Varuthalla lays down a line of lightning, and gets it to jump at just the right moment to not hit Blartle.
Navasi stops getting 'em for a moment and puts a bullet into Jiira.
Frinke follows up with a successful hit of his own.
Blartle moves away carefully and completes the perfect round for the Starfinders.
Zinye programs the resort to flash lights at Frinke.
Frinke is fascinated by the show, but happens to step out of the way of Zinye's attack.
Jiira steps in to follow up with a doshko strike.
...and Frinke steps right into the way of Jiira's swing.
Round 4 - bolded may go
Jiira (-82 HP)
Varuthalla (-3 SP)
Navasi
Frinke (-23 SP, flat-footed)
Blartle (-26 SP)
Zinye (-11 HP)
Blartle, ever the heroic man, decides to target the flat-footed frinke with a full salvo!
I assume this is a typo, since Frinke is on your side. (And roll your boon!)
Navasi has seen this pahtra's devastrating doshko strikes hitting all three of her teammates now. "Take him down before that doshko gets lucky! Frinke just rub some dirt into it, you'll be fine!" Get 'Em back on Jiira, and Inspiring Boost for +11 SP back to Frinke.
Varuthalla tries to move away from his opponent.
The sylph slips out of the way, but cannot successfully line up her own shot.
Navasi encourages Frinke to recover and get Jiira.
With this inspiration, Frinke does hit with his newly reloaded rifle.
After a moment's confusion, Blartle turns his solar flare on Jiira, striking with one of two shots. This is enough to drop him, and because of the officer's merciful fusion, the enemy is alive for capture.
With all the carnage Navasi is preventing, ZInye decides to give her some attention.
Not enough of it, though.
Round 5 - bolded may go
Jiira (0 HP, unconscious)
Varuthalla (-3 SP)
Navasi
Frinke (-12 SP, AOO)
Blartle (-26 SP)
Zinye (-11 HP)
Navasi directs her comrade to attack the remaining pahtra - Get 'Em on Zinye. Then she'll guarded step back, drawing her dueling sword as she goes.
The business is given to Zinye, and combat ends.
Varuthalla (-3 SP)
Frinke (-12 SP)
Blartle (-26 SP)
Neither of the prisoners has died. You can bind them and take their belongings. However, before you can question them, the music announcing Miiyu’s opening number blares out of the auditorium, signaling that the poison gas may be released at any moment.
At the top of the grand glass staircase are three doors, which operate on identical mechanical hinges. When one door opens, the others move along with it. The doors are made of a beautiful white wood, inlaid with carvings of musical notes and scores. Just beyond them, the sound of percussive beats can be heard, along with the sounds of a crowd beginning to panic.
Navasi notices that the decorative knobs on the doors look almost molten and radiate heat.
|
Varuthalla would grab the shock grenades, and then check the hot door handles. Does it looks like the kind of thing we can bypass? Maybe Varuthalla can, like...I dunno, flash-weld make-shift replacement handles.
As she's working, she'd say "someone else, get on the horn, and warn Jex about the gas canisters! Oh, and, tell them they've got a clean-up in aisle 'pool.'"
As it happens, Varuthalla can locate the heating mechanism and disable it.
You force the doors open just as the gas is starting to release and the crowd is beginning to panic. Since the doors all open at once, the attendees start flooding out of the auditorium, following the directions of the security team, who were also trapped inside the room.
In order to reach the stage, you must make an Acrobatics or Athletics check to move through the panicking crowd, or a Diplomacy or Intimidate check to convince them to move out of your way.
Navasi shouts at the attendees to kindly make a hole.
Navasi and Blartle calm the crowd enough to get them to evacuate in a more orderly fashion, and Frinke and Varthalla step through gaps in the crowd to reach the stage.
Miiyu is frozen in shock on the stage, watching the crowd flee before realizing that you are coming her way. She slips backstage, but the Starfinders pursue her doggedly. Eventually, you corner her outside her dressing room. She slowly turns to face you with her hands in the air. She has obviously given up but holds her head high and proud as she regards the group.
