The main focus of this dome is a large mechanism on the eastern wall that can only be a high-tech torture device. Ten transparent cylinders, their exteriors crackling with energy, flank the device. A windowed room to the west juts out over the chamber, and a single door exits to
the southwest.
The warden and two Aeon guard are watching as Cedona struggles in some kind of device. As the door opens they prepare to repell your intrusions.
Elthearon
AXL23
Aeon Forces
Trosvod
Nosmo
"If you surrender the one we seek, this can end without any bloodshed" - AXL warns, jumping into hiding and releasing a sinngle shot.
”Witty comment!” Elthaeron yelled as he fired.
”Witty comment!” Elthaeron yelled as he fired.
"If you surrender the one we seek, this can end without any bloodshed" - AXL warns, jumping into hiding and releasing a sinngle shot.
"You can't be serious?" The warden responds before shooting. AXL hears a thunderous clang inside his helmet as the laser connects.
The two Aeon guard return fire to defend the officer.
Trosvod
Nosmo
Elthearon
AXL23
Aeon Forces Iolastrilla -5
”Ow! Damn it. This isn’t going as planned.” Elthaeron said as he tried to get into cover.
A bullet grazes Trosvod on the neck, denting his armour.
His response?
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!", he guffaws loudly as he jogs over to cover, then swings and fires his re-acquired harmonic dirge cannon at the trio of Aeon guard!
Having reclaimed his old hunting rifle, Nosmo props the longarm's barrel upon the railing and snaps off a shot at the same target that AXL and Elthaeron singled out.
A bullet grazes Trosvod on the neck, denting his armour.
His response?
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!", he guffaws loudly as he jogs over to cover, then swings and fires his re-acquired harmonic dirge cannon at the duo of Aeon guard!
”Ow! Damn it. This isn’t going as planned.” Elthaeron said as he tried to get into cover.
Having reclaimed his old hunting rifle, Nosmo props the longarm's barrel upon the railing and snaps off a shot at the same target that AXL and Elthaeron singled out.
Mothkala shakily lifts her salvaged rifle... and his the warden in the shoulder!
The Ikeshti bounds in and starts to savage one of the Aeon guard.
The two Aeon Guards focus on trying to take down Vertash.
"You stupid beast you'll never get out of that cell again, I'm going to slowly starve you!"
Trosvod
Nosmo
Elthearon
AXL23
Mothkala
Vertash -44 Antagonised
Aeon Forces Iolastrilla -13, Red -21
Trosvod's laughter simmers down to a low chuckle as he continues to blast howling noise at the trio of Aeon!
Trosvod moves to catch as many as he can in the blast, which is two.
A nervous smile crosses Nosmo's face as an excitement bubbles up from his stomach. They were actually turning this around. They might actually defeat the Azlantis and escape.
With a muscle twitch near the back of his skull, Nosmo has his exocortex lock on to the warden to provide telemetry on the priority target.
Before he can even register whether the shot bested the warden's armor, Nosmo can pick out a worrying click above the din of battle. He forgot to check the ammunition in his rifle after reclaiming it, and he just fired the last cartridge loaded inside.
Taking a moment to calm himself, Elthaeron aimed for the officer. Kill the leader and the others might well panic. It was their best hope.
Trosvod's laughter simmers down to a low chuckle as he continues to blast howling noise at the trio of Aeon!
A nervous smile crosses Nosmo's face as an excitement bubbles up from his stomach. They were actually turning this around. They might actually defeat the Azlantis and escape.
With a muscle twitch near the back of his skull, Nosmo has his exocortex lock on to the warden to provide telemetry on the priority target.
Before he can even register whether the shot bested the warden's armor, Nosmo can pick out a worrying click above the din of battle. He forgot to check the ammunition in his rifle after reclaiming it, and he just fired the last cartridge loaded inside.
Taking a moment to calm himself, Elthaeron aimed for the officer. Kill the leader and the others might well panic. It was their best hope.
Axl snaps off another shot as he clings to the nearby cover.
Mothkalas has little luck against the Aeon Guard but Vertash lunges at her prey.
The two Aeon guard switch to melee and try to take down Vertash as their leader also focuses on the feral woman.
Trosvod
Nosmo
Elthearon
AXL23
Mothkala
Vertash -51 Antagonised
Aeon Forces Iolastrilla -19, Red -47, Green -10
Trosvod steps forward and aims past Vertash to blast two of the Aeon with howling noise!
Nosmo rips the box of cartridges from his duffel and begins loading rounds back into the hunting rifle's magazine. Once the six cartridges are loaded, he raises the long arm again and fires at the warden.
AXL keeps sniping from cover.
Feeling panicked at the thought that reinforcements might come, Elthaeron fired again. It was a glancing shot...better than nothing, but they needed to win this fight soon.
