"Let's open it up and see what's inside," Kragga says. Unless the hatch is locked, she will open it.
The captain nods, pointing forward. "Send the drone in, but let's keep moving!"
"Yes Ma'am," Mills responds as he moves Lucille forward through the open bulkhead readying the mounted weapon.
"Select, what's the protocol on that interface? Scan for a backdoor in the power supply's digital regulator..."
It takes Ziyad mere moments to bypass the keypad, unlocking the hatch. Opening it up reveals a short ladder down into a small airlock (5' x 5' x 5'). The access panel on the door indicates positive pressure on the other side.
...moves Lucille forward through the open bulkhead readying the mounted weapon.
Lucille enters the bulkhead and scans the area. She sees a standard industrial airlock, about 10' x 20', with a substantial amount of clutter stacked up. There's another large door leading into the facility, leaning ajar. An access panel next to the door is flashing WARNING: LOSS OF ATMOSPHERE.
"Captain, do you believe that this could be the work of a group of those bandits you mentioned were in the area? Or does Cattergorn have any other enemies that you know of?"
Over her comm unit, Captain Ross responds, "Cattergorn wasn't much for friends, but he wasn't much for enemies, either. He did tend to run at the mouth, though. Someone may have gotten wind of the cargo he was putting together."
Lucille moves farther in, passing through the large internal door.
As the trio passes the external door, Cranston examines the airlock controls.
"Normally there are locked in safeguards to prevent both doors from being opened at the same time if there's a pressure differential," he says as he looks over the hardware.
Speaking to both Captain Ross and Mills, "If you do not mind, I believe that I should go in first. Not only am I the most heavily armored, but I also believe that it would be better for me to be hit than either of you." Assuming that they both agree, and that Lucille continues into the room, he will advance into the airlock.
"Knock yourself out," Mills responds to the large soldier.
Over the coms, Mills speaks out, "Hey Kragga, we've got a breached air lock here. You guys find anything interesting?
Lucille moves farther in, passing through the large internal door.
Lucille's camera has difficulty resolving much in the dimly lit room, but it appears to be some sort of storage space - lockers line the outside wall, space suits hang on the inner wall, and stacks of boxes and loose gear are piled haphazardly.
As the trio passes the external door, Cranston examines the airlock controls.
It doesn't take a mechanic to realize that the outer airlock door has been forced open with some sort of explosive. Although the door is sturdy enough, it was designed to protect against akitonian weather, not heavy weaponry.
"If you do not mind, I believe that I should go in first."
"Go ahead and take point," Captain Ross says, "keep your eyes open."
Kragga nods. "Yes, move in. Keep your eyes open and your weapons hot."
She leads the way inside.
Alflin follows Kragga, heeding her words with open eyes and a ready weapon.
Over the coms, Cranston announces, "Kragga, still there? We've got indications of explosives usage at the airlock."
Kragga responds to Cranston on the comms. "We've found an entry hatch atop the roof. Climbing down into the complex now."
All three crew members can hear an echoey banging sound from the other side of the wall. Kragga's ears also pick up muffled voices.
Lucille continues around the corner watching for movement.
"Voices on the other side. Can't make them out, though," Kragga whispers. She waits while Ziyad scans for magic.
"What do we have, Engineer?" Captain Ross asks over the comm. She's drawn her sidearm has another hand on the sword at her hip. What previously looked like flamboyant decoration seems somewhat less frivolous now.
Kragga opens the door to find herself on a catwalk 15 feet above the ground in some sort of warehouse. The upper reaches are gloomy and unlit () but the lower section is lit by a series of wall lights augmented by a small collection of floodlamps hanging from the catwalks.
"...see, that surprises me, friend, that a weird guy like you would 'ave them nice toys an' not have anythin' else hidin' around. Are ya sure there's nothin' else for us t'... borrow?" This is accompanied by a muffled groan and a thin collection of laughter, as well as some irregular metallic banging sounds.
"What do we have, Engineer?" Captain Ross asks over the comm.
"The next room is clear - no sign of hostiles. We should move in," Cranston responds.
Alflin gestures to Kragga, indicating the catwalk and seeming to ask whether to move forward to see what's going on.
Kragga nods, letting the halfling scout ahead.
Ziyad kneels momentarily and scans the material with Select's sensors...
It takes select just a moment to retrieve a cached article about rocksponge, an inexpensive construction material popular on Akiton (especially in mining operations) to provide both structural support and filter air. Cheap to fabricate from local minerals, it never caught on off-planet due to a high cost of shipping and a potential to sicken people if converted into an airborne particulate.
...letting the halfling scout ahead.Alfin sneaks out onto the catwalk, careful not to trip over an errant cable or jostle a loose railing. From this vantage point, he can see the entire warehouse:
- To the east are a pair of industrial elevator shafts rising up out of the floor. The northest shaft contains an elevator cab, but the southest shaft is empty - only a horizontal airlock to seal the warehouse off from the canyon below.
- There are six humanoids in the room. One, a red-skinned Akitonian human, sits tied to a chair on the west side of the room, his face a mass of bruises. A vesk in weather-worn armor stands in front of him, continuing his interrogation. Four additional humans mill about the space, some watching the vesk.
- Almost directly under Alfin, one of the humans is hacking at a medium-sized drone with a crowbar. The drone does not seem to be active ().
- There's a scattering of crates, boxes, and spare machine parts () and some 10-ft. shelves, brimming with junk ().
"Let's press on - I don't think we have all day here!" barks the captain.
As Ranif advances to the next door, Mills calls Lucille back with a gesture.
"We're advancing farther in. Any contacts yet, Kragga?"
Alflin sneaks back into the room, so he can speak to Kragga, Ziyad, and the comms.
