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Chiskisk listens, intrigued by the situation. "So the Corpse Fleet knows you are getting close." The shirren thinks long and hard. "We must make haste and beat them to this Nejeor. If they get their hands on the weapon first that could mean the end of the Pact Worlds as we know it." It clasps it's clawed hands together. "Unfortunately we know nothing of this world or even if it is inhabited. But it must at least have once contained a civilization if it holds records on the Weapons true location. Gather what supplies you can. this will be the furthest out we have traveled in quite some time and will be a dangerous journey through the drift."
With the extra cash, Abe does indeed have a quick purchase prior to departure.
Abe takes a break from checking over the ship in the afternoon to jet out for a bit of shopping. If available, he'll pick up a new suit of armor.
Lashunta Tempweave Advanced (8,500cr))(EAC +9, KAC +10, maxdex 6, slots: 3, bulk L)
Dash’s circuits buzz, the android version of silent groan. Not a dad-getting-up-from-the-couch type groan, but the kind an employee gets when their boss announces unwanted overtime.
”Right. Nejeor. We’ll blast off ASAP.” Dash sends the message and flops back in the Captain’s chair. ”Well this is wonder-f@#%ing-ful.”
Thumbing his iCom, he informs the crew. ”Holiday shopping is coming to a close. We’ve got a sh!t load of drift to cover, so wrap it up, jack it up, zip it up, and report back to the Maiden for another fun-filled voyage to the nether regions of space.” Dash kicks a leg over the arm of his Captain’s chair and surfs for new music to pirate before they leave the civilization of the Pact Worlds behind.
”Yessir, Captain SpacePants,” Vetch nods and offers a lazy salute to Dash’s instructions, taking his time to gather his things and get ready to go to Nejeor. He waits for everyone to finish their shopping and preparations.
A few hours later, he is ready to go, taking the pilot’s chair with a bit more ease and plotting a course to Nejeor.
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Zane walks onto the ship with two super high end blenders - the Takamaki Chop-o-rama. He has two, even though they have a lifetime warrentee and can get it replaced at any Takamaki vendor. BUT, there are no Takamaki vendors in the The Drift and if this blender is a piece of crap like the Dashko brand.. Zane's screwed trying to get his nutrition on.
He also has a big box of Quinoa, Almonds, Kale, whole grain, ginger, druid kiwi, Kefir, Bok Choy, Chai seed, and asparagus.
Hey Draka, do you mind doing The Zane a favor and using your swoop hammer to smash this Dashko blender into bits to add as ammo to the FlakGun? That piece of crap needs to have at least one useful moment in it's life. Those f$&%ing Dashko makers cut corners at every step.
Zane is ready.
Abe shifts the battery recharger to his new armor and carefully stows his old in case he should need it again. He then takes his seat at the engineering station and makes ready for departure.
"Ready captain!" he calls out when he's fully prepared.
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When everyone is on board, Vetch will emerge from behind a cabinet where he was definitely *NOT* chewing through any blender cables and take his pilot’s chair. Nope.
Vetch will fire up the engines and set a course though the Drift.
Piloting
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Draka very nosily, looks onto what her favorite crew member is doing. "What? The Zane buy blenders?! To share with Draka?" The vesk looks questioningly at her companion. "Why The Zane destroy blender? Draka like to smash but even good Draka blenders not last long... Draka not know why - Draka digest bone just fine." The vesk sighs wistfully, unaware that some the various "food" objects she deposits into the machines are not always appropriate for the device.
He also has a big box of Quinoa, Almonds, Kale, whole grain, ginger, druid kiwi, Kefir, Bok Choy, Chai seed, and asparagus
Draka critically eyes The Zane's purchases and feels the need to inform him: "The Zane missing most important ingredient - fresh kill." Draka shakes her head, "it okay. Draka help get one."
"Hey Draka, do you mind doing The Zane a favor and using your swoop hammer to smash this Dashko blender into bits to add as ammo to the FlakGun? That piece of crap needs to have at least one useful moment in it's life. Those f*#$ing Dashko makers cut corners at every step."
"The Zane not destroy. Draka use, blender break, Draka break more." Draka applies a fresh line of red lipstick around the rim of her mouth. "The Zane see. Draka make fresh shake with next kill. Very fresh," the vesk reiterates.
