Wedge puts the crazed beast down.
"Now that we have dealt with that situation I would like to suggest that we peruse the remainder of this vessel before we open the black box!"
Hal looks around inquiringly
"Who, um... Who would like to lead the way?"
Dunno why you insist on doing those silly pistol twirls before you shoot.
Kryten lets out a sigh as he lowers his pistol and reloads.
"At this point, neither do I."He approaches the goblins and makes sure his com is on the correct frequency. He points toward the room he came from on the starboard side ().
"Were you guys holed up in that room there? Just want to make sure no akata suprise us from the aft if we head to the forward of the ship."
We were hiding there. Yes. says one of the two goblins.
We heard about the ship being held in quarantine, and thought we could scavenge some good stuff. So the three of us stowed away on a ship that was headed near it, then jumped out an airlock as it passed and launches ourselves to here. Almost ran out of air, but we got more from the ship. When we explored, we found all these blue creatures. Killed G'lork. We've been hiding in that room since then.
Kryten starts to head to the forward part of the ship, moving slowly as before.
As he moves he continues speaking to the goblins.
"Well good news bad news, bad news, we can't let you salvage this ship when we clear it out, we got people waiting on it. Good news, we can get you a ride back to Absalom Station once we finish up here. We owe you that much."
Thank you. We will help where we can.
Exploring the next intersection, you find several crew bunks, as well as a store room and a kitchen.
These four identical cabins served as shared living quarters for the Acreon’s crew. Each contains two simple bunks, a pair of lockers, a small sink, and the miners’ personal possessions.
Inside is a storeroom containing the crew’s personal mining and prospecting tools and other supplies.
In the galley, the crew prepared and shared meals in this kitchen and eating area, though the quality of the preserved rations leaves something to be desired.
Finally, there's the bridge.
A wide transparent aluminum window stretches across the forward wall of this control room; twinkling lights in the distance are all that can be seen of Absalom Station and the ships of the Armada surrounding it.
Wedge watches the camera bot to see what it does.
If you guys want to explore more, I'll stay with the box. I'll come running if you call me. Just wanna... examine it a bit.
The camera follows the group and continues to take inventory.
The goblins didn’t have much time to explore the ship before the akatas set upon them, but they did manage to scrounge a few items of value, including an incendiary grenade I, two shock grenades I, a stickybomb grenade I, two detonators, a tool kit (engineering kit), a fire extinguisher, and 500 UPBs.
[Dice=DC 15 Perception]There's also a key card and a 500 cred stick.
The key card can be used on the bridge to grant +5 to your computer checks. [/spoiler]
The Acreon’s main bridge contains four stations equipped with consoles and controls for operating most of the ship’s systems and functions, including its tier 2 computer system.
Most of the control consoles are powered down or on standby, but you can access the basic, unsecured functions of the ship’s computer with a DC 10 Computers check to access the system. Success allows you to remotely close (or open) any or all of the doors on the ship, including the airlock hatches, and repressurize the ship (which takes 1d4 minutes). You can also control the ship’s lighting, increasing the light level throughout the ship to normal light if they wish.
To access more advanced functions (such as the Acreon’s logs), you must first hack into the ship’s secured computer files. The Acreon’s computer is a tier 2 computer with a secure data module and firewall and lockout countermeasures. Hacking the system requires a successful DC 21 Computers check and two full actions.
The ship’s log is contained in a secure data module kept behind a firewall, requiring a DC 23 Computers check and two more full actions to hack. Successfully hacking the firewall allows you to access the secure data module and view the ship’s logs, but without root access, it does not enable you to manipulate the data in any way (such as copying or deleting it).
Opening the shipping container, you find inside a smaller transparent polycarbon plate capsule that looks much like a coffin — an impression only heightened by the capsule’s occupant, a skeletal humanoid figure with an elongated cranium wearing a military uniform. Even more surprising, the skeleton suddenly opens the capsule and stands up!
In a crackled voice, it says, Where am I? Who are you? Are we on Absolom?
A DC 20 Culture check can let you know more about this Eoxian.
Oh, s#%+, Wedge says to himself.
On the bridge, Kryten sits down behind a console.
