Just let me know once you've made your purchases and are ready to proceed.
Also, I wanted to check: Anyone want me to create chronicles for book 1 for use in SFS? I'll probably due it for myself regardless. If so, just let me know what numbers to use.
Upon returning with your new kit, Commander Najiri begins her briefing. She explains the tense situation in the city due to the threat of the Swarm in the system and the influx of refugees, and how most of New Grakka’s routine police actions are conducted by security robots, freeing people for investigative and analytical roles. At the moment, the city authorities have deployed their entire drone fleet to fly over the city looking for problems. The video feed is being consolidated here at headquarters, so that she and other officers can dispatch patrol robots for routine matters and military squads for problems requiring more creative solutions. She directs several Suskillon military squads, including Midnight Squad, via a dedicated communications
frequency. You can radio her with reports, questions, or requests for backup, though in the chaos the latter may be delayed or impossible. Commander Najiri explains that you may encounter security robots or the recently mobilized New Grakka militia on their missions.
Commander Najiri first mission sends Midnight Squad to one of many small water collection facilities in New Grakka’s southeast quarter. With the city’s regular maintenance workers overwhelmed with constructing refugee camps for the Suskilloners and cleaning up after multiple fires and riots, there is no one to spare to investigate and fix a reported blockage in the facility. Commander Najiri warns you of muottas, which sometimes gather around such sites, calling them “avian pests that will try to snatch the knife from your hip.”
You can make your way to the facility without trouble; upon arrival you see this map :
This fenced-off area is occupied by a large funnel of plastic and ceramic that serves as a rain-collection point for the city’s water-purification system. The top of the funnel is fifty feet in diameter, narrowing to a ten-foot diameter at ground level, where it connects to a pipe that goes underground. The open end is thirty feet above ground, with two staircases providing access to a maintenance walkway around the edge. The walkway leads to a square control platform, where a collection of random detritus has been piled up. The collection reservoir is full, and some water has spilled out over the southern staircase and formed a large puddle. Three empty storage pavilions stand off to the west.
Aysén will walk up the stairs, summoning his lunar weapon as a set of glowing metallic knuckles, keeping a keen eye out for threats
"I know actual nothing about how a water collection facility works or what I'd be looking for. Let me know if you need me to do something. Or if something is radioactive so I can leave."
Maybe I should learn how a water collection facility works. It might help me identify better locations for real estate.
Sevash will head up toward the control platform, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious
"If there's radiation in the water supply, we have much bigger problems than a leak"
Sevash and Telsix, with their Engineering knowledge, would surmise that the control panel on top of the walkway would be the first place to check. As Aysén and Sevash make their way up the stairs, two bird-like creatures dive bomb them! These are likely muottas that the Commander warned you about.
The two birds dive bomb Sevash and Aysén, but rather than attack with their sharp claws, they attempt to pickpocket each!
Sevash loses healing serum!
Aysén loses glory medallion!
Round 1 of Combat: Everybody is up
Party-wide buffs: N/A
Red Muotta
Blue Muotta
Sevash
Tegrodera
Aysén
Telsix
"That is property of the Suskillon army!"
Sevash studies red and pulls out her rifle
Aysén pulls out his static arc pistol and fires once at blue (Photon 1/3).
"Curse you sky rats, know your place!"
Aysén's shot just misses the bird.
Tegrodera and Telsix are up.
Telsix moves up and shoots at blue.
for
Telsix manages to hit one the thieves, and Tegrodera gives them a booster, .
The birds make another pass!
Sevash loses battery!
Telsix loses anticoagulant!
Round 2 of Combat: Everybody is up
Party-wide buffs: N/A
Red Muotta
Blue Muotta
Sevash
Tegrodera
Aysén
Telsix
Aysén fires twice at blue (photon attunement 2/3)
First Shot
First Shot
First Shot damage
Second Shot damage
This gun must be broken
Sevash full attacks red
for
for
"What does a bird need a battery for anyways?!
While Aysén struggles, Sevash takes one out of the sky with two crisp bullseyes.
Tegordera attempts harrying fire on the remaining bird to help Telsix hit.
Telsix fires on the remaining bird!
for
The bird catches sight of Tegrodera's shiny courage medallion, and swoops down to to take it. Tegrodera loses courage medallion!
The bird seems to have had enough and is looking like it flying away. This is likely your last chance to bring it down before your stuff is gone!
Round 3 of Combat: Everybody is up
Party-wide buffs: N/A
Blue Muotta
Sevash
Tegrodera
Aysén
Telsix
Aysén fires twice at blue (photon attunement 3/3)
first attack
second attack
Damage first attack
Damage second attack
"Get back here and fight me bird! THEY CAN BURY YOU WITH THAT MEDAL!"
