"What were your specific instructions?" Zam asks. "How were we described? How did you identify your targets?"
"I have not been here long, but I came into this cave because the other one had things moving around in them. This one seemed safer. No idea what they where"
Looking over to Zam, "I was giving your ship's transponder code to track you as you left The Armada. I was shown pictures of each of you. I don't usually get too much information for my jobs"
"What's your name?" Zam asks.
Yon lets the others ask their questions, finally: "If you were sent to kill us, then why did you attack Kumquat, the Goblin? Did not revealing yourself early diminish your chances of killing us?"
"Well, this complicates things," Tylur surmised, "If your ship crashed, there's no way off this rock. The shuttle that brought us here already departed and the Acreon is secured unless we can find a member of its crew to release the safeguards on the control systems."
He eyes the mercenary more closely to ensure she has no remaining weapons or tricks to use. "Sounds like you were given a bad deal. You've had two shots at us. If you take a third, your life is forfeit. In the meantime, if you want out, you need to help us...and by doing so, you'll be helping yourself."
"So, what can you tell us about the other cave? What was moving around? Describe it so we're better prepared."
"Perhaps she should come with us?" Dee replied, leaning in so that only Zam could hear her. Even if the Android had been contracted to kill them, the elf-droid didn't feel right leaving her stranded on the rock. They all needed to get off the Rock, and having the same goal certainly could bring any enemy together. At least until they returned to the station and turned her over to the Stewards.
You do not think she will attack again. She seems to stick to her word.
"My designation is Clara-247"
"The shot to the goblin was me readying my attack for anyone approaching. My assassination skills on this rock were not the best. Plus it was assumed you had brought on new companions. It seems like I was correct," she gestures to the other goblin who seems to be picking at the wall.
"From what I could tell from the other room, it seemed to be some sort of undead member of the Acreon Crew. Though undeath is not one of my specialties. As for my help, I normally charge my fee for any assistance rendered, but with my ship nearly destroyed, I would be willing to offer some assistance for passage off this rock. If that is the case, I would request more time to heal, or if one of you had a method to repair my damage. I do not wish to go into this as injured as I am, currently."
"A void zombie..." Zam surmises. "That's not good. What do we know about void zombies?"
Zam nods at Dee. The android has good instincts. "Okay Clara. I believe your reasons for firing on us. It's not the first time today anyone's acted out of suspicion. But I think we've got some common ground here. Here.." Zam releases one of her healing serums, purchased back on the station, from her belt pouch. "Drink this down. It's just a healing serum. It should patch you up well enough to move on."
You pauses and assesses for several seconds, going on to a minute as he processes. Finally, he lets the irritation perculating his thoughts go. Another body would he helpful, Void Zombies did not sound good.
He did manage to skip over offering to help treat her wounds anymore.
"That all makes sense. I am fine with this arrangement, let us assist one another for the time."
You then checks his weapons and switches to his full battery.
Clara grabs the serum as it floats her way. Using the injection method to push it into her systems. "Thank you for this. Do we have a trade? I help you out, and you can drop me off if we all find a method off this rock?"
"If that is the case, can I get my gear back? I request my rifle, pistol, armor, and my upgrade. I am aware you took them all."
::This could be a terrible idea, but I believe her.:: Zam telepathically transmits to Tylur, Sybil, Dee, and Yon.
You looks at Zam and shrugs.
When the other Android requests their gear he looks at the others again, pausing a second to see Zam has any immediate thoughts. He then looks at the other Android and smiles.
"I personally have no objection to that request. If we are to work together then that seems logical.
Yon then adds in a flat voice more typical for androids, though less so for him:
"I'm relieved you were able to assess that your gear is missing. It would be most concerning if the trauma from our fight had caused such details to slip by you. You would likely need a full medical assessment in such a case."
"Yeah. I think we've come to an agreement. Or, at the very least, a truce." Tylur speaks aloud after listening to Zam's telepathic thoughts on the subject. "Just know if you betray us, or if you come after us again after we drop you off, there won't be any hesitation on our part to permanently take you out. This is your one chance."
With that, he nods to Yon, giving the go-ahead to re-arm the third android the join the team.
"Understood. I will follow my word. Once we are back on station I will disappear." Grabbing her original supplies she reequips herself. With a nod showing her readiness to go.
The goblin's voice pops up on coms "Hey.... What now big people? I um.. leader now. So... you tell me what suggest. Then I say we go."
