Alzura seizes the opportunity and pounds upon the fallen foe.
Alzura's first attack swipes downward, slamming into the Cyleerin soldier. It's enough to disable the robot.
Cherry continues to watch the western exit from the bridge, but sees no sign of more Cyleerins.
Burlap debates double-tapping each of the Cyleerin. To avoid wasting ammo, he settles for bashing in their cores with his rifle butt.
SP: 9 / 24
HP: 23 / 23
RP: 5 / 5
Bullets Total Rounds (75): xxx
Clips (3):
Rounds (12 rnds/clip): xxx
Batteries Total Charges (60):
Pistol Batts (2):
> Charges (20 chg/batt):
Sniper Batts (1):
> Charges (10 chg/batt):
Effects:
condition – effect – Rnd x of y
When breaching an enemy stronghold, it is best to move quickly to prevent them from reacting and organizing a resistance. "Keep moving!" Nevertheless, with no clear immediate threat, her solar blade sputters out, coalescing into its mote form and resuming its orbit of the suli. "Nice job, by the way." All told it was a clean encounter.
Cherry will keep lookout.
" I can move to the main consol and see what is up if I can tap into the system" She says as she then follows up.
" Bring the chassis overhere if you want me to exaime or Burlap can take pointe ans I exaime while V taps into the systems and Tin Man covers." Cherry suggests keeping eyes locked to the entry ways
The captain walks up to the helm, noting a long, wide passage beyond. To the left and right of the helm area are the passages that will lead to the gunnery pods and the two engineering sections.
Burlap pulls the clip from his rifle and loads three loose rounds into it to replace those he spent. He slaps the now full clip back into the weapon then moves to the corridor leading to the northern turret and engine space. ”I’m continuing the sweep and clear. Someone should keep an eye on that main corridor.”
Using the bipod as a steadying handgrip, he sidles up to the northern corridor quietly. He peeks around the corner quickly before pulling his head back. If there is no incoming fire or signs of trouble, he levels the assault rifle then proceeds cautiously into the corridor.
SP: 9 / 24
HP: 23 / 23
RP: 5 / 5
Bullets Total Rounds (75): xxx
Clips (3):
Rounds (12 rnds/clip):
Batteries Total Charges (60):
Pistol Batts (2):
> Charges (20 chg/batt):
Sniper Batts (1):
> Charges (10 chg/batt):
Effects:
condition – effect – Rnd x of y
" I can move to the main consol and see what is up if I can tap into the system" She says as she then follows up.
Cherry is able to physically interface with the systems easily; it's a standard Diasporum interface from a few decades ago. The systems have little power, however. She can access a basic information menu and the comm and life support systems, but the functions for actually moving the vessel are off-line. Probably will require a physical startup of the engines, and perhaps a charging time.
Alzura moves down the south hallway and finds the entrance to the weapons pod. The portal is hanging ajar. The gun itself looks to have been ravaged from the inside. The weapon itself is probably functional, but all the connections have been severed or damaged; it would (in her non-expert opinion) take a lot to get it running again.
She encounters something else odd in the hallway. An power extension cable runs along the hall from the secondary engineering bay, and out the way Alzura came in. Trailing it back, it appears to lead into the living quarters in the forward portion of the vessel.
"Looks like this gun's been cannibalized for parts." Alzura broadcasts over her personal comms. "Moving aft towards the engineering bay."
Looks like the secondary engineering bay has some functioning items, and some not. This is as would be expected; life support comes from here, and you know that's working. The beacon which tipped you off to the ship's existence while you were in the drift is also powered from here.
And...the cable, which you saw in the hall, is rigged into the power system, drawing a certain amount of power and pulling it forward, toward the living quarters.
"Secondary engineering bay is clear. There's a cable here running along the deck here. Someone is siphoning power. Moving to the forward living quarters."
Vaëlorin’s eyes flicked to the faint glow of Cherry’s console as she interfaced with the ship’s systems. The process was familiar, routine even—but routine did not account for unknown hands that may have already rewritten the code before theirs arrived.
