"Duh! That's why I tell you to aim, Nofun!"
Kit's attack misses the real Vadak, but one of the images goes poof as his shot passes through it.
"Hey, that cheating!"
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Noting there's a enemy waving a bit to close to comfort near him Wyrd takes a careful step while making sure his crystal is drawing enough power to be of use.
Looking around for something electronically to use Wyrd spends a bit too much time locating anything for an algorithm to work and Wyrd decides to go a bit more old school.
Focusing on a spot right behind the knife wielder, just far enough away to prevent Nomyra from getting too close to the heat Wyrd imagines an alternate reality where the floor is lava and overlaps it for a short time with our current enviroment.
reflex save DC 12 to avoid
"Ouch!"
Nomyra sees a problem. And she punches that problem. Twice.
Seeing the close proximity of their companions in the tight quarters of the room, Puzzle looks around, considering their options.
Vedrir raises his needler rifle and aims at the enemy, he waits for the moment to not hit Nomyra and takes the shot
"What are you doing here!" yells after shooting at the foe
Vadak tries to dodge out of Wyrd's fire area.
He doesn't get out of the way in time!
Nomyra hits Vadak!
Vedrir's shot also hits a mirror image leaving only one Vadak remaining!
The ikeshti answers Vedrir "Hey bud, just doing what I'm told. Nothing personal. Gotta help out the family somehow, ya know?"
The second ikeshti in the room begins operating a computer screen, and the robotic arms come to life! The whir forward andlong the track in the ceiling before stopping above Vadak and swinging at Nomyra!
The arms punch Nomyra with a surprising amount of force! At the same time, the last remaining Vadak concentrates and then tries to shock Nomyra again.
More electricity courses through Nomyra. That hurts a bit!
Party's up!
Kit
Nomyra
Puzzle
Vedrir
Wyrd
Bloodshot
R3
Vadak -3
Nomyra, badly injured, takes one swing and then Guarded Steps away from the door.
"Ooh! Those cool arms! Dibs!" Kit rushes forward and tries to start disassembling the arms.
Vedrir loads into his needler rifle healing serum and shots Nomyra in her leg.
"Hold on!"
Nomyra swings and misses before stepping back. She receives a marginal amount of healing from Vedrir.
Kit moves forward deactivates the arms!
Puzzle
Wyrd
Bloodshot
R3
Vadak -3
Kit
Nomyra
Vedrir
Spotting the terminal in the corner of the lab, Puzzle makes their way over to the interface and attempts to control the robotic arm, setting it up on the nearby Bloodshot thug.
"It seems you chose poorly in not better considering your options tonight," Puzzle says in reply to Vadak before firing two darts.
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Seeing the robot arms being able to reach Nomyra it shouldn't be to much of a stretch for them to also reach the enemy at the gate *well, doorway at least*and grab hold for a second or 6.
Wyrd sends out Alice to try to get a last little burst out of the arms before they shut down for good
vs 20+CR
...but it seems Kit managed to shut it down pretty well.
before lobbing a small globe of energy in the general direction of the army of illusions
Puzzle and Wyrd's shots and orbs both miss, in part due to all of the people separating Wyrd from Vadak.
With the sampling arms disabled, the Bloodshot member in the back moves to a better vantage point and squirts blood at Kit!
The attack misses!
Vadak tries another spell, also against Kit.
The ikeshti gives Kit quite a shock!
Kit
Nomyra
Puzzle
Vedrir
Wyrd
Bloodshot
R4
Vadak -3
Having missed both their previous shots, Puzzle once more takes careful aim at Vadak and fires twice in quick succession.
Nomyra tries to punch around the edge of the door.
Vedrir aims at Vadak and takes two shots, he tries to calm his breath as he shots next to Nomyra
"Stop moving around!"
"Aaaargh! Ow ow ow!" The surge from the ikeshti's magic propels Kit back against the bulkhead, his muscles twitching as he steadies himself. "Nofun? Nofun!"
iiiixxsssFFFSSSSSeeeekljlkja;lfkd;aljasdijasdfjvvvvSL:KJFD:OIWVvmmmmmm
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"You break Nofun, you butthead!" Unable to get updated data, Kit relies on the previous tracking parameters from his last shot as he raises his rifle and fires. The out-of-date data affects his shot though, which is not as accurate as he might hope.
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Seeing his party members getting shocked left and right with electricity Wyrd moves forward to provide an extra target while setting one of the display panels next to the enemy in the doorway into visual overload - flashing rapidly in blinding bursts of light
vs 20+CR
before tossing a globe of gathered coldness from the edges of space into his targets face.
While he holds up a knife in front of him to make sure that nobody tries to get close without risking the possibility of a small cut.
As Kit steps back, the party has a bit more success hitting Vadak. Puzzle's first shot and Wyrd's cold orb find their target, even though Vadak doesn't seem distracted by the flashing computers.
