Ordyt slowly rises from his position, frowning. I don't care to fight anything just because this creature says we should, he whispers over the comms as he follows Connors through the door.
Ordyt slowly rises from his position, frowning. I don't care to fight anything just because this creature says we should, he whispers over the comms as he follows Connors through the door.
Sammad glances at Ordyt, then whispers to him. "I only promised that nuisance a solution, so I'll do my best to resolve this without bloodshed. We've done well so far, and I intend to keep it up."
Conners allows himself a small smile, pleased his performance was so convincing. He maintains his threatening swagger until the door closes behind them.
Over the comms, Mari says "Me neither, but after this I get the feeling nobody here is going to be quite as grateful to us as we thought."
With a very smug crystal-winged creature bobbing in the air behind you, you turn your attention to the southern door. Flint touches it and it irises open.
The aft chamber is full of machinery, tools, and diagnostic gear for servicing and supporting the massive twin reactors in this room. From the large bore pipes and heavy cabling, these reactors are connected to engines right underneath your feet. Each of the reactors lies in its own circular bay, one to the starboard side and one to the port. The port-side reactor sparks and smokes ominously, its strangely alien electronics completely burned out. The one to the starboard side is much more intact, retaining a loud hum as it operates, though it hasn't come through the earlier battle unscathed.
Tie-downs and slick-strips designed to secure objects during zero-G maneuvers line the walls and worktables, but much of the gear is scattered across the floor. Large and prominent pieces of equipment are also very seriously damaged and likely inoperable, though their function is not obvious upon casual inspection.
Flint and Ordyt lead the way forward. As they advance into the room, they hear a rustling noise from the starboard reactor. From the far side of the reactor emerges an unarmed, unarmored, green-skinned masculine humanoid whose black and orange hair floats as if in zero-G. You lock eyes for a moment, before the green humanoid's gaze turns to one of pure rage.
It wails in Common "YOU! You did this to my beautiful reactor cores! You are monsters! Fiends! I won't let you finish the job!!!"
----
---
|||| INIT ||||
Flint
Ordyt
Sammad
Belmarniss
??? Green Humanoid
Marisol
The players in bold are up and can act.
Darting into the room, Ordyt draws his tactical pike. With a metallic shhlik-click the polymer haft telescopes out and locks into place. The oread flourishes the weapon but doesn't attack, instead holding out a hand in a 'halt' gesture.
"We are not enemies! We helped to slay the monster that attacked your ship, and merely wished to help anyone on board!"
Sammad strides up, a step behind Ordyt. With his right hand on his zero pistol, he glances to Ordyt and begins to speak.
"My friend speaks truth! We do not wish to fight you...please listen to us!"
Lowering his blade and making sure the door shuts behind him, Flint speaks quietly but firmly, ”We risked our lives and our ship to keep that inferno whale from ripping this ship apart. Show some respect to the ambassador and listen to reason!”
Flint has seen this kind of unreasoning anger before. Perhaps the gentle approach will work, but more often a sharp dose of fear was needed to counteract the rising rage...
Ordyt and Sammad find their pleas for reason falling on deaf ears as the green humanoid's sorrowful rage gives him a single-minded hostility. Flint's firmer approach produces a fraction of hesitation, but nowhere near enough to dislodge this creature from its warpath.
All three realize that the creature has thrown itself headlong into attacking - diplomatic or intimidating efforts to halt it at this point are almost doomed to fail. However, if you had more time to talk to it (such as if it were restrained), you might be able to get through to it. In particular, it seemed as though Flint's intimidating approach had more of an effect.
Flint moves forward, stepping carefully to avoid the arranged tools he saw earlier until he is adjacent to the crazed creature. The light in his steel gray eyes marginally increases (attune to photon). He makes sure his weapon is set to "stun" and holds it at the ready--if this creature initiates an attack of some kind, he will swing (readied action).
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"I can't believe the lot of you just prostrated yourselves to that thing like a bunch of temps!" Belmarniss grouses as they leave. "You people have ANY dignity?!"
On the way, she snaps her fingers at a panel on the wall, generating a pile of electronics scrap on the floor.
