The burly Starfinders crack the door out of the way.
The primary objects of note in this circular room are two huge metal trays piled with mineral samples. At each workstation, it appears someone was in the process of cataloguing and dividing up the rocks into smaller samples for further study. A tiny conveyor belt travels through this room, vanishing into the wall near an airlock door. More rocks sit on a platform next to the conveyor belt. One station is labelled MA-053-07, and the other is labelled MA-053-08.
You notice evidence of gunfire on the western wall of this room.
DC 16 Physical Science check to recall knowledge for more info!
An airlock to the south is the main exit from this room.
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Vyviane gives the silent commander a slightly uneasy look and then stiffens her expression and looks directly at him, "Commander, there seems to be another series of blaster shots over here. Would you mind taking a look at them?"
She then moves into the room proper and starts to give a closer look at the examination stations wondering what they could have been working on in the first place.
Examining the battle damage
You recognize the marks as from both laser and bullet fire.
***
Examining the samples (MA-053-07 & MA-053-07)
You identify that they contain platinum deposits
You notice that some of the metallic pieces are likely starship fragments rather than asteroid rock.
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"A mining setup? I thought this was an exploration outpost? And where are the Starfinders we are supposed to be relieving?"
Rastar had all four hands filled with pistols as he scanned the room and noted the battle damage. He was never good at geology, so he only gave the rocks the barest of glances. He headed over to the airlock, then gestured.
"Looks like this is the way we need to go."
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"Maybe they were exploring rocks?" Chorizal suggests to Rastar's question.
Despite having his new melee weapon, it's his artillery laser he's carrying, ready to fire a time or two before closing the distance with any opponents.
"Maybe they're the life forms that passed out of the force field."
He gives the rocks only a cursory glance, since he doesn't know much about them, in general.
But then he stops and looks closer.
"This isn't a rock. This is part of a starship hull. I've seen plenty of pieces like this, over the years," he says, fishing one of the objects out of bin MA-053-07 and examining it more closely.
The airlocks don't have windows. The control panel indicates that both the inner and outer door are closed, which seems normal.
Rastar opens the first door of the airlock, the door on the far side remains firmly safety locked.
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"Starship hull? Highly irregular considering their most recent reports indicated they were studying deep space minerals. There's also evidence that fighting occurred here recently."
"According to the team's personnel dossiers there should be a geologist, archeologist, and biologist cataloging deep space phenomena here. Dr. Ordez, Thrai, and Renou respectively."
"Private Rastar, what seems to be the problem with the airlock? Could there be an environmental safety issue on the other side?"
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Vyviane hops up and passes through the doorway into the air lock. "I wasn't be much more than decoration in here, and you need someone who can talk down frightened people on the other side. Also a leader should be leading by example." She gives J'Shun an antagonizing wink and then waits to see if anyone else is going to join her.
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Rastar was already standing, ready to go through, when Vyv popped up by his side. "I've got your back, little sister. Let's go through, ready to talk or shoot."
Rastar pulled his pistols again, ready to lay down a volley of fire to cover the others' entrance if he needed to.
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Chorizal hurries to the near airlock door after quickly tossing the chunk of hull back into the sorting bin. He's obviously disappointed to not be going through first, but others have called dibs and he's known what that means since being a kid.
"Maybe they found a crashed ship and were analyzing it? Maybe they just found the debris mixed in with what they were looking for?" Chorizal offers to explain why the hull fragments might be in the analysis stations.
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J'Shun, moves up next to Chorizal and activates his omnidirectional camera. A view screen on the inside of his armor's faceplate pops up and reveals whatever is going on behind his back.
"Captain Chorizal, Corporal Mars, you're right behind Corporal Isafira and Private Rastar. If we encounter resistance push forward and overrun the enemy."
He gives a hand signal to Vyviane.
"Move in."
Vyv and Rastar get in the airlock and ready for any trouble on the other side - as the door locks and the other begins to open there is a blast of electrical discharge!
Damage - Eletrical
Reflex DC 12 half
Someone has stripped much of the wiring in the walls, floor, and ceiling inside the airlock chamber. When both doors are closed, the wires are live and deal damage to every creature in the airlock.
