"Keep it up!"
Nipper just keeps blastin'.
STAM: 7
Used on:
Paeon
Startoad peaks out and fires a laser blast at it.
Suddenly you all find your edge, starting with Paeon's scything blow and culminating in Startoad and Noah's blasts destroying the ancient bot!
It judders and jolts as each attack tears it asunder.
As the smoke clears the pile of smoking scrap that was once the alien robot litters the area... The security robot’s design clearly originates from beyond the Pact Worlds.
You surmise that despite its scrapped state the robot's strange origin gives it a value of 2000CR to a scholar or collector...
At the far end of the corridor you notice what appears to be a service hatch. While all around you the machinery imbedded in the walls appears still to be functioning...
What is going on here? Ed wonders.
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[
A pity. I would have liked to communicate with that construct.
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Startoad starts to look at the destroyed robot poking and prodding the strange tech
“Robot was mean and strange. Not friend.”
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as startoad is poking and prodding the bits of robot he throws them In his bag. “Bits are good! Worth lots of Credits! Here have some.” and he dishes out equal amounts to everyone.
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Ed hands the scrap metal back to Startoad. Um, you can keep my share. You'll make better use of it. The Shirren gives the screens around him a cursory glance before kneeling down at the hatch and placing his antennae on it to listen.
As Startoad picks over the robot salvage, Ed's senses fail to detect any vibrational indications from beyond the hatch...
Noah agrees. Yes. These components of construction are rare and likely worth quite a bit. We should take the entire thing back with us. Where to next?
Unless you can get anything off these computers, I guess were going down the hatch. Ed shivers.
Can't hurt to check the computers. Noah notes and begins to do so.
"Lots of fancy tech here. Anyone check the cushions for loose change yet?"
Nipper gives the place the once over for anything interesting, unusual or just plain shiny.
Your superior insight into the engineering of automatons discerns that the alien security bot houses an integrated Arc Caster (Static) heavy weapon... which given time and the right tooling could be removed (and possibly utilised).
Fingernipper casts a beady eye o'er the chambers trappings but naught catches his attention has having monitory value.
Noah takes a more analytical approach - but quickly discerns that the tech is merely functioning on a superficial level. Whatever greater relevance it had is now isolated to this area.
As you moot opening the hatch your innate tremor sense picks up the fleeting presence of a lifeform moving nearby... within the panelled walls...
Ed straightens up abruptly, antennae quivering forward as he slowly turns around. There's something in the WALLS, he warns the others.
Noah reflexively steps away from the indicated walls and reloads his crossbolter.
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Paeon readies himself,
Where?!
He moves over to the hatch..
Do we open this? Ed, if you bust it open YOU could become the Hatchbuster.
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Taken with the appellation and nervous about things in the walls, Ed gamely tries to open the hatch. Retreat forward!
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Startoad as he’s picking up the pieces hears the walls are dangerous and let’s loose what can only be called a goblin screech. He snags his last price of junk metal and scrambled away once again pulling his laser rifle out to defend himself.
“What wall?!?” he shrieks trying to aim at each wall as much as possible.
At Ed's warning the group draw weapons and panic-pivot at the potential walls of death...
... but nothing appears.
Meanwhile the Shirren harbinger of doom meanwhile attempts to pull open the hatch, but finds it stuck fast.
The lack of any give suggests that the hatch is somehow jammed from the other side, meaning you must overcome the mechanism or break it open to enter...
... presuming of course the something in the walls doesn't get you all first...
Ed strains and contorts at the hatch trying to get it open. Finally, he scratches at it ineffectively with his small chitinous claws before he gives up. His antennae droop as he informs everyone that he is not a Hatchbuster.
Ed fails to budge the jammed hatch and to inherit the Hatchbuster moniker...
Not wanting to make Ed feel any less Paeon looks to his crew.
Seems impossible to open, any of you computer savvy types want to try and pop er open?
He looks to the little goblin,
Can ya blast it open?
Noah moves up and addresses the problem.
Brute force is not always the solution my friends. He notes.
Startoad walks over and he begins to look at that hatch.
The blue side of his head brightens as he stares for a second and a step by step process of how to unhinge the hatch is shown holographically to himself. The ai in his head chimes in this should help to get past this obstacle. Force is not advised against this strong metal.
“Here I help open!” Startoad goes to help open the hatch as well.
Between Noah's subtle tinkering and Startoad's internal aptitude, - they manage to bypass the jammed mechanism and the hatch pops open...
Inside you find a small chamber that once perhaps served as a storage area for spare parts and small maintenance and repair robots, but it is now empty save for the desiccated corpse that lies within...
The body is of a humanoid female, who lies wearing an Estex Suit I which bears the name badge CAPTAIN NASH. Near her outstretched hand lies a pistol, while her cause of death appears to be a gaping wound to the head...
