Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
"Let's get out of the actual hangar first before we start attempting to break into the systems. We don't want to repeat this battle with another returning fightercraft!" Arcalinte says, shooing the group towards the neatest exit.
Although there don't appear to be any terminals of note within the hangar bay itself, you do have your choice of doors exiting the cavernous space. One pair of doors lead into a room whose red-tinted reflective windows look out into the hangar bay (these doors marked in red). Another door leads into some windowless room toward the fore of the ship (marked in blue). Two more, larger doors lead starboard (marked in green).
Droid Outlaw Mechanic 12 | SP 108/108 HP 76/76 RP 11/11 | EAC 28 KAC 30; | F +11; R +16; W +6 | Init +8 | Perc +16 | Conqueror (white star-class): +16 (3d12+12 E&F)
Spectre surveys their options. "I suggest we go toward the fore of the ship. Reaching the helm would be optimal, and my projections indicate that even in Corpse Fleet craft, it is easiest to have a centralized command and control location to the fore."
One vote for blue and one for red, so lets do both.
---
Spec opens up the blue door. This long, narrow room contains a double-facing row of simple chairs running its length. Each chair is only 2 feet wide and they are crammed tightly together - likely because the undead that would use them neither twitch nor adjust themselves while waiting. Cables dangle from the ceiling above each chair, with a few small lights and a computer display next to each cable. It looks like a hookup for a datajack port. The tiny displays are currently off and unpowered.
-----
Isu opens the red door. This second long, narrow room is crowded with controls, monitors, and readouts that cover the walls and even the ceiling. Colored lights blink and flash next to the myriad switches and keypads that control various functions of the hangar bay. The port-side wall in this room has a single, long window that looks out into the hangar bay. From this side it is transparent, but it tints everything outside a dark red.
There appears to be room for eight operators to work here, but only two of the stations are occupied. The cybernetic zombies that occupy the chairs are physically plugged into their terminals by way of intrusive cabling that covers their eyes and pierces their chests. They do not stir when the door opens.
Studying the zombies; Medicine DC28 or Physical Science DC28:
The way that the zombies are plugged into their terminals suggests that they have a very deep brain link and likely are not recieving any sensory info otherwise right now. Physically unlinking them would probably wake them up.
You can also learn more about this link with a Computers, Engineering or Mysticism check, if you're interested and take several minutes to study it.
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Arcalinte shakes his head.
"I'd hold off, Isu. Remember how dispatching the ones on the Unending Hex made it that much more difficult to run? Considering we plan to repeat that hijacking on this ship, we may need some of these cyberzombies active to ensure the vessel gets steered into the Stellar Degenerator, and doesn't just sit there.
Male Human Mystic 12 | 76/76 HP, 97/97 SP, 9/9 RP | Init +3 |Perception +25 | EAC 22, KAC 23 | F +7, R +8, W +12 | Spells/Day Left: oo/6/5/2/3/0/0
"Normally, I'd agree with Spec. It makes the most sense that the bridge would be at the fore of the ship. However, I suggest the double doors this time." Jellico points toward the bigger set of doors. "Nothing unimportant was ever placed behind double doors."
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
"Are you sure?" Arcalinte asks. "For a capital vessel such as this, I imagine it'd be more productive to focus going UP rather than side-to-side, the bridge having the highest vantage-point on its structure."
Ted spends several minutes studying the method by which the cybernetic zombies are hooked into their consoles. He deduces that the link is both magical and technological, feeding commands in a one-way link from elsewhere in the ship to the cybernetic zombie operators here. He can also tell that no commands are currently being given to these operators, leaving their brains essentially on standby. Otherwise, the operators here appear to be able to control the mechanical equipment in the hangar bay (the hatches, crane, and ancillary equipment), communicate with the fighter squadron that is normally housed here and track said fighters while they're deployed.
As he determines these interesting details however, he misses the tiny sigil upon the ceiling that had slowly been acquiring targets. The console in front of him opens up to reveal a spiraling sculpture of bone that emits strobing beams of negative energy!
The beams lash through Arc, Isu and Ted, draining them of their vitality and sending a deep chill into their bones (Arc and Ted take 45 negative energy damage, Isu takes 22). The sculpture clicks and retracts into its housing in the console.
----
Just outside the room, prior to being struck by the death ray, Isu took a brief peek through the starboard doors. Beyond, he sees a wide, clinical corridor lined with doors and occasionally interrupted by passages entering from the sides. As far as he can see and hear, the hallway beyond is silent and empty.
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
I mean, they probably expect anyone attempting to board would be living, while their own crewmates would be left unaffected. Not all that strange.
Arcalinte gives an angered yell as the trap activates and leaves him shivering.
"And just think, Isu. They'd subject the entirety of the Pact Worlds to stuff like this en-masse with the Stellar Degenerator."
He then nods at Ted and Jellico's suggestion.
"Might as well indulge in a little sabotage on our way to the bridge. We should then see if we can trace the signal of the Ambassador's mole."