"Lets get the air back on eh?"
With that he sets to work.
Kryten hits a few keys, and suddenly realizes he has no idea what the f@#% he's doing. He's pretty certain that he got the airlock doors closed, but in his fumbling about, opened them again. He stands up from the console and leans against the wall by the door.
"I'll just be over here..." defeat thick in his voice and demeanor.
"Oh Kryten! Do not worry. You are our best pilot and I would not give that up for any amount of computer literacy."
With a small smile Hal looks down at the computers.
"Oh. See you just need to hit this unlock switch!"
With a flick of a switch the computers open before him!
With access to the computers on the bridge, Hal turns the lights back to normal, resets the atmosphere and the life support, brings the temperature to 60F, and seals the ship.
One minute later, the ship is full of breathable air and everything feels normal. Sound travels normally.
When the Eox undead body wakes up, you notice that several cracks form in the bones.
Each round the body is exposed to the vacuum, it will continue to take 1d6 damage.
Right as you opened the box, the lights returned to normal. The crew must have restarted the atmosphere and turned off the emergency lights. From your experiences on starships, you know it takes a couple of minutes for the atmosphere to return to normal.
If you do nothing, the body will take another damage until the atmosphere is back.
Son of a-
As soon as the air pressure escapes from the box, Wedge attempts to close the box again.
He opens comms and shouts to the group. Guys I may have messed up, big-time. You're gonna wanna get back here as soon as possible.
Kryten rushes to the cargo bay at Wedge's call. He enters, pistol out, scanning the room for threats. Seeing Wedge next to the box, Kryten lowers his pistol and lets out an irritated sigh.
"The f#*! did you do?"
In the cargo hold, Wedge stands near the black box. The box itself looks completely undisturbed.
The logs detail the discovery of the Drift Rock, the crew’s initial exploration of the asteroid’s surface and the strange “geodes” they found there. The captain then states that the crew was under attack from monsters that “hatched” from the geodes they brought back to the ship.
The next entry is more hurried, and the sounds of combat are audible in the background. [But]“There’s something else — it came from the rock!”[/b] the captain reports with more than a trace of panic in his voice. “We’re getting overwhelmed! I’m going to open the ship to vacuum—maybe that’ll slow them down!”
The log’s final entry was recorded in engineering (area C4) and shows the captain in his space suit. “Purging the air didn’t work. I’ve set the autopilot to continue on to Absalom Station, but we’re abandoning ship. We’ll fall back to the rock and try to regroup there. Acreon out.”
There are no further entries.
I was just looking at it... and it popped open... and an Eoxian was inside, and the re-pressurization almost killed her. I locked her back in to protect her, but I dunno if it worked. I dunno what to do. Ideas?
Wedge half smiles and shrugs.
Hal, back in the bridge lightly taps his fingers impatiently on the console waiting for the videos to download to his comms so he can transmit them to the others.
"So... Kassasharo how are things?"
Kassasharo shrugs.
They're certainly different than I expected. All this running and gunning about, getting nearly bitten by that space cat thing...it certainly does give one a wealth of experiences, does it not?
He stops for a moment, idly watching the transfer process for a moment, lost in thought.
I always thought all one had to do was apply one's self to be successful.
He smiles wryly.
It's always worked in the past! Gifted child, all that. But now, here, with the crew...life is different. Our survival could very well depend on someone's ability to hit a moving target at fifty paces, and that someone could very well be me!
He shakes his head, trying to keep an expression of disappointment from his face.
And so far, I haven't made a very good showing of myself. But damn it, we're a team, and I'm not going to stop trying to contribute everything I can.
He turns back to Hal, cordial smile in place.
So yes, that's how things are! And yourself?
Hal looks blankly at Kassasharo
"O.K."
He turns back to the progress bars on the panels in front of him.
"Oh look! The Download is finished"
Hal promptly grabs the data and casually, but assertively, makes his way out of the bridge toward the room Biggs and Kryten are in.
"You two should really take a look at this data it is quite interesting! ... Biggs you have been in here for quite some time how have you not even managed to secure the box? We need to return that to the Eoxians!"
We ran into some complications.
