The channel clears up as you get outside making things a little easier to hear.
"We'll keep you posted. It's about a hundred kilometers south of your position heading northeast. Looks like it might clip you in a few days or so."
You stay on the surface for a while longer transferring data, getting some schematics for a doable comms array and getting status reports on various other aspects of the ship.
Over the course of the next two days Molly and much of the mining crew move the massive ore haulers out of the northeastern warehouse and cautiously move equipment from the atmosphere exposed vehicle bay.
The comms array work goes fast. The tower is still mostly intact and replacing the wiring is a simple matter. The computer station is replaced with some of the parts from some of the now defunct vehicles. The antennae is trickier and you still don't manage to finish it as no suitable replacements for the dish can be found.
The bigger problem is the certivite wave filter. Whatever massacred the comms array completely melted the filter and shattered the purified chunk of cur crystal within it. It's the part that allows for interdrift communications and for clear uninterrupted communications across the planet and to the ship. Without it, it may as well be a very expensive radio on a planet whose electromagnetic field laughs in the face of your feeble electronics.
Turning away from that problem for the moment you concentrate efforts on finishing the repair hauler. A copper/gold mesh interwoven with a steel one gives you a good net to work with. The hauler itself provides a suitable frame to wrap the netting around. Setting up high capacity wiring to a drag line to act as a grounding wire behind the vehicle is a good start. you add two more to the sides for redundancy. You figure it can handle bursts of electricity very easily but sustained bursts may cause it to start failing. Further the grounding wire is not a perfect design and if you get hit while none of the wires are contacting the ground it can cause structural damage such as causing the solid tires on the hauler to melt.
Little can be found from the data gathered by Eivo. There's always been heightened electrical levels by the Forest. Indeed the days leading up to the deaths it seemed as if electrical activity had dropped to a manageable level for mining drones and laborers to work. The truth is even with steady data from the Reach's own sensors collaborating with the old data you still don't have a full picture.
"Captain, I believe we need to visit this crystal forest, thanks to the Chief we have transportation."
Staying in this cave is clearly wearing on him.
"Once we have the miners safely aboard Desna's Reach, the crystal forest does seem to be the best starting point for our investigation," Zeni replies.
"Damn it!" Karma curse, upset at being wrong about the centre of the storm. Sulkily, she spends the next few days working on vehicles. While she primarily stands around as a lookout or just looking for trouble in general, she spends a few hours demonstrating that she does know how to use power tools. She follows Chief Engineer Molly's directions perfectly and snarkily for every task she's asked to do. Perhaps not quite as skilled as an actual engineering team when designing vehicles, Karma serves adequately as another pair of hands to take welding shifts.
Slowly, she becomes more and more cave crazy, wishing to get out and fly. When finally finished, she is ready perhaps too quickly to depart from the planet. She claims the drivers seat, and joins in the dialogue. "Well, Molly's shiny car's done. Next destination's Reach, but the forest's next. Should give our doc and engineer a nice setting for another romantic walk!" She laughs, and ties her hair up in a tight bun. Checking the vehicles gauges and status metres as she talks, Karma continues "But we should see the refinery on the way. You wanted to do some science, sir. Hm" She grunts and removes a music device from her pocket. "Need road trip music", she briefly explains before screaming out lyrics in time to the fast paced metal.
Molly takes a step back as the finishes with the car, the welding torch folding neatly into her cyber-arm. Well, for a rust bucket, it ain't half bad. "I put my heart and soul in it. 'Cause I'll have to be inside, too.", she grins, wiping her forehead and starting to put on her armour. "Just 'member, don't get too excited, or the wires snap and we all fry.", she laconically states at Karma as she puts on her helmet.
As the music starts, Molly's eyebrows raise. "Cap! Does your pilot come with a mute button?", she frowns, before shaking her head. "You askin' me, there's nothin' here that we want. But if we're gonna be jammin' our naughty bits in sentient sockets, we drop the miners off first.", she says, crossing her arms.
"Your heart, your soul, your body. Same things really. Relax." Karma laughs. "I believe a mute button is my most requested feature! I'm sure there'll be one in the next update." She leans over, mutes the music, flips a pair of oversized headphones on, and then resumes it silently. "Lucky for you, music's got one. Shame though. What's a road trip without noise?"
