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"It is of this one's expert opinion that we should rally around the cause of the kasatha. The others wish to grow more popular and gain renown for its own sake. Ehu Hadif actually seems to have the best interests of the galaxy as a whole at heart and an actual goal besides just expansion. Discovering where we came from will help guide us in the future." The accompanying skittermander piped up. "Libraries aren't even that boring!
App-L started at Luwazi before briefly covering things. "Seahorse people. Symbiotic bat people. Ooze people. Saved a dignitary and helped stabilize hospital patients, so we somehow left a good impression." He brightened up as he remembered something else. "And we captured a jinsul solarian live... So someone can have fun with that."
App-L flew towards the Honorbound, but grabbed the yellow star plasma rifle, not satisfied with letting Shrike stay that far behind. "Might as well use the gift."
He looked at the hit jinsul in surprise and then let out a loud laugh. "You guys really need to get your hands on big guns. They're fun."
App-L settled down and used some minor magic to clean off his foot. He seemed to navigate easily enough without gravity. As his elemental disappeared, he knocked on the doors and spoke in Vesk. "Speaks Forgotten Words? We're here to get you and anyone else to a functioning ship and get out of here."
Peeved that he finally took some damage magically, he dropped his calm demeanor that he had been displaying so far and just kicked the jinsul in the head as hard and fast as he could, letting out an frustrated yell in the process.
Letting App-L work off his frustration, the elemental drifted down the corridor to join in on the fun.
The fire elemental didn't appear to be too phased with the concept of burning out quickly and kept up its offense.
App-L was a fan of avoiding damage, so he started shedding light brightly as shifted into his starlight form again. He noticed the positioning of where the jinsuls were positioned and hoped that they didn't understand Common. He belted out a warning even as his power armor's arm swung at the jinsul. "Stay out of this hallway over there and keep them in it! I think I can do a 4 for 1!"
Starlight Form: If a creature ends their turn next to App-L, it needs to make Fort save or be blinded.
App-L gains concealment (20%).
App-L looked at the two jinsul facing them and couldn't help but laugh as he pulled out his special grenade and pushed a button on the side. "I choose you." The grenade fired out a red laser just past the two on their side to the ground and a fire elemental showed up next to the far one. "Flamemon" saw its new situation in life and looked like it was either tensing up for combat or just shrugging before attacking the one closest to it.
The android rolled his eyes and put his uncharged grenade away. "Looks like it was worth the purchase after all." Fire Elemental: N Medium outsider (elemental, extraplanar) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8 DEFENSE HP 40 EAC 14; KAC 16 Fort +7; Ref +5; Will +2 Immunities elemental immunities OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee slam +12 (1d6+7 B) STATISTICS Str +4; Dex +2; Con +1; Int −3; Wis +0; Cha +0 Skills Acrobatics +8, Athletics +8
After swapping info with the doctor, he returned to the refugees with a better understanding of physiology and how to treat everyone. He worked with Shrike to put some of his knowledge to use. "That turned out well. Secured valuable medical data, kept the jinsuls from getting stronger, and kept people alive."
App-L mimicked sighing and nodded since he knew he was going to likely be the pack mule if they couldn't find a way to carry the foe. "If nothing else, we can just take turns punching and stabilizing it. But I have some cable as well for when we're on the ship." On the way towards the front, he poked his head into the various unexplored rooms to see if there was anything at all worthwhile taking for medicinal uses or for their own.
As the refugees got back on the ship, he took back the loaned rifle since the healed soldier didn't need it anymore. He avoided those he healed for the time being and tracked down Dr. Yuuqa, his stance relaxing now that they weren't in a warzone. "We got your data, Doc. You said something about healing faster than ever. I would very much like to be able to use something like that to keep going; the longer I am up, the longer that someone's focus is on me instead of somebody else who is unable to take a hit."
App-L hurries forward to frisk the downed solarian, making sure that if it is faking, he'll take the blunt of the surprise attack. The first he searches for is its crystal so it isn't as capable of doing damage if they decide to leave it alive. If he found it easily enough, he'd see what else it had that could be of any use. "Much as I detest these guys, I do not think I am able to fairly judge what to do with this one, so I'll defer to someone else. Either we bring it with us as a captive for smarter individuals to learn from, kill it here, or try to convince the captain that a new hood ornament is needed." He gave no indication to whether or not he was joking. "But we are not letting them free."
