"There's more of that metal stuff over there," Diedre says, pointing out the cocoon remnants scattered about. "Oh, and this," she adds, holding up a flame pistol.
The half-elf seems slightly distracted, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"Let's check out the other hold," she says finally.
"If akatas is on drift rock..." Lauren begins, unsure of where she was going with the thought except that she felt a sense of both dread and confidence. It seemed to be getting easier to deal with them now that they knew what they were in for, but it still contained a risk she wasn't sure she would be willing to take. Especially with Entiren sick.
Snapping herself out of hit, she heads over to the other cargo bay door, and prepares her last salt water grenade.
Diedre inspects the edge of the door for tripwires or motion detectors, but senses nothing. Jehir slides the door open to reveal... stillness. No akatas (or any other creatures) leap out at the Starfinders.
The port cargo hold contains much of the ship's supplies - extra food and water stores, replacement air filters, spare parts, the like. The largest item in the room is a nondescript plastic shipping container, roughly 4'x4'x8', set on the floor under a shelf.
Diedre looks over the shipping container.
"Ok, 'Achievement Unlocked'," she says. "We found the ambassador's package." She casts a furtive glance to the recording drone following them before furrowing her brow in concentration.
{"So, do we open it?"} her voice says, echoing in everyone's mind. She glances at Aureum, looking for confirmation that she did it right.
Aureum shares a glance with Diedre, and is unable to contain a smile.
{You're a natural!} she says, directing her thoughts so only the half-elf can hear the compliment.
"We should open it," Aureum says, speaking aloud once again. She looks around at the others, and then back at the box, curiosity apparent on her face. "What if it has something to do with all this? I'd rather know for sure."
A rosy tinge creeps up Diedre's ears at Aureum's praise, but she avoids her eyes as she continues.
"No we shouldn't open the ambassador's package; He asked us not to. He asked us to deliver it without tampering with it." Having spent time with the half-elf, the others are beginning to recognize her 'camera' voice.
{If we open it, we should do it off camera. That thing can't follow all of us at the same time.} her mental voice sends to everyone.
She looks around at the others and finally meets Aureum's gaze. She smiles shyly.
Lauren looks at the two of them, confused. "How could package be causes of this?" She double-checks her comm unit, thinks for a minute and continues, "Package is not open. Akata eggs came from drift rock. Drift rock was found in Drift by crew at.... random. Two things is... သက်ဆိုင်တဲ့..."
She looks over the crate again before adding, "Package is not belong to us."
"No, this crate doesn't have anything to do with the ... Akatas? ... attack. However, the Eoxian ambassador requested for us to bring this to him - unopened."
Her eyes twinkle at the scyphozoan.
Miraj walks around the package using all his detective skills to spot anything that would suggest the box poses a threat or needs to be inspected more thoroughly. His curiosity is like acid eating at his professionalism. He places a hand on the package at various points, trying to detect any heat sources. He places his radiation badge close to it to see if any warnings go off. He even lifts one corner to see how heavy it is. He hopes to spot something that might suggest its origin, purpose, sender, or legality.
"If it poses no threat," he says evenly after all this, "We should leave it here and deal with it later."
He gives a glance at Jehir, remembering how fiercely he nixed the idea of tampering with the package. Still, it seemed verdraketly suspicious that the ship would be carrying a package for him. He wondered, not for the first time, if the reason the ambassador got involved in the negotiations was to cover his interest in this package.
Diedre smirks at Lauren.
Diedre trails her hand longingly along the edge of the crate.
"Ok, let's go over and see what's on that rock."
Miraj walks around the package using all his detective skills to spot anything that would suggest the box poses a threat or needs to be inspected more thoroughly. His curiosity is like acid eating at his professionalism. He places a hand on the package at various points, trying to detect any heat sources. He places his radiation badge close to it to see if any warnings go off. He even lifts one corner to see how heavy it is. He hopes to spot something that might suggest its origin, purpose, sender, or legality.
Miraj inspects the shipping container thoroughly, but doesn't spot anything that would suggest it poses a threat. He places a hand on it here and there, but it seems to be at ambient temperature. He even runs his radiation badge across the lid's edge, but it stays silent. Lifting one corner of the box, he estimates it to be in excess of 200 pounds, with the contents evenly distributed and secured within.