To claim a system is to claim its vulnerabilities.
His fingers tapped absently against his wrist console as he spoke, his voice calm but deliberate.
“Accessing this ship’s systems now may be premature,” he observed. “Until we have ensured we are the masters of the vessel itself, we risk becoming passengers in another’s design.”
He exhaled lightly, his gaze shifting to the Captain.
“Do we proceed with establishing control, or do we press forward with securing the remaining sections?”
A pause, then a faint tilt of his head.
“Your command, Captain.”
With that, he waited, fingers still poised over his console, ready for whatever direction would come next.
'Good point, I can try to maybe run a computer scan, instead of establishing control, may give us some insight as to what is going on?" Cherry says as she continues to look at Toto.
Finishing his sweep of the turret and engine compartment, the Ysoki doubles back to the main corridor to continue the search. "Starboard side looks clear. Cap, you shouldn't proceed without backup."
Burlap, indeed, found much the same situation in the northern turrent and main engineering. The weapon, a Light Laser Cannon had been sabotaged but was probably salvageable. The main power source, a Nova Heavy model Ǽ-327, looks to have been ransacked similarly to the guns.
'Good point, I can try to maybe run a computer scan, instead of establishing control, may give us some insight as to what is going on?" Cherry says as she continues to look at Toto.
An initial scan using Toto's custom-written security software indicates the system was last interfaced 2 hours ago, but only in READ ONLY mode (ie they were viewing data, not modifying it). The operating system's own firewall seems to be intact, and as far as Cherry can tell, no one has messed with the core code since it was installed.
Before Alzura gets far down the hall, she hears Clarissa's voice, confused and concerned.
"Ummm...Where's my pistol?"
"The files were read and accessed. about 2 hours ago. No modifications. Firewall seems intact. So it may be more actually Skitter Stitching" She says as she looks around.
Vaëlorin’s fingers drummed lightly against his wrist console as Cherry relayed her findings.
“Two hours ago.” He repeated the timeframe evenly, as if testing its weight. “Not an ancient artifact of a ship, then. Someone, or something, has been here recently enough to leave footprints in the system.”
His eyes narrowed slightly at the display, mind already cataloging the possibilities. Read-only access suggested observation, not manipulation. Someone had been gathering information, but not altering it.
A passive presence, or one cautious enough not to be seen?
He tapped a few keys, refining his scan parameters, though he suspected the results would remain unchanged.
“If the system was merely observed, the question becomes: what was of interest?” His voice remained calm, but there was an edge of curiosity, of calculation beneath the words. “Navigation logs? Crew records? Security feeds?”
His gaze flicked toward the Captain.
“Would you have us continue securing the vessel before pursuing the digital trail, or do we attempt to uncover what our unseen guest found before us?”
He paused, then with a faint quirk of an eyebrow, added dryly,
“Though if they are still aboard, I suppose they may reveal themselves soon enough.”
As much as she would like to get the ships internal cameras online, they've lost the element of surprise if they ever had it to begin with and Alzura doesn't trust that weird cable she found. "Everyone convene at the entrance to the forward berths. We'll have a lot more time to look around when all the robots are destroyed." A pause. "And someone give Clarissa a gun." Did she even bring a gun?
"Question is... who took her side-arm?" Burlap didn't believe she misplaced it. Not on the heels of a fire-fight. He draws his laser pistol, checks the safety, and tosses it. "Catch, Juliet. Safety's on."
Alerted by Clarissa's concern, James tries to... notice anything.
Joyride sees Clarissa's pistol. Unfortunately for everyone's feeling of well-being, it's across the room sitting on a console she's never been to.
Pistol's over there... but, you didn't.
Vaëlorin’s fingers froze over his wrist console as Joyride spoke. His gaze followed the pilot’s, settling on the pistol—resting across the room, in a place where Clarissa had never been.
Displacement without cause suggests intervention.
He exhaled slowly, his mind already working through the possibilities.
