Breaker recalls hearing about these “whispy space dogs” from pirates that used to meet with his old gang. He recalls that they have a particularly dangerous bite that infects its victim with parasitic offspring, there are highly susceptible to saltwater for some reason and they cannot hear. Space pirates would brave them for the highly valuable Noqual metal located within their cocoons. They also don’t need to breathe. They also have a resistance to cold, fire, and poison and seldom need to eat.
Alpha-83 calls out, "These are a type of creature called an Akita. Their bite infects its victim with their parasitic offspring. They cannot hear, and do not need to breathe. They are not susceptible to flame, ice, or poison and rarely need to eat. They are susceptible to saltwater, if anyone has any."
Eager to use his new wymling gland, Gryggax pauses for a quick second before raising the autotarget rifle to his eye and taking a shot.
Where in the world would we get saltwater on a mining ship in space?
The Akata attacking Gryggax does indeed succumb to the grease cast by Breaker, sliding its clawed paws around frantically before ending up prone.
The strike of Blacklock’s pistol does indeed ripple the flesh of the creature, but doesn’t seem to have the profound effect that the theif had hoped for.
Both of the Doshkos wedded by the dwarven mechanic and his creation land squarely upon the creature, again not doing as great of damage as it had done to the gangers back on Absalom. However, it still affects the creature, which responds in an angry hiss and bears a visible burn wound.
The creature near Gryggax fails to regain its footing leaving it vulnerable to another attack.
The Akata before Boris takes an angry gnash at him hoping to satiate his hunger and infect a host simultaneously.
The injured creature latches onto Boris’ shoulder with his razor-sharp maw. The pain is terrible, but the pulsating veins being pumped with something foreign breeds greater anxiety within the dwarf.
With the Akita prone, Alpha-83 pulls out his tactical pistol and fires off a round at it.
Unfortunately, his shot ricochets off the floor and misses.
Seeing the burn of the doshko, Gryggax decides to give his wyrmling implant a whirl.
Gryggax opens his mandibles and spews fire over the head of the creature, surprising himself as much as everyone one else.
I beg future pardons if I should sneeze and light us on fire," the shirren nervously jokes about the uncertainty of his new power.
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"Aggadd, I think this varmint just injected something into me!"
Boris orders Digdig to get behind the Akata so they are flanking it on both sides.
"Use the buzzsaw blade, Digdig. These things don't burn so good, so we'll see if they bleed!"
Boris drops the flame doshko on the ground and with a flick of his wrist he activates the quick release on his arm. His magic buzzsaw blade drops into his hand and Boris swings at the strange space dog with all his might.
The fiery glow of the creature’s yellow eyes fade away as it releases its grip on Boris. The odd space dog falls lifeless to the floor.
Blacklock’s amazing gun play renders the creature helpless. Breakers bullet ricochets off of the floor, but nips the alien. The Akata before Gryggax is still alive but flailing around in a struggle to regain its footing when the fire puts the remaining creature to rest leaving the corridor eerily quiet.
Seeing the seriousness of Boris's wound, Gryggax rushes toward him with medkit in hand.
"Praise Hylax, Boris you had their eggs, more like future symbiotes inside of you. I was able to flush the wound and extract the embryos. I believe that I was successful in getting them all. You are bandaged and ready to roll." Gryggax reports using his best bedside manner.
The doors to the corridor ahead of Boris are jarred open. The long corridor seems to run the length of the ship.Signs of battle- Scorch marks, bullet holes and blood splatters- are clearly visible on the walls and floors. a small body is sprawled out in the center of the hallway. Blacklock is the first to spot the small humanoid body lying on the floor in the middle of the intersection of two main corridors.
"I have read about them. They may have gotten here due to the crew taking a risk - their cocoons contain Noqual metal, which is highly valuable."
Gryggax slowly makes his way toward the body of the small humanoid carefully. Before he investigates it, he surveys the area for any aggressors.
With the rifle trained upon the corpse, he first nudges it as his big eyes softly click to take in what can be discerned.
If there doesn't seem to be some sort of trap or catching disease, Gryggax concentrates to cast a sheet of radiance upon the creature hoping it will provide information to the party that could be potentially valuable.
I seem to recall taking a vow of austerity, but I must admit that I have become accustomed to the beyond imaginative offerings of Absalom Station. The biotech is quite intriguing, I must admit.
He leaves his thoughts open to Blacklock, hoping to create an ally in the accumulation of wealth department.
Boris determines that the power core is stable and somewhat more recent than the vessel itself. With the other systems stabilized, it could be possible to get it safely working.
Gryggax determines that the dead humanoid is a space goblin. His weapons are small and insufficient for facing his last aggressor.
Upon the casting of Gryggax’s spell, the small corpse chokes slightly, eyes still cloudy and blank, it begins in a rough voice, Alien Fiends! You get salt and water from the galley, I get Noqual, hurry!
Just as fast as it spoke, the corpse ceased after the last word and became still again.
