With a sigh of relief, Gregory composes himself. Once he has gotten a grip, he cautiously moves back in the direction of the room where he encountered the oozes, but once at the threshold, he casts Haste, and rushes through to face whatever is in the *next* room.
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Some fifty-odd humanoid brains, each floating in a vat of bubbling chemicals and pierced with dozens of coils of wire, decorate the transparent cells lining the walls of this clean white room.
The being that called himself Deacon Hope stands at the centre of this chamber, the pale light of the brain cells giving his appearance a decidedly sinister sheen.
Flanking him are four more Interlocutor Kytons.
He sneers as he regards Gregory.
"Fool! You dare to come here?! Your hubris shall be the end of you. Unity's power cannot be denied."
He then gestures disparagingly towards Gregory, whilst addressing the Kytons.
"Do what you will with the body; just make sure you leave his brain intact - I want to add it to my Quiet Garden..."
Round 1: Gregory(-), IK(-,-,-,-), DH(-)
"Not today."
So saying, Gregory pounces on one of the Kytons.
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Gregory rips into the closest kyton, almost, but not quite, winkling the pulsating organ sac at the centre out from its metallic creche.
All four Kytons then descend upon Gregory, eager to conduct unspeakable surgical acts...
One manages to find a weak point in Gregory's shielding, which causes it to start haemorrhaging electrical charge.
Deacon Hope chuckles, and floats forward into a flanking position, before reaching out with a hand that pass straight through Gregory's shielding!
Round 2: Gregory(-86), IK(-146,-,-,-), DH(-)
A sick feeling spreads over Gregory as he realises that this 'Deacon Hope' is far more than he seemed.
What in the Nine Hells is he?!
Ignoring the kytons for the moment, Gregory focuses all of his attention on Hope.
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Once again, Gregory's claws easily pass through Deacon Hope's body, and whilst they do not seem to do any specific harm, Hope's features contort in pain and anger, and he becomes indistinct around the periphery of his form.
All of the Kytons redouble their efforts...
...and one manages to pull off an incredibly lucky shot to the core of Gregory's power grid, which causes his shields to arc even more horrifically.
Grinning superiorly, Deacon Hope then does his best to reach through the shield, trying to pull out Gregory's heart...
Round 3: Gregory(-178), IK(-146,-,-,-), DH(-140)
+++Error: Overload Threshold Reached. System Protection Protocols Engaged To Prevent Catastrophic Collapse. Biofeedback Initiated+++
Gregory feels his very life-force being drained, in order to maintain his shields.
Feeling more than a little worried, he continues to make taking-out Hope his top priority.
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Gregory's attacks continue to rip into Hope's form, causing him to become ever-more hazy and indistinct, but distressingly, the man refuses to dissipate.
The Kytons continue to try and rip Gregory apart...
...but only manage to score a single blow.
Meanwhile, Gregory's shields continue to lose their charge...
Deacon Hope, in an absolute fury, reaches forward towards Gregory's skull, clearly trying to reach in and scoop out his brain...
...scoring a blow which leaves Gregory looking more than a little anaemic.
Round 4: Gregory(-273, -3 Int), IK(-136,-,-,-), DH(-259)
Reeling from the beating that he is taking, Gregory desperately attempts to finish-off Hope.
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Gregory's claws pass through Hope, causing his form to destabilise completely, dissipating into pixelated chaos. The last thing he says, before his voice, devolves into faint static, is:
"Unity, take me!"
Gregory's last two attacks then slam into the injured Interlocutor, causing it to slump to the ground, but not killing it.
Three remaining ones continue their assault...
Once again, one manages a single lucky claw strike, even as Gregory's shields continue to literally bleed him dry.
Round 6: Gregory(-296), IK(-183,-,-,-)
Breathing slightly easier now that the main threat is gone, Gregory attempts to finish-off the downed interlocutor, before moving on to the others.
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With one swift scoop, Gregory pulls the central organ cluster out of the injured Interlocutor, before turning his attention to a fresh one, mauling it horrifically.
Despite the beating they have been taking, the three remaining Interlocutors do their level best to finish-off Gregory...
...with each managing to land a solid hit.
Meanwhile, Gregory continues to 'Bleed'...
Round 6: Gregory(-351), IK(-150,-,-)
Starting to feel extremely nervous, and knowing that he cannot keep this up for much longer, Gregory does his level best to even the playing field.
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Gregory's first two claws get a good grip on the central body of the injured Interlocutor, and then expertly de-shell it.
He then moves on to one of the two remaining Interlocutors, all the while glancing nervously at his energy reserves.
Both remaining Kytons then do their level best to flense him...
...but this time, they do not manage to land any further blows (much to Gregory's relief!), although he does continue to 'bleed'.
Round 7: Gregory(-358), IK(-122,-)
Feeling weaker by the minute, Gregory frantically tries to finish-off the remaining Kytons.