"I suggest we check out the next chamber...assuming we've rested enough for it. Zam? Do we need to take ten or press on?"
As, the now large group, makes their way though the tunnels. Gripping onto walls and slowly making their way through the dark tunnels. They make their wait to the next cavern.
Inside this cavern is a dead humanoid body that floats in the middle of the room.
Looks to be a human male. Wearing a estex suit 1, with a patch that reads "ACREON" on it.
The armor seems to have a backup generator armor upgrade and is holding an empty survival flare gun
Does not look like the body is afflicted with the void death from the Akatas. It looks like died from wounds
The halfling floats about the cavern in a lazy circle and while disappointed in loosed some of the gear to the new android, she gave a shrug at those below considering have the assassin who tried to kill them moments before into the inner circle so to speak. It was what it was though.
As everyone seems to be at the ready Sybil moves forward along the ceiling the of the tunnel using her infrared sensors within her armor... Her weapon before her at the ready.
"Void Zombies? That does sound familiar however I feel to recall any information on what these beings are. Perhaps you may know something Sybil?" Ask the elf-droid looking at the halfling.
Dee follows slowly behind, raising her rifle at the ready knowing that whatever is in the next chamber certainly isn't friendly.
"Hmmmm..." The halfling seems to consider Dee's question a moment.
"It's definitely an Acreon crewmember," Tylur states across his comm as he covers the floating body with his laser pistol at the ready. Approaching closer, he hooks it with his assault hammer so he turn it around and check it more thoroughly.
"No signs of akata claws getting into this one. Looks like he died from other wounds. Maybe they ran into something dangerous on the Drift Rock, as well?"
He looks back at Clara. "You sure you don't have any other information about this place? You've been down here longer than the rest of us..."
Created from the thousand larva that get injected from an Akata bite. They fight over the body and the one that survives takes over the body. If the body dies it turns into a void Zombie.
They grow long tongue can drain blood with their spiky tongue. Draining peoples of their strength.
They are also mindless creatures.
Similarly to Akatas they are vulnerable to salt water.
Clara looks around "Sadly I was not briefed on the rock. I was hoping to blow your shuttle from space. But it seemed your ship was better armed than my employers thought. As far as I know this rock is a myster to everyone but the Acreon crew and now us."
"I did see some of those zombies farther in. I left this guy alone and set up my ambush in the room you found me. I think there is at least 2 of the zombies inside these tunnels."
The tunnel seems to go farther into the rock.
"Well, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the Acreon's crew. I doubt any of them survived even after retreating here to the Drift Rock. One dead floater already. And two more likely turned to void zombies. If there were any more, who knows what else they stumbled into..."
"Sybil? Dee? Any insights on these things you can share? Is there a way we can take them down fast or lure them into a trap with minimal fuss?"
The soldier's attention then turns to the dead crewman's suit. "This thing's got a backup generator in it," he announces, "It's not compatible with my armor, but it might work with one of yours, if you want to take a few minutes to kit it out. Once you do, it can recharge anything you plug up to it...although, it works kind of slow and it's just based off your own kinetic energy as you move around. Still, it's a steady supply of energy for any of us using weapons or gear dependent on it..."
Yon eyes the armor upgrade, always excited by new tech.
"Fascinating. I'm sure that the generator would be useful to a number of us. It would be useful to myself in the sense that when I overcharge my weapon I tend to heavily drain a battery. If we were to acquire some heavier weapons, it might be good for one using those too. I would be happy to help whoever attach it to their armor."
Listening to tactical talk from Tylur:
"I would agree with Tylur's thoughts on exploring the possibility of luring the Zombies into a trap. We could draw them into a room like this one, which is larger and shoot them down when the try to come in? This plan seems logical to me."
"I already installed the quick release sheath upgrade we found in my armor," Zam says, testing the mechanism. "Let's take a breather and allow anyone who needs to recover to do so. Then one of us could scope out the next bend. We might be able to lure the creature to us and bottleneck it in this chamber. If there are two, or more, they wouldn't be able to surround anyone."
As she is asked a question she moves down to more of an eye level with her companions, which, in and of itself was... different, to speak with everyone on their level and not looking up at everyone. "Voice Zombies, bad mojo... Larva from an Akata bite eventually take over a body and if it dies it turns into a void zombie. These things have long spiky tongues that saps a person's strength. They are vulrenable to salt water, not that that helps us here."
