Zephyr will try to calm the creature as Harlan opens to door.
Harlan does so, then steps back to give the creature room to leave and/or go on a rampage through enemy territory.
Stepping aside, Locket leaves space to allow the creature to flee to safety. He keeps a wary eye on the little beast as it does so, ready should it turn on one of his companions.
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When Zephyr tries to sooth the creature, it stops lashing and settles in a lower rear corner of the cage. Harlan trips the latch and steps out of the way, as does Locket, while Faelyn watches from the doorway. The creature swarms out of the cage, rockets to the ceiling, then bounces down onto Zephyr's head. The android is blinded by tentacles wrapping his helmet.
"Hold still a second Zephyr. Lets see if its tryin' ta eat ya or if it's just showin' its affection. Tap if you feel it crushing the life out of ya." Harlan gets ready with some missiles if it turns out to be meaningfully hostile.
Zephyr reaches up and starts to gently but firmly remove the being from his face. He puts little strength into it at first, just letting the critter know it needs to let go with physical direction, not brute force.
"I am not currently injured. Please show restraint," he says into the comms, hoping that this is mere friendliness and not an attack.
”Right, let’s move on,” says Zephyr with a small pat on the critter’s head. Wearing it like an oversized armband, he makes sure it is clear of any of the mechanisms of his powered armor and heads out of the room.
”I have never had an organic as a pet. What should we call it?” he asks.
Harlan is not a creative man, but he's also not one to hold back with his opinion. He grunts "Sucker. Nah, wait... Lil' Sucker. Since he's a runt." in response to Zephyr as he heads into the hallway. "Shame he didn't go suckin' on some 'a the Jinsuls to keep 'em busy while we did our work."
"One way to go from here." He sticks a thumb westward. "Lead the way."
He keeps an eye and ear out for trouble.
Locket watches the creature's antics, ready to intervene should it prove hostile.
Smiling as the critter settles into place on Zephyr's arm, he relaxes his guard a little.
"Not exactly your run-of-the-mill pet," he says to his companions. "I don't think anything like Fido, Rex or Mittens would do it justice."
Chuckling at Harlan's suggestion, he glances at the android to gauge his reaction. "Well, yes, Lil' Sucker would definitely be different," he allows.
"Let's go," Locket says, nodding agreement with the half-orc gladiator.
He also keeps alert for signs of trouble as they travel.
As the party ambles its way deeper into the complex Harlan offers "Y'know, maybe you got a bright future with this new pal 'a yours. Train it into a killing machine. Win some show matches in the arena on Apostae, eh?"
Harlan flourishes the key card the group looted earlier. "Mood lightin's a bit much in here, isn't it? Violet isn't doing anyone here any favors. So let's see what we can pull off this machine and then get out of here."
He first checks the computer terminal for what can be gained without using the key card, then gives it a try if he hits any walls.
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Harlan discovers that it's an elevator with ridiculous security on the computer controls. He needs the keycard just to make it go up and down, but up and down it will go.
On the new floor, the doors open. Dim violet light bathes another corridor. After a few minutes trek along the corridor and through various doors the corridor widens into another workshop.
The acrid smell of hot metal fills the air of this U-shaped workshop. Thick power cables line the ceiling, funneling visibly bright energy from out an outlet in the eastern section of the room. A table rests in the center of each leg of the room and each of the two tables hold fifteen-foot-long metallic parts that show signs of damage. Dozens of small robotic arms mounted above the tables, on tracks affixed to the ceiling, make various repairs to the machinery below. An embedded computer terminal covered in fine dust and metal filings rests on the southern wall.
Over the comms, Historia : "Have you found the power core yet? We are ready now."
Harlan looks over the room for a moment before answering over comms to the leadership "Could be we found it. Give us a moment." He studies the equipment first while he lets the rest of the party keep a lookout.
"No, false alarm, I think it's further in. We're in some workshop for repairin' bots, by the looks of it." He reports over comms before moving on to the computer. "But this does have good data on their robot fleet. Time to filch another bit, eh?" He makes a copy here as well to send over to Historia.