Draka takes a seat at one of the gunnery stations and buckles in. "Draka ready," the vesk calls out, already busy with her electronic devices. She turns on her communicator to record another message to her fans: "Hello, Draka fans! Draka and Draka friends continuing chase of dead. Draka pilot, Tiny Mouse, racing Corpse Fleet to Nejeor. Draka never been to Nejeor but Bug Man say it very far." Draka leans into her communicator: "Draka fans not let Corpse Fleet know, okay? Draka and Draka friends try beat them there." She smiles a toothy grin. Satisfied with the brief update, Draka immediately publishes it to the Internet for anyone subscribed to her channel to watch.
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/ Drift Engine Rating = 19 days
Vetch sets in the coordinates and the group leaves Eox and Waneda behind. After a brief moment Vetch enters the drift. The strange bleakness of the transitory plane. Instead of inky blackness dotted with stars, the Drift is a mass of pink-and-purple energy that seems to both envelop the ship and be incredibly far away at the same time, making it difficult to gauge speed and time.
The Zane isn't sure if it is his disease or the swirling of colors but he begins to get pale in the face and then green as his stomach churns. Maybe it is Draka talking about her fresh kill smoothies. He looks wore down and exhausted.
Watching out the windows you catch glimpses of chunks of other planes the Drift has gobbled up as they pass by—a titanic but empty basalt throne carved with images of cavorting devils, a single metal gear the size of a city, a vast bridge that seems to have an ancient abandoned city built along its span, and so on.
Vetch (SP 42/42; HP 38/38; RP 8/8; Elec/Fire/Cold Res 5)
Dash (SP 36/36; HP 30/30; RP 6/6)
Abe (SP 42/42; HP 40/40; RP 7/7)(Messalina 28/60)
Zane (SP 55/55; HP 37/41; RP 7/7; DR/5-Cold/Fire; DR/6 Kinetic; 1 Neg Lvl; Ghoul Fever 1 DC 15- Impaired)
Draka (SP 51/51; HP 45/46; RP 7/7)
Here's the Fort saves.
Save DC 15
Save DC 15
Save DC 15
Save DC 15
Draka offers her rudimentary medical expertise to aid. She seems to have some knowledge but hasn't studied much on the subject.
”Have you been taking your medicine Zane?” Dash says, noticing the sportsballer looking a bit ghoulish. ”No, that kale-quinoa-wheatgrass stuff does not qualify... gods, I’m on a ship of f@#%ing morons. Sick bay, now.”
Abe will do what he can to help Zane. Remember we have a medical bay which functions as a Advanced Medkit.
(lab) +4 to The Zane's save
(lab) +4 to The Zane's save
(lab) +4 to The Zane's save
(lab) +4 to The Zane's save
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Vetch does some loop-de-loops and some zigzags and some twirling spinabouts as he tries to get used to the updates that Abe has made to the ship.
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Vetch does some loop-de-loops and some zigzags
With his head lolling back and around in circles as the Sunrise Maiden does a pinpoint spinabout, Zane tries pushing the com-button on the sickbed he's quasi-strapped too. His finger sometimes slips as the zig zag maneuver Vetch performs catches him off guard and so the threatening comm that issues forth is choppy and probably fortunate that Vetch doesn't hear it all in it's entirety.
With the face as sheet white as possible, and a gravelly voice hoarse from throwing up, The Zane's baritone issues forth,
VEEETTTCCHH!!! Stop that bullshit right now!*** *** or zag again,*** *** **** will use **** **** to wipe up the barfslop ** **** **** The Zane will *********** the matted mess remaining and eject it out the airlock, or dunk you in an acid bath. Pray that the acid only stops at your fur.
VEEETTTCCHH!!! Stop that b&&+~&!& right now!*** ***
Vetch *slams* on the brakes, confused, and totally innocent. His furry thumb hits the comm to reply.
"What's wrong now? What are you talking about?" Vetch replies, totally earnestly, totally.
Bluff
He picks a bit of blender cord from his teeth.
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*THUMP!!*
The door to the bridge trembles from a force colliding with it after Vetch’s brake check. When it opens Dash stands on the other side fixing the wave in his red hair. Behind him sick sounds come from sick bay.
”Don’t f@#%ing stop now. We’ve purged almost all the toxins, organic and otherwise, from the Zane.”
Screams and curses fly between buckets of regurgitated kale-wheatgrass smoothie.
”Pretty sure that’s the ghoul fever speaking. Just ignore it.”
Turning back toward the medbay, Dash calls, ”We’re about to take more friendly fire from the Zane’s gak-cannons. Get to cover and hold on Abe!”
”Don’t f@#%ing stop now. We’ve purged almost all the toxins, organic and otherwise, from the Zane.”
"YESSIR!" Vetch responds to the Captain's commands and initiates another series of stomach and bowels clenching maneuvers, really testing out what the maiden can do.
