Before we start this episode I'd like to thank Daniel Naruda and Noah and all of our other beautiful wonderful patrons.
Thank you all so much for helping us fly through the atomless sea!
The excitement of children bounces through the underwater dome as they point wildly to the creatures that inhabit the sea around them.
A muscular Leshunta stands in front of them, straightening her Park Ranger Wild Times uniform before calming the children and continuing her story.
Now, there are a few creatures that we haven't met yet.
The lights lower and holograms of these gargantuan deep sea creatures appear throughout the room, swimming between the children.
The screams and chuckles of parents fill the space.
Because there is not a lot of food in the deep oceans, these creatures have grown to huge, huge sizes to help them find prey.
Now, I know what you all must be thinking.
My mom tells me to eat all my food so I can grow big and strong, but these guys don't eat at all.
That's true.
These creatures have created a theory among scientists called deep sea gigantism.
With how little they have to eat and how much room they have to travel and they have to grow, to survive under the pressure of the ocean floor, they've evolved to grow sizes as big as skyscrapers to help.
It just goes to show that contrary to all of our knowledge of how things work, the universe has other ideas and keeps surprising us.
We look out amongst the vast ocean of Udun.
Then we look up toward another sea, another ocean, one far, far larger.
And we fly outside of the Adamus Sea at all into the space between where we see a fang, a huge thing that was mistaken for a quarter of a planet.
And from this one end of this fang, these veins of pulsing fleshy orbs burst and create these almost dragon-like beings.
That look around and spot the one ship that is in the pure dark void with them.
Scrapper's just sat in the pilot's chair and is currently hurriedly flicking switches.
He's clearly trying to get back into the drift.
There is also Flare and Keelan knocking around as well.
Oh yeah, what are they doing?
Flare has one hand on the captain's chair and is looking out toward the creatures flying towards you, but is still like quite a ways off.
Keelan immediately, upon seeing the things, has walked over to his personal bag and has pulled out a small rifle and has slung it over his back.
Azam is at the helm as well, but he's not actually looking at the window, he's looking at the radar built into the side of one of the walls here, using my hand to open in on sectors.
They're not close enough for them to have a HEAT register yet, and he can't see them.
Azam can probably see specs already, just based on the fact that there is like nothing around, so there's no like, they're looking out into this pure dark space and can see these like tiny little pinpricks of HEAT, but won't be able to tell what they are though.
It's now the salad time.
Yeah boys, it's salad time!
We need everyone to be prepared for an attack from these interstellar creatures.
Get into position, young, where are you?
Sorry, what is that, what is that sound?
Would you have more information? Report back.
Mogis coming in at upper port. Dragon things, get to engineering stations please, everyone buckle yourselves down. Sky, you're outside. Set magnutes to full.
We do have a turret outside, so please get on that turret.
As everyone sprints to the different positions, I am briefly just going to explain that we are in our first ship combat. I'm going to take us over to a screen and I'm going to explain to anyone who is in the audience who knows how to play Starship Combat.
We are doing a very weird amalgamation of many different rules. I learned how to do the Starship Combat and then I read a thing where someone said it was really dull, so I read theirs, and then I just kind of mashed them both together and then added my own little things that I thought would be fun.
Top of the round, everyone picks the role that they're going to be doing. Everyone takes essentially a new class and this class, if they want, can change at the top of every round. Captain, engineer, gunner, pilot, science officer, and chief mate.
First things first, as everyone rushes to positions, what is everyone's positions on the ship?
Wonderful.
I'm a science officer.
A science officer? Getting into your now custom brand new made lab?
That's right.
I am also going to be a science officer, but I think I'm going to head to where the actual engine of the ship is instead of the X-Lab.
And I will chief mate up this nonsense.
Perfect. Scrap is going to be piloting. Flare turns to Scrap.
Do you have any other guns on the ship?
Starboard.
Okay. Flare runs into the hallway of where everyone sleeps and at the end of the hallway, there is a door that he opens and jumps onto a almost looks like an old classic Western Gatling gun, but it's all laser and sci-fi and he's in a little dome that can turn on that side of the ship.
Keelin securing the gun around him.
I don't know much about the ship, but I don't want to get in anyone's way.
So if there's anything that somebody wants me to do, I'll go and do that.
Got it. Thank you.
These dragons flap their wings and get closer.
There is viscera and fresh little egg bits that fly off and freeze in the deep space.
They open their mouth and scream, but because of the vacuum of space, you can't hear the things they are screaming.
It is the engineering phase, all after we have any engineers on the ship.
Keelin did say anything we'd like.
Do you want to ask Keelin to be the engineer?
Yeah, I think so.
Keelin runs and then slides next to the engines into the small engine room, which is just off to the side next to the kitchen, using almost all of the same pipes and gears that the kitchen does.
He is going to divert.
Keelin looks over this small wall panel and starts flicking some switches.
So now the lights are almost all this red pulsing glow.
The sound of the alarm that has been going on since Scrap Flick on the alarm turns off and powers down.
And Sky, you feel that the cannon that you're on, this laser cannon, there is like slightly more power in it as there is this crackle of electricity that winds itself up the leg and then charges the plasma port that's on the front of it.
He's going to divert power, auxiliary power, to the weapons, so every one that you roll on the weapons is going to be a two instead of a one. So you ignore all ones.
And I'm going to do a hard turn with a DC of 13.
I can attempt an acrobatics or athletics check if I succeed. That's a big if.
The pilot can make one turn during the round as though the maneuverability of the Starship were improved by one step.
It has no effect on a ship with perfect maneuverability, but let's face it, this is the patchwork.
That's an 18. 18, perfect.
I open up like a small locker looking thing on the side of the helm. I swing it open. I myself am not strapped to anything.
I start grabbing these large levers and I start yanking them to turn the thrusters, forcing them to push the ship so we can best angle one of the cannons, the starboard cannon.
There's a safety mechanism attached to this thing. It's basically a latch that covers the lever that can manually move thrusters.
So I've shut it off and I'm pulling the thrusters using all my strength, using this lever to the right position.
The ship wildly shifts and everyone has to like kind of like everyone has to steady themselves as it moves so like uncharacteristically smooth.