The Bloodshots thug fires his pulsecaster into the room, to make it a little easier for Vadak to hit Wyrd.
Wyrd feels harried! Vadak moves forward and casts another spell, this time trying to shock the tiefling.
It's not as effective as he would've liked...
Kit
Nomyra
Puzzle
Vedrir
Wyrd
Bloodshot
R4
Vadak -14
Vedrir again shots couple of times hoping to hinder enemies ability to fight.
"It is time to commence the end game," Puzzle announces to their companions. "Focus on the one in front!"
The android fires a dart at Vadak, emptying the rifle.
Kit takes a step back and makes some quick mental calculations, adjusting the tracking data on the fly as he tries to compensate for the glitching AI.
Nomyra punches once and carefully steps away, knowing how injured she is.
After a shot from Vedrir, a shot from Puzzle, a shot from Kit, and a punch from Nomyra, Vadak drops. The remaining Bloodshots thug drops his weapon and holds up his hands!
Kit ignores the surrendering thug, instead pulling out a thin data cable. He plugs one end into his data pad and the other into his left nostril with a faint click, then immediately begins typing furiously into his data pad.
"Hm....you lucky. Nofun just feeling screwy, no permanent damage. Otherwise I not be so nice, not accept surrender."
After a few more moments of typing, Kit blinks and you hear a faint chime sound. The goblin blinks twice, then unplugs the data cable and stows it.
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ThaT wAs unpLEasaNt.
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"Worse for me, Nofun" Kit says, picking at the scorch marks on his arms from the electric jolt.
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As Wyrd is shocked by the Jolting surge he thinks
" ...maybe this whole heroic thinking was a bad idea......."
before looking to his left and right at Kit and Nomyra and continuing
" ..then again, I'm sure I'm the only one of us who could have taken that hit and remained standing, let along possibly breathing.....still I need a break to catch my breath after this."
---------------------------------------------------------------
After seeing the thug who shocked him drop to the floor and the last enemy surrendering;
Wyrd with his hair standing standing out at a lot of angles and literally buzzing with energy walks closer to the still standing unarmed thug
"You _might_ want to tell us what you are doing here" He grunts through clenched teeth as sparks leap out of mouth and a visible current runs across his limbs gathering around his finger tips.
Vedrir reloads his rifle while aiming with his other hand holding a pistol.
"What are you, people?"
Puzzle slowly walks toward the thug, casually reloading their rifle. Coming to a stop a step away from the Ikeshti, the android rests the rifle on a shoulder.
"I suggest you consider your answers carefully. My friends-" Puzzle gestures to the charred Kit and the still sparking Wyrd. "are more than a little upset by the actions of you and your friend." The android's eyes flick in the direction of the downed Vadak. "You don't want to make your lot worse."
"Now, who are you and why are you here?"
Nomyra leans against a wall nonchalantly, trying not to reveal how injured she is while her allies interrogate.
The remaining ikeshti, despite being outnumbered and beaten in combat, still manages to speak with a hint of bravado as he speaks.
"We're the Bloodshots! And we're here because Vadak told us to come here. He's one of Mama's best lieutenants. Or was. He said we were gonna get paid really well for this job, and then when he got here he set up that computer thing here," he says, pointing to an onion-shaped device made from porcelin and smokey crystal sitting atop the DCI's main computer station. "I just do what I'm told. Normally we stick to Corona, so maybe this one was special. But that's all I know. Honest."
This device is an astral transponder, a device developed to remotely hack secure computers. The device is currently inactive. When activated and placed in contact with a computer, an astral transponder transmits a signal to a preprogrammed receiving computer anywhere on the same plane. A user operating the receiving computer can affect the computer to which the transponder is attached without being physically present at that computer. Because the astral transponder transmits its signal through another plane, normal shielding, signal jammers, and similar countermeasures have no effect on the transmission. An astral transponder can be attuned to a new receiving computer with 1 minute of work and a successful DC 22 Computers or Mysticism check.
A forensic analysis of the computer under the device reveals a large amount of data was copied and deleted from a data module closed off behind a security firewall during the last two minutes.
A quick search of Vadak reveals the following items:
-1x Graphite carbon skin
-1x Static arc pistol with 2 batteries (20 charges each)
-1x Survival knife
-2x Mk1 serum of healing
-1x spell gem of identify
-1x "Cryo-Gentics" key card
-1x DCI staff key card
-1x credstick (150 credits)
From outside the door, a few moments later you hear Nib's voice and several footsteps approaching.
"Good, Sky's still here. Let's see what this whole thing is about then we can go about retrieving them."
Puzzle looks the thug over, weighing the Ikeshti's words.
The android takes a look over the computer with the device connected, noticing a difference in the system's interface compared to when they accessed the robot control terminal earlier.
"And this Mama is the Bloodshot leader?" Puzzle asks, patting down the fallen Vadak. The android holds up the keycards to show to their companions. "Cryo-Gentics," they read the name on the card aloud.