“The pistol is not where it should be.” His voice was level, but there was a certain precision to his tone, each word weighed carefully. “Objects do not move without force. Either it was taken, misplaced, or it moved itself.”
A pause. He tapped a few commands into his wrist console, then reached for his Mk1 Multicomp, the small device whirring softly as it powered on.
“As our working hypothesis does not include self-propelled sidearms, I will perform a scan for biological and non-standard energy signatures.” He adjusted the settings, keying in parameters for motion anomalies, heat variances, and latent bioelectric fields.
The data began filtering in. As he analyzed the results, his voice remained even, but there was an edge of something sharper beneath his usual detachment.
“Either we are not alone, or this vessel’s mysteries are more… layered than anticipated.”
His fingers hovered over the interface, ready to refine the scan as needed.
Let us see what the unseen reveals.
Vaëlorin's scan reveals that the temperature in front of the console where Clarissa's pistol ended up is about 20 degrees (F, a little over 11 C) cooler than the ambient temperature in the rest of the chamber.
"Should I...go get it?" Clarissa asks, uncertain how her weapon got there, but certainly not seeming to understand the implications fully.
Vaëlorin studied the results on his Mk1 Multicomp, fingers tapping against the device as the data stabilized. A localized temperature drop—twenty degrees Fahrenheit lower than the ambient reading in the rest of the chamber.
An anomaly. Not biological, but not natural either.
He exhaled slowly before speaking, his voice even, measured.
“The area in front of the console is significantly colder than the rest of the room.” He turned his head slightly, his gaze settling on Clarissa. “A precise drop, localized to that position alone. Not a draft, nor a mechanical failure. Something else.”
His fingers hovered over the scan interface for a moment before he continued.
“I would advise against approaching just yet.” His tone remained calm, but there was a distinct edge of caution beneath the neutrality. “We lack sufficient information to conclude whether this is an environmental phenomenon, an effect of lingering technology…” A pause. “Or something more deliberate.”
His gaze flicked back to the console.
“If this ship is abandoned, it is not unoccupied.”
With that, he adjusted his scanner settings, preparing for a deeper analysis, but then decides to take an alternate course of action.
Vaëlorin aims his pistol where he thinks the coldness is and fires a blast.
Fire, Burn 1d4
" I could of sent Tin Man Over" Cherry says as she puts away her gun and draws the Sonic Pistol.
" I would assume a being outta phase with iur current reality if you are firing." She days as she sighs and directs Tin Man to ready his sonic rifle aswell.
There's little affect of Vaëlorin's shot, outside of expedited normalizing of the temperature in the area he fired. The temperature does seem to be slowly returning to normal, though, looking back at the readings, it was beginning to rise before the shot. It could be that whatever situation caused the drop had already stopped affecting the area.
Tin Man hovers nearby, his sonic weapon prepared.
Alzura waits, patiently or impatiently it is hard to tell, for the weapon situation to be resolved so the search of the vessel can continue.
Vaëlorin scans the room looking for another area of low temperatures.
The Science Officer finds no other cold spots. By the time he loops back to the original one, the temperature has evened out there, as well.
Vaëlorin completed his second sweep of the room, his Mk1 Multicomp displaying stable, uniform temperature readings across all scanned areas. He ran a final comparison against his initial data logs, confirming the dissipation of the anomaly.
“No further irregularities detected,” he announced, his voice even. “The localized temperature drop has fully normalized. If this was an external influence, it is no longer present.”
His fingers tapped a final command into his console, closing out the scan logs.
“A transient phenomenon, then. Either an effect that does not linger… or a presence that does not wish to remain observed.”
A pause.
“In either case, we are free to proceed.”
He glanced toward the Captain, his console now idle in his grasp.
“Unless, of course, we wish to linger and see if the ship has any more parlor tricks to show us.”
With that, he straightened and waited for the next course of action.
Shrugging and seemingly satisfied with the explanation. He certainly was in no position to argue. Djack moves to retrieve Clarissa's weapon.
