Start of Round 6
Working furiously on the Engineering HUD in front of him, Patches once again funnels more power into the weapons array of the Hippocampus, while the enemy interceptor continues in a lazy snaking arc which allows Artemis to get the jump on its trajectory.
Continuing the trend of "I don't want to get shot", Artemis lines up the ship to set up the gunners for this round.
Krevlor does his best to stay on target and keep tracking the other ship.
Valorus continues to target the engines. All they need is one good shot and the group was as good as gone.
With the evasive flying being handled by Artemis, he wheels the Hippocampus around to face the interceptor's aft and denying it a chance to fire back. Valorus continues to assist the gunners by targeting the enemy ships engines, and Krevlor and Darshe let loose with another volley of weapon fire. While Darshe's HUD remains neutral, Krevlor's display lights up with green to indicate another direct hit.
Round 7
Current roles
Captain: -nil
Engineer: Patches
Gunner(s): Darshe, Krevlor
Pilot: Artemis
Science Officer: Valorus
Current Ship Status
HP 39/40
Shields Basic 20 (1/5 forward, 5/5 aft, 5/5 port, 4/5 starboard)
Systems All fine
"Powering weapons again!" Patches calls out across the bridge, the nimble hands flying over the engineering console and diverting excess power to the weapons.
The ship does not respond to his commands, and it takes Artemis precious seconds without moving getting the controls to function properly again.
Krevlor in the zone tracks his target carefully and fires again.
Valorus decides now to target the weapons once more, especially since it seems like whatever is piloting it isn't so keen on maneuvering as much now.
Darshe curses under his breath, but otherwise manages to keep his cool in spite of his miss. Exercising a bit more patience, he follows the necroglider with his reticle, waiting for an opportune time to open fire.
Artemis struggles with the controls momentarily, unable to get the ship to perform evasive maneuvers easily. Valorus targets the enemy craft's weapons systems again, and Darshe and Krevlor both make squeeze the triggers on the weapons systems. Both gunners' HUDS light up as their combined volleys shred the smaller ship's forward shields, while their own shields hold steady under the enemy's failed attack.
Round 8
Current roles
Captain: -nil
Engineer: Patches
Gunner(s): Darshe, Krevlor
Pilot: Artemis
Science Officer: Valorus
Current Ship Status
HP 39/40
Shields Basic 20 (1/5 forward, 5/5 aft, 5/5 port, 4/5 starboard)
Systems All fine
Patches continues to funnel excess power to the Hippocampus' weapons, and Artemis regains control over the ship a little too late to be able to get a read on the enemy's movements.
Tired of messing around, Artemis moves his ship until it is nose-to-nose with the other vessel, dodging fire as he does.
Krevlor's shot goes wide as desperation lets the enemy pilot tap into new reserves of skill born of necessity.
Artemis' control over the Hippocampus forces the enemy pilot to make a desperate flyby attack. The smaller craft rolls around past the light freighter, evading the possibility of an opportune attack by the gunners of the larger ship and affording itself a parting shot as the ship appears to attempt an escape from the battle.
Valorus switches to targetting the core of the ship.
Darshe pulls the triggers a tad too early, missing completely.
Squeezing the triggers on their respective weapons, Krevlor and Darshe both miss the smaller ship as it flies past erratically in an attempt not to collide with the freighter. The shields remain stable as they show no hit against them, and the enemy ship flies in the directly opposite direction to the Hippocampus' current heading.
Round 9
Current roles
Captain: -nil-
Engineer: Patches
Gunner(s): Darshe, Krevlor
Pilot: Artemis
Science Officer: Valorus
Current Ship Status
HP 39/40
Shields Basic 20 (1/5 forward, 5/5 aft, 5/5 port, 4/5 starboard)
Systems All fine
"Looks like the other ship is making a break for it - boosting power to the engines!" The ysoki mechanic pushes a series of controls on the HUD before him, and the engines gain a burst of power.
Now that the controls were responding the way they should, Artemis rocketed the ship in a series of tight turns, jockeying for position.
Krevlor lines up a more solid blow on their foe. "We should be careful, it may be trying to lure us into a trap."
"We've got it on the run!" Darshe says a little too excitedly, his aim becoming erratic as a result.
Valorus switches the computer to scanner mode. Perhaps they could get a solid reading on how the opposing ship was doing.
As the enemy craft speeds further away, heading into the black of space, Valorus scans the enemy craft and determines the following features:
Basic information: 1 living crew on board, Death's Head Necroglider - tiny interceptor, speed 12, perfect maneuverability.
Defenses: AC 17, TL 17, 6/30 Hull points, basic 20 shields (0 forward, 5 port, 0 starboard, 0 aft), 70 PCU
Weapon 1: Gyrolaser (forward mounted)
Weapon 2: Light EMP cannon (forward mounted)
Load out: No cargo, no expansion bays
Other information: budget short-range sensors, basic computer
Darshe and Krevlor attempt to shoot the vessel as it flees, but neither make their target against the evading ship.
Round 10
Current roles
Captain: -nil-
Engineer: Patches
Gunner(s): Darshe, Krevlor
Pilot: Artemis
Science Officer: Valorus
Current Ship Status
HP 39/40
Shields Basic 20 (1/5 forward, 5/5 aft, 5/5 port, 4/5 starboard)
Systems All fine
The ysoki mechanic growls in frustration as the power core fails to respond to his command inputs, and the engines lose their earlier boost of speed.
"You guys want to give chase?" says Artemis over the comms.
"They know we have their number now, I think we've got an investigation that has been delayed enough by this distraction."
"Seems reasonable." says Artemis as he breaks off pursuit and turns the ship back on course.
Darshe releases the firing controls and flops back in his seat, his heart pounding.
