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Gletch quickly constructs an aquatic maneuvering device while Freeman tactically repositions and Thraega - well perhaps the witchwarper does that too; he vanishes from your sight at the least so who knows.
Wading through the water, the second skeleton appraoches and fires its own beam of solar energy towards the loquacious envoy. Who easily dodges.
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[i]Initiative, Round 1
Amy 32/36 SP
Kalhoun 38/40 SP
Amy stays put but begins glowing herself while Kalhoun tries to provide a distraction for Embidi's safety.
The eastern skeleton continues to wade forwards and fire a ray at the solarian.
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The glowing guardian in turn bellows HONEYED WORDS WILL NOT SWAY MY DEDICATION. I WILL UPHOLD MY DUTY OR DIE TRYING. before shooting forwards at Embidi in a rush and delivering a deep cut into the hanakan. This close to it, the envoy can also feel the solar heat radiating dangeorusly hot off of it's body.
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Then, noticing Amy beginning to glow with her own starlight, the guardian calls to her OUR PEOPLE HARNESSED THE SUN TO SOAR. YOU WILL NOT STOP THEIR SACRIFICE WITH A FRACTION OF THEIR POWER! It draws forth another spirit from within the swirling vortex of souls and energy and fires it at the starlit mystic.
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Initiative, Round 2
Freeman 18/42 SP, Drone 7 damage
Embidi 0/24 SP, 36/38 HP
Thraega 22/30 SP, invisible
Gletch 27/29 SP
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[dice=Attack v Embidi KAC]1d20+17 for [dice=Slashing]2d6+12+2
It seems like we're trying to resolve this peacefully, so Embidi try and play defensively, rather than try and buff allies' spellcasting. He'll move 20 ft west (hoping the Guardian misses any AoOs XD) and then uses his hanakan magic to cast Wisp Ally - casting into the Guardian's square, and providing Covering Fire (so, on the Guardian's next attack, the target gets +2 AC.)
Embidi tries to slip away from the guardian. He gets cut as the figure takes advantage of the envoy's movement, but it is then distracted by a summoned wisp of Embidi's own.
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In the heat of this battle Freeman, Gletch, and Thraega try to explain the current reality to the guardian being: that the engine is irretrievably failing past the point of repair, that stopping the River is the only way to save the solar currents. It's expression looks pained at your words, and it shakes its head. NO. NO, THAT CANNOT BE. WE SACRIFICED SO MUCH - OUR LIVES, OUR SOULS, OUR ABILITY TO SOAR - ALL TO ENSURE THE RIVER WOULD LET MY PEOPLE SURVIVE. I WILL NOT FAIL MY PEOPLE!
Meanwhile the second skeleton still keeps slowly wading towards you all, firing a ray at the isolated Embidi
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Initiative, Round 2
Amy 20/36 SP, starlight form concealment
Kalhoun 38/40 SP, resistance 1
As you continue to hold off fighting back against the undead spirts and guardians, they show no such compunctions. One of the skeletal sarcesisns wades up to Kalhoun and swings at him with its might hammer.
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Meanwhile the floating glowing guardian advances forwards as well. Crying out WE SACRIFICED THE LIGHT TO CHAIN IT TO THE RIVER, NOW FEEL A FRACTION OF ITS MIGHT! a blast of superheated energy washes out from around the guardian, a burst so strong the dim around it has lessened after the blast.
Initiative, Round 3
Freeman 18/42 SP, Drone 7 damage
Embidi 0/42 SP, 31/38 HP
Thraega 22/30 SP, invisible
Gletch 27/29 SP, need Reflex
Amy 20/36 SP, starlight form concealment, need Reflex
Kalhoun 38/40 SP, resistance 2, need Reflex
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Gletch makes one last desperate attempt to convince them, hoping to play on what he can tell of the creature's philosophy. [b]"Your sacrifices have lasted for ages, but all things change and evolve. Now is the time for the river to evolve. You either can help us make that change be one of growth ... or your devotion to your status quo will lead only to chaos and decay!"[/dice]
As the fires envelop half of your party, Gletch makes another plea towards the guardian. Drawing on words so confidently it's as if he's already delivered them, the gnome implores the spirtual defender to see how times have changed.
The guardian's grip tightens on his flaming blades for a moment...before loosening. It turns to look back upon the spiritual cyclone with a rueful expression. WE SACRIFICED SO MUCH, A GREAT OFFERING TO MAKE A WAY FOR OUR PEOPLE TO SURVIVE. BUT PERHAPS...perhaps they have.
It's head swivels to take in the room, the flooded core and old and partially dilapidated equipment. This device was a prayer for our people, bought with our very lives. It lasted, and let them continue on. But time I suppose comes to everything. You...you may be right. To keep this ancient machine could cause another of the very cataclyms we built it to avoid.
Act wisely. The future will belong to you now. May you succeed as we once did
The guardian floats backwards, entering the cyclone of souls and vanishing. As it does both skeletons crumble immediately with a final flash of light shooting from each of them into the vortex as well.
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During the final moments of battle, Embidi was preparing to cower and beg for his life - but, when it becomes clear that the fighting is over, he'll pop right back. "Haha, yes! I knew we'd be able to talk our way out of this one!" he exclaims with a certain amount of glee.
If needed, he'd also auto-assist using Mysticism to help with shutdown.
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Gletch drives his hoverchair across the room and begins working alongside the others on disabling it.
Seeing that Amy appears to have the mystical elements well in hand, and Freeman is doing well on disabling components, Gletch decides to try to interface with the computerized components and see what he can do to deactivate it from that angle. He looks for an accessible interface, but will pull out his hacking kit as needed.
