[SFS_Aerondor] 01-17 Reclaiming the Time-Lost Tear (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

"The objects are now worth more as they have moved from a common commodity to a rare one, loss and damage whittling the numbers over time. Whilst you are correct that they would still function as intended as a childs plaything, you miss that the value to a collector of historian transitions them from a mere plaything to a historical artefact" Viper shrugs.

Beta tries to assess what size of creature the nest seems made for.
And if it looks old and unused, or still cared for.
But it does not much about nests anyhow...
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Survival, trained: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

0:03
The ceilings are about 20' tall everywhere. The whole place is built to a larger than human scale.

Sev hovers over the water. His keen sight makes it clear the water is not very deep, merely a few centimetres.

Pangea has no idea what type of creature would make a nest like this. A bird maybe? But on an airless moon? The darkness all around seems to close in around the group

Status
Viper 29/34HP; Radiated(weakened: -2 to CON related stuff)
Pangea (armor sufficient to make immune to radiation)
Bugface 29/36HP
Sev+ 33/40HP
Remi 29/34HP

 »So, can we move in there, Sev? »

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (14) + 0 = 14

/}}I perceive no threats or hazards at present.}} Sev responds over the telepathic link.

0:04
Armor lights piercing the darkness, the starfinder team cautiously enters the room.

Beta prods at the nest, noticing some discarded skin that has a silvery hue - along with several rotting feathers.

Lines of light in the darkness reveals that the water seems to flow in a slow, brackish manner, out of the small room to the east...

{Whatever it is, Bugface thinks it's in there.}
Bugface points at, and walks towards, the other door in the room. Bugface pulls their arc rifle and holds it at the ready.

Beta points to the skin... "What's this?"
no Life Science

"Ready to go through?"

Prodding open the door, keen eyes and helmet mounting lights probe the horrors beyond.

Sluggish water drifts over your suited feet, which you are thankful are at least dry as the two intrepid leaders scan for the frightful fiend that must lurk within.

The room itself... appears to have once been a bathroom of sorts. A massive bathtub leaks water. It appears there is a steady stream of water still flowing into it from a tap. Who can tell what might lurk within its Stygian depths? Built for larger creatures, neither Pangea nor Bugface can see easily over the edge.

Perhaps even worse though is seen as they scan to the right. A toilet cubical. Uncleaned for only Triune knows how long. Just as well your suit's have their own air supply, you're pretty sure you wouldn't want to be breathing what passes for air in here.

Life Science: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32

"The discarded dermal tissue appears to be amphibious in nature. The feathers, however, are indicative of a water fowl." notes Sev.

Pangea moves up, and peers through the door.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
"I can toss a smoke grenade in there, try to flush out anything that breathes... it's an underwater grenade."

{If you have a grenade to spare, go for it.}

Bugface tries to get a good look as well.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

"Okay... smoke in the watery hole!"
Pangea pulls out a smoke grenade, specially made to function underwater, and tosses it in the back of the room.
vs. AC 5: 1d20 + 6 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 6 = 24
No idea how Underwater works with the smoke etc..
Underwater property: no penalty to attack & full damage
But I have Underwater on all the weapons.

0:005
Pangea tosses the grenade into the bath. After a moment thick greasy smoke starts to bubble out of the bath. But nothing comes out with it...Whatever is hiding in that bath... it's made of stern stuff.

The thick smoke masks everything else in the room however. Anyone who had glanced at the toilet might almost think that a small mercy.

More alarming perhaps is the sheer volume of smoke that is generated. It quickly fills the tub, the bathroom and starts spreading into the "nest" room.

20'radius smoke grenade, indoors, is a big area.

"Nothing coming out... we can just wait a minute till the smoke dissipates, and then go check."

And after a minute the smoke does indeed dissipate, removed by whatever mechanical wonder serves to keep the air here somewhat clean.

The tall, menacing bathtub remains an obstinate mystery, with water continuing to overflow from it, and run across the bathroom floor and into the nest area, down the stairs and then drain away..somewhere.

Viper moves in to investigate, blade in hand...

Viper's feet make little ripples in the puddle as she approaches the massive bath. <splish> <splosh> <splish>, the sounds she makes are almost toy-like.

Standing up on tip toes, she peers into the dark, smoky waters. Within there is something that looks humanoid... is it moving? No... just the current from that tap, surely...

Viper draws her tactical baton in the other hand, and prods at the form with that...

The form doesn't move. Well, it floats gently away from her. Definitely humanoid, and large. And definitely no longer moving.

Water continues to run down the side of the bath as Viper tugs the body, for surely that is what it is, over the side. With a disgusting flip it splats nosily, and messily onto the floor.

At this stage, while technically it is a body, it becomes evident that it is more skeleton than body, as most of the flesh is well gone. More interestingly, the body is still wearing some type of visor with buttons on one side of it.

At least you know why they stopped cleaning the toilet.

Medicine - Take 10

"This unlucky person had their head caved in, something did this to them" Viper checks the visor "Wonder what this is? Some sort of artificial visual-aid? Augmented reality device?"

Will remove it if it appears otherwise safe to do so

Intense... good thing Beta does not breath else it would exhale!
 »Is this skeleton fitting to those who we know inhabit the planet? »

It does look safe to remove the visor. Safe, but pretty gross. I mean, that is a decaying head you are talking about.