With the blast done, the far side opens up.
Lockers line the north and south walls of this room, with benches in between. The lockers hang ajar and their contents are spread haphazardly over the floor.
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"Careful coming through the airlock. Someone rigged it to electrocute anyone inside when the doors are closed. This side looks clear. Vyv and I will hold the line until the rest of you get in here."
Rastar idly poked and prodded at the personal effects, but his main attention was turned to the door at the far side of the room. He was not interested in getting ambushed from that direction while the others were still on the other side of the airlock.
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J'Shun, signals to Commander Mahpu and says, "We have no choice; we must go through now." He deactivates his omnidirectional camera and sprints through the airlock.
Commander Mahpu, hesitates for a moment then moves through at a brisk walking pace for most normal beings, but an all out sprint for an osharu.
Damage
Ref 12 for half
***
Rastar pokes around whilst the airlock cycles.
The toilets and showers are functional. The lockers contain a total of 10 space suits, though three are torn beyond repair. One of the showers contains an empty bottle of shampoo with “STOP USING MY SHAMPOO” written on it.
Poking around you find the contents of a first aid kit scattered across the floor. This consists of three medpatches, a basic medkit, two mk 1 serums of healing, and a chemalyzer.
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Thanks to Rastar diving into the way of the electricity, Vyviane is able to escape with minimal shocking, she immediately tries to fix up the electircal circuits, but isn't able to make heads nor tails of where the current is coming from and has none of the things she'd need to cover them up.
She then instead helps Rastar ensure there's nothing dangerous in the space, picking up a few things here and there, and scoops up the medical supplies as well. She takes a quick shot of them and sends a message back to Kelvad on their ship. "These seem useful. You mind giving some directions on how to use them, if the need comes?"
She then takes a moment to poke her head into the next room, looking through any windows on the door before try to silently open the door.
The wires are still very much live.
After getting a positive response from Kelvad, Vyv looks ahead.
Looking ahead you see a room with two cells. The two holding cells in this hallway can hermetically seal a worker exposed to contaminants (or detain a hostile creature). The cells contain dirty bedding and show signs of recent use, obvious signs that several individuals recently occupied these cells.
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"Nice to see that this mission is going as well as all of them do," Chorizal declares with a grin to the remaining people with him on his side of the airlock.
He steels himself then steps into the chamber with the next person.
"3...2...1...jump!" he counts down to when he thinks the electrical charge is going to hit.
His timing is pretty good.
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"Corporal Mars, police up this medical equipment," J'Shun says after he takes a medpatch and healing serum for himself. He also hands the chemalyzer to Commander Mahpu. "You might be able to make use of this."
Moving into the next room he bypasses the holding cells and opens the door on its eastern side.
***
J'shun checks the next room.
This clinic contains two computers, an exam table, and a counter. Various medical supplies are scattered all over the floor. This room appears to be a lab as well as a clinic for mild injuries or illnesses anyone on the team suffered. A refrigerator stores a few samples in tubes.
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"Corporal Isafira, tell me what information you can find on that computer. Commander Mahpu, it seems as if we have some samples here you might be able to identify."
The osharu raises one of the vials in his hand, shakes it and says, "Might be a urine sample Space Admiral?"
J'Shun, exclaims as he stares daggers at the osharu.
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As J'Shun reaches for the medical supplies in her hands, Vyviane gives him a look of severe reproach. "If I am not mistaken, even in the military, even between a superior and an underling, that stealing things out of another's hands is highly frowned upon. Ask, please." She listens to the deluded man's suggestions and then nods, handing him the chemalizer, a medpatch and serum.
Vyviane, already at the comupters and starting to boot them up as J'Shun gives his orders gives a small sigh, before countering, "PRIVATE KAY! GIVING ORDERS TO A SUPERIOR OFFICER IS NOT A HABIT YOU SHOULD INDULGE! NOW STOP THREATENING THE COMMANDER BEFORE WE BRING YOU UP ON INSUBORDINATION CHARGES AND CHECK THE NEXT ROOM FOR HOSTILES!"
