Kray had grown quite accustomed to Rotguts behavior, and honestly quite fond of the brute. Still, he never quite managed to grow accustomed to the way hunger affected him. Taking point blank fire from a prone opponent, the ogre decided to ignore him, finding cover instead of smearing the offending soldier across the floor. Kray shrugged as the surprise faded "Ofcourse he would do that."
He was about to make some remark to the lumbering warrior when the unmistakable sound of a rolling grenade reached him. The sound of the pin hand preceded it right before it started rolling, so he knew whoever had tossed it didn't let the thing cook first. "Rookie mistake." He thought, before reaching out with his shotgun and batting the grenade down the hallway towards the guy Rotgut had left on the floor.
Kray, your ugly choice: 1) you bat the grenade back down the hall and it lands right next to something vitally important to the ship, or 2) you whiff and the grenade lands in the middle of Rotgut, the prone soldier, and you.
Over the ship wide comms you hear maniacal cackling, followed by a few colorful phrases best not repeated in polite company.
Har har har! Ya bilge rat boarders thot t' take da Sixes! Yer ship be in flames! Check da feeds, ya see it t' be true!
Every video screen on the ship comes to life with a feed of the destroyer, listing and venting atmosphere, fuel, and crewmen from what used to be a flight deck.
Throw down yer weapons, and ye might live t' see da morn!
Kray, the grenade soars past the head of the soldier who threw it, coming to rest near Sona's recharging station. The grenade explodes in a cloud of white goo that covers the area from floor to ceiling. The goo briefly crackles with electricity before settling in to form an inert mess.
From down the hall you here a woman yelling: All units stand down. Repeat, stand down!
The human near you tosses his gun to the side and let's his head crash to the floor in relief.
Bone'ead laughs as he watches the ship on the vid-thingy
Ha! Bad 'uns ship go boom soon!
He continues to laugh, wiping the blood from his latest meal off his face with his arm when a sudden thought strikes him. He presses the button next to the door for the talk-thingy
Uh, Boss? Am think Too Brrr on Bad 'Uns ship. Maybe not make go boom till he come back?
Sona pauses as she is burning gore off the wall. She cannot shake the feeling that she just felt a million voices crying out, and then silence.
2BR, as a massive explosion rocks the ship, the intruder klaxon quickly changes to a call for the crew to abandon ship.
Your self-repair functions re-establish contact with Sona.
>Good to hear from you again pops.
>Terribly sorry, but I had to make a bit of a mess over there.
>Hope I haven't ruined any of your fun.
>You will need something to propel yourself back on board.
>Unless you plan to subjug- passif- commandeer the ship.
>I had to have comms shut down, so it is out of my hands.
>If you hurry, you might catch an escape pod.
>Not to mention the fleeing criminals.
> Ship detonation imminent
>>> ESPECIALLY IF I HELP <<<
> Scuttle surrendered ship query?
> Addendum: "We'll make a BunkR BustR of you yet Sona"
Bone'ead leaves the cover of the room with his club raised, ready to lash out at a moments notice..
> Message to Captain Bucanero: Do we have the capabilities to capture and recover enemy ship query?
~As chief engineer, we do not have the crew to fly both ships, even if they were both fully repaired. We could tow the ship with tractor beams, but we don't have the resources to... water our cargo for the extended trip. I have a feeling the Doc will agree that we will be paid better for the samples than a derelict destroyer.~
Sona, your analysis of the enemy ship suggests it would take 3 hours to repair the ship sufficiently to slave it to the Sixes to follow you through the Rift to your destination.
Alternatively, you can take an hour to search the ship for useful equipment.
Sona relays these options to the crew... reluctantly. The posessions of criminals are as good as criminals to her.
> Will search for our well-earned [error, Pirate Lexicon engaged] booty.
> Materiel will be ejected with radio tags, collection requested
> Sona approximate safety margin till ship destruction?
2BR will start moving through the ship, sending scans back to Sona and the captain to review if we should steal recover it. They've surrendered right?
> Captain, keep me informed of approaching ships
Sona has likely had time to assess the value of the halfling's and dwarf's equipment which she has confiscated. Minus one space helmet of course... Briefly, she recognizes that, in a prior age, the collection of token races and humans should have been the heroes crossing weapons with an ogre and two automatons.
Rotgut gathers the surviving boarders into a makeshift brig, while Sona and 2BR finish at cataloging the equipment left behind on the destroyer. After an hour's work you have partially filled your hold with weapons, armor, and various specialized gear.
As you pack up the cargo, you each find something of personal interest. Select a non-magical item from the Dungeon Planet or Dungeon World books. If it makes any narrative sense, it is yours.
Can I get a decent set of scanners? Is prefer robust rather than precise. All I'd need would be heat signatures at mid-range, but anything extra would be great
Heat Vision at near range works for me. Toss in low light vision for good measure.
Bone'ead finds a Mortar Tube and some Mortar rounds to go with is, obviously from the ships Armory. He lets out a loud cheer as he picks them up
Bone'ead find thing make big BOOM! Bone'ead like make BOOM!