He immediately begins a series of barrel rolls, loop-de-drops, and zero-g fvcknutters as the captain commands. He hopes this will help *The* Zane recover quickly.
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The first few days are the worst, though finally with Dash and Abe's help The Zane is able to purge the toxins from his body before he turned into a ghoul in the middle of space in a small ship filled with Starfinders. (Though that would have been great :P)
The computerized autopilot handles the bulk of the flying as the crew wanders about pouring out all of the wheat-grass and stitching together the blender cables with the little pieces of scrap laying around.
Nearly a week and a half goes by without seeing a soul in sight, though it has been at least a week since leaving the Pact Worlds system behind. Communication comes in slightly garbled and delayed due to the extreme distance. Luckily the space madness hasn't kicked in yet.
About halfway through the trip through hyperspace your starship passes close to several humongous, dark clouds that occasionally flash with internal light.
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About halfway through the trip through hyperspace your starship passes close to several humongous, dark clouds that occasionally flash with internal light.
Draka makes two humongous hand prints on the glass window as she peers out into space. "Draka see clouds," the vesk astutely obverses. "That one look like unicorn." The vesk points a clawed finger at one of the masses. "Draka friends think that space horse?" The vesk looks expectantly at her companions, wanting to know what they think of the 'animal-shaped' clouds.
The vesk seems restless being cooped up in a spaceship. She paces the length of the Bridge until given instruction.
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Dash’s head swings up from where he sits, dozing in the Captain’s chair. An organic would have gummed up red-rimmed eyes, blurry from sleep. But androids are built better than that and the gunmetal blue of his iris is clear as glass as it takes in Draka at the window.
He raises a hand and lets it drop, one finger landing on the red button marking the ship’s recorder.
”Captain’s log, stardate 422317. Space unicorn spotted off the port bow. Second Gunnery Sergeant Draka may be exhibiting signs of Space Madness.”
Ending the report Dash flicks a switch and floods the Maiden with a choice from his playlist.
Ten days in the drift.
Counting down the time, Dash has been bored for nine days, 23 hours.
Vetch is also bored, and he can only chew through so much cable before he actually frays into the electrical lines.
So...he does stare out the windows at space clouds looking for shapes.
"That one is a butt. And that one...is also a butt. And that one...oh, I think that's uhm...a big butt..."
He's not very good at it.
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Dash's song of darkness and love is quickly cut short as every speaker on the Maiden blares with a strange voice, killing the vibe as volume seems to be set to max.
“Attention, Pact Worlds vessel. This is the Azlanti Star Empire vessel Fearful Symmetry. Surrender immediately, and you will not be harmed. In fact, you will have the immense pleasure of becoming another small part of the empire’s vast populace. Refuse and we will be forced to turn you into space dust. This message will not repeat.”
Abe hangs on as best he can during the necessary maneuvers, but he's very glad when they're over.
"Cap'tn, scans suggest these are portions of the Plane of Air, absorbed by the drift. More or less thunderheads, held together by that plane's residual energy. Cool huh?"
“Attention, Pact Worlds vessel. This is the Azlanti Star Empire vessel Fearful Symmetry. Surrender immediately, and you will not be harmed. In fact, you will have the immense pleasure of becoming another small part of the empire’s vast populace. Refuse and we will be forced to turn you into space dust. This message will not repeat.”
"Hey, those are our speakers your using to threaten us you bastard. That's not cool!" he reaches over and immediately flips on the weapon systems and slams the big red button on the dash that says 'battle stations'.
He then waits for his captains orders... hand hovering over the weapon superchargers.
“Attention, Pact Worlds vessel. This is the Azlanti Star Empire vessel Fearful Symmetry. Surrender immediately, and you will not be harmed. In fact, you will have the immense pleasure of becoming another small part of the empire’s vast populace. Refuse and we will be forced to turn you into space dust. This message will not repeat.”
Zane's eyes go wide. Oh, oh, oh he says with eagerness. He says this as he transitions from doing his push ups and physical fitness routine to running down the hall to the gunnery turret.
Springing into his seat, he hits the internalcom systems - the same ones that Dash and Vetch clicked to "ignore" when he was deathly sick - and says, Oh Coach! Permission to get on the outercoms and tell them, CHILD PLEASE! .Coach, you can also play that terrible Darkness Song you played a couple weeks ago. That is something an enemy just can't unsee or unhear. Only death will be their release.