The dead creature was probably once an izalguun. A detailed medical examination may reveal more of course. But it is dark, damp and disgusting.

stuff I forgot earlier: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Pangea asks: "Remember when we first entered through the airlock after going over our makeshift wire across the chasm? Did you notice those hidden turrets for defence? They were not firing, presumably due to the successful bypass on the terminal... but we must be careful of traps and such in here I guess. Be more cautious.
Shall we inspect this body? Or move on?"

Pangea's words echo in the darkness. As he speaks the trickle of muddy water continues to flow, almost as if the baths life blood were slowly running away.

Viper drops the body back into its watery grave.

Wasn't sure if it was important, was thinking it might be a controller or something :)

"Wasn't killed recently anyway, must have been in that water hole a while"

It did look high tech. Did you take the visor or leave it behind? Unless you want to try and press a Large decomposing body over your shoulders, getting it back into the bath will be difficult.

Oh well may as well grab the visor if it looks high tech, I just get the vibe it is some sort of control or mcguffin for later - Flash Gordon style. I could just be on a tangent though, it has been a long week

Well, there are a number of buttons on the side. Who knows what they might do?

The water continues to trickle out of the bath, over the floor, and down into darkness past the nest. What do you all do?

"We need to check the latrines more?"
Pangea has quick poke and look... puke.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Then, if nothing, Pangea will move to the other door to the south, and check it for traps.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

The toilet is disgusting. Looks like, well... lets just no go there.

Turning to the much more salubrious route to the south. These are barred by a pair of large doors that are secured shut.

Of course a skilled engineer would probably be able to open them with little trouble. Or failing that, blunt force trauma works as well on doors as it does on heads.

{Allow Bugface.}

Bugface starts taking things apart and putting them back together to try to get the door open.

Engineering: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25

"We need to check the latrines more?"

"Waste is a terrible thing to mind." Sev deadpans. He flies back to the entrance and looks across the way.

0:06
Bugface quickly finds the wires that lead to the magnets holding the doors shut. One snip in the dark later and and doors swing open.

Within in a mess.

A large computer mainframe stands against the area’s eastern wall, its guts exposed and several of its components sprawled throughout the room amid a layer of junk. Opposite this computer is a collapsed hallway, its chunks of concrete adding to the debris. Double doors stand in the north wall and the south wall, although the southern exit is partially concealed behind piles of trash.

This room is difficult terrain due to the debris.

With the duration of his spell limited, Sev flies over the debris to the mainframe. If it looks as though it myself still function, he attempts to activate it.
Computers: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17

Beta steps into the room, testing the crunchy stuff under feet, and looking around, to have Sev's back.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

0:08
Sev has a quick look at the mainframe. It definitely is not operational. He thinks with about an hours work he might be able to reapir it. Engineering check would be required, not computers

The junk is piled quite high in the room, and it would also take about an hour for PAngea to clear enough of the junk away to get to the doors leading south. Assistance would reduce this (but not in a linear fashion).

While poking around, Pangea also notices a concealed door in the southern wall. It too is quite covered with junk.

Pangea glances at the double doors in the south wall: "A lot of work there, we can see about that later?"

Then the android looks at the concealed door in the southern wall, to see if that too is as hard to clear up, or easier?

Pangea estimates it would only be about ten minutes work to clear the secret door if the whole team bent to the effort.

"So... I'd say we clear this up. I do not see where else we could go, or am I forgetting something?"

Well there are the misty depths... They look inviting. Which door are you aiming to uncover first? The secret one?

Ten minuts seems better than an hour, how are our radiation buttons looking?

There is radiation all through the complex. It doesn't seem as... lethal as you would expect (i.e. you are not making Fort saves every minute) but it is still strong, and you doubt protracted lingering would be healthy).

Ten minutes is just for the secret door, it would be longer to clear the main doors.

Bugface gets to work moving junk out from in front of the hidden door.

"Bugface is door opener. Pangea-Beta will help Bugface."
Beta starts moving rubble too, to get to the hidden door.

Remi carefully picks her way across the room and joins in the effort to clear the concealed doorway. "I wish we had known there would be high levels of radiation before we came," she grumbles as she shifts aside part of the pile of garbage. "It's frustrating that we can't take our time and do a more thorough exploration of what they have here." She thinks back to the disgusting lavatory to the north. "On the other hand, maybe it's better not to look too closely at some things."

0:18
The groups sets to work clearing the entrance to the secret door. And many hands do lead to light work. Pretty soon it is clear, and you activate the hidden panel.

This room, like the others, is dark. Torches set up pools of light, and cross the room like searchlights. Quickly you get a feel of the place, which is not such a mess as the rest of the level.

Six serpentine cables slither forth from a squat pillar in the center of this room. Tread marks and the stench of lubricants mar this otherwise pristine chamber.

Several inert robots stand here.

"By Triune! Maybe they are sentient...?"
Pangea looks around--
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
--before stepping in.

Remi's eyebrows raise. "Now that's interesting. What are these and why keep them in a concealed room?"

Remi does not even look around but approaches the nearest robot and tries to examine it.

Engineering: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32 (Extra +2 if it counts as identifying a creature)

Pangea notices that the robots have both armor and weapons integrated to them. Remithinks that with a bit of work they could be removed. Maybe quarter of an hour per robot.
She also notices there is also an attachment cable, which might allow a skilled hacker to download any information they had..