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After a short recovery period, you're summoned to a small office. On the far wall a large video screen shows an armored shirren. The shirren is moving around, but his attention is fixdd on a holo-display on his desk. There is no sound.
Zigvigix, the Exo-Guardian leader, looks toward you, and refocuses. He gestures toward you, the sound in your office alters slightly and he speaks.
“Excellent, your timing is perfect. We’ve analyzed the data collected from the derelicts around the ice giant Bastiar-7. We’ve found out that a group of ships was able to escape the area and headed to Bastiar-2. Only a few hours ago, we started receiving emergency signals from there, so that’s where I’m sending you! An explorer is waiting for you in your mother hip's landing bay.
Please try not to die; I really like spending time with you! Our sensors detected a lot of seismic activity on the planet, so you might experience earthquakes or volcanic eruptions while you’re there. Take some pictures for me!”
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"Sounds charming." Zigvigix is a refreshingly candid personality.
Never gives her faction leader an enthusiastic thumbs-up. She has no intention of nearly dying again, and gives her jetpack a twice over to make sure she can safely navigate above hostile terrain.
Channeling the squads old leader, Never gives the same thorough inspection to the team's vehicle and tests the air conditioning is charged. Comfort first! She then tests the tire pressure and lashes together an extra set of tires, an installation kit, and a compressor that can be rigged to the battery.
"You get anythin' more meaningful than just some emergency signals? Something that might hint at what's wrong with the ships that went there? Sure earthquakes and volcanoes are rough, but Starfinders know their way around." Harlan chews a piece of jerky he picked up while waiting for Never to be treated.
Later on, he eyes Never's jetpack enviously. It's a lot more flexible than his flight spell.
Zephyr rests and regains his stamina if needed (was it real or imagined damage he took? He doesn’t know). ”Hopefully we can all fit in the same vehicle this time,” he says.
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"It's an automated beacon. I just hope there really are some survivors there."
Your explorer scout ship is ready to go. The Tear-altered physics let you make the jump to Bastiar-2 in record time. The planet is small, with a moon large enough that the barycenter of the pair is closer to the planet surface than its center. And it is volcanically active. Smoke and ash choke and obscure the atmosphere. Through the rare gaps in the clouds you see huge flows of lava like glowing red river deltas across the land mass. Super-heated steam plumes surround the few remaining large bodies of water.
Zephyr noses the ship down through one of the clear patches and dodges around plumes of steam, smoke, and molten rock while homing in on the distress signal. Often he's flying on instruments only, even his IR sensors can't see through the murk sometimes.
With some small amount of gratitude, he finds a landing spot, a tiny patch of stable higher ground not far from distress beacon.
The beacon is that-a-way across ground broken by the occasional lava flow.
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Never, coming from the sweaty bowels of Absalom Station, doesn't mind some heat, but open lava flows is next level, and she's thankful for the environmental controls in her armor. She engages her jetpack and sets it to cruising speed, then radios her teammates.
"I'll go ahead and check things out. I'll let you know when I get a visual on the beacon site."
She jets off in that direction.
”Stay away from wind shear and come back right away if you encounter any airborne foes,” suggests Zephyr as he also engages his armor’s environmental protections and exits the ship.
While waiting, he tests out the interaction of his enhanced strength from the powered armor and the low gravity.
Harlan turns up his environmental compensation in his armor, muttering "Would it kill them to install some AC on this rock?" as he inelegantly disembarks from the ship. He eyes the various lava flows and plumes of smoke with distaste. When he's not causing the fires, they're a nuisance.
Just before Never jets off, he throws a small spell her way, enhancing her senses .
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Harlan casts his buff and Never jets away with preternaturally sharpened perception. She zips over the rocky (solid or fluid, it's all rock) terrain toward the beacon.
After Navasi activates her environmental protections and exits the ship, Harlan, Z-4, and the envoy begin their trek across the surface. Depending on your attitude and coordination, this is either fun, or frustrating. Maneuvering can be difficult if your speed is too high.
You see a knot of Starfinders engaged with a huge earth elemental. You are in the upper left corner. One Starfinder lies prone and unmoving by the lava's edge.
You figure the team is about 3 rounds away.
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Harlan casts his buff and Never jets away with preternaturally sharpened perception. She zips over the rocky (solid or fluid, it's all rock) terrain toward the beacon.
After Navasi activates her environmental protections and exits the ship, Harlan, Z-4, and the envoy begin their trek across the surface. Depending on your attitude and coordination, this is either fun, or frustrating. Maneuvering can be difficult if your speed is too high.
Or tell them nothing. That coud be amusing too. :-0
You see a knot of Starfinders engaged with a huge earth elemental. You also see a Starfinder ying prone and motionless by the lava's edge.
Harlan grants himself fluid morphism as well and then proves far more acrobatic in the low gravity than his ungainly appearance would indicate.
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Surprisingly, it's Zephyr who has a minor misstep. He overshoots his planned landing spot on a rocky island between lava flows, and in trying to stop short of the lava on the far side of the island stumbles. Only a desperate last second leap in the low gravity lets him clear the stream and barely touch down on the far side.
Navasi shkips down a low slope toward the android. "You okay? I thought you were going to face-plant in the magma for a second."
”A bit overconfident, I suppose. I think I’ve got it now,” replies Zephyr, thankful for Navasi’s concern.
