"This system is very anomalous. The gravitational instability could prove hazardous. These Stars should have been thrown from the system, not perfectly aligned. There are strange powers at work here."
Talek resumes his post at the science officers station and at the information from rags begins scanning the system
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L steps onto the bridge moving in a shaky manner, his hue shifted to a dark orange.
”Has Sunny been... checked out recently? I think she tried to kill me. I went to take a bath and she recommended a” the Stellifera raises his fingers and makes air quotes to emphasize the words. ”’bubble bath’. I assumed she meant introducing a stream of oxygenation into the pool to agitate the water and infuse it with the gas. No. Instead she put chemicals in there that foamed all over the surface. I nearly drown in the stuff. Horrible.”
He shakes his head as his sits in his chair, looking warily at the console.
”So, big stars that shouldn’t be here eh Rags. Not like we haven’t seen strange already on this trip, but let’s keep an eye out, yes?”
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Each star is remarkably clear of planetesimals, comets, really any debris—the space around each star is remarkably similar to particularly empty patches of the interstellar medium. A single planet orbits each sun, all remarkably similar in size and composition. The orbits appear to be in sync, so that the planets all face the interior of the stellar ring at the same time. The planets aren't tidally locked to their respective stars.
The gravitational forces involved seem to be under the control of a series of technomagical devices placed on each planet. These forces make piloting a ship inside the system difficult and using the Drift impossible.
Eleven of the planets are lifeless rocks, containing only technological installations, while one has a breathable atmosphere and is teeming with life. A single intact structure can be detected on that planets surface.
Bursts of gravitational waves seem to emit from each planet periodically as the mechanism that keeps the system gravitationally bound. These seem to be emanating from kilometer-long cosmic strings in the interior of each planet. These topological defects caused by symmetry breaking during the universes inflationary epoch have been observed before, but never so many in such a small volume of space, and never manipulated intentionally by a galactic civilization.
"I'm not a betting man, but I'd be willing to wager we need to make ourbway to the planet with an atmosphere. B-bop, this system will require your piloting skills to navigate safely. Show us how its done, my friend."
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Punch it B-Bop!
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The sensor data didn't lie, travel within the system is rather difficult, with the ship being buffeted by unpredictable gravitational waves.
Despite the rather concentrated mass of the system, it will still take days to reach the inhabited planet.
As the Sunrise Maiden approaches the world on the fourth day, they will see a trio of ships break orbit and approach at high speed. The comm channels screech to life, and a gaunt man leers toward the camera lens. His skin is dark but is made nearly iridescent by a swirl of glowing nanites. Long, silver dreadlocks and an unkempt charcoal-colored beard frame his face. The distortion of the lens puts a shade of menace to the man’s movements and appearance.
“Are you ready for the end?” The question hisses out from a mouth of brown crooked teeth; a yellowish, soapy spittle flies forth with every syllable uttered. “I am the agent of oblivion! I am the fang of the Devourer! I am the herald of annihilation. I will sing when your bodies—then only shells— drift and twirl through the void, charred amid the tangled wreckage of your ship, and your journey to nothingness is nearly complete!”
"Oh boy! Let's see what you can do with your shiny new toys, Sunny!"
"B-Bop, here comes some extra thrust!"
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Sunrise Maiden
??? Large Ship
Blue fighter
Red Fighter
Engineering Phase
Tiktik routes power to the engines, and Talek scans the larger of the opposing ships.
Helm Phase
B-Bop wins the piloting check. The two fighters spread out slightly as the fly forward, while the larger freighter moves directly at them.
Rags peers into the future to aid B-Bop.
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Sunrise Maiden -50 port shields
??? Large Ship
Red Fighter
Gunnery Phase
A missile flies from a turret on the blue fighter, slamming into Sunny's port arc.
Another missile flies from the red fighter, hitting Sunny.
A third missile fires from the large freighter.
