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Like Captain Ehdd, Vandor is reluctant to enter the room, content to peek around the corner. "Oh good! More blood. I don't know what else I was expecting at this point. I agree with Ehdd, forget the armor. Let's just grab her toothbrush or something and get out of here. That would be a nice keepsake. Right?"
All it takes is one kick from an android's foot to disconnect the cable from the powered armor. The forcefield fades, and then the same half-melted creature you'd seen in the holoprojector's record floats out of the armor with a hiss.
-- Bold is up --
Vandor, Zatheses, Ehdd
Kasathan
0689, Ratatat, Faraeon
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Faraeon's silence and the grim look of determination on his face speak his mind clearly. He is going to fight, and he is going to destroy the thing that brought him to his current state, no matter what the cost. When the ghastly creature emerges from the armor, he screams in a rage, "YOUR PET GAVE ME A HICKEY!!!"
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Vandor watches the creature rise up out of the suit of armor, stifling the desire to panic, he pushes down his fear.
Deciding he can't shoot through the crowded doorway, and almost certain his tactical pistol will be of no use against the creature anyway, he moves to the far side of the door.
Hopefully that thing won't get me out here. I should be safe but it never hurts to be ready for anything.
NOT IN THE FACE (EX) (1ST): As a move action, Vandor can choose one enemy within 60 feet. That enemy must succeed at a Will save or take a –4 penalty to all attacks it makes against him until the end of his next turn.
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The see-through kasathan is faked out by Vandor's moves. Zatheses manages to fire a shot at it, part of the energy blast slamming into the wall opposite the creature.
It then floats up and disappears through the wall. Everything is silent for a few moments, and then a claw appears from the hallway as the creature steps out, lunging for Zatheses.
-- Bold is up --
Vandor, Zatheses (-7), Ehdd (Round 2)
Kasathan
0689, Ratatat, Faraeon
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Ehdd watches the ghostly form move through the wall and pop out right next to him, luckily it attacks Zatheses and not himself "Umm, don't worry man, umm... the sun'll come out? Tomorrow, tomorrow! Yes that's it!"
After doing his best to inspire the hairy man, Ehdd turns his attention to keeping his crew firing and on point "Don't fire till you see the whites of its eyes... WHICH IS NOW! GET 'EM!"
Get ’Em (Ex): As a move action, you can choose one enemy within 60 feet. Until the start of your next turn, you and your allies gain a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls made against that enemy. The bonus persists even if the enemy moves beyond 60 feet or out of line of sight or hearing. At 6th level, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to grant this bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls against all enemies who are within 60 feet.
Inspiring Boost(Ex): As a standard action, you can signal an ally within 30 feet who has taken damage from any attack made by a significant enemy (see page 242) at any point after your last turn ended. That ally regains a number of Stamina Points (up to his maximum) equal to twice your envoy level + your Charisma modifier; at 15th level, this increases to three times your envoy level + your Charisma modifier. Once an ally has benefited from your inspiring boost, that ally can’t gain the benefits of your inspiring boost again until he takes a 10-minute rest to recover Stamina Points. At 6th level, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to add your envoy level to the number of Stamina Points regained.
Vandor again uses Not in the Face, and attempts to hit the incorporeal creature with his only weapon.
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Zatheses evokes two magic missiles from his palm, both of them the kasathan ghost unerringly. Ratatat and Vandor find that every round fired from their weapons does nothing more than traverse the length of the creature's body and end up in the far wall. Faraeon swings too wide with his force baton.
The creature retaliates, swiping two ghostly claws at Faraeon.
One of which slides under and through his flesh and rips a chunk out.
-- Bold is up --
Vandor, Zatheses, Ehdd
Kasathan (-8)
0689, Ratatat, Faraeon (-10)
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Vandor curses as his bullet passes through the spectre. "Damn it! I can't hit this thing! Maybe I can at least distract it." Vandor takes another shot at the creature, right at it's head this time hoping to draw it's attention and give his allies who can hit it an advantage.
You can use your standard action to make a ranged attack that distracts a foe in your line of effect. Make an attack roll against AC 15. If you hit, you deal no damage, but the next ally to attack that foe gains a +2 circumstance bonus to her next attack roll, as long as that attack occurs before your next turn.
NOT IN THE FACE (EX) (1ST): As a move action, Vandor can choose one enemy within 60 feet. That enemy must succeed at a Will save or take a –4 penalty to all attacks it makes against him until the end of his next turn.
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Ehdd watches the B Movie Icon Faraeon take another devastating slash and backs away from the creature carefully "You're looking tired man, there's nothing I can do to help until you rest up!"
Ehdd thinks he can hurt it with his zappy pistol so he takes aim and fires.
