A whining barking sound protests from the maw of a small Pink Kobold in a leather bound seat far too large for it to adequately fill. "Come now, Dewie, you'll forget all about how long this trip took once we get there," a youthful man responds, gloved hands gripped against the metal handles of the ship's nautical. Brushing away excess red hair from his view, revealing more of his scarred face, the brash young pilot then points over to a pressure gauge display, "Look! In about ten minutes the power to the Conjuraion core will be restored and we'll be able to Plane Shift a few parsecs closer to the Raven Queen's home plane. They're going to be thrilled when they get their hands on the parts for the improved archon models." A typical but rewarding job for Satra Addlelove and his Kobold friend, taking reign of a two man vessel equipped called The Frontiersman which, much like the Phoenix Maelstrom, is equipped with the necessary magical power and thick casing which to withstand the difficulty of sailing the Astral waters. The Frontiersman is a very small, boxy vessel, its interiors comprising of just a cramped bridge and its magical generators in the room just behind. Its size is made deceptively larger by dragging behind it large storage containers as transport that can be removed at any time. Despite its modest nature, Addlelove feels quite attached to it for how much he had invested and put himself into debt in order to obtain the vessel.
"Working with the Raven Queen is a real big opportunity for us," he assures with a big grin, "The big three of Hestavar wanted this! They have real good relations with her, that's for sure. First, these parts and next we may be trusted to transport gifts, and all in all this tower she's at is supposed to be quite fancy. Maybe they'll let us have a nice good meal in a well made dining room. Wouldn't that be great?" Dewie soon chatters and yaps happily at that idea, quickly warming to the possibilities that await.
After a short wait, a valve begins to whistle, loosely freeing warm steam through a small gap in the metal. Satra glances over and comments, "Oh! Looks like the plane shifting spell is ready. Just give me a few seconds to adjust the coordinates. If this spell fails we could end up a good hundred meters away from where we intended to be, maybe even get turned around and somehow end up in the abyss- worse yet, I have to make sure that our coordinates are precise enough that we won't wreck our ship teleporting into a rock or an arcane storm." Dewie begins to shiver and whimper, causing Satra to quickly console the little creature, "Aw, it's nothing to worry about! It's actually not that hard to get right. I mean.. as long as we end up safely arriving what's the worst that can happen?" In the back, a crystaline rock in a machine begins to glow brilliantly against the darker bronzed metals conducting it. Powerful light begins to channel through thick cables that enable a burst of strength to the thrusters built to the sides of the ship- The Frontiersman disappears, and the two occupants enjoy seeing even the light itself slowing to a halt for that brief moment.
Zipping back into reality, Satra and Dewie are quickly thrown violently in their seats against the navigation tools as an explosion shatters a part of their engine room. "What in the hell!?" Satra screams while flying cyclists whizz by the display, firing blasts of light into the corners of the view. Dewie begins barking furiously. "I know we're under attack!" he responds, quickly setting himself upward and buckling himself into his chair. "I can't tell what's going on! Jettison the cargo so that we can at least try to make a break for it." Dewie gives a hesitant chatter, prompting a pleading "Come on! Just do it!" from the man. The storage containers that drag behind The Frontiersman are de-attached from the ship itself, lightening its weight and freeing it from its burden. Quickly, it begins to accelerate towards a much more competitive speed, its main forward thrusts and external mobility thrusts granting it the mobility it needs to navigate through the waging war like a lost bird in a storm.
Even giving up the valuables has not deterred the onslaught of beams slamming against the fleeing ship, causing it, and the living beings inside, to be knocked around with harsh jerking force. After a panicked chatter from the Kobold, the main pilot comments, "These aren't your ordinary bandits, that's for sure! I don't know who they are or where they came from, but let's start by making sure we never get to find out. Divert several caster levels from the front shield to the Evocation drive," he instructs "We're gonna lighten up their mood a bit," he quips with a near smirk. The external plating of the ships begin to reveal very small transformations as it alters its purpose, sliding open round flaps that reveal underneath large pearls lining the shape. These pearls don't wait to glow, quick shooting Magic Missile spells at the assailants, blasting against them and swatting several away in quick succession, even damaging their rides and causing them to collapse into a fall. Dewie yelps as it points upward, making note of damage being caused on the top of the ship. Satra reacts, "They're on our twelve o'clock? They should be mindful not to step on nails." A tube emerges from the top of the ship- it conducts a highly visible stream of blue lightning from within before blasting Chain Lightning out from the center a few times, instantly causing the explosions of the hapless riders the light touches.
Just as it finally starts to look good for The Frontiersman, several indicators begin to alarm. "Damn! That last blast of magic drained too much of the engine's power! We won't have enough to stabilize the shield spells for much longer, Dewie!" It chatters, and he responds, "I know! But what choice did I have! It was either try to shake them off or let them beat on us for too long." A crippling explosion complete with the ripping of metal is heard and felt, effectively ruining the flight capabilities of The Frontiersman, and causing it to begin its incline. Catching himself by grasping the wheel from the last blast, Satra Addlelove screams, panicked by what is happening to them, "We've been shot down!! Pray for an emergency landing!!!"
...And that is why there is a man in front of a wrecked ship presented before the party. He preoccupies himself with begrudgingly appraising the damages that the ship had incurred in that instant of a battle. With a groan, he explains to his Kobold, ".. the magic core is busted, and pretty much the entire chassis is melted away. A lot of the jumpers are useless now too, they got shorted out when the cables were blasted..." He then feels a tug on his sleeve, "Hang on Dewie.." And again, "Okay, fine. What is it you want me to- oh!"
Others have arrived to check on them, and it doesn't take even a first glance to realize that they are dangerous people. It is bad enough that he lost the Frontiersman, Satra Addlelove doesn't want to lose Satra Addlelove as well.
He turns to the party and raises his arms and calls out to them, "Alright! You got me! I surrender! Just go easy on us, we've had a very, very bad day!"
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