Sevash will study and fire at blue
for
Aysén's pistol continues to malfunction, but Sevash has found her groove and hits the thieving bird, singing it and causing it to let out a "Squawk!" of pain, but it manages to stay in the air. Can Telsix bring it down?
for
Tegrodera tries to once again boost Telsix’s shot, but his venomcaster’s dart doesn’t seem to help.
With that, the muotta gives an angry caw-caw, and flies off in search of a new nest, but has a new stash of Aysen’s glory medallion, Teg’s courage medallion, Telsix anticoagulant.
With that nuisance behind you, you can approach the control panel you were heading for originally to see if you can discern the cause of blockage.
Sevash will look around and then get to work
+2 in dim light or darkness
Perhaps it’s the muotta nests found on the control platform, or the smell of stagnant water that has baked in the sun, but neither Sevash nor Telsix notices a small device under the main control panel. The result of this is that when Sevash goes to boot up the system and run a diagnostic, the device explodes!
"I'm no engineer, but I'm guessing that was not supposed to happen. Those are some devious birds."
"Why can't anything ever be easy..."
Sevash will look under the control panel
"Someone put that device there. This was SABOTAGE!"
Sevash will try to repair the system again. Assuming there are no more explosions
Despite the damage caused by the bomb, Sevash is able to jury-rig the console enough to shunt the blockage and get things moving.
I'll take Perception checks from everyone if you want to see if you can find evidence related to the bomb.
Telsix is able to find evidence of sabotage in the form of disabled safety redundancies and deliberately cut wires, although it isn’t easy given the damage done form the bomb. As soon as you report your success, and the sabotage, to Cmdr. Najiri, you don’t have time to dwell on it.
Commander Najiri informs you of a dire emergency: an apartment complex in downtown New Grakka has caught fire, and a handful of civilians are still trapped inside. A few members of the New Grakka reserve militia are on the scene, but the local firefighters are having trouble with their equipment. It’s only a few blocks away from the water treatment facility and you should provide whatever assistance you can. Assuming you follow her orders, when your arrive you see quite a scene.
The streets around the burning five-story apartment building have been hastily cleared of civilians and most vehicles. Dozens of civilians crowd the roads to the west and north of the northwest corner of the block, behind official barricades. Many of them are recording the incident with datapads and comm units. A trio of New Grakka militia members stands on the closer side of the barricades, looking helplessly at the blaze.
Sevash will walk up to talk to the militia members
"Midnight squad is reporting in. Breif us on the situation. Do we know how many still trapped inside?"
The three reserve soldiers—Beva (female human), Karskol (host shirren), and Mose (male human)—are happy to see Midnight Squad arrive, and relieved that you’ll take charge of the situation. They report they have heard shouts for help within the apartment building, but they are unequipped to enter the flames. Karskol says they are unsure exactly how many people are trapped inside, but they estimate it is at least three, one of them a child. Beva, who shares that she was a volunteer firefighter before she joined the reserves, estimates that the fire will spread to the other floors over the next few minutes, though at the moment, the greatest danger facing the trapped civilians is smoke inhalation.
"I'm not particularly skilled at saving lives. Should I run inside and try to grab some bodies which are still moving and drag them out?
Telsix speaks up.
"I will have no trouble locating them in the smoke. We should make haste, before the fire spreads."
Sevash activates her armor
"We can hit the building from either end. Telzix and I can get up to a window and sweep from the top, while Aysen and Tegrodera go in from the bottom."
I'm sure Tegrodera can advise you on saving lives, Aysen :P."
Taking to the air, Telsix and Sevash take different floors on different ends of the building to maximize their search. Shooting out some windows, they are able to enter the smoke filled upper floors.
Telsix, on the third floor, is able to determine the direction from which the cries of a ysoki family are coming. Entering the apartment, you detect that they are on the large bed in the northwestern bedroom. The father is unconscious from smoke inhalation and must be revived (with healing magic or serums, as the use of Medicine to treat deadly wounds takes too long) or carried; he weighs 80 pounds (8 bulk). The mother and child are holding wet rags over their mouths to avoid smoke inhalation. The mother must be escorted out of the building carrying her child, but she is afraid to move through the fire. Convincing her to do so requires a successful DC 18 Diplomacy or Intimidate check.
Sevash enters the 5th floor and can automatically determine which apartment the two students are in from their shouts for help. However, a wiring malfunction shorted out the electronic lock on their door. The students can’t open it from inside, but a Sevash can disable the lock with a successful DC 20 Engineering check.
Telsix will heal the father with mystic cure.
"Come, we must escape the building"
"Stand back from the door"
When nothing explodes Sevash relaxes a little
"Let's get going!
While half of Midnight Squad is inside saving lives and the other half is outside keeping folks at bay and preparing to help any injured, a tall, bipedal robot with a flashing light in place of its head strides down the street from the east on the north side of the building. The militia members don’t seem too concerned about its presence—until it opens fire!