In a well-concerted attack, Vandor provides Faraeon with harrying fire, allowing the lashunta to strike the incorporeal creature with decided force, sparks of energy flying off his baton upon impact. 0689 flips his gun sideways and blasts the specter while Zatheses conjures another set of force missiles, which, upon landing, cause the creature to writhe erratically and fall to the ground, its misty eyes fading to back.
The captain's powered armor rests on the floor. It contains a purple force field armor upgrade.
The storm outside surges more than it has since you stepped on the Scholar, and the ship rumbles from the sheer energy of it. Looking outside, it appears to have expanded to twice its size, now threatening to overtake the ship... You'll have to grab what you need to and move fast if you're going to get out of here!
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Ehdd dances around like a mad man screaming "Its dead its dead! You guys rock, its dead!" As the ship shakes and the storm outside gets larger Ehdd's eyes bug out (even more!) as he looks around frantically "We gotta go go! Grab that suit thing if you want, it sure looks heavy though. We need the Captain's body or something..." He scurries around the room and hallway urging everyone to move quickly.
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As the specter withers into nothingness, Faraeon breathes a sigh of relief, then twirls his twin force batons before holstering them. ”Ok that’s over now can someone get this thing out of my neck?!” He looks around frantically, then joins in helping the others gather the captain and his belongings as they make their way back toward the Pegasus.
You drag the Captain's body to the airlock and release the seal, quickly transporting the crew remnants and your loot across to the Pegasus. Ratatat smashes the button to close the connecting access door to the Scholar, then scurries back to the Pilot's seat. Just as he powers the Drift engine, you watch as the Struggle's Scholar breaks apart from the enveloping storm.
Back in the Drift, you find your old Vesk friends aboard the Honorbound thrusting back into view. The familiar face of the Captain blips on screen.
"Captain Yuluzak here. So, did you find everything you wanted to find, Starfinders? I see you've returned, and in once piece, except..." An unusually scrawny Vesk ducks his head on screen. He wears an oversized white lab coat. "Another scan of your biological signs indicates the presence of foreign bodies. Larvae have begun to chew at the Lashunta's insides. Estimating chance of survival at... 80% today, but, oh dear, 20% by next week! Recommend immediate extraction and subsequent jettison of alien bodies!"
The Captain softly laughs. "We have a Medical Bay and ... One of the best doctors from the Veskarium. It would do us an honor to see you return safely."
The Honorbound approaches close enough to allow Faraeon to space walk over, and though the doctor insists he puts on a quarantine suit before boarding, Faraeon is accepted into the ship's Medical Bay. The doctor quickly extracts the larvae, delicately placing it in a plastic biohazard container and shooting it into space.
With everyone back on the Pegasus in good health, it was time to return to Absalom Station...
The trip back to Absalom Station is uneventful and safe, and after returning the Pegasus to the Starfinder Society, you make for Downlow to debrief with Zigvigix.
Zigvigix is visibly disturbed to hear the fate of the Struggle's Scholar. "Xill and larvae and an entirely dead crew... How unfortunate and truly awful! I promise to deliver the remains and personal effects to Idari for proper last-rite ceremonies. I looked up each of the crew member's records, and can confirm that every member requested burial of their bodies or their final possessions returned to the Idari - even the android, Blue Sky-101." The shirren looks down at the floor.
"As for the data," the shirren adjusts its gaze, "I will forward it to the Dataphiles in hopes that Historia-7 might be able to parse the information and recover any word about the fate of Sangoro’s Bulwark."
Its expression changes now to one of elation. "This is the first shred of truly good news that the Exo-Guardians have had in a long time! My many thanks for all you have done in securing this important data. Now, there is another important matter I wanted to bring up."
"Prior to the Scoured Stars incident, I was part of a group of loyal friends, like the team you’re all a part of. Right before that dark event, I bought some tickets for my friends and me to a major upcoming concert. It was going to be our big outing—a capstone to all our missions together. Now, all my friends are trapped or lost in the Scoured Stars, and who knows how long it will take before we find out what happened there. The concert is coming up in a few months, and I wanted to extend an invitation. No promises or anything; you might be on assignment, and field missions take priority. If you are free, though, I would be honored if you would join me at this concert. Think of it as a remembrance for my lost comrades and a celebration of a new generation’s camaraderie."
"Oh! I just realized that I should invite Historia-7 too! Okay, well, thanks again. I should get going!"
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Faraeon profusely thanks the doctor about the Honorbound for his help in removing the larvae, but hurries back aboard the Pegasus. As he boards, he shouts to Ratatat, "Hey, pilot, after that container! I'm gonna do some target practice!" He makes his way back to his handy-dandy turret, and spends the next several minutes blasting away at the container as it floats off into the void.