"I'm glad you're the one making the noise, not something rattling around in this jalopy - bucket of metal." Ellion had to act as a foil a bit to the talk about another walk with the engineer, but his backhanded compliment revealed he was not as certain of the safety here as Molly was.
He'd thought better of reminding the captain strict quarantine with these miners would be prudent. I really doubt some energy-beast would be infectious, but protocols are there for a reason. She'd get an earful from some of his colleagues back on the ship anyway, he knew.
He cleared his throat. "Once we get to the place itself, I'll head above the treeline and see what's what there. I trust my own eyes more than snippets of sparse footage. Some of you are good shots if there are lightning eagles or something, right?" His remark was mostly in jest, but he wasn't a good aim as it was. Flying and shooting wasn't going to happen if he got into a pickle.
"I'm sorry, what were you both saying?" Zeni asks. "I had the audio turned off on my suit." She keeps her voice deadpan, but there's a gleam in her eye and the hint of a smile that hints at the humor.
Then, in response to Ellion, "Right about now I'd count eagles as a good omen, even if they were made of lightning." Granted, it's the golden eagle that's more commonly associated with Abadar, but still. "One thing I think you can count on with this group: we're going to be able to get nearly anything's attention if we put our mind to it, whether with blaster fire or more creative methods."
"If there is one thing I learned from the Starfinders, it is that new things are always lurking where you have not looked before. Or mission is to find the new things." He reaches out to gently touch one of the gold wires. "And to survive to tell the tale."
::The Captian's idea is a good one, Chief can you hack the Pilots suit and install an AI that only allows her suit to output when she says something useful?:: was that appropriate? I have spent a lifetime studying people and how they interact and I still do not understand small group dynamics.
With that he heads off to ask Mr Strongarm if he has completed the required steps of the procedure shutting down the facility for evacuation, and steels himself for what he is sure to be a tirade about "Bloody Procedures".
The miners grumble a bit. The repair haulers cabin can only sit about six people uncomfortably. Eight or nine if you pack in the small ones. The rock troll is stuck sitting out of the back. His suit is little more than a breathing mask and goggles.
The reach comes in to land before you set out sending a small dust storm your way. Eivo doesn't catch as much hell as he was expecting. Shutting down the facility is mostly a matter of closing doors as most of the machines that maintain the place are automatic and shut themselves down if there is nothing for them to do.
The ride itself goes uneventfully as you can hope for driving a golden tow buggy with a bunch of grouchy miners in space suits hanging on to the sides like a bus in a third world country.
Pretty soon however you reach the ship and load up the miners. Getting ready for the two hour trip to the Forest.
"See? Music's gotta function. It'll stop our doctor from noticing and panicking when everything breaks." She leans back, and takes a hand off the wheel to wave dismissively. "And I'm a great shot, thanks. Them lightning eagles ain't gonna know what hit em." She taps the cannon leaning awkwardly against her chair. It is perhaps the largest gun Ellion has ever seen, contrasting Karma's height drastically. It barely fits into the cramped cockpit, and there's really no good reason she hasn't stuck it into her Null-Space generator, apart from thinking it looks cool. She breaks into laughter at Zeni's wit, but offers no further comment.
Otherwise, the trip precedes uneventfully. She bobs her head to music that thankfully no one else can hear, and grumbles quietly about boring crewmates. She lets the miners off, and then turns the car around, heading for the forest. "First stop: danger!"
Karma's attempt to comfort Ellion was successful. Reminds me of the huntresses we used to have. Elegant in their own way. Preferred the sharp edges - big guns in her case.
An inflection in their path broke Ellion from his miniature reverie. "Let's hope we get a souvenir or two out of this." It had been hard for him to adjust to the thought of living a contiguous experience. Ellion felt some momentos to remind him of milestones might help.
"So, you want me to mute her comms?", Molly replies with a wide grin at Eivo, before shaking her head. "Can't do that, XO. Although, I'm pretty sure Chain of Command lets you tell her to act professionally.", she laughs out. Like that'll happen., she grins.
