Heroica: Glory Amongst the Stars - Mission #7: My Bleeding Hart

[karmajay]

Kirwin is ready

[The Legonater]

MM Note: Going to be moving things along, then. I'll edit the Yul'Yom supplies into the last battle post!

Kirwin finishes their work at the controls and staggers the energy shields so that the party can step through the barrier created in the destroyed airlock. One by one, the heroes step into the void of space, protected only by the shielding extended between Valencia and the Beta container. Once again, they can gaze out into the ferocity of the Forbidden Sector surging around them. Spaghettified strands of ships and freighters drift over and underneath them. They're only in space for a few moments, but they feel like a brief eternity. Before they know it, the heroes step into the waiting entrance to Beta, having only traveled a few feet. It takes a few moments for the air to cycle, and then Beta's airlock opens to a scene of carnage.

In the active lighting of the Beta Container, the horror seems almost too vivid. Before them, a group of grey-adorned Hart employees lay in pieces, strewn apart by the rampant Hydra. Unlike the crew found in Valencia, no one hear appears to be merely unconscious. They seem to be both better armed and armoured than anyone the party has run across yet, but it apparently has helped little.  

Against the wall, a glowing panel indicates directions, describing the three rooms in Beta:
<---Main Cargo Compartment (Beta)
^--Security and Maintenance (Beta)
--> Secure Cargo Hold (Beta)

[Zepher]

“This is upsetting.” Merei says coldly, her fire burning low. No matter her curiosity in the Hydra, she is earnest in her intention of saving lives, and the massacre is disconcerting. She checks the bodies for names or IDs, moving carefully and quietly, more out of respect for the dead and a stifling of her anger than out of fear for the Hydra. “And still no police. Or Greenlaw. Or bomb.”

[Kintobor]

"I think calling this scene upsetting is putting it mildly, Merei." Zaria comments, disturbed by the scene in the cargo corridor. The silence was more off-putting than the corpses. Normally there was sounds, ambience to go along with carnage and death. This was more akin to a painting or tapestry, one which was painted by a grim artist devoid of compassion. Gripping her khopesh, she moved to peer around the corner and look down the hallway leading to the Secure Cargo Hold.

[The Legonater]

On 1/27/2022 at 4:36 PM, Zepher said:

“This is upsetting.” Merei says coldly, her fire burning low. No matter her curiosity in the Hydra, she is earnest in her intention of saving lives, and the massacre is disconcerting. She checks the bodies for names or IDs, moving carefully and quietly, more out of respect for the dead and a stifling of her anger than out of fear for the Hydra. “And still no police. Or Greenlaw. Or bomb.”

Merei inspects the bodies, collecting their identifications.

Coorta, Sien - HMS Titania
MacReady, R.J. - HMS Titania
Saleon, George - HMS Titania
Yu, Morgan - HMS Titania

On 1/27/2022 at 4:48 PM, Kintobor said:

Gripping her khopesh, she moved to peer around the corner and look down the hallway leading to the Secure Cargo Hold.

Instead of a hallway, Zaria finds herself stepping through a doorway. Inside, she finds a brightly lit cargo cell, locked shut and with a slight shimmer along its edges. Inside lay a collection of crates and containers, as well as a single, armoured man.

The man regards Zaria with some surprise, his eye drawing to the khopesh tightly gripped in her hand.

Aren't you a little over-armed for a Hart employee?

Edited January 29, 2022 by The Legonater
Had to fix a pretty major continuity error, whoops!

[KotZ]

OOC: Damn, sorry I forgot I checked in the other day.

Varen looks for tarps to lay over the deceased. "We shouldn't be looking at or disturbing these."

[Kintobor]

1 hour ago, The Legonater said:

 

Aren't you a little over-armed for a Hart employee?

Zaria relaxed at the sight of the person of the cell. A cell. As much as she was wary of the stranger, the sight of him in an impromptu cell made her feel a twinge of remorse for him. "In a place like this?" Zaria replies. "I have come to learn you cannot be over-armed in this hellish nightmare space." She approaches the bars. "My name is Zaria. Who might you be?"

[The Legonater]

3 hours ago, Kintobor said:

 "In a place like this?" Zaria replies. "I have come to learn you cannot be over-armed in this hellish nightmare space." She approaches the bars. "My name is Zaria. Who might you be?"

The man grins slightly, apparently amused. He leans his head back against the wooden crate behind him.

A little forward, aren't we? The name's Carpathia. Viper Carpathia. Did they let you on board or are you a stowaway too?

