As you near the crashed starship, two things jump out at you. First, you see an open door heading into the ship at the back. Second, near this door is a dead Azlanti soldier. She appears to have massive trauma around her neck area.
"Fool me twice..." Chiaiese starts. "Careful for the trap on the door."
DC 20 for Treat Deadly Wounds
Using Chiaiese's Medicine skill bonus if that's okay.
Heals 2 + 5 = 7 (Success by more than 5 adds Int bonus of person treating the wounds.)
Heals 2
Total healed: 9
Rest heals 2 more.
So Duncan recovers 11 putting his hp at 12/16.
Duncan gives the fallen Azlanti a once over and removes any weaponry present. He keeps the Azlanti helmet communicator on in case there is any radio chatter.
He readies his sniper rifle while looking into the ship, but stays outside until the entrance has been checked out.
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Adjusting to their recently obtained gear and double checking everything on their way to the crashed Azlanti ship, Sevens eyes the pristine interior cautiously, the dead Azlanti soldier more than enough to convince them to stay out of the ship for now.
Careful to keep behind Duncan and his rifle, Sevens indicates for the Azlanti helmet. "May I? I may be able to hack into their frequency."
Yoromishtali cradles his rifle at the ready as they approach the crashed starship. At the sight of the dead soldier, the vesk crouches down to examine the wound. Was it an animal or the group turning on themselves? he thinks. He also searches the ground for claw marks, footprints, or drag marks . "A victim of the hobgars?" he wonders.
"Thanks for thinking about traps Chiaiese," he says.
The vesk turns on his video camera and faces the entrance, showing Chiaiese checking for a trap. He begins to narrate: "We're about to enter a crashed Azlanti starship, the Royal Venture. A pre-Gap vessel. Based on what we learned yesterday, Lieutenant Sharu should be inside with a group of Aeon Guard senior cadets. Minus one of them. Dead when we arrived." Yoromishtali shifts his position to the dead soldier.
"Duncan named this Operation Exterminate Vermin. Sounds good to me. As you know, the dimensions of the hallways and rooms will dictate how we fight. Ideally I'll use my doshko, but as we first explore, I'll be armed with my laser rifle."
Yoro and Duncan examine the corpse of the unfortunate soldier. The massive trauma inflicted on the neck of the Azlanti cause an incredible amount of blood loss in a short period of time.
Yoro looks around just in time to see a some sort of elongated creature, perhaps worm-like, launch itself from under one of the winglets at the back of the crashed starship.
1. Sevens
2. Duncan
3. Thak
4. Neap
5. Chiaiese
6. Yoro
7. Enemy black
Seeing the creature right next to him, Yoromishtali instinctively weaves and rocks his body ready to dodge any physical attack from the creature. He snaps a kick at their opponent, wanting to cause injury but hoping the skin isn't sticky.
"Does anyone know what this is?" he barks.
Duncan is taken by surprise and fires his rifle at the creature, unsure of what it is. A thin red beam lances at the thing, emitting an aserbic crack as the light heats the air and rapidly expands.
Yoro's kick clearly annoys the creature, as it writhes before righting itself and renewing its attack.
Duncan's rifle misses.
Chiaiese takes one look at the horrifying creature and thinks, Nope! She's not ready to test herself with a sword against that thing.
Instead, she draws her finger and shoots it at the monster, unerringly.
Thak, Yoro, along with Chiaiese's magic missiles inflict pain on this strange picture. Though it flops around in pain, it rights itself and spews forth a caustic stream.
1. Sevens
2. Duncan
3. Thak
4. Neap
5. Chiaiese
6. Yoro
7. Enemy black
Thak, who is evidently the stone-faced killer of this group, puts a cap in the odd creature and ends it.
Chiaiese rolls and manages to avoid the worst of it. But sighs with relief when Thak puts the thing down.
"Great shot!"
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Sevens is annoyed that their shot goes wide again but doesn't let it sour Thak's excellent shooting, as the creature goes from dangerous to dead in a matter of moments.
"Nicely done." Sevens does their best to inflect sincerity and eyes the dead creature some more, wondering if it was native or if it had been from within the ship. Either way, if there were more, at least they went down without too much force.
