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Backup tries to breath away desperation which he ffels last minutes.
-Hopes and future progress of Korholm Agenda as of it was sand just leaking away through your fingers. We know that feeling of civilisation being in regress due to artificial and violent reasons. Stay strong. We will aid your recovery. And we take care of jinsul threat.
Agree with Roquefort we should clear a mess and somehow resecure facility.
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The halfling who has silently approached casts an indifferent glance at the destruction. I can promise you to kill as many jinsuls as possible in revenge for this. Carlos reaches under his armor and pulls out a necklace with pieces of broken ion stones. Like pearls, they are strung by dozens on a metal thread. This is azlanti. The same type of conquerors. One dead azlanti is one stone. He shakes the necklace slightly, and the sound of ion stones hitting each other sounds ominous. After that, he puts it back. I'm too lazy to collect a new collection from other species, but I think you get the idea.
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As if on cue when Croaker mentions evacuating the hospital, his comm chimes with an incoming message from Captain Yuluzak.
”Starfin…zz, have you … {kzzk} … the source of the distre … {bzzzztt} think it’s time to go … go … go.” It’s clear that although the Captain didn’t repeat the last word himself, nevertheless some kind of interference and atmospheric effect caused it to echo ominously.
”Can you get us out of here?” Dr. Yuuqa asks when you explain the transmission.
Meanwhile Muyari confers over their comms with the security team. They confirm that there are no more jinsuls on the hospital grounds.
Azzirm is unable to salvage anything at all, unfortunately. The doctor and Muyari both seem a little taken aback at the ruthlessness of the killer halfling. They edge away from Carlos and accept Back’Up’s words of encouragement with gratitude.
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With a strange glitter in third eye Back'up reacts to Carlos' Ioun stones collection as if tryin to remember something from past dreams or nightmares. He finally comments:
-That is interesting thing if Ioun stones really was invented by Azlantis. It is a good representation of their collective mind and their deaths. I still to find out what can be collected from jinsuls expect for body parts... which is not my style.
Back'Up then decides to discuss further action and if hospital area now clear - move to another.
Maybe Muyari has idea about some local command center or a particular jinsul in charge?
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Muyari considers Back’Up’s question about other areas that might need to be cleared of jinsuls, but Dr. Yuuqa quickly chides them about needing to get the wounded out of the combat zone. They sheepishly agree that’s probably the top priority and promptly begin making arrangements for their team to carry and shuttle everyone to the Honorbound.
Once everyone is safely onboard, the Honorbound takes off to avoid jinsul reprisals. As the ship exits Saaruq 5’s atmosphere, you have a chance to rest and get to know the nelentus, syngnathrixes, and thyr that you’ve now rescued while Captain Yuluzak attempts to hail nearby Kreiholm ships still engaged in the conflict.
Muyari is especially interested in speaking with those of you with a military background. He explains that his civilization’s military focuses exclusively on defense and hasn’t fought an actual war in centuries.
Vrinn (N male syngnathrix) is worried about his partner, a pilot currently fighting the jinsuls, and looks forward to the birth of the children he carries. Vrinn is happy to swap stories about domestic life on Saaruq 5 and shares pictures of his partner Quara and the pair’s first brood.
Treads the Coulds relates that long ago, eight disparate groups of aliens departed the region of space known as the Scoured Stars. The Starfinder Society has so far encountered two of these groups—the xenophobic jinsuls and the peaceful izalguuns. The Kreiholm Freehold descends from a third civilization that traces its roots to the Scoured Stars, consisting of several diverse species that settled an idyllic solar system in the Vast. Named after the leader who brought them to their new home, the Kreiholm Freehold has spread across five planets within the binary star system Saaruq-Ruaan.
The Kreiholm Freehold has done little in terms of exploring beyond Saaruq’s orbiting bodies, as these fertile planets fulfill all their resource needs. Further, since their arrival in system, the freehold’s founders instilled laws to dissuade exploration and trade. Originally, these laws protected the people from other groups fleeing the Scoured Stars, and they kept the freehold hidden from the ancient deity, Kadrical, that ruled from their distant home system. Today, most Kreiholm citizens accept this isolationist policy without truly understanding its roots, and the freehold’s origins in distant space are merely a historic footnote.