Wedge walks past Hal and waves for him to follow, making sure there's distance between the camera bot and themselves. He begins typing on his rig so that Hal can see it.
There's an Eoxian in the box. She saw me and I closed her back in to prevent damage during the ship's re-pressurization.
He gives Hal a moment to read the text, before realizing it was probably an unnecessary moment, then deletes the text.
Any ideas?
The recording drone was in the bridge. It focused on Hal as he managed the data and reviewed the logs, then it moved back and inventories the room.
As Kass spoke, it focused on him. It tends to focus on anyone who speaks.
Once Hal downloaded the data, it followed him back to the rest of the crew in the cargo bay where the Black Box from Eox was.
With the culture check, you know that this isn't a standard way of traveling, but it's certainly one of doing it if one wants to travel anonymously.
You also know that it's not *technically* illegal. There's no laws prohibiting the transportation of a person if that person is willingly doing it.
Kryten holsters his pistol and holds a hand to his forehead.
"Well, s$#+s already f*@@ed, may as well rip off the bandaid. Make sure you didn't kill 'er."
He shoots a glare at Wedge with the last sentence.
"Ship is re-pressurized now, should be safe."
With that, Kryten goes to open the box.
Examining the box, it looks like it's never been opened before. Everything is perfectly in place, and there is no sign of tears, rips, broken seals, or anything. It's perfect.
Upon closer examination, Kryten can't find any sign that it has ever been opened. He takes a step back, looks at Wedge with a furrowed brow, then back at the box, then back at Wedge, then back at the box. Anger makes way for confusion.
"The f@&& are you talkin about? This thing's never been opened. Let's just get this on the ship."
That's 'cause I closed it. There's a living... Un-living? Person in that damn box. I don't know if this is a trafficking thing, or what. But I think little floating camera thing or not, we need to figure out what she knows.
Kryten obtains the equipment and moves the Eox Box to the Hippocampus.
Hal almost can't help himself he's absolutely fascinated by this seamless black box.
"It has no opening... How does it open!?"
After eying the box for some time he waits for everyone to turn around and takes a shot at popping it open.
If he succeeds he looks around in astonishment.
Hal sneakily examines the box, but is unable to get it to open.
F+!! it. It's not like she's gonna forget that a giant rat opened her transport coffin thing. Plus she's hurt. I'm opening it.
Wedge works on opening the box again.
While Kryten is away getting the hover dolly to transport the package, Hal and Wedge reopen the box to figure out what the f$#& is going on. Kass occupies the camera drone, and traps it in a side room so it can't see what the gang is up to.
Then, just as the box opens, Kryten and Kass re-enter the storage room.
Once the outer black protective case is opened, the inner case automatically opens and the Eoxian inside steps out.
She immediately speaks, her eyes narrow at Wedge. You again. This is not Absolom Station. Where are we? Why am I not on Absolom? Who are you?
You do know there is also an Exiled Corpse Fleet; these are the members of Eoxian military who are against the accords and still fight against both the Pact Worlds and the official Eoxian government.
Kryten reenters to find the box open and an eoxian standing among them. He drops anything he's carrying and he stands in the entryway mouth agape.
"Godsdammit."
My apologies ma'am. Wedge says, doing his best to bow in respect. He saw it in a movie once.
We are on our way back to Absolom Station momentarily, but I wanted to make sure you were unharmed. The ship you were on underwent re-pressurization at a very... inopportune moment. We are investigating the disappearance of the crew aboard the Acreon. Is there anything we can get you?
Wedge, how very cultured of you! Soon enough, you'll be hosting cocktail parties with the best of them.
He turns his attention to the Eoxian.
And is there any particular reason you've been sealed into a crate on this floating slaughterhouse?
Anything you can get me? she says, irately. Yes, you can get me to Absolom Station, to the Eoxian Embassy.
She sighs.
I'm sorry. This is not your fault. I'm just...
My name is Hebiza Eskolar. I'm a military attaché assigned to the embassy, and I need to get there in secret. That's why I'm in the box. I'm an Eoxian; I can survive long term storage.
