GM_MG's Dead Suns (Inactive)

Game Master GM_MG

OK, everyone I just sent the report to Chiskisk. Let's get rid of this thing!

<Transmission to Chiskisk> Chiskisk, this may be our last transmission back to the Starfinder Society. We were able to find to corpse fleet that were headed for the Stellar Degenerator. We were able to take care of everyone and now are in charge of the Empire of Bones. We are still finding a way to get rid of this thing and may end up crashing the Empire of Bones into it to destroy it. It has been an honor to serve the Starfinder Society and Take Care!

Crashing the ship was the scenario with the highest predicted chance of success from the station AI on the controller moon. But it would seem fairly likely to Bepo—the Empire of Bones is a miles-long piece of mega-engineering, and moves as fast as a dreadnought or battleship. The kinetic energy imparted to the structure of the Stellar Degenerator would be massive—probably greater than that of a large-sized asteroid strike on a planetary body, particularly when you take into account the likely explosion from the ships supercolossal reactor core.

The +10 computer bonus only applies to the person carrying the electroencephalon.

"Alrighty, besties," the ysoki says as he gives a tight hug to each of his allies in succession. "It's time to crew up! I'll handle the engineering as usual. This electroencephalon seems to really make ship control intuitive. If anyone is feeling a bit daunted in their role, you should put this thing on to help. Now let's put an end to these crazy, suicidal nihilists by setting course for our own suicide mission!" he says with alarming excitement.

maybe one of the gunners should take the electroencephalon to ensure we don't miss any attacks?

While the collective bravery of the Starfinders is exceptional, it occurs to Tiktik that, once the ship is set on his path, the bridge could be locked down quite securely with the benefit of the command key's power over the entire ship. It may be possible to aim the ship and escape, either by jumping out in an escape pod, by stealing an Eoxian ship somewhere, or getting to the Sunrise Maiden.

Of course, that's going to require some doing. A raspy voice speaks over the ship's comms, piped into the bridge's speakers.

<Empire of Bones, this is Orphanmaker actual. You appear to have stopped firing or making maneuvers. Do you require assistance? Over.>

"Whatever we do it seems like our interference has been noted and we've run out of time to discuss it. Lets just wing it. Ramming speed!!"

B-Bop cracks his knuckles and murmers softly to himself.

I'mma gonna fly dis super-ship. I'mma gonna fly dis super-ship. I'mma gonna fly dis mega-fragger-mega-destructo-super-ship.

He snaps out of his brief reverie.

Awright, ya poozers! We're gonna take dis frag-tastic game'a "dine an' dash" up ta eleventy! Anyone'a ya even think'a touchin' da steerin' on dis ultra-crate an' I'll eat yer dang fingers an' crap dem right back on yer hand stumps! I'm flying dis rocket right inta dat beast down dere like it's prom night an' den we're gonna hop da bone train right back ta Sunny 'fore da super nova bang hits an' watch dem fireworks an' get some winners' knish!! Yeah!!!

The adrenaline-amped and somewhat psychotic-inclined half-orc does a fierce fist pump as he looks around for the main vessel controls.

B-Bop is able to pilot the ship. It's not quite like flying Sunny, but the principles the same.

Warning klaxons begin to ring in the bridge. The two largest ships remaining in the undead fleet, the battleships Dusk Blade and Orphanmaker, begin to turn towards the Empire of Bones.

Empire of Bones
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red)

Starship combat! First up is the Engineering phase.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

Tiktik plops down in the seat at the engineering console, quickly adjusts the seat height for his diminutive stature, and then furious taps away at the controls.

"Let's see what kind of thrust these engines can manage!"

Rags causes a haze to form around the Empire of Bones adding +1 to the massive ships AC and hindering attempts to scan or scry about its contents.

5/10 RP

Science officerscanning orphanmaker: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (2) + 23 = 25

Empire of Bones
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red)

Tiktik boosts the engines, and Rags mentally shields it.

Talek is able to identify the opposing ships as Thaumtech Omenbringer's, gargantuan battleships (Speed 4, maneuver 2) with no living crew compliment.

The Helm Phase! Pilots roll your piloting check, other helm phase actions as appropriate.

B-Bop grips the directional controls and sneers.

Ggggrrruummmnn, dis crate's hull's pretty damn thick an' gots a lotta zap guns but she ain't got much giddyup. I'm usin' all muh tricks ta coax 'er outta bed but she wants ta sleep in!

C'mon, baby, howzabout dinner an' a movie? New action flick, lotsa explosions? An' we're gettin' surf an' turf, real lobster wit' some real butter, none'a dat fake stuff dat Abadar Corp makes, huh?

Empire of Bones
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red)

B-Bop wins the piloting duel.

The two battleships drift closer to the Empire of Bones.

As best they can, the ships fly evasively.

Remaining helm phase actions and Gunnery phase!

"Alright Jax, this is your time to shine. Line up your shot and let em have it."

If anyone wants to bot Jax, feel free. Otherwise I'm going to move that bonus to Bepo and move on by noon.

Empire of Bones (-68 rear shield)
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red) (0 rear shields, -72 HP)

Applying the remaining +10 bonus to Bepo's shot.

