Kyzin joins Mercy on watch.
“I don’t know Attenuate does all that computery-life-science stuff. He’s really smart.”
Though his voice changes not one whit in timbre, Attenuate’s words reveal a bit of…humility?
“We all have our skills, and I was programmed for healing and knowledge. For combat, I must rely on others such as yourself.”
"Hey I could do all that smart stuff too, y'know. If I put my mind to it." Mercy comments defensively. When Attenuate returns with his verdict on the contents of the computer she adds "No big surprise that they're not flush with medical supplies. The whole thing's a front after all. Question now is where the rest of the oozes went."
If no oozes make themselves known, she leads the way deeper in to seek them out.
|
Several stacks of crates fill much of this roughly forty-foot by sixty-foot storage room. Dim-lights shine from the ceiling some twenty feet above. Some of the crates lie on their sides, spilling out tiny white crystals onto the ground. Thin pools of citrus-smelling green liquid dissolves the edges of these spills. A computer terminal blinks against the northern wall. An exit door leads out to the east, while a larger exit is visible to the south. The western wall opens up near its center to allow further access into the rest of the clinic.
While this area was originally intended for storage, its current contents are somewhat out of place for a medical clinic. Each of the boxes contains a large quantity of sugar.
No slimes are casually visible. None rushes out to attack the party.
Add 2 to percept rolls to spot oozes.
Grab (Ex)
Source Alien Archive 4 pg. 154, Alien Archive 3 pg. 152, Alien Archive 2 pg. 151, Alien Archive pg. 155
If the creature hits with the indicated attack (usually a claw or bite attack), it deals the normal damage. If the attack roll result equals or exceeds the target’s KAC + 4, the creature also automatically grapples the foe. (If it equals or exceeds the target’s KAC + 13, the creature instead pins the target.) The creature doesn’t need to have a spare limb free to perform this grapple as long as it can make the listed attack, and it can potentially grapple more than one target if it has more than one attack with the grab ability. The creature can maintain the grab either with another successful grab attack or by performing the grapple combat maneuver normally.
”Beware,” cautions Attenuate, ”There is an ooze hiding atop that grey crate.”. Rather than point to give the exact location, Attenuate fires a slender syringe at the creature he has prepared for just such an instance.
and -2 AC for 7 rounds (basic biohack)
Mercy skirts around the goopy puddles to approach the ooze Attenuate just shot. Rather than try to climb up, she readies to throw out a magical cone of flame upon the ooze when it starts approaching.
Following his companions into the warehouse, Reynar eyes the stacked crates of sugar with unease. "How many of those oozes are there to need this much sugar?" He shudders at the memory of the ooze adhering to his leg.
Reynar moves quickly into action at Attenuate's warning, skirting the gloopy puddle and keeping his distance from the stack of crates. "Let's not get too close, if don't have to."
The pahtra plucks the inky orb from its orbit and closes his fist. Shadow spreads from his palm, along his fingers, engulfing his hand in a glove of darkness. Stretching his hand out toward the ooze's perch, Reynar expels a globule at the creature.
|
|
Mercy waits for the ooze to break cover. Reynar takes a chance and unleashes a well-timed solar flare that catches the ooze as it tries to peek over the edge of the crate. The ooze reflexively retracts again.
Then it surges over the edge of the crate and flows down the face of the upper crate. Its motion is like a smooth wriggling as it spreads onto the top of a lower crate on its way toward Mercy. On the flat crate top it mounds up while rippling toward the human. She releases her overheat, crisping portions of its outer membrane, but it doesn't flinch and keeps coming.
It doesn't have the limbs one would normally associate with jumping, but when it reaches the edge of the crate, it extends a long pseudopod that smashes into her head. For the merest fraction of a second after the impact, she feels it drawing her closer. Then its traction disappears and she's half-falling a step back.
... B plus grab)
Attenuate fires again, this time providing covering fire for Marcy in an attempt to make it harder for the ooze to hit her.
