While Arc and Ajithu aren't particularly sure of the mechanism's properties, Shocca's careful examination reveals quite a lot. It seems this airlock is controlled by a signal from within the Ark, but it should be possible to bypass it from the outside with some clever tinkering. In order to successfully open it, you'll need to simultaneously bypass three mechanisms - one physical, one magical and one mechanical. Failure to do simultaneously will lead to some of its retaliatory features activating.
Ajithu wiggles his aquatic fingers.
Stand by for the magic! I'm feeling good and fluid right now!
Shocca gets to work on orienting the ring circuitry, but is having a hard time seeing the proper orientation.
The rings of the airlock's seal begin to move, their runes flickering from phase to phase as Ajithu manipulates the magic within them. The internal circuits begin to align under Shocca's direction, though there are a few minor misalignments along the way that discharge waves of static electricity toward her. The shocks are minor enough that she doesn't feel them through her resistance, but they wreak havoc among her equipment, shorting her tech out for several seconds before the energy dissipates.
Ultimately however, you're able to translate the complex mechanism through the six stages of unlocking and you finally see the main doors begin to part. You clamber forth on your tentacles into a massive spherical airlock that was clearly built to hold several massive beings or even a small starship. After several feet, the catwalk expands to encompass the entirety of the sphere’s diameter before contracting again at the closed interior door. A panel next to that portal flashes with an orange light, which provides the only illumination here. Small particles of dust float lazily through the space.
The door behind you slowly slides closed. You've made it. You're inside the Ark!
With both the airlock doors behind you closed and the ones in front of you also closed, you have a few minutes of peace and quiet in the airlock, long enough to catch your breath after your harrowing battle outside. At the far end of the chamber, the panel next to the portal leading forward flashes. It seems like that might be the only way forward.
While you sit for a moment on your tentacles, each of you starts to hear a faint, arrhythmic melody that seems to come from no particularly obvious source. While undeniably strange, you can't help but feel that it's vaguely uplifting and energizing. As you strain to hear it in more detail, it grows ever so slightly clearer, and as it does you find yourselves calming quicker and your sores and bruises becoming less severe .
Shocca wracks her brain, considering if this is a genetic response to the source or if it is something more mystical...
"Well, no way but forward." She carefully moves towards the panel and checks it for traps and locks.
Where's that sivv-core music coming from?
Shocca quickly recognizes that her response to the music is somehow physiological, likely linked to the Sivv forms you've currently taken. Arc spends a moment straining to identify the source of the music, but as he clambers around the airlock chamber, there's no change in its volume even to his delicate senses. As before, it seems to come from everywhere and nowhere.
Shocca approaches the panel on the airlock leading deeper into the ship. When she gets close the orange light is replaced by a faint blue one and a series of emergency lights flicker on around the perimeter of the airlock, bathing the chamber in a pale glow. A calming voice emits from the panel, speaking in Sivvan.
"Cherished children, it overjoys me that you have found a way to reach us, and in such circumstances. You have strained yourselves greatly and grown sick, I see. Your bodies warped with irregularities. You need not worry any longer. This Ark will protect you and bring you to safety. But first, you must have questions, yes?"
As the voice speaks, the music that you heard earlier rises in your minds, transforming into what your brain interprets as a stirring patriotic march. Against your will, you feel your mind begin following in lockstep with that arrhythmic melody, and it becomes hard to concentrate on anything else.
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Arcalinte, hearing the soothing voice and the change in the music, begins to fear what might be happening.
"Who...who are you?" he manages to ask. He frantically tries to hold on to whatever part of his mind remains his own. Historical facts, astronomical science, religious doctrine, names, faces, mantras, anything! The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light. The Dawn Brings New Light...
Shocca twitches the appendage that used to be her tail, which is now her neck don't think about it, don't think about it... and her microlab delivers a compound that causes a surge of cognitive activity. "Questions, yes... what will happen when we resume our place as the rightful overlords of this realm?"
Ajithu doesn't add any questions on top of his companions' for the time being, but he listens intently and focuses on not revealing how intruded upon he feels by the voice.
He starts running over the list of mental assaults that he is trained in, but convinces himself to be patient for now.
"Rightful Overlords? Oh no, oh no no no." The voice seems mirthful in a way only seems right to your Sivv ears "The only overseer here would be myself, Vheiransch. You may think of me as your parent from now on."
The rhythm rises and despite all your training and medicinal loopholes, you find your thoughts unfocusing, your sense of place and self dissolving, as your Sivv mind follows the sound. You stretch out your tentacles. It does seem like a rest is overdue. Required even. You lay down, vaguely hearing "Good. I will be with your shortly." and before you know it you're asleep.