Trosvod steps forward and aims past Vertash to blast two of the Aeon with howling noise! One of the Aeon Guards collapses.
Nosmo rips the box of cartridges from his duffel and begins loading rounds back into the hunting rifle's magazine. Once the six cartridges are loaded, he raises the long arm again and fires at the warden.
Feeling panicked at the thought that reinforcements might come, Elthaeron fired again. It was a glancing shot...better than nothing, but they needed to win this fight soon.
AXL keeps sniping from cover.
Mothkala lands a glancing hit and the Ikeshti lands a solid blow again.
The warden shows the Aeon Guard how it's done but Vertash stays standing.
Trosvod
Nosmo
Elthearon
AXL23
Mothkala
Vertash -69 Antagonised
Aeon Forces Iolastrilla -33, Green -29
”We have them now. Don’t give up!” Elthaeron said, firing another shot.
Trosvod keeps firing at the officer!
The Android keeps up the pressure.
Nosmo shifts targets. He redirects his combat tracking to the rank-and-file Aeon Guard and aims his next rifle round at them.
Trosvod keeps firing at the officer!
Nosmo shifts targets. He redirects his combat tracking to the rank-and-file Aeon Guard and aims his next rifle round at them.
”We have them now. Don’t give up!” Elthaeron said, firing another shot.
The Android keeps up the pressure.
Another round goes wide but Vertash's claws claim another victim.
Standing alone and badly injured the warden's face hardens with grim resolve. "For the Star Empire!" She declares in a steely tone before raising her pistol towards her head...
...her body crumples lifelessly on the floor.
Estex suit II (infrared sensors)
Tactical dueling sword
Tactical trilaser (see page 45) with battery
Bright yellow cabochon aeon stone ((Level 4): While this aeon stone orbits you, you gain a +4 insight bonus to Culture checks to decipher exotic, intricate, or very old writing. In addition, once per day as a standard action, this aeon stone can be activated to cast comprehend languages as a 1st-level spell (caster level 4th))
Showing not a care in the world, Elthaeron immediately began stripping the dead. ”Wish they’d all take the easy way out. Hey, give me a second. This armor looks nice and it looks like it will fit me.”
Trosvod stomps on the head of the warden, chuckling at the mess.
He then turns to Cedona:
"Hey Cedona, long time, no see! Let's get you out there!"
Trosvod makes to move over and free the android.
The red-skinned android stares blankly, her eyes wildly contracting and dilating as she tries to focus on her surroundings. “You... fools...” she whispers blankly, her voice slurring into tinny echoes as she speaks. Cedona blinks again, her eyes settling into some semblance of stability, and the android puts her head back down to look
at the floor.
“I apologize. That was uncalled for,” Cedona says, her voice clearer. “But to think you would go so far as to come all the way here. I knew your ship was coming for a supply run."
"That's not important on Nakondis I found an ancient crashed Azlanti ship and it had a technomagical relic onboard. They called it a Rune Drive, it's a non drift interstellar drive. It could give the Azlanti Star Empire a huge strategic edge, coming this far I think you understand how bad that would be for all of us!"
"Um, pardon my boldness, but may I examine you? If they've done any damage to you, I may be able to help."
Assuming Cedona grants him permission, Nosmo will check the rescued android woman for injuries and do his best to attend to them using his custom toolkit.
As Cedona describes the Rune Drive, his mouth goes agape.
"That's...amazing! Seemingly impossible, but amazing.
"She's right," he says, turning to his allies. "Considering what we've seen of their work, we can't let the Azlanti study that drive."
Trosvod chuckles again.
"Love the thanks, Ced! But yeah, this entire rescue has been running by the skin of our talons. But hey, we're looking good now right? Anyway, let's get our ship - or nick a better one!"
AXL goes over the area looking for additional salvageable gear, then turns to Cedona when a chance presents itself - "Well met at last Cedona. I am AXL"
Also when given a chance, he will turn to Mothkala and Vertash, the ikeshti looking particularly wounded. "Use this" - the android provides him with an MK1 Healing Serum.
"Warden Iolastrila was working for Sardat Zolan Ulivestra, the engineer of the attack on Nakondis. They were keeping me here outside of official channels from what I could gather. I suspect very few people in the Star Empire, even in its government, are aware of the rune drive or the sardat’s efforts to recover it. Everything surrounding the attack on Nakondis and the rune drive is being kept very secret, and someone—probably Zolan Ulivestra—is directing the operation from afar. Unfortunately, Ulivestra is not currently on Gulta, usually preferring to reside on the Star Empire’s throne world, New Thespera. The rune drive is not on Gulta either, and my memories
are hazy about where the Azlanti might have taken it."
