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Yariel doesn't manage to duck completely, but she leans into the strike to lessen the blow, "Gah!"
She glances at their positioning, "Rar, take your shot. John hold till I move!"
______________________
Once the big guy has swung, the little Ysoki smiles back at the larger attacker, "Oh, yeh now realize who the real threat is? Heheheh." She jab steps to the right and swings low, "PUNCH TO THA NADS!"
for
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John throws the cane's cover piece at Jincheroga before thrusting the blade at her with both hands.
... critical Bleed 1d3;
You take the listed amount of damage at the beginning of your
turn each round until this condition ends. Your bleeding can be
stopped with a successful DC 15 Medicine check as a standard
action, or through the application of any ability that restores Hit
Points. If you take two or more bleed effects, you take only the
damage from the worst effect.
”Doctor! I can’t tell if his latest victim is dead or not!”
"Well," Doc retorts as she scans the chaos, "it depends on whether I'm in-network with his provider. My premiums can be a nightmare!" The halfling's tone is flippant, but she shoots the nuar a meaningful glance.
Battered and bleeding, Jincheroga is clearly on her last legs. Just as she seems ready for one last attempt at shredding one of you, an arc pistol crackles.
Jincheroga falls.
Looking over toward the source, you see Captain Rameem holding the smoking pistol. He grimaces in pain as he attempts to sit up.
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"I am so confused." Beauregard says, sitting down. "Doctor, can you tend to the captain? And then make sure our Barghest is really what he says he is and not a goo-alien shapsifter? If it's not the captain, we really need to catch that thing. Yariel? Can you see if this . . . creature kept a personal com log or diary? Find out why they wanted the ship?"
Rar'gul, why don't you sit for a moment. You need to catch your breath after that ordeal. The Shirren helps the Trox ease down if he wishes. Then he goes to check Jingerosa. He prod the Barghest just to check that he's really dead. Then he examines the body and looks for any items of note.
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John stands a moment over Jincheroga's body with his sword held pointing down at the barghest's form in both hands. Then he closes his eyes and raises the sword to point to the ceiling. After another moment, he looks carefully at Lozu and Rameem. He nods to the first officer and bows to the captain.
"Captain Rameem, thank you for that timely assistance. I was afraid we'd lost you."
Then he draws out a silky looking cloth from the handle of his cane and carefully wipes the blade while he retrieves his pistol, and the cane's blade cover. He listens to the conversation while he reassembles the cane, rolls the cloth tightly, and stows it in the handle.
He kneels beside T'sorkel to examine Jincheroga and whispers, " Key."
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Yariel moves over to the beaten body, nudging it with her toe, ”Not a good way to go, pilots should die in a blaze of glory. He was a lech, but I’ve dealt with worse and he could at least brew a damn fine liquor.”
She starts working through any tech devices found on Jincheroga, hacking as necessary.
Before attending to the "Captain", Doc grabs John by the elbow. "If you have a moment, kindly pay our friend the professor a visit - he is still a possible target, and I would not assume all threats are as of yet nuetralized."
Doc sits Rameem down in a chair and starts assessing his physical condition
"Captain." Doc speaks quietly as she bustles around Rameem with scanners, gauze, and bandages. "If I were you, I would consider this your second chance. You may not have known that Jincheroga was a threat, and that ignorance nearly killed you. We can help you. We've saved your life once already, and we can do it again, but we can't work in the dark. You need to come clean and tell us what is going on here. It may be your only chance of getting off this ship alive."
T'sorkel simply nods, and searches the barghest for his room key. After searching Jingerosa, he will be move over to Grath.
Rar'gul gratefully accepts T'sorkel's assistance in easing to the floor beside Grath. "I don't know how much to believe," he whispers to the shirren under the cover of his assisting him. "But Jincheroga warned me that a 'he' is deceiving us."
"Thank you," the trox says more loudly. "Just need to catch my breath." Returning to a whisper he adds, "Can you get a warning to the others to remain vigilant?"
Rar'gul looks over Grath's crumpled form, a sadness to his eyes. "You deserved better than this, friend,"
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" Roger that, doctor. "
John stands and brushes invisible dust from his trousers. "I'm going down to check on Professor Benjam and Trostinek. Please try not to upset the captain with more accusations while I'm away."
John bows to the captain again, and walks to the elevator.
If he has J's room key, he's suprisied when Yariel joins him of her own accord.
If he doesn't have the key, he invites Officer Flash to accompany him.
1. A quick search of Jincheroga's corpse turns up a key card to her cabin. She also had an azimuth laser pistol with two batteries and basic lashunta tempweave.
2. Rameem is cordial and thankful for any medical attention, even it's only a check on his bumps, bruises, and lacerations. He politely indicates he's not interested in answering anymore questions about "what's going on". He does offer the following: "I knew taking on the goblins was a risk, but I've had their type on the ship before. Their credits spend just as well as anyone elses." He goes on to theorize that Jincheroga must have thought that this was a good opportunity to try take over the ship with Algiada not present.