"Yowch, get off me you slime bag!" Mercy bats the slime away.
|
|
Kyzin shouts a battle cry and rushes in. He circles Mercy then strikes over her shoulder at the ooze.
... ; 10' reach
His blow punches through the crate just beside the wriggling ooze. Vapors rise as acid drips onto the bagged sugar inside.
A second ooze breaks cover and slides across the floor toward Reynar.
((Dammit... sorry!))
(photon 2)
Mercy gives the ooze next to her the old one-two punch, swinging with an explosive and loud burst from her boomknuckles before following with a burning fist.
Reynar quickly puts some distance between himself and the approaching ooze. Skirting around the slimy puddle, he moves toward the other side of the warehouse.
Reaching his shadow-shrouded hand toward the creature, he launches another globule at the latest arrival.
|
|
Moira crunches the ooze with her boom knuckles, then tries to light it up, but only succeeds in illuminating the crate.
Reynar blasts the second ooze.
Moira's ooze lashes out with another pseudopod and the Starfinder is staggered by another blow to the head. This time the pseupod adheres and Mercy's almost pulled off-balance when the ooze uses the connection to pull itself toward her face. She feels a prickly suction over her scalp and then something warm and moist next to her skin.
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 276
You are restrained by a creature, effect, or trap. You can’t move, and you take a –2 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks, except those made to grapple your opponent in turn or to escape a grapple (see Grapple on page 246). In addition, you can’t take actions that require two hands (or other limbs) to perform. You can’t make attacks of opportunity.
You can’t use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling you, even if a special ability allows you to hide when you normally couldn’t. If you become invisible, through a spell or other ability, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your check to escape being grappled, but you receive no other benefit.
Melee ... (B plus grab)
Grab (Ex)
...
If the creature hits with the indicated attack (usually a claw or bite attack), it deals the normal damage. If the attack roll result equals or exceeds the target’s KAC + 4, the creature also automatically grapples the foe. (If it equals or exceeds the target’s KAC + 13, the creature instead pins the target.) The creature doesn’t need to have a spare limb free to perform this grapple as long as it can make the listed attack, and it can potentially grapple more than one target if it has more than one attack with the grab ability. The creature can maintain the grab either with another successful grab attack or by performing the grapple combat maneuver normally.
Format: Melee claw +8 (1d6+4 plus grab).
Attenuate sends another needle-like round at the yellow ooze on Mercy!
“No! No stealing Mercy!!”
|
|
Attenuate punches a little hole in the ooze, then Kyzin burns a larger one. Fluids gush down Mercy and she's left with a ersatz hood of epidermal membrane.
The second ooze slides toward Kyzin through a puddle of sugar, leaving a clean dry floor. It tries to engulf the shobhad's ankle and tumble him with a low impact. Kyzin stays upright but he can feel the suction and wetness that the others have when grabbed by an ooze.
Melee ... (B plus grab)
Pivoting to orient on the red ooze, Attenuate shoots at it with a similar inhibitor intended to make it easier to hit.
plus -2 AC for 7 rounds
"Step back! Don't let it grab you!" the pahtra calls to his companions. The pahtra launches another globule of darkness at the fi Al
Mercy rips the goopy sac off her face with a scowl. Getting covered in a goopy corpse officially qualifies as a bad day. She spits slime to the side and scrambles around the boxes to position herself south west of the remaining ooze. "You asked for it!" She calls out to the remaining ooze before striking a martial pose.
Flames erupt around her.
|
|
...
Attenuate needles the last ooze. Maybe concerned about damaging their comrade, Reynar fires wide. Mercy carefully positions herself and explodes. Despite it's stubby protolimbs and unusual locomotion, the ooze is able to sleaze to the far side of Kyzin's leg and avoid the worst of the burn.
The vines wrapping Kyzin’s arms grow thicker. The acid oozing from them seems to sizzle wherever it lands. His eyes find Mercy, and he points to a spot next to him.
“Mercy! Stand here. I will heal you and together we will kill this thing!!”
