tt's The Elsebo Way

Game Master therealthom

Culture: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Never knows nothing about Frozen Trove, and doesn't much care. As Jaeric fills the group in from his typical wealth of information, she can't help but look down at her feet and wonder when this show will finally get on the road. Then there was some bit about dragons.

"Dragons?" she repeats. That sounds interesting.

Culture on Frozen Trove: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Sparky listens as Jaeric gives his input. Finishing processing all the data through SECSI before adding on "Frozen Trove also is linked to using multiple shell companies to perform illegal experiments in remote or obscure locations so they always have plausible deniability. This is rumored to be the actual reasons for their multitude of success in the bioenginnering field. As well as the organization has not just ruthless and cutthroat lawyers. They have equally dangerous muscle protecting them from those who would try to spy or steal their secrets." he kinda smiles at the thought that they haven't had their secrets stolen.....yet.

"Sounds like quite the ruthless organization. We should be prepared to defend ourselves. Any news on what kind tactics they may use? Perhaps they like to swoop in and use cryo weapons like their white dragon leader?" muses Zephyr, though it is unclear if he is speaking of personal combat or starship battles.

"Preferred form of weapons is unclear. Perhaps best way to interpret is that they have overwhelming strength since no survivors have been found to tell the tale. We should load up on any extra armaments then we think we would need. Other than that it is all the info I could find. Best to get started mapping a drift route there and use that time to properly review the data obtained here."

"If they come swooping in with cryo weapons, that might be a nice change of pace after the inferno those Hellknights gave us on Athaeum..." Jaeric quips. He reaches for the ship's communication console and starts notifying Absalom Station's flight control that they'll be powering up for departure soon. "Everyone get your stuff stowed," he advises, "We'll get underway shortly. I grabbed a few to-go meals from the noodle shop down on Level 34. They're in the galley if anyone's hungry..."

OK, then.

It's a long trip out to Icefront more than two weeks in the Drift. The ship performs well, some standard minor maintenance in transit. Unfortunately the food is ship-standard -- nourishing, edible, and uninteresting.

Settle your shipboard roles. I'll PM Lorne's player.

Zephyr pilots the Pegasus through its paces, regularly getting a bit of extra speed out of its engines when needed in a dogfight.

Jaeric sits in the commander's chair, thumbing through additional information on Icefront and Frozen Trove. 'What's their angle?' he wonders to himself, 'Could they be seeking the same artifact? How could they even know about it? Maybe something else tipped them off to its presence? Or, maybe they were just drawn there because of some genetic potential in whatever the ancient civilization left behind?'

Periodically, he toggles over to check the other ship stations just to see how the Pegasus is performing. She was a lot different than any vessel he'd been on before. Not at all like the sleek elven and lashuntan ships from Castrovel. But, he trusted Zephyr to pilot it and Lorne and Sparky to keep it running. So, they should be good.

Then he glances over at Never. She seemed bored. Or was that just her 'resting' face? It was always hard to tell. Her mood was often mercurial. Intensely interested in one thing, and then aloof and annoyed the next. Maybe she was just spoiling for another fight? She certainly came alive in any conflict they'd faced so far. And she was darn good at it, too.

"Alright, folks..." he noted over the ship's comm, "We should be coming up on Icefront soon. When we drop out of the Drift, let's do a quick scan of the planet for any space stations, satellites, or orbiting vessels so we can determine if they're hostile. And have the guns warmed up in case we're fired upon by any overzealous Frozen Trove security. If everything seems clear, we'll want to map out what we can with some upper atmosphere scans to penetrate any cloud cover. After that, we can work out if there's any life signs, ruins, or favorable landing zones for exploration. If anyone's got any questions, suggestions, or concerns, now's the time to speak up so we can get them addressed beforehand."

”Right, Captain Never it is, then. If we get in combat, I will trust you to keep the whole tactical situation in perspective. I’ll focus on piloting—just tell me where you want the ship and I’ll put her there,” says Zephyr as the rest of them settle into their roles aboard ship.

Never decides she is not hostile toward the Pegasus. Not like the big banana that Iteration-177 squirted around. This ship felt decidedly blue-collar. Even the food was normal. She picked a bunk and chilled out while the days passed.