Then she thrusts her hand into the pile and draws a magnificent-looking sword out of it, something that doesn't look like it could have come from so small a pile. Its long blade appears to have been fashioned out of green printed circuitboard with a wicked hook forking off from the blade near the tip, the circuit paths glistening with magic, while the hilt appears to be formed from aluminum and copper heat sinks with a grip that resembles a bundle of twisting wires, capped with a cooling fan for a pommel.
When they arrive, Belmarniss doesn't see anything out of the ordinary until they're accosted by the strange entity. Immediately she raises her sword defensively and while the others talk, she marches in and moves to flank Flint.
"We have him pinned in there. If he tries anything, he's got nowhere to go!"
---
The creature carefully draws away from the group with a guarded step and places one hand on the reactor and extends the other hand towards Flint and Belmarniss. A wave of scorching, blistering heat engulfs the two of them!
The green humanoid stands protectively next to the reactor. His eyes flit between the weapons in your hands. "No! Leave me and my reactor alone! You've already taken the other one - this is all I have left!!" Like a cornered animal, he seems even more determined to prevent any of you approaching closer.
|||| INIT ||||
Marisol
Flint (save?)
Ordyt
Sammad
Belmarniss (save?)
??? Green Humanoid
Everyone is up!
...not the most agile of people in any case, Flint takes the full brunt of the wave of heat as it blows through the environmental protection of his suit and raises blisters on his skin.
Striding forward, the glimmer in Flint's eyes increases (photon attunement 2), and he attempts to take down this creature non-lethally, saddened that it has come to this but determined to prevail!
Sammad almost smirks watching as Belmarniss nimbly avoids the brunt of the flames, but gasps as he watches Flint take a direct hit! "Captain!" he cries out.
He draws his pistol, holding it two-handed and drawing a bead on their attacker.
He fairly snarls as he pulls the trigger, "That is ENOUGH!"
Momentarily caught off guard by all the sudden shouting, Mari is brought back to reality by the fiery explosion. She runs into the room and takes cover behind some equipment before designating the humanoid as a target for her exocortex.
As the jet of flame sprays into the room Ordyt strafes left behind Belmarniss to get a better view of the strange being in the doorway, pike leveled. Silently the oread jabs at the creature, aiming more to drive it back than to kill.
Belmarniss and Flint endure their blistering burns. The green humanoid ducks under Flint's subduing swing, but doesn't manage to do the same when Ordyt stabs in with his pike. The weapon's blade catches him in the chest, causing him to convulse in pain. As the weapon withdraws, you note that the green fellow doesn't seem to bleed.
|||| INIT ||||
Marisol
Flint (14 dmg)
Ordyt
Sammad - need a move to get you in line of sight
Belmarniss (7 dmg)
??? Green Humanoid (6 dmg)
Everyone is up!
Mari pops up from behind cover and fires off a quick shot, trying to throw the creature off balance.
----
It responds by reaching out to Belmarniss with a hand and touching her on the face-shield. To others, it seems like the touch does nothing. But Belmarniss feels a nauseating wave of heat enter her.
|||| INIT ||||
Marisol
Flint (14 dmg)
Ordyt
Sammad
Belmarniss (7 dmg)
??? Green Humanoid (9 dmg)
Everyone is up!
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Fighting through the pain of his burned skin, Flint strikes again at this rampaging engineer, his eyes blazing with an internal light (fully photon attuned now)! Flint thinks, "I hope we can save this creature and reason with him--we need someone who knows these engines if we are going to save this ship!"
Angered by his own lack of precision with his sword, Flint pulls out the healing serum he got from the good doctor before they left the station (move action), but does not have time to down its contents after having attacked so inaccurately.
Sammad focuses his aim this time, whispering a quick missive under his breath. "Mother of Flames, guide my fire..."
Seeing the creature already injured, Odyt attempts to bludgeon it nonlethally with the haft of his pike, but the clumsy blow never comes close.
----
The creature glares daggers at the oread. "The reactors weren't enough for you!? Now you want to ruin the rest of the ship too?"
His indignation gives Sammad an opening. His razor icicle strikes cleanly in the creature's chest, sending it into a shivering spasm. Unfortunately, the now brilliantly-illuminated Belmarniss is a fraction of a second too slow with her energized hand. The creature steps away and she zaps the wall instead.