The front of the ship is now no longer looking at any of the of these creatures.
However, the starboard of the ship is Keelan with the chain cannon is looking at this one, which is closing in on them.
Scrap is.
Hmm. Do you want to do that? I'm actually not sure. Do we want to do a stunt?
Kick flip. Kick flip.
Nothing being close. Scrap like you can see is like prepping the ship to make this hard turn. The wheel of the ship is like just like a car wheel with like a gear shift because now it works like a car.
But as soon as Azam does it, Scrap bags on the console and is like.
Hell yeah, here we go boys.
And he's going to be like to not do anything on their turn, but instead might take an open action which you can only do if you do not fulfill a turn.
Okey dokes now it is the science officers. They work a lot with the shields of the ship. The patchwork has a maximum of 10 shield points.
Three shield points at the bow and three three shield points at the stern of the ship so the front and back and the port and starboard both have two shields points.
There's a scan action that would work for this. It would just 3D scan the creature and give you like a quick rundown of what's going on if you wanted to do that.
I would love to scan one of these creatures.
Can I instead of computers use life science? Sure. The check will be a little higher since you're trying to get the scan to work.
How's a 29? A 29 is actually criminal and I hate the fact you can roll that high.
There is this like everyone can see everyone who's looking outside of a window can see this like EMP sonic boom-esque pulse that that shoots out from the ship.
And as it falls over this dragon that is closest to you it like glows blue as the ship is reading information from it. As each spark happens there you can see this monitor in front of you.
Build this creature.
Basic information.
This is a large creature if mechanics turns it would fit in a 15 by 15 foot cube. It is huge.
Almost entirely organic these new creatures don't have any form of exoskeleton armor plating as they are very very newborn.
You assume that this isn't necessarily offspring of whatever this thing is it is more these are just defense mechanisms that this thing is so large it grows organisms as a defense thing.
They are incredibly quick able to move five hexes a turn.
This combat there is different types of maneuverability you have to move a certain number of squares before you can turn the ship you like fly in one direction and then turn these creatures having perfect maneuverability can fly a place and then turn in any direction that they want.
In terms of defenses they have 17 AC they have 19 health each no shield points because they are just very freshly born and no the PCU value is nothing because this isn't a ship this is a creature.
They are almost like a snake with two arms.
These two arms are attached to wings that they use to propel themselves throughout this dead air. The arms have these very large incredibly sharp claws on them.
And from their mouth, they can shoot a fire breath, but this fire breath dies out quite quickly because of how cold it is so it only shoot it can only shoot three hexes in front of it, but the claws have to be they have to be on the ship to be able to claw to do this claw damage.
The fire breath has to be directly in front of it can't be anywhere else and the claws are, they have to be on the ship.
You can pick the fire breath or the claws and I'll tell you how much damage that those do.
How about that claw damage.
The claw damage, they get a plus 10 to hit, and it is 46 plus four is the damage that it does, however it needs to be on the ship to be able to do this.
Does it have a name.
This the species.
Doesn't.
As you scan.
It does hit up like name and species but both of them are like question marks. Yeah, with question marks.
Thank you.
I will relay that these are fast. They got the breath. They got the clouds and that the claws are quite strong.
Doubtful.
Are they intelligent or should we just shoot.
They do not appear to be sentient. It would be a shame if they were to die.
I grab verbal and give him a little kiss.
You just stay close but if I tell you to run, then you're going to do it.
And you're going to do the thing.
Okay.
Good.
But for now, you just stay right here. Okay.
I'm in the engine room. I'm going to try to help.
But guys, stay safe out there.
Maybe hold on to something.
And I am going to yell at the engine room.
But we just got out of a sticky situation.
We can't deal with another one. So please get us out of this.
Damn.
Fix.
She's going to target system.
She's going to choose the weapons because we haven't fired yet.
We're going to do a computer's check.
Yeah. You need a computer's check DC of 13.
That's easily going to be beat because she still gets verbal plus two and actually I has a plus 13 to computers as a baseline.
Look at that. Perfect. She's completely untouchable.
So the next attack made by our ship is a critical on a 19 or 20. And if it deals critical damage, it will affect their weapon system.
Okay. Perfect.
Sky, the gun that you're on, it's already pretty juiced and with I speaking to it, it like hums even harder. It's almost vibrating in your hands like it's alive and ready to fire at something.
And with that, it is the gunnery phase. So, Sky, it is your turn.
You're going to shoot the dragon.
Just roll a ranged attack.
Yep. With your own stats, because it's you being able to control the thing. So it is your stats.
Is that eight? Is that eight just base? Oh, is it eight just base roll?
It says eight.
Unfortunately,
this huge cannon of plasma energy fires out toward the dragon.
But because of how powered up the gun is, it just recoils so hard that you fall down and it flies far off into the air.
A flare is going to go. Sky, you hear it.
And is going to charge up the chain cannon, which he does hit with a 23.
That is 64 damage it is.
14 damage this creature as it flaps its wings and flies towards you gets hit. Sky, you can see it open its mouth in fury
and then looks toward where flair is and where this gun was fired and starts flying straight toward it.
It is now all of the dragon's turn.
The whole ship shudders as one of the dragons clambers itself on the ship and using its claws swipes at it.
It is going to make a claw attack at the ship trying to get into where flair is.
However, the shields pulse brightly and its first attack, it bounces off and then it shoves its claws in the shields wavering and buffering as power slowly
starts going from the shield. It is going to make a 46 plus four that is 18 as it breaks through the shields ripping this like huge noticeable scratch into the glass.
There are small cracks beginning to form as the gun still holds, but there is a huge, huge amount of damage that is that has been done.
The shields on the starbird side are completely wiped out.
Top of the round. Engineering phase. Do you hear flair yell as they attempt to charge up their gun again?
Something you wanted to do was on.
I'm going to need to do over to me. I'm just going to turn off the electric magazine in the cargo hold shield.
I'm going to attempt maintenance panel access. Still the chief bait. I'm going to do an athletics check. It's 23.
So what's happening right now is that I am turning secured valves, bypassing safety systems. All the cargo in the back in the cargo hold is just floating at this point.