Also not sure which ship you're firing at; I applied to red, but I can swap to blue if preferred.

Both Jax and Bepo's shots rock the enemy battleship, destroying its rear shield and damaging the hull. Not quite CT though.

Both the battleships fire two torpedo's. All but one hit.

5d8 ⇒ (4, 5, 2, 6, 2) = 19
5d8 ⇒ (5, 5, 7, 1, 5) = 23
5d8 ⇒ (5, 7, 4, 4, 6) = 26

End round 1; Engineering phase!

"I'm gonna make use of the AI-assist on this, but I think I can manage to juice the engines, shields, and weapons."

1 of 4 computer node bonuses used for the round

Rags keeps trying to veil the ships with Mystic Haze.

Empire of Bones (64/64/64/65, -0 HP)
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red) (45/45/45/45, -72 HP)

Tiktik overpowers the shields, engines, and weapons. Talek rebalnces the engines.

Helm phase! Piloting check, and any other actions.

i know i'm a bit early here. not sure when i'll be able to post tomorrow, so wanted to get it in while i could.

"Keep it up Jax."

B-Bop runs his fingers across the maneuvering controls in a playful manner.

Hey, babe. Hey. Like ta dance? I wanna take ya out dancin' on dis date. I bet ya gots some sweet moves, yeah? Wanna show me whut'cha got, huh? Yeah, show me some'a yer hot jiggles, mmmmmm.

He activates the ship controls to send an additional boost through the piloting section of cyberzombies.

Using one of the four ship +10 node bonuses

Yeaaaah, shake yer money-maker, babe.

Empire of Bones (64/64/64/65, -0 HP)
Orphanmaker (Blue)
Dusk Blade (Red) (45/45/45/45, -72 HP)

B-Bop once again outflies the corpse fleet batteships, using a stunning series of maneuvers by complex activations of the Empire of Bones' lateral thrusters to twist like a snake in flight. The ships ancient superstructure groans in protest, but holds up fine.

The pilot of Dusk Blade executes an elegant turn, bringing its front arc to bear. The Orphanmaker's pilot isn't so skilled, and it begins to ponderously turn towards the Empire of Bones.

Starfinder's move, then Gunnery phase!

"Hey Bepo! I've got a crazy business idea if we make it out alive from this! Wanna hear it?!"

Yeah what is it Jax

"I was discussing an idea with B-bop a while back and I wasn't sure how to go about it. Seeing as we may not get the chance I figure I'd fill you in."

"So, we need to make an Energy Beverage line called UPLIFT ENERGY COLA! You can be the poster boy and we'll give you an awesome name. My vote is for Thunder MacKing! Even thought of an idea for your catch phrase... Drink UPLIFT ENERGY COLA! Lift it up!"

"The thought is we'd do best to market it towards military, athletes and maybe even other starfinders! So what are your thoughts?! That goes for everyone else too! We'll all have a roll in this!"

You know what Jax, if we survive this I will definitely give it a thought a we can all sit down and talk about it.

Bepo laughs

"That's the spirit! I would also like to mention that one of the flavors must be PEACH FUZZ with my face on the can!" Jax belts out a laugh.

The Empire of Bones speeds away from the battleships, and the rest of the Corpse Fleet, heading straight towards the planar gateway.

Jax's shot goes wide (nat 1, alas) but Bepo hits.

5d8 ⇒ (2, 7, 6, 2, 7) = 24

So running is a bad strategy here since your front guns like ridiculously outclass the battleships, and your essentially the same speed so they're going to be able to just fire at your rear arc repeatedly, especially once they drop enough shields to start firing the EMP cannons. These things can and will eventually destroy the Empire of Bones in a straight up fight like that.

However, it doesn't seem like anyone really wants a straight up starship fight here, so lets assume a concerted effort by you leaves the two ships damaged enough that they don't continue the fight.

The two battleships limp off. Dozens of smaller ships—hopelessly outclassed in a straight fight with the Empire of Bones, rush to catch up, perhaps hoping to board the ship and break into the bridge in time to stop their flagship from crashing into their prize weapon.

Starfinders, what would you like to do?

Would like to see if we can crash the Empire of Bones into the weapon while trying to escape to the Sunny.

Hey, y'all 'member da chunk'a rock dat Hardscrabble brought back an' it turned out ta be broke offa da big fragger here? Dat could be a good spot ta aim dis big boat, could be a weak spot? Can we try ta scan fer dat?

An' ya know, I really gots ta wonder if dat secret crate we wuz supposed ta get back on dat trip, if we'd took'a peek in it, an' da bonehead ambassador we wuz doin' it fer? Shadowin' like dis might'a not happened or we might'a hadda some warnin'.

Tiktik celebrates as they successfully fend off the Dusk Blade and the Orphanmakerm, then he responds to B-Bop, "Hmm, that's a good idea. I'll scan to see if I can find that weak point in the Stellar Degenerator. And don't get me started about that damn crate! I TOLD you guys we had to open it. If we die here, not knowing what was in there will be my one regret!"