This missile fails to lock on to Sunny and flies off harmlessly away from the system.
Sunny returns fire and both Jax and Bepo hit, blowing up the fighter!
<Oh ho ho ho ho! Wowee, that was great!> Tiktik celebrates over the comm.
"Who's a badass? My baby's a badass! Yes she is. Let's show 'em what else you can do!" he says to himself, while also hoping that Sunny herself is listening.
He switches back on the comm and announces, <Time to show off the new power core. If this works everybody can look forward to a nice power surge!>
balancing our shields. if successful should have 125 in each arc.
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Sunrise Maiden -8 all shields
??? Large Ship
Red Fighter
Tiktik reroutes power to the shileds, engines, and weapons, and Talek rebalances the shields evenly.
B-Bop wins the piloting duel. The engineer on the larger ship must have done something to increase its maneuverability.
Both the pilots wheel evaseively, keeping their distance from Sunny.
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Sunrise Maiden -8 all shields except starboard (-25)
??? Large Ship
B-Bop pilots Sunny neatly behind the freighter.
The fighter fires another missile at Sunny.
But the missile flies off harmlessly.
The freighter fires a missile from its own turret, and a coilgun fires from the aft arc.
Only the missile hits, and it fails to make much of a dent in Sunny's shields.
In return, both Jax and Bepo hit the remaining fighter, which implodes under the assault of the two big guns.
<Waaaahooooo! Splash number two. We've got 'em on the run now! I'm gonna keep Sunny's juices flowin'!>
On it B-Bop.
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Sunrise Maiden -8 all shields except starboard (-25)
??? Large Ship
Tiktik fails to boost Sunny's systems, but Rags manages to provide some timely advice to B-Bop, and Talek scans the other ship.
He discovers it has an aft coilgun and a turret missile launcher. He also discovers that the ship is using a seriously outdated communications system, allowing him to easily hack into it. The ship seems to be sending uncoded messages to...well, somewhere—determining exactly where the message is being sent is difficult, due to the system's gravitational anomalies.
"Ship's about to be pushed through the Blood Door, boss! They're stronger than we thought—may the Devourer consume them! I'm sending out a long-range transmission for more choirs to come, slit their throats and feast on their remains!"
Even if you destroy the ship quickly, it may not be fast enough to stop the signal from being sent out. However, getting aboard that ship and hacking their comms might give you the chance to send out a false all-clear signal, which might prevent other Devourer ships from heading to this system.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!" the frantic ysoki shouts over the warning klaxon coming from engineering.
<Umm, everything's fine. Super fine back here. I just umm... burnt some toast in the mess hall. Yep, better get that, sorry...> he says as he switches off his commlink and puts out the small fire after he overloaded Sunny's circuits.
"I'm sorry, sweetie! Are you okay? Tell me you're okay!" he pleads with the ship.
captain I recommend boarding the vessel. They sent out a distress signal calling for reinforcements. If we can get access i can probably hack their comms and we can try to cancel the call for aid
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"HARR HARR HARR! You hear that B-bop!? Aim for their air lock! Time to show them they messed with the wrong starship! Has anyone ever done a B&E with an enemy ship before?!"
Jax pauses for a moment... "Oh! We could always try blasting the airlock and suck out the crew! I've always wanted to try that one! That's a damn tough shot to make though!"
"Though my field experience was lacking when we first met, I have been trained at the Citadel for just such operations. Lets board them and take one alive, if possible, for interrogation. "
”Seems like a plan, let’s see if we can make it happen”
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Sunrise Maiden -8 all shields except starboard (-25) and front (-22)
24/0/22/22, -53 Large Ship, Engines Glitching
Both turrets hit the freighter, blasting through the starboard shields and battering the ships hull. The ship's engines begin exhibiting power surges.
The missile hits Sunny's front shields but fails to do much to them.
<I better play it safe. Sunny is refusing to talk to me after that last stunt.>
Targeting their engines.