Prepared for the grenade, App-L knew enough to turn away from it and use his armor to shield him. He was hit, but it didn't look like he actually took any damage from the attack. Not having a clear shot either for his gun or for running forward to kick the last remaining jinsul, he shrugged and spent his turn actually using offensive magic, three bolts of force appearing out of nothing and all hitting the jinsul.
Glowing way too brightly at this point, App-L made his way in the direction of the sounds of fighting, his favored distance weapon already ready to fire. He stopped near Klysk and didn't bother taking cover. His mounted weapon fired a line of electricity through the closest towards him with the intent of then arcing back towards the other standard jinsul and the solarian, but it didn't look like it hit well enough to even get through the first one.
"On the plus side, we're already in a hospital."
App-L gestured in the general direction of the operating theater pointedly. "See? Those are concerning noises." He shook his skittermander away and looked toward Muyari. "Stay here and safe for now." His body started glowing brightly and almost blindingly. "All will be well." He started squeezing through and out of the room, being mindful to avoid injuring the patients more.
App-L smiled at seeing that something he was equipped with was able to do the job. Hearing Shrike on the comms, he waited a bit to respond to make sure that everything was good with the patient, but then heard the giant explosion. "We have living people ready to leave. As an added bonus, our room has not exploded." He eyed the soldiers over, measuring their worth, before offering the loaned longarm to the one he guessed would be able to do more with it. "Alright people. Sorry for a lack of formal introductions, but I promise that we will address that in the near future. More of our team is in the building and that boom was due to an exposure in the operating room. They will be with us shortly and then we will escort you to some place safer and more structurally secure, so start getting ready to head out." He gave a brief head nod to Muyari to translate and then turned back to Jack and Duhm. "At least we are at a good start. Way to save lives."
App-L seemed like he was conflicted for some reason before stepping forward to work with the syngnathrix. "Use our mystic cure spell ampoule if you need help and I can't step away to help over there."
He preferred working with the challenge of applied medicine, but wasn't terribly confident that he was going to be able to actually succeed with the alien biology, much less one with a second life to consider, so raised a hand over the civilian and relied on divine assistance to try to stabilize them. He looked over at one of the other conscious syngnathrix to make sure this was a valid strategy as he did so, using vesk again. "Your race doesn't have any natural spell resistance, right?"
App-L eyed the armed batman over briefly before simply turning his attention on those actually needing his immediate services. "Good to know you speak vesk as well. I am App-L and these are my sidekicks. We are here to stabilize their lives and then get you guys to somewhere safer than a warzone."
He turned his attention to the rest in the room and pointed out the three circling the drain to the other two. "Those three need our immediate attention before evac. If you're going to burn a full heal on someone, prioritize a soldier so they can at least fire a gun." Switching back to vesk, App-L conveyed the same message. "Those three are about to die without any help. Can we please stop wasting time being tough and let us save them?"
Bemused that he had accidentally taken charge, the android shrugged and explained his reasoning as they made their way towards the ward. "What we want to do does not need to sync up with where we are needed. Besides just healing, we need the majority defending those who can not defend themselves, so our focus is on that area. And the data team should run away if they run into trouble. If we greet trouble, we do not have the option to run away without leaving others to die." He peered at the nuar and managed a smile that didn't meet his eyes either from determination, his race, or because he really did not want to be where he was going. "If our team manages to find a fight, then it will be one that has a finality to it."
He gave a cursory look over the greenhouse to make sure no jinsuls waited in ambush before resting his hand on the door to the ward and announced in vesk as loud as he dared as he opened it. "Not jinsuls. Here to help."
App-L visibly scowled at the decision laid before them and spoke in common language to the others after translating the doctor for any who didn't speak vesk. "If split, mechanic, soldier to the theater to find and grab the info quickly. Take my summoning tech for a minute's worth of distraction backup. If it gets hairy and you can't find it, explode the room and fall back. Everyone else to the patients so we can stabilize, defend, and get them ready for evac. We are not leaving people here in this and it sounded like the vesk does not mind a larger family on his ship. This may be why our party was assembled as it was."
App-L turned to the doctor and switched to the vesk tongue since panic wasn't useful. "Do not worry. Please breathe calmly. We are here now to help and will do so."