Trying to ignore the pain arcing throughout his entire body, Gregory frantically tries to drop the last Kyton.
Feeling decidedly light-headed, Gregory starts chugging potions like there was no tomorrow, before moving on to restoring his flickering shielding.
Once he is satisfied with what he has achieved, he moves on to explore what is behind the door to the south.
Gregory whistles in appreciation at the sheer quantity of valuable materials.
"A nice haul, but I'd need one heck of storage vessel to carry all of this..."
With a sigh, he returns to the previous room, glancing at the brain canisters, thoughtfully.
"He said he wanted to add me to his collection..."
He smashes all of the canisters, before moving on to his next target: The Security Deck.
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Gregory is able to destroy the collection of brain canisters without any difficulty, scattering shards of glass, nutrient fluid and grey matter across the floor.
The journey to the security deck requires traveling the monorail again; a jerky contrivance, to be sure, but an otherwise uncomplicated one.
The walls leading up to this chamber’s vaulted thirty-foot ceilings are lined with tattered prints of stylized men and women wearing gleaming white armor and standing in bold poses as they plant flags or teach strange alien creatures about technology, and are emblazoned with jingoistic phrases in Androffan, including such pithy sayings as “Strength in Unity,” “Bringing Divinity to the Galaxy,” and “Security. Safety. Honesty.”. Columns lined with cracked glass panels stand amid overturned chairs, rotundas, and turnstiles, but clear paths lead through the debris between the doors to the east and west and south.
As Gregory dismounts from the monorail cart, a disembodied synthetic voice, full of quiet menace, intones:
"Gregory Leichardt. Bipedal Mammalian Human Elven Hybrid, With Cybernetic Overlay. Nil Valid Clearance Identified. Initiate Sterilisation Protocols."
At that, a pair of laser turrets descend from the ceiling, as four 'guards', partially rotten humanoids clad in riot gear, each dual-wielding laser pistols, step from behind blast shields, and all open fire...
...a truly withering display of force, which is sadly wholly ineffective, as it is unable to bypass Gregory's thermal shielding.
Unable to resist effectively, Gregory is able to make short work of them.
Much to his disgust, however, open destroying the humanoids, their guns decay into completely unusable piles of scrap.
Heh.
Rather bemused by this turn of events (although moderately concerned that something in here seems to know a lot about him), Gregory decides to go through the door to the West.
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Opening the door reveals a long corridor, which gradually curves northward.
Two doors exit the corridor along the northern side, whilst four (closely spaced) doors, somewhat further along the corridor, are present on the southern side.
As Gregory enters the corridor, another laser turret descends from the ceiling, and starts firing...
...continuing to do so right up until Gregory destroys it.
Rather enjoying this (probably fleeting) feeling of invulnerability, Gregory goes through the first door to the north.
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The floor of this room is cluttered in places with wheeled tables and overturned workstations. To the west, beds and coils of hanging tubing are partitioned off from the main room with flimsy walls and shining curtains. To the east, glass walls isolate a smaller room filled with lights, silvery tables, and upturned cylinders. In the northeast corner stand a dozen shattered glass cylinders; the fluids they contained long ago spilled out to stain the white floor.
Curious...
Since he wasn't immediately attacked, Gregory cautiously begins to search the room.
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As Gregory searches the room, he notes that the contents of the general room has been rather thoroughly trashed, but that the smaller room appears to be in quite good condition.
However, as he moves to explore it, he smells a sudden antiseptic odor, and feels unseen ghostly fingers brushing against his internal organs!
At the same time, five disembodied phantoms, wearing black robes that swirl around maws of sharp teeth, float through the walls, and look, hungrily, at Gregory...
Their incorporeal bites gnaw away at their victim's vitality, dealing negative energy damage, and Constitution damage.
Round 1: Gregory(-), AG (-, -, -, -, -), LS(-)
"Lovely. So I have a haunt that wants to vivisect me, and a bunch of ghosts that want to eat me..."
With a sigh, Gregory clicks his heels together, and pounces on the closest knot of geists...
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Gregory rips into the geists, causing two to dissipate entirely, and tearing ectoplasmic shreds from a third.
Howling in hunger, the three remaining geists descend upon him, gnashing spectral teeth!
All three manage to latch on, hungrily draining his life-force.
Then, the haunt manifests; Gregory feels that he is surrounded by spectral forms, all wielding surgical tools, as they attempt to cut him open, and 'liberate' his internal organs...
Round 2: Gregory(-12, -8 Con), AG (-27, -, -), LS(-)
+++Error: Core Containment Failing. Cascading System Failure Imminent+++
With a snarl, Gregory resists the effects of the haunt, and focuses on the far-more-real threat posed by the geists!
Frantically, Gregory tries to finish-off the last geist.
