As they made they're way through the vents of the ship, they used guerrilla tactics to attack their unwelcome guests. As they had to go out into the open from time to time to get to a different junction, Corsini would usually lead the way. The orangutan was quite skilled at sneaking up on the little robots and then tearing them apart before they could alert their companions. Berylline investigated some of the corpses Corsini left behind, studying the components. It seemed like they were all linked together through some kind of network. They could never linger long, because the robots always seemed to know when one of their number had been destroyed. Linday, having seen the creatures taking apart the machinery on board the ship, set a trap for an approaching bot. As it climbed onto the kitchen counter to rip open the coffee maker, the wires Lindsay had frayed and tied together caused a massive power surge into the robot. The plan was that it would simply short the thing out, but the robot convulsed and shuddered as they watched it from the vent in the ceiling above. When it exploded the blast took out half the kitchen, and caused the ceiling vent they were inside to collapse into the room. Corsini and Berylline groaned, and coughed as the smoke cleared and they pushed out of the debris. But Lindsay had been impaled on a long shaft of metal from the ceiling fixtures. She coughed and yelped in pain as she tried to move. She wasn't going to be climbing through any more vents like this. Clanking in the halls was drawing closer. Berylline and Corsini helped the star singer to her feet and into the quarters across the hall. If the robots followed their pattern, they'd simply seal her inside, and go about their business. If they didn't continue on without her, the whole ship could be destroyed.
Peering into the engine room, the small robots seemed to be concentrated around a large cube they'd built out of stolen wiring, metal, and circuit boards. Thick cables were plugged into it running to the jump engine. The lights suddenly came back on flickering and low and the engine was restarted. The cube began to glow. It seemed to be leaching the majority of the energy flow from the ship. With their project complete most of the robots exited engineering, heading for somewhere else. Corsini dropped down quietly and disabled the remaining guards. The cube was humming and the ship's engines began to make an unhealthy sound. Berylline wondered if she could disable it. Lindsay Lohan incapacitated. Difficulty of final two challenges reduced by 2. 1 for each success in previous segment
Geth roll 1d10 for a Engineering challenge vs difficulty 5
As Berylline yanked out the main power line connecting the cube and the jump engine, the engine made a terrible groaning noise. Across the ship power surges Berylline screamed as the excess power flooded back out of heavy wire, coursing through her. Corsini yelled out as the scientist fell to floor, and batted at the hair that had caught fire. Corsini dragged Berylline away from the now dead cube and roughly shook her awake. Berylline coughed out a small cloud of smoke as she came to. "Did it work?" Corsini looked at the quiet cube and shrugged a maybe. The lights were back to normal, and the internal speakers came on again. "Guys, It's Jazz. Things seem to be slowly be coming back up, but half the circuits just fried. Listen, I can see you on the security cameras, you have to get out of there, all of them are heading your way. All of them! And they're blasting everything in sight. I think you pissed them off."
Berylline groaned. They couldn't fight all of them off, and she could barely move. She looked at Corsini and realized she didn't actually know how much the orangutan understood. I mean, it must be smart right? It pilots the ship half the time...Or had Firebird just trained it somehow.... "All...All the robots. They're connected through a network." She gestured weakly at one Corsini had ripped apart. "If we can disrupt that network, we might be able to stop them all at once." The orangutan walked over and grabbed the limp robot off the floor and dropped it by Berylline. "Grab that kit, and hook it up to the wires inside. It should let you interact with the..." Berylline dropped out of consciousness. As she faded back in. the doors to Engineering had been closed, but a bright red glow was blooming in one corner, melting metal. They were cutting through. Corsini was hunched over robot corpse and had managed to connect the omnitool set to it's innards. She tried to explain the next steps, but she slipped back into darkness. Berylline incapacitated. 2 ship damage. 3 hull remains.
