Alorea casts a spell, creating a pair of illusory duplicates beside her. "Sounds good to us!" she says in triplicate.
Ashrouk nods toward Hadashin, "Indeed, it seems like a good idea to make sure the ship is functioning as much as possible while we are aboard. I will keep watch on this side of the ship." The kasatha moves toward the starboard side of the ship and takes up a watchful post with his gun and sword drawn.
Flitweather sleepily follows the others. "Restoring power would announce our presence, thought Ido hope this ship is unoccupied. Would hate to be disturbed by another tentacle." he notes.
Dash adds, "Well, I don't think we can get the data we're looking for without some power to the computers." He then heads over to the reactor and sees what he can accomplish.
Ashrouk nods toward Hadashin, "Indeed, it seems like a good idea to make sure the ship is functioning as much as possible while we are aboard. I will keep watch on this side of the ship." The kasatha moves toward the starboard side of the ship and takes up a watchful post with his gun and sword drawn.
As he approaches the starboard side of the ship, Ashrouk's progress is blocked by a barrier of fluctuating energy, arcing seemingly uncontrolled from emitters lining the floor, walls, and ceiling. Sensing that the barrier could be hazardous to the touch, the kasatha tries to find a way around, moving through what was once enclosed guest quarters. His sharp eyes spy a datapad with a cracked screen, lying on one of the beds and still attached to a charging port in the remnants of a wall.
"We’ve spotted a starship nearby! I’ve rigged some spare machinery we have to try to make some sort of rudimentary communication method. There might be hope after all!"
Most of the other data on the pad is corrupted by time, but investigating another intact file leads to a firewall.
DC 15+ Computers check:
He then heads over to the reactor and sees what he can accomplish.
Dash takes a shot at the power core, but the technology is significantly older than he's accustomed to, and it doesn't respond to his attempted repairs.
"Looks like I'm going to have a long day." Dash grumbles to himself. "Lets see if a size 2 spanner will work instead."
With restored power, he re-enables the controls to the doors wherever he can and restores life support and lighting.
After he's done, he walks over to Ashrouk, "Can I see the datapad?" he asks over the comms, "Uh, please."
"There's a code to some sort of safe in a hidden file on this thing," he adds over the comms. He then takes a picture of it with his personal comm unit and texts it to everyone else in the group, before handing the datapad back to Ashrouk.
Ashrouk brings the datapad out from the guest quarters and shows it to Hadashin. "Yes, it seems there are some protected data in this file which have not been corrupted yet. Please see what you can find."
Once the bleachling cracks the firewall and discovers the existence of the hidden safe, Ashrouk raises an eyebrow on his exceptionally high forehead. "How intriguing! Perhaps this safe would contain the information we seek."
"Looks like I'm going to have a long day." Dash grumbles to himself. "Lets see if a size 2 spanner will work instead."
With restored power, he re-enables the controls to the doors wherever he can and restores life support and lighting.
Dash is indeed able to restore some functionality to the power core - full lighting is restored throughout the ship, and control panels begin to blink to life next to doors and the strange energy barriers. A force field forms over the gap in the hull the contract-Starfinders just entered, and an audible hum indicates that the ship's life support systems are gradually pressurizing the area.
"Nice work! I'm going to go peek through that door," the three Aloreas say. They do just that, sneaking up to partially open door to the portside of the ship and quietly peering through the gap.
"Nice work! I'm going to go peek through that door," the three Aloreas say. They do just that, sneaking up to partially open door to the portside of the ship and quietly peering through the gap.
Alorea finds that the door in question is slightly askew - she can peek through a very narrow crack to see that there is indeed a room on the other side, but the door itself appears to be jammed and won't open any wider.
The Dreamsmith heads over to examine what appear to be sleeping quarters.
His eyes begin to droop as he considers taking a nap.
{Let me see if I can get that for you. All three of you.} Driskinet then moves up to the door, puts her weight against it, and tries to shove it open.
{Nope. This door is tougher than it looks.}
{Nope again.}
{Finally! Guess I had to try once for each of you!}
Svadik bonks the Dreamsmith on the back of the head.
"No sleep, gnome!"
As the feychild looks over at the vesk, he finds that the blunt object that was knocked over his head was in fact a grenade! A grenade that Svadik seems to casually be holding in one hand as if it weren't a volatile explosive!
"Gnome sleep?" Flitweather says in response. He is about to speak further, but his sleepy eyes suddenly spring open wide when he spies the contents of the vesk's hand.
"May I suggest that we avoid having an... explosive situation?" he suugwsts, trying not to show too much alarm.
Dash looks up in alarm and then realizes that that particular grenade has a mk3 safety unit built in so that it can't explode without the detonator being armed. At least, that's what he tells himself as he puts away the remainder of his tools. He then heads over to one of the wall openings where he can see what Alorea and Driskinet are up to.