Something is seriously off with this package. The circumstances are too perfect, the package too innocuous. All the noise about mediation aside, Nor has clearly hired the Starfinders as outside muscle to quietly retrieve something that he had shipped to the center of the known universe from who-knows-where. Nor may have an excellent poker face, but the banality of this shipping container is a massive bluff.
Miraj ponders the package a moment.
Diedre trails her hand longingly along the edge of the crate.
"Ok, let's go over and see what's on that rock."
Miraj shrugs and then says, "Ach, we need to leave those gobs some food and water, in case we can't get back right away. I'll take care of it. I vill be right back."
Miraj leaves to see to the task.
Miraj leaves to see to the task.
Miraj's voice cuts in on everyone's comm units, "Verdreked gobs got loose and just used an airlock. Spread out and try to see if they are inside or out and make sure they are not doing anything destructive to anything except themselves."
Miraj checks the bridge first. If they are not in the bridge he tries to tell from the telltales on the console which airlock just activated.
"An airlock?" Diedre says in confusion. "Oh, gods! The shuttle! The little s&#*s! They're trying to take our shuttle!"
Diedre wastes no time as she races back to the engineering department to verify that their ride is still waiting for them.
Miraj rushes to the bridge, but no goblins are in sight. A pulsing light on a console draws his attention, showing the aft airlock as open to space.
Diedre, meanwhile, sprints to the aft airlock, finding it closed and locked. A panel adjacent to the door flashes a pictograph showing an open door next to a pressure reading of zero. There are no windows in the airlock or the engineering bay.
"Stupid little vermin!" she mutters to herself as she seals her suit and cycles the airlock readying her sidearm.
"Someone get this airlock open!" Diedre snaps over her comm as she pounds on the controls.
Diedre grumbles as she watches the airlock slowly repressurize.
As Diedre waits for the door to cycle, anyone nearby gets a mental flood of expletives in various languages, general focusing on the various physical and mental failings of goblins.
"S+!*," Aureum mutters, and follows Diedre to the engineering bay. As the airlock begins pressurizing, she tries to figure out how to open the doors.
She does her best to ignore the telepathic barrage and speaks to Diedre in a soft voice. "Thoughts come out easier when there's emotion behind them. Don't fight it, just—just breathe, and when you feel ready, try to control it."
Lauren takes a minute to catch up to what all the others are saying in the rush before heading to the Bridge. When she gets there, she pulls out her hacking and engineering tool kits and gets to work attempting to bring the ship's mining laser (or any other weapon systems) online. Maybe the threat of violence will get the goblins to abandon whatever insane plan they had.
She calls out over the comms as she works, "Is try to get Acreon guns on."
She does her best to ignore the telepathic barrage and speaks to Diedre in a soft voice. "Thoughts come out easier when there's emotion behind them. Don't fight it, just—just breathe, and when you feel ready, try to control it."
Diedre looks at Aureum in confusion for a moment before what the Lashunta is saying sinks in and she realizes what's happening.
Her ears flush red and she looks away while she attempts to slow her breathing.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to ... dammit!"
She takes a few more breaths and the cacophony of goblin denigration fades.
"Thank you," she says as she turns back. "I really appreciate what you've done for me. I'm sorry you had to hear all that." Her eyes glance down at the woman's lips. The pink tinge in her ears spreads to the rest of her face.
"Sorry!" she spits out as she squeezes her eyes shut. "I didn't mean for you to hear that."
Entiren will move towards the aft airlock along with Aureum and Diedre, stowing his rifle along his back as he goes. Looking at Aureum as she works to get them to the outside of the ship, he says "If you can get us out the airlock faster, I can hold onto you both and make sure that we don't happen to shoot past the shuttle. Once we leave the artificial gravity well of the Acreon, I should be able to maneuver through the vacuum of space."
Miraj calls up the view out the aft of the ship to see if he can see the goblins. Then he begins the process of making radio contact with the shuttle to see if he can lock down the ship's controls remotely.
G2 picks the lock while G1 steadies himself.
Miraj discovers the goblins are missing, alerts the group, and runs to the bridge. Aureum, Diedre, and Entiren move to the aft airlock to find it cycling. Lauren rushes to the bridge.
Lauren works at accessing the Acreon's weapons array while Miraj attempts to lock down the Hippocampus remotely.
Aureum, Diedre, and Entiren wait for the airlock to finish cycling while Aureum prepares to forcibly open the outer airlock door once they have access, hopefully using the atmosphere within the airlock to launch them straight at the Hippocampus.