Droid Outlaw Mechanic 12 | SP 108/108 HP 76/76 RP 11/11 | EAC 28 KAC 30; | F +11; R +16; W +6 | Init +8 | Perc +16 | Conqueror (white star-class): +16 (3d12+12 E&F)
"Allow me to determine if we might trace this signal back to its source," Spectre says as he tries to determine a little more about this standby zombie connection.
Spec plugs into the terminal and explores its functionality. He confirms what Ted learned earlier, noting that the connection to this terminal from elsewhere in the ship is one-way (data is transmitted here from elsewhere, but the connection doesn't send data back). Examining the terminal system, Spec notes that there's a log of your currently intrusion into the hangar bay recorded and stored, as well as a local alert regarding the living, but these terminals have not received a ship-wide alert regarding intrusion. With luck, that means your entry here is still flying under the radar.
Although the terminals here don't have data on the rest of the Empire of Bones, they do have local area maps stored within. Spec pulls one up. (See maps) The map shows the general layout of the area directly starboard of your current location, and it marks several individual chambers as "secure sites".
Culture DC15; What's a secure site?:
It's not surprising that the terminals here have little information about the ship at large. This kind of security precaution is common in strict military groups and paranoid mercenary operations. You reason that most likely one of these 'secure sites' is some kind of security station or post that might have more significant access to the ship's systems, or at the very least more data.
If you want to try to mess with the fighters, give me a roll. Otherwise, what would you like to do next?
"Now we are getting somewhere..." says Isu as he takes in the layout of the ship. "We should access a secure site and see if there is a way to hack into the bridge or maybe get a better map to it or an elevator or transit system...."
let's head to the next map and see what we can see. I propose going down the hallway one door at a time starting with the upper left and moving down
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Culture:1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (16) + 16 + (5) = 37
"Sarenrae may be an emblem of hope, but she encourages her faithful to maintain reasonable expectations, Isu. While I doubt we'd actually be able to hack into the bridge from anywhere but the bridge itself, any information contained in a "secure site" would be valuable to us...and likely heavily guarded," Arcalinte replies.
Leaving the hangar bay for now, you head starboard into the aft-side corridor. Even though the first side room along the way isn't a secure site, its door is secured with an electronic lock. It looks fairly advanced, but not out of reach of your tech experts.
I've moved you to the new map! Your tokens are a little small here. If there's any issues with moving them, let me know.
You may not want to take 20 in these situations because failing an engineering or computers check might have consequences, and taking 20 assumes a lot of failure before you succeed.
Ted's initial attempt to mechanically disable the lock ends with his tools slipping and almost jamming the mechanism, leaving him to switch to hacking the lock instead. After plugging his hacking kit in, it doesn't take him long to fool the lock into thinking an authorized user is commanding it to open. The light on the lock shifts to white and the door slides open.
The ceiling, walls, and floor of this room are covered in heavy armored plates that show scratches and signs of scoring. Many of the plates seem newer and appear to have been bolted directly over damaged plates without removing the old coverings. Twisted, wrecked pieces of junk are piled up in the corners and where the walls meet the floor. Several pipes run through the room near the ceiling, with numerous valves along their lengths.
In the rear of the room, two piles of junk rise up as soon as the doors open. In between the metal plates and various pieces of junk in the piles, you see bright red ooze and the barrels of some kind of weapons. The piles shift and the weapons point toward you!
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
"Careful! Those look like that oooozy ooze we encountered in Istamak's Foundry!" Arcalinte cautions.
Isu isn't too sure his sword can cut through ooze, based on past experience. Instead of rushing to engage, he holds back and activates his white force field (15 temp HP, recharges at 4 a round), as well as drawing out his good old hammer.
Male Human Technomancer 12 Dataphiles | SP 84 HP 64 RP 10/11 | EAC 28 KAC 29 CMAC 37 CMD 29 CMB +9 | Kinetic DR 5/- | F+6 R+10 W+11 | Init+6 | Perc+3 | 1st 1/6 2nd 0/6 3rd 0/5 4th 0/4 Cache 0/1
Ted stuffs a dead battery in to his top and throws the magically charged explosive in to the room.
damage (fire):9d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 5, 5, 3, 3, 5, 1, 4) = 31 Ref DC 19 for half
Explosive Blast:
EXPLOSIVE BLAST T3
School evocation (fire)
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area 20-ft.-radius burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Reflex half; Spell Resistance yes
You magically transform a used battery into a powerful explosive device, propelling it in a straight Line to a grid intersection within range, at which point it detonates, dealing 9d6 fire damage to all creatures and objects in the area. If you send the battery through a narrow opening, you must make a ranged attack (usually against an Armor Class of 10 for a narrow opening or an Armor Class of 15 for an extremely narrow opening) to avoid hitting the side and detonating it prematurely.
Both oozes react with surprising swiftness to shield themselves from the blast of flame using nearby metal panels. Despite their efforts however, the blast burns them quite effectively. They respond by poking cannons out from their junk and metal shells and firing off blasts of sonic energy at the group!