Yeah, it like every all the power turns off and then everything just slowly starts floating.
Yeah, Keelan or whoever the engineers can divert two different systems instead of just one using the extra energy I've acquired.
He does. He successfully diverts theory. You see that shields on the starboard side that just were lost get rebuilt.
This creature that's on the side of the shields like burst back. Let's go.
And it's still flying right outside, but is no longer like grabbed onto the onto the side of the ship is going to then immediately go for another weapons.
Switches off all bedroom plugs. So everything in everyone's bedroom that is like plugged into something, including all of Sky's pinballs and arcade machines.
Sky, you feel your gun recharge up and get powerful again.
Make sure you don't miss this time.
Two options. I can fly as fast as I fucking can away from these things, or I can try to get us back into the drift. We can't do that.
There are other people that are going to come out of the drift and if they are unsuspecting and they show up here, they'll deal with the same.
I think we fucking die. We're going to be useless to everyone.
All right.
That happened during the helm phase.
Can we do something simultaneously? You can you absolutely can because can I do an EMP blast as you fly us away so that in addition to flying away, we also expel shield energy to attack it.
So locally.
Succeeding in the DC.
That is going to be 6464.
14.
This huge blue glow lights up the entire side as it explodes out.
Hits the dragon full wave.
There is a an explosion of blood that is left behind of this shield.
Almost like it flew into just a side of solid rock as that dragon dies.
If you have something you'd like to do, you can rebuild the shields you can divert energy.
Yes, could I please recharge the shields.
And that's a computer's check.
That is a computer's or a physical science.
Please physical science.
29 again.
Perfect.
Pressing buttons, diverting power with different panels, you are able to recharge the shields again.
It is now the gunner's phase.
Sky.
There is this other dragon that is coming towards you quickly and from theory saying how fast it is, you know that it can reach you.
Nice control.
We're glad you're learning how to fire.
Keelan charging up the the chain cannon also fires.
All hitting through the dragon, but unfortunately are unable to stop it.
At the end of that, it is now the dragon's turn.
The one that both of you just shot almost as if it is attempting to avenge.
It's it's brood that was just killed flies up the ship and is going to try and swipe at the at the same quadrant that it's that it's a brood was previously on.
Again, that plus 10 it does in fact hit makes another attack.
Doing an 18 damage is again it swipes the shield breaks again.
It slams its claws at the same gun that flair is on the cracks that were already in the glass now burst out.
The chain cannon that flair was using gets almost torn out of its out of its sockets becoming completely unusable as flair runs out slams the door and there is this.
Of an airlock the guns that flair was using have become unusable if an engineer is able to get to the gun you can fix it.
This other dragon that has been approaching is not close enough to you all yet to be able to fully attack.
However, it is close enough for its for its fire breath to be effective.
This flesh dragon slightly further away roars its silent roar as an energy builds up in its throat and is going to fire out a fire breath hitting the ship again.
Doing an additional eight damage.
It is now the top of the round. Does anyone want to change their role.
Is that you becoming an engineer. Perfect. Weirdly enough I'd like to be a gunner.
Yeah. I do you want to go to the gun on the top. I do and verbal coming with me.
The two of you run past each other as sky exits and slides down the ladder.
I'm imagining both of you are high fiving each other but you can discuss it.
Is everyone else staying in their roles. Yep. I'm going to move actually to be to the captain role. Perfect.
Well the captain can act on any face and just inform me. However, it is now the engineering phase first.
Sky you sprint and you see Keelan you meet up with Keelan who is also running to the same gun.
OK. You're clearly better at this. Tell you what I cause a distraction for the dragon that is currently hanging on the side of the ship.
You make sure the gun still works. All right. Let's go.
What is the engineering action you'd like to do.
Yeah. OK. There are two possible fixes. There is hold it together. It doesn't fix it but it makes sure that it works.
The person who would be inside of the cockpit would have to wear like an oxygen mask or you can attend attempts to patch it.
It's a lower DC but it's going to take more actions to try and fully fix it.
So actually here we go. Multiple engineers can pull their actions to effect repairs more quickly so you and Keelan working together can get this fully fixed and working this round.
OK. Yep. Got it.
OK.
You actually need to roll a DC 15. This is the fear of patching is that both of you need to both of you need to roll and succeed it.
Fucking hell. And what Keelan rolled a 7. You managed to get the gun in place. You screw it on to the point where it can be used.
It's just not going to be as effective as it would be if it was fully fully fixed.
Keelan has the two wires that he's holding. He brushes his fur against one and shocks himself. He lets go of both of them.
And now there are these two wires just like spraying around as he fails his role.
Yep. Fine.
So the patching made it so it is now glitching. It can be used. You can go into that area and fire the gun.
It's just going to have a minus to the roll. And if you try again next turn, you can get it from glitching to fully fully fully functional.
What is what is good old Flair doing?
Now that the gun has fixed, he's been waiting outside for the gun to be rebuilt so he can run in, but it's not yet doing anything. So if you want to yell at him and tell him to do something, he needs to be told what to do pretty much.
Hey, listen, it's not my fault that they tried to kill me first. I was a prime target.
I'm going to get on the comms and immediately shift over to a private com with Flair.
Listen, you little shit. You better hit something next round or I'm going to have a very interesting conversation about your intentions with Skye. Right. You want to avoid that?
Hit something. Stop talking.
And I cut off the phones and I'm going to use demand.
Okay, which is the thing I could do as captain. It's a DC 18. I can grant a plus four bonus to one specific check by succeeding at an intimidate check.
Okay, sure thing.
Okay, scrap is going to
All right, I'm going to try something fucking risky. Everyone hold on to something. He's going to try and evade, which is he moves up to five. He has to succeed at a piloting check. If he fails the check, then the AC of the whole ship is going to lower.
But if he succeeds, it's going to raise.
Of course, he succeeds in things that are no longer tied down through the like graph well that goes throughout the ship. So things in storage get flung everywhere all over the ship as he full 360 kills all of the engines and then immediately flicks them on again for just this quick burst of speed.
The entire ship's AC has been raised by two.