3. Both Lozu and the captain lament the loss of Grath.
4. Rar'gul (and anyone else who wishes to) may take a 10 minute rest.
5. Heading back to the main deck, John and Yariel find Professor Benjam nervously pacing in his cabin. He seems otherwise fine. Trostinek is nowhere to be seen, though this isn't unusual. He has always seemed to be a walker.
6. The goblin's cabin is a mess. There is nothing notable, though a missing pillow case corresponds to the map now in your possession.
When the Doctor is examining Grath T'sorkel comes over too. He swipes the yoski's room card too, then passing it to John.
The Shirren sends a telepathic message to the group. I'll examine the map while you check Jingerosa's cabin. I'll message you with where to meet.
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On the passenger deck:
John advises Benjam to stay in his cabin, or call one of the party for an escort if he wants to step out.
This time John is far more active in searching the goblin's cabin. He's not worried about them discovering something out of place. "I be hoping for a computer or comm unit that we could hack, and find out why Jincheroga tried to take the ship. I guess we'll have to hope that something we find from the map will give us a clue."
During the search, he asks the ysoki, "Officer Flash, can you really fly the ship? It would be a good ace in the hole, or an entree to the bridge and crew. Using it to mix with the crew might be dangerous however."
He keys his comm to report to the party at large. "There be no sign of Trostinek in his cabin. He might be roaming the ship. Professor Benjam be still tucked safely in his cabin. All be normal down here."
Then he looks at Yariel. "Do you want to check on Kiiv and Song?"
Doc does the bare minimum to keep the captain alive. After leaving him with strict orders to take it easy, she walks over to Lozu.
"First Mate. Are you hurt?" Without waiting for a response, Doc cracks open the medkit and starts giving Lozu a quick check-up (mostly as an excuse to talk to her). "You've been through quite a bit in the last two days. What happened before we got here?"
First mate Lozu responds to Dr. Flint-Bridge's query. "I was going over some items on my checklist. Captain was in his seat, and Grath was over at the science officer's station checking on some course computations. There was a loud sound and the doors burst open. Grath attempted to draw his pistol, but before he could Jincheroga was on him. After that he grabbed the captain--I tried to keep him talking. That's about when you all showed up. Where are the goblins? Are they dead?"
Where are the goblins? Are they dead?"
"Quite." Doc pauses for a moment to take Lozu's pulse. "I don't believe their goal was to kill the passengers, however - we were simply in their way. The goblins were searching the ship for something. Any idea what might have sparked Jincheroga's interest?"
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Yariel's nose twitches as she tries to hack the comm unit, she takes a deep breath and pulls out a tool kit to open up the back and access the processor direct. While doing so she rambles a bit to John, "Oh yeah, I can fly about anything. Almost all machines are the same, at least on the most basic level and I've always been good with figuring that stuff out. I'm sure Grath and others are better at piloting than I, but flying from A to B is about as simple as walking from here to the mess hall."
She taps a few things on the comm unit, "Ah there we go, let's look for some hidden files first. That's always the first stop."
T'sorkel messages the others. Hey, I'm looking at this drawing from the goblins, but I think I need help. I think it's showing the engineering deck, but it also could be showing a spot outside the ship. Or somewhere between a deck, maybe? Like I said, I need someone else to look at this.
Lozu answers Dr. Flint-Bridge: "I have no idea what they could be looking for. Perhaps valuables? They were near the cargo hold, after all."
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Beauregard will get to his feet. ”C’mon First Mate Lozu, I’ll accompany you to your cabin. You probably want to get changed out of those clothes and maybe shower, and none of us want to be alone, we might still have a shapeshifter about. Looks like you won’t be needed up here until the ship is fixed anyway.”
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Yariel sends a group text, "Who has that map? I think I have an idea what they were looking for. Meet in the mess hall."
Once the group or person with the map meets with her, she'll grab the map and do the following.
The Ysoki's eyes squint in concentration at the pillowcase scrawls then she pulls up her copy of the ship schematic and murmurs, "Now if I were a secret compartment, where would I hide?"
When you arrive at her cabin, she glances up and down the hall, then gives you a knowing look. "Look, I can't say too much. I stand to lose a lot, especially if the 'real' Captain Rameem is still somewhere around. Let's just say that none of you have seen ALL of the ship. Perhaps there is something to find behind the door you haven't found yet."
Just as Lozu returns to the bridge, Kiiv suddenly bursts in. Lozu immediately embraces and kisses him. With the captain resting in his cabin, Lozu assumes command.
T'sorkel is able to join Yariel in the dining hall, where they spread out the goblin map on one of the tables.