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Azzirm helps the evacuees load, being a stretcher bearer for any and all that need help.
After getting the patients and support personnel in, Azzirm looks towards his allies, and leaves them to talk to the representatives and heads towards engineering to help Shaakar....feeling the pathra might need help there.
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”Starfinders, you and your guests get up here!” the gravely voice of Captain Yuluzak booms out over the ships’s intercom.
Arriving on the bridge with Muyari, Dr. Yuuqa, and the thyr historian Treads the Clouds, the Captain asks the passengers to translate what he suspects is a distress call. And indeed, his instincts are correct.
”Our command ship, Kreiholm’s Hope has been critically damaged,” Treads the Clouds informs you telepathically. ”The crew state that a large force of jinsuls are preparing to board. Most distressingly, this ship carries a very important passenger, my species’ representative to the Freehold Council, Speaks Forgotten Words.”
”Well, let’s go save ‘em! Right, Starfinders?” Yuluzak practically shouts. Without waiting for a reply from your team, he orders his crew to change course to intercept Kreiholm’s Hope so that you can conduct a daring and honorable rescue mission.
Acting as pilot, Joyozalva maneuvers the Honorbound and lowers the hatch to allow the rescue team (that would be You!) direct access to the upper airlock doors of the Kreiholm’s Hope. Luckily, you’ve been deposited close to the ship’s command deck and are able to avoid any jinsul patrols between you and the bridge where the last of the crew and the VIP are holed up.
You arrive on the disabled ship to find its systems failing. Lights flicker overhead, and an insistent, high-pitched tone trumpets through the chilly air. A set of twin corridors lead toward the bridge which is just beyond a set of double doors. These corridors stretch from the upper airlock, and lifts to the east and west provide access to the spacecraft’s lower bays.
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Azzirm gets his power armor fully charged quickly (changing batteries), and helps Shaakar....at least until the Captain calls.
They put their environmentals up....this trip into a damaged ship could be dangerous.
"I think we might have either reverse gravity, or no gravity soon...get a hand hold on something--or at least grab a friend...and let's move. Also...everybody better have their environmentals up. Just in case we have some explosive heat or cryogenic cold hitting us with the messed up temperature controls. Also...still have the brightlight projector attached, if we need more light, I can certain light things up."
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Halfling killer shows no emotion. To save an important being is to save. Just a job. Many jinsuls will be killed. And that doesn't mean much either. Blots of red against the background of the impenetrable endless darkness of cold and indifferent space.
So, Carlos renews himself See Invisibility spell, after which he wraps himself in darkness. A moment - and he becomes invisible. Give me a minute. I'm going to investigate. - you hear a whisper from the darkness.
Probably none of you can see it, but right now Carlos has hung a rifle on his chest strap and is crawling along the ceiling as a spider...
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The cold-blooded killer halfling fades from view and creeps along the ceiling to the Bridge doors. The doors are heavy steel and securely force-locked against possible jinsul assault. As Carlos takes just a moment to consider his options, the doors of both lifts open almost simultaneously and 4 jinsuls spill out into the corridor between the rest of the team and the Bridge.
The Detective is the quickest to react to the sudden appearance of the jinsul threat!
Roquefort may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Life Science
Roquefort ducks down the hall and then pivots to shoot the Yellow tinged Jinsul.
Trick attack
Sense Motive Take 10 = CR13 tricked.
Attack vs FF EAC
Damage
+Bleeding Shot = 9 Bleed.
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All the time team listens for Yuluzak and mysterious Tread the Clouds acted and discussed jinsuls Backup remains mostly silent, but chuckles sometimes.
Foul gravity and lacking of air are a threat, so Back'up follows examples and wisely checks batteries and turned on protection on the Spellcaster Aegis.
Upon boarding as far as hostile actions seems inevitable, Shaman enters Starlight Form. And also recover some knowledge as soon as he sees enemy.