Lauren takes a minute to catch up to what all the others are saying in the rush before heading to the Bridge. When she gets there, she pulls out her hacking and engineering tool kits and gets to work attempting to bring the ship's mining laser (or any other weapon systems) online.
Like Lauren expected, the Acreon is equipped with a mining laser in the port arc, but the simple prospecting vessel has nothing else in the way of armaments.
Miraj calls up the view out the aft of the ship to see if he can see the goblins. Then he begins the process of making radio contact with the shuttle to see if he can lock down the ship's controls remotely.
Miraj calls up the aft camera feed just in time to see one of the goblins pop the Hippocampus's airlock's door latch right out of its socket, allowing it to open freely. The ryphorian is able to establish a computer connection with the Hippocampus due to its proximity, but he's unable to take control of the ship's core systems.
"Goblins have left the ship. They are entering the shuttle. I'm attempting to ... Ah. Lauren's here. Good."
Then he says to Lauren. "You're better with computers than I am. See if you can lock down the shuttle's flight deck from here. I'll join the others. I don't think the mining laser will be effective now that the goblins are inside our shuttle."
Miraj will stay, if Lauren asks him to do something in the bridge instead of what he suggests, but otherwise he'll run to the aft airlock.
Realizing that with the engines on the Acreon down and no way to turn the ship she'd be unable to even hit the shuttle, Lauren does as Miraj suggests and instead takes advantage of the connection that Miraj enabled to try to lock down the Hippocampus' systems remotely.
Aureum, Diedre, and Entiren wait for the airlock to finish cycling while Aureum prepares to forcibly open the outer airlock door once they have access, hopefully using the atmosphere within the airlock to launch them straight at the Hippocampus.
Lauren attempts to lock down the Hippocampus remotely.
Miraj runs from the bridge to the aft airlock.
As Miraj runs to the aft to support the others, Lauren works furiously, trying to crack the Hippocampus's security and take control of its propulsion systems before the goblins inside can do the same. After a few tense moments, success! She's able to bypass the lockouts on the ship's computer and initiate shut-down on all thrusters.
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Miraj joins the others at the aft airlock.
The airlock goes "ding", allowing everyone to pile in and seal the door behind them. Aureum starts tinkering with the exterior door in an attempt to blow it. Just a few seconds later, she succeeds, and the hatch opens violently!
Miraj barely has a chance to prepare for the explosive decompression of the airlock. He finds himself tumbling as some angular momentum is conserved and he tries to remember his physics class instructions on what he can do to minimize the rotation. With the view his view of the ships seemingly in orbit around him as his only points of reference, he finally remembers to stick his arms out and his spin slows. A moment later he slams into the side of the Hippocampus and gets a hand hold. He turns to see how the others are doing.
Diedre doesn't even second guess herself as she spins through the void between ships and lands with a thump on the hull of their shuttle.
She slips into the airlock and draws her sidearm and points it at the treacherous goblin.
{Surrender you little twit!} she shoves into his mind.
As the airlock opens and the the air rushes out, Entiren will quickly grab onto Aureum and Miraj. Once he enters the void of outer space, a pair of rippling, colorful aurora-like wings spreads from his back. Using these to help control his movement, he attempts to guide Aureum and Miraj towards the airlock of the Hippocampus. He will then move back slightly, positioning himself between the two ships.
With Entiren's help, Aureum sails smoothly across the gap and pulls herself into the airlock. She draws her baton, ready to back Diedre up if necessary.
{Surrender you little twit!} she shoves into his mind.
The goblin throws his hands above his head in a panic, causing him to slowly drift away from the Hippocampus and into space. Upon realizing this, he thrashes wildly, attempting to "swim" back to the ship.
The second goblin, dislodged from the Hippocampus by explosive decompression, has ricocheted off the hull of the Acreon and is floating off in a different direction, gesticulating expressively.
"Stupid little ... " Diedre mutters to herself. For a moment she seriously considers just letting the little pests drift. Only for a moment.
"Entiren, would you be so good as to retrieve the little wannabe pirates?" she asks over the comms.
"So what do we do with the little idiots?" she says as a follow up.
Lauren eyes her pulsecaster pistol longingly, for a moment glad that she is alone and that no one can see her. She says nothing over the comms, though, waiting to see everyone else's position.