I will do a sensor sweep of the degenerator to scan for that weakness, or any other to focus our point of collision.

computers w/ node bonus: 1d20 + 24 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 24 + 10 = 48

If you crash the Empire of Bones into the Stellar Degenerator, you don't think it will really matter where you put it.

"Well Tiktik, if you don't want any regrets, you'd better find out how much time we'll have to get to Sunny and/or the nearest escape pods once we have the ship on course for ramming!"

Jax takes a moment to gather his senses. All this talk of ramming this colossal ship into the Degenerator and yet the topic of shooting the damned thing with the main gun hasn't come up yet. After a few seconds of thought, he suggests...

"Now hold on a second here. Tiktik, is there any way you can siphon enough power into the main gun to try and blow this thing up that way, or at least leave it in a critical state to where it's bound to explode from the massive surge of damage?!" Jax states frantically, really hoping to get one last shot out of the main gun for he fears he may never get another chance to utilize a weapon of such size again, which is very clear to see on his face.

"Pah. Let's just kill two birds with one stone. This ship is too much for us to hold for very long. Let's proceed with the crash and burn plan and stick the Empire of Bones where the suns don't shine."

L turns and gives B-bop a wink and a thumbs up.

"I can't argue with that one bit!" he says as he starts furiously flipping switches, completely ignoring the crescendo of alarms.

I would like to use Miracle Worker to give the main cannon a +2 enhancement bonus to hit and damage for a minute. Then I'd like to further use divert to as much power as I can manage to the gun.

engineering with node bonus: 1d20 + 26 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 26 + 10 = 44

"Well L, worse comes to worse, we'll still end up doing that. For all I know, this may only put a scratch in it. Even if it does penetrate, the explosion from the Degenerator may be too great to even out run with this hulk."

"Thanks Tiktik! Now lemme just aim this sucker and make the shot count. If I'm lucky, maybe a few lesser bone ships will get caught in the beam! Here goes nothin!"

Jax takes a deep breathe as he dials in the Ultra Plasma Cannon, hands shaking with excitement. "I sometimes find myself to be an intimidating person, change the course of the situation with words and yelling. Well I'm all out of words, except for 3... 2... 1..."

Ultra Plasma Cannon: 1d20 + 17 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 17 + 10 + 2 = 469d6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 6, 6, 3, 2, 1, 5, 6, 6) + 2 = 40Target: Stellar Degenerator

so probably should've added the 2 after the calculation. After the ×10 should be 382 damage

The big cannon does little more than blacken the surface of the massive station.

Filled with shear excitement after firing the cannon, Jax now looks somewhat disappointed from the result.

"Well that felt good. Shame it did little to nothing to the station, which was honestly expected. I just hoped I'd at least put a scratch in it. Oh well..."

Jax stands up from his gunnery position.

"Well, I suppose it's high time we finish things here. Throw her in full throttle, lock the bridge and high tail it back to Sunny for an epic escape! Though, just incase that takes too long, is it possible to radio Sunny to take off and pick us up from an escape shuttle?"

"Yep, I see no other solution. Time to ram this sucker!"

does the electroencephalon allow the user to control the ship from outside of the bridge? If so, let's just high-tail it back to Sunny and pilot this thing into the degenerator while we ride the monorail of doom.

It grants you control over the ships computers, but won't let you perform starship actions outside of the bridge. That said, you don't need to actually actively piloting the thing to crash it into something, just point it the right direction.

Cool, well I think we are all in agreement that that is the plan. Do we need to make any checks to plot the course? I feel like you are expecting something more from us and I am not sure what it is. I'd be happy to hack into the ship's computer to block out anyone from tampering with our course once it is locked in. Perhaps even upload our favorite Akitonian persona...

Nope, I just haven't seen anyone say they are actually leaving the bridge in in-game text. The end of Waiting for Godot, but in space.

The course set, the Starfinders leave the bridge, locking the doors behind them. All around the Empire of Bones, the other ships of the Corpse Fleet are in chaos as the Empire's trajectory becomes clear. Dozens of smaller ships fly up, hoping to dock with the ultranought and somehow stop the ship before its cataclysmic crash. Others open fire on the flagship, although the smaller array of carriers, cruisers, and destroyers have little hope of destroying the massive ship.

Still others—likely piloted by cannier, more experienced personnel, quietly begin to withdraw, putting as much distance between them and the Gate of the Twelve Suns as possible.

More to come, but I've got some board gaming in my future this evening and may not get to post again until quite late.

As the Starfinders rush through the halls back to the train that can take them back to Sunny, they see panicked undead rushing about the ship. Automated alarms read out calm and dispassionate status updates on the ships hull integrity and shields.

On arriving at the train station, they see it deserted, save for a couple of ghouls, that carefully and slowly back away from the Starfinders, hands upraised.

"Ah... now this brings me back. Capture or kill the Captain of the flag ship and suddenly all their men either fear or respect you. Lucky for them I find it distasteful to gun them down were they stand. It's just not sportsman like. Can't say the same for some of the less merciful "friends" I had in the past."

Jax looks down at Tiktik "Well... maybe not as merciless as someone I know..."