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The Detective watches how these jinsuls move, specifically how Yellow twitches just as Roquefort tries to fake it out with his trick attack. These are almost certainly the ones that you were warned about that have special training to counter Operatives. He’s not certain exactly what would happen, but he’s sure that using another trick attack will have … consequences. But because Roquefort shot first, Yellow can’t react quickly enough to counter the Detective’s trick. This time…
Yellow looks down in surprise at the bleeding wound in its leg, looks back up at Roquefort standing “by himself” by the Bridge door and screams what you can only assume are a string of obscenities. Well, Ceolor knows what they are, and turns ever redder than normal. Yellow then casts a spell which makes the bleeding stop and moves to box the rest of the team in.
Green also casts a spell using the cover of the wall to keep from drawing any attacks and holds his ground.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Darkness is Light. Chaos is Order. Death is just the Beginning.
A strange giggle sounds from the ceiling, similar to the crying of a child, and at the same time, Carlos, shrouded in darkness, looking like an ugly spider in this dark cloud, appears, pointing his finger in the direction of distant jinsuls. In the next second, black tentacles begin to break literally from the floor and grab enemies of starfinders.
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Azzirm sees what Carlos did right in from of him, and half mutters to himself 'guess I shouldn't turn the brightlight on.....'.
He also sees that the two jinsuls are ready to flank him if he goes any farther...so instead he just overcharges the welding beam and fires it at jinsul with the yellow banding on its arm.
Then aligns his armor to resist attacks from the green banding.
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Croaker tries to interrupt the jinsul’s spell, but all you can hear is what sounds like a balloon deflating {Pffft!} as the jinsul simply ignores the mystic’s attempt.
Meanwhile, shadows writhe out from the dark crevices and corners in the corridors grasping at the jinsuls’ legs and arms.
The Yellow banded jinsul squirms free of Carlos’ tendrils, but the two at the other end of the corridor are not so lucky.
Azzirm burns the one that Roquefort shot. Ceolor knows not to hang out next to Back’Up so he stays back, enters photon mode and fires his solar flare at the same target as everyone else.
But the shot misses wildly as Back’Up and Croaker get in the way.
The two other jinsuls struggle against their bonds, but their long spindly legs still give them plenty of speed. They move closer to the fight and cast the same spell as their ally.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Roquefort maintains his point of aim on the now injured Jinsul.
vs Yellow
Trick attack
Sense Motive Take 10 = CR13 tricked.
Attack vs FF EAC
Damage
+Bleeding Shot = 9 Bleed.
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Roquefort tries to get a read on the jinsul, who in turn tries to fake the Detective out in response.
But it fails, and the shame of its failure is the last thing it feels.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Targrting green junsul, Back'Up shows a cosmic symbol, producing Wisp Ally tp distract him with Covering Fire
In addition to the function described above, the wisp sheds light in a 20-foot radius in a color of your choice (chosen when you cast the spell).
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The kish summons a wispy form to provide some fire support and it begins harrasing the Green-tinged jinsul. Who seems a bit peeved and takes its frustatrion out on Azzirm, stepping out into the corridor first to get away from the corner.
But it misses and its spell goes {Pffft} is a flash of impotent magical energy.
Having stayed where he was, Croaker feels like he’s getting a bit of a sunburn from Back’Up’s starlight emissions.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None. Yet….
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Carlos speaks grim and heavy words, which the jinsul doesn’t understand - but doesn’t need to, either as the gist of it goes straight into its brain.
But it easily shakes off the halfling’s grim-dark mental imagery.
Croaker loses his sight in the blazing starlight, so falls back on a defensive spell. Oddly, the jinsuls chatter among themselves as Croaker casts his spell, and Ceolor catches what they say. Seems they not only recognize the spell, but they may even be benefiting from it themselves!
Which Azzirm discovers when his torch makes contact with the jinsul in his face. A flash of energy goes off, and Azzirm feels shards of force reflect back at him.
Ceolor continues to gather photonic energy and fires his solar weapon at Azzirm’s foe.
This time he connects!
Blue recognizes that the Detective is a significant threat and moves to engage, while Red is annoyed at Carlos’ attempt to manipulate it mentally and steps up behind its ally.
But neither of them even get close to hitting their opponents.
Suddenly, the artificial gravity shifts thoughout the ship. Everything feels heavier, and Carlos almost (but not quite) loses his grip on the ceiling! Everyone’s gear settles on their body unconfortably, digging into joints and weighing you down.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: Heavy Gravity
Roquefort
Yellow Crusader
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Roquefort is also comfortable fighting in close...!
vs Blue
Trick attack
Sense Motive Take 10 = CR13 tricked.
