Dead Suns AP by GM Cellion (Inactive)

Game Master GM Cellion

GAAAAH, IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO GET BACK AFTER THE SITE WENT DOWN, I'M SORRY!!!

As soon as he can will his body to move, Arcalinte tears into the hall, casts his eyes about for Malice and as he sees her, begins rushing towards her, anger clear in his blazing eyes.

"GRAAAAAH!"

Spectre again begins to stir with Jelico's healing. He stands and retrieves his weapon.

||||INIT ||||
Isu (123 dmg)
Arc (88 dmg)
Ted (35 dmg, -2 to some rolls 8 rds)
Jelico (98 dmg, ReflArmor)
Spec (0|33|5)
Malice (112 dmg)

"Great, we have to kill Xix again."

Magic Missile @ Malic: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 4) + 2 = 9

Jellco stands up from Spec and moves down the hall, following Malice. double move

"NO!" Arcalinte roars when he sees Malice seemingly kill Xix just as he rushes into the room.

Move action to current location.

Then he wreathes himself in solar fire and blasts towards Malice!

"NOT AGAIN!"

Standard action for STELLAR RUSH!

Stellar Rush (Fire/Holy): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 304d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 5, 2) = 11

Magic missiles collide with Malice, leaving her open to a burning charge from Arc. The wave of flame engulfs the shade, eliminating the last shreds of smoke holding her together. She lets out a final laugh as she dissipates, her voice echoing off the walls of the complex.

Combat Over!

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29

Hearing Xix's voice, Arcalinte crouches down by her.

"I did, Xix, I effed her up...stay with us, please!"

He grabs his bag and rifles through it to get another serum, tilting her head back so he can trickle it down her throat.

"C'monc'monc'mon..." he mutters.

Serum of Healing, MK 1: 1d8 ⇒ 7

"Arcalinte, do not grieve for an enemy as if he were one of us. It is dishonorable and this one casts his eyes away from your embarrassing grief.. Still, this one hopes he lives, for the information we need."

Jellico leans against a wall and tries to catch his breath. [b]"I don't know about any of you, but I need a rest. Plus we, could all use a bit of a patch job."[b]

What time of day is it? Do we have time to rest and heal up?

Spectre, with seriously malfunctioning systems, can't help but agree with Jelico.

"I require significant time to repair damage I have sustained," he says.

I'll def take a short rest now.

yeah I'm doing a short rest, but will lobby for a long rest

Seconded.

"The. Dawn. Brings. New. Light. Isu," Arcalinte replies through gritted teeth. "We gave Xix a chance...I *promised* her leniency. I'm not about to let some mad ghost take that chance away from her, not about to let that promise be broken. We've saved others from this destructive path before, and we can do it again. We have to...to at least TRY!"

Ted keeps his blaster trained on Xix in case her shade is ready for a second round, "Let's rest."

Spend RP to recover and settle in for a longer rest.

I'd appreciate a longer rest too. I've got 2 Mystic Healing spells left and both uses of my staff for whoever needs it, probably at least Spec, Isu, and myself.

Jellico slumps down on the floor, still leaning up against the wall. He closes his eyes. "Yes. Rest. He doesn't fall asleep, but begins to meditate, centering himself around his god.

Sorry for the delay.

Dark smoke begins to billow out of Xix's open mouth as Arc cradles her head. For a few moments, it seems as though the serum has had no effect, but then the smoke dissipates and Xix begins to cough. The ysoki opens her eyes and peers around slowly and with great suspicion. "Hella nightmares. Where's Malice?"

You guys can certainly settle down for a long rest. I'm going to assume you get comfortable inside the control center, but you could also head back to your starship for more comfortable quarters. We can handle any discussion with Xix as something that happened before you rested.

