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The next level up has similar architecture to the level below - polished metal plates adorn every surface, and harsh, actinic lights provide illumination. Two doors exit this chamber - one to the south, and a second to the east (both currently locked with card readers).
The chamber's guardians, however, are substantially different - a huge, 15' tall gearsman, attended by two more of the upgraded gearsmen which appear to be ubiquitous in this place.
Therace whispers:
"The door to the south leads to the non-ranking Captains' private quarters. The door to the east leads to the labs."
None of the guardians seem to notice.
Gregory nods, and effortlessly floats forward to the eastern door, swiping his Red Access Card in an effort to open the door...
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With a beep, the door opens, and Gregory is able to quietly slide into the next room.
This room a ppears at first to be a strange alchemical laboratory, but upon closer inspection, the equipment here is of a decidedly more technological nature.
Single doors exit to the west and north, with double doors to the east.
Two more upgraded gearsmen stand guard in this room.
"The double doors lead to the robotics lab, where Captain Sila normally works. North leads into the tower, and the military production lab."
For a moment, one of the robots glances in Therace's direction, then returns to its regular guard patrol without any indication that it has noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Gregory nods, and heads for the northern door, his Red Access Card at the ready...
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With a beep, the door opens after the card is swiped, revealing a 5' wide, 10' long corridor, with another door at the end. Swiping his card again causes the door to open, revealing a perfectly circular room, which contains several workbenches for the crafting, repair, and dismantling of technological objects. Many of these appear to be partially completed weapons or suits of half-salvaged armor.
Another door, this one open, exits the chamber to the east.
The room itself is guarded by six upgraded gearsmen.
Boy, this chameleonware is certainly worth its weight in platinum!
Grinning even more widely, Gregory floats forward, carefully avoiding the robots, and heads out the door and up the stairs.
"Right. Sounds like I will have to deal with both of them, then, in order to cause maximum chaos..."
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Gregory uses Dimension Door to 'port to the other side, so as to maximise his chances of gaining surprise on Ozmyn.
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The walls and ceiling of this chamber consist entirely of a wide dome of scintillating, glass-like material set into an elaborate metal framework laid in alien patterns. To one side of the room, an area partitioned off by a metal screen is decorated with an oversized bed with silk sheets. A small table and chair sit nearby - several large books sit atop the table. The rest of the room is a clean, neatly organized laboratory that seems to combine tools for working on magical and technological items alike.
Seated at the table, flipping through several books, is a heavily-muscled Kellid male, his face and arms covered in tattoos. Standing guard around him are three more upgraded gearsmen...
...all of whom are thoroughly incapable of spotting Gregory.
...and then, apparently, Round 1 actions, as well...
Surprise Round: Gregory, Ozmyn, GB
Round 1: Gregory, Ozmyn, GB
Gregory pounces on the unfortunate man.
Gregory continues to attempt to tear the man apart.
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In a terrifying display of violence, Gregory eviscerates the poor man before he has a chance to realise what is going on.
"Intruder detected."
The gearsmen, moving as one, attempt to hit Gregory with batons that crackle with electricity...
...and incredibly, two manage to get solid hits.
Round 2: Gregory(-27), GB
Wincing slightly, Gregory turns his attention to the robots.
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Gregory starts tearing through the robots like a hot knife through butter, tearing apart one gearsman with disturbing ease, and then damaging a second severely enough that it shudders and shakes as it programming goes wild.
The remaining Gearsman doggedly attempts to take Gregory out...
...but is unable to repeat its earlier success.
Round 3: Gregory(-27), GB(-89, -)
"Excellent."
Gregory attempts to finish-off the remaining robots.
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Gregory first blow is enough to pulverise the CPU of the injured robot...
...and then is remaining attacks methodically disassemble the final hapless robot.
A search of the room reveals the following:
On the bodies of the robots, there are:
3x Slender rod with an insulated grip.
3x Extremely heavy, two-handed weapons, that include a shoulder rest and a barrel large enough to fit a halfling's head.
9x Soft Grenades.
On Ozmyn's corpse, there are the following:
An elaborate network of plastic and metal struts and straps, which was being worn as armor.
A bastard sword constructed of strange black metal, covered in a faint sheen, like green crystal.
A huge, shoulder-mounted laser rifle.