Finally Jaeric put on his shoulder pads where all the shiny insignia's pin and took a seat at the command console. She expected him to give her some mundane assignment, like counting all the missiles or making sure the power cores on the sleds they requisitioned were topped off. Just in case, she did those things ahead of time, and then was mildly disappointing when he merely ogles her from across the bridge.

The Zephyr chirps up with some "Captain Never" joke. She holds her tongue but gives him a WTF look. Just to make things more clear, she sits behind a weapons console and tries to look interested.

Sparky spends the days processing the data and projecting probabilities for every theory possible. He doesn't step on Lornes toes but does daily maintenance and system diagnostics to keep everything running smooth as possible. As Lorne is most likely in the engineering station, sparky familiarizes himself with the science officer station and systems. Reorganizing and configuring the interface to be more to his liking. As they begin to get close to drop out of the drift he has a few subroutines prepared to perform scans as requested by Jaeric. All while trying not to smirk to noticeably over Zephyr and Nevers interaction.

"I have the scanners prepared and the shields set to energize as soon as the drift engine powers down. If there is anything in the immediate vicinity we should know almost immediately."

Day nineteen and you drop out of the Drift.

Science Officer Sparky, please give me a computers check to run the scanners

After Sparky announces his scan results, you receive an incoming transmission from the planet. Your ship’s video screen shows a strikingly pale humanoid face with short-cropped black hair and black bulging eyes, a female verthani.

[ooc] Verthani, natives of the Pact World planet Verces. (Starfinder Alien Archive 118)

"Incoming ship. This is Dr. Monsylkis of the Winterharvest Research Station. Please identify yourselves and state your business in this system."

Computers: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

"The southern hemisphere is experiencing severe blizzards while the northern hemisphere is in extreme rain and thunderstorms. I am picking up nearly 40 million humanoid life signs. They are archaic in technological advancements and appear to be in the hunter/gatherer stage of development. SECSI is generating image now........wait there is also an anomaly in the southern hemisphere....adjusting sensor resolution.....with interferometry scanners enabled it is revealing a variation in the weather pattern at the edge of the hemisphere. A cold snap orbits an area with disproportionately high energy output signatures.

see slide 2 for image of the humanoids found

"The southern hemisphere is experiencing severe blizzards while the northern hemisphere is in extreme rain and thunderstorms. I am picking up nearly 40 million humanoid life signs. They are archaic in technological advancements and appear to be in the hunter/gatherer stage of development. SECSI is generating image now........wait there is also an anomaly in the southern hemisphere....adjusting sensor resolution.....with interferometry scanners enabled it is revealing a variation in the weather pattern at the edge of the hemisphere. A cold snap orbits an area with disproportionately high energy output signatures.

"Well, I suppose that's the volatile weather we expected. Hopefully, we don't have to venture too far into it." Jaeric replies, "But 40 million humanoids? That's a lot more than expected, and that can't possibly be just the Frozen Trove employees. Maybe there's an actual alien civilization here that tracks back to the history of the Scoured Stars? And presumably, Frozen Trove has already made contact with them. Maybe that's why they have a genetic research interest here?"

"Incoming ship. This is Dr. Monsylkis of the Winterharvest Research Station. Please identify yourselves and state your business in this system."

"Greetings, Doctor," Jaeric replies over the ship's comm, "This is Jaeric Kem of the Starfinder Society. We mean no intrusion or ill intent towards your station. Some of our recent xeno-archaeological efforts brought Icefront to our attention. It appears an alien species once migrated here from a distant star system, and we're looking to explore the surface in hopes of finding evidence of their civilization. Assuming you've been here far longer than anyone else, we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter with you and secure permission to search any ruins or make contact with any of their descendants. Perhaps you can also recommend an area to begin our search?"

"Starfinders!? Interested in the inhabitants? How very interesting. We are the only Pact Worlders for many parsecs around eeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE "

Feedback blots out the Doctor's transmission. Then the ship’s sensors detect an unknown starship emerging from the Drift, and red klaxons flash and sirens blare to alert you that weapons systems have locked onto your ship.

Sparky quickly locates the threat and throws a visual on the screen. The attacking ship looks like a sea urchin ringed with multi-segmented, tentacle-like appendages each tipped with three-pronged thrusters, weapons, and manipulative tools. The ship’s design does not match any known blueprints of Pact Worlds starships.