Rifle still in hand, Sevens taps their ExoCortex and approaches Duncan, eyes on the closest opening. "Who wants to go first?"
"Well done Thak," Yoromishtali says. He wipes the creature's saliva from his face and washes it off with a little water. "Have you seen this beast before?" he asks the people who were at the colony.
Blinking and testing his vision, the vesk slings his laser rifle over his shoulder and wields his doshko. "I'll go first."
Duncan keeps an eye on the opening in the hull of the ancient starship. He keeps his rifle ready.
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Thak tracks the creature’s collapse with his gun, ready to pull the trigger again if it moves.
Seeing that it’s down and hearing the congratulations from his friends, he smiles and gives a self-conscious laugh and turns his head toward Yoromistali.
“It’s your combat tips that made the difference. You showed me how to draw fast and shoot — and there was that thing about how to grip the pistol. I guess it finally came together. Good work, team!”
He turns his attention to the ship.
“Let’s see what you’re all about…”
You make your way into the wrecked starship.
[ooc]You may place yourself in the entry hallway (area N2), or perhaps just outide. This is what you see.
This sleek hall is well lit by gold-trimmed sconces and the blinking lights of a wall-mounted terminal near an exterior hatch to the west. The eastern end of the hall is crushed and collapsed, leaving only a doorway in an alcove to the southwest and another doorway in the center of the south wall.
"You're a quick learner," Yoromishtali tells Thak. "You'll get better too, maybe even be able to teach me a thing or two."
Yoromishtali notices the gold-trimmed sconces as the group moves into the ship. "Gold? I didn't expect that, but I know so little about the Azlanti, I really shouldn't expect anything. And I'm sure there are some similar cultural associations of gold between the Azlanti, the Pact Worlds, and the Veskarium, but I'm sure there are some differences too." He's talking quietly to the group, but also narrating for the camera.
There is some evidence that someone has been through here recently, including signs of mud and dust on the floor. They go every which way, so it's hard to get a read on which door they used.
Duncan enters, rifle ready but pointed down so as not to threaten any allies. Then, seeing the close quarters, he sets the safety on the sniper rifle, slings it over his shoulder, and draws his semi-auto pistol and his sword cane.
He notes the terminal. "Anyone want ta try ta hack the system? Might help to have some idea o' what's what." He's looking at Chiaiese as he says this.
Once the others are in, he says, "Take yer pick. I'm ready."
He continues to monitor the radio for Azlanti transmissions.
Somewhere accross the Vast, Chuaiese senses her sister, Rilynn, struggling against the awesome chaos of fate. Perhaps the Great Decider has turned from one to the other...
She approaches the terminal and sets to work.
Indeed.
Yoromishtali watches the others ready themselves and steps up to the door. "Let's see what's behind the first door." He pushes the door's opening mechanism with the end of his doshko.
She approaches the terminal and sets to work.
[Dice=Computers]1d20+14
Indeed.
Chiaiese's computer skills prove to be most worthy! This terminal features a holographic AI, and Chiaiese has blocked many of its security features.
With that, a fussy-looking Azlanti hologram appears, identifies itself as "Ellioch," and begins spouting several details about the ship.
If accessed or hacked, Ellioch identifies the ship as the Royal Venture, personal vessel of Parept Ameondria of the glorious Azlanti Star Empire. The Royal Venture has a unique engine capable of faster-than-light travel called a rune drive, and Parept Ameondria and her personal complement of engineers and technicians were on the initial voyage to test the rune drive’s capabilities. The exact date of this voyage isn’t clear, but it’s plainly prior to the Gap. Ellioch also provides the schematics of the Royal Venture, which includes a map of the ship and a label displaying each room’s name and purpose; this schematic also notes the crumpled port side and the aft starboard collapse. The schematic constantly flashes with symbols labeled “warning” and “inoperative,” and it’s clear that the vessel’s flying days are long past.
Duncan looks at the schematic map of the ship and says, "Does it identify the bridge? We ought to head there if we can."
Duncan looks at the schematic map of the ship and says, "Does it identify the bridge? We ought to head there if we can."
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Impressed and amazed by Chiaiese's computer skills, Sevens works with (and around) Chiaiese to recover and analyze as much of the data from the hologram that they can grab.