Geth roll 1d10 for a Science challenge vs difficulty 5
By the time they got the doors to the bridge open most of the mess had already been cleaned up. Corsini had done one better than disabling the robots. They went around the ship cleaning up the messes they'd created, repairing the broken appliances, and sweeping up debris. The cube in engineering was meant to be some kind of new overlord for the little things, and as far as they were concerned now, that was Corsini. Lindsay Lohan and Berylline were moved to sickbay to recuperate while Jazz surveyed the damage to the ship. The engine overload had caused lasting damage, their power systems would be pretty delicate for now. Firebird was keen on keeping the little robots around to help out and keep the place tidy. But occasionally one of them would seem to suddenly catch on to the fact that Corsini was not in fact its mother, and rebel with a burst of violence. Better to get rid of them. They managed to pull 7 Steam out the cube before getting rid of it, and Corsini had the bots bring some smaller versions of it on board from their nest in the rings as well. These yielded a few Steam of their own, adding another 2 to their total. Finally, they departed the area, leaving the robots behind with firm instructions to keep to themselves for however long those orders may last. Mission done. Gained 9 Steam.
They didn't notice as the surface of the tomato sauce filled pool rippled gently. Corsini slowly and quietly emerged, covered in sauce, a knife clenched between the orangutan's teeth.
By the time they got the doors to the bridge open most of the mess had already been cleaned up. Corsini had done one better than disabling the robots. They went around the ship cleaning up the messes they'd created, repairing the broken appliances, and sweeping up debris. The cube in engineering was meant to be some kind of new overlord for the little things, and as far as they were concerned now, that was Corsini. Lindsay Lohan and Berylline were moved to sickbay to recuperate while Jazz surveyed the damage to the ship. The engine overload had caused lasting damage, their power systems would be pretty delicate for now. Firebird was keen on keeping the little robots around to help out and keep the place tidy. But occasionally one of them would seem to suddenly catch on to the fact that Corsini was not in fact its mother, and rebel with a burst of violence. Better to get rid of them. They managed to pull 7 Steam out the cube before getting rid of it, and Corsini had the bots bring some smaller versions of it on board from their nest in the rings as well. These yielded a few Steam of their own, adding another 2 to their total. Finally, they departed the area, leaving the robots behind with firm instructions to keep to themselves for however long those orders may last. Mission done. Gained 9 Steam.
Geth roll 2d2
Geth roll 7d22
That's a nice recovery there guys. Must admit I was reading it all with heart-in-mouth the whole way.
A bit of a work project and plans tonight may put off the Rougelike's run until tomorrow. Depends on how the afternoon goes.
Edit: Ok, let's see if I can get this done before I have to get out of here.
"Incoming fighters rapidly approaching!" @Orivon announced. "I see them" @Talus9952 responded. @Emberquick was back in the captain's chair again. The three of them had been left in charge of the ship while the rest of the crew were once again restricted to non-interference elsewhere in the ship. The approaching fighter craft were spherical, spinning balls moving through space with a strange momentum. There were no apparent engines. But the outer shells of these spinning spheres were charged with concentrated energy. They were hurtling towards the ship seemingly intent on ramming it. "Take evasive action" Emberquick commanded. Already regretting being back in this same situation. The Rougelike could only take so much abuse. The Steam signal had led them to this region. They'd seem the warning buoys on the way in and been forced to ignore them. The inhabitants did not take kindly to visitors.
"No response to hails, they're making another pass" Orivon said.
Geth roll 1d10+3 for a Martial challenge vs difficulty 5
+1 from Ready for Trouble
Talus dove out of the way of the second and third sorties when Orivon called out a warning. "Whoa stop, there's something right ahead of us." he adjusted the updated the viewscreen with an overlay showing the energy readings he was picking up. Dead ahead the wall of an invisible forcefield was directly ahead of them. If they'd hit going full speed it would caused serious damage. "Bad news, we're literally in a box guys. They're put up some kind of walls around us on each side. And they're growing denser and the empty space is shrinking." The fighter spheres had back away waiting to see how things played out. Talus launched a torpedo straight ahead and they could see the field shimmer as the explosion rippled against it. "No effect, it may have actually increased the growth rate. We've got another ship approaching too."
