Contract: Nightstalker
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Next: Shadow of What Was Lost
#Team High Turnover Rate spent some time recuperating from the deadly fight with the Defrex. During that time Roquesta (Rocket) Strauss took another crack at the computer found on the rotting leaders last time. With a little bit of help from the peanut gallery, she successfully broke in, luckily avoiding the wipe functionality. In it she found the original Nightstalker contract that the crew passed up, a roster of this individual's crew (8 subordinates and herself), records of the attempts they made trying to bypass the locked door at the end of the hallway, audio recordings from ~8 months ago, and a separate partition protected by a firewall.
Curious, Rocket played the audio recording for the rest of the crew. It started off with some chatter trying to further troubleshot the locked door when a distant grinding noise could be heard. The captain opened comms to the ship to figure out what was happening only to be immediately interrupted by the ship's watch.
"Captain, spiders came out of the ground! They're swarming the ship and doing something! Oh god...... They're cutting through the hull!!! Help!"
Thoroughly unnerved, Rocket moved on to the partition at Jerzac Scarlewe's urging. After hacking into there too Rocket found evidence of regularly deleted files but one remained from an individual named "Whip" which reads as follows:
"Drop your current investigation on Ueclite immediately. The attached contract has been updated. I've collected quiet rumors that imply miraculous advances at the subject site. Taken together with the contract this indicates possible Meridath intervention. Determine if a minor response can fix this or if the full might of the Wardens must be mobilized to prevent the Agents of the Veiled from advancing their plots. Full response may be delayed based on the current Castrovel investigation and fleet build up. The faster you solve this the sooner we can fade back into the background."
While Rocket and Jerzac performed the hacking, Antonio Ban'Deras went to town on Antonio Ban'Deras body and the Defrex to make a display to ensure any new crew applicants know what they're signing up for. He took the head and carefully preserved it including the blood soaked teeth and armor fragments stuck between those teeth. He dug into the stomach and found small portions of Roswell's face and preserved that too. Taking the top portion of Roswell's armor, he frosted the faceplate except a small section where he could fit the face shreds to give the appearance the armor is still inhabited. That armor was skillfully slotted in the throat of the Defrex with an arm holding onto a tooth, trying to pull himself out of the beast's maw. It now rests directly opposite the primary boarding ramp to greet all visitors to the ship.
Their brief rest now completed, Antonio took Roswell's party slot and exploring the complex recommenced. Using the chip from the doctor's noggin, the locked door was trivial to enter. The next dome appeared to be the kitchens/dining/lavatory facilities for the colony. It was remarkably clean and orderly except for a single table. This lone table had some crumbs on the surface and the bench was pulled out at an angle. On inspection the crumbs were identified to be no older than 2ish weeks. These crumbs were also the only remaining food anywhere in the room. All the shelves were stripped clean with the boxes broken down and stacked neatly in the corner.
Lacking a more productive option, the crew continued on towards the next habitat. Partway down the walkway the ground shook and a bright light came from your right before the adaptive glass dimmed it enough to see the dome at the end of this leg was lit up with a moving silhouette projected on the glass. While most of the party was distracted by this surprise Antonio heard gunshots ring out in rapid succession in the intermediate dome ahead of the party.
Bash ran into a wrecked dome and saw three of the now familiar trooper drones firing down the hallway towards the lit dome. Knowing that whatever else was going on, these drones were NOT on his side, he lined up a beam from his Prototype Rail Rifle which hit 2 of the drones. This meant one drone kept firing down the hallway while the other two saw Bash.
Y̼͙͂̌O̗̥̬̐͛͊̅͟U̟̰͆̆͟͡ HḀ͋͟͝V̞͇̘̰̽̀̇̐͐͟Ȇ͈̻͢͠͝ ̧̠̲̓͊̀Ḥ̢̘̺͂̒̆́A̙̭͍̓̉̒͘ͅṘ̫̗͓̣́̊͂͜͡M͇̉̀̊͢ͅE͇̓D̤͔̹̆̂̄ ̻̜̊̈͆͢T̢̐H̨̫̮̻́̊͑̊̚ͅE̗͞ ̪͇̼̙͕̏͗̃̊͛V͎̭̬́̇̾̕͜͞ͅE̛͎̙̟̗͌̆́I̻̙̓̽L̝̙̲̥̋̾̈́̃
Now knowing their weakness the team unleashed blasts of sonic energy into the fray. Antonio remained the attentive one and saw a blast of ice careen out of the unknown walkway and crash into one of the damaged server banks. One of the drones unleashed a burst of automatic fire which missed its intended target but hit Jerzac and Rocket regardless while a second severely injured Bash with its ceramic punch knife. This one became a priority target for the crew and bash ramped up the power on his rifle again. Unfortunately the kinks were not fully corrected and a miss fire exploded right at the muzzle, heavily injuring Bash, Jerzac, and the one perforating Bash. In a panic Bash tried to retreat but took a glancing blow on the way out. Utterly focused on finishing Bash the two drones moved in and laid Bash low. The leftover drone continued its lone duel with the hallway.