“I should have known when you boarded that this plan wasn’t going to work. I told them that you were too smart to be fooled by some punch and a pretty smile.” She laughs bitterly and lowers her hands to her sides.
“It was just supposed to be a demonstration. The explosion would stop the ship in its tracks—without hurting anyone—and then they’d all have to listen to my song. Jiira never told me about the poison. Seeing all of this,” Miiyu gestures to the fleeing crowd and the panicked civilians. “I realize now how oblivious I was and how he was willing to take advantage of that.
“If you let me go, I can promise to report back to our leaders with the truth behind Jiira’s plans. The wider movement won’t stand for even one civilian sacrifice. We can be better than this. I promise you that. Our revolution will still move forward, but with my eyes open, I can push for better leaders at the helm of our operations.
“You can turn me in to the Veskarium authorities, and I won’t blame you. I made a terrible decision by trusting Jiira. But turning me in will only create a new political toy for the vesk to tout around the galaxy. It will prevent my knowledge and decisions from getting back to the true leaders of the Liberators. But it’s up to you, Starfinders.”
Navasi, chaotic good outlaw that she is, would put a comforting arm around Miiyu. "I think the system could use a few more compassionate leaders like you, and Pulonis would benefit from a peaceful, diplomatic, transition to autonomy more than a bloody revolutionary war, like Jiira was hoping for."
|
|
Varuthalla's first instinct is to turn everyone over to Tassada Kor, and let the Veskarium authorities sort things out; but she's swayed by Miiyu's, and Navasi's, words. "The Veskarium will still have it's pound of flesh, with Jiira and Zinye; and having lost some of this naiveté, I think Miiyu would be good for what's happening down the gravity well." She's fine letting Miiyu off the hook, as long as everyone else is.
Miiyu gives her thanks before urging you to report back to security before they get suspicious. She presents you with a gift: a diplomat serum of enhancement. She explains, “I am sure the Veskarium soldiers will want to interrogate you about what you’ve seen and discovered tonight. I hope this will assist you in your retellings of tonight’s tale.” After this, she slips into her dressing room to wait for her escort back to her ship.
Once the crowd is returned to their rooms, you are free to rendezvous with Tassada Kor. Tassada escorts you to a private room to discuss the happenings at the gala.
Navasi subtly chugs the Diplomat serum as we head into our meeting with Tassada Kor. She'd also swallow the folded note addressed to Miiyu we found in Engineering.
"We believe your Security was compromised - at least two pahtra, who we have detained in the entryway to the auditorium, and very probably an illusive third, codenamed "Pouncer," who we haven't encountered, and may still be at large. They apparently intended to seal the doors to the auditorium during your ceremony, and rigged poison gas canisters to go off. We also found tampering, and disabled a bomb, in the ship's power core, which was guarded by - and trust me, I know how this sounds - wolves?"
"We believe there's still a third agent unaccounted for out there: based on the access they had, and the technical expertise required to connect explosives and flash-solder doors, we believe this 'Pouncer' is most likely someone from your Engineering team."
Tassada thanks you for neutralizing the prisoners and promises to get any information they have on this "Pouncer" out of them. She arranges for the equipment to be donated to the Society.
You are still treated as heroes by the Grand Mezzanine’s guests and staff. You receive complimentary room upgrades, tickets to the next three shows on the Grand Mezzanine and are treated to as many drinks and delicacies as you can handle.
A few days after the gala, you are wrapping up your stay at a luxury resort in Starlance. Playing on the screen behind the checkout desk is a news briefing.
“Officials state that the terrorist incident on the Grand Mezzanine was handled quickly and efficiently by the Veskarium military and allied Pact Worlds contractors. There was thankfully no loss of life, but this reporter wishes our soldiers good luck at locating these unknown attackers and hopes that this reign of anonymous terror is at an end. Next up on our program, lashunta scientists debate: how much thought-slang is too much?”
Headlines scroll beneath the image of the vesk reporter, including the following messages: “Terrorists suspected of receiving funding from outside Near Space,” “Vesk-8 leader suspended following investigation,” and “More digital attacks rock Pact World system.”