An Amulet of Natural Armor +3, a Belt of Physical Might +6 (Str, Dex), a Ring of Protection +3, an Orange Access Card, a huge pile of spellbooks (worth 20,000gp in total), and a Timeworn White Nanite Hypogun.
"Stun batons. Cute, but not very useful for me."
Gregory's eyes light up when he identifies the rocket launchers.
"Now we're talking!"
"Huh. A Heavy Weapon Harness. Useful. Pity that I can't use it..."
"Ah, a Null Blade. Truly, the pinnacle of magical and technological synthesis."
"Looks dangerous..."
Gregory collects together his loot, and then Dimension Doors into the room below (after re-establishing his Chameleonware, of course!).
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Gregory is easily able to Dimension Door through the floor.
This large circular chamber combines what appears to be an opulently appointed bedroom on the eastern side with a cluttered wizardly laboratory to the west. An adjustable folding screen of metal slats painted with images of snowy landscapes divides the two sections. Scattered among the wizardly equipment is a staggering variety of technological tools and devices, while to the north, a cubical device whirs and hums, its upper half caked with frost. The air in the room is cold enough to frost breath.
The room's only occupant is a rather unusual woman - she clearly has a cybernetic right arm and leg, but the rest of her 'skin' is covered by a pale blue metal that ripples as she moves, and causes a very thin layer of frost to form on its surface. Her hair and eyes, however, are definitely organic, and when she breathes, her breath turns to frost in the room's cool air.
She appears to be staring warily at her door...
...but fails to notice anything unusual.
Without another word, Gregory pounces on the woman.
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Gregory finds the woman's flesh to be *extremely* cold.
That aside, however, he tears her apart, rending her limb from limb and scattering blood and entrails across the room.
A search of the room reveals the following:
Wand of Charm Monster (14 charges), Wand of Slow (9 charges), 3x Zero Grenade, MW Dagger, Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2, Cloak of Resistance +2, Headband of Vast Intelligence +2, Necklace of Adaptation, 3x Battery, Cybernetic Arm, Cybernetic Leg...
...A small pistol, the barrel of which has frost gathering around it.
...and two small, hand-held devices, each with a tiny screen, and an aerial.
"Another one bites the dust."
Satisfied with a job well done, Gregory collects up the items, and, dragging both bodies with him, Teleports back to Torch. He then dumps both bodies *into* the torch, before Plane Shifting home.
+++Stage XIV Integration Achieved. Perfected Insulation Online+++
After taking a day to rest (and conducting a shopping run to Chesed), Gregory will Plane Shift back to the Prime, and then Greater Teleport to the entrance to Silver Mount.
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As Gregory is planning his assault, Casandalee speaks up.
"I think that I can be of some assistance... Take a look at these."
The image of her face disappears from the sheet of crystal, to be replaced by a series of extremely detailed architectural plans.
"These are the main decks on the ship buried within Silver Mount."
She continues to speak, providing a voice-over.
"Now, it has admittedly been several centuries since I have been there, but the main levels are as follows: The entrance I can lead you to goes directly into Secondary Engineering. From there, a monorail provides access to Habitat Pod 1, and the Security Sector.
In Security, you will be able to find a different monorail hub, which provides access to the Recreation Deck. In addition, there is a lift which can take you to the Command Deck.
In the Command Deck, you will find another lift that will take you to the Astrogation Deck, and from there, yet another Lift will take you to the Computer Core, from which you can access the Godmind - the core of Unity's divinity.
However, to head straight there would be suicide - first, you will need to weaken Unity's power. In order to do so, there are a number of tasks that I recommend you carry out:
Unity maintains a powerful Overload robot, which is a significant point of pride for the AI, and is the only construct powerful enough to hold its programming if the Godmind is destroyed. I am not sure where it is currently located, but it would be advisable to destroy it before approaching the Godmind.
Unity keeps several collections of worshipers scattered throughout the ship's decks. Removing them (or convincing them to abandon their faith) would eliminate their devotional energy, further weakening the AI. From memory, they were predominantly located in the Habitat Pod, the Recreation Deck, and the Command Deck, but you will need to keep an eye out for them. Essentially, everything within the ship will be hostile, anyway...