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Never cruises comfortably above the lava flows until she spots the stranded Starfinders on the other side of a particularly dense stream of molten rock.
"Found our team ahead. Unfortunately they are separated from us by a lot of hot, hot lava, and there's a hot-headed earth elemental beating on them. Recommend you make best possible speed or they're cooked!"
Never considers her options. She can't really goose the jetpack to go any faster, but if she sets down she'll have to jump over all of that lava.
She thinks to add, "But hey, they're Starfinders just like us, so they should be totally fine."
Out of courtesy, she attempts to radio to the other Starfinders. "You look like you could use some assistance. Alpha Team is on the way. Play defense, don't get cocky, and we'll get to you."
Zephyr continues to run towards the Starfinders. "Never, tell us which way to go so we can jump over this lava! We have a chance to get there since this is a low gravity planet, right?"
Harlan looks at the deadly hopscotch up ahead and shrugs "Hey, just 'ave 'em get closer to our side and I'll start dealing with this elemental problem 'a theirs."
Zephyr rushes up to the lava floe and looks for a path across, ready to hop like a madman!
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Never waits for backup. The combat between the Starfinders and the earth elemental isn't going well. The elemental's smashing blows could pulp anyone of them, while their own weapons merely chip away at the stone creature.
Zephyr leads the ground party toward the edge of the lava flow. He's a good 40' from the edge of the flow when it erupts in front of him. Magma rains back down, but gravity doesn't drag it all. A fiery form coalesces above the lava.
Harlan shouts across the gap at the Starfinders "Jus' disengage enough that it comes closer to our side an I'll be able to give it a beating!"
Realizing his lasers will do nothing against a fire elemental, Zephyr rushes up and throws a powerful punch at the foe!
While Never and Z keep the fire elemental under control, Harlan jogs his way to the edge of the lava flows.
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Zephyr's blow doesn't have quite the punch he thinks it should have.
Harlan moves forward.
Across the river of lava battle rages. The Starfinders chip away at the elemental while its pile-driver blows rain down on them. The battle begins an intentional drift toward the A team.
The fire elemental looks down and seems to take Zephyr's punch as a challenge. It strikes back.
Navasi follows the others and fires again. This time she hits.
... ( B+F)
.... critical
staggered [DC 16])
With the earth elemental still well out of range, Harlan focuses fire with his allies on the fire elemental closer by. He snaps a trio of force bolts off at the elemental, starting the process of wearing it down.
Now adjacent, Zephyr continues to punch, knowing that his attacks are at least somewhat ineffective. He makes a mental note to invest in another energy weapon for his powered armor next chance he gets.
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Never hurries and misses her marks.
The fire elemental ignores the woman floating a las-length away, and has another go at Zephyr. It misses, as does another flaming blow.
Zephyr counters with a truly massive haymaker.
Harlan lands another trio of magic missiles.
Across the lava, the Starfinders pivot around the elemental and continue their slow fighting retreat toward you. The elemental pursues. Heavy punches, short blades, lasers and mystic energy thrust and parry.
One of the Starfinders goes down, and doesn't move.
Navasi closes the distance and fires again.
[ooc] Note FE previous attack on Z was an AoO.
... ( B+F)
... ( B+F)
.... critical
staggered [DC 16])
Irritated that the potential rescuees are no closer than they were before, Harlan shouts at the Starfinders "No sense lettin' it beat on ye. Get over here!"
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Never's whip cracks over the elemental's dipping shoulder.
The whip recoils and her second cast penetrates the elemental's chest. Somehow it causes harm because the elemental staggers. A fiery arm flails awkwardly, and randomly clubs Never harder than its intentional blow. And it burnssss.
... ( B+F)
Zephyr punches at the faltering elemental. If it falls, he starts making jumps toward the earth elemental attacking the beleaguered Starfinders.
Unimpressed by the boneheaded "caution" of the other Starfinders, Harlan flicks off another trio of missiles at the fire elemental to clear it out of his view.
"You know, one of you could steal its attention and the rest of you book it. You don't have to just grind to a halt and let it clobber ya. Elementals ain't that fast."
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The random stumbling of the fire elemental throws off Zephyr's timing. His punch goes wide.
Harlan's magic missiles go straight to its heart (or whatever serves to hold together and animate it) and it flares into a ball of very hot, but harmless, burning gas which expands over the party and soon dissipates.
Across the river the android in red unleashes some kind of magical blast.
The four Starfinders engaged in melee try to break away and flee. The elemental crushes one with a well-placed stomp and swings around to pursue them. It's newly visible right side is scorched, cracked, and crumbling.
The unengaged ysoki scrambles four-footed toward you. Likewise, the red android lifts into flight and soars over her comrades.
"Better give them some cover!" Navasi tries a pistol shot from range. Remarkably she manages to hit, but with small effect.
Shame on you looking in here. :-)
Zephyr hops one of the lava rivers in an attempt to get inside the short range for his artillery laser (120 feet).
Getting just close enough to the earth elemental, he aims at the big elemental and fires with his artillery laser!
Harlan finds the earth elemental at the exact edge of his magical influence. He's forced to take a step back and then run up and leap over the nearest lava rivulet. Once he's there, he snaps a pair of force bolts at the remaining elemental.