So I'm going to move further away. This means that only one gun is going to be able to hit because I was way rather get away from these guys and be alive, then take the risk and get attacked by all of them at once.
God at the top, and the one that I currently at
I have an idea.
Okay.
Theriac, would you like to do anything? Let me see what general actions I can do.
I mean, if you wanted, now that all the creatures are facing the stern of the ship, it's pretty likely they're going to attack that and you can if you wanted, you can divert all shields to the stern.
Yes. Yeah, let me. Yes.
Okay, it's your thing. So that's just a DC 10.
Whatever. I honestly I don't use a roll that succeeds with just my bonus.
Well, what if you critically fail?
Then it'll be then it'll be a 14 and I'll be sad. Beans what a mess that would be.
25. Okay, brilliant. Everyone can see this like a blue hum behind you where the engines are all kept the shields there glow. Oh, so much brighter.
Okay, it is now the gunnery phase.
I what's our little plan gamer. I will shoot at the closest guy.
That is a 21 for the range attack.
And I will do a five damage with the gun.
Perfect. And then verbal.
You know for how verbal has like a little anteaters newton how they're a little like long. I imagine that it sort of starts to vibrate like a trumpet would. And if we weren't in the vacuum of space I think it would sound a little bit like a little trumpet.
But instead, electricity comes out of it.
Shoots also towards it.
It's not it's a 19 but I just laugh because verbal actually rolled higher than me, but only has a plus two.
It's going to be an 19 does that hit.
Yes, it does. Yes.
Okay, so then verbal does one D four, which is a three.
Verbal's little snap shoots out and is it like extremely stiff now almost like a barrel of a gun and there is this of electricity and it shoots out, you also fire your plasma shots and also electricity spark from verbal wind around each other, almost dance with each
other like you and verbal both do and into the flesh dragon as it as its head pops and explodes the flesh dragon is dead.
That was good.
Okay.
I haven't done yet. I'm just pushing buttons. You're doing a great job.
I believe we should probably try getting the fuck out of here.
I'm a little with the doctor to be honest.
Okay.
Set the drift core on.
It is in fact, the dragons.
Fly toward the ship. Three now all close their throats glow with this powerful flaming energy.
The other one that you left behind in the dust flies towards you able to reach the, the stern of the ship and is going to go make an attack.
This dragon.
All of you feel the weight of this creature onto the back of the ship.
It really is its claws and goes to swipe.
It is successful.
It does 15 damage to the ship. Everyone who sees this huge claw burst through the back of the ship. The emergency ramp door flies off the entirety of the back half of the patchwork exposes as this creature crawls its way inside.
It is humongous. It barely fits inside the ship. These two huge muscle wings, its head searching around and looking at everyone.
All of the oxygen is completely sucked out of the ship.
Anything almost that wasn't held down this in the main part of the ship.
The sofa pots and pans are all ripped out the back.
Now, who would we say is in the main part of the ship, not in a separate room, but in the main part.
I think that would be me.
As I would like you to make me a strength save.
17.
You are flung backwards as all of the air rushes out. You too are pulled. You hit the dragon physically. You are against its back and the pure pressure of everything flying past you is is making you slip and fall out the back of the ship.
This is this is two checks.
One of them was to keep your footing, which unfortunately was DC 20 which failed. This next one is to see if you fall fully into deep space.
Right. So this I fail the strength check, but I will succeed with the 25 on the reflex.
You grab onto this dragon as your whole body's attempting to be pulled out of the side of the ship. You still count as being like inside the ship. However, you are fully holding on to the dragon.
Right now, right now.
Don't worry.
The top of the round.
Does anyone want to switch roles.
Can I take myself out of the ship combat and just go into physical combat. Yeah, you. Yes, you can. Oh, that's so smart. Okay, good.
Because the dragon has breached the ship, you are welcome to fully leave shit combat and just go into fighting this creature.
It's not working to its full capacity, but it's operational.
They make a bold recommendation. Leave it to sky and I.
There's other dragons. I'm more worried about right now.
Hey, I'm trying to talk. Don't fight it. People are trying to talk.
Andre, what can I do to go faster and leave you can switch to engineering if you'd like.
I would like to leave the vicinity as soon as possible.
I would like you to give me a physical science check.
That is a another 29.
You remember a scan that you made, not on this ship, but on wild times.
You remember when you scanned the crystal that it can be used as an extremely potent energy source.
And since you have experimented on your Sentinel, the crystal is in the same room as you.
And if you wanted, you would be able to hook this crystal up in some way to power the drift core.
Charge it up immediately.
It does come with its own risk, because if you overcharge it, you will burn the drift core out.
But you do believe that you can. You probably would be able to.
I think I'm going to risk it. I think we're going to shoot for the stars and hopefully not the tooth.
Let's go.
Everyone, I want you to try something. Be prepared to go very fast. Is that clear?
Like faster than drift core fast.
What did we get?
Nat 20, baby.
That is a 33 fucking hell tearing the crystal out of the out of the Sentinel.
Oh, can I describe it? Sorry. Let's go, gamer. No, let's go.
Okay.
Even just seeing out of the sealed slide door, seeing the enormous colossal beast that is broken into patchwork.
Theoriak in a desperate bid realizes this is a fairly extreme measure of a creature like dangerous the entirety of the crew.
Realizes that there needs to be a drastic measure in order to counterbalance this severe breach.
Looks around panicked glimpses at the central looks away, looks back, sees the crystal in the Sentinel being constructed.
Pauses for maybe half a second thinking like, oh, this could absolutely just ruin this project. I'm thinking about.
And then it's like, nope, fuck it. I want to live. Snatches it. They rip it out.
Maybe damaging a little bit of the Sentinel being built. Retool something extremely quickly.
Manages to just out of desperation, basically just shove this thing into the nearest USB port and just pray.
Would you like to activate this newly installed software? Yes.
There is this moment.
When everything dies, the people that can see the engines, see them stop spurting fire.
Everything stops.
Sky shiver runs up your spine.
And there is just this familiar feeling of something unknowably large shifting in the infinite darkness.
You turn and look and you're not looking at anything. There is just black space. But do you know that something is moving?