"She than pipes up I can go... I have IRgoggles and can see in the dark, sorta... not to mention I can move with a little more ease than most." She says tapping the integrated goggles in her armor.
She looks to Zam, the rest of the part and back to Zam... "Whichever you want."
Zam nods, double checking her flashlight. "Alright Sybil, but be careful, and hurry back." She remembers what happened to Kumquat.
Sybil starts to slow movement through the tunnels. Being able to move without needing to grip onto walls means she is much smoother with her movements. Flowing gracefully through the corridor.
As she rounds the bend she can see 3 other tunnels exit this cavern. North, East, and south. Along with the entrance she is coming from. Strangely, however, while the south and west passages are hewn rock, the north and east passages are finished and lined with some sort of polished, metallic plating on the walls, floors and ceiling.
Gripping onto the walls on the opposite side is a humanoid of some kind. Wearing a space suit that matches the Acreon's crew suit, but the lower half of the helmet is shattered, and a repulsive bloated blue-gray "tongue" hangs from the remnants of the lower jaw.
As Sybil moves up to the last wall she grips the wall to peak around the corner and accidenly releases a small chuck of rock. The creature on the other side seems to see the rock as it floats through the tunnel. It quickly looks her way and locks eyes for a second. Being able to react quicker Sybil has a chance to act.
58 / 5 = 11.6
Surprise round
Sybil <--
Monster
Round 1
Sybil, Zam, Dee, Tylur, Yon
Clara, Bear
Void Zombie
"Hey!" Sybil calls to the creature before turning and flying back to her companions.
As she moves just off the entrance... "Void zombie incoming... and them things is uuuuugly!"
She does turn around, laser rifle at the ready and readies to fire on the zombie when it appears from the tunnel.
The creature pushes off from the wall and flies across the room.
It lands against the wall and sticks cleanly. Looking to move farther into the room. It seems to be keeping its eyes on Sybil.
Round 1
Sybil, Zam, Dee, Tylur, Yon <-- Everyone
Clara, Bear
Void Zombie
When the void zombie appears, Tylur snaps off multiple shots with his laser pistol in an attempt to weaken it before it can close on anyone. "Burn it down!" he encourages everyone over the comm.
He then tightens his grip on the assault hammer in his other hand, ready to bash the thing until it dies again.
If Dee and Sybil don't care I will install the mod into my armor when we rest. But if either of you has a desire, please take.
Yon readies ab action to fire, overcharging his weapon.
"Hey, that's my line!" Zam teases Tylur, trying to stay positive in the face of possible doom.
She fires at the creature, her laser striking the stone wall behind it.
"I believe Tylur had beat you to your catchphrase." Dee replied with a loud laugh. Raising her rifle, she fires at the void zombie coming in their direction.
The blast goes too far up hitting the ceiling.
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Tylur's shots strike true, striking the creature in the face twice.
Both DeeV8 and Yon respond to Zam's command at the perfect moment and adjust their line of sights. Two lasers shoot out. Striking the creature as it starts to push itself into the room. Striking into the chest of the creature.
Just as it pushes off to attack it goes limp and floats toward the group, burned to a crisp.
The coms go quiet again. Lights of the guns quiet down.
2 crew members found dead.
Clara speaks up "Well. Didn't need to waste a round."
The goblin shoots the dead body as it floats into the room, "I killed!"
Yon let out an inward sigh. He wasn't sure how dangerous that creature was but he didn't want to find out any sooner than he had to Trianna beeped in his ear.
Trianna says our combat performance was exceptional as a group. We performed beyond what the model suggested."
Yon floats over to the dead members and inspects their wonds.
"Most excellent!" Dee cheered happily to have finally hit something. She didn't want to use her magic until she absolutely had to. "Logic dictates that perhaps there are more than one of these creatures about? Be at your guard." suggested the elf-droid keeping her rifle at the ready.
"Well...that...ummm...went better than expected," Tylur dryly remarks, "Zam? You can have your catchphrase back, but I may need to borrow it again if we run across more of these things."
Accompanying Yon, the soldier also examines the zombie corpse. "Sheesh. Those akata really did a number on this...thing. It's barely even recognizable anymore. I doubt any efforts to return the body to surviving family members among the Hardscrabble Collective would do anything more than further traumatize them."
He then checks the zombie's remains for anything useful, such as the equipment they'd found on the other body.
The zombie creature does not look to be holding anything of interest on its body. The suit has been torn up and is no longer functional.
