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.
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