Nym looks around the room, then turns back to Harlan.
“Did that elevator show any floors farther down or is this it? Looks like a dead end.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Zephyr, does your pet have any insights to add? It knows the place as well as we do.”
”Uh, I haven’t learned to actually talk with the Lil’ Sucker yet,” replies Zephyr, ”But I think someone should take a run at the computer…”
As Nym looks around, one area catches his eye. He moves closer.
“Ha! Found it. There’s a hallway outta here after all. From where I was standing, it looked like an alcove.”
He nods toward Harlan. “I’ll keep watch down the hall. Did you check the computer system? Tech isn’t my strong suit, but I might be able to help you if you need it.”
"Sure did, already made a copy of some interesting data." He grunts. In addition to making a copy of the files, he checks to see if he can sabotage the system to make sure it no longer produces/fixes giant robots, or at least it'll take some time to get it back online.
"When you're ready, lets see that power core."
“Annnnd… you got it. Good work. Let’s get to that core.”
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Harlan looks over the room for a moment before answering over comms to the leadership "Could be we found it. Give us a moment." He studies the equipment first while he lets the rest of the party keep a lookout.
...
"No, false alarm, I think it's further in. We're in some workshop for repairin' bots, by the looks of it." He reports over comms before moving on to the computer. "But this does have good data on their robot fleet. Time to filch another bit, eh?" He makes a copy here as well to send over to Historia.
Radaszam hisses over the comms. [smaller]"Historia, out of the hatch! There's jinsuls coming this way. Wait. All right, Let's go. Damn cart. Mmmgh. Push. Got it. Straight through those doors.
Recon team. You've got to be close. Keep moving. We're coming to you."Harlan finishes his data download. Zephyr and Locket discover two accelerated datajacks and one standard speed suspension upgrade among the robot parts. Faelyn finds the way onward while keeping watch, and you're moving again.
A few more minutes of walking along this curving corridor, and you are faced with a set of heavy double doors.
”Right. We’re on the clock here,” says Zephyr, preparing for battle. “Open the door and I’ll move in, leading the way to neutralizing any resistance.”
"Fine by me." Harlan passes the key card over to Zephyr and stands aside in case opening the door is met by overwhelming firepower.
Shrugging, Zephyr slots in the keycard and moves into the room.
“Copy that, Radaszam. Looks like we’re almost there.”
Pistol ready, he nods to Zephyr, Harlan, and Locket.
“Ready? Here we go…”
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The doors slide open with a hiss as a rush of air flows out of this pressurized room. A ten-foot walkway lines the southern portion of the room. The eastern wall contains an open door with a visible computer terminal beside it. Fifteen feet above the entrance southern level, catwalks outline the northern part of the room. In the center lies a hexagonal catwalk surrounding four reactor spires that stretch fifty feet up to the ceiling above. The air crackles as large sparks of energy
roil on the reactor spires.
The floor drops 50 feet below the entrance walkway where
the PCs enter the room, making the height of the room from top
to bottom 100 feet.
reactor spire from all but the most extreme damage, meaning the
PCs don’t need to worry about damaging it with their weapon.
High up in the middle of the platform on the northern wall, several frenetic jinsuls surround a flag-draped jinsul on a small dais. The flag draped one chitters incessantly, pausing only for occasional responses from the others who wave their scythe-legs in unison. The call and response stops. All jinsuls' eyes, dozens of them, turn to the PCs, and flags begins chittering furiously, waving their legs around. From down the hall, you can hear furious chittering and the scrabbling of many feet
as more jinsul reinforcements approach from the eastern doorway!
Flags
Other Jinsuls
Harlan
Zephyr
Faelyn
Entering the room, Locket pauses to quickly take stock of their plight. "Looks like the right place," he murmurs. "Let's get this done before their reinforcements arrive."
Setting his kusari-fundo into motion, Locket slowly strides forward, his weapon spinning a fiery orbit.