Everything like she starts turning on again. The engines burst. White light starts forming from them.
The large column of the drift core in the middle tears itself into these geometric shapes and the whole ship starts firing forward.
Stars stretch out in front of you.
The Atomacy bursts out around you again as the power of the crystal has seemingly charged this drift engine so much that you arrived something that would take you hours in second.
There are floating space station billboards. A sun that none of you have seen giving off this green hue to everything.
These nine planets stretching on far into the horizon to the point where they're little small dots.
A planet in front of you, almost entirely desert. Huge cavernous holes you can see borrowed deep within it, almost like the planet itself is trying to break apart.
The patchwork unable to slow. More parts of it break off, start snapping just due to the sheer speed that you are going.
You all enter the atmosphere. Panels that Scrapper's fixed on start breaking off and flying off into the distance. Everyone is holding on for dear life.
There is a small second where the crystal is overpower ups the shields just before it hits the ground. The patchwork almost completely destroyed, bursting into splinters as you all fall into a seemingly infinite dust ridden desert.
The flames of the ship fall around you.
Pieces of scrap metal smoke raises from these completely destroyed engines, leaving only this base skeletal hull of the patchwork.
Arrived at the planet North.
I rolled just enough to take me down to 30 health. Like I dinged my health by five.
And then I just touched it.
Yeah. So yeah, I have zero. I think because I did make it, I'm assuming to this planet, I like I was yanked out.
But a pipe acts like split right through my abdomen. So the dragon's gone and I'm just unconscious with a pipe in my abdomen being the only thing connecting the ship.
Eleven.
Eleven health.
What you ask guy.
Okay.
I is zero stamina.
Twenty two health, though, out of 27. So she's still got some health.
I would really like Matt also to Ken.
I.
If I have to sacrifice some more health of my own to do this, I am happy to.
But verbal does not have a great reflex.
I can I grab verbal and slam on the ground.
Guy this entire time has we have a little crib and there's like a crash webbing over the crib.
So guys just say, you know, you say, you know that as arm switched off the the cargo's grab field.
And then guys just been floating in there completely flat is just bouncing around.
Is grunts as he realizes his new surroundings.
And he's going to push himself off of the ship's carcass and wrap himself up in a scarf.
So he's not bleeding.
Who's the closest person?
Who seems like the closest person nearby?
Sky, who is seemingly still held by the bubbles turrets that they were fixing.
I'm going to try and reach up.
There's an external hat like release, right?
This should be so I ignore the pain and I just bang upon the hatch and catch sky she falls out.
I'm not on you. You're on me.
Don't worry about it.
We can.
Nothing we could do right now.
Sky look at me.
Yeah, there is a knock at a die today.
Look at die today.
So right now, let's focus on waking everyone up and we can focus about patching ourselves up.
Then we can focus on getting help.
Right.
One, two, three.
When the ship collided into the surface of this planet, the area was still in the vacuum sealed science room,
which meant that everything inside of it before it just completely like collapsed came down on them.
So the Sentinel, the storage crate that had the Sentinel in it, the refrigeration unit, all of that was like flung in the direction of theory act before the room itself like disassembled basically.
The area is cut up, mashed a little bit.
They're like smart class is broken. It's like a huge crack in it now.
Lying there like unconscious, not like dying, but looks rough like the peel of the garlic bulb is like cut open and unfurling.
Oh, I forgot. Also, all of the connections of theory X body are roots, but the central torso is actually clay. It's like baked clay. It's like ceramic. So it crumbles.
I like that.
The doors to theory X lab being shut aren't open. They are.
They are like broken and bent. You can see them looking down.
But to get in, you have to like wedge your arm into the open gap and push this sturdy, heavy metal lab door.
Yeah, there's like the sound of cracking as some of the his external coal like surface just splinters away from all the exertion he's doing as I like wedge myself in and push those doors open.
And then I think I look at theory act. Look at the damage kind of grab theory act by the bloom.
Yank him out and then like dust him off as best as possible. Well, like I've actually taken a garlic bulb bulb from yours.
If you yank theory act, most of the roots like terror. So theory act no longer has like an upper torso or legs.
I just walk over to the sink in the shattered kitchen, turn it on and put the theory act half in there.
I just pat it. Are you awake? Do you do you like rise? I'm going to say theory act is not going to wake up.
Right, Keelin scrap, egg, flair, someone.
Are you find Keelin inside the skeletal part of the ship rested up covered in sand next to the drift core that is very weakly pulsing?
You wake him up and he shutters a little and then shakes some sand from his fur.
Yeah. There's a lot broken, but I will be I'll be fine.
Where's Flaire if you found him?
Sky find Flaire almost buried entirely in sand holding onto a shattered remains of a bed. Part of the bed has like snapped off and is gone entirely through his leg.
Hey, Stardust. We won. That's a win. Oh, God. That hurts. Oh, my God.
It's who's dead is anyone. Yeah. Yeah. I'll be fine.
Check. You think you'll work.
I was on top of the ship going to have to walk for find her and little thing. I found guy just now.
Still cargo hold happy to climb. As you can tell.
No, she'll be flung very far away.
Where is I found face down in the sand. I had pulled her cloak up over her head and clutched verbal to her chest.
She is not awake. But you know, in that like kind of hazy place where you sort of resume consciousness like a little bit and you start to become lucid, but you're not quite able to pull yourself out of it yet.
In the dreamlike state. I think I would like for I to talk to the crystal.
You're you're okay.
Right.
You're with Dr. Theory.
Hi.
I just have to wake up.
I'm up.
Morning time.
Right, Scott, you go get like literally half a hole and I'll find scrap.
No, Keelan.
Right here.
I don't need watching over by the way.
Don't make me laugh.
Yeah, in the kitchen.
Very, yeah, very well. No, no, no, but no one's dying today sky.
I'm looking, you find like
you got it.
Tell everyone I can walk to meet up near the thrusters.
Well actually no serious kitchen.
Kitchen.
There is a broken worrying of record players and scrap strapped into the chair that they were in.
You on approaching. See that scraps robotic arm has been completely torn off and is in bits in the sand in front of you.