As the miners get onboard, the hauler managing to hold on, Molly breathes out a sigh of relief. Reclining back in her seat, she gives the rest a wink. "See! Told ya! Precision pirate engineering. Nothin' sturdier.", she grins, slamming her hand in a side panel, which bends a little. As the car heads into the forest, her smile gradually decreases. "I've got mine.", Molly replies to Dr. Hessoni, her palm computer blurting out the hauler's blueprints. "I don't mind waitin' in the ship while the rest o' ya are out shoppin'."
The first half of the trip went relatively uneventfully. Some interesting if economically worthless crystal formations were passed by, Regardless of the headphones, protective headwear and alien atmosphere Karma's music could still be distinguished quite clearly from the low hum of the haulers electrical engine.
The course you plotted would take you by the mobile refinery and you see it roughly half a mile to the east of you. The large structure resembling something more of a castle on tank treads than an industrial building. It's comm antennae being the most prominent feature next to the smokestacks which are not spewing their typical toxic load. It's hard to spot much detail from here but with little else to look at on the flat dusty plain you all find yourself craning your necks to take a look.
Evio is enjoying the ride as the M^6 pounds through the jungle along with Karma’s music. [i]is she actually hitting bumps and holes to the rhythm of her song, I may have underestimated her piloting skills[i]
As the refinery comes into view he marvels at the scale, at the engineering. And at the same time shudders as the terrible path of destruction and waste that thing must leave in it’s wake.
He switches from coms to external mic and ‘shouts’ pointing at the refinery. “Sails of the port bow Captain, shall I raise the Jolly Rodger?” As he sees the moment he regrets the levity. ::Something is not right over there, I feel we should approach with caution::
Molly mostly hangs back. Well, hon, you knew that this'll be a long grueling four years of all the risks, and none of the rewards., she sighs. As the mobile refinery shows up, though, she perks up. "Well hey there, handsome...", she lets out. "Wish I had one of those when I was a teen. Woulda ran the whole town.", she laughs.
Nodding at Eivo, she chuckles. "Don't tempt me.", she lets out, before jumping to her feet. "Good eyes. Saw it." Her laser rifle jumps in her hand. "You mind taking us in for a closer look?"
Fortunately, Zeni's crew is more attentive to their surroundings than she is -- while one certainly couldn't call her oblivious, she doesn't catch the unusual movement around the structure they're approaching until Eivo points it out. "So long as we're not under attack, take us in slowly. We're not exactly going to be going in quietly in this thing, but whether they're intelligent or not, a rapid approach is more likely to be seen as aggressive." To Eivo, she asks, "Once we're close enough, do you want to be the one to do a telepathic scan, or shall I?"
"A souvenir? I want a lightning eagle." Plus, that would make a kickass name for a rockband. "She laughs at Molly's theory about the Chain of Command. "I've been fired for my mouth countless times. 'Professional' ain't my style. Efficiency is my style."[/b] She turns up the music a little, and tunes out of the conversation until the refinery jolts her out of her revery.
Karma glances at the refinery as they pass it, but fails to notice anything amiss. She raises an eyebrow as both Molly and Eivo notice something, and looks harder. Still failing to observe any disturbances, she sighs and obeys instructions. These people are skilled. Or crazy. Of course,one frequently implies the other. Karma responds with a hint of levity in her voice. "Wouldn't mind at all. Taking her nice and slow. And since we don't have music, I may even manage quiet." She turns her headphones down a few notches, to the point where she can clearly process other people's words. Gently, her hands dance on the controls as she carefully approaches the refinery, trying to avoid the worst of the bumps. "How close do you want? Touching?" She keeps her eyes moving on the outside, looking for trouble. "Ramming speed?"
"Close enough to get a better view of what we're dealing with, first off, and we can reassess from there," Zeni replies.
"Sure thing.", Molly half-heartedly replies, her eyes glued to the window. "I'd take it carefully, if I were you. Should've given you a contract to sign about gettin' in here."
As the hauler drives forwards, Molly's eyes are pinned to the window.
"Aye cap'n." She takes it in, letting the others observe for danger. "What'd you see, anyway?"