As for why I am on a slaughterhouse, I do not know what you are speaking of. I was in this sealed container in the Near Space of an Eoxian colony, scheduled to be picked up by the Acreon and delivered to the Eoxian Embassy.
That is, until you opened my crate. May I inquire as to why?
Who are you? Why did you open my crate? What happened to the crew of the Acreon?
Kassasharo studies her.
So, putting aside for the moment that you're taking a very...unorthodox route to the embassy -assumung you are who you say you are - we have the question of the Acreon and the crew and, indeed, why we opened your...
He gestures to the box.
...transportation.
He folds his arms and affects a serious expression.
It may come as some surprise to you to know that the crew of this ship are all dead.
He speaks bluntly, trying to put her off focus.
However, it may surprise you yet more to know that we, on our way to investigate the Acreon, were attacked by an Eoxian ship. What reason would they have to attack a civilian ship on a diplomatic mission?
His voice rises in anger, but he's baiting her; he wants to see how she'll react, like trying to hide surprise. Or potentially lying about knowledge of the ship.
Her facial expressions reveal no sign of betraying her, as they match her words.
The crew was killed? By who? Why? She seems to have genuine surprise.
Bah. Nevermind this. It matters not. What matters is that I make it to the embassy. Please reseal me in the box and close it back up. I thank you for checking on me, and I understand the situation you were put in. When I make it back to the embassy, I'll put in a good word for you with Ambassador Nor.
She paused with the mention of an Eoxian ship attacking you. They must have known I was here. Reseal me now. Take me back as soon as you can. I need to reach the embassy.
Kryten doesn't move an inch with the loading equipment.
"Who would want to attack you? And why? This does effect us you know, I want to know what we are putting ourselves up to bringing you on board."
Upon her refusal, he grudgingly gets the equipment and prepares to load the box on the hippocampus.
Well, I was just in a ship full of space murder dogs, and that was the fishiest thing I've heard a day. I opened your crate to make sure it wasn't full of Akata eggs or some other crazy thing. I now doubt that your embassy had anything to do with the disappearances, but now we know that the Acreon was engaged in some extracurricular activities. They were supposed to just be scouting for AE.
Wedge scratches his furry chin with his gloved claw and thinks for a moment.
We'll get you to your embassy, don't you worry about that, but we've still got a job to do here. We're heading to the Drift rock to investigate the disappearances. After all, your embassy is paying us to.
She refuses to answer any more questions. Ceasing your line of questioning, you reseal the box with the Eoxian inside. This time, however, it's obvious it's been opened before.
After transporting the box to the Hippocampus, you're ready to make your way to the Drift Rock.
How are you going about this? Space walk, fly by, something else?
You load up the Hippocampus with the Box from Eox and disengage from the Acreon, with intentions of heading towards the Drift Rock.
While on the Hippocampus, Hal and Kass share what they learned on the bridge:
The next entry is more hurried, and the sounds of combat are audible in the background. “There’s something else — it came from the rock!” the captain reports with more than a trace of panic in his voice. “We’re getting overwhelmed! I’m going to open the ship to vacuum—maybe that’ll slow them down!”
The log’s final entry was recorded in engineering (area C4) and shows the captain in his space suit. “Purging the air didn’t work. I’ve set the autopilot to continue on to Absalom Station, but we’re abandoning ship. We’ll fall back to the rock and try to regroup there. Acreon out.”
There are no further entries.
One side of the Drift Rock seems to have been sheared cleanly off, as if it was once part of a larger planetoid or celestial body.
Kryten takes his seat aboard the Hippocampus as Hal and Kass share what they found.
"Guess that explains where everyone got off to. And 'somethin' else' came from the rock, could they have been more vague? Gods, it's like we're fated to go into f@#@in everything blind." He leans back in his chair with a frown.
After a rest and the briefing, Kryten manuvers the Hippocampus around the drift rock, looking for any point of entry that the crew of the Acreon may have fallen back to.
"How interesting! Do you see that? One side has been cut sheer off. Almost as though it was once connected to something larger! And even better it is completely smooth. One would expect to see meteor holes and craters. But no! Almost as though it was protected from space for millions of years!"
Wedge points out the rocky outcropping to Kryten. Looks like we can get in over there.