Shots from Twik and Jan pierce Vrisken's thin body armor with little difficulty, leaving him bleeding badly. The shirren ducks away from Sarangari's punch but has no chance to similarly evade Jaqweh's commanding words.
Vrisken, seeing that this team is far more dangerous than he expected, withdraws to the west, getting behind the cover of the couch. Meanwhile, Theskell rapidly taps away at a wrist-mounted computer. She points her wrist at Twik and a trio of force bolts emit from the device's screen and blast towards the halfling!
Philt, a little out of it from the sudden turn of events, steps forwards as well. He readies his pistol and moves to take some partial cover behind the dining table. Broadcasting telepathically, he offers "Attempting to apprehend them would be best. AbadarCorp would also like a chance to inquire as to their methods."
|||| Round 2 ||||
Twik - 12 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 7 HP damage, 1 SP damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Vrisken - 11 damage
Theskell
Philt
Bold are up
|
Gamuzali breaks from cover as both shirren retreat behind the couch. He moves swiftly to a position opposite them across the couch and raises his weapon to show them he means business. "Throw down your weapons and put all your hands up! You can still choose for your lives to continue. Why throw them away now after working so hard to avoid your creations?"
|
|
Jaqweh moves to the edge of the interior wall. His tone of voice is exasperated and pedantic, though aimed at Theskell this time.
"I told Vrisken that you didn't want to make my colleagues angry. Now you get to deal with two angry Vesk and a top-tier halfling assassin who would probably like to carve you up just as you did to his relatives."
He pauses to stare at Theskell. "You could give up. And live..."
Twik fools Vrisken with his quick movement, and with the aid of Mustachio's "encouraging" oration his pistol shot takes the shirren through his arm. While Vrisken remains standing, he looks badly injured.
Unfortunately, Jan's follow-up flies over the heads of both shirren. Theskell shrugs off Gamuzali's intimidating entreaty, but Jaqweh's calm ultimatum seems to shake her.
Vrisken draws a knife from his belt and takes a wide stance, intent on protecting Theskell from the huge vesk approaching. He slashes Sarangari with the knife but the vesk's heavy armor easily deflects the impact of the knife. Meanwhile, Theskell frantically generates another volley of magic missiles using her wrist computer. In a desparate move to not get flanked, she sends them at Gamuzali! The force bolts impact one after another, pummeling him hard and leaving him barely conscious.
Philt takes a careful shot at Theskell from his position across the room. Unfortunately, despite the completely clear firing path, he manages to shift his grip at the last moment, and the laser bolt scorches the ceiling.
|||| Round 3 ||||
Twik - 5 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 19 damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Vrisken - 18 damage
Theskell
Philt
Bold are up
|
|
Gamuzali nearly falls over as Theskell's magical bolts slam into him. His armor continues to gather power, however, and reaches a zenith of fiery power. Gamuzali digs deep into the energy building up within him and releases it in a blast all around him that consumes the couch and both shirren.
He then retreats behind the wall once again, limping as he runs.
|
|
After receiving some healing from the generous Steward Officer, Gamuzali moves further around the couch to confront the shirren. "You want to play with fire," he says in an furious hiss, "Fine!" He reaches deep within himself and lets the growing energy of light explode out of him in a fiery burst that enveloped both shirren and the couch they had claimed as cover.
Jaqweh rushes over with a serum and applies it to the greviously injured Gamuzali, who in turn advances forwards and releases a wave of fire and light that engulfs both shirren! While both of them do their best to cover themselves from the fiery blast, they come out looking badly scorched.
Sarangari follows up with a quick tail smash, sending Vrisken crumpling to the ground, unconscious and dying.
Rifle fire from Jan and Mustachio is instead aimed at Theskell, and the pair prove very effective, with two shots piercing through the shirren's light armor. Unfortunately, Twik sends a shot from his pistol into the now-burning couch rather than his intended target!
Theskell sends out an anguished telepathic "NO! VRISK!! AGGGHHHH!" and flees to the west. She runs full-pelt through the swinging doors at the end of the room.
Philt heads forward to follow after her.
|||| Round 4 ||||
Twik - 5 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 13 damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Vrisken
Theskell - 18 damage
Philt
Bold are up
|
|
"Whoa, DOC!" Jaqweh calls out to Muztazio as he hurries away. "I believe you're the only one of us skillful enough to keep Vrisken from dying."
Jaqweh then takes stock of their surroundings. He steps around the interior wall to close and bar the outside door.
We never did find out how many more "patients" there are.
Peering through the still-swinging doors to the north, Sarangari sees what looks to be a workshop. The walls of this room are covered in metal boards with equidistant spacing for hanging tools. A workbench juts out from the western and northern facings of the area. A cylindrical container, guarded by cage of glowing green lasers, rests along the eastern wall. A large pair of swinging doors exit to the south, while a smaller door to the north has a single one-way peephole looking out into the alley outside the house.
Theskell stands at a computer panel, claw hovering over a button marked 'disengage'.
|||| Round 4 ||||
Twik - 5 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 13 damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Vrisken
Theskell - 18 damage
Philt
Bold are up
As Jan and Gamuzali advance to the west, the whole group hears Theskell mentally broadcast "Kinnakt! If there's anything left of you in there, help us! Vrisk is already-" She slams her claw down on the 'disengage' button, unable to finish her thought through the pain from her injuries.
Immediately, the green laser field around the cylinder dissipates. The cylinder shakes once and bursts open, releasing a viscous wave of grey matter. The ooze rushes to escape its holding cell, forms itself into a rough cube shape, and turns to move towards Theskell and the party.
