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Seeing the next wave approach, Rei wastes no time grabbing one of the frag grenades and loading it into her launcher. She takes aim and fires it at the center of the horde of undead.
As Rei blasts the horde, she comments back to Talc "I am sorry. I believe you were saying something, but my sensors were unable to detect the details of your statement over the sounds of my grenades making bonedust out of these undead. Also, can you please let me know this new tactic of yours. It seems you are missing on purpose? I am unaware of how this helps us."
Harrac shoots one of the skeletons massed around Harrac. As the vesk runs clear, Rei and Skrivvix hurl more explosives. Three of the skeletons are destroyed. One erupts into fireworks, while another was secretly laced with plastic explosives! It detonates in a fireball that consumes the remaining two skeletons nearby—one of those releases fireworks as well. ”Wow! PENTAKILL!” Quell exclaims.
The remaining skeletons charge at you, one clawing at Karyn.
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Harrac hauls out his rifle and fires at the most damaged skeleton, "we're at the of this round squad! And the skellies are goooiinnng doooooowwwwn in a BLAAAAZE of GLOOooory! Gooooing dooooown, like Ta, err, this is a family-friendly broadcast, right Quell?" He's too busy trying to mug for the camera that he barely misses Skrivvex.
for
You are able to take down one more skeleton before the buzzer sounds. The remaining undead wander off as the hosts swoop down to tally your score.
”170 points! Unbelievable! The Starfinders have a commanding lead, one their rivals will be hard pressed to surpass going into the final event!”
As you head back down to the break room, you pass by the rival team. Rafelo whispers something to Tillik. The pahtra nods and smirks at you in response.
Skrivix turns over to the other team with a perplexed look. "Did you guys miss an event or something? Are those scores right?"
Shonvyzam waves back at Harrac. ”Glorious, indeed! Alas, that we have been pitted against such a skilled warrior as yourself!”
“The scores are correct, unfortunately. We will likely lose, but at least we are having fun,” Verity-5 says.
”Shut up,” Mia Moxie snaps, urging her team to keep moving.
You reach the break room for your final 30 minute rest before the finale!
Suspecting treachery afoot, you inspect your equipment for the next challenge. Part of the gear includes a flag, and it appears a magnetic beacon has been attached to it—an attempt at sabotage!
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"I guess the biologist will have to fix the computers."
Karyn bumped Rei out of the way and attached a data cable to the surface of the beacon. A quick few minutes with her datapad and the output signal of the beacon shut off.
"Okay, I think I got it turned off, but I don't think I can redirect them. Ah well."
Karyn is able to deactivate the beacon, ensuring the final competition will be fair.
Skrivix says a short prayer, then puts his hand on Harrac to tend to his wounds.
"You ladies ready to rock? They're an interesting crew, but they need to cheat to even compete. We got this!"
Once your break period is over, the crew arrives to escort you to the final challenge. After a lengthy elevator ride, contestants travel through a folding aluminum tunnel to an airlock door and emerge onto a destroyer-class starship of standard Pact Worlds design, impossibly housed within a floor of Zo!’s studio megacomplex.
"Our final challenge simulates boarding action on a craft traveling through hostile space!” Quell’s voice reverberates through the cargo hold. "With weapons set to stun, our intrepid teams fight for control of the ship.”
Lethea takes over the explanation: “A team earns 30 points for capturing the enemy flag, 40 points for capturing the unclaimed flag and 10 points for taking out an enemy. When the doors open, the battle begins. Good luck, warriors!”
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Rei quickly gets to work to attempt to open the locked crate.
Hooking up her datapad, she was able to identify a weakness in the locking mechanism and opened it up.
"This equipment should provide us with adequate support. Please gear up, as necessary. I will help guard our flag, once we determine its location, as I can use additional summons to help give us the upper hand."
Skrivix grabs the epoxy and the flag and starts gluing the flag to the floor beneath him.
"Oh this is setting quick! This should help slow them down unless the big muscular Vesk comes for the flag. Maybe you can convince her to carry you off instead Harrac!"
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"The question is, are we staying together or splitting up? I don't mind either, but while staying together and defending might be easiest, it won't make fore nearly as good of a show. Likewise, staying together as a hunting pack would give us the best chance to take out the other team, but leaves our flag alone and unguarded...if we care about that."
After a few more seconds, the door to the cargo bay slides open with a whoosh, and the contest is on!
Moving in Zero-G: A creature that moves in a given direction continues to move in that direction at the same speed at the beginning of its turn each round (without taking any action); it must move the full distance unless it is able to change its motion by latching on to an object or creature, pushing off in a new direction, or creating thrust of some kind (all of which are considered move actions). If a creature runs into a solid object during its movement, it must succeed at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check to safely stop its movement; failure means that creature gains the off-kilter condition (see page 276). If a creature runs into another creature during its movement, both creatures must each attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check to avoid gaining the off-kilter condition. A creature anchored to a solid object (such as by the boot clamps available with most armor) receives a +4 bonus to this check. An off-kilter creature in a zerogravity environment can steady itself as a move action that requires a surface to grab on to or some method of propulsion; alternatively, that creature can throw a single item weighing at least 4 bulk (for Medium creatures; 2 bulk for Small creatures) to reorient itself and remove the offkilter condition.