Zephyr, Initiative, Please. If you roll lower please move the ship on slide 2. Everyone, descriptions of ship combat actions are on slides 3-9. Engineering phase too. Elecguru, would you play Lorne and Sparky for this combat or until hustonj returns?

Initiative : 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Piloting Initiative: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (3) + 18 = 21

”Orders, Captain Jaeric?”

(If our captain assigns the computer bonus to piloting this round, that might change the initiative. In any case, a word from the captain may help coordinate our efforts.)

So as not to slow down the game, Zephyr will take his movement now as he best sees fit...Feel free, Captain, to give him generic or specific orders to coordinate our combat plan in future turns.

Kicking the sublight engines up to 11, Zephyr puts some distance between the Pegasus and the new arrival, trying to break their weapons lock with distance and evasive maneuvers.

Continue 11 hexes to the "west" on screen and turn at the last hex to starboard. Using the Evasive Maneuvers stunt to hopefully add to AC and TL. The idea is that if we fire a torpedo from our starboard arc this round, it may not get there until next round depending on how our foe moves, then we can try to time more weapons to hit next round at the same time the torpedo does.

Piloting Evade: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19 versus DC 22

So that's how it is going to be, dice roller? Didn't fail by 5 or more (and may actually succeed if the +3 from the computer goes to piloting this round), so no detrimental effect from trying to evade, anyway.

"Evasive action!!!" Jaeric shouts as he encourages Zephyr, prioritizing the ship's computer to assist with avoidance navigation and adding some helpful piloting suggestions of his own. "Get some distance between us. Steady on the throttle. Avoid any incoming fire. And someone start scanning that thing for weak points..." he urges.

OOC: Jaeric will use the "Encourage" action to give Zephyr an additional +2 bonus on his Piloting check...which should be on top of the ship's +3 computer bonus.

Piloting vs. DC 10 to aid Zephyr: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

The image of the attacking ship gives him pause. "Doesn't look like a Pact Worlds ship. Probably alien unless Triaxus and Frozen Trove have been engineering something new and keeping it hidden out here..."

Lorne takes station in the engine room as he begins to flip breakers and presses the override in attempt to send extra power to the sensors.

Divert Power: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (13) + 16 = 29

As the sensors sensitivity picks up a few more percent in resolution and penetration ability.

Sparky takes the time as disengaging to perform as thorough a scan as possible with the extra boost provided by Lorne.

Scan Enemy Ship: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (19) + 21 = 40

"Awesome Lorne thanks for the boost.....Captain I am routing all data to your console now"

Thanks, BroG.

SPARKY'S SCAN, copied on slide 2
UNKNOWN STARSHIP Medium transport
Speed 6; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1 ; Complement 6
AC 20; TL 21 HP 85; DT —; CT 17
Shields medium 90 (forward 25, starboard 20, port 20, aft 25)
Attack (forward) maser (6d10), SOME MISSILE LAUNCHER
Attack (aft) SOMETHING
Attack (turret) linked coilguns (8d4)
Power Core Pulse Red (175 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic;
Reversible The unknown starship’s overall shape and
positioning of its thrusters make it very easy for it to
reverse its heading. The ship grants a +2 bonus to flip and burn

The other pilot is not very imaginative. The enemy ship drives straight for you, jitterbugging unconvincingly. Despite that, and the turn, Zephyr opens up the range.

to 21. And that will bring us to gunnery. Fire away!

The alien ship opens up with a long range maser shot and it launches a rocket. The maser crumples your starboard shield and scores the hull of your vessel.

Status
Pegasus : Fwd 25 Stbd 0 Port 25 AFt 25 Damage 5
ALien : Fwd 25 Stbd 20 Port 20 AFt 25 Damage 0

Never's disinterest is shattered by the sound of the hull taking damage from the very first volley.

"Who picked this nerd ship?" Never asks no one in particular. "We are seriously f~&*ing outgunned. Screw this space combat stuff - we gotta run for the planet and hope we get there in one piece."

She looks at her gunnery panel and presses the trigger on the only weapon in arc at this range, a light plasma torpedo.