Seeing the extent of the damage on the drone that first hurt Bash, Jerzac chose to eliminate that one rather than try to patch up his buddy. Rocket chose to ignore her gun and bring a knife to a knife fight and attacked the one still stranding over Bash. To interject some good news to this dire situation Genji shouted over the comms that dust had sprung out of the landing field, formed into little pellets, grew legs, and the new spiders were attacking the ship. Without missing a beat Jerzac ordered him to break atmo and try to burn them off.
Bash was unable to stem the blood loss himself as the drone over him continued stabbing with absolute determination. Jerzac also attempted to bind the wounds but it wasn't enough. Rocket let loose a flurry of blows to distract the drone while Antonio slipped in to finish stabilizing Bash. Taking a deep breath and returning to his senses Bash crawled away to hide behind a semi-intact console. The drone shooting down the hallway diverted its attention to try to shoot Bash but missed. The one that had been attacking Bash chose to stab Rocket this time.
In the chaos everyone started firing wildly. Two bolts of ice struck the dualist drone in the back, Jerzac missed his two shots, and Rocket barely grazed her drone though enough to destroy it. Antonio finally contributed to the fight and attacked the last remaining drone. Bash fumbled with his sidearm to no effect. Jerzac did the same though somehow shooting his own foot and causing him to operate at a limp the rest of the fight. One final bolt of ice from the hallway and a stab of Rocket's bone blade finished off the drones.
