"Please tell me that today will go better than yesterday."
"It is unprobable it will go as bad" - AXL reasons as they move out.
A smug, self-assured smirk sprouts upon Nosmo's face as he watches his comrades struggle against the sealed door. Finally, after Elthaeron and Axel concede in their attempts, he retrieves the proper tools from his kit and steps forth to work his own "technomagic."
The smile flees his face, and various half-intelligible grumbles fall from his lips as the task proves to be far more challenging than Nosmo anticipated. For a moment, he fears he will have to swallow his arrogance by being bested by the locked mechanisms. With a sigh of relief that echos the hiss of the minute hydraulic pistons, the engineer finally finds success.
"My specialty may be bioengineering, but this thing's still no match for me," Nosmo boasts, hoping to gloss over his momentary worry.
"So, um, who wants to go first?" he asks, the trepidation creeping quickly back into his voice.
Nosmo is able to get some debris on the far side off the door.
This enormous engine room did not fare well in the ship’s crash. Huge turbines are knocked askew, wires hang loose, and red warning lights flare around the room. Most of the room is covered in moss and creeping vines. An area at the eastern end of the room contains two doors. The north door appears intact while the east door is askew in its frame. What was once a door to the south is now nothing but charred slag, destroyed in an explosion that seems much more recent than the other damage to the room.
A hemispherical pedestal four feet wide and three feet high in the center of this room, but the top of the pedestal is now obviously empty, with only a few wires and runic markings to indicate the device that once rested here.
Two winged serpentine creatures sparking with electricity descend from the ceiling on leathery wings.
Native to the wild planet of Verlorr, electrovores were on the verge of extinction as increased volcanic activity led to their swampy habitat’s disappearance, and along with it the three-headed electric eels that provided them sustenance. When explorers from the Pact Worlds first arrived on Verlorr 2 decades ago, however, electrovores were given a new lease on life, as the travelers came on massive metal vessels coursing with the very nourishment the beasts sought. A few crept on board the various ships, and since then, “conduit rats” (as some spacefarers refer to them) have quickly multiplied, forming colonies of varying sizes everywhere from Absalom Station to the farthest reaches of the Vast.
They can absorb energy from technology and release it as an electrical attack.
AXL23
Trosvod
Monster
Nosmo
Elthaeron
"Time to rumble!", roars Trosvod, just before he fires his sonic weapon at the serpents!
AXL lets off a considered and well places shot with his rifle, in response the creature hisses.
"Time to rumble!", roars Trosvod, just before he fires his sonic weapon at the serpents!
The two winged serpents dart foward, the crackling sound of electricity hums to a crescendo in the air before it is released from each and starts washing over you.
Nosmo
Elthaeron
AXL23
Trosvod
Monster Orange -10, Red -5
Elthaeron was still greatly injured. Any further wounds could prove fatal, and he was not messing around. He aimed for the head...
With a yelp, Nosmo ducks and rolls to evade the brunt of the electricity arcing through the air. However, he's too focused on taking cover to aim properly, and his longarm shot goes wide. Groaning, he asks is AI to track the one he fired at.
AXL is hit by the full force of the electrical attacks, but still manages to fire back.
To no avail though...
With a yelp, Nosmo ducks and rolls to evade the brunt of the electricity arcing through the air. However, he's too focused on taking cover to aim properly, and his longarm shot goes wide. Groaning, he asks is AI to track the one he fired at.
Elthaeron was still greatly injured. Any further wounds could prove fatal, and he was not messing around. He aimed for the head...
AXL is hit by the full force of the electrical attacks, but still manages to fire back.
11 points of damage taken = now at 3SP
To no avail though...
Trosvod steps back and activates the dirge cannon again. One of the serpentine creatures looks very badly injured.
The two winged beings dart forward, the electricity around them is considerably less than when you first saw them but there are still sparks coming off them. Both try to strike at Trosvod with their tails.
Nosmo
Elthaeron
AXL23
Trosvod
Monster Orange -20, Red -7
It didn’t go down! And his luck was getting thin...another blast like that and he’d be dead for sure. Elthaeron put a bit too much effort into avoiding being hit and not enough into stabbing.
With guidance from his exocortex AI, Nosmo aims his rifle between Elthaeron and Trosvod, squeezes the trigger, and snaps off another shot.
With mechanical precision and repetitive gestures, AXL fires yet again.
Too close to fire! Damn!