[karmajay]

Kirwin looks around at the scene and winces. "What a mess. Wait? We still have not seen those fool space police!"

Kirwin walks with Zaria and investigates the secure cargo hold.

[The Legonater]

10 hours ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin looks around at the scene and winces. "What a mess. Wait? We still have not seen those fool space police!"

Kirwin walks with Zaria and investigates the secure cargo hold.

Kirwin Perception Check (DC 1/3) - 3, 1, 6 (One success)

Kirwin Technology Check (DC 3) - 2, 6, 5, 4, 3 (Three successes)

Kirwin steps into the secure hold and takes stock of the bars holding Viper and the cargo. Leaning in close, they are able to determine that an energy barrier is currently encasing the makeshift cell.

 
Well, got a whole crowd here, don't we?

[Zepher]

Merei joins the other, catching the name. “I’ve promised to collect you, but the ship you’re on is very dangerous right now. We already have two problems running around with the police and the Hydra. Can you ensure me you will not make it three?”

[Kintobor]

On 1/28/2022 at 4:22 AM, The Legonater said:

The man grins slightly, apparently amused. He leans his head back against the wooden crate behind him.

A little forward, aren't we? The name's Carpathia. Viper Carpathia. Did they let you on board or are you a stowaway too?

"Neither. My group and I were hired to find out what happened to the Valencia, but it seems that all hell's broken loose in here." Zaria replies. She appreciated the nonchalant attitude Viper was taking, but she briefly observes him to see if he was nervous or not. She notices Kirwin and Merei enter the room and furrows her brow. "Yes. There is a number of us here. The lawyer should be here shortly." She thinks on the subject at hand. "Would you mind telling me how you got in this cell? A talented stowaway tends to not get caught."

[The Legonater]

3 hours ago, Zepher said:

Merei joins the other, catching the name. “I’ve promised to collect you, but the ship you’re on is very dangerous right now. We already have two problems running around with the police and the Hydra. Can you ensure me you will not make it three?”

Viper glances around at his confinement, a bemused grin on his face.

'Not exactly going anywhere, unless you guys were to lend a hand and let me out.

2 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"Neither. My group and I were hired to find out what happened to the Valencia, but it seems that all hell's broken loose in here." Zaria replies. She appreciated the nonchalant attitude Viper was taking, but she briefly observes him to see if he was nervous or not. She notices Kirwin and Merei enter the room and furrows her brow. "Yes. There is a number of us here. The lawyer should be here shortly." She thinks on the subject at hand. "Would you mind telling me how you got in this cell? A talented stowaway tends to not get caught."

Zaria Insight Check (DC 1) - 3, 4, 3 (One success)

Zaria looks over the armoured man and finds him totally unflappable. He appears perfectly composed, and looks over Zaria with the same sense of perception. 

To be honest? Not my best story. I noticed that Hart was docked at me and my crew's port, and figured it was about time we sent them a message. I climbed aboard this piece of deer scat aiming to perform a little intellectual sabotage... Hoyt got telling me once about how to rig a freighter's engine to deprecate in just the right way where you don't notice a system failure all at once, but put a little too much strain on the thrusters, and they'd fail entirely. All that said, Hoyt's definitely the man for the job and not me. I was still sitting there dicking around with the engines like an idiot when all of a sudden Valencia was moving. Bye, bye, Port Charon. I panicked and found a nice hiding spot in Gamma, hoping I could coast out the rest of the ride. No such luck; I guess the engineer noticed someone had been screwing with his system, and next thing you know, that old woman comes charging in with her whole damn security force, guns and all. Made a real mess of things in there before they finally pinned me down.

After that, they locked me in here. Kept pumping me with questions about what I was planning and what the 'Blazers were doing, but given how much I planned out this op, I really didn't have a lot to tell 'em. But I still wanted to screw it to Morty, so I started making up whatever. "Yeah, we've got agents on every Hart station waiting for you, this ship is rigged to blow at any moment," that kind of BS. I guess they bought it, though, it seemed like the captain went more haywire than ever. 'Guess I struck a nerve, huh?

A little bit after that, they basically started to leave me alone. A little too alone, I started having to dig through these crates for food and water a week or so ago. I think I heard some footsteps pass by a little bit before you came in, but other than that you're the first group I've seen in a hot minute.  

MM Note: For transparency, I made a edit to my Thursday post due to a continuity slip on my part! Make of that what you will.