The green humanoid straightens, regarding Belmarniss with newfound concern. "You must be the one who did the deed. How. DARE. YOU!" It responds exactly in kind, charging its hand with electricity and quickly jabbing Bel in the gut. Belmarniss falls to the ground.
|||| INIT ||||
Marisol
Flint (14 dmg)
Ordyt
Sammad
Belmarniss (15 dmg - unconscious - dying)
??? Green Humanoid (14 dmg)
Everyone is up!
"Bel!" Ordyt shouts, multifaceted gemstone eyes narrowing at the creature. "You damned deluded fool, we're trying to help you!"
Sammad's eyes widen as he watches Belmarniss fall. "You...rotten bastard! May flames take you!"
He aims and fires once again!
"No!" Mari shouts in horror as Belmarniss falls to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she takes aim directly at the creature, no longer just trying to distract it.
As much as he would like to keep swinging, a good captain never lets a crew member down.
With the healing serum already in hand, Flint flings his sword up in a distracting flurry at the green-skinned foe while he feeds the serum to Belmarniss.
While Ordyt's attempt at a nonlethal takedown is once again foiled by the ceiling, Marisol and Sammad land a pair of clean hits, including one slug from a hunting rifle right to the face. The green humanoid falls back with a surprisingly heavy crash, its face a ragged mess.
Combat Over!
Flint wastes no time in feeding the healing serum to Belmarniss. The magics within the serum rapidly take effect to seal and repair the drow's arc burns and stabilize her unsteady heart. She awakens to find herself sprawled on the ground.
|||| Final Status ||||
Marisol
Flint (14 dmg)
Ordyt
Sammad
Belmarniss (11 dmg)
??? Green Humanoid (dying)
Noting that the doors to the 'temple' are closed, Flint says, "Good job, everyone. Somebody stabilize him quickly--use a healing serum if you need to...who is carrying the restraints?"
The brilliant light in Flint's eyes dies quickly and his solar weapon flashes into nothingness as he maneuvers the heavy green arms of their attacker behind its back in preparation for the binders.
Mari slings her rifle and rushes over to the creature. Gods, I hadn't meant to hit it in the face... She moves quickly but methodically, letting her medical training take over.
Sammad moves in, drawing a healing serum out of his robes. Noticing that Marisol's efforts seem successful, he leans in with a scowl on his face, pouring the serum down the creature's throat.
As Sammad issues the potion to the unconcious creature, Ordyt stands above it with the pike leveled at its throat.
When it sputters to consciousness the oread gives it an unfriendly stare. "Let's try that again."
Flint speaks firmly as he pins the creature's arms behind it, "We have now spared your life twice--once from the Inferno Whale using our ship, and now from your own foolishness by the hand of the Emissary himself! Listen to the Ambassador with the respect he is due!"
Mari steps back from the others and hurries over to Belmarniss, kneeling next to her. "Big green over there sucker punched you with electricity! Fortunately, Cap already had a serum in hand so he was able to get you back up right quick. Me and Sammy shot it a bunch for you."
At Bel's question, Mari stops and tilts her head, listening.
"I think it's our friend from the other room."
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"Huh...that's what *I* was trying to do to him...interesting. Captain Conners, thank you for saving my life."
She grunts a bit as she tries to find her feet and get back up, then turns to the pair gripping their assailant. She waits for him to awaken, and takes the opportunity to speak.
"Now that we've both beaten each-other to near-death, maybe we can start things over and talk like civilized beings?" she says.
Mari stands as well and takes up a position behind the others, rifle at the ready.
Sammad steps to the front of their assailant, his upper lip curled in an expression somewhere between naked contempt and raging fury, showing his sharp teeth. He lets out a deep breath from his nostrils, then manages to put a neutral expression on his face.
He addresses the green being in a low voice, clearly fighting to maintain his composure, "We're going to try this diplomacy thing one...more...time. My name is Sammad, and my friends and I saved this ship. We nearly got cooked in the process, and all we've found on this blasted ship are a nuisance and...you, the murderous menace!"
He pinches the bridge of his nose, inhaling and exhaling once before resuming his speech. "We're trying to gather information on this vessel and its occupants. Lorix wouldn't tell us anything, so I'm hoping you'll be willing to help us. In exchange, we'll get the ship repaired and you'll have your precious reactors back."