Akh lines up the shield generator nodes in his sights. No sense not to go for a multi-pronged problem solving approach. And a few cool explosions to show off as the group enters would probably be fun.
Guess? tries to angle the ship to give Akh and Jaraduk a better, clearer shot at the generators!!
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Jaraduk, off getting a sandwich, is unable to shut down the left shield generator. Akh is able to stun the rightmost just long enough for Melissa to hack in and cut the shield entirely! Your dilapidated ship flies into the hanger just before the energy shield whirrs back to life behind you. Guess? is able to land the thing in one piece.
You rush out of the starship, ready to take on whatever waits in this kalistocrat compound. Blinding fluorescent lights illuminate a large hangar with several high-end starships parked in orderly rows. A single door emblazoned with the interlocking circles and triangles of the Prophecies of Kalistrade stands on the far wall, surrounded by clutter—a mobile crane hovering its arm over a stack of metal construction rods and rows of boxes lined up before a small forklift. The ceiling stretches thirty feet above you, just above the top of the parked starships. The windows of a nearby office reveal a reception desk within, and a massive robot guards the area. Though your entrance was stylish, it was not unnoticed. Flashing red lights pattern the walls and an occasional recorded voice echoes INTRUDER ALERT. The large robot turns to you, an integrated plasma rifle sliding out of it's arm. "I have the legal obligation to alert you... My settings have been calibrated to Lethal. Goodbye."
You all move faster than the guardian robot!
You notice two office workers cowering behind the desk in the office to the southwest!
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"Oh. Thats very nice of you. Thank you! hey guys can we just GENTLY smash this one? After we GET EM"
+2 hit and damage everyone
critical!
a crit and electrical on a robot... melissa may feel bad about this in a second.
sniff. sniff.
Attention slightly damp office workers. We mean you no harm. Please stay put for the moment. Snacks will be provided...
Jaraduk holds onto a sonic grenade until moments before it explodes. He has to time the long-arc as the grenade travels 50ft through the air...
"Are you sure we don't mean them any harm Melissa? They're working for the enemy!" Akh suggests worriedly, but focuses his attention for now on the main roboti opposition. He sweeps through the air, under the boom of the crane, and then reaches out the claw just short of the robot. An entropic ripple sweeps out along the path of his swipe, extending its reach.
When his claw lands, he sends an additional, disruptive pulse of entropic energy into the bot.
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BzzzT-CRACK!
FwippTHOOM
SLASH!
Melissa's electrical shot explodes the red eye at the front of the robot's metal face, sending crackles of electricity through it's frame. This leaves the robot unable to dodge Jaraduk's slowing blast. Akh moves in for the kill, using his new connection to non-connection. Unfortunately for him, the robot is able to stay out of the acidic touch of Akh's gloves - barely keeping his material form together. "Hmmm... it seems you are set to Lethal as well. This is acceptable." The robot takes two large strides towards the crane. "Deactivating property-defense inhibitor code." Two large metal arms reach out, tipping over the enormous crane - with Melissa still on top!
A song turns on in the office, barely filtering into your armor's receptors over the sound of the battle.
Seeing it fight, you recognize this as a Terminator-Class Security Robot! Favored by wealthy corporations and government-funded security firms, the expensive terminator-class security robots are equipped with weapons that are more robust than those of their patrol-class counterparts, as well as specialized processors that allow them to gain a boost of speed. Terminator-class security robots are humanoid in appearance, but much larger. The robots' smooth, ovoid heads, have a single camera lens serving as the construct’s visual sensor. This sensor also hides a pouch of repair nanites.
Melissa SP 55/55 HP 57/57 RP 10/10
Akh SP 99/99 HP 67/67 RP 8/8
Guess? x2 SP 54/54 HP 47/47 RP 10/10
Jaraduk SP 72/72, HP 69/69, RP 10/10
Red Security Robot 135 Damage, Staggered
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EEEEP
Melissa rolls off the crane like she's done this before, which considering the OSHA violations on her home mine, she probably did. repeatedly. She doesn't even stop tapping her tail to the music. Its that catchy. "OO this is Mom's favorite... "
"So.. I would happily toggle on the non lethal option, but then it wouldn't hurt you at all. I don't supposed you'd be willing to track how much voltage you WOULD take and then lie down when your capacitors would have hit the limit? Oh.. and no popping back up with the repair nanites and doing THE MONSTER LIVES thing. But feel free to turn them on while I'm repairng you. "
swift stand up
Move five foot step.
