Space battle with the Corpse Fleet

After the Gap - February 26, 317 @ 21:01
 
Now the proud owners of the Sunrise Maiden, the party heads back to Absalom Station to report back to Ambassador Nor the results of their investigation into the Drift Rock. Standing at the controls, Nict assumes the pilot role. Bratrizik takes control of the helm, while Yiris sits at the engineering station. Fifteen minutes out of the Drift Rock and more than an hour away from Absalo Station, a computer alert detects a ship heading towards the Sunrise Maiden at full speed. Yiris uses the Sunrise Maiden's sensors to determine it is a Thaumtech Cairncarver light freighter, with weapons powered and on an intercept course.

The Cairncarver opens communications with the Sunrise Maiden and orders their ship to surrender their cargo. Bratrizik replies that they will not. The Cairncarver maneuvers itself to launch a spread of torpedoes against the Sunrise Maiden's starboard, followed by a light laser volley, lowering the ship's shields. Bratrizik opens a emergency channel. He explains that their ship is under attack by an armed freighter, and he requests assistance from any ship around. Absalom Station replies that they are dispatching two frigates, but they will arrive in 20 minutes. With the vicinity of the Drift Rock being under quarantine, there are no other ships in the area. The Sunrise Maiden is alone and must defend itself.

Yiris fires the Sunrise Maiden's turret and lands a hit on the Cairncarver. Nict performs several piloting exploits while firing on the enemy ship. Fire is exchanged several times, severely damaging the Sunrise Maiden's starboard, but forcing the Cairncarver to withdraw. On a close visual pass, Bratrizik notices that the Cairncarver features the symbol of the Corpse Fleet. Nict pushes the Sunrise Maiden forward, but realizes that he will not be able to catch up with the Cairncarver, so he resumes course towards Absalom Station.

As the Sunrise Maiden nears Absalom Station, Yiris contacts Ambassador Nox and report on their mission. They tell the Eoxian Ambassador about the incident with the Corpse Fleet ship, and request a docking berth. The Ambassador advices Yarris that unfortunately he does not have access to a docking berth. He then inquires about the status of his diplomatic cargo. Yiris informs the Ambassador that it is secure in one of the Sunrise Maiden's cargo holds. The Ambassador thanks the android, and asks that they report to the Eoxian Embassy as soon as possible to undergo a complete debrief so the matter of ownership of the Drift Rock can be finally settled.

 Nict contact Chiskisk and asks them if the Starfinder Society can offer a place where they can dock their ship. Chiskisk informs his shirren compatriot that they have been watching their exploits on one of the Stations's vidfeeds, and they have been impressed with their ability to adapt and defeat their opponents. Having heard their conversation aboard the Sunrise Maiden, Chiskisk has already secured a landing pad for their ship, at Docking Bay 153, where repairs and upgrades can be made. Yiris, Bratrizik and Nict are puzzled. How could Chiskisk have already heard about their actions? Yiris suddenly recalls the small observer robot that Ambassador Nor had assigned to their mission, and now wonder what has been broadcasted.

Nict does a skilled piloting job and lands the Sunrise Maiden at the Docking Bay 153. A crowd of people are awaiting their arrival, and they cheer when the shirren is the first one off the ship. Nict is greeted by adoring workers and reporters. As the others walk off, they are offered several opportunities such as a free night out on the town, a one week stay in a luxurious downtown hotel, and appearance on various holovid talk shows. Reporters shout questions such as what their favorite foods are and whether the Drift Rock is in fact part of a superweapon designed to destroy the Pact Worlds. They decide to wait before accepting any of the offers, and refuse to answer any questions.

Finding a broker, they are able to sell their cocoon cargo for 9,000 credits, and decide to spend most of it on upgrades to their ship. They also make arrangement to transport the Ambassador's unopened cargo to the Eoxian Embassy. Over the course of the next month, the Sunrise Maiden undergoes various improvements, as well as repairs to restore pieces of the ship that were damaged during their battle earlier. The powercore is improved to a Pulse Blue of 200 PCU, allowing improvements in the ship's current power output. These upgrades ensure that the ship will not need to conserve power under normal circumstances:

PCU Consumption

• Shields = 30
• Flak thrower = 10
• Light laser cannons = 5x2
• Gyrolaser = 10
• Light particle beam = 10
• M10 Thrusters = 70
• Mk 3 defenses = 2
• Recreation suite (HAC) = 3
• Mk 1 dunode computer = 10
• Power consumption = 155

The Sunrise Maiden

After the Gap - February 26, 317 @ 11:23
 
Following Clara-247's unfortunate departure, the three friends begin their exploration of the Drift Rock. Following their combat in the cave, they enter the cavern system through a natural formation. The tunnel leads to another room, where they discover the corpse of a dead crewman from the Acreon. Searching the body, Yiris finds that the crewman wears a shredded estex suit, but that a backup generator has not been damaged. She removes it from the suit.

