[SFS_Aerondor] 01-04 Cries from the Drift (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

The old human takes in the situation and then a deep slow breath, "aight, cover me. Seriously, if that thing goes berserk burn it down, I'm not quick."

He slowly moves towards the robot, hoping his hunch is correct.

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If the robot remains calm, he moves up to it and waves to The Specialist, "Can ya help me get this battery off?"

Engineering (t) Aid Another DC 10: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

The Specialist moves in, carefully.

Engineering to remove battery: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Between them the Specialist and Alejandro takes the battery out of the robot. It looks drained, but the rig back in the engine room could probably recharge it in a short amount of time...

Well, that's NOT what I expected to happen! :-)

Gota keep you on your toes.

With its back opened up, the red emergency light makes the sparring robot appear like a murder victim in the middle of the mat. The ship shudders again, and the lights flicker off and there is a crash.

This time it takes a couple of seconds for the dim red lights to return. The robot lies in the middle of the floor, toppled over.

"Whooooa! It's starting to feel like we need to hurry," Prim urges, feeling more and more uneasy and more than a little useless. "I promise, if there's anything still lurking around I'll blast the daylights out of it. And if there's anything else, well...just tell me what I need to do and I'll do my best to get it done."

Tania exhales...odd for an android that doesn't breathe...in relief when the robot doesn't lurch to attack like she was sure it was going to do. After steadying herself following the crash she moves into the room and turns on her armor's lights to shine on the weapon rack and also whatever that is stuck into the holoprojector.

Engineering if fixing the projector is needed?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

It takes a bit of effort, but Tania manages to unwedge the shuriken that is stuck into the projector.

There is a bit of an old video, presumably taken up until the point the projector is damaged.

You see two kasatha fighting, although one appears transparent like a hologram. The blows of the solid combatant go through the ghostly figure, but its own claws... for claws the ghost has rather than hands... they draw blood.

The holovid of the skirmish is grainy, and it cuts out periodically, the last scene being the solid kasatha throwing a shuriken that ... presumably ends up in the projector.

Alejandro starts to carry the battery out the door, "Hurry now, we need to keep moving. Download any evidence you find and take the bot, it somehow knew it needed to give us the battery. There's more there than just a robot."

The robot is quite large and heavy, being metal and essentially kasatha sized. Let me know who is dragging it, they will be encumbered.

Where to now?

"Uh...I can try to drag it, I guess," Prim offers. "But maybe we can leave it back by the airlock when we pass by and then take it with us when we get out?"

There is no problem dragging the robot off to the airlock and propping it up there.

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6

Shaan helps move the robot and otherwise doesn't notice much. "We'd better hurry!"

Perception (DC 15): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

"Hey...mind the gun turrets on the ceiling," Prim whispers softly as she kneels down, ostensibly to make sure poor Blue Sky-101 won't go falling or rolling the next time the ship pitches. "Because I'm pretty sure they're tracking us."

*edit* To account for GM follow-up post below.

"Oh...and I think there might be another turret hidden up there. That one panel...right there...looks strange..."

GM what weapons if any were on the rack Tania examined before looking at the projector?

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

"Good catch...do you think it's trapped? If so I could try to disarm it maybe."

Tania will also linger near the door opposite the workout room. "One last door here we should check, too."

Turning her torch onto the weapon racks Tania found another Force training baton, a set of carbonedge shuriken, a set of eight tactical batons, and a matched set of four cestus battlegloves. A Kasatha wearing all of them would be most formidable.

It appears that someone was not above a little... medical enhancement, as well. There are two tubes of serum of enhancement(command) there as well.

If needed, I have my spells, so take whatever you want. says Ysh'yaal.

Turning to Tania she adds Yes, lets explore this door, may be we will found something else of interest?

There are two tubes of serum of enhancement(command) there as well.

The Specialist takes one of the serums. ”This may come in handy.”

The old human feels the ache of age setting in his bones and already wants this mission done. He looks over the door across the hall as he exits the armory/workout room, "Looks... safe?"

