Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
GM Nefreet wrote:
Merely a day goes by before the Sunrise Maiden unceremoniously exits the Drift with a jolt that spills your tea and an audible "POP!" as though you'd broken through some sort of sound barrier.
At this time Botamo is training in the rec suite when the ship jolts out of drift travel, knocking him off balance and faceplanting into the training mat,"Pea's and carrots, we're under attack!" he shouts out as he scrambles to his feet and begins running to the bridge.
"ALL HANDS TO THE BRIDGE!!! ALL HANDS TO THE BRIDGE!! ALL HA--" he stops yelling as he enters and sees the ring of stars on the viewscreen,"Ancestors..." he whispers in awe at the sight before him.
Kush the Kish wrote:
Kush remains speechless... Wow!
Beautiful.
"Aye... Thats one word for it, eh?" he says as he strains his eyes to understand what the computer is telling him,"Ardee... you said these symbols here mean no life on the planet," he asks has he scrolls through the first 11 planets,"Goodness! If i'm understanding this correct, one of these planets is full of life!"
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
”no, but I can see the text on this screen that says there are. At least it does if I’m reading it the way I think Ardee showed me to.” he says, a slight hint of doubt in his voice this time.
As you all gaze at the screen in wonderment, a trio of ships approaches from behind the jungle planet: one large ship and a pair of escorts. As they speed towards an intercept course 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, and shadows flit behind him as he babbles verbosely:
“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... RD-S2?? Is that you?? HaHA! No matter. I will sing when your bodies — and your shell — drift and twirl through the void, charred amid the tangled wreckage of your ship, and your journey to nothingness is nearly complete!”
You recognize this human as the "Jangly Man", the cult's charismatic recruiter who lures and entices most of the fodder-level adherents. He is second in charge of the Desperate Hunger sect that you had infiltrated, and it seems he hasn't forgotten you. For decades, he was a renowned pirate captain, but then he heard the call of the Devourer from the void, driving him mad. He joined the Cult and orchestrated a massive raid on an ATech shipyard several years ago, securing new vessels for the "cause". The larger ship is his personal prize, an ATech Bulwark named the Singularity, the very ship that landed on the Kish planet.
Having worked alongside him you realize his gibbering contains coded orders to his crew and those flying the fighter escorts. The code is tricky and hard to decipher, and you have never been able to pick up on it. You doubt any of these Kish you are traveling with would be able to discern it, either, but you know that this code always means he's about to attack!
The vessels take offensive postures and power up their weapons; you are about to begin your first Starship Combat!
During lower level Starship Combats it's fine to do the "everyone spoilers their actions" game, but at this point facing becomes really crucial and modifying a Pilot's rolls may adjust initiative, so I want to try doing a more traditional block Initiative for this fight.
Engineers will go first, Pilots and Science Officers second, Gunners third and Captains during whatever phase they wish; no need to spoiler your rolls. I have linked the Sunrise Maiden's stats below for reference. Let's see how this works!
LN Male Kish Mystic (Healer) Dream Prophet of Talavet (12th) | EAC: 27 , KAC: 29 , DR: 9/- , Resist: 5/Fire & Cold | (+1 vs. ongoing effects:) Fort: +7, Ref: +8, Will: +14 | SP: 120/120, HP: 77/77, RP: 6/12 | Perc: +24 (Darkvision) | Init: +4 | Speed: 30 ft. | Active conditions:Healer's Bond
Great images!
__________________
Kush's jaw snaps back closed as he sees goes from awe to fear upon seeing the three starships.
"Quick, to the life boats!"
He is ready to rush to the escape pods.
Kush only has his +4 Dex to use w. a gun.
So, if there is a weapon nobody w. any skill is using, he can do that, otherwise he can watch.
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
Speed 6; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 2
AC 22; TL 20
HP 170; DT —; CT 34
Shields medium 90 (forward 24, port 22, starboard 22, aft 22)
Complement minimum 6, maximum 20
Power Core Arcus Maximum (200 PCU)
Attack (Forward) particle beam (8d6)
Attack (Forward) heavy laser cannon (4d8)
Attack (Turret) high explosive missile launcher (4d8)
Additionally, RD-S2 realizes that the Singularity's comm system was subject to a factory recall because of its vulnerability to hacking.
New Science Officer Action available: HACK ARRAY
Hacking the communications array requires an additional successful scan action against the Singularity (which also reveals any information about the starship it would normally reveal). Maintaining this open channel requires no further actions and allows listening in to transmissions between the enemy vessels.
One missile goes flying off away from the combat, one missile is mere yards away from your ship, one plows into your shields with a very loud explosion before a particle beam follows suit and tears an equally big hole; but your shields hold.
Literally worst time to roll two crits >.>
ROUND 2
BOLD MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Engineer Captain?