When you head outside after the fight, you notice that multiple suns hang in the sky. Not all twelve are visible at any one time, but even the untrained among you recognizes that this isn't a world with a night-time as the Pact Worlds knows it. Nevertheless, you've had a long day already of fighting cultists and malignant ghostly beings. So after a brief discussion you return to the control center and find yourselves a set of cushioning pads in the maintenance room to sleep on.

Your well-earned rest passes uninterrupted, beyond the occasional sound of wild creatures in the jungle outside, and you wake feeling refreshed.

Jelico, feel free to roll out all your healing spells. In addition to any of Jelico's healing, you'll all be regaining 9 Hit Points for the overnight rest, all your RP and all your SP.

---------

Having taken out one of the Devourer Cult's fearsome oblivion shades in Malice, you've come one step closer to ending the Cult's mission in the Ring of Twelve Suns. But much remains still to be done. Null-9 is out there, somewhere, and the Stellar Degenerator is yet to be found.

Thanks to this victory, you all advance to 10th level!

Isu isn't much for healing in battle, but out of battle he can serve as a font of Sarenrae's healing touch.

He channels many blasts of healing energy. I can use 4 resolve points I have left to heal 4 * 2d8. I also have two healing touches which give 5 each. So Spectre you take that extra 10.

4 healing channels: 8d8 ⇒ (5, 6, 4, 5, 3, 5, 2, 5) = 35 for everyone and an extra +10 for spectre

Arcalinte breathes a sigh of relief when Xix revives.

"Praise the Dawnflower, we weren't too late!"

When she asks about Malice, he nods.

"Dead. For good this time. I took her down myself with solar fire and holy light."

Xix nods about six times "Yeah, good-riddance-and-hope-she-don't-come-back. Real-creepy-that-one. All about Devourer-this-Devourer-that. No-sense-for-old-fashioned-just-blowin'-things-up, y'know?" She wriggles about on the floor. "Now what?"

Thanks to Isu's treatment everyone is fully healed! We'll chill here for a bit while people get leveled up, but feel free to chat with Xix and gather some info in the mean time.

"You could be good friends with Sir Ted here, Xix. This one also does not mind blowing things up if you would please not try to blow US up, we can let you go."

Ted grins big, "We haven't met a building yet we haven't destroyed, though that cloud one about did us in."

With all of his systems fully repaired, Spectre is again ready for action.

"Where can we attack the command and control of this cult?" he wonders. "Surely, they have a base of operations aside from this place."

Arcalinte finally relaxes as it's clear they've won and his own efforts weren't in vain. He meditates while the others rest and recover. As Xix asks what happens now, he listens to the others and gives a small sigh.

"Well, as Spectre says, we need information. And after that...well that depends. Your group's "jangly" friend fled after we showed him similar mercy, so we may need to be your ride off this rock unless you decide to settle down here."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1d6 + 17 ⇒ (4) + (2) + 17 = 23

"Eh, dunno?" Xix shrugs at Spec's question. "We came here in-a-whole-buncha-ships, all-parta-Jangly's-Choir-that's-what-Devourer-dudes-call-their-uh-pal-group . Wall-breakers-they-said. Real-edgy-just-like-Malice-was, hehehe." Xix breaks out into giggles "Dead-now-huh-nice-right? Don't-have-to-listen-to-her. Or Jangly? Heh."

"No-big-leader-ship-or-anything, just-everyone's-own-rust-buckets. Rest-of-the-choirs-were-supposed-to-get-here-after-we-uhhhh-secured-the-ass et." She licks her teeth in excitement. "Null-nine-went-off-to-get-something-important-we-needed. Dunno-where."

"Jangly said there was something important on the other side of this building?"

Ted checks out the rest of the building and plays with the controls in the Kishalee command center.

Detect Magic while scouring building

Computers on Kish?: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (16) + 23 = 39

As morning strikes, Isu wanders outside to see if he can locate the location of the cache.

"This one doesn't trust Jangly. Sir Ted, it is probably rigged with explosives. Can you check it out with this one?"

