"You have my word that I will not interfere with your efforts," the human says. "I simply will not assist you. Assuming that you comply with standard interstellar customs regarding surrender and do not plan to murder me, I will give no resistance."
You pass out of the science lab into what was once several different spaces. However, the damage to the ship is significant here and has ruined many of the walls. The central engineering bay is opened to the kitchen, bathrooms, and smaller cargo holds. Through here, you are able to access the bridge.
A massive slab of debris has crashed through the hull here. Black computer screens occupy each of the three crew stations, while large viewports light up the bridge with the aurora of the roiling planar chaos. A table surrounded by haphazard chairs stands on the starboard side.
You search the bridge for any sign of the relic, and it seems that it is not here. Just before you all give up in frustration, Buscador notices a seam in the back of the captain's chair. After some careful scrutiny, you find a mechanism to open a hidden compartment under the chair.
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"May I?" Lightfoot asks as he reaches for the strange orb. Noting the grime, he opens his medkit and removes a disinfectant wipe and attempts to remove the grime covering the object before in order to better determine its nature and purpose.
"There." he says. "It just required a little extra attention."
Solis finds that the ship's bridge computer is bricked due to the damage it sustained. Maybe with a fully functional computer repair workshop, she might be able to find some viable packets in time, but for now whatever data was stored on the main drives is lost.
Similarly frustrating, the sphere yields no clue to its origin or function. It certainly appears synthetic give its perfect shape, but try as you might, you can find no seam or indication that it contains anything inside or gives off any sort of energy.
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Solis kicks the computer console in frustration, her mote flaring a bit as she does.
"Stupid inert lump of .... pronking fleem" she mutters to herself before stalking out of the bridge to see what else she can find.
"There must be some sort of ... clue somewhere to what Triune wanted us to find." she continues as she start rummaging through debris.
Solis finds nothing else in the bridge. The prisoner smirks as she throws a tantrum.
Returning to the engineering bay to search, you find scattered throughout the debris a copy of the board game Imperial Conquest, a portable drum kit, a minor muon crystal, and a datapad. The open access portion of the datapad identifies it as the captain's datapad, and you can easily access his logs.
The most pertinent log reads, "We have barricaded ourselves in the bridge, but I fear it is only a matter of time before we are overrun. The crew and I are prepared for our final stand. Despite its sad state, the Amber Reconnoiter is still our ship—we will not give in."
Hacking into the secure partition on the pad reveals a file detailing the location of a mysterious artifact that was recovered and is hidden in a secret compartment in the base of the captain's chair.
Continuing on to search the crew quarters, you find a datapad. This appears to be the gunner's, Kandra's, datapad. The last log reads, "Fought this unknown ship for a bit before they realized most of our weapons aren’t working. They circled around our weakest side and unleashed a full salvo. We’re sunk."
Hacking into the secure partition, you find a file with a passcode to a safe.
Under one of the bunks, you find a lockbox. The code from the gunner's datapad does not work, but the code from the engineer's log that you found earlier does the trick. Inside are several personal effects belonging to the strix gunner, a nightvision scope, and a credstick with 300 credits loaded onto it.
Buscador sets off a 'trap' when he opens the door to the science lab. A malfunctioning decontamination suite buffets him harmlessly with air as he passes the threshold. A thorough search of the lab reveals nothing of outstanding significance. There are a few chemicals on the table that would be best not mixed together lest they react explosively.
You head back to the gunnery station in search of a keypad for the code you found. It is difficult searching again; everything seems the same. However, Delea stumbles upon a hidden keypad integrated on the floor near the gunner's cockpit. You try out the code that you found on the datapad and hear a pneumatic hiss. A panel on the wall has slid open. Inside you find a holographic display rendering family photos of a strix family. There is also a small, opalescent crest that occasionally glows with faint wisps of energy .
Having searched the derelict bow to aft, collected the mysterious relic, and secured a prisoner, you decide that you have uncovered all that Triune intended you to find. The elemental debris field has shifted during you time inside the Amber Reconnoiter, and the space walk back to your ship is far less perilous.
The relic resists whatever you throw at it in any attempts to crack it open or determine its make-up or contents on your multi-week journey back to Absalom Station.
Naiaj and MP-8 meet you in the Starscape Chamber of the Lorespire Complex after your return.
MP-8 wheels up to the artifact and examines it, feeling around its sides. Its eye dims in concentration for a moment, and then its eye reactivates with an air of disappointment. “Strange. This artifact has been lost for so long, one would think its technologies would be rudimentary at best, but there seems to be some sort of advanced, multilayered encryption protecting whatever is inside. What could it be...?”
MP-8 backs away from the artifact. “This is beyond my capabilities to handle. I suppose we will have to table the analysis for the time being.” It turns to Naiaj. “I trust that the church will be able to count on the Society on this matter again in the future? It is a bit disturbing to me that a Society vessel on the brink of death would be so cavalier as to simply vacuum up such an important relic without a thought.”
Naiaj bristles but then closes her eyes and sighs. “I find it disturbing that you would disrespect the memory of the crew without a thought, given that without their sacrifice, we wouldn’t even have this relic in the first place.” She reopens her eyes and bears a tight-lipped smile. “But I suppose that’s neither here nor there at this point. We have the relic now, and believe me, we are just as interested as you in this find, if not more so. I suppose we have no choice but to work together again. The Society will keep the relic safe in the meantime.”
MP-8 nods. “Until we meet again.”