Pilot
Science
Gunner
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
WELL WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR GOING KUSH!?? GET ON THAT AEON CASTER AND FIRE!!" Botamo yells as Kush once again abandons his post.
Botamo can't fail to encourage Kush to shoot the Aeon caster, so +2 if Kush returns to the bridge.
LN Male Kish Mystic (Healer) Dream Prophet of Talavet (12th) | EAC: 27 , KAC: 29 , DR: 9/- , Resist: 5/Fire & Cold | (+1 vs. ongoing effects:) Fort: +7, Ref: +8, Will: +14 | SP: 120/120, HP: 77/77, RP: 6/12 | Perc: +24 (Darkvision) | Init: +4 | Speed: 30 ft. | Active conditions:Healer's Bond
"We are not abandoning the ship? Oh?!
We could just get in the escape pods..."
Shrugging, Kush trudges back to the gunnery array.
"So, by Talavet, how does this work...?"
Kush uses the mystical aspect of the weapons to align the port-side gun with the big ship, and although it is far away, he is bolstered by Botamo's words.
Kush fires!
Aeon Caster w. Mysticism, Wisdom, Range penalty, Encouraged:1d20 + 10 + 6 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 6 - 2 + 2 = 21 Boom?:3d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 3) = 7
Kush looks around: "Did I hit something?"
RD-S2 successfully hacks the enemy comms, discovering that the Singularity is in constant contact with the two Fang Fighters. These transmissions are not coded, and in them, the Jangly Man gives orders to his fighter escorts.
As a result, Gunnery checks against the Devourer ships gain a +1 bonus as long as the comm remains open, and Piloting checks gain a +1 bonus to perform the Evade stunt.
In the first transmission you also overhear, “We must destroy them. The boss says none can be allowed to interfere with the plan.”
Other results of the scan wrote:
Attack (Aft) coilgun (4d4)
Expansion Bays cargo holds (4)
Cargo each cargo bay is packed full with spare starship guns, engine components and hull materials (equating to 40 build points worth of upgrades)
**Scan complete**
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
"Just lead them a bit more eh Kush?" Botamo says.
Auto succeed DC 15 Diplomacy to encourage. Kush has a +2 to hit this round.
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
Botamo rolls his 3 eyes,"Forget about the lifeboats and just keep firing in the same spot that Thyrm does!!
The comms continue to crackle, but this communication doesn't appear directed at the two Fang Fighters, "Our ship’s gettin’ pushed through the Blood Door, boss! The interlopers are tougher than I thought! I'm sendin' out for more choirs to aid us. Slit their throats! Feast on their remains! Devourer consume them!”
New Science Officer Action available: JAM SIGNAL
The Singularity is sending out a narrow spectrum distress call. Science Officers can attempt a Computers check to intercept the message and make it seem as though it was received by the intended recipient.
With two well-placed shots the Singularity is summarily decommissioned!
Balancing the Maiden's shields gives you the time you need to deal with the two remaining fighters, who despite their size and small armaments are no less fanatical, but it's simply mopping the floor at this point.
STARSHIP COMBAT OVER!!
You realize your dilemma now is the signal that the Singularity sent before it lost power. There are at least a dozen Devourer ships somewhere out there, and it's no telling how long until they'll arrive or how much firepower they'll bring.
RD-S2:
You've worked on the Singularity before, and you understand their communication systems. If you board the ship, you believe you could jury-rig an "all clear" signal that might either prevent more ships from arriving or at least give you more time to explore the star systems before they arrive.
“We need to get to that ship now. I need to turn off that distress signal and put up an all clear.” RD-S2 quickly disconnects from the from their station and starts getting their combat gear in order.
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
Kush the Kish wrote:
»Let us not take my escape pod to go over there... »
"Oh that's a hum dinger there Kush, boarding on an escape pod hehe; Shandi, take us alongside her and extend the boarding tube. The rest of you lot, Gear up! Then meet me at the airlock." Botamo barks, some excitement in his eye at the thought of meeting the cultist in combat face to face.
"I will accompany you - there may still be some of the Devils left alive on what remains of their Iron Cloud, and they will need to be sent to meet *their* ancestors..."
Athletics +19, Bluff +10, Culture +14, Diplomacy +20, Life Science +12, Mysticism +16, Perception +10; (reduce the DC of Life Science checks to identity rare creatures by 5)
"Take 'er in at the Cargo bay airlock Mister Shandi, we'll load out there and get our bearings, eh?"
f CG human Wizard 4 | HP 26/26 | AC 16 [BS 20] | Saves: Str -1, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +2, Cha +0 | Perc 12 | Invest 16 | Init +3 | Spells: I (3/4) II (2/3) | Shield + | Arcane Recovery + | Bladesong (2/2) | Darkvision
- We hope some of this demons are still alive there. We want personal contact.