Ted walks out with Isu, "Maybe the cult buried its secret pizza recipe out here."

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Engineering explosives: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 26

Spectre assists in investigating with Ted, looking for anything of value on the other side of the building.

"It appears a plurality of our group now recognizes the danger of the halfling pizza cult."

perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Arcalinte sighs.

"I am trying very, VERY hard to avoid saying something vicious about that plurality, Spectre."

He stands up and dusts his armor off a bit.

"You ARE right not to trust Jangly, Isu. The man was an obnoxious, opportunistic murderer..."

Then he turns to Xix.

"Those other 'choirs' won't be coming anytime soon, Xix. While we didn't trust Jangly, we forced him to call off the reinforcements he was expecting. How much of your choir is left after the casualties we've just inflicted? Did Null-9 go off alone for this retrieval or bring backup?"

If she really IS willing to get out while the getting's good, we may have to gamble with having her aboard the Sunrise Maiden, he thinks to himself.

Out behind the control building:
Following Jangly's instructions, you come across a large patch of freshly turned soil behind the control building. Neither Ted nor Spec notice anything obviously untoward about the patch of earth, so you begin cautiously excavating the area. Within about 15 minutes just working with basic tools available in the control room, you hit a large metallo-ceramic crate. You crack it open and find hundreds of pale, unblemished rods.

Spec and Ted immediately recognize these as some kind of bulk UPB, or at least an analogous material. Their container and the strangeness of their construction suggest that they might be some kind of ancient kishalee equivalent. (There's 25,000 credits worth of UPBs here, however, you need specialized kishalee synthesizers to make use of them. You haven't come across one in the Control Center yet, though there are several rooms you haven't entered)

----
With Xix:
The ysoki begins counting on her paws "Yeeeea, probably-Null-nine-took-like-a-dozen-or-so-of-her-best-girls-with-her-maybe ? I-dunno-I-was-a-bit-distracted-at-the-time. You-see-all-these-old-bots? I'm-thinking-I-can-turn-them-into-hunter-killers! Hehehe." Xix adds "Eh, maybe-there-was-a-few-dozen-of-us-all-together. Much-less-now, but-more-for-me."

"Oh-yeah-Zaz-went-with-Null. My-bro-that's-Zaz."

"Can you call of Zaz before we find and kill him?"

Also, Isu will begin looking through the other rooms in the complex at your leisure

Spectre spends much of the next ten minutes discussing the value of the materials that they have found. He seems more interested in that than saving the universe from a destructive super-weapon, at least for a time.

When they return and discuss things with Xix, Spectre says "Are you aware of the location of any cultists? Or were all of the ones you were familiar with stationed here?"

Arcalinte nods at Isu's words.

"Tell us more about your brother...his feelings about The Devourer, about you...would mentioning you to him make him less likely to want to fight us, which would probably end with his death? If we were to save him too...would the two of you be able to start anew, maybe turn to a better path once we get back to civilization? While making perhaps one of the biggest explosions in post-Gap history along the way?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 17 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 17 + (6) = 42

Xix snorts at Isu "Uh, no-way-we-hate-each-others-guts-like-Malice-hated-the-living. He's-kinda-like-me-in-that-he's-here-to-make-things-blow-up-faster-and-in-c ooler-ways. But-he's REALLY bad-at-it. Like-wow-those-walls-would-blow-themselves-up-before-he-even-got-started!!! " She snickers at the thoughts and adds more slowly "He doesn't care 'bout the Devourer stuff. But tinkering with stuff, that's his thing." She raises singed eyebrows at Arc's suggestion at the biggest explosions in post-Gap history "Ya-gonna-give-us-the-big-star-killin'-gun?"

