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
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