----
When you awaken, you are Sivv. You have always been Sivv. What previous life you might've once had, the Pact Worlds, adventures and trials and tribulations, all those things are lost, scattered. Not even the barest hints of memories remain. When you think back, you vaguely remember your history, living among other Sivv. An idyllic existence, though the details are decidedly blurry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Your vision clears. The open trench you find yourselves within is dug deeply into the permafrost of the planet, each inch of it hard-fought against the enemy. The sounds of heavy weapons fire reverberate through the ground, and you can feel it through your tentacles. A weapon emplacement at the edge of the trench suddenly explodes and a hail of shrapnel fills the air. The stabbing pain helps you remember. This world is Lathlath, icy home world of the abominable porcine mystics known as the Aqlath. An incorrigible species, but tenacious. The campaign had been long, bloody, but the brave warriors had been able to push the enemy to the breaking point.
Further down the trench and closer to the artillery that exploded, you see your commanding officer, though he lies wounded in a pool of his own pale blood. He gestures with his mid-arm to the nearby hatch in the trench and croaks "Take demolition charges from the supply depot, get up top, and blow that enemy weapons repository! Hurry!"
Of course. Immediately sir!
Sivvithu-Ko turns to his two companions, giving a knowing look to follow his lead. He starts off in the direction of the supply depot... he thinks.
The shrapnel digs deep into Sivvcca's flesh but she pays it no mind. These scratches are no match for my superior biology. She looks at her allies, who biology appears to differ slightly from hers in slightly inferior ways. She smirks and enjoys the moment, though a lost part of her mind scratches away with a curiosity at this lightning fast natural healing. Looking at the insignia on her uniform, Sivvca realizes (recalls?) she must be the unit's grenadier for she is the only one with the necessary training to use the demolition charges. "Yes, sir! In the name of Vheiransch it will be so!"
The whole thought will have to wait however. You're in the middle of a war! You look down the trench and remember the supply depot is right around the corner. With a bit of scrabbling you reach it and the door immediately opens to your superior Sivv genetics. The depot within once stored weapons for the entire batallion. Now only the left-overs remain.
a knockdown heavy degenerator
a metal box containing six regrower vital seeds (which have been keyed to function only for sivv biology)
a case of four rel-state demolition charges and accompanying detonator
Sivvca splits the vital seeds equally among the group. "Superior genetics, superior tools." She begins to scuttle across the worn battlefield and keeps an eye out for pork-enemies.
I guess two of these for each of us.
Sivvithu-Ko accepts his regrower seeds from Sivvca.
And um... I guess I'll do the usual with these charges! We'll have to find a way to get closer to our enemies to set them.
He pockets the detonator and looks to her to help carry the charges.
You begin by clambering up over the lip of the trench. To the left you see the scattered remains of the ordnance that must've taken a direct hit from aqlath artillery. In the distance to the south-east, beyond several icy ridges, stands a stout metal bunker. In the surrounding battlefield aqlath "resistance" fighters struggle against your brave comrades, exchanging heavy-weapons fire and blasts of magical energy. You spend a moment to survey the battlefield and plot a course through, and are interrupted by the squealing sound of aqlath battle cries. Two of the natives rush at you from the east!
-
|||| INIT ||||
Blue Ajithu
Pink Aqlath
Green Aqlath
Yellow Shocca
Red Arc
These are not worthy adversaries.
Without so much as a motion, Sivvithu projects his mind forward and slams one of their's.
and glides a bit to the south.
-
The green aqlath partly closes the distance before psychically manifests a massive icy spike and telekinetically hurls it at Ajithu. The shard stabs right into him
|||| INIT ||||
Yellow Shocca
Red Arc
Blue Ajithu (31 dmg + ?)
Pink Aqlath (45 dmg)
Green Aqlath
Sivvca flexes her neck, activating her technological portable laboratory. Only the finest of Sivv minds could have created this wonder. A report on her enemies scans quickly in front of her eyes. A smirk crosses her face as she confirms the Aqlath's inferiority. "Taste civilization, terrorist."
The sly sivv smiles, having trained his mind for sudden maneuvers, parries, and ripostes. He shows the Aqlath a mental reflection of itself to target...
You override the will of another spellcaster, taking control of their spell. As a reaction when you observe a spell being cast within range, you can cast this spell. If you do, you can attempt a dispel check (1d20 + your caster level). The DC equals 11 + the other spellcaster's caster level + 2 per level of the spell above 4th. If you succeed, you determine the spell's parameters as if you had cast it. This spell has no effect on artifacts or deities.
He sends another mental punch, but this one lesser than the first, thinking these foes might not be worth his maximum energy.