Attack+BAB: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

She watches the sad little torpedo get lost in the aether as it quickly loses tracking. "F*!@ me."

As EG pointed out in the discussion thread, there's a +3 ship's computer bonus available to apply to a weapons roll. (Jaeric used one.) I'll throw it to this roll and your sad little torpedo stays on track.

The lost torpedo resets its scanners, recovers its target lock, and corrects its course toward the alien vessel.

Engineering phase and initiative roll for round 2. 27 is the number to beat, Zephyr.

As he hears the tactical readout of the enemy ship and they get pounded by the long-range Maser despite his evasive maneuvers, Zephyr can’t help but agree with the captain. ”Aye, Captain, running and weaving!”

Pilot Initiative: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Zephyr waggles the back of the ship towards the dangerous foe to present it with their aft shields so hopefully their starboard shields will have some time to be repaired. He then continues moving away, juking and weaving as he goes.

Move one, turn to port, then move 10 straight "west" on the battle mat. Taking Evade maneuver versus DC 19

Piloting Evade to add 2 to AC and TL: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (16) + 18 = 34

Suggesting we get our shields repaired and/or dump extra shield points in our aft shields. Maybe the captain's bonus and the computer bonus can compensate for our distance with the turret weapons...

The Pegasus easily opens the range. Range 24 after movement.
Even the enemy missile fails to close the distance. Range 9 after movement.

The enemy pilot seems to be learning from Zephyr. His jukes and dekes are far more evasive now. The intensity of their target lock slips. Their missile veers left. Both their maser and their coil gun fire into the space you would have been if Zephyr hadn't turned.

See if you can maintain tracking for your missile and fire away for this round. You clearly have legs on this ship. You can exit the combat if you like. Or since this is essentially a free round, maybe you want to turn around and slug it out?

Somewhat encouraged by the missile's course correction, Never works to keep it tracking.

Missile: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

But alas, space is very, very big, and the target is relatively tiny.

The torpedo, its future now untethered from the typical fate of such armaments, passes serenely by the little snowball of a planet, venturing indiscriminately toward the infinite possibilities of deep space. Perhaps it will be intercepted in a billion years or six by a strange alien culture, to be dissected and analyzed. Perhaps that culture will then immediately send an armada across the universe to find and annihilate whatever remains of the civilization which forged it, so long ago. Or perhaps it will continue to ride the waves of time, blown this way or that by the radiation wind, until eventually it is absorbed into this or that black hole, consumed by a supernova, or expended into the endless void.

Lorne hears the captains calls for more shield as he begins overclocking the shield generator.
Divert to Shield: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32

Sparky brings up the shield layout screen and divers every point possible he can to the aft quadrant.

balance shields: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (18) + 19 = 37

As the shields in fwd, port, and starboard go to 9 each and aft getting 58 shield points generated.

"If you can keep them directly behind us me and Lorne can keep some shields active the best we can until you shake this thing. I don't see us outgunning this. If we survive this volley I can begin scanning for landing areas, perhaps the rough energy anomaly will mask our approach"

"Winterharvest Research Station, this is the Starfinder ship Pegasus! We are under attack by an alien craft!" Jaeric tries to reach Doctor Monsylkis again. "Suggest you lend any aid you can in driving off this attacker! We could use the help! If there's a ground defense where we could lead them into range of your own defenses, let us know!"

He then notes the tactical display and Zephyr's success in getting some breathing room. The android really was an excellent pilot. "Great job, Zephyr! Keep it up! If you think there's an advantage taking them into the atmosphere and thru those storms, do it..."

OOC: Jaeric will use the "Encourage" action again to give Zephyr an additional +2 bonus on his Piloting check...

Piloting vs. DC 10 to aid Zephyr: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

"The rest of you, do what you can to keep firing back. If we can hold out long enough maybe we'll drive them off or get some assistance from Frozen Trove's security..."

Never experiments with the turret.

Turret: 1d20 + 5 - 4 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 5 - 4 + 3 + 2 = 16

She decides this job sucks. "I'm not dying in this f%&!in' can. Bring us around and I'll jump out the airlock, land on their ship, break inside and kill them all where they sit." She stands and prepares to head for the hold, unbothered by the insanity of her plan.