To Spec's question she adds "I-dunno-how-it-works, but-the-cults-all-like-in-little-bits-and-pieces-that-don't-talk-to-each-ot her-that-much. So-nah-no-idea. Maybe-there's-more-out-there-in-their-totally-rad-black-and-red-ships."
-----

While some of the group is chatting with Xix, Isu takes a look into the southern room the team hadn't investigated yet. This long, rectangular chamber has various illuminated panels and monitors along its walls. Some show what looks like the schematics of the entire control center structure, while others seem to show the interior of the moon you're on. In the latter images, squads of robots skitter along the technology-studded walls of a massive tunnel. A circular platform stands in the center of the room, projecting a hologram of a tall kishalee figure clad in white robes. You notice immediately that its the same kishalee from the south-eastern room.

In his ancient language, he calls something out. Althought Isu doesn't understand, Arc hears the words echoing down the hall "Ah, still here I see. Without those other outsiders to use the weapon, I suppose you'll have to do."

"ARCALINTE! COME DOWN HERE AND TRANSLATE FOR ME! I WANT TO TELL THIS THING TO SHOVE IT!"

Jellico is annoyed that Null-9 isn't here. "Is she coming back after this retrieval is over? She and I have some unfinished business. Perhaps we can wait for her to come to us?"

"We're going to blow up the big-star-killin'-gun itself," Arcalinte replies. When he hears Isu yell, he sighs. "I'll be back."

He follows the sound of Isu's voice to find him and the hologram.

"What did it say to insult you, Isu?"

"This one doesn't know because it speaks strange. But it was looking at this one funny."

Spectre considers their options. "Their dispersed forces make it difficult to take them down with a surgical strike, and that is even if we knew where to look. At this point, our options are to wait here for others to arrive, or to actively seek them out. I vote for the later."

"This one doesn't know because it speaks strange. But it was looking at this one funny."

Arcalinte sighs and turns to the hologram.

"What did you say to my friend just now?" he asks in Ancient Kishaleen.

Xix nods at Jelico's question "Yeah-yeah-yeah-Null'll-probably-be-back-after-she-gets-whatever-she-needs. Her-and-all-her-crew."

Over with the hologram, the flickering kishalee watches Arc solemnly "You have killed those that were planning to use the weapon. I told your ally that it is now on you to make use of it. You are bound by duty. It cannot go unused any longer. It. Simply. Cannot." There's a strange passion in the way he talks about the topic. "I can guide you through the process of activating it, but I am unable to do so myself."

Jellico nods "Perhaps we will simply wait for her to return then. Do you have any idea of when she was scheduled to be back?"

"Why are you so insistent on using the Stellar Degenerator? If it were gone you wouldn't be bound to it anymore either, right?" Arcalinte replies.

"Use it on itself..." Ted mumbles with a smile.

In response to Jelico, Xix just shrugs "Ya-whenever-y'know. I'm-not-Null's-secretary."

The kishalee hologram focuses a fervent stare at Arc "After long centuries protecting this great weapon, I have come to realize that we were wrong to ever hide it away. This is a tool to expunge blights from the universe. Tools are meant to be actively used, not left to sit for an eternity. You understand, do you not?"

sense motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

"Spec, can't you meld with this thing's programming?"

computers aid spec: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (9) + 23 = 32

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37

"There's something wrong with that hologram." Jellico says. He gave up on Xix when she ran out of information about Null-9 and went to find the rest of the group. "Those tics are signs of mental stress. If it was ever a real being, I'd guess it's personality has been corrupted."

Spectre doesn't know enough about humanoid idiosyncrasies to know what Jelico means, but wonders if he might probe the hologram for what is causing the glitch. With Ted's assistance, he looks into the problem.

computers: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (6) + 24 = 30

Arcalinte crosses his arms.

"What am I doing, this isn't sapient the way Spectre and other artificial life-forms are?" he mutters to himself, and when Jelico and Spectre offer their perspectives, it starts to make much more sense.

"Did these people who came before us tamper with you?" he asks while they work.

"Arcalinte, just agree with him and get it to tell us how to get to the device and how to work it."