Something about the woman looks familiar to you... You mull where you may know her from, then it comes to you - her features are uncannily similar to the spectral Driftdead you encountered earlier in the tunnels.
Paeon peers inside,
Never seen this person before, not sure how she got in here though. Or what she was hiding from. Or were the others hiding from her?! Was the door locked from the outside or the inside... oh god..
The lashunta peers around the room searching for any signs of movement,
THE COAST IS CLEAR!
Paeon waves his comrades into the deathtrap room.
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Ed carefully secures the hatch with his primary arm set while ushering the others through with his smaller arm set. I could be Ed Hatchholder, he proudly offers following the others down.
I hope there aren't any ghosts.
Noah checks out the dead.
Why this is Captain Nash, the leader of the team we are looking for. I think we have already encountered her once before though. Or at least her ghost. This women was the spectral Driftdead we fought earlier. And yes, its likely she took her own life. What might have caused her to survive this long and then end her life in this way? Noah looks about with a worried expression.
Noah corrects himself and quickly checks to see if he can find more on the dead captain. Perhaps he should have taken more time.
Startoad leans over the hatch and seeing the dead person that seemingly turned into a ghost goes to gingerly check the body. Waiting for anything to happen.
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Nipper gives the corpse the once over, never one to miss the opportunity for shinies.
Noah attempts to access the Pact_web pulling up any data on a Captain Nash...
Little pops from your search, possibly due to the spotty access on the Drift Rock, possibly due to the basic information.
You do find that there was one Moriko Nash; a human captain of an independent vessel named the Sunrise Maiden, who was reported missing some 75 years ago. Piracy and asteroid collision were named as potential fates for the lost ship and skipper.
Started begins to cautiously check over the body...
You note she is wearing an Estex Suit Type I with a build in Brown Force Field. The battery of the force field generator is completely depleted.
At her belt you find 2 ampoules bearing the holo-labelᐒ [RESTORATION, LESSER]. Upon the hip of Captain Nash's corpse is strapped a Tier 1 Datapad...
... While Fingernipper too seeks to get in about the corpse, but a fastidious goblin form stymies his intent...
Unable to get in about at the corpse for the goblin scavenger, the only swag you confirm is the empty Static Arc Pistol lying near her gloved hand.
What you can unequivocally confirm is that the corpse is that of a human female.
Ed keeps an eye out for ghosts. What do you see? he asks the others.
Startoad holds up the ampoules as well as the data pad, “Stuffs! Lots of Stuffs! No ghosts down here.”
"Well? What's on the data pad? Don't just wave it around."
Stepping back from the corpse, Nipper says, "Can't tell much, but based on the cranial-facial structures, it looks like our Captain Nash was a human female once upon a time. Doubt this place was her's."
Startoad stares at Fingernipper then blinks taking a look at the datapad, seeing if he can unlock its secrets and the information it holds.
Likely this is Moriko Nash, a human captain of an independent vessel Sunrise Maiden. Noah drones in data delivery mode. Her ship was reported missing 75 years ago. Piracy was suspeccted.
Startoad tinkers with the datapad, squeaking and grumbling in equal measure before it suddenly springs to life displaying a final holofeed playback
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Paeon shudders as the message play comes to an end,
"Well.."
He summons his Stellar Weapon small galaxies swirling within the blade,
"Hope this beast comes to meet us."
The Lashuna bangs his blade against the wall in an attempt to lure out of the monster described..
*CLAAAANG*
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"Well that sounds ominous. Anybody ever heard of a phase shifting energy draining monstrosity before?"
"Maybe we should keep moving, in case this thing is still around. Though after 75 years, what are the odds?"
Ghosts move through walls, Ed notes nervously. The Shirren gets really agitated when Paeon begins banging on the walls. Wait. No! I don't want to meet it! He scampers back up through the hatch after Fingers.
Startoad grabs the items, stuffing them his in hag and scampers up. He gets up and looks a round seeing the doorway on the end he points to it and yells over the comms. “We should check this one.”
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Noah looks agitated as Paeon begins to make a racket. That is not advisable Paeon. You should at least consult with your teammates and let us all make ready. Did you not hear that the captain has modified her force field to protect from the creature. We should find, study, and at least use if not duplicate her modifications before we meet this creature.
You access data that denotes that the Sunrise Maiden is the name of a Sanjaval Vagabond class starship reported lost in the Drift in 242AG. The ship and its crew were never found, and presumed lost to piracy or environmental collision...
Nothing immediately responds to Paeon's clanging challenge... Fingernipper moves to scout in the unexplored direction, followed by Ed, then a burdened Startoad.
Startoad sucks as everyone begins to leave trailing in the back.