Was Molly unsure about her engineering? Strange. Karma shrugs and tries to cheer her up a little. "Please Molly. Not the worst death trap I've flown."
"I'll scan this first group, unless they are lightning eagles. In that case the Doctor gets first dibs"
He pulls his pistol and gives a quick inspection.
Ellion mimicked Eivo's check of his firearm.
So impersonal, this.
His bright eyes had no trouble tracking the anomaly by the structure. "At least we know the lightning eagles aren't what's moving there - they'd be a spot easier to see."
Pirates? Looters? They'd be gone by now, I'd think. Must be something else...
Rolling along relatively comfortably in your mobile of shiny madness you approach the refinery for what feels like hours as it slowly gets bigger and bigger the sheer size of it is relatively overwhelming. The idea that it moves on its massive tracks is somewhat difficult to believe.
As you get within a few hundred feet of it the damage its taken on its outer shell is apparent. Burns across its surface indicate damage similar to what you've seen already.
Along one of the walkways on its outer surface you see a tracked robot similar to the AHAVS at the facility. It's hard to make out form here as it trundles along jerkily. A sudden spark of electricity and it turns on its waist and powers up its weapons aiming it's plasma cannon directly at the cabin of your vehicle.
Muh Boy
Eivo
Ellion
Molly
KArma
Zeni
Average:17.8
The weapons on the AHAV are powering up. You're going slow enough that you can stop the rover as a standard action and leap out. Group is up.
Karma wastes no time. First rule of combat: don't be in a potentially explosive vehicle. She kills her music, grabs her gun, and leaps out of the moving car. "Robot!" She yells into the comms to explain. Her jetpack kicks in and slows her fall, allowing her to safely land. . "Someone stop the car". It may be bad form for her to expect someone else to park, but there are other capable drivers and she is the best shot of the group. Sprinting to the side, she tryies to draw fire away from the car. It's built for electricity, not plasma.
With some distance between her and the car, she pauses to set up her shot. On the one hand, the captain probably wouldn't appreciate opening fire without asking questions. But on the other, her orders to follow her instincts were never rescinded. Karma grins wildly, and opens fire.
Zeni makes sure the vehicle is stopped before exiting, in no small part because she plans for it to be available as cover for their group, given how out in the open they are -- she's certainly going to be using it as such, and she also drops prone to make herself a more difficult target. She's too far away at this point to scan for thoughts, so she settles for opening a comm frequency and broadcasting in their direction. She doesn't have high hopes that they'll be willing to cease fire, but she has to try.
"If there is anyone listening, this is Captain Zeni Desomal of Desna's Reach. If you stand down your attack, we will do likewise -- we would prefer peaceful negotiations to combat. We would very much like to know the reason for these hostilities."
Eivo jumps from the M^6 before it comes to a full stop rolling as he hits the the ground and coming up at a full sprint, me moves surprisingly quickly running towards the refinery about 60° from the vehicle trajectory, he pulls his pistol but holds fire giving the Captain’s play a chance. :moving to flank:
The flash of heavy light flashes across the field. Maybe that will look like a warning shot
As the captain leaps to stop the vehicle, Molly shakes her head as her jump jet lauches her through the air. Tapping her metal arm, a crackling shield flickers around her body for a moment as she draws her laser rifle. "Shoot first, ask questions later. Should've remembered that was unofficial Knights protocol.", Molly quips, running out into the open grounds. I sure love getting shot the shit out of. But if that thing melts the armour, we're already as good as dead., she thinks.
Though he knew something of the sort was possible, Ellion's nerves got the best of him. He retained enough sense to check his weapon was out and ready, but that was the only thing preventing him dashing away from the vehicle.
It'll target the biggest, most dangerous object I bet. That's not me ...
Leaping out of the vehicle Zeni manages to grab the wheel before ti veers too far off course. Calling out to the refinery in general zeni's speakers are cut silent as the AHAV's plasma cannon charges too full and launches a scintillating ball of white hot death in the direction of the laser fire.
Attack grid
Everyone else scatters to the four winds giving the AHAV multiple targets as the laser fire does little more that scatter across its armor hide. With another shower of sparks it bowls forward and simply plows through the safety railing landing about ten feet in front of Eivo causing the ground to shake and kicking a massive cloud of dust up. Though prone and clearly quite damaged the AHAV moves to get itself back up giving you but a brief moment to act before it trains it's weapons again.