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Vetch waits to execute some well-practiced evasive maneuvers that he internally dubs *The* Zane Explusions. The Explusions are not only a new age funk aasimar rock band, but also now the name of a dizzying array of tactical evasions that Vetch perfected in the time Vetch saved Zane's life with the ship...not the first time the rat has saved the human, and probably not the last.
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Having lost any semblance of control over the situation, Dash tries to stall.
”Hey, there!” He calls back in the Azlanti tongue. ”This is Captain Dash Arcbright. My crew wants to blast you into f@#%ing space dust, but I think they’ve mistaken you for members of the Corpse Fleet. Don’t suppose you’ve seen any of them come this way recently, have you?”
Thumbing off his comm, Dash looks to Abe. ”Let’s see what kind of ship they have before we start a fight. Or surrender.”
Draka sits in her gunnery chair and listens to Dash's banter.
Culture
Vetch wonders what he knows of the Azlanti.
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This starship is the Fearful Symmetry, a scout for the Azlanti Star Empire’s largest military force, the Aeon Guard. After a cursory scan, the crew members calculated that they could afford to take a small detour from their duties to deal a small but possibly humiliating blow to the Pact Worlds.
Thousands of years ago, adventurers and scholars from Azlant, humanity’s first great empire on Golarion, began tentatively exploring planets beyond their own. Most of these undertakings ended in disaster, and Azlant itself was destroyed in a planet-shaking cataclysm, but one outpost survived on a distant world called New Thespera. Cut off from their original home world by the failure of their magical portals, Azlanti colonists used their mastery of magic and high technology to settle their new planet and its neighbors over the course of millennia, until the discovery of the Drift enabled them to conquer nearby star systems and their inhabitants, giving rise to the Azlanti Star Empire.
The Azlanti Star Empire now claims a dozen star systems under its hegemony, from the lush inhabited worlds of Thenekral to the lifeless but resource-rich planetoids of Irdinang. All are subject to the Star Empire’s laws and dominance, and all must offer to the Aeon Throne their tribute—tribute that the empire greedily consumes as it expands. Likewise, every one of the empire’s 17 officially designated “sentient alien species,” from the arboreal Neskinti of Gjor III to the trilateral Vilderaro of oceanic Oyojii, are second-class citizens, subordinate to the pureblood humans descended from the original Azlanti pioneers who form the empire’s aristocracy. Slavery is a venerable and established institution in the Star Empire, and androids, who are considered neither citizens nor truly sentient, comprise the majority of the empire’s vast enslaved underclass.
The Star Empire’s throne world is the original Azlanti colony of New Thespera, orbiting the star Aristia. It is the seat of the Star Imperator—a title that is currently shared by twin scions of the Ixomander dynasty, which is believed to have ruled the Star Empire for nearly 2,000 years. The cities of New Thespera provide shining examples of high Azlanti architecture, culture, and learning, but they are also symbols of the empire’s oppression, with the plundered relics of those worlds and cultures annexed by the Star Empire on display.
Taking too long to respond your computers begin to illuminate with numerous warnings as the lights flash. Targeting computers have been locked on. "Surrender now or perish."
”Your mom surrenders,” Vetch replies aloud, and is ready to executive Expulsive maneuvers.
Dash opens the comm, and is about to speak when Vetch reads his mind and says pretty much what he was thinking. Diverting the comms to internal broadcast, he officially sanctions the call for battle stations.
”Vetch, engage Zane maneuvers! Let’s see if they have iron stomachs. Abe... yeah, I see you’ve got this. Zane, Draka, fire at will!”
Zane's so good, he can shoot from the turret AND click the outercomms.
Now that Coach has given the green light to insult The Azlantiwhoevertheyares - Zane gets his indignant tone communicated to the fools out in space.
Peeps! You don't know that the supreme being of all the cosmos is on this ship you want to shoot at! The one who puts the "Foo" in the Foo-shizzle is aboard the Sunrise Maiden. The one who puts the Z in A-MA-ZZZZ-ING and is non-other than The Zane is about to rock your galaxy.
Stand down because
and Zane uses animated gestures that the Azlanti can't possibly see because it's on a voice only channel, but he moves a finger in wide exaggerated circles
ALL THIS is too much for you.
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Your sensor's scream as a torpedo screech's out of the storm clouds, followed by a vessel unlike any you have seen before. The torpedo is surrounded by a ring of smaller projectiles that glow when the torpedoes veer off-course, and sometimes cause them to strike when they would otherwise miss.
The Fearful Symmetry is a sleek starship, built for as much speed and handling as a long-distance vessel of its size could manage. It is emerald green in color and etched with Azlanti symbols that evoke alertness and watchfulness. Its thrusters burn white hot as the vessel approaches the Sunrise Maiden.
