As the final bot falls to pieces, Gazigaz congratulates first himself, then his fellow skitterfriends. Then he pulls a finely crafted hand mirror from within his suit and holds it up to make sure that his beard is still perfectly in place. "Good good. None of that icky goop got in my hair. I was worried there for a minute." He pockets the mirror then follows Nako as she charges down the corridor and leads the way into...
The door that Nako runs to does not open on its own. It takes him several tries to pry it open with his brute strength while Gazigaz preens his beard. Finally, it opens with a *fwoosh*.
Smooth wooden flooring and paneled walls give this chamber an air of elegance that is immediately countered by the obvious mess and rank smell of body odor and other foulness. In the aft part of the room is a bar made from real mahogany. In front of the bar are several stools and behind it is the nonfunctioning husk of a bartender robot and an unmarked door. Half a dozen tables and accompanying chairs are pushed against the forward wall to make room for makeshift cots.
A laser bolt flies into the ceiling over your head. An orange haired lashunta female stands behind the bar, eyes wide and holding a smoking azimuth laser pistol. Several other aliens of common Pact World species huddle behind the bar, a few of them wield broken bottles, a corkscrew, and the broken arm of a droid as weapons.
"St-stop! Don't come any closer! Who-what are you?" the lashunta demands of you.
At the sound of the laser weapon's crack, Quonx screeches in horror, performing not just a jump, but a somersault of surprise as her gun goes off as well, the beam bouncing off several corridor plates.
"AAAAAH! WE'RE NOT THE PETS! DON'T PUT US IN THE CAGE! STAY BACK ROBOT!" she screams, sorta threateningly, although it mostly comes out as abject begging.
"Yeah NOT PETs!" echoes Dakoyo. "We're...uh...what'd he say we were....OH! We're serviceable animals!" he explains.
"Captain missing and...can I get a drink? A tall of whatevers on tap will do."
Nako darts into the room, hops up onto the bar and glares at everyone as her blade flames into life. "WE WILL ASK THE QUESTIONS HERE. WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE CAPTAIN!?!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" the lashunta backs away from the feral skittermander and holds up her pistol. The other terrified passengers drops their makeshift weapons and try their best to all hide behind the lashunta. Now that you have a moment to assess them, all of the beings in the chamber appear malnourished and mildly dehydrated. There is a destroyed and dismantled service robot on the floor behind the bar.
"We didn't do anything to the captain," the lashunta protests. "It was that crazy AI!"
Quonx pops her head across the doorframe cautiously. "Nako? Why are you... Being... Scary... OH! OH OH OH OH THEY'RE NOT EVIL ROBOTS!" And with an energy borne of excitement, she bounds up towards the cowering guests and skitters up the lashunta's frame to give her a six-armed hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Have you seen our vesk captain? He's big. And vesky. And very very nice. He's not an AI. Why you talking about an AI?" she asks, looking up at the lashunta with some confusion, but with a smile and tears of joy streaking down her face.
Nako eyes the suspicious people suspiciously and listens to Quonx chattering. When done she points the pointy part of her blade at the group and goes, "harummppphhh, we'll see about that." Looking at Dakoyo then back at the group she adds, "well? Are you going to be helpful and get his drink or not?"
The aggressive skittermander, now a bit deflated from her adrenaline rush hops to a bar stool then down to the floor. Walking over to the door she motions to her allies, "find out what they know, I'll guard the exit."
Her fingers absentmindedly tap the drums around her arm.
*tap tap, tappity-tap, tap tap*
Smiling, Dakoyo thrusts his chest. Walking towards the bar, he finds a free stool to sit in and taps the counter expectantly. "So...I believe I ordered a drink. Hugs will come afterwards."
"Now, our Cpt Vesky non robit... tell us what you know please. The fuzzy one doesn't have much patience. "
Gazigaz nods to Nako as she walks back out of the room to keep watch, "Good job, friend Nako," he says patting the soldier with of his arms. "I'll take it from here."
He enters the rooms and throws his arms out wide, showing that he is unarmed. "Hello, nufriends," he calls out to the cowering humanoids behind the bar. "We are here to help! Our captain came to this ship to see what kind of shiny good things he could find, but he was gone a long long time, so we came to help him get unlost!
"Now that we found you, we can help you too, and you can help us find the captain, okay?"
Nobody quite knows what to make of the skittermanders--they certainly weren't expecting this when the door opened. After a moment of stunned confusion, the lashunta speaks again. "I'm afraid we drank and ate the last of anything a few days ago," she says reflexively apologetically to Dakoyo. One of the gauntest looking humans eyes the skittermanders hungrily.
