The bolt of icy energy from Spectre's zero rifle strikes the pavement of the courtyard next to the two ksariks. Rather than scare them off, it seems to spur them into greater action!
Round 1:
Sydney groggily lifts her head up from her make-shift pillow. Her cheek has a faint imprint of the fabric's stitching. She retracts her arm from under her make-shift pillow, dragging her arc pistol from under it's hiding spot. She uses her arms and a bent knee to pull herself up into a standing position. "What the f^@%, man." Sydney's voice is husky from sleep. She swipes away an eye booger with the bend of her index finger, then wipes it on her pants.
Solaria snaps her eyes wide with alarm looking straight up at the unfamiliar ceiling, her body rigid from the sudden shock of a rude awakening. "What! Oh no have the cultists returned?" she shouts shrilly. In a panic she scrambles for her pistol and stands up.
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Hearing Spectre's warning, Arcalinte's eyes snap open and he instinctively grabs for his mote, which transforms into his solar armor as he stands up.
"Didn't think I'd have to test this new armor so soon."
He grabs the movanic angel blade and activates it.
"Worse, Solaria. Remember that plant tentacle monster that was stalking us and planted its seeds in Ralkawi? We've got multiple ones to fight now!"
He begins making his way to the entrance.
"Spectre!" he calls ahead. "How many are there? Stay back in the entrance! They shouldn't be able to follow us in here!"
While the party rouses from their slumber and picks their weapons up, the ksariks outside pick their way across the courtyard, slowly coming closer to the entrance to the statue. You hear them outside, their strange braying voices repeating fragments of something half-speech, half-animal noise.
|||| INIT ||||
Spectre
Isu
Arc
Sydney
Ted
Solaria
Ksarik A
Ksarik B
Bold are up!
Round 2:
Sydney moves 40 feet to stand next to Spectre. "What's going on?"
In response to Arc's identification of the creatures, Solaria shouts back, "Oh no not them, they were really big and nasty. Sydney, Spectre come back up here so that Isu can decide how to set up a defensive position. He knows about military strategy to fight." She ducks down and takes cover behind one of the low walls as she charges up the laser pistol. "Ralkawi, take cover further up the statue, we can protect you from any further harm from these things. Have you any idea why they are attacking us now? Did you have any communication with them?"
The parties readies for action but wisely stays inside the temple to avoid exposing themselves to the two ksariks outside. The ksariks also show some degree of cunning. Neither one advances forward. Instead, they circle slowly around the back entrance, clearly waiting for their prey to make a mistake.
You hear their voices warbling.
Out of Combat rounds for now
Sydney leans against the wall, arms crossed, and tries to make sense of their situation. She tries to imagine why these creatures may have scouted them out.
As the immediate attack seems to be delayed, Solaria blinks several times to regain control of herself. She looks at the others and calls out, "We have a moments rest, those who can should take the opportunity to suit up. Let me see if I can communicate with these things, perhaps we can avoid hostilities altogether. In the meanwhile prepare for the worst, but don't engage until we are prepared. Getting the sniper weapon ready and in position is a great idea Arc, and they may be susceptible to flame."
Solaria moves to one of the high up windows that looks out, calling to the two deadly plants, "My name is Solaria, if you understand me, know we mean you no harm, but will defend ourselves. What do you want with us?" she says this first in common, repeating it in Lashunta. Turning her head to Arc, she whispers "If we get no reply, you try using another of your languages Arc."
With that she carefully cleans her antennae as she waits for a response or sign from the creatures.
Both Sydney and Solaria judge that whether the two creatures understand what Solaria just said, they're obviously uninterested in talking. Furthermore, its unclear what might've drawn the two ksariks to the statue...
"Man, this mission is more trouble than it's worth," Sydney complains.
Sydney looks at the others. She wasn't a leader. She was a rebellious ace pilot operative who found pleasure in thumbing her nose at bureaucracy.
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Arcalinte shrugs.
"You're not wrong, Sydney, but then we wouldn't be Starfinders if we cared more about what value we get out of our missions."
He strokes his chin.
"Have any of you practiced with sniper rifles before? Like I said, we can maybe use the same advantages Salask had against us against these ksariks. I can't really do it myself as the majority of my training was in melee combat."
