whelp’s form in the ship’s viewscreen. It is truly massive: about the same size as your own starship and moving as fast as your thrusters will go.
The round-by-round play of starship combat can drag a bit in play-by-post, so I’d like to aim to get through a round every 24 hours. If you’re not able to post but have botting instructions in your profile for starship combat, I will use those to roll for you.
The way I’d like to run starship combat basically has two phases:
1) Piloting to move: your pilot and the Besmaran whelp roll piloting checks, and whoever rolls lower has to move first. It's pretty hard to see the dark tokens, so I will use a yellow arrow on the starfield map to show where the whelp is moving. Your pilot is welcome to copy the red arrow to do the same for your ship’s movement. Eventually I will roll both of the piloting checks to speed this up, but I’d like your pilot to do it for the first couple rounds, since you might be doing some swapping around. You can do your piloting roll to maneuver at the same time, or (if you won the roll-off) wait to see where the Besmaran whelp has gone before choosing how to maneuver.
2) Science, engineering, gunnery: technically should happen in round order, but for pbp you can post all of these at any time in the round. I will sort out the rolls and actions to summarize at the end of each round.
You can switch roles at the start of each round, so just state when you're going to do that.
One more reminder: the DCs for many crew actions have been changed from what was printed in the core rulebook. You can find the revisions here: Starship combat FAQs
If you have questions about any of this or what to do for your starship role, you can ask in the Discussion tab. It should get easier after a round or two.
Round 1
Ratatat (pilot) - piloting check needed
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (captain) - can make your roll anytime
Zac (science)
Faria (gunner)
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At the captain's command, Sharmain heads swiftly to the gunnery control. Knowing Faria, as the more experienced gunner, will be on the turret, she prepares to fire whichever of the light laser cannons is most appropriate.
Sharmain offers a quick prayer to Desna that she will not let her shipmates down. She then quiets her mind, slows her breathing, and when the time is appropriate, she fires!
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Swiveling about in the Captain's chair 'Captain' Balthazar looks dead into the viewer eyeing the Besmaran Whelp eagerly. Realizing the Society's Pride is in danger the android begins calling out to his mighty fine crew.
"Ratatat get us within weapons range but I'd watch out for those jaws if it be looking for lunch I'd rather us not be its bento."
"Bat Elf or Zac!" looking to the Elf and Ysoki Balthazar asks them "What more can ye tell me about that beastie?"
Balthazat presses a few buttons on his chair mounted computer he enables the Pegasus' battle mode. "Sharmain. Faria. Grab a gun and light this space shark up! I'll be joining you soon!"
Offering up a slight apology as he reaches up to his neck Balthazar presses a little node activating his Voice Amplifier and begins to taunt the Whelp
The Besmaran whelp soars through the vacuum of space directly toward the ship, with an odd eel-like shimmy that makes it difficult for the gunners to aim clearly.
Zac and Bat Elf pool their collective expertise and with their fingers flying, are able to learn quite a lot about the legendary creature. They think there might be a few more unknown details, but this could be the most anyone has ever analyzed about this particular Besmaran whelp.
The creature twitches when it hears Balthazar's bellow. It's unclear whether it understands the words, but it seems to have perceived the intent, judging by its increased agitation.
Round 1
Ratatat (pilot) - move and make a maneuver roll if you wish
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (captain)
Zac (science)
Faria (gunner)
Current Pegasus status
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10
Latest scan results
Size Medium starship-sized creature
Speed 10 Maneuverability good
AC 14 TL 11
HP 55/55 Shields none Power Besmaran whelp heart: 150 PCU equivalent
Weapons energy drain bite (forward) EMP effect
breath weapon (forward) 3d4
claws (port) 3d4
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Not liking the sound of the bite or claws, Ratatat decides to evasively maneuver around the space shark, giving it wide berth, placing the Pegasus in the creature's rear arc but remaining within range for the Pegasus' light laser canons.
...but Ratatat's rubbernecking trying to get a good luck at the unusual space beast distracts him from fully executing evasive maneuvers...
With a wry grin, Ratatat quips, "I hope it doesn't have some kind of rear end breath weapon that imparts offensive odors...."
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Zac turns to Bat Elf ”Look at the thermal discharge coming off that thing’s fins! It has too be moving flat out, and it’s topping out at speed ten! I bet we can out run it and keep out of it’s attack range!"
Zac calls too Balthazar as he switches to the Engineering console.
”Captain, that thing isn’t any faster then us, if I can boost the ship’s speed, we might be able to keep out of it’s attack range. I bet our coilgun out ranges anything it can throw at us. If we can hit it a few times outside it's attack envelope, it just might just give up and go home!”