If provided with sufficient handholds, a creature with a climb speed can move along a wall at full speed, as can any creature that succeeds at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check. Creatures that fly via methods that require an atmosphere, such as wings or turbofans, can’t use their fly speeds in a vacuum; once they reenter an atmosphere, they can recover and get their bearings within 1d4 rounds, after which they can fly normally. Magical flight and methods of flight that provide their own thrust, such as maneuvering jets, are not affected. A character in a zero-gravity environment can lift and carry 10 times her normal amount.
Weapons: Thrown weapons have their range increments multiplied by 10 in zero-g. In addition, all ranged weapons no longer have a maximum number of range increments—their wielders simply continue to accrue penalties the farther away the target is.
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Harrac turns on his camera, "welcome back squad, time for some zero-g battling. The Talcster has already grabbed a jet pack so he can pilot around. I know you're all shocked! But for once, WE shouldn't be in danger from him crashing! Let's see how this goes." Harrac jumps out the door aiming for the a chair in the middle of the next room that he intends to use the change directions and follow Karyn down the hall.
Of course, things didn't go as planned and as he missed the chair, he slammed into the wall, "OOF That was unpleasant! How did Karyn make it look so graceful?"
Talc takes the lead, rocketing through the corridors of the ship while the rest of you float or jet along behind him. You can only assume your rivals are maneuvering as well.
Skrivix follows along, smashing into walls and flailing about. "Hey check this out, I can use the flag like a big ski pole or crutch! Hah!"
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Harrac watches Karyn and the shirren follow Talc down the hall and calls over the comms, "which way are you headed? I'm going to try this way and see if we can trap them." He hooks a foot around a desk and glides along the floor. Just as he's about to tell his viewers about the wonders of zero-g, he spots the other team. He thumbs both transmit buttons and calls out to his stream and the team, "enemy spotted squad! Talcter to me! I need a manager on aisle 4, Karyn from Sharon!." He looks over and grins at the android, "why hello there Verity-5! Rei was just looking for you! Something about a harem?"
As Talc passes the flag back to Karyn, Harrac and Rei break off from the group. The solarian comes upon Verity-5 and calls out to them, and the android waves back. "Hello, Harrac! We are going to shoot you now!"
Indeed, Verity-5, Rafelo, and Shonvyzam all fire on Harrac, blasting him with electricity, lasers, and acid!
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Talc hears Harrac scream out over his comms "ROCK! What's going on? Where are you? Rei! Where's Harrac?!"
Blasting forward to flank around the other side, Talc doesn't get very far before he sees the enemy at the end of the hall in front of them. "We've got company around the corner here, I'm engaging! Someone check on Rock!"
Talc takes aim and blasts the enemy in front of him with his "merciful" plasma rifle.
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Harrac sucks in air, trying to shake off the, fortunately, non-lethal blasts, "What was that Verity? I thought we were friends? Oh hi Shonvyzam, nice shot!" He pulls in more air before spitting out a storm cloud, electricity surrounding Rafelo and Shonvyzam (and maybe Verity-5 depending on the template). He then flings himself back across the room, "don't try this at home squad, it only looks fun on the stream! While I'm flying through the air, let's have a quick challenge - see if you can hit Like and Subscribe AND ring that bell to be notified BEFORE I hit the wall!!"
Skrivix pushes himself over towards the door near Rei. He flies toward it and spins off-axis, slamming backwards into it. He rights himself afterward, getting oriented properly and taking a good luck at Harrac.
Rafelo and Shonvyzam dodge Harrac’s electric blast, but Verity-5 takes the full brunt of it. Talc blasts the android with his plasma rifle.
The trio of rivals moves to pursue Harrac. Shonvyzam misses this time, but both Verity-5 and Rafelo score hits.
Across the hall, a blast of cold catches Skrivvix in the side! He sees the pahtra Tillik sneaking up behind him, readying his weapon for another shot!
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Harrac slams against the wall and slides away from the open area. He grabs the healing serum he completely forgot he had and quaffs it. "Whooo boy that's the stuff!" He holds it in frame and grins, "hey squad. goons with lasers got you pinned? Tired of dodging yet more acid? Try Vercite by Peridot Cybernetics! Now in xocteuldy flavor! Mmmm cheese!" He keeps grinning as he mumbles under his breath, "Vercite is not endorsed by the Starfinder Society. Xocteuldy with cheese should only be consumed in doughnut form. Like and subscribe." With a wink he looks up and calls to Karyn, "if they get close, let me know and I'll try and pull them around the corner to me."
The supercharged rifle blast catches Verity-5 in the chest, blasting them back into the far wall. *00110100101101101!* they stutter as they lose consciousness.
"Dammit! They were our healer!" Rafelo scowls.