"There's four humans and a vesk in a room, they've got an Akitonian tied up and beaten. One of them's trying to break a deactivated robot."
Kragga whispers into the comms. "We'll wait until you get closer. If you come upon them from below, we can attack from above and trap them between us."
Ranif will try to quietly advance up to the door and look into the next room.
Peeking through the open door, Ranif sees what appears to be some sort of garage space - large shelving units mostly block his view of the center of the space, but something is hanging there.
"There's four humans and a vesk in a room, they've got an Akitonian tied up and beaten."
"Damn it all, that's Cattergorn. At least he's still alive."
"Do you wish for me to continue, captain?"
"Aye! I'd prefer to get there before they slit Cattergorn's throat, if you don't mind!"
"Hey, I got it! Nice!"
"Whatcha gunna do with a robot gun, Stilf? You ain't got robot fingers..."
"Naw, ya don't need robot fingers, ya just gotta find the trig..."
With a sharp CRACK, a shot reverberates in the warehouse, sending loose items flying and stripping the paint off a 5 foot square section of the ceiling.
"STIIIIILF!" Alfin recognizes this voice as belonging to the Vesk. "What have I told you about trigger discipline?! You sloppy mange! You fire at anything that's not firing back one more time and I'll use yer guts for party decorations!"
Alflin nods. "Let's get ready. They could come in any time."
He sneaks back onto the catwalk and aims his shirren-eye rifle at the vesk.
Kragga nods and stands just outside the door, ready to step in and attack when the time is right.
"Aye! I'd prefer to get there before they slit Cattergorn's throat, if you don't mind!"
"Alright then, let us continue with haste." Ranif will then begin advancing into the room, looking for the door into the next chamber, as well as keeping an eye open for what is hanging in the center. He will be going at a normal pace, but knowing that they currently still have surprise on their side, will try to be quiet.
Cranston moves to follow Ranif, Lucille hovering along behind him.
"You wan't any prisoners, Captain?" he asks as they move through the next room.
He looks closer at whatever is hanging there.
At his feet lies a crumpled humanoid figure, facedown and motionless.
"You want any prisoners, Captain?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Mills. Let's focus on staying alive first."
He looks closer at whatever is hanging there.
It's some sort of mining equipment, but you don't recognize it's purpose immediately.
He sneaks back onto the catwalk and aims his shirren-eye rifle at the vesk.
Like a ghost, Alfin takes up position, the vesk totally unawares of the impending halfling threat.
"Captain, we have a downed individual here. Unsure of the state of their health, or their identity." Turning to look at Cranston, "Mills, while I look him over, check with the others and see if that door ahead opens into the main chamber."
Leaning down, Ranif will check over the motionless body, checking to see if they are still breathing and alive.
Over the comm, Mills queries, "We're looking at a large sealed door to the north of us. What are the chances that it opens into your location? If so, we may be coming in hot so check your targets."
Cranston moves to check to see if the door is locked or will require any additional effort to open. As he passes by the large piece of suspended machinery, he takes care to avoid moving under it.
Leaning down, Ranif will check over the motionless body, checking to see if they are still breathing and alive.
Ranif gently rolls over the body to find a young male human with a shattered helmet. He's been dead for a few hours (give or take) and dried blood runs from his nose, ears, and eyes. Ranif has seen his share of death before, but this doesn't look like a man who died from sudden decompression.
Cranston moves to check to see if the door is locked or will require any additional effort to open.
The door is deadbolted - a preliminary examination of the status lights reveals positive pressure on the other side; indicating that the door was sealed as an automatic safeguard. It's immediately obvious to Mills that the door can be opened by either blowing the deadbolt or restoring full atmospheric pressure on this side.
After examining the door, Cranston says, "I can bypass the pressure-fail bolt and get us in fast, but it'll be loud and obvious. If we re-pressure the room we might be able to move in quietly."
He looks back at the Captain and Ranif.
"What'ya think, Ranif? I'd recommend we move in quick, 'Shock and Awe' and all that, but I'm not a tactician."
Cranston's voice comes quietly over the comm, "We're depressurizing the room folks so masks up."
As soon as the door opens, Cranston moves to the side to allow the Soldier to lead the way.
"Sorry to say this captain, but this young man is dead, and appears to have been so for several hours." Quickly removing what is left of the mans faceplate, he will gently use his fingers to close his eyes. Looking at the bloodied face, he knows that this will simply be anoter one to appear in his nightmares.
Standing up from examining the corpse, Ranif will think for a moment before replying to Mills' question. "Well, as I understand the situation, our compatriots are hiding on the opposite side of the room beyond this door. If we use the 'Shock and Awe' tactic, as you called it, we will likely draw our opponents attention towards us, with the byproduct of removing it from them. This could be to our tactical advantage." Saying this, he will move up to be behind the Engineer, careful to not tough the hanging machinery piece, and pulling out his Dragonglaive as he goes. "I am ready to go as soon as everyone else is"
"Is everybody set?"
"Mills - blow the door."
Mills produces a small set of explosive cutters from his custom rig and sets them over the pressure bolt. Stepping back and shielding his face, he presses a small detonator.
POP-
As the door flies open, a second explosion is triggered - much larger than the first - rending the door off its hinges and sending it crashing into the hanging machinery, which tumbles down in an avalanche of rusty steel.
Mills and Lucille try to shield themselves from the shower of junk, but Tharystrix is caught by surprise. When it settles, the mechanic and the soldier find themselves knee- (or ankle-, respectively) deep in mechanic detritus.
Block 1: Kragga, Ranif, Ziyad
Block 2: Captain Ross, Alfin, Mills
Block 1: Kragga, Ranif, Ziyad
Block 2: Bandits
Block 3: Captain Ross, Alfin, Mills