Keeping close by his companions, he stops at the edge of the catwalk, catching a weighted end of his weapon in each palm. Drawing his hands apart, he stretches out the criss-crossed lengths of fiery chain, the energy crackling as he whips a fiery bolt across the room toward the nearest jinsul .
"That there glowin' object in the center's the reactor spire, but it's damn well shielded. We won't have to worry 'bout damaging it in the fight, but it'll take some pretty good studying to work out how we're going to destroy it afterward." Distracted by the glowing tech, Harlan's slow to jump into dealing with the foes.
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Locket scorches the righthand jinsul. It flinches and chitters, then tries to return the compliment with a ray of cold from its pistol. It misses.
Flags screeches and floresces purple. The others leap from their platform, dropping across the gap to the walkway surroundng the reactor spire. Blue lands and is hidden behind the spire. Green lands and fires a beam of cold wide of Zephyr. Orange and Yellow swarm forward.
... C; critical blind)
... C; critical blind)
Zephyr takes to the air in his hover suit powered armor gaining altitude and putting open space below him. He stops when he has a clear line of sight on the flag-draped leader and has some good separation from the other jinsuls on the catwalks, making it tough for them to engage him in melee.
He then engages his Black Forcefield and orients both shoulder-mounted lasers at the leader threateningly!
“Whoa - they move fast. I didn’t expect ‘em in the front row quite so soon.”
Nym draws his clockbaton, then aims his scout gun at yellow.
“Let’s get that one.”
Harlan smirks unpleasantly as he flicks open his old watch. As he snaps it shut he propels a spent casing in a spinning arc through the air. Once it's at the far side of the room it blooms into a massive explosion!
He follows by grinning cruelly at the nearest jinsul . "Ready to be roasted?"
Steeling himself as the jinsuls charge toward their position, Locket resumes his weapon's flaming swirl.
"I'm on it," he replies to Faelyn's direction.
Waiting for them to close within range, he sends the fiery chain zipping toward the front-most foe, expertly redirecting it to strike again in rapid succession.
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Harlan's taunt is not nearly as effective as his explosion was. Maybe it's the language barrier. From the extinguished center of Harlan's blast a small object comes sailing. It blossoms into an explosion that hardly matches Harlan's.
Locket batters and burns the lead jinsul. The creature falters momentarily. Under the cover of the jinsul's explosion, it straightens up with body-language that transcends language, steps inside the kusari=-fundo's range and slashes the pahtra with its leg-blade.
The second jinsul clatters forward and leaps his fellow and Locket, coming down behind the pahtra, but also next to Faelyn and Harlan. Its leg-blade targets the half-orc.
The jinsul behind the power-spire appears around the left side, running madly and joins its two comrades beside Faelyn.
The jinsul beside flags drifts to your right and opens fire on Zephyr. The last one to jump onto the party's platform leans back against the spire to give itself some cover from most of the party and also fires on the flying target. Zephyr is untouched.
Flags 10 rounds of forcefield left. Reinforcements on round 3.
... P; critical 1d6 bleed)
... P; critical 1d6 bleed)
... C; critical blind)
... C; critical blind)
Locket squares off with the approaching jinsul as they move to surround him. The fur on the back of his neck tingles as it stands on end. Instinctively twisting his body away, he is able to avoid the worst of the incoming blast.
With the close quarters, he switches his attack, launching a heavy front kick at the lead jinsul (and maybe following with snapping a side kick at the jinsul against the wall ).
Drawing a bead on the flag-draped Jinsul, Zephyr launches a double-blast of coherent light from his artillery laser!
Readied to face the lead jinsul, Locket is on the alert as another foe tries to slip past him toward his friends. The pahtra redirects his kusari-fundo to catch the jinsul as it scurries by.
His brain anticipating the incoming explosion gives him a head start in dodging it, which (portly as he is) he sorely needs. He gets a little burned regardless. He steps back behind Faelyn and casts his will out at the three jinsul that were bold enough to get close to him. With a snap of his watch he tries to slow them down.
“You're a little short for a warrior... maybe you just carry everybody's lunches.”
“You know what they say, gotta get ‘em all. Let’s do this!”