I would suggest doing your best to disrupt robot command throughout the ship - to that end, there is a powerful robot called Bastion, which Unity uses as a control 'hub' for the other robots. It will most likely be located in Security.
Lastly, I would suggest slaying Becrux, a powerful void dragon which has allied itself with Unity. It isn't exactly small, so chances are, it is still lairing on the Astrogation Deck.
Good luck!"
Using Greater Teleport, Gregory is able to move precisely to the entrance that Casandalee told him about:
Metal crates are stacked to either side of this cave, while a massive pair of doors (to one side of which is a card reader) looms in the center of a metal wall to the west.
A quick search of the crates reveals 144 Goo Tubes, 5 Batteries, 6 Flashlights, a Fire Extinguisher, and a Laser Torch half-buried in a pile of rubble.
Gregory listens carefully to Casandalee's advice.
"Thank-you. That is most helpful."
Once he has finished rummaging through the supply crates, Gregory tries his collection of Access Cards on the door.
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The door opens with a swipe of the Orange Access Card.
Large portions of the northern floor in this chamber have fallen away into a cavernous black void. Lubricants, paint, and burns stain every surface. A humming mechanical device dominates the west beyond a low railing, tainting the musty air with a tang of ozone and heated circuitry. Beyond that, windows look out into a black void and a lighted structure that floats suspended in the void.
Of more immediate concern, however, is the Gargantuan Annihilator Robot which stands guard in the chamber!
As Gregory enters, it turns to regard him, and in a deep, buzzing voice states:
"Perimiter Breached. Unit Gregory Leichardt Noted To Have Entered Engineering Deck. Resistance Is Futile..."
It then moves to attack...
Round 1: Gregory, AR
Gregory shivers as the robot utters his name.
How the heck does it know who I am?!
Nevertheless, he pounces forward!
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Gregory pounces forward, and starts ripping into the enormous robot, and manages to start to tear-up its outer casing.
It responds by trying to claw at him, and fire its chain-guns at him from point bank range...
...but Gregory lithely manages to dodge out of the way of all of its attacks.
Round 2: Gregory, AR(-112)
Grinning, Gregory continues to slowly burrow his way through the gigantic construct.
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Gregory continues to drill his way into the side of Annihilator robot, tearing away several large panels to reveal the delicate circuitry beneath.
The robot does its best to target Gregory, but the small, fast-moving target (partially buried in the robot's own body) proves to be a difficult target to hit.
Round 3: Gregory, AR(-225)
Scenting victory, Gregory attempts to finish-off the robot.
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Gregory burrows deep into the core of the robot, severing the links to its primary generator. The robot them collapses to the ground, inert, allowing Gregory to tear it apart.
Now that something is no longer trying to kill him, Gregory is able to turn his attention to the machine over to the west.
Gregory whistles.
"A Graviton Reactor! Wow! I've heard of these, but I've never actually seen one..."
He then busies himself with trying to turn it back on.
Eyeing the force bridge warily, Gregory instead heads through the open door to the west.
With a nod of satisfaction, Gregory heads through the double doors to the south, and begins to systematically explore the rooms along the corridor.
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Most of the rooms along the eastern branch of the corridor are empty, but in the room directly opposite, hidden amidst a pile of mechanical trash, Gregory finds two Adamantine Tower Shields.
Continuing on his way, two doors down on the south side of the corridor, Gregory comes across a slightly more... disturbing... sight:
Overturned tables and spilled food turn this eating hall into an obstacle course. An enormous humanoid corpse lies on the floor; the remains appear to be half-eaten.
Standing over it are three hideous creatures: Towering above a typical human, these misshapen giants' pale flesh is covered in purulent sores and bulbous tumors.
Upon spotting Gregory, they snarl in broken Common:
“We no go back to League! We eat you instead!”
Round 1: Gregory, AG
Gregory wrinkles his nose in disgust.
"Ugh."
Nevertheless, he pounces on the closest giant.
Grimacing in annoyance, Gregory continues his slow, steady butchery.
"You are starting to vex me..."
"That's better."
Gregory focuses on peeling the flesh from their bones.
Growing tired of this fight, Gregory tries to finish it.
Sensing that he is in the home stretch, Gregory keeps at it.
How much more punishment can this thing take?
Sighing in frustration, Gregory does his best to finish-off the last giant.