Everyone stood around tense for a moment looking to see if the troopers would reform. In the silence faint chanting could be heard down the walkway. Antonio was the only one in a position to observe and he saw a woman with her back to the crew looking into a blinding light. Shouting "We don't want to hurt you" he moved on into her chamber to investigate.
This final dome held an octagonal catwalk at chest height. In the center of the room rested the source of light: a roughly 4' diameter orb on a pedestal. Between it and Antonio were several layers of energy shields. Around the circumference of the outermost shield were eight hovering shards of dull grey metal that looked like they had been shattered off a larger piece. The final thing of immediate interest was the floating woman with violet hair and internally glowing eyes.
Hearing only Antonio's soft exclamation Bash popped a stimpak and hustled after the cat. Rocket and Jerzac followed somewhat behind (captain at a limp). When Rocket arrived she asked "What are you trying to do?"
T̟̯̘̰͍̲̝̀̔̔͡ͅh̦̣̩̜ͬͮͧ̀͟é̴̳̲̪͚̬ͅ ̵̥̹͌ͥS̺̤̤̟̖̜ͭ̎̎͆̀t̪̳͈̙̘̾ͫ́a̴͙̳ͤͦͣl̤̙̣̜̯͓̱͍͑ͨ̏̚͘k̢͚̝̥̙̉e̵̝̣̘͎̮̾̃r̶͔̻͖̲̲͙ͬ̊ͨ̓ ̧̮͎̠̳̦̓ͪ̋A̛̲̦̫̠̦̬̲̽̄͒ͭm̛̜̯̘̠̙̍o̦̩̙͗͛̀n̸̘͎͙͇͖̬̤͔̽g̵͔͚͙̟̼̭̗ͣ̇̀̇ ̦͍̓̀t̯̖̩̗͙̎͒͢h̘̠̩̳̳̟̪̐̀ĕ̢̯̫̘͖̳͓͍̯͐̋̆ ̨̥̺̘̪ͤ̏S̫̝̰̥͙̘̼̖̓̇̎͞t̖̣͍͖ͦ̿͘ͅa̵̜̩͇̹͔͎̲̬̐r̡͎̞͎̩̣̈ͩs̜͓̼͉̭̱̿̉̔̏͡ͅ,̞̣̦͉̼̽͌̅̕ͅ ͔̮͋ͪ͟Ṱ̨̤̪̤̣̆̔̎͗h̡͎̯̯̮̲̘͆e̛̗̳̥̫͈̜͚͂͊͆ ͧ͆҉̦͓̼͕̺C̶̬̱̙̠̩͕̻̜ͮ̀ͨȓ̗͎̺̺͑̈̈͡ạ̼͕̟͇̙̱̟̾̂͐̀w̪̠̝̗͉ͦ̑́ͅl̟̭̫̼̬ͩ͂̆͡i͖̺̣̠̼̜̟̺͒͘ñ̅҉̝͇͎̲g̜̟̲̘͙̋̆ͧ́ ̶̹͖̖̬̺̜̟̅ͯ͐͛C͇͎̗͈͙ͬ̃͗͟h͓̤̩̜̼͎̟ͩ̏͗̓͠a̸̻̜̗ͯ̒͐o̹̳̐̒̌̂͘sͭ̀҉͓̙̺̤̹̲̯̻,̸̥̻̻̝̙͉̈̎̅ͣ ͔͖̘̣̱͕͕ͫ͆͟ͅT̯̱̤͉̩͎͛̒ͦ̆͠hͮ҉̞̼e̦̺̯̎̀ͩ͝ ̧͔̙̄͌H̢͇̺̞̮̽e̷̻̫̺̺̭͓̯̎̓͑̅r̯̼̗̹͓͐͑̿̀a̢̱̦̮̺̳͙̹̒̈ͪͯl̤̙̔͋̿́d̙̣͙̯̱̞͈̫̊̒̔̋͘ ̵̹̘̣͖̣͙̈̐ȏ͓̱̹̤̫̝͙͜f̝̙̩̅̀ͧ̀͜ ̣͇͇͉̤̀̔̄͟t̮̫̖̖͉̘͇͆̕h̛̳̯̤̱͕̐̒e͋ͣ̽̍҉̭̮̱̯͇͓̺ ̯͓̬̳͍͛͠B̫̘͍ͬ̏̉͟l̖̥͍͓̃͘i̟̞̠̭͍̞̞̰̾ͩ̍ͪ͘n͖͕͎̲͇̭͛ͭ͗͞d͇͇̼ͮ͂̓̓̕ͅ ̦͔̼̘̞̥̪͑ͧ͞Ḭ̧̤ͧͬ̉ͅdͫ͒̓͐͏̮̭͓̣į̭̹̰̣̳̻͙̋͑̒o̿͑͋̚҉̙͖̜̭͔t̸̰͈͍̺̄̾ ̤̭ͫ̀G̢̹̮̲͉̲̫ͨ̌ô̹̜̼̦̤͆ͤ̏͝d̛̰̤̯͌̎̏ ̛̬̘͇̜̩̪̤̌̚c̛͚͈̲͕̭͗o̹̙ͫ͆̓̌́ṃ̨̳̩͇͕ͨ̒̌e̴͕̟̖̙̍s͈̥͉͍̪̩̳̘͒͛ͥ̂͞!̰͕͙ͪͣ́
