Zharis takes a guarded step back and shoots again.
Jin tosses a metal disk that fills the exhibit room with strangely beautiful music before it smashes into an ikeshti’s nose! The foe snarls and points at Jin, calling him out for a duel to the death. But before the two can tangle, Cabizo fires a masterful shot and sets the ikeshti on fire!
Zharis pumps another slug into the other ikeshti, almost knocking him down.
The solar-adapted air elemental doesn’t manage to pick anyone up in its tornado-like form, but it still flies so fast that Hani’s and Xylian’s attacks miss.
The burning ikeshti tries desperately to run, but that only fans the flames further and he collapses into a flaming heap. The sole surviving ikeshti shouts "The Bloodshots never surrender!" as he leaps again to try to cut Zharis down, but the pahtra is just too fast for him!
In the reconstruction area, the elemental gradually stops spinning and lashes out at Xylian with an air-powered punch that whistles like a sledgehammer!
Initiative (Round 6)
Elemental
Jin
Cabizo
Hani
Xylian
Zharis
Ikeshti
Bold should go!
Jin catches his returning singing disk and moves closer to the green ikeshti, before tossing it against him:
The last ikeshti collapses to the ground with a cracked skull.
The elemental's somehow solid fist smashes Xylian back but it leaves itself open for a point-blank blast from the ice cannon!
Looking around and determining that the group had things under control in this outer area, Zharis is tempted to start searching the bodies, but then remembers they haven't checked the lab area yet, so she heads that way.
Xylian's ice cannon tears through the elemental, and the creature dissipates into a gentle breeze.
Zharis sprints over to the reconstruction area and looks through the large, curved transparent aluminium window into a dishevelled laboratory area. The lab looks to be part of an exhibit as a clearly labelled information panel nearby explains it’s where visitors can watch DCI scientists at work.
Inside, long counters hold a variety of instruments and containment systems, interrupted by a large bank of consoles in the room’s northeast corner. Robotic arms dangle from a track in the ceiling. An onion-shaped device made from porcelain and smoky crystal sits atop the terminal, humming softly--it clearly doesn’t belong there!. An ikeshti wearing graphite carbon skin armor is working the controls of the strange device, and gives you a toothy smile as he peers back at you!
Hani is now battered by much of the construction debris. He's also still covered with glitter. His carefully constructed cosplay armor is now scuffed and dented. "I put a lot of time into this armor. This makes me pretty frackin' angry. We need to figure out who's behind this. I just got here, but do you three who have been here have any idea what's going on?"
Otherwise, Hani will follow Zharis.
Cabizo tries to stabilize as many of the invaders as he can before following the rest of the group. "Why don't we try the door?" he asks, pointing at the nearby portal.
Jin picks up his singing disk and moves towards the glass on the exhibit lab. He hangs the disk back on his belt and pokes the glass with his capture pole.
"Your accomplices have all been defeated. Step outside, with your hands up”, he warns the ikeshti.
Zharis goes into the lab , triggering the door , and then shoots at the ikeshti .
The ikeshti in the lab only smiles as Jin shouts at him from the other side of the transparent aluminium, before motioning in a "I can't hear you gesture." He laughs even harder when Zharis bursts into the adjoining room but can't open the door to the laboratory itself. Still, realising danger is on the way sooner or later, the ikeshti traces arcane symbols in the air and multiple holographic clones appear next to him!
Zharis tries to hack the door.
(insight)
Xylian follows Zharis into the lab, swapping batteries in his carbine on the way. Once everyone has assembled, Xylian connects to the lab door and attempts to engage the same evacuation protocols as before to force the door open.
Hani moves into the room with Zharis. He attempts to get the door open.
Zharis and Xylian try to override the door controls, but their first attempts fail. Of all times for the museum's security to hold!
In the laboratory, the ikeshti draws a survival knife and casually places it on the counter next to the controls of the strange device he's operating. He taps some controls on another console and the robotic arms on the ceiling track begin to slowly lurch into operation.