"The AI went crazy," she continues. "It became more and more insistent that we relax and more and more aggressive in its efforts to make us relax. It started drugging passengers and attacking crew members. Those of us who could escape hid in here. I think it thinks we're 'relaxing' as it has been weeks since we barred the door, and you're the first things to come through. Locke might be able to tell you more, but he's in a coma." She points over to an unconscious and badly bruised and burned human male lying in the corner behind the bar.
Looking around some more, you see that an assortment of pillows and blankets have been dragged into this chamber and the tables and chairs rearranged to fashion make-shift cots.
"I'm afraid I don't know anything about your captain," she confesses. "Like I said, you were the first things through the doors in weeks."
Quonx nuzzles the lashunta's torso before looking up into his confused face. Realizing that this is an awkward situation, she slowly backs down, to turn towards the unconscious individual. "Dakoyo, you think we can do anything for that one? It's not a robot, and not a machine. I'm not sure I can do anything for him. Unless he has cyberlimbs. I could tune those up I guess."
With a sigh, Nahko pulls out a serum and walks over to Locke mumbling, "you better hope the Captain doesn't need this."
She pours it down his throat and adds, "there ya go buddy, feel better? Wanna tell us more about this Eey Aye?"
HP recovered.
Slowly climbing down for the seat, disappointed about the news, he makes his way to the unconscious man. Yeah, if theres nothing to drink I guess..."
"Okay, you haven't seen Captain. That stinks." Gazigaz crosses his lower two sets of arms and sighs in frustration. "Well... we can still help you guys," he says hopefully as he gestures to his companions giving the comatose Locke a healing serum. "Where's this scary bad thing that made you come and hide in here? Is it big and mean?"
Once the serum begins repairing the man's injuries, he regains consciousness with a groan. He is startled and confused to find the rainbow group of skittermanders staring at him in anticipation, but you explain the situation to him.
"Thank you for your help," he says. "I am Locke Linler, one of the crewmen."
Lock explains that Trendsetter Excursions outfitted the Emerald Empyrean, with a stateof- the-art artificial intelligence. The AI was granted control over every aspect of the trip (including all of the vessel’s onboard computers and robots), allowing for only a skeleton crew to keep things running smoothly. Unfortunately, this AI, named M2, developed a major glitch.
Due to an unprecedented math error in its programming, M2 decided that the ship’s intended destination would not be relaxing enough for its passengers and rerouted the Emerald Empyrean to a section of empty space outside of the Pact Worlds system.
When the crew realized something was wrong, it was already too late. M2 had already maneuvered the Emerald Empyrean out of the Pact Worlds and into Near Space. In the meantime, the AI grew increasingly erratic, shutting down portions of the ship and slipping sedatives into the food to keep the passengers “relaxed.” The AI even directly attacked those crew members who attempted to repair her computer core. The Emerald Empyrean’s guests grew desperate, eventually barricading themselves in the ship’s bar and restaurant and have survived on alcohol and self-preparing meals for over a week.
"There's a hidden access panel to the computer core on the lower level near the aft," Locke says. "I barely escaped from the security robot the AI had summoned and crawled back here where I guess the passengers have been taking care of me."
Nako gets bored once the guy starts talking. She heads to the doorway and resumes her post, guarding the room. Her eyes keep getting drawn to the door across the hall though. I wonder what is in that room. Hrmmm... It could be a killer robot. It could be cotton candy. But wait, it could be... THE CAPTAIN!!! OMG HE MIGHT BE BLEEDING OUT IN THERE AND WE ARE JUST STANDING HERE TALKING!!!
With an *EEEP* Nako darts across the hallway and tries to pull open the next door . If it opens, she looks inside quickly with her Doshko at the ready.
Gazigaz yawns as Locke describes what has been happening aboard the Empyrean. "Boring! I already seen that holo-vid," he complains. "Oh well. We help. Make the mean computer nice again and save the captain and save you peoples and get paid and buy lots and lots of fancy beard balms! Maybe even really nice stuff from Bretheda that brings your beard to life!"
As Gazigaz considers what he would do with his earnings, he strolls out of the room and down the hall to join Nako.
I wonder if its empathy modulator was damaged. Or maybe they removed it? Or maybe it was never there? I wonder if empathy modulators help the AI really figure out what is appropriate. Social constructs and hmmm... Maybe empathy modulators stabilize reality for the AI, and maybe it stabilizes reality for everyone without us knowing! Maybe Nako should be rushing out like tha... AAAAAAHHHH NAKO JUST RAN OFF!!!"