Trosvod thinks for a moment, and then finds a better use for his head - slamming it into the nearest lizard!
“Efficient use” – AXL nods.
With guidance from his exocortex AI, Nosmo aims his rifle between Elthaeron and Trosvod, squeezes the trigger, and snaps off another shot.
It didn’t go down! And his luck was getting thin...another blast like that and he’d be dead for sure. Elthaeron put a bit too much effort into avoiding being hit and not enough into stabbing.
With mechanical precision and repetitive gestures, AXL fires yet again putting down one of the serpents.
Too close to fire! Damn!
Trosvod thinks for a moment, and then finds a better use for his head - slamming it into the nearest lizard!
Electricity charges up once more and is released from the surviving serpent.
Nosmo
Elthaeron
AXL23
Trosvod
Monster Red -12
"Yow!", Trosvod yells, as he attempts to backhand the offending reptile.
Elthaeron avoided the worst of the blast and stabbed the creature...to very little effect. Close quarters fighting was not his speciality.
Nosmo groans as the low surge of electricity stabs through his limbs and he fights against its numbing touch. In his head, G-tan's voice - distorting from the sudden additional electric current - confirms that she's locking onto the second serpent as Nosmo aims another shot.
Nosmo groans as the low surge of electricity stabs through his limbs and he fights against its numbing touch. In his head, G-tan's voice - distorting from the sudden additional electric current - confirms that she's locking onto the second serpent as Nosmo aims another shot.
Elthaeron avoided the worst of the blast and stabbed the creature...to very little effect. Close quarters fighting was not his speciality.
AXL quickly fires off a shot that's a clean hit.
"Yow!", Trosvod yells, as he attempts to backhand the offending reptile managing to put it down.
While examining the smoldering slag you notice that the power caused
an explosion inadvertently, and it did so within the past couple of days.
"I'm beginning to hate this planet," Nosmo whines as his nervous system ramps down from the excitement of battle. In his idleness, his eyes rove over the walls and ceiling of the engine room.
"Huh?" he muses, eyeing the heaps of slag. "There was an explosion in here. Recently, too. Past couple of days. Think it was these serpents or the Azlanti?"
”Wouldn’t the explosion kill the serpents in that case?” - AXL inquires - ”I don’t think we can be certain yet what has occurred”
Unlike most of the doors in the crashed, which are unmarked, the doors to this room are engraved with a large image of a flaming trident, indicating the room’s special status.
You recognize the symbol as some form of heraldry, most likely that of a noble family in the Azlanti Star Empire.
Taking a short breather, Nosmo tinkers with his gear - incorporating components scavenged from the ship and shortcuts he's noticed in the Azlanti technology.
The flaming trident symbol, at first, fills Nosmo with a sense of dread. He groans softly at the ominous implications while considering what it could mean, based upon what he's learned from examining Azlanti artifacts quite recently.
"If I had to make a guess, I'd say this was some sort of heraldry," he says, gesturing towards the emblem. "Perhaps a noble family commissioned or even commanded this ship. I am both fascinated and terrified of what might be waiting behind this door."
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Elthaeron took the time to catch his breath . He looked at his companions and concentrated. He hated doing this. His parents had wanted him to be a technomancer, like them. Something respectable, that they could be proud of. His many failures in the area had led him to abandoning what little talents he had out of shame. But the close brushes with death were showing him that it was better to be embarrassed than dead. Plus, his comrades did not seem to judge nearly so harshly as his people. What better way to practice than in such an environment.
”Is this working?” He projected his thoughts into their minds. ”I’m not sure if this is going to work. I was never good at this. Father was right. Wait. Is this still projecting?” He projected a rather unsavory curse in elvish before he broke off the connection. ”Never was very good at magic. But this place is showing me that we can’t afford let any advantage go. I will endeavor to improve on this. But yes, behind that door I would not be surprised if even more dangers await us. The reward though, should be worth the peril.”
"Once we've caught our breath, let's kick it in!"
This large chamber appears to have been luxurious accommodations for a single occupant, with a single large bunk in the northwest and a desk of smooth metal to the east. Standing upright near the desk is a trident. The trident balances on the end of its haft and glows with white flames.
A robot that resembles a broadchested humanoid with four arms, tracked wheels in place of feet, and a blank faceplate containing only a single eye and a metal grill that resembles a full, curving mustache. It currently stands motionless by the bunk. The robot turns towards you and says somethings in an annoyed tone.
