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As the enemy ysoki falls,Roquefort allows himself a slight smirk as he watches the lifesigns fading on his MedObserve interface until the rat has flatlined. Roquefort repositions and takes aim at the undead lizard.
Vs Soz Bro.
Trick Attack (SM) Take 10 = CR15 Tricked.
Attack vs FF EAC
***** Reroll vs FF EAC
Damage F
+10 points bleed damage.
Will aligns the crosshairs with the eyes of the dragonkin, then pulls the trigger. A small, reddish mark between the eyes of Sorizzen indicates a hit, but instead of slumping to the ground, the dragon stands tall, releasing a furious roar NO! they scream. “You will not have the honor of my death! You are not worthy of that!”
With that, Sozirenn digs their claws down into their chest, ripping their decayed flesh, and pours every ounce of their solarian electricity inwards. Sozirenn’s flesh burns, organs liquefying, until their charred body collapses to the ground.
The last ysoki, at the back of the mine, decides to dive into a deep mining shaft. The long decay between the jump and the sound of a dry thud emerging from the shaft indicates the jump might well have been fatal.
A group of twenty civilians makes their way out of the mine, followed by the starfinder. Out there, Tara is sitting on top of a destroyed mech, grease smears on her face and looking quite a bit worse for wear. A pile of other charred and destroyed vehicles around her are testament to her accomplishments. Sorizzen dead? is her only question.
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"Now that was a dragon-kin who truly had more than a few screws loose..."
Back on the surface, Will, having collected Sozirenn's blackened head as a 'proof of death', tosses the thing at the feet of Tara's mech.
"We eliminated the cockroach infestation in the mine, and rescued the prisoners. The less said about that vermin from here on out, the better."
Good Tara nods to Will, indeed not spending any words on Sorizenn.
When Rani asks her question, the comms crackle back to life Negative, Blue Team. Escort the prisoners to safety! Return to landing pad, I repeat, return to landing pad. Yellow team: enemy is retreating from sector BX-86, keep pressing but don't take unnecessary risks. We're almost in the clear.
During the trek through the forest and the farmlands, increasingly messages comes in that the Order has been routed from Braerton, and is retreating from Kortus IV. When the town comes into view, though, the limited extent of that victory becomes clear: the whole town is a smoldering ruin, the air thick with smoke. The stench of smoke, blood, and gasoline is prevalent, and it gets harder to breathe with each passing moment.
There is barely any time for reunification between Ongie and Roget. When the coughing citizens finally make it to the landing pad, the area south of the city is lit up by a bright flash, and a stunned silence that continues for a quarter-minute, followed by a deep rumble. Communications cut out for a moment, but the towering mushroom cloud blooming on the horizon makes it abundantly clear what is happening.
When the comms spring back to life, they return with an alarming message “Get out of there, Starfinders! Nuclear warheads incoming! I repeat, the Order is nuking Kortus IV! Abandon all missions! Evacuate immediately!”
The following is a scramble for safety among the Thunderbolt and the Preference, interrupted by further blasts in the distance and a constant rumbling, slight relief when the last citizen is board and the airlock hisses close. As the Thunderbolt reaches the upper atmosphere, all sound from the surface is lost, but the visuals shows Braerton being engulfed in a direct hit by a multi-megaton device, among many, many other areas on the planet hit in a similar manner.
Note a single civilian is talking, untile one of them fills the stunned silence with a poem:
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
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Both the elf and her couch avoid the works of the electric blast from Sorizenn.
Buf before they could act, the undead monstrosity implode into ashes.
Time being the essence, and forwarning the end, they all evacuate the mines and get to safety the prisonners and civilians.
******
As the planet is nuked, Gil-Oloth tries to help improved the moral of the civilian by cooking some meal.
Having a full belly will help heal the invisible wounds of the fleeing civilian.
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Verrek looks thoughtfully at the part of the planet burning in a nuclear flame where until recently there was a city and all these people were supposed to stay forever. Dwarf rubs his beard and thoughtfully says in a half whisper, I suggest we kill all those responsible for this. All of them, one by one. It doesn't look like he's waiting for an answer to this offer. Flashes of flame from nuclear mushrooms are reflected in his eyes...
"Time to get out of here!" Roquefort knows there is plenty of time for high-fives and tall stories once OFF the planet.
He hustles the former town residents towards the shuttles.
As Roquefort ushers the prisoners into the shuttle, there's the frazzled looking prisoner from earlier, who hands back Camembert his shotgun before unloading two empty shells on the ground. Thanks for borrowing. I've cleaned it for you, he says in a raspy voice and with a dead-eye stare.
Once back aboard the Master of Stars, the Starfinder flagship enters the drift, leaving the smoldering ruins of Braerton behind it. The reunion of Roget and Ongie is emotional, both immediately breaking down in tears as they are finally reunited. Let's give them a moment.
Soemwhat later Ongie comes up and thanks the Starfinders, with Roget in tow, who also says I know this doesn’t feel like a victory to you. How can it? But every person who made it off that planet is alive thanks to you. We owe you everything, and it’s a debt we can never repay. Thank you.”
Although over 1500 citizens were rescued, First seeker Ehu Hadif is devastated by the loss of an estimated 45 starfinders. Fitch remains resolved It's the loss we must bear for defeating the Order. We must hunt down Zhaneni. Both the Stewards and the Veskarium have dedicated their support in tracking down this threat.
It's only after a few days into the journey that Ehu Hadif finally approaches team Blue. “The cost of this mission has been so high, but when I look at the faces of the survivors… I’ve no regrets, and neither should you. I hope you feel the same. The Order may have killed Kortus IV, but you have my word, we will stop them from committing further atrocities. On that note, I’m placing each of you in line for a commendation. It isn’t enough for what you’ve done, but it’s something. Remember the fallen, my friends; they rest among the stars now.
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Electricity and magic missiles arc and slam into the Space Admiral, but when the dragon goes down J'Shun is still standing.
"Let's go, get the civilians on the transports. We are leaving now." He briefly glances at the mushroom cloud created by the nuke and the terrifying scene is reflected on the armored glass of his helmet's faceplate. J'Shun is the last Starfinder to board the Thunderbolt, only after seeing to the all civilians and other Starfinder agents have been secured on board.
Back on the Master of Stars, J'Shun solemnly files his field report on the mission ot Kortus IV. In all his years as an officer in the Starfinder Space Navy he's never seen such destruction as he saw there.
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Rani is still looking a bit teary eyed when she is spoken to by Ehu. Thank you sir. And I hope to be with you when we take down the rest of them.
About a week after the arrival of the Master of Stars at the station, and with the help of the Advocates, a gathering is held to commemorate the loss of the Spitfire Anyone who had crewed that ship is invited. It's dedication plaque and a model of the Mrk 1 Pegasus, as well as various pictures of the ship are placed in a position of honour. Food and drink were provided and many a tale was told about the ship and the abuses it had been subjected to in it's years of service.