Alpha-83 says, "Given the presence of the akata, I highly doubt there are any survivors. We should take control of the bridge first. Once we have done so, any survivors will likely emerge from their hiding place, and we will be in control of the bridge, which will allow for negotiating strength."
Alpha-83 watches Gryggax cast his spell, then asks, "Where did you learn a spell for speaking with the deceased? I have not seen such used before."
"I'm not quite sure where I have picked this ability up. I have lost most of my past memories before coming to Absalom. I suspect that I was some type of acolyte for Hylax. I feel a strong connection to her."
I suspect this goblin was a scavenger itself. It probably couldn't handle the skates. In any case, we should destroy or secure its corpse in case it is a host for the alien hosts, a fate that Boris almost became acquainted with."
Looking at Alpha-83, Gryggax pauses, looking around while his eyes softly click. "I agree Alpha-83, securing the bridge is a smart first step. Then perhaps the galley?"
Blacklock notices that the goblin clutches some strange shards of metal in its left hand and a small laser pistol in the other hand. Further searching reveals a data pad and a credstick in a pack torn by the bite wound suffered by the creature in its back.
There is an eerie silence within the walls of the Acreon, but if you listen closely, you can hear what sounds like claws pacing back and forth down the intersecting corridor to the crew’s left.
Alpha-83 studies the Noqual, then follwos Boris up to the door to the bridge.
Gryggax follows closely behind Boris with his autotarget rifle at the ready and the right hand free to cast a spell to discern if there are any magical properties on the bridge.
Boris cannot hear anything at the door. All is quiet on the other side of the metal sliding security doors.
Noqual is a starmetal-one of several kinds of precious metals mined from asteroids. Noqual looks like a pale green crystal, but can be worked like iron or steel. Noqual's crystalline structure gives it a strength that belies its surprisingly low weight. More importantly, Noqual is strangely resistant to magic.
Objects made from Noqual gain a +4 bonus to saving throws against a magical effect. Melee weapons or ammunition made from Noqual gain a +1 enhancement bonus to damage rolls against magical constructs and undead creatures created by spells. One bulk of Noqual is worth 500 credits. Noqual increases the costs of one cartridge of ammunition by 40 credits and a melee weapon by 2000 credits.
Before casting Detect Magic, Gryggax looks carefully around the bridge for any indication of peril.
[dice=Physical Sciences about Noqual]1d20+11
Alpha-83 studies the Noqual, then follwos Boris up to the door to the bridge.
Alpha-83 waits for Boris to open the door, tactical pistol drawn.
Boris peers quickly onto the bridge and notices three of those ‘space dogs’ sniffing around while moving slowly. Something has disturbed their rest. They do not yet notice Boris or the others.
The floor is littered with green metallic shards of Noqual.
"Back out of the bridge Boris! Seal the door and we'll come back with the saltwater. Besides, what if you destroy a vital system?"
The frightened shirren used an alarming tone despite being a bit frustrated at losing the advantage of surprise.
Alpha-83 sighs as Boris throws a grenade into the bridge, possibly alerting the akata and damaging critical systems. He prepares to cast a pool of grease if any of the akata charge them after Boris sets off the grenade.
Shrapnel bursts into the sides of two of the creatures whose attention you have garnered.
They are now aware of your presence and violent snarls and snaps indicate their willingness to engage you.
Blacklock
Buzzsaw
Breaker
Gryggax
Akata
Another of the beasts has come to attention because of the explosion and races down the hallway to engage you. It moves aggressively towards your rear flank.
Spinning, Alpha-83 sees the Akata coming from behind. Gathering magical energy, he works the strands into his magic missile blast to send all three hurling into akata.
Gryggax stretches out his empty hand and concentrates his mysterious magical energy to press the button that closes the doors to the bridge.
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Seeing that Gryggax and Blacklock are choosing to abandon Breaker to face the charging akata alone and instead rush past him to shut the bridge door, Boris shouts back at them.
"Don't waste yer time shutting the door, ya' yellow bellied cowards! We gotta kill these damned things anyways if we're gonna get to the bridge. Me and Digdig can hold 'em off in the doorway, you two keep that thing off Breaker!"
Blacklock's pistol trick is flawless and the charge finds its target hurting it terribly.
Immediately following the pistol attack a burst of cone shaped fire unleashes from Breaker's outstretched hand exploding onto the Akata. It welps in pain, but does not seem to be as hurt as it should be for such an immense attack.
The badly injured Akata leaps quickly towards Breaker snapping its jaws tightly upon him.
[00c]Breaker, in my mind, I can't resolve that you would be an organism susceptible to void bite. Make a fort save anyway, but I don't think it is possible for an android to contract the disease.[/ooc]
To the dismay of the dwarf, Gryggax shuts the door to the bridge drawing sharp criticism for his actions. The dwarf reopens the door to engage the Akatas inside.
Casting magic missile as a full-round action at the akata in the rear, because it can hurt me.