Yariel cross references the crude goblin map with the schematics she downloaded and referenced just after boarding the Chimera. One of the "x's" noted on the goblin map seems especially worthy of investigating. Behind it is possibly a void in the hull of the ship that could have some sort of usable space.
Song briefly appears from the kitchen. He is armed with a pistol he must have had hiding somewhere in there. He provides some pre-packaged food (basically an R2E), and asks if you can make sure remaining crew and passengers receive one.
Beauregard will get to his feet. ”C’mon First Mate Lozu, I’ll accompany you to your cabin. You probably want to get changed out of those clothes and maybe shower, and none of us want to be alone, we might still have a shapeshifter about. Looks like you won’t be needed up here until the ship is fixed anyway.”
Doc fishes for some reason to get Lozu off the bridge, but the charismatic nuar swoops in and takes care of the issue.
Well, lookie there. Th' gumshoe's got 'is uses.
Doc stays on the bridge until the captain retires and Lozu takes the helm. In the meantime, she cleans up Grath, prepping the ysoki's body for storage.
Once Lozu and Kiiv are back on the bridge, Doc rejoins the others to distribute food and embark on a treasure hunt.
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Beauregard will send out a mass text to the rest of the party.
Lozu all but just confirmed that there’s a secret compartment on the ship, probably a smuggling compartment. They gave us their blessing to find it, in code, but didn’t relay exactly where it is. Just. . . ‘Open the unopened door.’ Might be what the goblins were after, maybe also security chief Iom and the Vesk. I’ll grab my multi-spectrum scanner and meet everyone in the cafeteria.
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In the dining room:
While watching Yariel work the computer, John muses over the odd wall panel. "Stardream II. It sounds familiar. "
He pulls out his comm unit and flips through some files. "Here it be, Sunbound Honor. It be a Tian Xia flavored hack and slash vid. It was set on the lost ship Stardream II, based on the disappearance of the real Stardream." He chuckles. "Maybe we be on the Stardream."
Doc appears in the dining hall, rifle slung over one shoulder like it belongs there. "Smuggling compartments and lost ships? Would someone care to fill me in on what I've missed?"
The captain retires to his cabin. Lozu and Kiiv maintain a watch on the bridge for the time being, though Kiiv is hoping to return to engineering soon.
Soon all of you are gathered in the dining hall, fresh from brief rests, questioning crew, or checking on other passengers.
Just been run off my feet a little the past week or so. Trying to post from my phone really hasn't been cutting it.
It sounds like you have more than enough on your plate, as well! Goog luck getting those games up and running.
Having taken the most of the opportunity to rest (and missed most of the subsequent interplay), the trox slowly rises to his feet. "So much forrr a rrelaxing crruise," he rumbles. "I'm going to feel that tomorrrow..." he murmurs, rolling his shoulders and knuckling his lower back.
Rar'gul scans through the missive from Beau. "You going to be okay here?" he asks Kiiv and Lozu. "Keep safe. I'm going to meet the others and uncover exactly what is going on herrre. Use the comm channel to reach us."
Passing the crew cabins on his way to the Dining Hall, he checks in on the Captain, knocking gently at the door.
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Arriving at the cafeteria, Rar'gul takes up a spot just inside the door, as he had throughout the Great Reveal.
T'sorkel points to the marking on the map. "So you think this could be an empty space in the ship? Like maybe where a murderer would have hid? Why would Jingerosa send the goblins to find it?"
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Doc appears in the dining hall, rifle slung over one shoulder like it belongs there. "Smuggling compartments and lost ships? Would someone care to fill me in on what I've missed?"
John looks around to make sure the now-armed Song (and Isaac) is out of earshot.
"There's probably nothing to the lost ship. One of the bulkheads doesn't match. It be engraved with Stardream II. Maybe it be part of a repair."
"I do apologize, if I were rude on the bridge. It be an intentional ploy to gain the captain's trust. I will continue to defend the captain and denigrate you and Beauregard. It be nothing personal."
The curious bulkhead isn't far outside the dining hall.
"There's probably nothing to the lost ship. One of the bulkheads doesn't match. It be engraved with Stardream II. Maybe it be part of a repair."
"What of it? Starships make use of refurbished kit on a regular basis. This ship is called the Chimera, after all. I would be surprised if it didn't have recycled components."
Doc frowns as she runs her fingers across the mismatched engraving on the bulkhead. "Oh, yes. I have heard of you. Not sure what you've doing here, but I'm sure there's a rational explanation."
”Huh, let’s see if we can’t open her up.”
"Careful. If I were the captain of a ship with a clandestine cabinet, I would rig it with a trap."
Rar'gul tries to piece together all the talk of lost ships and secret doors.
Drawing close to his companions as they prepare to open the door, Rar'gul stands ready, hammer in hand, to meet whatever may lie within.