Dash looks around at the group, "I think the Pegasus is likely the better choice, but only for the improved sensors. I'd hate to go aboard that ship blind to whatever's inside because the sensors weren't good enough."
{Same. My vote would be for the Pegasus.}
"Choice is an illusion for the mind has already made up itself." responds Flitweather.
"Agreed. The Pegasus is clearly the superior vessel for this expedition. Besides, in addition to the improved sensors, it has has a tech workshop and science lab, both of which might prove valuable as we recover materials from the Reconnoiter."
Svadik looks seriously disheartened at the party's choice.
"But...me want gun..."
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{Svadik, don't worry. The Pegasus has gun's as well.}
"Hold on. I took a semester of Vesk at the Academy..." Dash clears his throat, before continuing, "Dakka... Dakka Dakka Dakka."
"Pegasus! The superior choice in all realities!" Alorea chimes in.
A look of surprise followed by fury sweeps across Svadik's eyes as he slaps Dash in the face.
"Как ты смеешь говорить это о моей матери!"
Dash gets up off the floor and rubs his jaw, chuckling. He pats Svadik on his knee (gently) and says, "I suppose I should have went with 'pew' for the joke?" Then whispers, "Не обижайся на твою мать. Сожалею."
Selecting a Pegasus-class starship, the Starchaser, the group quickly loads their personal items aboard while technicians from the Church of Triune interface a special homing device with their Drift engine under the Venture-Captain's watchful eye. In a few short hours, with the engines warmed and the crew aboard, six contract Starfinders disappear into the Drift, starting a weeks-long journey to their remote destination within the Transitive Plane.
On the morning of the 15th day, the crew awakes to irregular flashes of light and... peels of thunder? Looking out the viewports of the Starchaser, the contract-Starfinders see that the multi-hued backdrop of the Drift has been largely replaced by roiling clouds, enourmous slabs of a spongy, slate-colored rock-like material, and arcing bolts and sheets of lightning.
The Starchaser has found itself inside a planar bubble. Readings from their modified Drift engine show that the Amber Reconnoiter is located deeper in the bubble, but the Starchaser's autopilot has stopped the ship here, near the edge, waiting for the crew to navigate the treacherous skies ahead.
"Hold on. I took a semester of Vesk at the Academy..." Dash clears his throat, before continuing, "Dakka... Dakka Dakka Dakka."
"Goose." Flitweather quietly mutters in response.
As the Starchaser glides forward, a tremendous CRACK of electrical energy splits apart a nearby asteroid, sending a slab of rock the size of a small space station hurtling in their direction! It's clear that this obstacle cannot be avoided - they must clear a space to fly through it!
Ashrouk quickly assumes his position at one of the gunnery stations. He cycles through the controls until he finds the light laser cannon, then selects his weapon and takes aim at a nearby weak point. "You! Fighters! Take the bigger guns. I will do what I can with the lighter weapon here."
Having zero piloting experience, Alorea grips the control stick. "So yeah, I'm just gonna keep going straight here. Hopefully these giant rocks won't be there when our ship gets there."
Quickly moving to the controls for the turret, Driskinet will attempt to fire the particle beam at the incoming rock.
Flitweather, seemingly asleep in the Captain's chair, opens an eye and his mouth long enough to suggest, "If you cannot move the rock with your mind, then mind the rock with your moves."
Svadik goes into the forward weapons bay and straps in.
"Это то, о чем я говорю!"
Eagerly jumping to the Starchaser's weapons, Ashrouk, Driskinet, and Svadik quickly and efficiently blast a Pegasus-shaped hole in the asteroid fragment, allowing Alorea to pass safely through without a single turn or twist.
A roiling cloud, wreathed in sheet lightning, fast approaches the Starchaser. Despite the distance, hair and scales seem to stand on end.
"Uh... I'll try spinning. That's a good trick." Alorea tilts the control stick and sends the Pegasus into a lazy roll to try to avoid the cloud.