"The bridge would be good, we can get more data. We need more data." They try not to sound too insistent, but its clear the reveal of the ship being pre-gap technology is a massive discovery to them.
This enormous engine room did not fare well in the ship’s crash. Huge turbines are knocked askew, wires hang loose, and red warning lights flare around the room. Most of the room is covered in moss and creeping vines. An area at the eastern end of the room contains two doors. The north door appears intact while the east door is askew in its frame. What was once a door to the south is now nothing but charred slag, destroyed in an explosion that seems much more recent than the other damage to the room.
"Are those lights magic? Have they been flashing since before the Gap?" Yoromishtali asks as he enters the room. His eyes quickly scan for something moving then he approaches the eastern door. "If the schematics provided by Ellioch are correct I think the bridge is this way."
Duncan prowls into the engine room and hungrily examines the engine and eventually gets down to the area where the explosion happened. He scratches at some of the char with a claw and sniffs the residue.
"Someone--three guesses who, an the first two dinae count--restored the power ta this mecky," gesturing toward the engine, "an' this was the result." He finishes pointing to the remnants of the door.
"It happened recently so louk fer bloud, evidence someone may hae been in here when it blouw."
Yoro realizes that he may be able to get the eastern door open--eventually. It will need to be shifted back onto its frame.
Duncan is busy inspecting the debris when he hears a disturbance behind him. Two eel-like creatures fly out from the tangle of cables and conduit at the back of the engine room and seem intent on attacking! In fact, before Duncan can react one of the creatures is on him!
Its whip-like tail slashes at Duncan and hurts him!
1. enemy blue
2. Sevens
3. Yoro
4. Thak
5. Chiaiese
6. Enemy red
7. Duncan (-5)
8. Neap
Yoromishtali is considering the best way to realign the door with its frame when he hears the sound of attack. He pivots and raises his doshko as he strides towards the creature attacking Duncan. "What out for the other one Thak!" He swings the doshko in a short arc trying to slice open the creature.
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Thak yells to the rest of the crew in the other room. “Watch out, team — new creatures attacking in here! Yoro got hit!”
He aims at the closest creature and prepares to squeeze off a round, when Cubber whips his head toward the threat.
“YAP! YAP! YAP!”
“Thanks for the warning, Cubber. We need to work on your volume control.”
Yoro steps forward with his doshko and ends this creature in a most grotesque fashion.
Thak is distracted by both Cubber and Yoro's handiwork. He can't hit the second one.
Chiaiese follows her brave companions through the door just in time to witness Yoro obliterate some monster with a doshko. But she has no time to consider the moral implications of such a devastating act as another monster appears next to her, ready to attack!
She lashes out with her sword, slicing at the belly of the creature!
S
Duncan suppresses a howl of pain, part of his combat training to keep focused and not make unnecessary noise that might give away positions or other combat status information. Still the slash from the tail has his torso and thigh throbbing as it bleeds. When Yoro gets revenge for the insult, Duncan says, "Och! Good clype, big yin! I owe ya wan!"
The remaining creature flitters away from Chiaiese after her hit with her sword. . As it ends its movement, there is a crackle of electricity, the smell of ozone, and a flash. At the end of all of this, Chiaiese, Yoro, Thak, and Cubber are all singed from this electrical discharge.
1. enemy blue (DEAD)
2. Sevens
3. Yoro
4. Thak
5. Chiaiese
6. Enemy red (-3)
7. Duncan (-5)
8. Neap
Wary of firing his semi-auto pistol in the ship for fear of damaging vital systems and figuring his pulsecaster will just tickle the lekky-lovin' critter, Duncan draws his sword cane and moves in to attack at close range.
Though Neap inflicts a punishing hit upon the creature, it still isn't enough to end up.
And Duncan...this creature seems familiar...you just can't place it...It's on the tip of your tongue...
1. enemy blue (DEAD)
2. Sevens
3. Yoro (-7)
4. Thak (-7)
5. Chiaiese (-7)
6. Enemy red (-7)
7. Duncan (-5)
8. Neap
"Oww, that smarts!"
The blast of lightning from the creature is an unexpected shock!
Her large motor skills shut down momentarily preventing her form moving forward to reengage, but she is able to lift a finger and send two magic missiles at the menacing little monster!