Over the comms, he warns, "Be careful with the doors. I'm unsure which parts of the ship remain sealed. We don't want explosive decompression."
Over the comms, he warns, "Be careful with the doors. I'm unsure which parts of the ship remain sealed. We don't want explosive decompression."
Flitweather looks over at the vesk, silently mouthing through the visor in his armor the words, "explosive decompression".
With everyone attending to the crew quarters, Ashrouk returns to the corridor he had originally been investigating, where he finds a control panel now blinking back at him. He approaches the panel and checks for any clear way to deactivate the energy field.
If he doesn't find an immediately obvious way to deactivate the system, he calls out for Hadashin or someone else with some idea of how to work such devices before he tries a more aggressive method.
{Finally! Guess I had to try once for each of you!}
It takes Driskinet three tries, but the helpful shirren finally wretches open the door, which makes a screeching, grinding sound as it snaps from its moorings and clatters on the deck plating. Peeking around the corner, Alorea spies a pile of assorted medical equipment, an old stasis pod, and a long table heaped with various equipment. At the forward end of the room are two doors.
With everyone attending to the crew quarters, Ashrouk returns to the corridor he had originally been investigating, where he finds a control panel now blinking back at him. He approaches the panel and checks for any clear way to deactivate the energy field.
Ashrouk finds the "off" button fairly quickly, but pressing it gives a cryptic error message - and the barrier stays active.
Dash looks over at his fellow biohacker and sees that he's trying to open the other door. He says over the comms, "Ashrouk, I don't think it would be a good idea to split the party. Let's clear this room that Driskinet just opened first."
Driskinet will step into the room she just opened up, cautiously looking to see if they can detect any threats.
Driskinet will step into the room she just opened up, cautiously looking to see if they can detect any threats.
When Driskinet steps into the room, the decontamination tile under her feet heaves to life, spraying a musty, stinging vapor all over the shirren before coughing itself to an overdue demise. Driskinet, however, is quick enough to cover her eyes and steps through unaffected.
Scanning the space, she sees that both of the doors are cracked ever so slightly - and a humanoid figure, nearly hidden inside one of them, is watching the shirren!
Dash looks over at his fellow biohacker and sees that he's trying to open the other door. He says over the comms, "Ashrouk, I don't think it would be a good idea to split the party. Let's clear this room that Driskinet just opened first."
"Very well, I can see the wisdom in your suggestion to keep together. I will remain with the rest of you." Ashrouk moves back toward the door Drikinet has opened just as the shirren steps into the room and unleashes a cloud of vapor on herself. "Driskinet! Are you alright? Is there something wrong?"
The kasatha swiftly pulls out his injector pistol as he waits to confirm the status of his new companion.
Svadik, blatantly ignoring the gnome's fear of the grenade, rushes over to Driskinet's side to assist the shirren, pushing his way past everyone like a football player rushing to the end zone!
Trying to not look as if she has seen the figure in the doorway, Driskinet looks back towards the rest of the group as she telepathically contacts them. {I am fine. I see a figure behind one of the other doors into this room. I don't think they have noticed that I have seen them. Be ready.} That said, she will slowly advance into the room, trying to look as if she is just normally looking through the chambers contents.
Ashrouk silently nods in reply to Driskinet's telepathic warning about the figure behind the door, then moves in to join the shirren in searching the newly opened chamber.
Flitweather looks around to find the subject of the telepathic message.
Dash moves up to the doorway but doesn't enter, ready to provide support if needed.
Svadik, blatantly ignoring the gnome's fear of the grenade, rushes over to Driskinet's side to assist the shirren, pushing his way past everyone like a football player rushing to the end zone!
By the time Svadik tramples into the room, the decrepit decontamination tile has coughed out its last and the musty haze has more or less cleared.
...she will slowly advance into the room, trying to look as if she is just normally looking through the chambers contents.
Out of the corner of her eye, Driskinet sees a slight flutter of movement behind the door, but no obvious reaction... yet.
Ashrouk silently nods in reply to Driskinet's telepathic warning about the figure behind the door, then moves in to join the shirren in searching the newly opened chamber.
As the kasatha scans the room, he notices that the long table near the forward end of the room is nearly buried under a dozen or more large bottles of chemical containers, most nearly full and several balanced precariously on top of others.
Flitweather looks around to find the subject of the telepathic message.
Flitweather, in a bit of a dreamy haze, is unable to verify Driskinet's claims.
Ashrouk moves to examine the contents of the bottles and containers. "Aha! What have we here?"
Quickly realizing what he is looking at, Ashrouk stands up and slowly backs away from the table. "I recommend we all move very carefully out of this room, one way or another. These chemicals are extremely volatile if combined, and I fear they are placed in such a way that their combination could happen very easily."
Ashrouk moves to examine the contents of the bottles and containers. "Aha! What have we here?"