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The last geist falls (no doubt to Gregory's lasting relief!), leaving the room quiet once more.
Searching the smaller, 'surgical theater' room reveals a wealth of technological items, including...
Medlance x7, Trauma Pack x4, Trauma Pack Plus x1, a strange helmet covered in flashing lights and adjustable straps with an intricate blinder that covers the eyes,
A highly-detailed microchip,
and, in one corner of the room, a large, cumbersome device that consists of a comfortable, plastic-framed reclining chair inside a transparent pod, within which is affixed a dizzying array of multi-jointed arms and extendable devices. An equally dizzying assortment of buttons, lights, and touch-sensitive screens adorn the device, both on the inside and outside of the pod.
Shuddering, Gregory stops to conduct a short ritual to Restore the containment of his suit's reactor core, before turning his attention to the items that he has discovered.
A neurocam. Interesting. Not especially useful just at the moment, but I am sure that I could find a use for it...
Now we are talking! I finally have a use for that skill-slot!
Gregory whistles in appreciation when he realises exactly what he has before him.
Wow. Now, *this* I have to take with me once I have finished clearing-out this place. Imagine the possibilities!
Collecting everything apart from the Autodoc (which is presumably a tad bulky to cart around, just at the moment), Gregory heads through the door to the west.
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Dark brown stains mar the tables and tiles of this otherwise clean chamber. Strange medical equipment and devices hang from most of the walls, while piles of broken electronics litter the floor. Four small doors open in the west wall, while larger doors occupy the north, east, and south walls. A cubicle sits at the north end of the room; the windows in its walls reveal workstations within.
As Gregory floats into the room, two more of the laser-pistol-wielding undead turn to face him, unleashing a hail of fiery bolts... which once again achieve nothing.
Gregory then pounces forward, tearing about one of the monstrosities, but is then surprised by a withered corpse-like creature which appears out of thin air, and attempts to bite him!
However, much to its obvious frustration, its teeth simply glance off Gregory's shields.
Nevertheless, Gregory can feel the hunger of its gaze, gnawing away at him...
Round 1: Gregory(-16), EK(-)
Momentarily surprised, Gregory quickly turns around, and attempts to rip the undead beast apart.
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Gregory rips into the Sayona, tearing strips of leathery flesh from its body.
The creature snarls, and attacks Gregory in a flurry of claws and bites...
...but its blows rain down futilely on Gregory's shields, even as its ally's laser bolts are absorbed harmlessly.
Nevertheless, Gregory can *still* feel the hunger of its gaze, gnawing away at him...
Round 2: Gregory(-16), EK(-152)
Scenting victory, Gregory attempts to finish-off the sayona, before turning on its ally.
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Gregory makes short work of the injured sayona, before turning upon the remaining undead beast, and ripping it apart.
A search of the room reveals a pile of unusual trinkets:
An adamantine spiked chain, five masterwork daggers, a +3 vicious urumi, a +2 ominous scorpion whip, and 6,500 gp worth of strange curios gathered from a dozen different worlds.
In addition, in the larger, central cubicle, a wall mount holds an id rifle, alongside six nanite canisters.
Collecting his haul, Gregory moves through the door to the north.
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Opening the door to the north reveals a 5' x 5' room, with another door to the north, requiring an Orange Access Card to bypass.
The pink walls of this massive chamber almost seem to glow because of the intense illumination from above. Rows of identical cells enclosed by transparent doors fill much of the floor space. Walkways and railings atop the cells provide ample view of everything below.
Most of the cells are empty, but a few contain extremely brittle skeletons, some still with patches of leather-like skin, or even matted piles of hair, still attached in places.
Clearly, these poor unfortunates perished an unimaginable length of time ago.
As Gregory moves around the chamber, he indentifies a much larger cell to the north-east, but before he can investigate any further, he is interrupted, as four large robots, each with ahumanoid torso and four spindly legs sprouting from the top of a black-paneled orb, with buzzing mechanical tentacles churning and writhing below, drop from the ceiling, and in inflection-less mechanical voices intone:
"Designee Gregory Leichardt. You Do Not Have Clearance."
Then then move to attack.
Round 1: Gregory(-16). ADR(-, -, -, -)
"Finally! Some robots!"
With a sigh of relief, Gregory pounces on the closest Director.
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Gregory falls upon the closest Director, and tears it apart, sending flailing tentacles and skymetal wiring showering across the room.
The remaining three then congregate around him, and flail away with their tentacles...
...and, incredibly, they manage to acquit themselves fairly well, one managing a solid blow with a tentacle, and two landing solid body-slams.
"Surrender And You Will Be Placed In Custody."
Round 2: Gregory(-61). ADR(-, -, -)
"No."
Gregory focuses on dismembering the remaining robotic trio.
Warming up, Gregory continues his steady demolition work.
"Time to go to the great big scrap heap in the sky!"