"I don't think our weapons will have much effect, captain. Orders?"
Dash attempts to identify the effects of the storm... with science!
Dash looks around at the controls on the science officers station, "Uh, guys, I think I can adjust the shields to compensate...hold."
Dash looks around at the controls on the science officers station, "Uh, guys, I think I can adjust the shields to compensate...hold."
"Then, by all means, Dash--do so!" Flitweather cheers.
Alorea does her best, but her enthusiastic spinning isn't enough to prevent the electrical cyclone from crashing into the bow of the Starchaser. With Flitweather's encouragement, however, Dash is able to mitigate the damage such that only the port shield arc is affected!
Alorea spies a safe area ahead, but they're not there yet. Huge plates of porous rock and arcing electricity seem to be closing in on all sides - the Starchaser must navigate through a tiny gap to avoid the crush!
Perturbed at being to far away from everyone to utilize her telepathy to speak to them, Driskinet uses her voice to question the others. "Does it look like we could try and shoot some of the incoming rocks away? Perhaps using the laser net as point defense against any rocks closing from our port side?"
"Alorea, close your eyes and fly true." Flitweather urges.
Dash switches his station to the engineering app, connecting with the power core controls.
"Hope this helps." He says over the comms.
Alorea shrugs at Filt's suggestion. "Okay! Hang onto your butts!" She closes her eyes and shoves the throttle forward!
"Hang...to butt...?" Svadik asks, the idiom obviously going right over his head.
As Dash pours supplementary power into the engines, Alorea takes the captain's advice and slams the throttle, sending Svadik tumbling backwards as he ponders how, exactly, to hang his butt. Screaming forward, the Starchaser clears the gap, reaching safety as a collection of enormous slabs crash together just off the stern!
As soon as they clear the chaos, the crew are bombarded with a warning klaxon - the Amber Reconnoiter's automated weapon system is targeting the Starchaser! Reacting calmly, Dash broadcasts the two system access codes they retrieved back on Absalom Station, and the warning noise ceases as the derelict starship's defenses power down.
The momentary peace gives the six contract-Starfinders a chance to catch their breath. Their objective - the Amber Reconnoiter - is just visible out the main viewscreen, but it quickly becomes obvious that the way forward may be the most difficult part of the journey, as the planar debris is packed too tightly to fly any closer.
It's time to take a walk.
Alorea, Ashrouk, Dash, Driskinet, Flitweather, Svadik
???
"Well, Starfinders," Flitweather expounds, "Our goal is simple - cross the debris field to get to the Amber Reconnoiter . Can't be too hard, right?"
"Keep us steady and free of hazards, Alorea." he urges.
"Follow lead!"
Svadik kicks off from the rock towards a sturdy-looking piece of rubble.
Alorea moves up behind Svadik and launches off the rock as well, heading straight across towards the distant chunk of ground.
"Hmm...I was not prepared for travel in zero-gravity conditions. This will be interesting," Ashrouk comments dryly. He follows Svadik's lead, though, and pushes off from the rock.
Before exiting the ship, Dash trades out his everyday clothing for his zero-g environmental outfit. He then refits his armor, doublechecks the seals, and makes sure his fire extinguisher is in an easy to reach spot.
"This will be... fun." he grumbles, primarily to himself as he exits the airlock and follows the others, hoping to move along the same trajectory.
Driskinet, seeing the building off to the side of where everyone else is jumping towards, is intrigued. Looking around at the others, they send a quick telepathic message to everyone before jumping off at an angle to everyone else. {Anyone else want to come check out this building with me? It probably shouldn't take all that long.}
Flitweather pushes off the rock toward one that appears to bear a structure on it.
As the contract-Starfinders float off in two directions, a violent spasm of electricity arcs from rock to rock, flashing brilliantly. Luckily, none of the crew are close enough to suffer electrocution.