Bash: "WE NEED HELP IN HERE"
Ț̙̺̓͒͞h̓̑͆҉̲̭̮͉e̤̠̫͓̬̗̰͌ͫ͗ͭ̀ͅ ̟̪̲̙ͯͥ͂͢R̵͕͇̮͉̮͆ṵ̷̹̈ͬ̔̇l̤̥͇̄͒͞ê̺̰̣͉̜͂͊̀͞r̵̠̜̩ͤͫͩ ͙̖͓͓̹͍ͨ̀ͅͅo͇͎̭̝̦ͬ̆͞f̖̱́ͫͦ͠ ̵̯̳̪̒ͥ̾ͤŨ̶̦̘͙̣͐ͅņ̻̞̬̗̮̻̔ͣ͌ͮͅk̡̠̳̥̰ͦ͑n̻͈̲ͧ͡o͕̤̟̯̞ͣͪ̈͝w̩̯̯͚̟̞̣̣͆͌͆̚͟n̡͖̗̣̪̜̼ͥ ̩̭̔̽͘K̢̭̬̞̠̈̄̑ͩa̧͎̮̪͎̰̝̩̽ͦ͌d̸̙̖͛a̮̖̤͎͖̰͖͊̒̌́tͮ҉̰̼̫̫͔h̻̹̲͎͈͉̦͓̍̋̅̓͡ ̊̿ͪ҉͍̗a̢̞̳̼̟ͩt̶͖̺͚͎̤͗̍̉ ̸̫͈̙͈̲̙̃t͎͓̻̬͓̯̟͌͗͝h̝̘̔ͩ̚̕e̶̟̖̯͖̦̳̦͍ͭ̈́̈ͨ ̷͇̠̭͓̻͕̄̓̚ę͚͗ͨͅd̲̞̤̹̖ͪ͝ġ̹͕̠̟̦̝ͦ̓̎͝e͓͇̮̿ͧ͟ ̢̮̟̠̼̥̬̹̱̊o̡̼͈̾ͪf̡͈͙̱̙̖̎ ̵̦̥̽ͦ͗L̻̮͖̏̅͟ȇ̸̦͉ņ̖̭̭̾̀̎̎g̴̭̙̮̘̲̲ͦ͆̔ ̦̹̠̦̥̓͡w̵͕̟ͮͨ͑ͪi͖͔͉̅̾̕t̑҉̬̝͙̰̘͈̘̯h͍̯̩̱ͬͣ͘i̫͙͓̤̲̫ͣ͟ň̛̘͙̯̤̟̠̫̮͊ ̧̙̹̦̦̱͈͂ͯ̓ͅt̪͖̅́h̜̖̟̭̜̳̮͑͒̿̕ẹ̹̪̥́̐̉͋͟ ̺̪͉̹̥̫̳̎̏͢n̼͔̲̮̻͕̟̑͢ͅi̴̮͍̲̖̼̒ͪͦg͊ͪ̆ͧ͏̹̟̺h͍͙̲͇̭͚ͭ͆̕ͅt̰̺̊ͬ̅͟ͅm̡͈̭̼͉̘̗̠̝ͯ̊a̵̬͉̳̤̥ͤͪͦr̷̼̰̱̆ͧ̌ͤͅḙ̶̤͎̩̻̘̤̰̄ͧ̆ ̠̥̙͔̌͛͘l̜̬̻̹̯̞̗̐́ả̺̯ͭ̑̑͝n̉͏̦͕̫̠͖͔͙̱d͉̲̎̒́s͉̮̼̗̗̗͈̭̊̉̽̏͢c̰͉͌͜a̗͚͈̥̠̲͇ͫͯ̎͜p̲̯̫̭͓̭ͬ͠e̼͕͆̔̀ ̭͓͈̻̣̈́͐̚͘o̦͎̳̙̖̥ͩ̉͆ͩ͠f̡̰̤̮̈ ͙̻̳̦͛̆̀a̧̹͚̯̪̱̎̿̽ḽ̥̯̻͔̹̤̥ͩ͘ĺ̮͇̳͕̠̟̜͑ͧ͟ ̼̻̪̊͠m̐̅̐҉̜̣e̷͇̜̱̤͎͚͇̬̒ͣ̔͊n̎҉͈̻͖ ̛̥̲̽̊̂̿w̱̣̫̽ͭ́h̖͉̦͎̫̠̉̉ͥ́̚ơ͈͉̘ͣ ̲̞̱̥͓̤͉͖̀̀̊͞ḑ̺̮̊ͧ̆͗r͉̝̹̈́ͣ͌͝e̥̟͈̹̭͎̪͗͠ḁ̶̲̩̺͔̝̔̾̐ͮm̯̩̬̳ͦͤ͠ ̓͛̽̓͏͙͓̪c̩͎͖͎ͣ͞o̩̝ͮ̓͛ͮ͟m̮͕͙̼͕͉̐ͤ͑͝ê͋͏̻̼͉̼̺͚̳͇s̝̣̼̹͍͍̈͐̚͘
Freaked out, Antonio took a surprise attack for massive damage though not quite to the level he'd expect. In an instantaneous flash the woman's robes burst with starlight and the cold vacuum of space, damaging the cew and lining them with light. Before anyone had a chance to react to that, she reached out a hand to the 15 foot distant Antonio and he rose into the air clawing at his throat as she choked him with the mental powers.
Jerzac finished hobbling up with Rocket who was drawing a bead on the woman.
Jerzac: "We need to calm down and help each other."