Scrap scrap come on.
That works.
What else works.
The sink still works.
No much else. You've rebuilt it once before you can rebuild her again.
How's the crew.
Count it for.
No one's dead.
Everyone.
This is your captain speaking.
We have made it.
To.
Is everyone okay to move walk where all you can walk a meeting in the kitchen.
This way.
You can go to lie down.
Oh hey.
That was some good shooting.
Definitely saved us.
Well I don't know about that. We're trying to put a light spin on it. You're like that's fine. I don't know you that well. I don't know you either. It's I think actually this is the first we've spoken.
I don't really understand what's going on here but I'm I'm glad you were here.
I really should have listened to my hangover and not come on the ship today.
What is theory I look like I think it's very important for I to know.
So it is a saucepan like a deep saucepan that theory acts head is in.
She does not know what to do with that image, but is going to sit very close to that pot, catching the little pedals that fall.
Yeah.
I think.
I figured they're so strong and intuitive and
plenty actually and those plants aren't alive. So this is more important.
Stagger and get some of the potted plants.
Oh, it's better than a cooking pot, which has implications.
We got dragons.
But also one got in the ship and we're scrap.
Are you okay?
Good job, everyone. Well done.
Okay, now that holy shit, okay.
It is like completely Fox. I checked all my little bits.
Yeah, it's all over the place.
All right. Okay, everyone is everyone.
Hello, everyone.
Welcome to NOS.
First things first, check supplies, you to check our food, you check our water, turn off the running tap because we're going to need to conserve as much water as we can.
No fucking clue.
I don't even know if this planet has towns. It might be a dust bowl.
So, we got to get the scanner working.
Nothing is ever completely lost.
Ever.
We have some spare junk in the storage. If there are four wheels that aren't completely fucked. I'm thinking we can Jerry rig, a small wagon, we need some way of propelling ourselves. If we chuck the scanner on, we can move in a direction pretty easy.
It won't be motorized. So, I don't know how the fuck we're going to be able to do that.
You can build an engine.
And it's, it's going to be slow for a while.
The second thing, which I wish the app was up for.
We don't know what life on this planet is like.
It might be hideous creatures. It might be a mix of predator and prey. It might be literally nothing.
Fucking hope that this isn't just a nothing planet.
But if it is, the scanner doesn't pick up anything. If you can't see anything.
We're just gonna have to try our best to get an engine working or at least an emergency signal.
Why did we come to this planet?
The theory accent the crystal pointed us here.
I guess not guilt in the same kind of science that theory act is.
But if she can try to hear the coordinates, or maybe even if she, she will try a different approach.
And even though it's a lower ability score, maybe she will try to do a life science on the crystal.
Which is the one that the area usually uses.
Yeah, physical science for the physical science.
Okay.
13.
It's not, it's not that good.
The crystal is still all jury rigged up to the lab.
The normal swirling of galaxies inside seems to have dimmed to the point where it kind of just looks like a crystal.
As you touch the crystal, it feels like it almost sounds like glass as you touch it.
There's like a hollow ringing throughout it.
And as you pick it up and put it in your arms and cradle it, there is this small vibration.
Unlike things that you felt before, this is a real physical vibration.
Harder and faster until it almost leaps out of your hand and clatters onto the ground.
You see these swirls reignite in the center of it.
I am pulling.
I am doctor.
It shakes the sand, begins to get pulled toward it and it slowly starts to pick itself up.
Hovering slightly, there is this hum coming from it as it picks itself up from the ground and almost meets you at a height.
Floating purely on its own.
There is some light as it comes through the door, hits the crystal and bursting from it are all of these prismatic rainbows that are reflected throughout the broken lab.
You are unable to understand why this is happening.
But you hear audibly, not in your mind, you hear from the hums and the vibrations that it's giving off.
Hum, hum, hum.
And everything flies toward it and gets stuck in midair.
And then everything falls and the crystal lightly flings its way toward you and into your arms.
Okay, shh.
Alright, I got you.
We're here.
It's okay.
We're gonna start looking.
The rumbling stops and it seems just like it always has.
I keep it cradled.
I introduce it to Virgil.
I walk back out to the others.
I may not know for certain, but I think that we're close enough.
I don't know what we're looking for, but whatever it is, it's close.
It's certainly here.
The crystal was stronger for a moment and louder.
You know how I talk to computers?
It was like loud this time.
It was like out loud, but it was saying the same thing that it always says.
I'm pulling.
I think that that means that we're closer to where it needs to be.
Dr. Thirjak would be able to confirm this, but they just need more time.
Well, I would say that they just, they studied it a little differently.
I mean, I, truthfully, I didn't study it at all.
I just talked to it.
You did very early on.
Huh?
Do you mean, do you mean inside?
What did they ask?
But you didn't tell them any, anything else.
I didn't tell them what it does or anything.
So.
Didn't you also like destroy the ship?
Probably not going to be able to know.
Right.
Well, we certainly destroyed the computer.
That I remember the record.
The cameras that was all destroyed.
I remember that part.
I mean, I haven't, I haven't spoken to anything before.
It's, it's more like I just get like a good feeling from something.
What if we talk to it together?
Could we do that?
Okay.
Okay. You can, you can sit, sit, sit down.
Thank God. Thank you so much.
No, no, it's okay.
Flare.
I've never met anyone else who could do this.
I can't do it well.
That's okay.
I'll start.
Just listen.
Listen with me.
Do you think you can do that?
Okay.
Again to the crystal.
Just one more time.
Can you tell me one more time?
Where exactly we need to go.
Can you roll me a physical science please?
An unnatural 20.
You close your eyes.
Listening only to the soft sand and the occasional conversations of people who are further away.
But their voices dim and turn to blurs in the background.
You feel something physical, tangible.
It's like an old TV.
Y net activates.
The crystal vibrates and rumbles.
It's so heavy that you have to drop it.
The sand starts getting pulled almost in this twister.
The navigation deck starts working again.
A light that's not connected to anything switches as the crystal begins to shake and rumble.
It rumbles the sand off of itself and then slowly starts floating again.
This crystal floats a pulse almost like a force field bursts out from it.