"AHH! NAKO! WAIT FOR US!" shrieks Quonx as she skids across the restaurant's faux-marble floor, out into the corridor and right after Nako.
Dakoyo keeps glancing towards the bar as the man drones on. Cocking his head as if listening to old timey music played on a loop, he snaps back to the present blurting out "Monkeys?"
"Oh, yeah. We fix, no problem. You need more windows to see stars like Nako. Nako?"
Turning to see his companions charging away, he rushes after them. Three hands give a thumbs up as he calls back "Get yous bar stocked. Rude ter offer drinks you no longer has!"
"Restock..? What? How?" the lashunta rambles, confused, and then yells after the disappearing skittermanders. "Hey! We're starving here!"
As Nako approaches the opposite door in the corridor, it opens on its own with a *fwoosh*.
Wooden panels line the walls of this cozy room, and an emerald green carpet covers the floor. Two wooden tables, each adorned with a deck of shiny playing cards, are surrounded with comfortable chairs. Two digital dart boards hang on the forward wall in the other corner. A holo billiards table, its holographic balls glowing serenely, occupies one of the aft corners. A closed cabinet stands in the final corner of the room.
Gazigaz enters the room, entranced. "Ooo, look at that beautiful green," he says, bending down to stroke the carpet. Standing once again to take in the rest of the scene, his curiosity is immediately piqued by the cabinet in the corner. "Look, maybe the captain's in there," he calls out hopefully. He moves to the cabinet and reaches out to open it, but then remembers the captain's words of advice.
"Never open anything unfamiliar without looking at it first. Ya never know when some lunatic rigged up a laser or a discharge cell to a storage crate they don't want people messing with."
He heeds the advice and spends some time looking carefully at the door.
Nako does a quick once-over of the room, "what in there? Don't be foolish. He wouldn't fit..."
Her confident tone fades a bit at the end as she leaves unsaid the obvious possibility that their beloved Captain was hacked to pieces and shoved into the cabinet. She eyes the next door, but waits for Gazigaz to check the cabinet.
Quonx skitters in after them, and bolts past the two ready to fling the door to the cabinet open with little regards to her own safety.
Gazigaz panics as Quonx charges in a grabs hold of the cabinet's handles right away. "Nonononononono! Quonx needs to be careful! Remember the captain said don't open things unless you look for traps first unless you wants to get 'sploded!"
Quonx releases the cabinet's handles like they are hotter than that one time she used the ships' heating assembly without gloves. "ARGH!" She shakes her hands, as if to make sure they still are there. "Ok. Ok. I'll look. 'sploding is never fun."
"Looks... Clear?"
The cabinet does not appear to possess any defensive properties or even a lock. Inside is a pair of augmented reality goggles and an associated pair of gloves to interact with the pre-loaded dart game, six holo-cues for playing billiards, and a jantz set (a chess-like game with elaborate glass pieces). There are no dismembered vesk parts.
Everyone except Nako also notices a small dart in the back of the cabinet. It looks like the kind of dart that would be used on a recreational dart board, but it has a fusion imbued on it.
Confident that your Captain is not in the game room, you continue on to the only door left to open. The door slides open with a *fwoosh* as Nako approaches. Inside, the chamber is filled with darkness and the light form the hallway does not penetrate very far. You can just barely make out the edges of a row of reclining chairs on either side of the circular room. The ceiling appears to be made from a dome of transparent aluminum, but panels covering the outside of the dome block the view.
It might be your eyes playing tricks on you, but there might also have been some small, cat-sized critters in the room that scurried away from the light and disappeared into the blackness when the door opened.
Indistinct shadowy centipede-like creatures the size of cats scuttle out from under the chairs toward you.
Combat! Round 1. Bold may act.
Nako
Shadow Creepers 1, 2, 3
Dakoyo
Quonx
Shadow Creepers 4, 5, 6
Gazigaz
Gazigaz pulls the dart from the back of the cabinet and looks it over. "Ooh this is a special one," he says, excited by the fusion. "You throw it away and it come back! Nako, you throws stuff real hard! You take it, k?"
After playing just one or two games of holo-billiards, Gazigaz leaves the game room with his fellows and waits near the final door. It's only then that he realizes they left all the flashlights back on the ship. "Oh no! It's so dark and spooky in there! Nako, you're big and strong and tough. You should check it out. Quonx, you're real smart with machines and stuffs right? Can you make lights for us?"