Bone'ead finds a Mortar Tube and some Mortar rounds to go with is, obviously from the ships Armory. He lets out a loud cheer as he picks them up
Bone'ead find thing make big BOOM! Bone'ead like make BOOM!
That is a terrifying image.
Sona, is it possible for you to modify my flamethrowers? I realise now that a fire-based weapon is impractical to use in a vacuum. Think you could make them into a set of mini jumpjets?
Of all of the things to salvage, Sona grabs a rope gun and slots it into her left calf holster.
When addressed, she turns to BunkR BustR. "Between the two applications, we have a small issue of pressure and nozzle shape. I should be able to make the conversion in a few hours, a day at most. However, If the true issue is the use of fire in space, I believe that may be because you have loaded two fuel canisters and no oxygen canister. Your spray system is designed to handle a wide variety of propellant materials such as cryogel and even a Nerolythim composite similar to the fuel in our recharge stations. Similar... but... not- Hold on."
At her mention of the recharge stations, her pre-conscious recall loads the bleated ship alert detailing systems lost in the fight. She immediately calls up video feed of the repair/recharge deck. Servos whir and panels expand, then retract, jetting steam from the seams around the mouth. "By A- A- Assimov's chops, what have you- you- you- done, Doc?"
Peering through BoT's sensors and taking personal control of the robot's limbs, Jamee searches the treasure cache for booty. Back in his room, he whoops and cheers when he finds a Jetpack in the weapons cache! Fortunately, his headset mic wasn't active, so Blast-O-Tron's reaction seems more stoic. Picking up the backpack attachment, Blast-O-Tron slings it over its shoulder, while Jamee resolves to tinker with it and integrate it seamlessly into his robot's shell when he has a spare minute.
.
Bone'ead finishes stuffing the Mortar rounds in his pack when he notices a strange container amoungst all the other gathered loot.
Uh..What this thing?
He presses a hand against it, pulling back after a moment
It feel cold...
He continues to examine to container, looking for some way to open it...
Mates, thar be some unwelcome guests! Batten da hatches and git t' da bridge.
After 2BR is safely aboard, the live feed shows the destroyer exploding in a hail of laser fire.
Sona grabs Mr. Kray by the collar and begins dragging him bodily toward the bridge, verbally berating him with a cornucopia of near-curses in languages dead and archaic.
BoT follows at a close distance. Back in his darkened room, Jamee leans forward in his command chair, his face illuminated by the viewscreen.
Bone'ead grunts and lumbers after Bot
2BR stares out, watching the ship tear itself to pieces. Beautiful.
As you reach at the bridge the members of the second shift move to the side to allow you to take your stations. On the viewscreen, you see three heavily armed Lodestar long-range patrol craft closing on your location.
Sona, me dearie. Please plot a jump away from dees parts. Pronto!
With the destroyer gone, the interference field that pulled you from the Rift has dissipated.
>>> LET ME AT THEM <<<
It's probably time to go. Fast. A long way away.
Sona can fix a broken recharge station. Kray made a mess, a sticky, dificult to clean mess, in her bed.
Sona drops the drunkard in a bucket seat and jabbs her access cord into astrogation.
The ship lurches forward as the patrol craft begin to fire. But it is too late, the Sixes is away into the Rift. All is not calm on the bridge, however. Crewmen and women go flying against consoles and bulkheads as the ship slips out of reality. Dr. Kray has his hands full during the remaining journey, fixing relatively minor injuries, and is unable to attend to your injuries. You are not able to take the Make Camp move.
Several hours later the Sixes emerges near the planet Bastila in the Kvothe system. There is heavy traffic near the planet, merchants from innumerable worlds and, of course the omnipresent Protectorate patrol craft.
The comm officer patches through a call to the viewscreen. Merchant vessel ... Welcome to Bastila, jewel of Kvothe. The young customs official sounds as if she is reading a script she has read 1,000,000 times before. What is your registration number and purpose of visit?
Those of you who look to the Cap'n to respond find his chair empty, and the door to the ready room quickly closing.
What do you do?
If Jamee knew they were approaching Protectorate space, he would have emerged from his cabin - the first time anyone in his group has seen him in person. If he had known, he would've accompanied the Captain to the communications array, that he may make an appeal on his ship's behalf.
If he wasn't aware, he simply stares agape at the viewscreen that is connected to BoT his mouth hanging open in shock that they are where they are.
Sona slowly edges out of frame.
> Jamee Lestrade, your presence is required on the bridge. Now.
Bone'ead looks around at the others, confused,then back at the Vid-Thingy
We was attacked by Bad 'Uns. Want eat, find work. Good yes?
Bone'ead smiles happily
The face on the screen turns to Rotgut. The Kvothan Protectorate is pleased you survived recent hostilities. Bastila offers many fine dining experiences for ... any appetite. The Protectorate also offers many lucrative opportunities for persons of your ... temperament. What is your name and registration Captain ... . She pauses, waiting for your name.