The blasts erupt from the doorway in massive waves. Isu takes the brunt of the first blast (17 sonic dmg) but Spec and Arc are able to protect themselves behind his power armor and get through unscathed. The second blast ends up ineffective against Isu, but catches Jelico to the north. (12 sonic dmg)
Male Human Technomancer 12 Dataphiles | SP 84 HP 64 RP 10/11 | EAC 28 KAC 29 CMAC 37 CMD 29 CMB +9 | Kinetic DR 5/- | F+6 R+10 W+11 | Init+6 | Perc+3 | 1st 1/6 2nd 0/6 3rd 0/5 4th 0/4 Cache 0/1
Ted throws another battery in to the room.
damage (fire):9d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 6, 2, 4, 4, 3, 6, 1) = 32
Ref DC 19 for half
Explosive Blast:
EXPLOSIVE BLAST T3
School evocation (fire)
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area 20-ft.-radius burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Reflex half; Spell Resistance yes
You magically transform a used battery into a powerful explosive device, propelling it in a straight Line to a grid intersection within range, at which point it detonates, dealing 9d6 fire damage to all creatures and objects in the area. If you send the battery through a narrow opening, you must make a ranged attack (usually against an Armor Class of 10 for a narrow opening or an Armor Class of 15 for an extremely narrow opening) to avoid hitting the side and detonating it prematurely.
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Oh come on! No one laughed at that callback?
"Nothing for it..." Arcalinte says to himself with a sigh as he marches into the room after Isu to attack the same slime. He didn't like engaging in melee with such a well-protected creature, but melee was what he was made to do.
A second explosive blast erupts at Ted's command, this time proving quite a bit more effective! The two oozes char and burn and - if there was an atmosphere - would smell rather coincidentally like fresh peaches. Jelico aids the party with a blessing of haste, and Spec sends a pair of blasts into the room at the blueish slime. Although the first deflects off a metal armor plate, the second lands perfectly at the creature's center (sadly, immune to crits). Isu's swing bounces off with a reverberating clang that he feels rather than hears. Arc's slash on the other hand cuts deep into the blue slime, which seems slightly less injured by the blow than it should be.
The blueish slime reaches out to batter Arc with a pseudopod, managing a solid blow (15 dmg after DR). Meanwhile the reddish slime sends out another sonic blast (drawing an AoO from Isu). The waves of sonic energy collide with Isu, Arc and Jelico, sending shockwaves through their bodies. (16 dmg to each of you, 1 point absorbed by Isu's thp regen)
Male Human Mystic 12 | 76/76 HP, 97/97 SP, 9/9 RP | Init +3 |Perception +25 | EAC 22, KAC 23 | F +7, R +8, W +12 | Spells/Day Left: oo/6/5/2/3/0/0
Jellico draws his pistols and moves himself against the wall and out of the doorway. Hopefully, the wall will block any more blasts and he'll be able to pop around and get a few shots off in a moment.
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Arcalinte raises his hand and makes a fist, and again the shriek and groan of buckling metal is heard as he tries to crush the ooze in its own salvaged armor!
Isu's quick, opportunistic swing connects solidly with red, but his two follow up attacks aren't quite precise enough to breach the blue slime's armored casing. Jelico takes up a defensive position with his pistols.
Ted and Spec's ranged fire pulses over and around the two frontliners in the room. Unfortunately, all three shots end up decorating the wall behind the oozes. Arc's telekinetic grab can't quite get purchase around the blue slime. It wriggles and breaks out of his crushing grasp.
The oozes retaliate, blue pummeling Arc with a metal-covered pseudopod (19 dmg after DR) and red blasting Isu with sonic energy (provoking an AoO again, but hitting Isu for 20 So dmg, after 1 is absorbed). Arc is able to shield himself from the sonic attack, while Jelico is entirely safe behind the wall.
Isu groans in frustration. He has been pretty inept in combat ever since the space battle started. What can he do though except continue on? "PARAMAGNETIC!"
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Arcalinte glowers and tries to crush the other slime instead!
Another Crush, this time on Red! DC 19 Fort save, please!
Ted's shot connects with blue, sending scraps of twisted metal flying. Unfortunately, Jelico's two shots glance ineffectually off the red slime's metal casing. Isu's quick strike further punishes the red slime, and his massive cleave slams into blue's core, tearing the ooze to pieces. Bits of metal and slime rain across the room!
Spec's second plasma blast finds a gap in the red slime's metallic aegis, superheating the ooze. However, the attack isn't enough to finish the ooze off, and Arc's psychic grip isn't able to restrict the ooze either. It wriggles forward and extends a pseudopod to try to slam Isu. His armor handily protects him as the ooze batters away.
Male Half-Elf Solarian 17 | SP 151/151 HP 125/125 RP 10/10 | EAC 35(37) KAC 36(38); DR 5/- Resist Fire 20 | F +14; R +14; W +11 | Speed 25 ft. | Init +6 | Perc +25
Frustrated, Arcalinte dismisses his focus and his solar armor and eyes flicker before shining stronger.