"Why did he have this?" Puzzle asks the thug. "And how did he come to have the DCI card?"
Once he's done resetting his Nofun, Kit walks over and examines the strange device. "This thing a...um...shuddup Nofun, I know this...astral transponder! That's it! It talks to computer, then sends to other computer somewhere else. Hard to block."
After giving the computer itself no more than the most cursory of glances, he instead goes and starts pawing through the downed Vadak's stuff.
"Happy to help"
Vedrir looks through the things as his allies work on the computer.
"Puzzle maybe you would take the armor?"
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Wyrd looks at the display where Alice is feeding him information on what was on the computer
"A forensic analysis of the computer under the device reveals a large amount of data was copied and deleted from a data module closed off behind a security firewall during the last two minutes."
Wyrd scratches his head
"Not sure why though...."
The Bloodshots thug affirms Mama as the leader of the Bloodshots, "She takes care of all of us," but claims he doesn't know anything about the Cyro-Gentics or DCI cards.
As far as Puzzle can tell, he's telling the truth.
A moment later, Nib and two lashunta Asanatown police officers arrive in the room.
"Oh good, everything's... is everything okay? Are you all okay? What happened here?"
She glances over at the only remaining survivor. "One gave up? Officers, I think you need take this one into custody."
As the officers move to apprehend the remaining Bloodshots thug, Nib notices the DCI computers.
"What on Akiton is that? And why... the files!"
She rushes over to the Computer that Wyrd had been investigating. A few moments later, she lets out a cry of shock.
"They're gone! Months... over a year's worth of data, gone! Erased! What... why... who would do this? Why would anybody care to wipe out the DCI's solar research? Did they even take anything?!"
She turns back to you all.
"Okay, listen up, somebody has messed with the wrong organization. Everybody's #1 task, starting now, is finding out who just erased our data and why. I'll see if we can get some people in to try to start recovering what happened and restoring some of the data in the meantime. Do you all have any idea who might have done this, and is there anything I can do to help?"
"They almost erase Nofun too! Said they work for Mama. But data maybe not gone? That thing" he says, pointing at the strange object "is an astral transponder. Maybe whoever on the other end copied before they delete?"
"They are members of the Bloodshot gang. Mama is apparently the name of their leader," Puzzle elaborates as the officers detain the gang member.
"What do you know about Cryo Gentics?" the android asks Nib, brandishing the keycard. "They also had this," they add, handing over the DCI keycard.
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"Please tell us that you made back-ups of the data!"
Says Vedrir hoping that the data is not really lost.
"It seems that we should go and have a chat with Bloodshot gang."
Nib looks over to Kit.
"An astral transponder? So... it seems our data wasn't just erased, it was stolen! Which means we can get it back! This is good news... relatively speaking."
She turns to speak with Puzzle.
"And the Bloodshots gang? I've never heard of them, and there aren't many ikeshtis here in Asanatown. I've never heard of Cyro Gentics either. That card, however..."
She takes the card and holds it up to the card reader near the door to the lab. The door reader chimes.
"Sessil Vand. He's a junior researcher here that left for vacation on Castrovel a little less than a week ago. Sister getting married or something. Good kid. I don't have any reason to think he'd be involved in something like this. He probably just left his card in the lab and planned on picking up where he left off when he got back. We've never hard this kind of security problem before. Plus with that thing," she points to the astral transponder, "I wonder how much they even needed it.
"And Vedrir, yes, we do have some back ups, but most of what was taken was the recent scans of the sun and the Far Portal Station during the Descent; the rest was relatively uninteresting. We just spent the past three weeks preparing that information for analysis! I can reach out to Far Portal Station; I'm sure they still have copies of their readings, but even if we manage to somehow recover all of the information from our systems this will, at the very least, take weeks to sort through. And, frankly, I'd rather spend the next three weeks doing data analysis than data collection for the second time!"
She glances at the spot formerly occupied by Vadak's body before giving Wyrd a sarcastic look. "Yes Wyrd, I think they did have something to do with it, now that you mention it! But who are they, and why? The 'Bloodshots' is a good start, but we need to know more to get our data back!"
With his wonderful cultural affinity, Vedrir actually knows a little bit about the Bloodshots. They're a medium-sized gang that operates out of the bubble city of Corona. They're generally known for stealing and stripping vehicles and electronics equipment; data theft doesn't really fit their normal type of operations.
Vedrir has actually also heard of Cyro Gentics. They're a cooling company that also happens to operate out of Corona, specializing in storing temperature-sensitive gas and equipment--mostly frozen foods and the like requiring enviornmentally controlled conditions. Vedrir also knows that in the Burning Archipelago cooling is an industry so common as to be almost invisible. As a result, numerous criminal organizations rely on this service to front their illegal operations.
Through either technology or magic, you're able to discern the location where the astral transponder most recently was atuned. This location likely contains the device that the DCI's data was sent to!