Okay, but is it any crazier than trying to run, RAW? Medium and smaller starships have boarding ramps, so we should be able to maneuver close enough to reach the ramp, board their vessel, and pull off the surprise victory.

With the shields still not to 100% and no direct orders yet, survival is all on the mind of the engineer as Lorne attempts to divert more power to the shield generator.

Divert Power to Shields: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34

Shields go to 11 port, and stbd. 13 fwd. And 60 aft.

Sparky sees the shields back to 95% and balanced well enough to allow him to provide detail scans of the immediate space withing range of the engines to Zephyr allowing him to focus on getting into position rather than looking for space debris to dodge.

Zephyr gets +1 to pilot check for open crew action Range Finding

Since they were headed towards the planet when the enemy ship dropped in behind them, Zephyr leverages Sparky's sensor work to see if there is anything up ahead that will be useful on their way towards the strange disturbance in the southern hemisphere.

No stranger to being at a disadvantage in a space battle and having to get creative, Zephyr suggests, "Sparky, if you find any large space debris on the way to the planet, let me know. Perhaps I can do a fly-by and drop off a special surprise for our pursuers in its sensor shadow...any ideas?"

"I found anything large enough to interfere with the ship within range but i can't scan and prep the surprise at the same time so you have to make due with the scans we got.....Lorne meet me at the launcher we have to wrap a present for our new friends..."

Sparky chuckles slightly at the premise of making a big boom. He loves big booms, he is a demolition expert after all......He arrives at the torpedo launcher and sees Lorne rushing in as well.

"Lorne we got to rig these bad boys to detonate simultaneously.. I have a detonator here that can help synchronize these lovely presents but we need to put the work in fast to make it happen..

As he has his power drill out and already removing the first torpedos access panel. Tossing it aside since it no longer matters. Looking at the wiring he is happy he familiarized himself with this model explosive during the inspection....

Torpedo Reconfiguration: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (20) + 18 = 38

As he smiles deeply as he jams the detonator in deep and rerouting the control circuitry through it with the delicate touch of a surgeon but with reflexes that are far beyond what a normal being should possess.

"Never give Lorne a hand, I got this beauty all under control
A big grin on his face.

Lorne gets his panel off and begins to synch the receiver to the detonator frequency. Rerouting power the best he can as Never adds her own special touch to assist.

Torpedo 2 Reconfiguration: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Lorne panics and not sure what to route where in the heat of the moment
if Never assists and has computer bonus that will be a 23 and not a dud torpedo and normal fail only

No stranger with a wrench, Never works side-by-side with Lorne to try to salvage the second torpedo. She's not sure the effort matters - they only need one good torpedo to blast her over there.

Engineering Assist: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"Right, I'll keep us dodging and weaving, then take a few pot shots at them to keep their shields angled our way. You guys have fun working your technological magic and let me know when the package is ready," responds Zephyr as the others move to deal with the missiles.

Lorne continues to work the torpedo

Torpedo 2 Reconfiguration: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

with Never and computer that's a 28

Sparky jumps to the next torpedo and continues working what magic he knows as he pops the cover off and stuffs his furry hands inside grabbing ahold of circuit cards and power supplies.

Torpedo 3 Reconfiguration: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27

Feeling rushed he barely gets that the third torpedo configured as Lorne and Never complete theirs. Jumping into the final one together.

Torpedo 4 Reconfiguration: 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 18 + 2 + 3 = 40

With Lorne and Never working with Sparky the final torpedo easily syncs up with the other 3 as the 4 are programmed and configured to work off one command.

Sparky hits the comms
"Captain your surprise is ready for delivery. Get us into position and we can try this hail Mary play to try save our fur...or skins or...you get the point let's do this thing!!"

"Zephyr, you're in the green. Make this count and I owe you your drink of choice back on Absalom..." Jaeric relays Sparky's readiness, then speaks into the ship-wide comm, "Get those torpedos loaded ASAP. Zephyr's doing what he can to keep us away from their maser cannon. When he finds the right moment, he'll start cycling them into their vector..."

Piloting vs. DC 10 to aid Zephyr: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

"Never? If you're done, get back on the guns and be ready to pummel these guys as soon as the detonation hits them. Maximum firepower, maximum damage..."

