With one shade remaining and a ton of annoyance left within the mechanic, he sets Hum to open fire and takes several shots himself.
Hack-it and Hum shoot over Janzi and eliminate the shade! The computers continue to buzz, but the enemy is finally destroyed. No reinforcements ever came despite the battle spilling into the hall way.
Hack-It takes a deep breath. The barrel of his pistol is cool from all the discharge so he takes a moment to clean it. Hum floats over to him, and the ysoki notes some of the scoring against the drone. "Hold still. I'll fix you up."
He pauses and looks at Booker and Gig. "I'm just going to assume you two need a break. You look rough. I could use thirty minutes to get Hum back to full operation."
When Booker gives him a look and is about to speak, the mechanic relents. "Ok, fine. I'll check the computer systems first."
He pads over to the computers, takes a moment to study the interface, and then works his magic to gain access.
Booker sets his gun down gingerly against the wall. He looks around for Dunklezahn. "Watch the hallway, will ya?" The veteran clears off a flat surface and carefully rolls a fresh cigarette. He lights it and takes a few long puffs. After a moment, he fishes around for his last healing serum and downs it.
Only then does he collect his weapons off the floor and change out the battery on the cannon. "Whatcha got, Hack?"
Hack-it begins making his way through the code, when he spots that it's being rewritten on the fly! He catches one set of countermeasures and disables it, but it's a race between him and whoever is writing the code. Above the projector a new kishalee face appears. Though alien in countenance, you recognize panic when you see it. "No. No. No."
"Oh, it's on. You're messing with the wrong hacker."
Hack-it works like a mad ysoki and quickly outpaces the re-write! With a comfortable enough lead over the AI, he thinks he's got enough time to make the switch!
"Hah! Yeah, I got this... Oh Booker, if only you understood the magic I'm making right now. Wait, Gig... watch this... now!"
Hack-it's lead in front of the opposition AI starts vanishing. On his right, he can see the code cascading. Hack-it spies the AI trying to trigger a series of explosive countermeasures designed to level the room. On his left, he types furiously...
The lights go out.
The room stays dark...
for an uncomfortably long time.
Each Starfinder waits for someone to suggest a course of action.
That's when the button on the keyboard starts flashing. The screen flashes a simple sentence.
Booker takes the cigarette out of his mouth and exhales. The butt is more mashed than usual. "Do it."
Hack-It pushes the button. Obviously.
”Hack, be sure to save a few buttons for me to push. Now, what’s all this about you performing magic? Are you trying to pull a renkroda out of your hat?”
While Gig is talking, Hack-it slaps Janzi's hand away and hit the button. Immediately the hologram changes. After some static and flickering, Osteth's face takes over.
“Thank you, travelers. With Eltreth returned to his containment, the Gate of Twelve Suns is one step closer to being safe from the predations of those marauders. Now that I have access to the gate’s full sensor suite, I can detect that some of them are still within the system. They are within the core facility of Gate 2’s controller moon, an underground facility where my colleagues could adjust the gravitational pulses emanating from the planetoid’s center when necessary. Since my inception as an artificial intelligence, physical presences have been unnecessary in those facilities, with the exception of standard maintenance bots, of course.”
Osteth’s form flickers for a moment. “It seems as though the marauders have briefly commandeered some of those robots to help them in their quest. I am completely locked out of those bots’ programming, and it is only a matter of time before our enemies retrieve an intact control board required to repair the controls that open the Stellar Degenerator’s demiplane. You must stop them!”
"Don't tell me what to do."
Hack-It turns to the group. "I guess we gotta do this though. Right? Let's take a few and then boogie."
The mechanic then begins tinkering on Hum, using his tools to repair dents and replace damaged wiring.
As if on cue, Osteth's image is replaced with a rough map of the area.
Osteth's voice continues, In addition to its standard function, the underground structure was occasionally used by kishalee scientists to examine the effects the megastructure’s gravitational pulses had on living creatures, sometimes experimenting on test subjects transported from this controller moon’s various biomes. I currently register nine organic life forms in the facility as well as a few anomalous energy signals that do not seem to make sense."
"Cute," Booker jabs, rolling a new cigarette. "Don't make sense how?"
He leans against the wall for a few long draws.
"I'm.... not sure."
Janzi, his hand stinging from Hack-It's slap (See what happens next time you want something from me, ya mangy rodent), administers a healing touch to Gig and then uses the staff to do the same to Booker , apparently mostly so he doesn't need to touch the pilot.