Zharis, frustrated, examines the locking mechanism again and then steps back and shares her insight with Xylian, knowing that he is better at these things, and hoping to help him get them in.
(insight)
Jin moves inside A8, waiting for the group to open the door.
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Cabizo waves at the trapped lizard-man and draws a heart in bright cyan paint, then a squiggly line through it and a sad face to the side.
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Hani will try engineering again, perhaps assisting Xylian.
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The expedition team's Lead Engineer and Lead Physicist combine their efforts and rewire the door's electronic locking mechanism. It slides open to reveal the ikeshti is ready and waiting for them!
Initiative (Round 1)
Zharis
Xylian
Jin
Hani
Cabizo
Robotic Arms
Ikeshti
Bold should go!
Arms on 10
Hani pushes his way forward, giving a traditional telia battle cry as he does.
When he reaches the ikeshti, his head and much of his arms and feet retract into his shell.
”Can anybody disable those arms?” Cabizo asks from the rear. “And what’s that?” He gazes at the strange crystalline orb with fascination.
Jin double moves inside the room and stops behind the ikeshti.
"Whatever it is you were doing here, it has failed. Surrender!"
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As Hani and Jin move to flank the ikeshti, Zharis opens up with her slug-thrower. But the bullet only manages to disperse one of the burglar's holographic clones!
Despise his noninconsiquential wound from the elemental, Xylian moves in to the room to attempt to disable the roboarms.
”Here you go!” Cabizo looks a little more tired, but still gives Xylian a thumbs up.
As Xylian goes to work with his tools to try to dismantle the mechanism, the robotic arms swing down with clenched metallic fists! Xylian is knocked out cold, but Cabizo sacrifices some of his own strength to bring the scientist back to consciousness.
The metallic arms slide back along the track and attack another opponent directly below them: Hani! But they can't harm the telia's thick shell.
Meanwhile, the canny ikeshti puts his back against the window before trying to slash at Jin with his knife, but the blade almost slips out of his hands!
"Wasn't expecting company, tonight. You sure you want to tangle with the Bloodshots?"
Initiative (Round 2)
Zharis
Xylian
Jin
Hani
Cabizo
Robotic Arms
Ikeshti
Bold should go!
“I am not familiar with the bloodshots. If you surrender you can tell us all about them.”
Jin attacks with his capture pole:
Zharis shoots again.
but with Hani and all of those blasted arms in the way, she can't get a good shot.
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"Hani! Come help us with these robotics!" Cabizo calls as he runs around the outside of the room to the window. "You got this!" His voice is harder to hear on the other side of the barrier, but his smile (and the four thumbs-up) are unmistakable.
Hani's head pokes out of his shell again as he considers the robotic arms. He'll try to shut it down.
Xylian briefly loses consciousness, but through some miraculous means he regains consciousness before he even has time to fall to the floor. Shrugging off the strange occourance, he attempts to override the controls of the robotic arms again.
Jin's capture pole closes tight . . . but on an illusion! As Zharis' shot goes awry and Cabizo rushes back out and around to the window, Hani and Xylian try to deactivate the robotic arms. Hani is jostled in the attempt, but together the two scientists shut down the threat!
The ikeshti chuckles. "Not bad, but try this on for size!" He reaches out a glowing hand toward Jin.
Initiative (Round 3)
Zharis
Xylian
Jin
Hani
Cabizo
Ikeshti
Bold should go!
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Cabizo squeezes the trigger of his trusty laser pistol twice, trying to get rid of the stranger’s last image. He ignores the memories trying to push themselves to the front of his mind - memories of firing hopelessly at a lashunta while his leg burned and bled and tears filled his eyes.
"Very powerful! But it is meaningless, all the exits are guarded - you cannot escape." Jin full attacks, smoke coming out from inside his armor:
Zharis moves to get a better shot and tries again.
Cabizo, don't cry or you'll blind yourself and shoot one of the good guys!