"Lorne? You and Sparky see what you can do in engineering in case we take any more hits. At a minimum, we need to stay functional for a landing on Icefront...and hopefully not a crash landing or we're all screwed."

He switches off the comm and leans forward to peer at the viewscreen again. "Who are these guys?" he mutters, "Pirates? Frozen Trove? The original aliens who migrated here? Or someone chasing them?"

"Huh?" Never is completely confused. She was supposed to get inside one of the torpedoes to get shot at that ship, then take it over from the inside. What the hell is this other plan? She has no idea.

”Thanks, Captain,” replies Zephyr, using Jaeric’s guidance to find some space junk or object to drop the *package* behind in its sensor shadow as they fly by.

Piloting to smoothly execute the maneuver: 1d20 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 18 + 2 = 27

”Captain, I’ll fly another 20 hexes or so past our drop-off point and we can come about and start using our long-range forward weaponry to draw them in if you think the shields can take it. If we can time this right, we can hit them from the front with forward and turret weapons right as they are going past the package and they will take a massive hit from behind at the same time!” says Zephyr hopefully.

"Should give them something to think about...and maybe drive them off even if we don't take them out entirely." Jaeric agrees.

"Winterharvest Research Station, this is the Starfinder ship Pegasus! We are under attack by an alien craft!" Jaeric tries to reach Doctor Monsylkis again. "Suggest you lend any aid you can in driving off this attacker! We could use the help! If there's a ground defense where we could lead them into range of your own defenses, let us know!" ...

Feedback squeals through the ship on the re-opened channel. The speaker on the portside of the bridge actually explodes into wispy debris.

Never experiments with the turret.

And misses, but not as spectacularly as the enemy ship. It's maser grazes the shields sparking industrial strength fireworks, but causing no damage.

Rolled enough damage on that shot to bring down the re-inforced aft shield, but missed.

She decides this job sucks. "I'm not dying in this f*$+in' can. Bring us around and I'll jump out the airlock, land on their ship, break inside and kill them all where they sit." She stands and prepares to head for the hold, unbothered by the insanity of her plan.

Maybe not as crazy as you think, but way more doomed.

With the shields still not to 100% and no direct orders yet, survival is all on the mind of the engineer as Lorne attempts to divert more power to the shield generator.

...

Shields go to 11 port, and stbd. 13 fwd. And 60 aft.

Sparky sees the shields back to 95% and balanced well enough to allow him to provide detail scans of the immediate space withing range of the engines to Zephyr allowing him to focus on getting into position rather than looking for space debris to dodge.

...

Status

"Let me know 'fore ya swing 'bout if yer gonna, so I cin flip the shields!"

If we're gonna go nose towards them, I'll need to move current aft points forward! Like, all of them!

Zephyr:

”Got it, Lorne, though we may need help before then if they connect with that big Maser,” replies Zephyr.

We may need more shield work if we get hit. Hopefully the combination of range and evasion will keep us relatively safe. We will definitely want to redirect the shields before we turn, but that will be like 2 turns after dropping off the *package*.

Range on last status, 21

"Sparky, if you find any large space debris on the way to the planet, let me know. Perhaps I can do a fly-by and drop off a special surprise for our pursuers in its sensor shadow...any ideas?"

"I found anything large enough to interfere with the ship within range but i can't scan and prep the surprise at the same time so you have to make due with the scans we got.....Lorne meet me at the launcher we have to wrap a present for our new friends..."

"Right, I'll keep us dodging and weaving, then take a few pot shots at them to keep their shields angled our way. You guys have fun working your technological magic and let me know when the package is ready," responds Zephyr as the others move to deal with the missiles.

Between dodging salvoes from the enemy and taking the occasional return shot himself, Zephyr is kept more than busy. No time for a proper scan.

L points. There's always debris at the L points. The android alters his mean course for Ice Front's L2.

Everybody misses. Their pilot evades also and the range hurt you. Range opens to 25.
Pegasus : Fwd 13 Stbd 11 Port 11 AFt 60 Damage 5
ALien : Fwd 25 Stbd 20 Port 20 AFt 25 Damage 0

I'll try to get more at lunch.

When the others leave the torpedo room and she is not jetisoned into the aether toward their pursuers, she grumps back to the bridge and presses the red button on the turret.