Slowly flying his way over to collect the two Goblins, Entiren thinks for a moment before replying to Diedre. "Well, as I see it we have four real options. We could either leave secure them somewhere in the hopes they won't break out again, knock them out so that they can't get up to any more trouble, try to send them back to the station somehow, or keep them where we can see them at all times.
Personally, my vote is for us to park them about thirty feet or so outside the ships airlock. We would need to ensure that they would have enough air for a decent while, and that they had no means of propulsion. It would keep them from causing to much mischief, and we might be able to keep an eye on them relatively easily."
Diedre contemplates Entiren's suggestions.
"I like how you think," she says after a moment. "Let's let them float in space while we do our job. Aureum? Lauren? Would it be possible to purposefully disable both the Hippocampus and the Acreon so even if the little bastards get to a ship, they can't go anywhere?"
Before her comm cuts off, everyone can hear Diedre muttering to herself about the goblins, but the only thing audible that comes through is " ... like cockroaches ... "
Even with Entiren's help, Miraj slams into the side of the shuttle, but he manages to pull himself along the perimeter of the ship to the airlock opening. "I agree with Entiren. Ve don't have time to deal with them so make sure their suits have sufficient life support to last them a while und leave them adrift in zee general direction of Absalom und let zee authorities deal with them. Ve should shut down zee Acreon to prevent them entering it, in case zey figure out a way to propel themselves toward it. Then let's take zeeHippo to zee asteroid itself. If there are survivors from zee Acreon there, ve need to get to them as soon as possible."
Entiren easily leaves the goblins in a parking orbit, unable to reach each other or any thing, and within good eyeshot of both ships. The Starfinders reconvene on the Acreon, planning their next move.
Before they leave the Acreon Lauren will take a few minutes at the computer station to do what she can to lock out the controls. She wouldn't want the ship to drag the Drift Rock off into the void should the Goblins get loose again.
Lauren flips open her comm unit and says to the group, "If take shuttle. Should we move package for Nor? Or leave here?"
Lauren attempts to lock out the controls on the Hippocampus...
If the asteroid is really close, Miraj is willing to tether over. But he'd like to get a scan of the asteroid and perhaps get a look at all sides of it, either by flying the Acreon or the Hippocampus around it or by having Enteren fly the video-bot around it and transmit the feed to the ship for everyone to see.
Beyond these precautions, he is ready to go exploring.
Once he gets back on board the Acreon, Entiren thinks over the two options for getting to the Drift Rock before voicing his opinion. "Personally, I would somewhat prefer to take the Hippocampusover to the Drift Rock. I have two main reasons for this. The first is that the scanners on board the Hippocampus are likely stronger than anything we currently have on us. I would like to try and get as much information about the Drift Rock as we can before we go along exploring it.
Second, bringing along the Hippocampus means that we would have a closer point at which we can resupply the life support systems within our armors. While this is less of a concern for me, I believe that the rest of you can last for one day off your armor before your air would run out. I can extend that duration for another two days or so, but it would probably be good to bring along the shuttle."
"If we shuttle over, and take the package along, we'll be able to keep a closer eye on both," Aureum points out.
Lauren attempts to lock out the controls on the Hippocampus...
Lauren feels decently confident that an errant goblin would have significant difficulty commandeering the Acreon.
~~~
Turning her sensors to the Drift Rock, Lauren discovers it to an airless asteroid composed primarily of rock and metal. The same background noise that interfered with the readings of the Acreon is much higher here, preventing the sensors from picking up anything but the most basic information.
While the Starfinders discuss their next course of action, they use the sensor package of the Hippocampus to try and learn more about the Drift Rock, picking up where their initial scans left off.
As the scans return their reams of data regarding the Drift Rock, Diedre spends her time visually surveying the asteroid with the shuttle's cameras.
"Hey!" she says as she adjusts the camera back to to something that caught her eye. "Isn't that a cave? If the miners were checking this thing out, they probably saw that as well. If we want to find out where they went we should start there."
Lauren attempts to discover what she can about the drift rock by thinking back to all those astro-geology electives she took in college.
She flips open her comm unit and says to the others, "Rock is... weird. Was part of something bigger. No damage." She pulls up some images of 'normal' asteroids and mashes them together with images of the drift rock to help illustrate her point, sending the images to the team. "See difference?"