Scurrying into the next room, he looks around. "Oooo it's a dark magic! So neat! Uh...what is...AH! Nako! Things in here!"
With a breath of relief at no Captain parts, Nako takes the dart and absentmindedly holds it in her hand (LR) as she moves up to the next door.
"YEAH! That darkness not right. Not follow laws of physics, you said magic doing it? Hrmmpph!"
When the hyper Skittermander dashes into the room and screams for help, she dashes forward to save him yet again. Her Doshko flares into flame and she holds it up warily, "STAY BACK WHATEVER YOU ARE OR I'll uh... CUT YOU uh... CUT YOU UP GOOD!"
for
Nako slices through the first of the extra-planar aliens to approach, and it disappears in a puff of smoke. However, he is quickly swarmed by the subsequent two. He feels something cold and painful pierce his MR arm.
Inside the room, Nako and Dakoyo can vaguely make out the darkness generators on the walls of the observatory.
Combat! Round 1. Bold may act.
Nako
Shadow Creepers (1), 2, 3
Dakoyo
Quonx
Shadow Creepers 4, 5, 6
Gazigaz
Nako points to the magical things on the wall and yells at her allies, "that's causing the darkness! I don't know how to shut them down though!"
"I has magics!" screams Dakoyo, moving towards the outer wall. "You handle puffy smoke pets! Wes get captain soon an go back to other room and play."
Eyeing the device, he quickly begins tapping the buttons on its side.
As Dakoyo tries to manipulate the darkness generator--and does not quite get it figured out--three of the shadow beasts rush him and bite through his armor.
Combat! Round 1/2. Bold may act.
Gazigaz
--2--
Nako (-6)
Shadow Creepers (1), 2, 3
Dakoyo (-12)
Quonx
Shadow Creepers 4, 5, 6
Quonx steps into the room, a look of resolve, fury and perhaps a little constipation on her face. "YOU DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS, SHADOWPEOPLE! EAT FACTS!!!!"
Nako rolls her eyes at Daykoyo, "yes we know. You say it every 3 minutes."
Brought back to reality by the cold stab of pain her her arm, she slashes at the shadow critter to her left while telling her allies, "another generator to my left! I'll clear a path."
for
Nako dispels a second shadow vermin.
"OWWWWIE! Bites 'urt!" whines Dakoyo. "Nako, what happened? Yous supposed to handle bitey shadow pets, not me."
Working the dials through the pain, he cautiously steps away from the shadowy beasts.
With a mighty heave, Quonx sends a grenade sailing through the darkness. It explodes, sending deadly shrapnel sailing through the air.
"SCIENCE!"
With that word of warning Nako immediately ducks and shields herself from an explosion.
AHHHH QUONX JUST DID SOMETHING CRAZY!!!
The shrapnel from Quonx's grenade rips holes in the shadow creatures. One of them vanishes in a puff of smoke.
Dakoyo manages to turn off one of the darkness generators. A seventh inky vermin emerges from the shadow portal in the middle of the room and scurries towards Dakoyo. The skittermander turns his attention back to the danger just in time to sidestep the creature's bite.
The vermin engaged with Nako bites his leg and strikes a vital vessel.
Gazigaz encourages Nako onward in battle.
Combat! Round 2. Bold may act.
Gazigaz
Nako (-6 after Inspiring Boost)
Shadow Creepers 7, 2, (3)
Dakoyo (-7)
Quonx
Shadow Creepers 4 (-3), 5 (-3), (6)
Seeing a possible advantage when the new creeper runs past, Nako swipes at it with her flaming weapon.
for
"BACK! BACK! WE DON'T LIKE WEIRD CRYPTO-MYSTICAL CREATURES HERE! DIE FROM A LASER IN THE 40 WATT RANGE!"
Quonx zaps one of the critters out of existence just as another two more crawl through the portal. The original creepy crawly follows Dakoyo and bites his leg. One of the new ones rushes Nako but cannot penetrate his armor. The second to emerge from the portal skitters over to Quonx and bites him on the lower arm.
Combat! Round 3. Bold may act.
Gazigaz (-7)
Nako (-16)
Shadow Creepers 7, 2, 8
Dakoyo (-11)
Quonx
Shadow Creepers 4 (-3), (5), 9
Nako yells to her allies, "protect Dakoyo! He can shut the thing off!!!"
She slashes at one of the two harassing the mystic, "GET OFF HIM!!!"
for