"Damn. Well, if they come after us again, hopefully they don't bring any friends. But yeah, you're right. We have a job to do."
{Agreed. We should do what is best for the mission. Still, we should stay on our guard, there is no telling what other possible traps await us.} He turns to Patches and says, {Shall I help you with repairing the systems? The two of us could get this done twice as fast.}
As the smaller craft disappears into the void of space, its trajectory taking it away from both Absalom Station and the Acreon, Artemis banks the freighter away and resets their course to make their way to the Acreon and the Drift Rock. They soon find themselves at the edge of the quarantine field protecting the Acreon and the Drift Rock from the rest of the galaxy. The consoles on the ship let out a series of trills and beeps as a transponder communicates with the orbital laser cannons that comprise the spherical grid around the ship, and the Hippocampus passes through without incident.
Approaching the forlorn ship, a robotic voice echoes over the communication channel from a nearby tranponder beacon. 'THIS SHIP IS UNDER QUARANTINE BY ORDER OF ABSALOM STATION SECURITY. PLEASE TURN AWAY OR FACE PROSECUTION,' the message says, repeating after every fifteen seconds.
The Acreon slowly fades into view - a boxy and ungainly ship of dulled steel whose patched and repatched outer hull bears the scars of countless micrometeorite impacts. Large block letters reading 'ACREON' in dark paint that has been faded from exposure to radiation on its side. It floats inertly within the quarantine field, far from Absalom Station, with the misshapen asteroid tethered far behind the ship on long thick industrial cables as its only company.
"Where to first? The asteroid or the ship?" asks Artemis over the comms.
"I would suggest the ship, there's a much greater chance of us finding crew logs and reports that might shed light on what transpired here."
The decision came so quickly to Krevlor. Valorus did often wonder what that was like. He looked at the two decisions, and the logical one was most certainly the ship. {Yes, I agree. There is also the possibility of finding the whereabouts of the crew as well.}
"Okay, hang on while I dock us." said Artemis.
Sidling the ship close by, Artemis closes in on the Acreon and prepares to dock the ship.
Krevlor examines the sensor readings and summarizes them for the others "The Acreon is a Medium-sized transport ship that can carry a full complement of 6 crew members. The sensors are unable to get a good reading on any life signs that might be present on the ship. The Acreon is armed, though none of its weapons are currently active, and the ships power core is outputting minimal energy - likely enough for life support, gravity, and basic ship functions. The Acreon's aft airlock is currently open, exposing the ship to the vacuum of space."
"I think we should use the port airlock to gain entry."
As the ship prepares to dock, Darshe turns his helmet over in his hands, making sure that its newly-installed infrared sensors are functioning properly. Even though the Acreon apparently still had power, it couldn't hurt to be prepared.
"Lovely. Well, we're probably going to want to get that closed," the soldier says as he lowers the helmet over his head. With a hiss it forms an airtight seal with the rest of his armor and pressurized. He taps the side of his head a few times, causing his HUD to blink on. "Hopefully we can get some mapping data of the interior - we don't want to miss anything."
"We should be able to call up a ships schematic on the bridge. It is why I attempted to set us down nearest to it." said Artemis as he unbuckled his harness once the ship was docked.
He then proceeded to strap on a bandolier with a series of pockets on it, about half of which seemed to be full.
Krevlor got ready to board the ghost ship. In his upper left hand he had his solid projectile pistol, in his upper right he had his laser pistol, his lower left a flashlight and in his lower right a quarterstaff. "They might have kept a compartment or two off their maps, a safe for example."
Artemis brings the Hippocampus as close to the Acreon as he dare and begins the docking procedure. It takes a minute, but eventually there is an audible echo throughout the light freighter as the mag-clamps secure the ships together. Patches turns around to the group as everyone prepares to investigate the stricken ship. "I'll go check on the elf, and we can hold the ship in case our friend comes back and tries any funny business, 'k?" he says, finishing preparations for the rest of the Starfinders to board the Acreon.
The remaining Starfinders cross into the umbilical corridor that extends our towards the Acreon, the airlock door closing behind them. A panel next to the outer airlock door of the larger ship is found and slides open to reveal a small keypad allowing access to the airlock door interface, and the outer door opens with ease to reveal the starboard airlock chamber beyond. It is dimly lit with flickering emergency lighting, and stepping across the threshold confirms the activation of the Acreon's artificial gravity.
The inner airlock door on the other side of the chamber is solid and currently sealed shut. A dim control panel sits next to the inner door, a mixture of red and green lights indicating the status of the airlocks as well as the interface to open or close any of them from this panel.
---===---
Port (inner): Closed
Port (outer): Closed
Starboard (inner): Closed
Starboard (outer): Open
Aux. (inner): Open
Aux. (outer): Open
*WARNING* Internal Atmosphere Vented *WARNING
---===---
Krevlor moves into the airlock waiting for the others before attempting to open the door. He puts his azimuth laser pistol away to free up a hand.
Artemis moves up behind Krevlor, then waves the rest of the group into the airlock so he can cycle it.
Darshe steps into the airlock, his heavy boots thudding as they land on the metal floor. As Artemis prepares to begin the pressure cycle, the soldiers draws his autotarget rifle in anticipation of hostilities. Hostility against what, he could not say.
Valorus steps into the airlock behind Darshe and takes a position near to the corner of the chamber, and moments later the outer door of the airlock seals shut. Shortly afterwards, the inner door of the airlock chamber opens silently, revealing a dimly lit corridor that runs the width of the ship between the port and starboard airlocks. In the middle of the corridor is a junction, where a body the size of a small human or a halfling lies face down in a darkened pool of liquid. The body appears to be dressed in a tattered flight suit.
Inset into the corridor wall on the left next to the airlock is a closed door with a small console next to it.