The body looks beyond your capabilities to heal, very much undead. The larva inside has bloated into the whole tongue.
As the group moves slowly into the next room where the zombie once was.
As the group rounds the bend they can see 3 other tunnels exit this cavern. North, East, and south. Along with the entrance she is coming from. Strangely, however, while the south and west passages are hewn rock, the north and east passages are finished and lined with some sort of polished, metallic plating on the walls, floors and ceiling.
Which way? 2 ways have actual strange metal. The south way seems to be a similar rock formation.
Accompanying Yon, the soldier also examines the zombie corpse. "Sheesh. Those akata really did a number on this...thing. It's barely even recognizable anymore. I doubt any efforts to return the body to surviving family members among the Hardscrabble Collective would do anything more than further traumatize them."
Yon stares at the body assessing, checking with Trianna. "Yes, according to Trianna's logs, historical records suggests many lifeforms report distress when exposed to particularly gruesome deaths of their loved ones. Perhaps we should do as you say?"
Looking down the three way split. Yon frowns. "Anyone have ideas?" Yon floats towards the unfinished, rocky tunnel and peeks down it. Repeating with the others to see if any offer additional information.
"I'll admit I'm a bit more curious about the areas with the metallic plating on the walls than just the natural rock," Tylur responds, "That may be what drew the interest of the Acreon's crew more than anything else. And, it'll be the bigger mystery to solve..."
Sybil floats above the others... "I could check out a few meters down each tunnel and report back. And of course have the rest of you waiting as backup or a firing squad as the the situation dictates?"
She looks about lazily following along with Yon.
"Like moths to a flame," Zam jokes in response to Tylur. "Sure Sybil, that plan worked well last time, let's try it again. But be careful--we want you back here in one piece."
Zam glances down the raw rock tunnel, thinking it's more likely the result of some native creature or force. What kind of creature is native to an asteroid, anyway?
She readies her pistol.
Looking down the different tunnels. The north tunnel seems to be made of the strange metal. It extends far down in a straight line, but seems to exit out straight into space.
As Sybil floats down into the south corridor, the one with the rough rock. There seems to be another rock tunnel to the northeast of this room, to the south is an incongruous door, more akin to what one would expect to find in a space station.
In this room are 2 more Void Zombies.
One of them across the room sees the moment of Sybil enter the room.
12 + 16 = 28/2 = 14
15 + 19 + 10 + 20 + 15 = 79 / 5 = 15.8
Surprise Round
Sybil < -- Here you go. Move or Standard
V1
Round 1
Sybil, Tylur, Yon, Dee, Zam
Bear, Clara
V1, V2
"Sure Sybil, that plan worked well last time, let's try it again. But be careful--we want you back here in one piece."
Tylur addresses everyone else over their comms. "If Sybil manages to draw anything else out, let's make sure we put the maximum distance between us and whatever chases after her. That way, we get off more shots to bring it down before it can close on us. We should probably focus our fire on the same target, too. Especially on these void zombies. We don't want to give them a chance to infect us like the Acreon crew."
Following his own advice, Tylur moves back from whatever hallway Sybil chooses to explore, training his pistol on the entrance and prepared to blast down anything that emerges after the halfling.
"Understood, I will keep the Dancing Lights active in order to provide adequate lighting if needed." Dee replied, nodding to the soldier. She kept her laser rifle at the ready, waiting to see what sort of nasty creatures Sybil would have chasing her. The last thing she wanted was any of her new friends and fellow teammates being infected by these creatures.
[ooc:] I'll spread the dancing lights at the beginning of the room when needed.[/ooc]
"Understood, I will keep the Dancing Lights active in order to provide adequate lighting if needed." Dee replied, nodding to the soldier. She kept her laser rifle at the ready, waiting to see what sort of nasty creatures Sybil would have chasing her. The last thing she wanted was any of her new friends and fellow teammates being infected by these creatures.
[ooc:] I'll spread the dancing lights at the beginning of the room when needed.[/ooc]
After seeing the new threat Sybil flies back once again staying close to the ceiling. A she passes Yon, "Yon, get back... We got two incoming."
Lights flare to life in the room from Dee's powers. Everyone moves to better positions.
The creatures jump forward.
Round 2
Sybil, Tylur, Yon, Dee, Zam
Bear, Clara
V1, V2
"Better aim straight, then, they're adept at moving in zero G!" Zam's trigger finger itches as it sits on her pistol's trigger. She holds her breath.