-
Meanwhile, green just barely keeps Arc at bay, deflecting his strike. Pink suffers a followup mental strike from Ajithu but just keeps on coming. While undoubtedly inferior, these bestial creatures are undeniably tough.
The pink aqlath switches gears and attempts to fire an ice spear at Ajithu, narrowly missing. The green aqlath steps back and focuses its mental attention on Arc, trying to overwhelm his mind.
He suffers a direct blast! The pink aqlath continues to bleed.
|||| INIT ||||
Yellow Shocca
Red Arc (81 dmg, exhausted 1 rd)
Blue Ajithu (31 dmg)
Pink Aqlath (178 dmg, 17 bleed, -2 AC)
Green Aqlath
Sivvca gets a flashback that doesn't feel quite right. For a moment the aqlaths are replaced by trolls, the snowy landscape by a station's walls, and she remembers the importance of height. She kicks open a set of feathery wings from her back, then switches targets and fires another needle. [b]"
|
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"You will PAY for that!" Arcasivv rasps. He's about to strike back at the creature who struck him...but something doesn't feel quite right in his mind. Alien concepts swimming in his mind...loyalty to companions...tactical wisdom...and he instead strikes at the spear-thrower, hoping to take them down quickly. Divide and conquer.
Shocca's needle sinks into the green aqlath's neck, slowing its movements. Meanwhile Arc's blade slices straight through an arm, but doesn't stop the pink aqlath's assault. The creature is driven by suicidal determination.
|||| INIT ||||
Yellow Shocca
Red Arc (81 dmg, exhausted 1 rd)
Blue Ajithu (31 dmg)
Pink Aqlath (243 dmg, 17 bleed, -2 AC)
Green Aqlath (45 dmg, 17 bleed, -2 AC)
Ajithu looks back and forth at the two. One of their minds is fresher and far less damaged than the other...
He fixes that, then steps away from their advance.
|||| INIT ||||
Yellow Shocca
Red Arc (129 dmg)
Blue Ajithu (31 dmg)
Pink Aqlath (260 dmg, 17 bleed, -2 AC)
Green Aqlath (156 dmg, 17 bleed, -2 AC, exhausted 1rd, stunned 1rd)
With his target's mind sufficiently debilitated, Ajithu slings his ice carbine off of his back and hefts it in both hands, before unloading on the same target.
Sivvca's angelic wings flap once and she takes to the air, her segmented legs wavy lightly in the cold winds. From her new vantage point 40 feet up, she maintains the same target and fires down on the Pink Aqlath. "Beyond the fire of the holy Sivvan empire!"
A shot from Shocca ends the pink aqlath's life in short order, leaving its body bleeding in the snow. Ajithu and Arc converge on the stunned aqlath, Arc's blade tearing a deep gash through its body as Ajithu sends an icicle into its eye. In better times it might've shrugged off Ajithu's icy attack, but here the combined assault leaves it reeling. It takes only one more follow up attack from your team and it too is slain, earning you another glorious victory for the Sivv Dominion.
Combat Over.
Looking ahead, the icy ridges between your trench and the aqlath bunker look to provide more than enough cover for you to get to your destination while evading the larger battle continuing around you. However, there's always the potential risk of getting spotted as you get close, and there's no telling what kind of defenses the natives might have left to ambush you.
Sivvca nods approving at Ajithu's drone. "Superior engineering, as to be expected." Her eyes widen as Arcasivv goes invisible. "Now... my own defenses may be slightly less impressive." Her camouflage membrane turns on, mildly changing the look of her armor to the snowy landscape surrounding you.
Ajithu deploys his drone, which quietly zips over the battlefield and scans what lies ahead. Between the icy ridges up ahead, the drone spots another of the aqlath on the back of an enormous boar-like beast. It seems to be a scout of some kind. Further ahead near the aqlath bunker itself, the building is surrounded by a low-lying cloud. The cloud isn't thick enough to significantly obscure vision, but it seems to be particularly cold. Within the cloud are two more aqlath guards watching the entrance to the building. The spy drone catches the eye of one of the guards, who propels a magical icicle up at it and knocks it out of the sky.
It seems you could slip by the scout stealthily, but you'd have to face the guards at the building itself.
Drat. They got my drone. I lost the signal but here's the video it got before that point.
He shares the capture with his teammates so that they get the general sense of how the approach is guarded, and which guards spied the drone.
Those guards will be on alert. he remarks as they finish watching.
"Animals travel in herds... what are the chances we sneak past the pig on the pig and then it slaps us in the back when we attack the pair of guards in the cloud?" Sivvca purses her lips as she watches the feed.
Sivvca thinks on the intel she knows about the aqlath, to see if their technology or military practices would lead the guards to call for backup if confronted.