Turret: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 5 - 4 = 15

"Stupid lasers."

Zephyr and Jaeric continue flying the ship while Never tries one last shot with the turret and Sparky, Lorne, set the shields. Then the technical trio begin their labor on the torpedos. It's slow, exacting work, and the occasional burst of squealing feedback from the speakers when Jaeric tries to raise the Frozen Trove station, doesn't help their concentration.

Zephyr twists away from the enemy's fire ; Jaeric calls out encouragement. A brilliant snap shot by the pilot scratches the enemy's forward shields and they begin to transfer power from the flank and aft shields to reinforce the front.

The enemy pilot matches Zephyr's maneuvers, but the superior speed of the Pegasus continues to open the range. Aside from the one hit, they evade all other fire.

Lorne cries out in frustration over the torpedo, when the ship lurches from a lucky shot from the enemy coilgun. Sparky finds a shortcut to reprogramming a wide angle burst from the targeting sensors to help aid initial target acquisition.

Closing on L2, Zephyr is pleased with his hunch. There's not a major body here, but there are enough smaller rocks to clutter the enemy sensors and disguise the missiles once you dump them.

Range opens to 37.
Pegasus : Fwd 13 Stbd 11 Port 11 AFt 37 Damage 5
Alien : Fwd 52 Stbd 10 Port 10 AFt 10 Damage 0

Like dodging through a meteor storm, Zephyr threads his way through the concentration of asteroids, rocks, thin frozen gas, and other junk at L2. Sparky and Lorne jettison the missiles while Never takes another unsuccessful shot with the turret. The Pegasus bursts out the other side, sprints away, then suddenly reverses vector in a tight turn that pins you in your accleration couches, or to a bulkhead if you were unlucky enough to not be strapped in, and drives back toward the debris cloud and the emerging alien ship. Lorne shuffles the shield power to the forward shields during the tight Your missiles'' boosters ignite. Three of the four acquire the target. They converge on the alien, and smash its weakened flank shield.

Meanwhile it's maser and coil guns obliterate your forward shield in a coruscating flash that temporarily blinds your sensors.

It takes a few seconds to clear the sensors. When you do you see air, fluids, electronics and structure jetting and splintering silently away from the alien ship, and it slows even further.

The enemy hangs in space before you, its weapons and drive sputter feebly. Its targeting sensors are too weak to lock on. It's crippled , but not dead. Then it explodes in another blinding flash.

Self destruct. End of combat. Great idea with the missiles. Your ship is down a bunch of shields and has the littel bit of damage from the first maser hit. The comms feedback was them jamming you, so you're free to communicate with the frozen trove if you wish.

"We shoulda led with that," Never observes dryly. "I'll be in the bar."

Then, a minute later, "Where's the f!~&ing bar on this ship?"

Jaeric breathes a sigh of relief, consciously having to let go of the armrests of the captain's chair to try and reduce the pent-up tension in his hands and arms. "That was close...too close..." he says. "Zephyr? Amazing job keeping us out of range as much as you could. And Never? For keeping them honest with those turret blasts. Made it all the easier to lure them into Lorne and Sparky's trap. Excellent job on those torpedoes, boys!"

When Never asks about the bar, he can only grin at first, because he feels like they'll all need a drink after that. "I think the 'bar' is whatever you can scrounge up in the galley on this thing. We're not on the Diligent Forerunner anymore..." He then reaches over for the comm button again.

"Frozen Trove? This is the Starfinder Pegasus still orbiting. We had a run-in with an alien craft, but we're the last ones standing...or flying. It appears we triggered some kind of self-destruct. If you're open to us paying your enclave a visit, we'd welcome the chance to make a few repairs and talk shop."

While he waits for a response, he leans forward to Zephyr. "You think you can maneuver us in for a closer look at the wreckage? Lets capture as much footage as we can in case it's relevant to our mission or the ancient civilization we're investigating. In fact, if sensors pick up anything unusual in the debris, it might be worth a spacewalk to retrieve a sample of their tech...and see if it matches anything we know about those artifacts...."

"Excellent thinking; I'm on it captain!" responds Zephyr, maneuvering carefully over to the enemy ship's remains.