Everything, lights, small devices, anything all starts turning on.
Phones are all buzzing.
Even if they are broken, the calls don't connect to anything.
They are just vibrating.
There is a pulse of energy.
A huge beam of light like a beacon that shoots into the air.
The bulbs start breaking and smashing.
The TV starts cracking with the amount of energy that is being poured into it.
The gun randomly fires off into the distance.
There is a pulse of energy.
A huge beam of light like a beacon that shoots into the air.
The scanner flicks on.
The scanner shows a city.
It manifests like a 3D print.
It shows coordinates.
Miles, miles away from you.
Almost continents away but you see it and it is here on this planet.
A secluded dome.
Everyone is...
I am pulling.
I will pull.
You will pull.
The shifter is near and I...
I am pulling.
He is pulling.
Everything starts shutting off.
The crystal falls to the ground.
I am so sad that the Reac was unconscious for this.
What the...
Is that like a thing we can do? Is that a thing that you can do?
Not really. That's never happened before.
Well, I mean, it's talked before but mostly in my head and I wasn't sure if it was real or not until...
Well, kind of, just now.
But what's on that scanner? I know right now.
That's where we go.
Well...
I just...
Okay, that's a fair question.
Well, it just looks sort of like a city map.
But why would it do that?
And everyone is going to gain an ability.
What?
What is called a crystal ability. Pulled once a day, you can pull something 120 foot toward you.
We can mull near this shit?
You can mull near this shit. You can mull near anything. You need to see it and focus on it.
There is a DC check involved. Only one of you can use it a day.
Ooh, one of us.
Okay.
Oh, interesting. Okay, it's a team.
And the next day someone else can use it.
So it's almost as if you are summoning the power of the crystal to do this ability.
Can I say this has been period, please?
Oh... morning?
Hi. The Doctor of the Euryak.
I assume the rest of me didn't make it.
No, but we're working on that. But also the patchwork kind of didn't make it.
I can... I can tell.
Where are we on the race walls? Azam?
Do you remember what happened?
The crystal in the computer system sort of blacked out.
Oh.
Which devil?
Yeah, Doctor of the Euryak...
After we put you back in some water and soil to heal, I talked to the crystal.
But Doctor of the Euryak, the crystal is saying different things.
Such as?
So you know that it always says...
I am pulling?
I am pulling. I am broken.
Well now, it's said things like...
I will pull. You will pull.
Clearly the sanctions... mortal... hypothesis... holds more water.
Well I agree.
It seems like... we're here, or we're close by, or a few miles to a city it wants us to go to.
Step one... step one, patch ourselves up.
Step two, find civilization.
Step three, worry about crystals.
I might have overexerted myself a little bit.
Oh no, I took that out. It's just a hole now.
Maybe Step three should be getting a med-bot, because it seems to happen a lot, doesn't it?
I am the med-bot.
Med-bot.
Could you move me over there?
Oh, of course.
Sun's heat is very powerful here, which means it doesn't get filtered much, which means the moment's gone.
It's going to be freezing, everyone get thermal coats and blankets.
Very cold.
That's because it's not a lot of vegetation to withhold the heat.
You find a stack of comic books on a broken, shattered pinball tail.
No, there's something else. There's something else we can make a fire with. Other than that.
I know you think it's okay right now, but that's not okay, actually.
Scrap!
Hey, what do you call me over here? What's going on?
Scrap, what can we burn?
For a fire.
I mean, you could burn me.
That's pretty funny. Let's think of this later. We've just come out of orbit. Our engines are still hot enough to keep us for tonight. If we can sleep under the thrusters.
Okay. Okay, we need to get everybody healthy then, doctor.
Who is performing the operation?
I- I trust you. You were smart enough to put me back together.
So how bad was it?
Yeah, if it had been a bit up, I would have not made it.
It's not the first time I've almost died.
I would like to say, this is the first time I've almost died.
I feel... recumulated.
Why?
I'm kind of naked. Not like, in a nude way. Like, like... I don't have legs.
You're lucky you can regenerate.
I very, very much appreciate the effort.
That will not work.
Sure.
Alright, I will do a perimeter search and we'll see.
Alright, what we're gonna do is we're gonna get underneath the thrusters. I'm going to heat them up a little bit and then we are going to bed. Some of us will keep watch. One of them is not you. Done enough.
I pick up my flame rifle, which is nearby. Come on, I'll go one way, you go another.
I'll be okay, I promise.
I am, actually. You've done quite a good job.
Assam, so many of us are not okay. You included.
I know, but I can still take a good hit. I don't let my crew down. Not like this. Not when I can still get up. If I can get up, I can move. If I can move, I can shoot. And if I can shoot, I'm in the fight.
Yep.
No, it's not. I know.
No, neither are you. You know the role of skating and skateboarding are two completely different crafts.
All right, Lippy, can you roller skate? Have you ever done it before?
That is backed up by something.
Okay, first of all, they're not wheels. They are light refraction. It uses the molecules.
All right, fine.
You gotta help me with the second one. My leg is so fucked. Can you please just like...
There you go.
Can you give me a...
Sure, athletics or acrobatics, sure.
You slip a little at first, your first push off.
But, you know, it's getting in the rhythm of the skate.
It takes a while to get used to, but you do end up being able to skate.
If you want to trade me your board, I'll definitely take a downgrade.
Keelin walks over like, okay, so do you want the good news or the bad news?
I believe the worst news would be more important to learn.
Our food supply has depleted by about 90%. We have about four days worth of food.
On the good news, all of the freeze-dried packs, all of the fresh meat that we had vacuum sealed,
all of that which has been wasted needs to be cooked now, because it's going to spoil tomorrow.
We could attempt to bury the food in air-sealed containers if we have any left, beneath the sand.
But aren't we planning on moving?
I'll have to check. Sky, I've done research into most civilizations. I know what I'm doing. Please trust me.
Well, I have a patched up hole in my stomach now. Sky, no one likes this situation.
Me least of all, I'm in a lot of pain. I know. What if it were you? What if it were Ike? Or Firiak? Or Keelin? Or Scrap? Or Flair?