Twik rushes into position and fires a deadly shot at Theskell, sending her sprawling onto the ground!
|||| Round 5 ||||
Twik - 5 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 13 damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Philt
Strange Ooze
Bold are up
|
|
"Sarangari, what happened what did she--?" Gamuzali moves up behind his fellow vesk, trying to get a view on Theskell and whatever activity she is up to when he sees the ooze slide out of its containment. He sees Theskell lying on the floor right next to the ooze and raises his weapon. "Quick! Before it consumes her entirely!"
|
Mustachio stops as Jaqweh yells out, and he sees the enemy Shirren dying on the floor. And then he hears the shouts in the room over.
"Aw...hell..." he says, repeating the words of Steelscales.
"It was a dilemma for Muztazio Howser, M.D. Save the enemy so he could provide answers and get the proper punishment in jail, or save his incompetent friends, who would surely die without his help? Which way to go? Which way?!?!"
Mustachio turns around to attempt to stabilize the dying Vrisken.
Gamuzali's laser and Sarangari's massive cannon blast both connect with the ooze, burning and bursting huge swaths of grey matter. Sarangari's shot seems particularly deadly, aimed right for the center, but despite his excellent aim, it manages to reform itself.
In his haste, Mustachio doesn't quite manage to stabilize Vrisken. Maybe his hesitation (and internal monologuing) was going to cost Muztazio Howser M.D. his first patient???
Philt rushes over to join the rest of the group, pistol out and very much agitated at this turn of events. "It appears our fly-by-night operators have been keeping a contraband creature in their domicile!"
The ooze approaches by rolling over Theskell's body on the floor. With a unpleasant crackling, goopy sound, Theskell's body is drawn into the ooze. The ooze meanwhile extends a pseudopod towards Sarangari! Thankfully, the large vesk manages to pull back and away from the buzzing appendage.
|||| Round 6 ||||
Twik - 5 damage
Jaqweh - 8 damage
Mustachio
Gamuzali - 13 damage
Jan - 12 damage
Sarangari
Philt
Strange Ooze
Bold are up
Jan and Sarangari's final salvos deliver a swift death to the ooze as cannon blasts splatter grey, oozy matter all over the workshop. As the creature shudders and dies it begins disgorging a massive assortment of matter. Half absorbed technology, partially rearranged flesh, toasters, arms, power drills, eyeballs. All of it comes spilling out in a huge wave.
After about 30 seconds of this, the tidal wave of disassembled and partially disassembled matter finally ceases. Theskell's partially dissolved body lies underneath it all, clearly dead. But at the same time, Mustachio manages to stabilize Vrisken, inches away from death.
Philt, nodding at the fate of both ooze and renegade business owner, returns over to Mustachio and takes out a clipboard. "I will have questions for the remaining one here, before Station Security arrives to take them away. Your efforts are well appreciated." Despite the violence of the situation, Philt is all business.
|
|
Hearing his allies' sighs of relief at the demise of the ooze, Jaqweh turns his attention to The Doctor, his patient, and Philt.
"Nicely done, Doc. I knew you could pull that off. Vrisken owes you his life now."
"Agreed, friend Philt. There are questions we'd like to ask as well. I've no doubt our interests are overlapping."
Then to his companions he suggests taking a rest before they search the remaining rooms.
|
Jan takes a deep breath as the cube comes apart under their combined fire. Still he barks, "Reloading!" as he efficiently drops the spent mag and slams a new one home.
Only then after clearing the remainder of the building, he slows down and looks about.
"Whew, that was one heck of a day. How about we take ten, search this place before the authorities come or the rest of those zombies find us."
As the party rests, Philt binds Vrisken up with some zip ties and then uses a serum to resuscitate him. What follows is a short and largely unproductive interview session. With Theskell gone, the remaining shirren simply stares hollowly off into space and offers mono-syllabic answers admitting to anything Philt asks about.
A half-dozen armed security officers show up a few minutes later. Jaqweh quickly notes that these aren't Stewards, but instead Abadarcorp's own internal police force. The lead officer, a tall shirren himself, exchanges a few quiet words with Philt and then slaps auto-manacles on Vrisken. He hoists the smaller shirren over his shoulder and whistles as he takes him out of the building.
Philt turns to the group of you. "Your assistance here is deeply appreciated. It may take some time to ascertain the exact avenues by which Vrisken and Theskell obtained their ooze. But once we close that loophole, commerce on the Station will be far safer. A productive afternoon if I have ever had one." Philt turns to look out the front windows, peeking between the window frame and the fridge. "I am also certain that the Stewards will be able to handle the remaining zombies, now that you have called them over, Jaqweh. They are slow, but none would doubt that they are effective."
A couple of additional Abadarcorp agents arrive, decked out in white haz-mat suits and carrying self sealing baggies. "Ah, Repossessions certainly never disappoints with their speed." Philt comments dryly before going over to argue with the two newcomers.
While Philt keeps them busy, you have a chance to inspect the remaining rooms of Vrisken and Theskell's abode. While most rooms are simple living quarters, including a roomy kitchen, a pair of bedrooms, and some storage spaces, its the workshop to the northwest that has the most interesting equipment.
Various computers and medical tech gear are strewn across the room. In a storage cabinet, you find a spell gem of invisibility, a spell gem of mirror image, and a minimal speed suspension augmentation (thankfully not one of these malfunctioning bio-augs!).
----------