Standard Get em! "GENTLY!"
Akh swipes with sudden quickness at the terminator as it tries to escape his new extended grasp. He dives out of the way of the collapsing crane, totally escaping the bulk before it can crush him. He swiftly closes the distance with the enemy once more, going for an entropic uppercut this time. "I bet that crane cost quite a bit more than you." He offers dryly to the defense robot.
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The robot turns it's ruptured face towards Akh as Melissa shoots it full of electricity. "It was." Then it crumples in two from his entropic strike!
You can see a shimmer around the robot's wounds as thousands of nearly imperceptible repair nanites flood the area. It'll be a few hours before the robot is up and standing again.
Speaking of standing up... through the office window you see two employees slowly rising with their hands held high. "Uh... hello Pirates! We don't have anything... sorry?" The more social among you can tell that these two may have more to share if properly intimidated or bribed. Melissa, on the other hand, can tell that she won't need any inside help hacking into that computer.
Suddenly remembering a jingle for that one Absalom Station pilates gym, Akh blurts out to the employees "We're Piiirates, doing the reps to earn the booty of our dreeeams." He coughs and couple times awkwardly after that, is silent for a good few moments, then says "Yes, well, please hand over your access codes or employee badges then."
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Melissa gives the heavily armed next generation killer robot a good job sticker on his forehead, puts her eel launchers away into her bag and limps over to the office workers.
"Hi Hi I'm Melissa. Sorry about the mess. We'd like to see your boss if you know where she is? Why don't you make some coffee and print off a few doughnuts, I'm just going to take a look at her itinerary... "
...Reroll with extreme predjudice a resolve point ...
Guess? will examine the robot remains and see if there's any way to salvage anything of value. Then he turns to the employees.
Still in his skittermander disguise, Guess? declares, "YARRR! I'm p'rate cap'n Laurie!! You'll find that we ain't yer run 'o da mill p'rates! Oh no no NO! This aren't yer lucky day b'cause we be p'rate BARBARIANS!! If yer dun got 'nythin of value to us, we EAT you! YARRRR!! Sentient-eaters we be! ARRRRRR!!!!"
To emphasize his words, Guess? pulls out a fork and knife!!
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The office workers stammer "Yes, Captain Laurie, sir! No need to eat us, we're all scrawny and gangly. Take this robot you've vanquished! Top of the line, so we're told! Polished and maintained daily, we can swear to it!" One of them reaches quickly into a drawer, causing your weapons to jump to attention, only to pull out a daily signoff sheet entitled ROBO-CLEANING VERIFICATION. Melissa's previous assessment of this robot tells her that bringing it onto your ship would be a very very bad idea indeed. Stopping the nanites would require so much damage to make the robot a heavy oversized paperweight. And having an angry self-healing security robot aboard would be more dangerous than an electrovore infestation. The office workers continue. "If you wanted more than that robot, you'll want the boss lady. But... she's about to leave! Not here though, from her fancy pants new ship she got. It's that way!" They point at the door to the west. One of them pokes a button and a loud grating noise of metal on stone is emitted as the heavy doors unlock. "Please, go, that way! Captain, I mean."
You're confident that the office workers weren't trying to trick you. They have no idea how scary their guard dog is. They're also being honest about Eline. They're happy to help you, if it just means you leave their immediate area.
Melissa, with a little bit of resolve, is able to hack in. She finds record of the Oliphaunt in a private launch bay elsewhere on the compound. (You suppress your irritation at seeing your ship rechristened back to it's original name.) She also downloads the route to the launch bay and something far more concerning... The ship has a scheduled departure in mere minutes! And Eline Reisora is on the manifest!
While looking at the map, Melissa sees one other marked room that catches her eye. Immortality Server, the label says.
Finally, Melissa finds a private conversation between Eline and Visanmark, an EJ Corp financial auditor whose name the crew might recognize from earlier in the adventure.
You remember the name Visanmark! He was the one who approved Eline's travel and time off to this "corporate retreat". The records on her Station office computer said that he was also on this retreat with her.