The wayward energy isn't the only threat, however! Two large, cephalopod-like creatures rise effortlessly from the ruins, electricity shimmering down their bodies and jumping between their tentacles. They start moving towards the contract-Starfinders, sensing a meal is about to drift into their laps!
One of the creatures glides towards Alorea, Ashrouk, Dash, and Svadik. Lifting one of its tentacles, it fires a ray of lightning, which strikes the vesk! The other, taking a more northerly path, spies the Dreamsmith, nailing him with a long-distance arc!
Alorea, Ashrouk, Dash, Driskinet, Flitweather , Svadik
Drift creatures
"Heads up!" Alorea tries to remember what these creatures are as she draws her pistol and blasts the nearest one.
Svadik pulls out his own pistol and aims it at the creature that he is unfortunately heading right towards.
"Destroy beasts, comrades!"
"Прокляни этот запутанный пистолет!"
Ashrouk reaches down to his hip and retrieves his custom scanner. With the scanner he tries to scan the creatures.
He then pulls a small vial from a small pouch on his belt and slots it into a injection device which slid out from a device on his wrist. He reaches out with the device and lays a palm against Svadik's arm. "Be careful, my friend," he says as a needle slides between the vesk's scales and the protective serum begins coursing through his veins.
Dash uses his custom scanner to scan the creatures to see what he can recall about them.
While he floats forward he draws his Injection Pistol.
Driskinet will quickly draw her Semi-Auto pistol and fire it towards the creature that attacked Flitweather.
Alorea tries to remember what these creatures are as she draws her pistol and blasts the nearest one.
Alorea frowns; they don't seem at all like the animals she's familiar with.
Ashrouk reaches down to his hip and retrieves his custom scanner. With the scanner he tries to scan the creatures.
Ashrouk tries to use his scanner to identify the creature, but he hits the wrong button and reboots the device instead.
Dash uses his custom scanner to scan the creatures to see what he can recall about them.
Dash scans the nearest creature, which is just at the edge of his scanner's range, and it spits out the following results:
Drift Cuttle (87% match)
Dash glances at his backup weapon, a static arc pistol, and swears in Goblin.
Over the comms, he yells, "They're electrostatic. Resist electric weapons, deal electric damage, try to avoid feedback by hitting them from range."
Mumbling to himself he adds, "I can try to do something about the resistance."
Flitweather draws his pistol as he floats through the vacuum, realizing that he is not yet in range for his more useful spells to take effect. He then fires at one of creatures.
As the contract-Starfinders scramble to pull out their weapons, only Alorea manages to find her target, sending shockwaves rippling through the nearest Drift cuttle. Meanwhile, Ashrouk administers restorative medicines to Svadik, thickening his scaly coat.
The cuttle struck by Alorea retaliates, flying forward and striking her with an electrified tentacle. Meanwhile, the second cuttle seeks out Driskinet, but the shirren's armor resists the creature's lashing appendage. As the contract-Starfinder drift uncontrollably forward, electricifed tentacles whip around their heads, but no one is struck as they slam into the cuttles!
Alorea, Ashrouk , Dash, Driskinet, Flitweather , Svadik
Drift cuttles
Figuring the creature could probable use a few more tentacles, albeit ones that are less lethal, Flitweather casts baleful polymorph on the nearest drift cuttle.
Dash glances at his backup weapon, a static arc pistol, and swears in Goblin.
Over the comms, he yells, "They're electrostatic. Resist electric weapons, deal electric damage, try to avoid feedback by hitting them from range."
Mumbling to himself he adds, "I can try to do something about the resistance."
"В диапазоне? Нет! Сделайте что-нибудь с его сопротивлением!"
Svadik, despite his better judgement, reaches out to strike at the critter!
Suddenly, the area around Svadik begins to shimmer and distort, as if he were the center of a massive heat source
"Ah! A little help here?" Alorea curls into a ball as she careens through space, hoping her trajectory carries her out of the cuttle's reach.