Her: "G͍̜̠̯̦͆̉͘ͅo̷̻͚͂̂̚o̓̒̌ͦ҉̠͚͔̬d̢̰͖̼̲͈͔͛.̨͇̰̏͗̎ ̢̥̞͚̮͍̳̜͊̆̋ͮH̹̙̭̙͚ͭͤ̈́̀ͅe̝̹ͤ͊͜ ̟͍̯͕̼̻͔̀̕ṇ̛̮ͦ̚ĕ̉ͮ͏̱̤̻ȇ͉̬͜d͙͈͕̫̠̩̲̻͂ͥͯͦ͟s̪̠̣ͣ̔̎͠ ̵̙̖̲̤̞̗͆ͣå̬̙̤̫͞ ̱̞͇͔͕̱͎͐̈̓̇͡g̹̰͆̄̀̕a͈̞͑͡ͅt̡͕̙̊̆͑ͯe̵̖̠̫̖̫̯̼̅̅w̜̜̮̟̗̞̖͙̾͡a̫̫̲̤͉̺ͭ̏̾́y͒ͯ̆ͤ҉̠̮̲̘."
Jerzac: "That sounds terrifying. Is that something you actually want?"
Her: "T̖̮̃̃͘ḣ͂ͧ͏̰̳̮͔̦̼͍ͅi͎͓̱̻̪͊̉͞s͌͏̝̟ ̴̱̠̹̎̾i̵̥̦̝͉͓͍ͣͥ̾ͅs̡̮̜̣͐̌ ̨̠̫͚̺̬̯ͥ̇ͨs̒҉̰̼̹͔o̵̜͎̰ͬ̃m̔̄̔҉͓̣è͉̞͇̜̱̞͖ͤ͜ͅț̺̥́ͭ̾͝h̻̯͌̏͠í͚̱͖̫̥͕̖̭̕n̝͙̩̱͓͎͒̒͘g͙͓̥̲̟̙͈ͪͧ͆͞ ̵̼̙̪̳͂ͧW̜̼̮̬̹͛́̒̃͠E̙͎̣̮̩̺̔́͜ͅ ̳̝̣̞̏ͪ̋̀ẃ͎͓̉̂̓́ȃ̷͎͚̗̫n̶͔͕̙͉̬̊̎t̴̫̤͙̺͇̯͚̀."
Jerzac: "Who is we?"
Her: "W͛͆̌̉͏̹̦ẽ̇̾͏͚̦̠̪͓ ̠̺̄̽̈ͥ͠a̸̮̻̩̭̯̤ͮ̌r̤̦͖͙̤̂͒̽̍͘e͆͑҉̣̺̳̼̲̲ ̨̝̞̃͆̃l̑͐͏̠̲ͅo̩̫̥̠̫̦͔̳̓͗̽̎͞o̴̭̦̱̼͖̹͓̾̊ͩk̛̗̟̪̈́̋ͫͪi̔ͭ҉͖̣̣͕n̷̖̫͈͚̭̏g̬̪̮̮̭̲̏͐͜ͅ ̑͏̩̳ā̠̬̟͓̙͛͛̅͟t̳̲ͭ̎̓͘ ̰̘͔̆͋͠p̩͚̥̭̹͂͐̀́ǎ̲̪̙̘͆̾̄́r̡̝̝̫̓́t͈̙̞̲̩ͧ̐͆ͥ͝ ̩̹̾͘o͉͉͎ͯͯ́͝f̼̩̰̪̟̥̜͕̒̓͟ ͎͓̼̱̥͇̖̓̔ͪ̚͟u̡̼̜̤͉̬̝ͯs̨̰͔̘̗̉͒ͫ ̓͏̺̮̰͉̟̰̹r̵͔̬̞̟͗ͨ̎i̻͉͕̹̼̗̒͜ǧ̙͚̞̈́̃͘h̭̥͇̮̜̹ͩͦ̀t̘͈̙̳͗͘ ̞͇̠̣͍̥̳ͤ͐͢n̴̖̙̤̊͋̀ō̡̝̠͉̹̺̺̂ͮ̚w̄͆҉̻̩͔͙."
A different burst radiated out of the woman and everyone but Rocket shook off the mental cloud that threatened to engulf the crew.
Rocket on the other hand woke up in bed trying to slap at a communicator that was interrupting her much needed rest at the end of a legendary Aventine bender.