[Zepher]

"That would be the police. I am trying to not allow my imagination to be my master, but I truly don't like that they're here." Merei slyly looks at Viper, trying to gauge if the story is true, as she inputs data onto her list. "If we get you off this ship, it'll be in a Hart vehicle. We are, at the moment, hired by Hart. The head of the company doesn't seem wise, and doesn't seem kind. But the people we are with are good. Is any of that a problem?"

Merei glances over at Zaria and Kirwin, but can't think of any reason to whisper. "The dead in the hallway are from another ship. One of the search parties, I fear. It may do us good to find their ship, if it's still here, or commandeer the police's vehicle. I'm hopeful we'll have more survivors than we'll have room."

[The Legonater]

11 hours ago, Zepher said:

"That would be the police. I am trying to not allow my imagination to be my master, but I truly don't like that they're here." Merei slyly looks at Viper, trying to gauge if the story is true, as she inputs data onto her list. "If we get you off this ship, it'll be in a Hart vehicle. We are, at the moment, hired by Hart. The head of the company doesn't seem wise, and doesn't seem kind. But the people we are with are good. Is any of that a problem?"

Merei glances over at Zaria and Kirwin, but can't think of any reason to whisper. "The dead in the hallway are from another ship. One of the search parties, I fear. It may do us good to find their ship, if it's still here, or commandeer the police's vehicle. I'm hopeful we'll have more survivors than we'll have room."

I tend not to love when the cops are in town either, so you're in good company. As for the means, you could get me off this damn ship in a tin can and I'd still thank you - beggars can't really be choosers, you know?

You might have trouble with that search party ride - if you're talking about the same group I'm remembering, at least. I recall hearing a forced dock, and then suddenly a whole parody of armed boots, and then, uh, a lot of screaming. A couple days after that, there was this gods-awful screeching. Metal on metal kind of sound. Given you've mentioned three ships and a standard tug like this only has two ports, I'm going to guess your search party's ship got shredded by the G-Forces a little after the party itself got... well, shredded. 

[karmajay]

Kirwin listens to the man's story and looks at Merei. "Well, they are admitting to attempted sabotage so a chunk of their story must be true anyway. BUT it is not exactly safe having them running around behind us." 

Kirwin investigates the cell to determine the method to turn off the energy shield around it.

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by karmajay

[Zepher]

"They're alive. The alternative to freeing them is leaving them on this ship, which we cannot do." Merei shrugs. "Trust is earned. Hopefully they will earn it." Merei looks at the pad on the door, seeing if there is any way to tell how it works.

[The Legonater]

7 hours ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin investigates the cell to determine the method to turn off the energy shield around it.

7 hours ago, Zepher said:

Merei looks at the pad on the door, seeing if there is any way to tell how it works.

Kirwin Technology Check (DC 1/3) - 3, 6, 5, 6, 6 (Four successes)

Merei Technology Check (DC 1/3) - 2, 1, 3 (Zero successes)

Merei gazes intently at the panel for several minutes, her mind totally blank of possible approaches. Kirwin hovers behind her, the solution already on hand, before politely nudging Merei aside to work at the console. In a few moments they have the information they need - the energy shielding is ported in from another location, originating from the security console on Container Beta in the room over. 

[karmajay]

"Well, looking at this - the power can be turned off from the Container beta room"

[Zepher]

“In that case, assuming no one objects, let’s free him.” Merei goes to Container Beta, carefully and alertly.

[The Legonater]

3 hours ago, Zepher said:

“In that case, assuming no one objects, let’s free him.” Merei goes to Container Beta, carefully and alertly.

MM Note: I assume by this you mean the Security and Maintenance room? To be clear, you are all already in Beta, but each container has a few rooms and a central corridor. 

[Zepher]

OoC: yes, sorry, just couldn’t tell which room had the controls I needed. See now “security console” which should have been a good hint.

[The Legonater]

1 hour ago, Zepher said:

OoC: yes, sorry, just couldn’t tell which room had the controls I needed. See now “security console” which should have been a good hint.

MM Note: All good!

Merei steps into the next room over, which she finds mostly the same in layout, save the addition of a console station against one wall. Unlike Viper's hold, however, Merei finds two dead Hart employees, one who's been thrown against the floor, and another who has been shoved between the cars of the cargo hold.

[Zepher]

Merei looks around for someway to free Viper, as well as if there is an easy way to see the interior of the Beta and the other containers. She also, as always, identifies the dead bodies. "No Hydra in here, as far as I can see so far!" she calls back to the others.

[karmajay]

Kirwin follows Merei and looks around. They shake their head at the dead bodies and walk to the terminal to investiagte.

Edited February 1, 2022 by karmajay