Don't make sense like those undead thingies we just faced? Janzi says, hoping that's not the case. Or don't make sense as a hybrid of organic and inorganic, like an android? Janzi is helpfully prepared to lashunta-splain androids if needed.
"Probably more ghosties."
Booker waves off the lashunta. "Save it. I'm good."
”Wow, Janzi, that was amazing. I’m feeling as good as ever. You sure are a useful one to keep around.”
Turning to the rest of his companions, Gig remarks, ”Every time we accomplish something big like helping destroy Malice, I feel like we are succeeding. However I soon discover that we are only scratching the surface and things are growing worse. I’m willing to continue this work, but it’s feeling like we are up against harder than ever. If only we had more time, I could rest up and work on getting my spells back. As it is, I don’t think I will be of much use to you in this next fight.”
The smoke from Booker's lit cigarette curls lazily up to the air vents. He plucks it out for a moment. "How long you think we got, doc?" Booker asks the kishalee program. "How close is Null-9 to findin' what they want?"
"I think that the time remaining is measured in weeks. There is a lot of work to be done. There are files I've not had access to in some time. I can 'read' through them while simultaneously providing you with security if you need to rest and recover. I wasn't always a program. I understand what fatigue is."
"That's enough for me. Let's hunker down and give Gig the time to recharge his batteries."
Booker waves off the lashunta. "Save it. I'm good."
No, no, no. Don't play the tough guy with your liver hanging out. It's unsanitary, Janzi says, using the staff.
"Fine," Booker says, dropping the cigarette to the floor and putting out with his boot. "If we've got a few days to work with, might as well. Hit me."
Booker watches disdainfully as his wounds close. "Weird sh*t. I'm gonna take a look around before we hole up, s'long as our program friend don't mind."
The party takes the time to rest and recuperate. The AI speaks true and the room stays safe for the evening. In the morning everyone prepares for the day.
Booker picks over the cultists. They are similarly equipped as the guards outside.
Booker then tightens his gear to head out to check the rest of the building. As soon as he touches the door to open it the door releases an electrical blast which burns the soldier's arm
[spoiler=DM]
Booker grunts, ducking the worst of it.
What the heck was that, Osteth? Janzi almost shouts.
"I.... do not show any other life forms in the building."
"Well, that wasn't just static, I'll tell ya that," Booker grumbles. He looks over the door carefully to see what triggered the trap, and if it has reset.
"Nevermind life forms. Start looking for death forms. Here, maybe I can tweak you sensor array to scan for the undead?"
Hack-It considers what he can do...
Hack-it can't seem to find a work around to the computer's sensors.
Janzi pushes the yoski over and codes out a solution. Osteth nods approvingly, "There are three voids in my sensor results that are roughly the size of an yoski in the hall outside of this room. There are also four voids in my results of roughly human size in the north east."
"Right, right. That's what I was going to do Gig. You, uh, did good work."
"The human sized voids have stopped moving. The smaller ones seem to move continuously."
”Do you think that those three Ysoki sized creatures are me with Hack and his droid or do you think we have Ysoki prisoners nearby? Either way, we should go and investigate these human sized voids to the north east.”
"Zaz is our yoski mechanic. He's the one whose been working out the details on how to operate this weapon to bring about Oblivion. He's no threat to you, nor is his twin brother Xix. He's the brains. Eltreth isn't a who, it's a what. A kish AI we took from Istamak, but I don't ever hear it's whispers."
He takes a deep breath, "Malice... You've already met Malice's minions. Those shades are things he created. He's one of them. One of Them. Imagine facing another shade, only one who has mastered all manner of spells. Null-9 is our Android Leader. It's sheer ruthlessness is.... inspiring. It could best your vesk in single combat, and simultaneously work out your family history in its circuits, plotting to kill you and your families."
"Nah," Booker replies, "I'd bet it's the 'brains,' Zaz and Xix. Maybe some kind of cloaking device. Anyway, let's hit 'em where the sun don't shine. Lock an' load."
Booker opts for his artillery laser. Once the others are in position, he opens the door.
Booker opens the door to the hallway A sniper bullet explodes in the wall right next to him. He looks around and sees that it came from the doorway across the hall. He catches the tail end of someone moving out of position!
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
Round 1:
Gig: Go
Janzi: Go
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
???: TBD
Hack-it: TBD
Janzi pulls out a frag grenade as he scans the hallway for cameras.
The dust from the sniper bullet may not have cleared all the way, though.
Gig draws his Corona pistol and delays. He prepares to rush in immediately following Booker and the others.
”Are we ready, boys? Let’s do this! You guys go first!”