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J'Shun, hears a voice in his head. It might possibly be a female halfling's voice, he's not really sure. Sometimes what it's saying makes sense, but most of the time it's extremely annoying. Does the voice understand chain of command? He focuses on the task at hand. The voice said to check the next room for hostiles. That's good tactical procedure.
J'Shun, moves to the door on the north wall and points his longsword at it as it slides open for him.
"Private Rastar, take the point position we may need your heavy firepower up front should we run into any potential threats."
Vyv manages to get into the computer system.
The screen background changes to a photograph of a male drow and older female human smiling together in a garden - it seems it is an image of Dr. Renou’s parents.
Millie is fascinating. She’s extremely intelligent and gentle. She allowed me to take a few DNA samples in exchange for some of Havar’s sicklefruit. She loves those fruits, which is good because that gives the rest of us an excuse not to eat them. The food we’re giving her seems to have no negative effects on her system, though biologically she bears few similarities to Pact Worlds fauna and likely originates somewhere much further away. If we can identify where her species may have originated, it will give us a better idea of where these starship fragments came from.
Checking the medical cabinet, it contains an advanced needler pistol, a standard syringe stick, and 3 doses of tier 1 sedatives.
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Vyviane points out the supplies to Bodo, in case he wants to 'police' them like Space Admiral Oblivious wanted.
She then settles in and reads through the files she can access on the computer. "Unexpectedly empty station, malfunctioning and stripped wires, messes all over the place, the numbers of life forms at the entry point, starship hull debris and now non-Pact World Fauna. I don't like how this equation is adding up. We need to check the other rooms in here quickly, and hope that the scientists are safe somewhere."
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Looking over the information on the computer J'Shun says, "There is only one explanation. The scientists were working on a biological weapon. They were experimenting genetically on a alien species in an attempt to turn it into a killing machine. The experiment went awry and the creature killed everyone on the station in the most grotesque way imaginable. Now I Space Admiral J'Shun Kay, first son of Clan Summersword, House Davion, line of Astu, born in fire! must stop it before it is let loose on the Pact Worlds where it will sow misery and destruction at a level never before seen. I will face it in ritual combat and defeat it in the most heroic way possible."
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Vyviane gives a very audible face palm and sighs deeply at the incredible leaps of logic that J'Shun has just taken. "Or, hear me out, they could have found a creature that seemed innocent but accidentally ended up being deadly in some unforeseen way. Also deadly killing machines very VERY rarely take part in ritual combat!"
Surveying the wreckage inside this room, it’s possible to ascertain that it once functioned as a laboratory. Shattered computer monitors and bent pieces of equipment lie scattered on the rocky floor. An upended tray of rock samples clutters a workstation at the center of the room. Smashed planters leak potting soil mingled with pieces of rotten green fruit onto the floor. More of this odd fruit hangs ripe from a woody shrub in the intact planter to the east.
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Vyviane peers into the room behind J'Shun and looks about the place. Before he can even say anything, Vyviane holds up a finger to silence the bluster. "You don't have to say anything, I know I'm the only one who can fix some of the things here....." After a second she snaps to attention and adds in her Drill Seargant voice, "PRIVATE KAY, TIDY UP THIS SPACE, NOW! IT IS A SECURITY HAZARD!"
She then moves over to the lab equipment and tries to fix it up.
Her fingers warmed up she moves over to the computers and sends up a small prayer that the prep she did for that one job where she had to pose as a computer repair woman actually stuck... and this wasn't a different generation of computer.
She gives a massive sigh of relief to find that it's the exact same model she trained on, and quickly has it up and running again.
She then is quickly into the mainframe and ready to rock it.
Vyv fixes the lab equipment.
She manages to fix a computer and reboot it - logging in she finds the last action someone took was to wipe the terminal in a hurry. Something seems off with the desk though.
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Frustrated that her beautifully recalled computer fixing ability proved to only be a reformatted hard drive, Vyviane frowns and glances at the desk for a moment.
She then moves over to the next two computers and tries to fix up both.
The second proves to be a newer model with some custom power supply system she knows nothing about, but she does get the third booted up.