Unfortunately, Ashrouk is unable to act on his new-found knowledge. As soon as he realizes the danger, he watches in horror as the precariously-stacked chemicals wobble and tip, as if prodded by an unseen hand. With a flash of acrid smoke and a spash of searing pain, hot acid is sprayed across half the room, catching Ashrouk in the line of fire!
Slow to react, Ashrouk is caught is a shower of searing, bubbling liquid.
In the chaos, a humanoid figure bursts out from behind a door. A young-ish looking tiefling with red hair and a bouncy attitude, she points and laughs at Ashrouk before running out the other forward door. "Later, suckers!"
"Later, suckers!"
"Did that demonic just refer to us as lollipops?" Flitweather asks, seeming quite intrigued by the outburst and equally oblivious to the harm befalling his fellow Starfinder.
As the acid sprays on Ashrouk, Alorea suddenly shouts out, "I don't think so!" She reaches out and tugs on the threads of reality, shifting the paradigm around the kasatha. Instead of being showered with the searing liquid, he only ends up being splashed instead as most of the fluid miraculously misses him!
"After her!" she cries as the tiefling runs away. The three images move in pursuit.
”Чертов демон!”
Svadik hustles towards the tiefling to stop their escape!
As the acid sprays on Ashrouk, Alorea suddenly shouts out, "I don't think so!"
"Yes..well..." Flitweather responds, assuming that he has been brazenly corrected. "I have been wrong on occasion in the past."
As the acid sprays on Ashrouk, Alorea suddenly shouts out, "I don't think so!" She reaches out and tugs on the threads of reality, shifting the paradigm around the kasatha. Instead of being showered with the searing liquid, he only ends up being splashed instead as most of the fluid miraculously misses him!
"After her!" she cries as the tiefling runs away. The three images move in pursuit.
Ashrouk flinches back as a huge spray of acid erupts toward him, and he feels the few flecks of acid catch him on the arms and legs. When he opens his eyes and sees the melted floor tiles to either side of him, however, he breathes a relieved sigh at his good fortune.
"Right! After her," he calls in echo of Alorea.
Dash moves up into the room behind Ashrouk, looking for the 'demonic' others saw.
"Which way did they go?" He says over comms as he comes into the room.
As the contract-Starfinders rush in pursuit, they pass through a larger (and thankfully defunct) decontamination closet before finding themselves in the center of the ship. This area was obviously a collection of smaller rooms (cargo bays, a kitchen, a bathroom), but the planar exposure has since rendered it to a more open floorplan. Ashrouk and Driskinet, the first out of the medical lab, see their tiefling foe run across the space and into a bay on the starboard side of the ship.
Alorea, , Ashrouk , Dash, Driskinet , Flitweather , Svadik
Tiefling
Alorea hustles after the tiefling.
Dash hustles after the tiefling. He draws his needler pistol as he moves and switches his comms to speaker mode, hollering "Where do you think you're going?" after the rogue.
Driskinet moves after the tiefling individual as quickly as her bulky armor allows, stopping before the closed door in her path.
Svadik charges through the doorway, knocking over a table as he chases after the tiefling.
Flitweather follows the others.
Ashrouk moves up along with his allies, then drives an injector into Svadik's shoulder to enhance the vesk's defenses.
Hot on the heels of their tiefling ambusher, the contract-Starfinders find themselves just outside the starboard bay.
Alorea, , Ashrouk , Dash, Driskinet , Flitweather , Svadik
Tiefling
Alorea moves through the door!
Ashrouk moves into the room after Alorea, drawing his sword to wield along with his needler as he burst through the door. Upon entering the starboard bay, the kasha searches for signs of the fleeing tiefling. "Where did that nuisance go?!"
As Alorea and Ashrouk run through the door, they find themselves in the remnants of an old research lab - the workstations are somewhat intact but mostly empty, and empty boxes with tattered labels litter the floor.
" "Where did that nuisance go?!"
"Here I am!" the plucky tiefling waves mockingly at Ashrouk from behind a countertop. "NOW!"
Behind the tiefling stands a towering uplifted bear, his ursine head just inches from the ceiling. "Alley-oop!" The bear underhands a large bundle at Alorea and Ashrouk, which clatters to the ground beneath them before exploding in a dazzling shower of sparks and spare parts.
Both Alorea and Ashrouk were prepared for such tricks, however, and shield their eyes from the blast.
Dash, Driskinet , Flitweather , Svadik
Tiefling
Alorea, , Ashrouk
Uplifted Bear
Dash moves out of the main room and into the doorway Ashrouk and Alorea just entered, drawing his other pistol as he does. Seeing the giant uplifted bear he raises his needler pistol and fires the armor reducing counteragent.
Flitweather moves forward to his other companions outside of the room.
He then suggests to Driskinet and Svadik, "What if instead of us, we were each a 'nuisance'? Want to see what would happen then?"
{That could work for me, Dreamsmith.}