As the larger full sized ship approached, a transmission was sent to the Rougelike. On screen a guinea pig appeared. Or at least something that looked an awful lot like one. Based on the size of the ship and the room pictured behind, it must be about four feet tall. It's mouth twitched open and closed rapidly, and chittered. The translators began to pick it up "Trespassers. You should have heeded our warnings. Now you die like all the rest! The guinea pig shuffled to it's right and used its snout to push a large red button on the wall, and then cut communications. "The forcefield is tightening around the ship sir! I have an idea, I may be able to use our extension arms to create a small gap in the field, and then we can use our own engine power and project a forcefield of our own like a lever to crack their barrier wide open sir.
"Yes Yes, do it." Emberquick had not really followed all of that, but whatever resulted in them NOT being crushed by massive guinea pig aliens was a good enough plan.
Geth roll 1d10+1 for a Engineering challenge vs difficulty 5
Orivon's plan worked, but the lead ship and its fighters still awaited them now that they were free. Talus was ready at the helm to counterattack, but Emberquick motioned to hold for a moment. They enemy had not yet resumed their attack, and may be willing to negotiate. "Hail their ship. Let's see if we can't work this out." Emberquick stifled his initial urge to laugh as the chittering guinea pig reappeared on screen. He had somehow missed the fact it was wearing a cap around its thick neck, trailed over its back. Behind it in the large open space others of its species worked at pushing buttons in complicated sequences with their noses. "You are resourceful I see. No one had escaped the forcefield before. But our sensors show your hull would be vulnerable to our attacks, turn back now invader and I will let you live. Do not test us."
"We wish you no harm, but we must travel through this sector. We do not seek to steal from you or attack your people. We only search for a substance that is necessary for our own survival."
"And why should we trust you? We will never fall victim to your kind again. The masters sought to imprison us as pets, but we overthrew them! You kind lies too easily for us to trust your words."
Geth roll 1d10+3 for a Culture challenge vs difficulty 5
Included Talk it Out bonus.
Emberquick explained their situation as best and simply as he could. The pigs were highly distrustful though, and the more fantastical elements of their own story seemed too much like lies. Emberquick was careful to avoid specifics as much as possible. Orivon sensed the pig was willing to listen to reason. "I have conditions. If you comply with these then perhaps we can allow you to travel through our space with an escort" their attacker said.
"Absolutely" Emberquick responded.
"We will require one of your crew to live in servitude to us permanently. We require the aid of your kind for some tasks. They will be well treated with fresh greens and clean water. We will clean their habitat regularly. If you agree to this then we will escort you to your destination.
Emberquick's good mood came as quickly as it went. "That isn't possible, I could not subject my own crew to to being enslaved."
The guinea pig bristled and hissed, baring it's large teeth and shaking it's little fists in irritation. Culture success avoids 2nd Martial challenge
Geth roll 1d10+3 for a culture challenge vs difficulty 6
Still including Talk it Out
You're actually pretty close to over the final hurdle. You already avoided 2 out the 3 possible damage incidents. This one had 4 potential challenges for damage. You beat the first two and circumvented the third. So to be completely transparent you're back where Jclast was on that final roll. If you fail THIS one, you'll take 2 damage and be super close to dead but not dead. If you crit fail this last one, then you're hosed.
Emberquick muted the line. stood and turned to Orivon. "Can you believe these furry rodents want one us to be their slave? My parents made me take care of a guinea pig when I was kid. I hated that stupid thing."
"Uh..."Orivon said. "What!? You were a Master! You almost tricked me." The alien leader hissed again and cut the line, the fighter ships were powering up and the main ship began to lock onto the Rougelike with it's forward cannons.
Talus quickly engaged full power and began to fire a hail of sprinkle torpedoes at the enemy ship and its fighters while swerving in an erratic pattern.
Emberquick fell back into the captain's chair with a thud, and took a look at the console again. Wrong switch. Crit fail on second Culture challenge gives 2nd Martial challenge +3 difficulty.
Geth roll 1d10+3 for a Martial challenge vs difficulty 9
The barrage of sprinkle torpedoes drove the main guinea pig ship back. It's engines were damaged in the hail of explosions. However three of the spheres were still chasing after them, trying their best to ram them.
Talus clipped one of the them with a laser blast sending it flying into a second one. But did not swerve in time to avoid the final incoming fighter. The sphere struck the front of the Rougelike from above. Exploding with massive force as it did. A resulting breach in the hull on the bridge ripped open the right hand side of the room. Closest to the hole, Orivon was sucked out into the void disappearing in the blink of an eye. Emberquick and Talus were yanked from their seats but simply struck the temporary forcefield the Rougelike had erected a split second later to seal the breach. The walls would slowly knit back together as best they could over time.
They had seemed to lose their pursuers for a time, and were able to find the source of the Steam. A derelict satellite drifting through empty space, lost from whatever orbit it had once kept.
But before they could finish extracting the full amount a fighter patrol appeared on long range scanners. Rather than risking another encounter, Emberquick ordered a rapid retreat from this region entirely. They pulled 5 Steam from the satellite before they were force to leave. Mission done. Orivon died. 2 ship damage taken. 1 hull remaining. 5 Steam gained.
Posts
Firebird's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 2-5
As they made they're way through the vents of the ship, they used guerrilla tactics to attack their unwelcome guests. As they had to go out into the open from time to time to get to a different junction, Corsini would usually lead the way. The orangutan was quite skilled at sneaking up on the little robots and then tearing them apart before they could alert their companions. Berylline investigated some of the corpses Corsini left behind, studying the components. It seemed like they were all linked together through some kind of network. They could never linger long, because the robots always seemed to know when one of their number had been destroyed. Linday, having seen the creatures taking apart the machinery on board the ship, set a trap for an approaching bot. As it climbed onto the kitchen counter to rip open the coffee maker, the wires Lindsay had frayed and tied together caused a massive power surge into the robot. The plan was that it would simply short the thing out, but the robot convulsed and shuddered as they watched it from the vent in the ceiling above. When it exploded the blast took out half the kitchen, and caused the ceiling vent they were inside to collapse into the room. Corsini and Berylline groaned, and coughed as the smoke cleared and they pushed out of the debris. But Lindsay had been impaled on a long shaft of metal from the ceiling fixtures. She coughed and yelped in pain as she tried to move. She wasn't going to be climbing through any more vents like this. Clanking in the halls was drawing closer. Berylline and Corsini helped the star singer to her feet and into the quarters across the hall. If the robots followed their pattern, they'd simply seal her inside, and go about their business. If they didn't continue on without her, the whole ship could be destroyed.
Peering into the engine room, the small robots seemed to be concentrated around a large cube they'd built out of stolen wiring, metal, and circuit boards. Thick cables were plugged into it running to the jump engine. The lights suddenly came back on flickering and low and the engine was restarted. The cube began to glow. It seemed to be leaching the majority of the energy flow from the ship. With their project complete most of the robots exited engineering, heading for somewhere else. Corsini dropped down quietly and disabled the remaining guards. The cube was humming and the ship's engines began to make an unhealthy sound. Berylline wondered if she could disable it.
Lindsay Lohan incapacitated. Difficulty of final two challenges reduced by 2. 1 for each success in previous segment
Also, I have about 10 minutes before I have to leave for yoga. I think I'm going to find it very hard to relax, not knowing the end of this mission!
Firebird's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 2-5
As Berylline yanked out the main power line connecting the cube and the jump engine, the engine made a terrible groaning noise. Across the ship power surges Berylline screamed as the excess power flooded back out of heavy wire, coursing through her. Corsini yelled out as the scientist fell to floor, and batted at the hair that had caught fire. Corsini dragged Berylline away from the now dead cube and roughly shook her awake. Berylline coughed out a small cloud of smoke as she came to. "Did it work?" Corsini looked at the quiet cube and shrugged a maybe. The lights were back to normal, and the internal speakers came on again. "Guys, It's Jazz. Things seem to be slowly be coming back up, but half the circuits just fried. Listen, I can see you on the security cameras, you have to get out of there, all of them are heading your way. All of them! And they're blasting everything in sight. I think you pissed them off."
Berylline groaned. They couldn't fight all of them off, and she could barely move. She looked at Corsini and realized she didn't actually know how much the orangutan understood. I mean, it must be smart right? It pilots the ship half the time...Or had Firebird just trained it somehow.... "All...All the robots. They're connected through a network." She gestured weakly at one Corsini had ripped apart. "If we can disrupt that network, we might be able to stop them all at once." The orangutan walked over and grabbed the limp robot off the floor and dropped it by Berylline. "Grab that kit, and hook it up to the wires inside. It should let you interact with the..." Berylline dropped out of consciousness. As she faded back in. the doors to Engineering had been closed, but a bright red glow was blooming in one corner, melting metal. They were cutting through. Corsini was hunched over robot corpse and had managed to connect the omnitool set to it's innards. She tried to explain the next steps, but she slipped back into darkness.
Berylline incapacitated. 2 ship damage. 3 hull remains.
Edit: @akajaybay that video is horrific!
🖥️Steam Profile
Steam Badger A greasemonkey script for better gifting and peering
Firebird's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 2-5
By the time they got the doors to the bridge open most of the mess had already been cleaned up. Corsini had done one better than disabling the robots. They went around the ship cleaning up the messes they'd created, repairing the broken appliances, and sweeping up debris. The cube in engineering was meant to be some kind of new overlord for the little things, and as far as they were concerned now, that was Corsini. Lindsay Lohan and Berylline were moved to sickbay to recuperate while Jazz surveyed the damage to the ship. The engine overload had caused lasting damage, their power systems would be pretty delicate for now. Firebird was keen on keeping the little robots around to help out and keep the place tidy. But occasionally one of them would seem to suddenly catch on to the fact that Corsini was not in fact its mother, and rebel with a burst of violence. Better to get rid of them. They managed to pull 7 Steam out the cube before getting rid of it, and Corsini had the bots bring some smaller versions of it on board from their nest in the rings as well. These yielded a few Steam of their own, adding another 2 to their total. Finally, they departed the area, leaving the robots behind with firm instructions to keep to themselves for however long those orders may last.
Mission done. Gained 9 Steam.
Geth roll 7d22
This is a glorious conclusion to the pizza party.
Seems stupendously appropriate....
STEAM ID: Firebird
XBOX Live: FirebirdLR
Playstation: FirebirdXR
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
That's a nice recovery there guys. Must admit I was reading it all with heart-in-mouth the whole way.
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
Edit: Ok, let's see if I can get this done before I have to get out of here.
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
"Incoming fighters rapidly approaching!" @Orivon announced. "I see them" @Talus9952 responded. @Emberquick was back in the captain's chair again. The three of them had been left in charge of the ship while the rest of the crew were once again restricted to non-interference elsewhere in the ship. The approaching fighter craft were spherical, spinning balls moving through space with a strange momentum. There were no apparent engines. But the outer shells of these spinning spheres were charged with concentrated energy. They were hurtling towards the ship seemingly intent on ramming it. "Take evasive action" Emberquick commanded. Already regretting being back in this same situation. The Rougelike could only take so much abuse. The Steam signal had led them to this region. They'd seem the warning buoys on the way in and been forced to ignore them. The inhabitants did not take kindly to visitors.
"No response to hails, they're making another pass" Orivon said.
+1 from Ready for Trouble
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
Talus dove out of the way of the second and third sorties when Orivon called out a warning. "Whoa stop, there's something right ahead of us." he adjusted the updated the viewscreen with an overlay showing the energy readings he was picking up. Dead ahead the wall of an invisible forcefield was directly ahead of them. If they'd hit going full speed it would caused serious damage. "Bad news, we're literally in a box guys. They're put up some kind of walls around us on each side. And they're growing denser and the empty space is shrinking." The fighter spheres had back away waiting to see how things played out. Talus launched a torpedo straight ahead and they could see the field shimmer as the explosion rippled against it. "No effect, it may have actually increased the growth rate. We've got another ship approaching too."
As the larger full sized ship approached, a transmission was sent to the Rougelike. On screen a guinea pig appeared. Or at least something that looked an awful lot like one. Based on the size of the ship and the room pictured behind, it must be about four feet tall. It's mouth twitched open and closed rapidly, and chittered. The translators began to pick it up "Trespassers. You should have heeded our warnings. Now you die like all the rest! The guinea pig shuffled to it's right and used its snout to push a large red button on the wall, and then cut communications. "The forcefield is tightening around the ship sir! I have an idea, I may be able to use our extension arms to create a small gap in the field, and then we can use our own engine power and project a forcefield of our own like a lever to crack their barrier wide open sir.
"Yes Yes, do it." Emberquick had not really followed all of that, but whatever resulted in them NOT being crushed by massive guinea pig aliens was a good enough plan.
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
Orivon's plan worked, but the lead ship and its fighters still awaited them now that they were free. Talus was ready at the helm to counterattack, but Emberquick motioned to hold for a moment. They enemy had not yet resumed their attack, and may be willing to negotiate. "Hail their ship. Let's see if we can't work this out." Emberquick stifled his initial urge to laugh as the chittering guinea pig reappeared on screen. He had somehow missed the fact it was wearing a cap around its thick neck, trailed over its back. Behind it in the large open space others of its species worked at pushing buttons in complicated sequences with their noses. "You are resourceful I see. No one had escaped the forcefield before. But our sensors show your hull would be vulnerable to our attacks, turn back now invader and I will let you live. Do not test us."
"We wish you no harm, but we must travel through this sector. We do not seek to steal from you or attack your people. We only search for a substance that is necessary for our own survival."
"And why should we trust you? We will never fall victim to your kind again. The masters sought to imprison us as pets, but we overthrew them! You kind lies too easily for us to trust your words."
Included Talk it Out bonus.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
Emberquick explained their situation as best and simply as he could. The pigs were highly distrustful though, and the more fantastical elements of their own story seemed too much like lies. Emberquick was careful to avoid specifics as much as possible. Orivon sensed the pig was willing to listen to reason. "I have conditions. If you comply with these then perhaps we can allow you to travel through our space with an escort" their attacker said.
"Absolutely" Emberquick responded.
"We will require one of your crew to live in servitude to us permanently. We require the aid of your kind for some tasks. They will be well treated with fresh greens and clean water. We will clean their habitat regularly. If you agree to this then we will escort you to your destination.
Emberquick's good mood came as quickly as it went. "That isn't possible, I could not subject my own crew to to being enslaved."
The guinea pig bristled and hissed, baring it's large teeth and shaking it's little fists in irritation.
Culture success avoids 2nd Martial challenge
Still including Talk it Out
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Where's F3rret when you need him?
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
Emberquick muted the line. stood and turned to Orivon. "Can you believe these furry rodents want one us to be their slave? My parents made me take care of a guinea pig when I was kid. I hated that stupid thing."
"Uh..."Orivon said. "What!? You were a Master! You almost tricked me." The alien leader hissed again and cut the line, the fighter ships were powering up and the main ship began to lock onto the Rougelike with it's forward cannons.
Talus quickly engaged full power and began to fire a hail of sprinkle torpedoes at the enemy ship and its fighters while swerving in an erratic pattern.
Emberquick fell back into the captain's chair with a thud, and took a look at the console again. Wrong switch.
Crit fail on second Culture challenge gives 2nd Martial challenge +3 difficulty.
Pixie's Crew. Round Eleven. Zone 1-14
The barrage of sprinkle torpedoes drove the main guinea pig ship back. It's engines were damaged in the hail of explosions. However three of the spheres were still chasing after them, trying their best to ram them.
Talus clipped one of the them with a laser blast sending it flying into a second one. But did not swerve in time to avoid the final incoming fighter. The sphere struck the front of the Rougelike from above. Exploding with massive force as it did. A resulting breach in the hull on the bridge ripped open the right hand side of the room. Closest to the hole, Orivon was sucked out into the void disappearing in the blink of an eye. Emberquick and Talus were yanked from their seats but simply struck the temporary forcefield the Rougelike had erected a split second later to seal the breach. The walls would slowly knit back together as best they could over time.
They had seemed to lose their pursuers for a time, and were able to find the source of the Steam. A derelict satellite drifting through empty space, lost from whatever orbit it had once kept.
But before they could finish extracting the full amount a fighter patrol appeared on long range scanners. Rather than risking another encounter, Emberquick ordered a rapid retreat from this region entirely. They pulled 5 Steam from the satellite before they were force to leave.
Mission done. Orivon died. 2 ship damage taken. 1 hull remaining. 5 Steam gained.
Geth roll 7d20
:?