HP 74/74, SP 75/110, RP 12/12
Aphelion cannon 28 charges
"Seems pretty offic-" Karma tries to return snark at Molly, only to have her words lost as the roaring plasma overtakes her. "Argh!" She grunts and digs her feet into the ground, her eyes closed against the brightness. The heat soaks through her thermal circuits. She grits her teeth. "You're gonna pay for that."
She sweeps the battlefield, takes in the new location of the mechanical monstrosity, and raises her cannon. "Cap'n, it's not intelligent. Gonna burn it" she snaps off into the comms, and releases a volley of bright laser fire.
The debis cloud is just what Eivo was looking for, he charges into it with the same predictable ground chewing pace, as soon as his form is obscured he plants his right foot and rolls back over his shoulder coming up in a firing stance and fires off a single shot before leaping to his feet and sprinting to cover.
Trick Attack: Survival:20 + Explorer:4 + Take 10:10 = 34 vs. CR+20
+
Zeni mutters to herself. Should have let the vehicle get a fair bit closer before stopping it. She'd be taking a long range shot with her pistol, and it's too far away to try anything fancy. Given that, she's got to close the distance a bit.
Molly, her shield flickering in front of her face, lands. Her laser rifle bursts forwards a barrage at the AHAV, laser fire scorching the metal plates. "Less talkin', more shootin'!", she barks at Karma. "Get ready, I'll try and override it in a second!"
Though unseen and well within range the dust cloud provides its own obstacles as Eivo's expertly placed shots fall short of their mark. Zeni seeks cover but finds only the repair hauler to be even reasonable in this flat dusty plain.
Karma's pounding fire has much better effect as multiple shots tear through joints and weak armor to further damage internal components of the AHAV.
Not allowing himself to freeze in the face of danger, Ellion forced himself to keep moving, bringing his pistol to bear only when he knew his nerves wouldn't stop him from pulling the trigger.
The feeling of deadly energy pulsing from the thing was a weird sensation, but it helped their target was not a living organism. It's been a while since I've killed. I hope I won't hesitate if it's necessary. In the old days when hunting, it was the deer which froze in the face of danger that died. Ellion would not be that creature.
With no cover to be found, Zeni goes mostly straight, not particularly wanting to get _too_ close, but at least wanting to stay within her effective range. "This thing may not be the real threat, but we still have to deal with it so we can find out what's controlling it. Concentrate fire, and let's bring this thing down!"
Eivo ducks into an out of cover, never in one space long. His Tactical pistol firing off a dingle round.
Trick Attack: Survival:20 + Explorer:4 + Take 10:10 = 34 vs. CR+20
Molly stares at the AHAV, her bionic hand extending forwards. "Executing override! Hit it while it's down!", she shouts, as her fingers begin moving with unnatural celerity, swiping away at invisible holoscreens.
Standard Action to override: DC20 or it's stunned, if it fails by more than 10, I get DIRECT CONTROL. For a turn.
Move Action to engage holotargeting.
Standing up on its birdlike legs the AHAV scans the terrain taking in the threats as pistol fire bounces off its armor. Sensing the only real threat in the powerful weaponry of the ships pilot the AHAV fires off another salvo from its plasma cannon.
DC24 for half for Karma.
Will save.
Molly tries to scramble the machines targeting systems but the AHAV's depressingly glitchy safety protocols are matched only by its impresive internal security. Eivo manages to land a clean hit himself dealing grievous damage to its internal mechanisms.
HP 74/74, SP 62/110, RP 12/12
Aphelion cannon 20 charges
This time she was ready for the blast, and took the proper stance to endure the brunt of it. "Argh! F***!" Trying to ignore the pain and the alerts her armour is giving her, Karma takes in the battlefield. She's pretty confidant she has the most fighting experience out of all here and is eager to show it. She scans the crew, and their actions.