“I told you to keep out; you are out of warnings.”
"Oh, um...he doesn't seem happy," Nosmo says with his palms up plaintively. "I think he wants us to stay out, and it's not a suggestion."
"I say we blast him and sift through the wreckage.", Trosvod offers.
"We are to fully investigate the area - thus we need to overcome this obstacle" - he states pragmatically, stepping back and firing a single shot.
The form of the robot rocks from the hit. It's head turns as the fingers on one of it's hands peal backwards revealing the barrel of an energy weapon and returns fire.
"Intruder alert!"
With terrifying accuracy the robot lands a glancing blow that badly scorches the android.
Elthaeron
Trosvod
Nosmo
AXL23
Robot -8
With a sound somewhere between a whimper and a groan, Nosmo kneels down, aims the barrel of his rifle between his allies, and hopes that ballistic rounds can best this robot's armor.
Of course, it would help if the shot didn't strike the floor between the machine's tracks.
Trosvod whips out his looted rifle and opens fire on the machine!
Elthaeron manages to hit the robot with a glancing blow.
Trosvod whips out his looted rifle and opens fire on the machine!
With a sound somewhere between a whimper and a groan, Nosmo kneels down, aims the barrel of his rifle between his allies, and hopes that ballistic rounds can best this robot's armor.
Of course, it would help if the shot didn't strike the floor between the machine's tracks.
AXL gets a solid shot off at the creature.
The robot discharges it's weapon at Trosvod even as chunks of it are starting to become dented from combined fire.
Elthaeron
Trosvod
Nosmo
AXL23
Robot -21
"We have encountered adversaries every step of the way - we will not relent now" - AXL adds, firing again.
"SON OF A-"
Trosvod absorbs the hit and swears as he returns fire!
"We have encountered adversaries every step of the way - we will not relent now" - AXL adds, firing again.
"Yeah, but it'd be nice if they'd relent, at least once."
"Or if I could aim this thing straight."
"SON OF A-" Trosvod absorbs the hit and swears as he returns fire!
"Yeah, but it'd be nice if they'd relent, at least once."
"Or if I could aim this thing straight."
"We have encountered adversaries every step of the way - we will not relent now" - AXL adds, firing again.
The robot collapses, falling forward with a heavy thud.
The trident is a magical weapon called a whitefire trident. Its two side tines are predominantly ornamental, and the weapon functions as a tactical pike with the illuminating and ominous weapon fusions. In
addition, the weapon is carefully weighted to balance indefinitely when standing on its haft, although it can be pushed over with sufficient force or picked up again as normal.
Various valuable trinkets neatly secured within the large desk (mithral datapad holders, ornamental styli, heavy gold bracelets, and the like) are worth 3,500 credits in total.
"Loot! Worth it!", Trosvod exclaims, ignoring any bleeding from his wounds.
Nosmo sighs heavily and leans upon his rifle, easing down from the latest fight while letting his more battle-hardened compatriots have at the "loot." He removes the earplugs he borrowed from the machine shop, hoping that all this gunfire won't necessitate hearing augments after all.
After catching his breath, he examines the next door for locks, traps, or other mechanisms.
Nosmo finds no traps of locks on the far door.
"Well," Nosmo says, trying to hide how rattled he is, still unused to battle, "Let me know when you've picked up everything you want and I'll...and I'll open the door so we can continue."
Nosmo winces as his stomach tries to unknot itself.
Trosvod pauses in stuffing valuables into his pack.
"Nearly done!"
Nosmo is easily able to open the door and finds a corridor headed east.
The northern end of this partially destroyed area is a tangled mess
of debris. Catwalks stretch above from the wreckage, with ladders
bolted to the walls underneath.
The ceiling here is twenty feet high and passages lead out to the northeast and west. An enormous airlock door stands to the south, bent badly out of shape, with a glowing computer terminal on the wall next to it.
As you begin to explore the area you hear movement and muffled voices but without cunning wont be able to scout this without tipping your hand.
Trosvod, in a moment of cunning, stops moving.
"Movement up ahead. Someone sneaky should have a look."
"I will check ahead..." - AXL nods, and inches forward.
AXL manages to move forward undetected, spotting three Azlanti soldiers equipped with taclashes and pistols standing guard. They are position on the remains of elevated cat walks surveying the area.
AXL doubles back to inform the others - "I can try to get into an advantageous position, and fire some initial surprise shots" - he explains - "Then you catch them from the other side?"