The Torpedo veers off course but quickly realigns itself as small projectiles set it back on it's path and smashes right into the front of the Maiden before the group has much time to react.
===================================================================
Far faster than the Maiden the Fearful Symmetry falls back into the storm, using it for cover. "Poor choice."
Despite its strange appearance, the Drift isn’t very different from Material Plane space. The plane is mostly empty and airless, and sports no appreciable gravitational pull. The exception to this is what Drift explorers call “planar bubbles.” When a piece of another plane is torn away and added to the Drift, part of its essence expands the Drift’s planar fabric
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Sunrise Maiden-( 65/65 | F:17 P:30 S:30 A:30 | Life Support: Normal| Sensors: Normal| Weapons: Normal | Engine: Normal | Power: Normal | Status: Nil)
Fearful Symmetry-( -/- | F:- P:- S:- A:- | Life Support: Normal| Sensors: Normal| Weapons: Normal | Engine: Normal | Power: Normal | Status: Nil)
Captain (Dash)-May act on any Phase
Engineering Phase (Abe)
Helm Phase (Vetch- pilot)
Helm Phase (- Science Officer)
Gunnery Phase (Zane / Draka)
Abe swears as the missile tears into their shields, ”Damnit that was fast!”
He quickly straps down and gets to work.
vs DC 19
Sadly, for the first time in his life, he fails to restore shields... He stares at the controls, ”No, No, No, that’s not right!”
Round 1
Vetch shifts into top gear, then slowly rolls it down to low gear (for more climbing power) as he begins to navigate the twisting road.
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Vetch places The Sunrise Maiden a solid distance away from the Symmetry. But that's okay by Zane. He's the best. Yes, the best. A little distance never phased him.
20 and under is a miss.
His finger goes to the comm to blast a taunt to the enemy.Azlanti just don't understand. They are low on the totem pole when compared to The Zane. Azlanti are The Karp - the bottom feeders - of the Universe to be frontin' The Zane.
Zane again is an idiot. He's using more hand motions that can't be seen over the audiocomm. But..... somehow.... in this specific instance, his point is made with an exclamation mark.
The Zane is SSSOOOO much better than you are. He's up here... You are down here... Stop this fighting and see and wonder at The Zane. As long as you live, you too can witness the inevitable!
Dash rocks in his chair from the impact, and fires back with his full-auto-bullish!t canon.
”Is that all you got, Ass-lantis? Cheap shots and hide and seek? Looks like all the rumors are true - you’re a race of losers and cowards cruising around the galaxy in mommy’s fancy car.”
Round 1:
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Engineering Phase
Abe attempts to restore the shields lost due to the torpedo. The ship's rocking causes Abe to miss the controls leaving the shields weakened in the forward sector.
Helm Phase
Vetch swings the ship around, leaving a storm in between the Maiden and the Azlant vessel.
Dash and Zane hurl insult after insult back at the Fearful Symmetry, enough to toss off their gunners.
Gunner Phase
Even with the distance the Zane fires a laser right in between the storm clouds and into the aft of the Fearful Symmetry. The laser cuts right through the shields and blasts into the thrusters.
Draka does not prove as good of a shot as her weapon gets close but misses.
"You half-breed mutt do little more than squabble and talk. Not worthy of the true Azlanti Empire. Fire at will!" The voice yells as another torpedo ejects out of the tubes and a laser fires across the expanse.
The laser continues to weaken your shields as the torpedo rockets through the Drift.
******************************************
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Sunrise Maiden-( 65/65 | F:0 P:30 S:30 A:30 | Life Support: Normal| Sensors: Normal| Weapons: Normal | Engine: Normal | Power: Normal | Status: Nil)
Fearful Symmetry-( -5 | F:- P:- S:- A:0 | Life Support: Normal| Sensors: Normal| Weapons: Normal | Engine: Normal | Power: Normal | Status: Gunnery -2; 3 rounds)
Captain (Dash)-May act on any Phase
Engineering Phase (Abe)
Helm Phase (Vetch- pilot)
Helm Phase (- Science Officer)
Gunnery Phase (Zane / Draka)
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Abe jumps on the Science Officers seat for the round to adjust the shields, the forward shields having completely failed. ”Bad solution.” he mutters under his breath as he tries to stop the bleeding.
vs DC 19
He swears at the console, and slams it on the side with the heel of his hand. It doesn't seem to react, so he slams it again.
"Damn thing is stuck! I don't care where we fly, but keep the front turned away from the enemy until I can get the shields back up!"
Round 2: