Val sighs as she begins affixing the disks.

Val: "Three. We gotta time these right. Which means we may be holding the door open. You got your safety harness and helmet seal checked just in case art grav and shields go down?"

There were safety tethers and harnesses for the cargo bay just for such emergencies. They wouldn't protect anyone without a helmet from suffocating but they would prevent a crew member's body from being lost to space during transit.

She looks up as the plan is laid out over comms and then makes some somatic gestures with her hands.

Val: "May the Fates be with us."

A second pilot check? Do you need two stealth?

Skip begins scanning for any ships coming after them.

14:22, Today: Skip Tracer rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  Perception.  Well, that was a shitty roll....

OOC: 14:30, Today: Edwin Arlo Park rolled 6 using 1d20+4 ((2)).
Okay two rolls today and both are a 2. I think this die roller hates me. That or Gill is paying it off.

"Everything's green across the board."  Osram remarked, flicking his eyes down to double check the dummy lights on the interior of the helmet.



Osram rolled 8 using 1d20+6.  Athletics

Andre is in it for the science. "Fuel it is..." and he straps up his best mad science outfit, indeed his vest releases armature limbs as he grabs the gremlin's case. The gleam in his eye may just stop the creature's laughter or make it all the worse. "I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!"

Andre Klanktonne rolled 21 using 2d20+6, dropping the lowest dice only.  Mechanics to fuel off gremlin
This message was last edited by the player at 14:53, Fri 22 Dec 2023.

Gill manages to steer the ship out of the dockyard smoothly but can see ships are not sharing navigation trajectories and are just flying all around in every direction. It's dangerous waters out there. He can tell even as proficient as he was, he was barely making it through the mess.

@GILL: DC15 - 16 = -1 to threat level


Skip can feel a surge of emotions from the chaos. The other ships were far away, but the sympathetic connection of all of them being in one firefight (well massacre) and the panic and fear was echoing the emotes. He couldn't focus on anything. He missed several ships getting closer.

@SKIP: DC15 - 8 = +7 to threat level


Suddenly the ship jolts as the art grav can't keep up with the sudden shock of weapon's fire. Enemy fighters were trying to disable them.

16:51, Today: Game Master rolled 29 using 2d20.  threat level.

Jhenko: "Dammit! Get us out of here, Gill!"


Osram manages to hold himself steady as the ship moves back and forth and the art grav doesn't fully compensate for the g's. Gill was an excellent pilot, but the maneuvers he was pulling were still hard on the poor old ship. He noticed Val was having trouble too but she was reliant on her mag boots. Poor girl didn't have his muscle so without those boots she'd probably have gone flying.

@SKIP: DC15 - 6 = +9 to threat level


Ed sees several cargo ships suddenly explode and debris clouding vision on his side of the ship. It was jarring and caught him off guard. He didn't even notice a couple of fighters heading their way before opening fire on them.

@SKIP: DC14 - 8 = +6 to threat level (DC15 - Gill's reduction of threat level)


Andre manages to plug in the gremlin battery to the main booster system. The gremlin stopped laughing and began asking questions in its native tongue. It was confused. The readings were sporadic and hard to pin down but a lot of it was definitely overlapping with the ship's main energy cells. Andre punched it in and the ship went from barely enough energy to get back to civilization to nearly full capacity. The entire ship lit up. Every device on the ship turned on even if it wasn't in use and whirred to life. Even emergency backup systems turned on redundantly without need (though they did nothing since no severe damage was done yet). It worked almost too well...like magic. No one back at the institute would even believe it. Andre could hear the gremlin screaming and making all sorts of other noises. The experience didn't seem pleasant for it as the battery cell whirred, jiggled, and flashed with eerie light emptying energy into the ship's primary cells.

@ANDRE: DC21 - 15 = -6 to threat level (the ship can now survive a trip to deep space and back with its current fuel reserves...just barely)

Val: "By the Fates! What the Hades is going on?"

---

ESCAPE FROM THE ASTROID: ROUND 2

---

Threat Level: 56

• Disable/Distract/Destroy Fighters: 0/10
• Power Boost: 1/3
• Drop Decoys: 0/3
• Investigate fighter:
• Investigate warship:
• Investigate crates:
• Investigate debris:

Mad Dog remained utterly calm. "Who the hell is Gill?" He slammed one of the control sticks forward and used his foot to flip a peddle switch, causing his pilot chair to reorient itself with his back to the ground. "Hold onto your butts, this is gonna suck a lot." He pressed both feet down and pulled both control rods back as far as they would go. He tried to push free of the planet's gravity like a rocket.

11:19, Today: Gill Rurry rolled 25 using 1d20+6.  Pilot (Reliable Talent).
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Sat 23 Dec 2023.

Andre called out, "By all the dying stars, you told me to call an exorcist and I am doing the next best thing. You want it gone and this might just do the job. Are you going to tell me to breathe and then yell at me for living?! You didn't give me a way to do what you wanted. True science is adaptation!" There was a part of him that felt badly for what seemed to be the creature suffering. He didn't like the idea of causing undue pain but the creature hadn't exactly been one to reason or cooperate with them. Indeed he hoped to learn more about extra dimensional energies as he monitored this process and adjusted flows to try to allow them to settle the systems.

further interfacing

Andre Klanktonne rolled 13 using 1d20+4.  Mysticism for understanding.

With every system surging with power, and feeling the ship start to pitch to angle the nose upward away from the asteroid, Osram figured things were about to get desperate.

"Time to see if these things work!"  He called to Val.  "Make sure you're anchored to the deck!"

Taking his own advice he landed next to the lock and secured his own feet before cycling both doors and bracing against his magboots' hold to send one of the decoy crates out into the black to hopefully confuse things just a bit.


Assuming the +2 from Val mentioned earlier, plus adding a preemptive surge.

Osram rolled 35 using 1d20+1d12+6+2.  Brawn + Surge + Assist

Not even noticing the surge in power, Skip begins tracking enemy fighters with his turret, ready to shoot should they come within range.

"Mad Dog" manages to twirl the ship and outmaneuver their pursuers for the the moment.

@GILL: DC15 - 25 = -10 to threat level


Skip and Ed can sense the nearby fighters approaching but their pot shots only grazed them. But without explanation a small crate flew out at one of them knocking it off course into the other into a fiery explosion.

@SKIP & ED:
DC15 - 23 = -8 to threat level
DC15 - 15 = +0 to threat level
15:13, Today: Game Master rolled 30 using 2d20 ((19,11)).




Osram manages drops the decoy with such proficiency that it literally hits one of the fighters throwing it off course and into another fighter in a fiery explosion. Miraculously, the decoy survived the impact and the debris from the explosion combined with the decoy now gave them cover from the firefight. It wouldn't last long but it was a moment of reprieve...

@OSRAM: DC15 - 35 = -20 to threat level



Andre attempts to better understand what's happening with the energy surge from the gremlin spirit, but miscalculates. Before he realizes it, the engines begin overheating. The creature's screams and shrieks can be heard through the ship as they echo through the very power cables as if excess energy was being converted into a psychic scream throwing everything out of whack. It seems Andre had gotten lucky on his initial hypothesis, but it was about to go terribly wrong...

@ANDRE: DC15 - 13 = +2 to threat level

NOD: "Alert! Systems are overheating! Safety protocols would recommend we do an emergency shut down of the engines to cool or abandon ship in the escape pods..."

Another transport explodes as the warship rains down fire upon them.

NOD: "...We need to cool the engines immediately but we can't afford to stop moving..."

NOD knew it was a catch 22 but all it could do was give them the facts. It wasn't programmed to pull miracles out of its exhaust port.

---

ESCAPE FROM THE ASTROID: ROUND 3

---

Threat Level: 45
15:02, Today: Game Master rolled 27 using 2d20 ((10,17)).

• Disable/Distract/Destroy Fighters: 2/10
• Power Boost: 2/3
• Drop Decoys: 1/3
• Investigate fighter:
• Investigate warship:
• Investigate crates:
• Investigate debris:

This message was last edited by the GM at 09:47, Fri 29 Dec 2023.

Osram grinned at the unexpected havoc the decoy box of freeze dried food had visited upon the fighters chasing them.

He decided to wait before trying again in the hopes that they might be able to break away.


Osram rolled 9 using 1d20+6.  Athletics, keep steady.

While his last attempt to take out a fighter was not very successful, he keeps at it.  He watches for, and takes shots at,the closest of the enemy fighters.

03:02, Today: Skip Tracer rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  Marksmanship.

Mad Dog swiveled his chair and locked it back in it's original position, then tried to camoflauge the ship and belly landed it to hide them.

11:13, Today: Gill Rurry rolled 14,12 using 1d20+6,1d12.  Piloting + Surge

"We should be real stealthy like, so let the ship cool down and dump that damned gremlin before our mad scientist engineer gets us all dead."