As Solaria tried to communicate with the unfriendly plants, she notices something.....but she's not sure ...
As she is frightened by the attack on her, she ducks out of the way of the window, loudly shouting. "I;m getting in my armor now, I suggest the rest of you do too."
The ksariks wander about outside, clearly waiting for the right moment to strike.
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"We can be Starfinders and expect to receive monetary rewards," Spectre says. "I have reviewed all relevant documentation."
He looks out one of the small windows to get a bead on the creatures.
"Speaking of which, this delay is costly. We should probably move outside to engage them. They are not going away."
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"This one can handle all weapons. Arcalinte Soter, take this one's place blocking this passage. This one will handle the gun."
Assuming Arc takes his place, Isu strides up to the top of the statue and takes position on a location with a good viewpoint, and takes careful aim with the sniper rifle.
"Are all prepared? This can get a first hit, but do not be suprised if they start attacking!"
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"Spec, let them eat you so they go back to your home factory."
Ted considers their predicament, "If we can draw them in to the temple, my top can lay down some grease to slow their charge and we can pick them off from cover. The good lady will mess with their senses, and we can carve the plant seeds out of Isu's chest when it's over."
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From his sniping perch, Isu delivers a shot with the sniper rifle that catches the nearer of the two ksariks - sending a spray of sap across the courtyard behind it. Spectre follows up with an accurate shot with his laser rifle that chars the same beast! The ksariks waver for a moment as if they're sniffing the air to figure out where the shots came from, and then they lumber southward and start drawing their tentacles in in preparation of spitting out thorns.
Both fire thorns at Spectre, spitting them from somewhere underneath the mass of vines that make up their face. While the droid's improved cover (from the sniping window) protects him from the first shot, the second thorn embeds itself into his armor!
|||| INIT ||||
Spectre (6 dmg, need save)
Isu
Arc
Ted
Sydney
Solaria
Ksarik blue (22 dmg)
Ksarik red
Bold are up!
As Solaria zips up the last part of her armour, she heads to the nearest window and fires at the tilting ksarik, as it's sap leaks from its barklike flesh.
While Isu skims a bullet right across the blue ksarik's tentacles, Spectre lands a direct hit with a laser bolt from his own rifle. Solaria's smaller laser bolt scorches the courtyard's ancient pavers. The ksariks both return fire, but their thorn bounce off the statue's hard metal shell, leaving the three of you unharmed.
It seems that Spectre's attacks are proving discouraging. The two ksariks circle further clockwise, but they also start backing up a bit, clearly currently reevaluating whether what they've found here is prey or predator.
|||| INIT ||||
Spectre (6 dmg, need save)
Isu
Arc
Ted
Sydney
Solaria
Ksarik blue (28 dmg)
Ksarik red
Bold are up!
"They're stiff I had great difficulty firing the last time, but give it an extra push and maybe it will let you fire without distraction." Solaria unhelpfully adds. However she continues to take careful aim and fire at the injured plant, but her window, now that it's loosened, drops onto her pistol's barrel making her shot fire down into the hardened ground, well away from the target."Damn, I might as well be picking flowers as trying to hit those plants!!"
Rifle and pistol fire from the party kicks up dirt and dust from the courtyard's massive cobblestones, but none of the attacks manage to harm the two ksariks. Where the creatures had just started backing up, this display of inaccuracy causes one of them to push closer to the statue once more. The blue ksarik instead takes up some cover behind a massive stone pillar. Of course, its poor understanding of cover means that much of it is still exposed.
Both ksariks send another curved thorn at the statue and the group, but neither of their attacks manages to make it through the small windows and into a party member's face.
|||| INIT ||||
Spectre (6 dmg)
Isu
Arc
Ted
Sydney
Solaria
Ksarik blue (28 dmg)
Ksarik red
Bold are up!
"You don't need to go out there, if we make them back off, I'm sure they'll not bother us again." says Solaria hopefully as she fires at the advancing plant from her window.
Round 1(?)
Sydney figures if she shoots from the feet, she can still retreat fairly quickly.
Seeing that the great beasts have moved away from the door to the statue, Sydney moves 40 feet and tries to sneak a shot at the red creature. She slides to her left and rapidly draws her Azimuth Laser Pistol. She squeezes the trigger, one eye closed as if it'll give her a better shot.