"Is there anything more you need here or can we start making our escape from this moon?"
The ikeshti ignores AXL and stomps off to find more guards to slay. Mothkala will accept it as she is not in good health yet.
"Any good data in this setup to take? But yeah, escape would be good."
”It is what matters right now. If they regroup we are dead, no questions about it.” Elthaeron said. ”Let’s move, now.”
Vertash seems to have dealt with the guards but has slumped over dead from her previous wounds and the more recent fighting.
Outside on the landing pad you can see a lone small transport which is likely used to ferry supplies up and down from the planet lies. Unarmed and almost certainly not drift capable you suspect that it will probably not have much range but might get you back to your ship... still the previous altercation with the Azlanti vessel might lead you to consider evading rather than confronting that ship as it is quite formidable.
"Alas, poor Vertash! She died as she lived, tearing Azlanti up. So, let's take this bucket and go get our ship back!"
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”And then we go hide on the planet below! They’ll never see it coming. They’ll want us captured, so we have to outthink them.”
Telepathically he said to the group That was for their security cameras. Let’s get the hell out of here.
He considered trying to take a different one, but who knew it they had a way of remotely disabling their own? Safest to try and fly something they were familiar with.
A giddy smile crosses Nosmo's face when he understands Elthaeron's ploy, and he feels excited to be deceiving the Azlanti so.
Deploying his custom rig, Nosmo works to disable any security protocols on the transport and ensure they have control over the vessel.
"Who's gonna fly this thing? Preferably someone who can keep us out of another unwinnable fight." He says this in jest but anxiously worries whether anyone mistakenly interprets it as bitterness.
Trosvod raises a scaly talon.
"I can fly her."
Getting back up to your ship and making a run for it you have to start considering your ship is going to need some modification before you get entangled with the Azlanti Star Empire again.
Mothkala suggests a nearby space station called Outpost Zed.
"Sounds good to me!"
Trosvod changes course for Outpost Zed.
”As good a place as any. Once they realize we are gone, we’ll be wanted criminals for sure. We won’t get this lucky twice.”
...later at Outpost Zed...
The ship’s airlock doors open to a blast of hot, muggy air and the heavy scent of nickel. A nearby catwalk runs adjacent to a wall covered in thick pipes, both leading to a massive pair of automated doors that lead further into the station. Beings of all shapes and sizes move along other catwalks from their own vessels toward the entrance, conversing with each other in unfamiliar tongues. The sounds of scrabbling feet and other curious voices seem to echo from within the pipes.
As you leave your ship, you soon realize you are strangers in this strange land. At first, the supposedly automated doors to the station interior don’t react to your biosignatures and won’t open. Mothkala explains this "Being from the pact worlds the sytem doesn't recognise our species. It's going to require a little technical wizardry to get it to open for us or we'll have to wait a few minutes."
Trosvod turns to look at the others.
"Ideas?"
”My people aren’t all that common either. I’ve seen this problem before. I think that we just need to..”
Nosmo stands awkwardly, holding his rig, as Elthaeron beats him to the doors. He puts the tool kit away and shuffles on his feet, idly taking in the minute details of the airlock. With a start, he remembers something important. He dons the helmet that accompanies his armor to hide his face; if not to disguise his origin from the Pact Worlds, he at least wants to give himself some semblance of a poker face.
As the doors open you begin to walk into a strange and chaotic space station. Few species you recognise walk these halls. Mothkala gives further advice "Few here know Pact Worlds Common or Vesk Prime but Azlanti or more esoteric languages like one of the fey or planar tongues might find receptive ears. I have a friend who might be able to help with your ship."
The interior of Outpost Zed is no more welcoming than the station’s docking area—the temperature is uncomfortably hot for most Pact Worlds species, the humidity is too high, and the light is a little too dim. Some parts of the station are only accessible via well-frequented three-foot-wide pipes that run through the walls, and which are even warmer than the main station.
"This is a lawless place but take care not to disrupt trade or you'll find yourself removed from the equation."
"Cheers for the heads up. Business is business, got it. Let's go and talk with your friend."
"We need to send word beforehand." Mothkala says before leading you through the station towards a cantina. The majority of this chamber is taken up by several raised platforms, some of which are covered by scattered pieces from unusual games: squares of plastic bearing holographic images, plastic chits of various shapes and colors, and hexagonal wooden containers filled with glass beads, among other paraphernalia. A door exits to the east, and a ramp leads up to another chamber to the south.
Cedona turns to you as Mothkala gives word "I can't thank you enough for all you've done to help me and I'm thankful that you are going to go after this relic. With the means they attempted to extract information from me I seem to be suffering from memory loss. But I do recall that they brought me from Gulta to somewhere called Aurelos and I think the Rune Drive was being kept there."