Clarissa walks over toward Joyride, and cautiously takes her pistol. Once satisfied it's safe, she picks up the weapon and holsters it, then returns the weapon Burlap had briefly loaned her.
"This is giving major ‘goosebump’ energy."
Having explored, to a large extent, the functional portions of the ship, the crew prepares to continue to follow the power cable leading into the forward part of the vessel.
One main hallway, approximately 20' wide, leads forward, with doors leading off either side. The first set of doors is 20' in; Vaëlorin's map indicates them to be general use utility rooms. The power cable goes straight past these.
Shrugging and seemingly satisfied with the explanation. He certainly was in no position to argue. Djack moves to retrieve Clarissa's weapon.
Vaëlorin will cast holographic interface and try and see if he can connect up to any internal monitoring, cameras, or diagnostics type systems to be able to scout the as yet unexplored areas of the ship.
"This is giving major ‘goosebump’ energy."
”Never heard of a ghost that steals rations and re-routes power… but let me know if that goosebump energy spikes to ‘walkin’-over-your-grave chills’.” Burlap says, not unkindly. Proceeding forward, he stops at the doors, heading towards the northern one. He moves to the far side of the door and steadies his rifle. ”Pop the hatch, Juliet. I’ll clear it.”
SP: 9 / 24
HP: 23 / 23
RP: 5 / 5
Bullets Total Rounds (75): xxx
Clips (3):
Rounds (12 rnds/clip):
Batteries Total Charges (60):
Pistol Batts (2):
> Charges (20 chg/batt):
Sniper Batts (1):
> Charges (10 chg/batt):
Effects:
condition – effect – Rnd x of y
SP: 24 / 24
HP: 23 / 23
RP: 4 / 5
Bullets Total Rounds (75): xxx
Clips (3):
Rounds (12 rnds/clip):
Batteries Total Charges (60):
Pistol Batts (2):
> Charges (20 chg/batt):
Sniper Batts (1):
> Charges (10 chg/batt):
Effects:
condition – effect – Rnd x of y
Shrugging and seemingly satisfied with the explanation. He certainly was in no position to argue. Djack moves to retrieve Clarissa's weapon.
James follows Burlap, closely... weapon at the ready and prepared to breach. Got yer back, soldier.
Cherry will send Tin Man up. As she stands and begins to tap on Totos screen.
'What would this power cable is going too?" Cherry asks Vaelorin as she seems to bring up the schematics of the ship. Or at least based off the factory model.
Clarissa obliges, hitting the button to open the door; it is not locked, but still takes several seconds to grind mechanically open. Evidently the emergency power is not supplying much to assist the manual opening mechanisms to these forward quarters.
The room beyond appears to be a utility room of some sort. It is a claustrophobic space, barely large enough to fit the single workbench and small bay of lockers contained therein. The dim emergency lighting flickers weakly, casting jagged shadows over corroded metal walls streaked with grime. Against one wall, a rusted tool rack holds a few scattered implements—some still clamped in place, others lying forgotten on the grated floor, coated in dust and dried lubricant. A half-disassembled laser and assorted electronics parts sit on the workbench, all out of date decades ago. Obviously someone had started repairs but never finished.
In the corner, a storage locker stands ajar, its contents spilled out—cracked datapads, empty ration packs, and other detritus. The only sound is the occasional creak of shifting metal, the ship groaning softly as if it were still alive, still drifting through the void with no one left to tend it.
Joyride notes one of the datapads is actually blinking it's low-power light, meaning it is still functional.
Burlap, prepared as always for battle, is almost disappointed to find the room unoccupied.
'What would this power cable is going too?"
Looking, she can see the cable continuing up the hall; even her Vest eyes, well-adjusted to the dim blue emergency light, can't see exactly how far it goes.
Yo... Cherry Bomb. There's a data slate here, low power. Might have some useful info.
El-Tee, can you grab that... Kinda cramped in there. He looks to see if the Vesk heard him.