The captain is doing fine, as expected. Nothing seems to phase her. While it's a shame Molly failed, the pilot isn't exactly surprised. Karma is pretty sure this isn't a problem that can be thought around. With a pang of annoyance, she notes that Eivo is shooting better than she is. But the group member in the most trouble is Ellion. She's seen rookie pilots freeze like that before, and sometimes all it takes is a word of encouragement. "Look alive Ellion! Head up, keep moving", she calls out as she loses another volley on the captains encouragement. "Just keep on me, ya metal bastard" she mutters to herself.
Full round action to shoot
"Now that is how it's done!" Zeni calls out to Karma, her own efforts focused on coordinating the group's attacks and bolstering the other woman's rather considerable will to fight as well, since she seems to be drawing the bulk of the fire.
"Ah, girkht.", Molly mumbles out as the AHAV shuts down her override. "Well, hardware reset it is.", she grins, as the laser rifle's barking scorches another mark on the robot's chassis. I do hope we can haul it out... Them's a good haul., a thought rapidly crosses her mind, as she shakes her head. Haul ourselves out first. Then, money.
Heeding Karma's advice, Ellion circled the construct, wheeling another 10 yards clockwise. Given the circumstances, he didn't see the machine attempting to move anywhere. I could try to make a time-space slurry around it, but only if we kept moving. The doctor hypothesized its weapons would harry them for too long in that scenario though.
Instead, he fired his pistol again - this time, with less hesitation.
Eivo jinks left then right as he advances, firing one last time.
After one final barrage of laser and projectile fire the damaged AHAV begins to stagger as its plasma cannon explodes in a brilliant flash sending little more than a cloud of superheated dust into the air. Falling onto its back the AHAV twitches slightly as much of its circuitry continues to fire commands to limbs that are incapable of response.
Molly takes a glance down at the twitching AHAV. "I reckon I could probably salvage a thing or two out of this one, but I think we got higher priorities, right, Cap?", the engineer blurts out. Reaching over to turn off her power field, she hesitates. It's bound to run out eventually. Worst case is, nobody can give me a hug for half an hour.
Reaching to invisible strings in the air once more, she begins reading the diagnostics of the AHAV. "Well, poking into its head would be a helluva lot easier if we didn't shoot it to shit beforehand.", she shrugs. "Unless someone wants to do my job, let's get in the death machine. I'm not in the mood for bein' splattered around the rocks by lightning.", she comments, starting to walk towards the truck.
"Salvage can wait, yes," Zeni agrees. Then, looking to Ellion, she says, "Since magic is less likely to show up on diagnostics, you might take a look at it for signs of that side of things." He might not be a technomancer, but the ability to detect magic is a common one to casters, so she's of the mind that it's at least worth the look.
HP 74/74, SP 99/110, RP 12/12
Aphelion cannon 20 charges
"Hmph" Karma grunts, and slings the cannon back onto it's holster. She dusts herself off, and briefly checks her suits diagnostics. Inspired by the captain, she shrugs off her wounds and stalks closer to the fallen robot. "Ain't that a nasty piece of work." She toes the corpse, and waits for Molly's analysis, watching the engineer return to the car. Karma calls after her, perhaps to aggravate her grumpiness a little. "If we didn't shoot it to s+~+, it would've shot us to s+~+." Karma pauses, places a hand on her chest, and bows. "You're welcome. Go back to the M6 if you want, but you'll miss whatever's in there." She points at the refinery.
In an information gathering mood, Karma considers her military training. Numbers are important. Tapping her comm, she radios the ship. "Karma to reach. Someone ask a miner how many robots they own. Thanks." She pauses, and then addresses the captain. "Permission to board the refinery, sir?" She grins. "I promise to try asking questions first this time."
It's auditory speakers and radio antennae are both damaged so if it was rigged to warn you before shooting that would've been long gone.
The refinery is a 150 by 200 yard large structure. Massive by any standard it's propelled on a number of massive tracks that dig deep into the soft dirt and stone to haul the refinery forward. The scientists in you run some quick numbers and realize moving this thing just isn't possible with a lot of planning and forethought. there is no tow truck for the refinery out here. If it's stuck, it's stuck. Forever.
On this side of the refinery there is a ladder leading up to the scaffolding where the AHAV was patrolling. Three access doors on the scaffolding lead within.