Do you want to think about it? Because I don't.
And I hope and pray that you'll never have to figure it out. Let me do what I'm doing. I've survived this long for a reason.
I never said I wasn't a hypocrite.
She got you there though, bud.
Yeah.
She got you on that one.
Hi. Are you awake?
I'm so sleepy.
I'm sorry. I did not mean to disturb you.
No. It's okay. You're never disturbing.
I know you're not physically okay. How are you mentally?
I was very scared. And, thankfully, I never doubted the crystal before.
Why do you doubt?
I don't know that I do. But I'm wondering if that's wrong. When I first heard the crystal, I was fascinated and curious, and I care about it.
But?
I just trust Skye. She's got strong instincts. Good compass.
When Skye heard it, she was worried and scared. And I'm not always right about everything. I still feel like my instinct might be correct, but I don't know why it didn't even occur to me.
That it could be a danger. I still believe the crystal. I still believe that it's alive. But maybe we just need to keep that possibility in our minds. Just in case. For the sake of everyone else.
In science, you have faith that what you do will yield the results you expect. Trying to produce a new reaction might engender a unique response.
It's not a matter of believing that you are going to be right all the time. In fact, most of the time in science, you are horrendously wrong.
It's the nature of the piece. But I believe we should not trust that the crystal has our best intentions in mind.
Thinking critically, no matter what the information is that it might have shown, it is clearly of importance to the crystal.
I never thought that it had our best interests in mind. I thought it needed our help. I thought it was... I still think that it's a creature in need.
And it wishes to disclose to us this location, yes?
Right.
So we are simply discovering more about the crystal. It doesn't mean it's good, that's bad. The crystal is evil, or sentient even, just that this is of importance.
Let's not cast value judges on this.
No. Just caution. That's all.
I'm very tired.
I am too. I am also tired.
Are you okay?
Take a rest. Just... can you stay close?
I...
Would you hold me?
I kind of... there's not much to hold, but I kind of just put, like, a cloaked arm around the roots that wrapped around the skateboard.
Dylan the Human hates this.
I guess very happy, though.
And unless... Sky is arm, you have anything you want to...
Yes, there is something I want to do. I tried to brush up on this planet and its culture beforehand. I kind of want to know in what general direction society may be using my cultural knowledge.
And a map I downloaded to my phone. I got a nat 20, so that makes it a 27.
Nos used to be a rich planet.
Its mountains had filled with gems. The inner core of the planet was so, so lush with minerals and beautiful ores that you can't find in other places.
People and companies started taking these resources from this planet.
As they shipped the jewels and ingots of these materials off of this planet, it started to become a husk of what it once was.
There isn't a lot of people living here. There are a lot of creatures who, as creatures do, have learned to adapt to the harsh deserts.
People have set up small outposts. They, without the technology of most other places, kind of live not necessarily simpler, but it's more, if you would say, wild west.
But there is one city, one huge, gorgeous, stunning city called New Mores, entirely owned by Freya Incorporated.
Freya Incorporated is a beauty company, and it is known in hushed rumours that after the planet became the husk,
the leaders discovered an incredible piece of technology, and they harnessed it to make New Mores as powerful as it is.
And no one is quite sure as to what this incredibly powerful piece of technology is.
Oh shit, what do you want to do?
Music
That is where we're going to leave the session today.
Thank you so much for joining us here today, gamers. That was episode 20!
Welcome to the roaring 20s.
This is our fucking wild west arc.
Not just wild west, wild wild west.
It's the wikki wikki wikki wikki wild wild west.
Hello, the beautiful, wonderful souls. Thanks so much for listening to the Alamest. I have some very, very exciting news, so don't click away.
I know that you're going to, because that's how end of podcasts happen. You turn off. However, the exciting news is exciting.
And I'll say those first. I'm not going to keep you in suspense. Don't you worry about it.
Number one, if you want to listen to the actual plays of the show before all the music is added in, you want to see our beautiful, beautiful faces.
You now go over to the Alamest YouTube channel where we have all of the APs uploaded as well as little edited clips and fucking animatics.
I don't know if you know, if you're just a listener to the podcast, I know it follows anyway, but Moe makes animatics and they're the coolest things in the world.
We now with this new YouTube, we also now have a Patreon of the Alamest where we do like little sneak previews and some merch.
And speaking of merch, the most exciting thing in the world, we have teamed up with the Familiashop to make some Alamest themed soaps.
Each member of the patchwork has collaborated to create a soap based around their characters.
So we have Skype, who has strawberry. We have Azam, who is bonfire incense. We've got Eig, who has cotton candy.
And we have Theriac, who isn't garlic. And this is a shame because I dared Andre and clearly he chickened out.
But Theriac is actually a far nicer eucalyptus and bergamot smell.
So if you want to smell like the kind of idea of the Alamest team, then head on over to the Familiashop on Etsy.
That's shop spelled S-H-O-P-P-E. Fancy shop to do that.
Okay, last announcement. So as you have just realized, spoiler alert, the patchwork has crashed and we have entered in a new galaxy.
And with this, we, the crew, are going to show you something a little bit special.
Over the next four-ish weeks, four-ish episodes, we are actually going to be going way back in time.
And a little mini series that is run by Super Dylan, which is our little wonderful Eig. It stars myself because I got grandfathered in.
Connie Chang, Gabe Hicks, Bredo and Kappa Chris as we see Saga as it was before the plates were built.
The series again, four episodes. And then we'll be back with our crew and a new solar system.
It's so good. I basically forced Dylan to run this and it's so cool. It's expanding on the world of our little place.
And I just think that's perfect. Our players, I have to say, were MoMo Brian playing Sky, Super Dylan playing I,
Nornalika Deer who is well with feels and social playing, Azarman, Ardra Rivera, Art, who did not make me,
slapping my leg, did not make me a garlic theme, so I'm very upset.
And myself, Matthew Evo, which is the captain of all things, who voices little pew pews.
Thank you so much for listening. Thank you all. Kiss.
The next time, oh shit, Artless. All of our music comes from Artless and sound effects now. There you go.
The next time we fly through the atomless sea, I hope you'll be there to fly with us.
Ah!