Since people were relying on stealth once again rather than actually trying to leave which had been the first plan of action...
"I don't even know if I CAN get this out right now but the more we change ideas about how to survive the LESS I can modify systems in useful ways! Are we committed to stealth!? Or do you want me to build a warship without a spacedock and are going to want to fight our way out in a minute?!"

He was frustrated that they were essentially asking him to waste all his efforts to help them get away from here. Especially after what felt like was about to be an intentional crash landing that was going to cost money and time in repairs AGAIN.

Andre Klanktonne rolled 27 using d20+d12+4.  Mysticism with a pre-roll surge (if no consensus is achieved).
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Sun 31 Dec 2023.

I don't know about anyone else, Skip says from the turret controls, but, quite frankly, I would rather get as far away from here as possible as quickly as possible.  If they find us here, we are sitting ducks.  And we'll all be quite toasty soon after.

Edwin didn't have anything to add to the conversation as he swivel the turret looking for any fighters that may have spotted them.

Mad Dog shouted back, "Hey, any of you guys wanna get up here and take the stick, be my guest. No? Then we wait here while the engines cool so they don't freaking explode!"

@OSRAM
Osram's smirk was too soon as he lost his footing, making it difficult for him to be prepared to drop the next decoy.

DC15 - 9 = +6 to threat level


@SKIP
Skip fired a few shots in the distance through the debris. Pretty sure he provided distraction and confusion if nothing else.

@SKIP & ED:
DC15 - 19 = -4 to threat level


@GILL
Gill managed to maneuver the ship into a smooth glide before shutting off the main engines and allowing them to run dark disguised as debris being flung from the nearby explosions. It seemed to be working as no fighters were even paying them any mind.

@OSRAM: DC15 - 26 = -11 to threat level


@ANDRE
Andre manages to take a peek into the gremlin's cell and sees that its become translucent and injured. The use of the energy boost had literally drained some of the creature's lifeforce away and it seemed to be slowly dissipating. It wasn't that the creature was full of energy, it's that it was MADE of energy. Its body was literally solid energy created to interact with our world but the creature itself was but energy. Now the stories of "spirits" makes more sense from a scientific perspective. And Andre's data readings could be the first evidence of such a thing.

DC15 - 27 = -12 to threat level



NOD: "Thank goodness. The emergency shut down is allowing the systems to cool. I'm blasting the cooling agents and venting the heat. We should be fine in a few moments..."



Several fighters flew right by them and didn't even seem to notice giving both Ed and Skip clear shots (advantage on marksmanship) but taking the shots would reveal them...

---

ESCAPE FROM THE ASTROID: ROUND 4

---

Threat Level: 32
00:47, Today: Game Master rolled 8 using 2d20 ((2,6)).

• Disable/Distract/Destroy Fighters: 2/10
• Power Boost: 2/3
• Drop Decoys: 1/3
• Investigate fighter: 0/8
• Investigate warship: 0/1
• Investigate crates: 0/2
• Investigate debris: 0/1
• HIDE!: 1/2

Gill let the whole thing sit and waited for the heat to vent and for the engines to be ready.

Edwin let the fighters fly past preferring not to draw attention to them. As they passed he paid close attention to the fighters making particular note of the type, style and any marking that were present.

Instead of firing upon on the fighters, as his Marine instincts are wont to do, Skip reaches out with his other senses, hoping to gain a bit of knowledge of the kinds of people they are dealing with.

Are they afraid of something, exultant in the combat, bored, etc.
09:06, Today: Skip Tracer rolled 5 using 1d20+4.  Insight-Empathy.  Ugh.  That roll sucked.

This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Fri 05 Jan.

"If that isn't the most scrap metal thing... " Andre had quickly gone from irritated to astonished. He grit his teeth and planned to end the little demon with a final loading into the systems. "Gremlin gone ASAP as requested. NOD, do monitor both your code and the ship's significant functions. Apparently, I am an exorcist."

ndre Klanktonne rolled 20 using d12+d20+4.  Mysticism role with a surge beforehand. that should finish the integration, and get rid of the gremlin- not to mention give my character some amazing understanding of energy and storage that is going to have to study for a while!

Andre Klanktonne rolled 4 using 1d20.  11+ for bonus surge (Heroics)

Since they were now landed, and not going anywhere at least for a moment, Osram decided to take a peek at what they'd picked up.  The one crate was already open, so taking a closer look couldn't hurt, and who knew, perhaps there would be something useful.