App-L took the opportunity to look around and didn't appear terribly pleased with what he found. "We need to come from the west or the south. Jinsuls are about everywhere else. Getting into combat when it is unnecessary is foolish. If there are anyone with weapons holed up in there, they may be using the front door as a funnel and shoot anyone coming in. But if we try to breach through the south, then we may cause further damage to the building and the people inside." His eyes started darting around the area for some sort of cover he could carry to shield himself and the others. "We can just press our luck and walk through the front. Someone inside speaks vesk. I can announce our presence and hope they do not shoot help."
The android gave a look at his assistant and the skittermander clapped its two sets of hands together in glee before clambering up to rest on his shoulder. App-L started double checking his weapons and equipment to make sure that everything was ready for use and ease of access. "We are quite prepared for an opportunity to impede jinsul machinations again." He nodded at Shrike. "If you desire, I can carry the rifle. I have not needed to reload mine outside of the usual charging while we walk. Probability seems higher than normal of that changing today."
"If no one else has the armor slots for the upgrade, I do. But I'd rather it go to someone else since I am already doing well in the defense department." -------------- App-L completely ignored the offer for working out because, well, he wasn't biological and couldn't get sick gains the traditional way. That's what the power suit was for. The others struck his interest. When challenged by Shaakar, he pulled out his grenade and for a daily use during the voyage to summon his pocket monster to distract and entertain Shaakar while he made his attempt at the game. "Had some experience with this as well recently. Apparently, one of our leaders got himself trapped in a simulation. Modded the game to make the final boss manageable."
"I need to download stuff off of the Nexus. RPGs are more my style." -------------- After failing at the game, he made his way towards the bridge and stared out at the expanse with Suwalnazka. "The universe is mad. Never minding the science on what gravitational problems should arise to a system that suddenly loses a large celestial body. It is absolutely bonkers that the races that lived on a planet that is no longer there go on living their lives as if their home was never that planet to begin with. Understandable, since many of them have not been alive that long, that this new existence is all they know. But for so many to not ask why that is and just accept it is mad. Sure, I assume that many think it is beyond them, but like the Starfinders, the collective can accomplish more than just the one." He turned back to her and made some effort to emote as he grasped his religious symbol. "To just accept this and be like everyone else, doing absolutely nothing to solve what is arguably the biggest mystery that 'we' have been present for... is completely illogical. It would be irresponsible for me to do anything of the sort. That's why I've turned to divine help as I did. Never mind inspiration to drive and inspire us, Nyarlathotep and secrets are where the true power lies that governs our future."
-------------- The android spent some time in cargo bay, looking at his data screen and trying to reference what had gone with the wreckage with his past field reports and what others had logged that he had downloaded.
App-L tapped his lip thoughtfully, a mannerism that was completely unnecessary, but was still adopted from someone else. "During the return to the Scoured Stars system, we were attacked in space around Bastiar-7 by a massive jinsul fleet. But instead of engaging in space combat, they somehow boarded the ship. There seemed to be only one appropriate response to the dishonorable act, so I spaced them before they could sabotage anything."
Boons Slotted:
Ally: Master Hireling Access +15 Bluff/Dip/Int Faction: Dataphiles Champion Personal: Devolved Promotional: Promotional Reroll (OP Shirt) Social: Izalguun Profiteer Starship: Defender Of The Fleet He looked to Shrike and nodded. "I do as well since running into dwarves who lacked the development to speak anything over than dwarf." App-L gestured dismissively at Podi. "Help Jack out."
App-L seemed to relax after the infodump. "Diplomacy is something that we can do. Hopefully we can meet some living mentrasi. But if we encounter jinsuls again, should we continue that tactic or are we allowed to engage with aggressive diplomacy? And if we find another Tear in that system, should we attempt to acquire it?"
App-L scowled as he more closely examined the rest waiting for the briefing. "Nyarlathotep... The last time a mystical focus was needed was for a violent exorcism second Second Seeker Jadnura sent us on. I can not imagine that having a diverse pantheon resembled bodes well for why this party composition was assembled for this particular assignment."
Next to a large suit of unoccupied power armor were two individuals sitting there silently with their eyes closed: a robed purple skittermander and a inconspicuous gray android in a barely creased, white sports coat. Both appeared to have metallic badges of upside down ankhs. After the telepathic introduction, the android's eyes flickered open and looked over the others. "Ah. My mission companions. I am App-L and this is my assistant, Podi. I do pray that you are better equipped to survive without my assistance than previous mission companions. You will need to agree to my terms and conditions in the event of... out of warranty repair." |