Continuing their exploration, they find another cave, where they are confronted by a void zombie that has arisen from the dead body of yet another crewman. Nict fires his laser pistol, while Bratrizik and Yiris both use magic on it, ensuring its swift destruction. The dead crewman carries no useful gear. Worried that one or more of the akatas are on the Drift Rock, Yiris volunteers to walk in front to minimize their detection abilities.


Part of the walls in this cavern are made of a foreign metal. Investigating these metallic walls, both Nict and Bratrizik determine that they are composed of a strange ceramic-metallic compound similar to adamantine, but of an unknown type. This cavern also opens into three different paths. Following the closest one, they find the tunnel itself has been sheared clean off. Yiris asks them if it is similar to the metal on H-7758. Bratrizik replies that at first glance they share very little characteristics.

Entering another cave, the party encounters a female driftdead that immediately attacks them. Nict is affected by its confusion aura, and the shirren hits himself in the head with his own gun. Bratrizik fires a few shooting stars while Yiris discharges her weapon. It doesn't take long for the undead to perish, but Yiris bears the brunt of its assault, and takes a few minutes to recuperate.

Continuing on, they encounter more void zombies in one of the tunnels. Nict recognizes one of them as the former captain of the Acreon. They immediately charge. The former captain slams into the android. Yiris replies by using her inject nanobots spell and confuses him. Bratrizik sprints through the corridor, attempting to flank the enemy. Nict and his drone score a few hits with his pistol, and soon both zombies are dead. Unfortunately, both Bratrizik and Nict are infected by the void zombies' void death.


Searching the bodies, Bratrizik finds a credstick with about 500 credits, as well as an azimut laser rifle and a needler pistol floating around the room. Both of them are fully discharged, indicating that the crew used all of their ammunition defending themselves against the akatas aboard the Acreon. Yiris takes the rifle and plugs its battery to recharge it.

Coming to a metal door in stone wall, Bratrizik checks for an opening mechanism but doesn't locate one on this side of the door. Nict shorts the door, and it opens. Yiris walks through first. Leaving the stones of the cave behind, the walls, ceiling and floor are covered with the same foreign metal they encountered earlier. This hallway resembles one that would belong to a starship, both in appearance and layout. 

Turning right at the intersection, the party enters a long rectangular room with equipment monitoring consoles of a foreign design on each wall. The various symbols indicate an unknown language. A strange-looking android, of a unknown model, activates itself and attacks the party. It shouts a jolting arc of electricity and all of the party members are hit, Bratrizik worse than the rest. Combat continues until they are able to disable the robot. Exploring the room, Bratrizik finds a hidden compartment beneath one of the console that leads to a small room in which is a dead body. Upon close inspection, he notices that the corpse closely resembles the driftdead destroyed earlier. Searching her body, the vesk finds a brown force field, two spell amps of lesser restoration, a static arc pistol, and a data pad.

Returning to the main room, Bratrizik turns the data pad over to Nict, who quickly hacks into it. Poking around, the shirren discovers a recording from 75 years ago, in 242 AG. In this video, the now dead woman identifies herself as Moriko Nash, captain of the starship Sunrise Maiden. She reports how she discovered a strange asteroid drifting while traveling through the Drift, and she thought she would explore it. Attacked by a monster that drew life energy and could transport through walls, she was wounded and found herself stuck in a secret chamber. She was able to modify the force field on her armor to prevent the monster from reaching her, but this was only a temporary solution that would dissipate when her armor's batteries died. Deciding to end her life on her own terms, she left a last will and testament granting ownership of the Sunrise Maiden to whomever found this recording, as well as all of its content.

Returning to the hallway's entrance, the party heads left instead, and soon comes upon a large docking bay in which is a starship, the Sunrise Maiden. They are ambushed by a garaggakal, however, and the combat takes a toll on the team. 

Just as Moriko Nash reported, the monster travels through walls, and seems drawn to life energy as it avoids combat with Yirris the android. It is only through sheer desperation and strategy that they are able to defeat the monster.

Boarding the Sunrise Maiden, Nict is able to power up the ships and gets its engine back online. Carefully, Bratrizik maneuvers the ship out of the docking bay and heads to the Acreon. There, they remove Ambassador Nor's diplomatic cargo as well as the valuable norqal cocoons, and they return to the Sunrise Maiden before heading back to Absalom Station to report their findings to Ambassador Nor.