Attack vs FF EAC
Damage
+Bleeding Shot = 9 Bleed.
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As Roquefort studies his opponent, the jinsul seems to be ready for him and tries to fake the Detective out.
But the ysoki is far too wise to be fooled. That said, the jinsul reacts to the damage with a backlash of force energy.
Back’Up calls upon the shadows that his friend Carlos loves so much. Chains erupt from the corridor deckplates and whip about but neither is able to grab a jinsul.
Sensing that Azzirm is more of a threat that it bargained for, the jinsul carefully steps back into the lift and heals itself.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: High Gravity
Roquefort
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Unable to target the single jinsul healing themself, Ceolor narrows his eyes and funnels a bit of the flames from them into the weapon in his hands. The flames outline the weapon that looks exactly like a 280's Azimuth Brand Laser Rifle, but somehow made from glass and looking like a window in reality to the depths of space. As it starts to glow with fire the focus of the 'window' shifts to a blazing sun.
"Right, time to burn them to the ground!" He lifts the weapon up and fires.
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Azzirm shrugs off most of the reflecting armor, "Great....force damage. I need something for the armor to resist that....yeah...I think I heard of a brooch of shielding...though I can just wear that instead of installing.....mental note...buy one."
Then the gravity...increased. Grunting a little in the power armor--though the armors servos can handle it decently it does put a strain on them. At least he is just in his second skin, and is basically carrying nothing else....unlike almost all his allies. At least the jinsuls seem to be affected by it too.
Seeing the one he hurt step back a bit....Azzirm moves to follow...the beam of his welding torch overcharged....
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Ceolor shifts the flames to his weapon and burns a hole in Red’s chitinous hide.
Croaker recovers from his blindness and flings a disk of force that bounces all over the room. It misses its first target, but strikes the other two.
==============================
Carlos stares at the two jinsuls, and even without understanding his words, they both see that their futures are very very short.
Azzirm chases the one back into the lift, but the unexpected tug of gravity throws his aim off and he misses.
Red doesn’t want to deal with the scary, freaky halfling, so it carefully steps to gang up on the little ysoki. Surely, that can’t be worse, right?
Blue is likewise freaked out by the voice in the shadows, and flails at the Detective.
But the Detective easily dodges the ineffectual flurry.
Roquefort & Back’Up may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: High Gravity
Roquefort
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Blue Crusader
Back’Up
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Reflex + Evasion.
He avoids the worst of the blast - all of it as it were.
He keeps shooting.
vs Blue
Trick attack
Sense Motive Take 10 = CR13 tricked.
Attack vs FF EAC
Damage
+Bleeding Shot = 9 Bleed.
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Similar to the way he dodges the jinsuls’ bites and legs, Roquefort simply shifts his stance and the force blast misses him completely. Blue catches him studying its movements, and tries to counter his attack
But it’s the last thing it does as Roquefort guns it down.
Back’Up settles in to watch the rest of the team end the jinsuls with maximum prejudice.
Green stays where it is and flails away at Azzirm
It manages to bite Azzirm, though its mandibles don’t seem to penetrate the power armor as well as it wished.
The gravity continues to fluctuate and weigh down everyone.
Bold may act!
Map: The Hall Brawl
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: High Gravity
Roquefort
Green Crusader
Ceolor
Carlos
Croaker
Azzirm
Red Crusader
Back’Up
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Ceolor decides to try getting closer to the fight rushing past a few allies and into the side corridor where he has open lines on both remaining jinsul.
He then raises his 'rifle' and takes aim at the red one again. As he fires a 'laser' beam that looks more like a focused spike of solar mass, he also hurls an insult about the jinsul's progenitors.
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-We are light and darkness. Shadows and time are our allies.
Your efforts are in vain. Honour and gods are irrelevant before the face of great nothing. , - declares Backup chuckling at jinsul' language. Glyphs and solar symbols upon Spellcaster Aegis liquidly moves to provide proper shadows to Starlight form wich now dances on walls, making visually Roquefort and Carols really huge.