His vine-covered hands sink into the ooze. “You will die in my grasp and hurt nobody else!!!”
Without anything he can directly use to help Kyzin, Attenuate fires again at the red ooze, this time including a biohack that should reduce its defenses if it hits.
and -2 AC for 7 rounds
His own experience with an ooze still fresh, Reynar's revulsion is written clear on his face as the ooze begins melding itself to Kyzin.
"No! Get off him!" the pahtra bellows. Reaching a hand out toward the ooze he clenches his fist and pulls it back toward his chest, attempting to rip it away from his companion.
|
|
Attenuate shoots the ooze again, and again draws -- blood?
Reynar attempts to gravitationally pull the ooze from his fellow Starfinder, but it clings tenaciously to the shobhad.
Mercy steps in to get adjacent to get adjacent to Kyzin and then does her best to clobber the hell out of the surviving ooze.
"Get off 'im!"
Kyzin turns his head and tries to focus on Mercy.
“Mercy… It talked to me… it was in me. Is it gone now? I don't hear it any more. It was going to make me hurt you... hurt everyone..."
He wavers, looking a little punch drunk.
"I don't feel so good.”
”Let me check you to make sure it is completely out of your system,” suggests Attenuate. He scans Kyzin and compares the bioscan to the one take earlier when he calibrated his custom microlab. If necessary, he uses a healing biohack (Bolstering Aid restores 8 points Stamina).
"Heh. We got 'em." Mercy shakes goop off her hand, glad that the photon energy burned much of it off. "Kyzin, you're just fine. That ooze is not going to be doing much of anything any more. Just wash out your ears extra good tonight."
While Attenuate checks Kyzin's status, she looks around in case any more oozes are sneaking up on the group.
|
|
All clear. There are no more oozes.
The exposing the Open Collective’s nefarious plot causes all creatures still in line at the facility to flee back to their homes or toward the Respite.
Once informed of the Open Collective’s true purpose, Zigvigix is horrified and immediately informs the various faction leaders as well as Absalom Station security and the Stewards. The presence of bodysnatcher slimes on Absalom Station is of paramount concern, but little evidence found within the Open Collective speaks to the slimes’ origin, causing the trail to run cold. While the Stewards and the Starfinder Society laud the PCs for their actions, representatives from both organizations remain concerned regarding when (not if) the slimes will resurface.
During a debriefing consisting of the PCs, Zigvigix, Hurondo and Jiwalla, the Exo-Guardians faction leader is delighted at Hurondo’s recovery from his imprisonment by the Uniters and immediately asks when he can resume his normal duties at the Respite. Hurondo, however, solemnly shakes his head and informs everyone that he is stepping down from running the center. He explains that while no harm ultimately came to him, the recent events caused him to again suffer from some severe anxiety and depression and that he needs to seek help from the Respite as a patient before he could handle the facility’s management.
Zigvigix responds with understanding and heartfelt well-wishes while Jiwalla looks stunned. Hurondo tells Jiwalla that she is in charge and that he will try to help as he can.
It turns out that Bargai has turned herself in to the Starfinders, seeking to a way to repay her misdeeds while still providing aid and community to folk who are displaced or otherwise suffering. Hurondo suggests to Zigvigix that Bargai may make a good Starfinder and that her crimes should be paid for in community service as a member of the Exo-
Guardians faction.
With the Open Collective unmasked, Mercy returns to Zigvigix with some concerns "We saw that some of these slimes had already escaped into Absalom Station. They could be hiding anywhere, or within anyone." She slaps her fist "How are we gonna track them down and teach them a lesson?" She volunteers for any further searching for the remaining bodysnatchers.
As for Hurondo, she's rather indifferent. The fellow was certainly a strange one, capable of getting a bunch of people on his side easily. But he was also not particularly responsible. She figures Jiwalla could be as good of a job if not better. She stops in to make sure everything is back to normal at the Respite. Now that she's not the in the middle of a job she joins for some exercises among the people going through rehab.