Together you approach the machinery to the rear of the room and get to work. The controls are ancient and worn down from time and visible water damage yet remain incredibly complex. But together, you work in concert to bring the arcane engine into a controlled shutdown.
As your work goes on the spirit cyclone in the room's center starts to flash with light, its luminosity shifting quickly but getting dimmer over time. When the final shutdown is engaged and the arcnae engine shudders to its final stop, ghostly sarceisan figures explode outwards from the vortex. They flit about the room in a storm of somber cries, hopeful prayers, and wistful elegies. One by one you see these spirits wink out of existence, finally embarking on their journey to the Boneyard and their long-delayed afterlife. Then the last one vanishes, and with a final shudder the engine comes to a halt. The walls of the core immediately loose their light. Where once this space was filled with a bright yellow glow you now see mere metal walls and floor.
With the engine shut down, you're able to make your way back out of the Core and back through the inner engine to the outer-section control room. Captain Okwana and Dr. Vox await your return, and the captain lowers the protective shieldings as your approach and helps you into the base. She takes a look at your more battered condition and bloodstains and asks "Look a bit cut up there. What happened? Get caught in the gears on your way there?"
Dr. Vox ignores the Riveter captain. The engine's fully powered down now it seems. And given we're all still here you clearly did it safely. Thank you: You helped us secure a safe alternative to a catastrophic explosion. Tell me, the sarceisn scientist asks, what was it like in there? We there any complications with the shutdown?
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Amy says a prayer to Desna as the souls depart. She looks rather sad actually and doesn't say much on the way back.
She looks at Vox and says Yes. Ghostly Sarcesian guardians. They were using willing souls to guard and as a power source. Willing sacrifices that others may live. We .... had to argue our case. But yes ... it is done ... but what will the inhabitants of the Diaspora do now?
She wipes an eye where a tear trickles down. Now ... if you'll excuse me, I'm going Outside. Where's the nearest airlock?
Sarceisan spirits?!? Dr. Vox looks shocked at this revelation. Gods! That would explain how the engine would have been able to run for so long and so strongly. But the level of dedication taken to commit their souls to the project… The sarcesian physicist takes the implications in in a sense of awe. They gave themselves so that their species could survive when their planets were destroyed. This is…it is a lot to take in. And that makes the engine a key part of my peoples' history. Dr. Vox turns to Captain Okwana. I would like to stay here. To protect what remains of the engine, and to perhaps see what more could be gleaned about the sarcesian's who built it at the dawn of the Diaspora.
The Riveter captain looks surprised, then barks out a laugh. "Hah! Sure, why not." she looks to you Starfinders. "I presume even you can't have a problem with people volunteering to join us in our home, eh? Besides, even a powered down engine's a tempting target for ne'er-do-wells; I think me and my crew might just stay here to make sure no one unsavory tries to come along and repurpose it."
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Amy is able to go outside to Asteroid Y-47's surface. In space she can see the River Between still there, though the field around it flickers occasionally. For now most of the water churning through it remains inside, but occasionally droplets slip out and glisten for a moment before dissipating in the vast. The residual energy of the engine might keep the field going for a few weeks before it fully fades. But when such flickers occurs, there faintly glows a road of light - the solar stream. And when the field around it is gone, perhaps that current can become something new…
Kalhoun is able to get in touch with the Stewards. They promise to try and spare what resources they can to help move people, arrange for emergency water supplies, and other support. From the chat however the tromlin can tell that their resources are getting dangerously stretched though - something went down on Aucturn, and he gets garbled reports about a climate disaster on Triaxus.
When you manage to reach Fitch the ysoki leader is shocked and concerned by the developments you stumbled across, and took part in. But she thanks you for your work with sincerity. "Oo. That…that sounds like a hard mission. I'm sure none of it was easy. But we Starfinder's can't fix everything - that's a hard truth we can't forget. Sometimes the best course we can take is to just do what we can. You didn’t fail: you made the best out of a *^%^ hand. And if you hadn't been there, and helped with what you could, it sounds like the River would still be gone, only quicker and with probably a lot of casualties. Thanks to you, at least the solar stream is preserved, and you've bought the Diasporans time to prepare for the River Between's disappearance."
The wayfinder taps on a holopad. "I'm going to contact Celita right away: she can help coordinate the Society's resources and info to help the Diasporans and deal with this fallout. And for you" each of you get a *ping* on your comm units. "if you want to talk to anyone about this here's some good counselors Zigvigix has gathered. There's more kinds of post-mission recovery than just getting patched up in a medbay, don't forget."
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While outside, Amy star danced for the River. She also resolves to come back to have a closer look at the solar stream. But for now, it is the River itself she dances for, and the affected sarcesians. She then spends most of the trip home writing up her version of the mission report along with the first draft of a scientific paper.
When talking to Fitch. Thank you very much ....but I have a close friend who is also a counselor. I suspect I will be talking to her a lot after this.
Speaking of Amy's counselor, Amy soon discovers that her professor is safely back from Aucturn and having a vacation on Castrovel along with her counselor friend and a couple of others, since Amy's professor has the same counselor as she does. If anyone passes by Amy's cabin door while she is making that call they'll hear an exclaimed She did WHAT!!!!??? ... with MY professor??????
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After we had shut down the artifact, and the vortex of souls had evaporated, Embidi would have done some of the small dances and said some of the proper words for the departed. "They sacrificed everything, and bought their people thousands of years of life. How grand," he would have said, with awe in his voice.
Back on the Master of Stars, Embidi would have opined that the real problem was electricity. "Yep, too much electricity, and not enough magic in that technomagical relic. If it has been entirely magic and crystal based, I reckon it'd still be up and running! It's only a shame we hanakans had no idea this star system existed when those Sarcesians built the River Between."