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

I believe he is also currently carrying the battery.

Checking out the door opposite the training room you come upon a scene of devastation.

The northern wall of this chamber is so forcibly compacted to the south that the chamber extends only about ten feet from the door. Several person-sized crates are fused into the distorted hull, obviously melted by extreme heat. Space is visible from between several gaps in the northern wall, accented by the occasional shimmer of a force field.

There is a computer terminal by the door.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

”Let’s see what the computer can tell us about the Android fluids and alien blood along the edge of one of the forcefield protected holes,” says the Specialist.

computers: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16

I've seen them also. May be Blue Sky-101 is not the training robot but an android who died here?

While the Specialist works on the computer, Ysh'yaal tries to understand what happened here and if the life form she get on the scanner wasn't what is left of the android.

The specialist has a play with the computer. It looks like the force-field was last lowered using the authorization of a crew member named Blue Sky-101...

Going through the logs, you can see the force-field was a field-fix after the ship took on heavy damage.

There are no immediate signs of the android itself. Although there are a lot of crates, some of them melted into the ships lining.

Through the forcefield you can see the approaching storm. It does look impressive. Beautiful, but distinctly menacing.

The ship gives another jolt, almost like a dead body might spasm, and the emergency lights again flicker before returning to their dull red glow.

Can the crates be opened?

With a bit of brute strength and ingenuity the crates can indeed be opened.

However what The Specialist finds within turns his face pale.

With a bit of brute strength and ingenuity the crates can indeed be opened.

However what The Specialist finds within turns his face pale.
** spoiler omitted **

"Good news, team. We found Blue Sky 101. Or part of them, anyway," says The Specialist, pointing to the arm and leg of an android in the crate. "Like I said, earlier. Things are lookin' up."

Can The Specialist tell anything about the manner of dismemberment?

If the Specialist can make a medicine check, he might be able to...

If the Specialist can make a medicine check, he might be able to...

The Specialist is untrained in medicine. But his Profession (contractor) skill has afforded him quite an experience in the area of weapons, wounds and which ones do what. Contractor, of course, is a euphemism for “John Wick contract work.”

Alejandro sets the battery in the hallway and comes inside to look. He sighs, "Well, that's not good. Let's see what we can see."

Medicine (t): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Poor him, her or them...

Says Ysh'yaal.

Tania gulps a bit, whispering.

"...well, the datapad did wish for something of Blue Sky 101 to make it back to the Idari...I don't know if they meant it so literally though."

She starts to leave then does a double-take. "Wait, did you say alien blood? Not kasathan? ...Were they boarded?"

She grips her gun a bit tighter and shudders. "Aliens *and* undead shades...I officially hate this ship."

Medicine to aid Alejandro: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

"Ugh...yeah, I don't know if this is what the others had in mind but we should take what's left of them back with us," Prim agrees, though she looks a little green around the gills as she says it.

"And yeah, I'm starting to think that they were boarded. Whether it was an alien, or...or something else entirely, is a whole different story. But more and more it's looking like they had someone or something else on board with them..."

While The Specialist considers matters, Alejandro and Tania inspect the limbs. On the plus side... well, really, there is no plus side.

After a bit of considering they conclude the limbs were torn from the (likely still living) android by a creature with very sharp claws and likely an attitude problem.

Tania nods at Prim's words. "Which might mean whatever life-form we find might have claws. OH, make sure everyone grabs one of those force batons if you don't have something like it or magic weapons, too!"

As they leave the cargo compartment, "Also maybe we should be careful with that turret Primrose pointed out, team. I'm better with people than with traps, but I'll give it a shot if no one else can?"

Shaan takes the other serum of enhancement and when the group finds the android's mutilated remains, he drinks it. "This place is creepy - time for a little pick me up!"

"I guess we need to get to the front of the ship. Will the battery we've found enable us to do that?"

Taking a last look at the tempest, Ysh'yaal agrees with her comrades.

You're right, lets open that door and prepare for the worst.

"I think we also still need to get inside the captain's quarters at some point," Prim reminds the group. "But we might be able to do that on our way back out."

"And remember, the Captain's Quarters is where the crazy murder ghost is supposed to be located. So... maybe the rest of the crew is hiding in the galley area safe and sound and they are the ones watching us on the turret cams?"

He looks around to the group, "Okay, so that's dang farfetched. I know, I know, I'm sounding like Sir Specialist. But ya gotta have some hope."

The old human helps move the android body parts to the airlock area and then takes the battery to the engine room to get it set up.

The team lugs the battery back to the engine room, where it can be easily charged.

South of the control module, several dead, brick-sized starship batteries are stacked on metal shelves. The topmost row is hooked up to an exposed power terminal labeled “Mess” with a black marker. Another power terminal is labeled “Bridge.”

Can you make sure you are in the right places on the map when you post. Especially if you are going to try to open one of the doors.

"From the map we have, it looks like we need to go through the Mess first. Let's connect that battery to the "Mess" terminal and then head on in - what could possibly go wrong? - hey, maybe their teatime synethesizers are still online? - think we have time for a bit of a snack before that storm hits?"

Shaan takes up a position just outside the door, force baton in hand, ready to enter when the rest of the group is too.

"So...looks like we need to open up access to the mess hall first," Prim muses from her position just outside the engine room door. "But...does this also mean we can only have one or the other open at a time? If so, it looks like someone would have to stay here and switch the power over to open up access to the bridge once the rest of the group is inside the mess hall."
______________

Token adjusted accordingly.

Alejandro sets himself up in the engineering room, "I'm least useful in a fight, you all ready to rush in when I flip this switch. I'll follow quickly. Try not to kill anything that might be peaceful though."

He readies to hook up the battery to the 'mess' connection when everyone is in position in the hall.

I moved Tania up to the main corridor with the rest of you

Alejandro connects the battery to the "mess" terminals and the door in front of you swishes open.

This room resembles a charnel house. The remains of two dead kasathas are piled in the northwest corner, surrounded by knocked-over chairs. A ceremonial table setting in the center of the chamber is spattered with blood. The stench of decay is palpable in this room, and even the sink along the southern wall is coated in a dark-red shade. Storage containers fill the eastern side of the room, each similarly spattered by gore. An impressive set of double doors bars passage to the north, while a single steel access door continues out to the south.

"Oh...wh-what happened in here?" Prim breathes, her eyes wide as she takes in the carnage. "Was there another fight? The logs we found talked about a final meal but...this doesn't look like the aftermath of any kind of ritual death. It's too...messy..."

With her little pistol in hand Prim very cautiously moves into the room to try and get a better look around...

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

Primrose quickly notices that on the table, next to an unfinished meal there is what look suspiciously like a key-card.

A quick check of the storage containers shows a variety of food, and a first aid kit which contains a pair of mk1 serums of healing.

Eventually though, the bodies need to be examined. Primose doesn't note anything of particular interest. Although a medicine check might help.

"Here's a key-card," Prim remarks, very gingerly picking it up off the table. "And the containers look like they've got food and a first aid kit."

The halfling carefully collects the first aid kit as well and then glances over at the pair of bodies.

"Um...medic? I wonder what killed them..."
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If anyone wants the healing serums just speak up and Prim will be happy to pass them to you.

beurk

Seeing the scene, Ysh'yaal doesn't feel well.

Not the last meal they expected I suppose...

Unsure of what happened here, she looks around, waiting for those more able in medicine than her.

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17

While Ysh'yaal doesn't necessarily have any medical training, she does notice several wounds that would tend to indicate it was a four-armed creature that ripped into these bodies.

Shaan also moves into the room, grimly taking in the carnage. "If whatever killed them is still on this ship then we could be in for some trouble..." He gestures to the key-card. "Any ideas what that would be for? Maybe it can get us into the Captain's quarters?"