Sword of the Stars: a Fate Planetary Romance (IC)

[Actana]

Time: 14:25, 21/04/651, standard Remean calender
Location: prison hulk Cerbera XI-b, Deep space

It has been over a week since the successful raid on the planet Aurora, where Lieutenant Raines of the Remean Navy captured several high key targets, including the pretender Heros and a would-be Czarnian warlord - both great victories for loyal citizens of the empire. He, however, is far from the only noteworthy prisoner on board. Under the guise of shipping yet another contingent of dissidents to the various facilities over the Empire, the Cerbera carries far more valuable and sensitive cargo. Illegal experiments in the form of a highly advanced robot, as well as a curious specimen of alien biology - something the Remean scientists would love to get their hands on. Only those Cerbera crew higher up in the chain of command knew about this special cargo. The rest of them only knew what they were told: high priority and extremely dangerous prisoners in the stasis pods expecting relocation.

Each of you, of these four individuals, had been placed in a stasis pod for the transportation, cryogenically frozen for the biological entities and electromagnetically for the robot, and rendered inoperable. A safe procedure, but not entirely pleasant to wake out of, especially when a vessel such as the Cerbera is under attack from hostile forces.


The ship's walls seem to shake violently as red lights begin to flash in the otherwise dark room, illuminating the area briefly under the rotating lights and then darkening it down again, repeating the motion. A wheeze and a bang later, the covers of your stasis pod are released and fly wide open, letting out the frozen air as well as its passenger. With only some clothes on your back you stumble forward onto the ground, still feeling the effects of the freezing process. The room you're all in is fairly small and bare, accommodating only the four pods you were in, and an exit in sight, blocked by a closed and electronically locked door. The emergency lights flash and you can hear sounds of footsteps from outside the hall, rushing past corridors. None of them seemingly stop at your position, though.


OOC: I am compelling Regis with the aspect Malfunctioning Pod, so that after the revival process his stasis pod's emergency release doesn't work, potentially trapping him inside. Because I'm evil.

In addition, everyone will start out with the Stasis After-effects mild consequence representing a brief moment of sluggishness as the effects wear off, as well as giving the GM one free invocation of it that is divided between the group (which can be used only to improve opposition), and can be compelled as usual.

[Capt. Infinity]

Why does stuff like this ALWAYS happen to me?

These are the first thoughts that pass through the recently defrosted mind of one Kaiser Regis Heros, assessing his current situation. It was one thing to be cryogenically frozen for transport, that was bad enough. But nownow, even being freed from that problem, he still had to contend with adversity, in this case, taking the form of a jammed stasis pod door. After a few good kicks, the would-be Emporer realizes it really IS stuck on there, though it doesn't take long for a plan to formulate within his head.

Fumbling for the pocket hidden in the inside of his duster, he smiles when he finally finds the object he was looking for, his bright, golden eyes gleaming behind his mess of silvery white hair. As he holds Gladius Rex perpendicular to his body, he focuses for a brief moment on the image of the blade, willing it into existence. And, as he has done thousands of times before, the large, shining form of a broadsword shoots out from the hilt, intending to pierce the glass of the pod and melt a hole around the viewport, kicking the glass open afterwards.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll to Flashily Overcome the obstacle if necessary, if it was just a fluff problem, disregard this. (4d3-4)[1]

[Vhaidara]

Evo rolled out of the electro-stasis pod, twitching. Unfortunately, the roll doesn't quite work, as a particularly violent twitch strikes part way through, resulting in a robot on his back, twitching on the ground. Some of the twitches include growths of metal shooting out before returning to the main body.
T-t-that was most un-un-un-unpleasant.

[LordHavelock]

Castor is hacking and spluttering as he violently, and somewhat clumsily punches against the door with both arms as it begins it's slow rise. Half a second later, the young Czarnian has managed to bash the lid at least part of the way off as he twists part of the way out and then topples over, grappling at the the empty air before he hits the tile floor hard. Any profanities he might have otherwise offered are cut off by second, more violent coughing fit as he blinks away the frozen bits of vapor from his eyes and brings his fist down hard on the floor, in an effort to restore some feeling to the hand and leaving an indentation in the floor in the process. Rolling over, he climbs up on to all fours and comes nearly face to face with Evo, having only heard the words through a red haze. Reaching out, he gives a half-hearted attempt to strangle the intelligent robot before he collapses, coughing again. "You . . . Empire . . . KILL . . .!" Castor would be damned if the first words out of his mouth after having been put in the most humiliating form of captivity for a Czarnian (Stasis! What Cowardice!), was anything less than a threat of death against his offenders.

[Lord Raziere]

Valana of Narela observed that she was no longer frozen. Using her green hands she climbs out, slowly, blinking as she starts to awake, and observing the immediate world around her with her yellow eyes. She sees a body made out of metal, another body speaking incoherent strange words in guttural manner like some sort of beast, and a third body bashing their way out of their pod. In her curiosity she walks over to the metallic body, and sits down, still feeling the after-effects of the cryo-pod
"Hello, that what you call a greeting yes? I am Valana of Narela. How is that body made of metal? I didn't know it was possible to metallic DNA. What planet are you from? Which mind do you belong to?"

[LordHavelock]

The arrival of the alien by his side apparently exchanging pleasantries with the robot is enough to rouse Castor from the usual post-somnus bloodlust, as he blinks first in, her direction, and then the most unusual metallic constructs. "You are prisoners, of the Remeans' as well?" One last hacking cough and he draws himself up to his feet, stretching long, toned limbs in the process, rolling his shoulders and then his neck with several distinct *pops* before he realizes that he is for the moment unarmed, and thus, by Czarnian standards, naked. "My armor! My weapons . . ." He begins to take more thorough stock of the room they were in before he makes any more accusations, including an inspection of the malfunctioning pod, giving the control panel an experimental punch for the moment.

[Lord Raziere]

Valana looks up at Castor, who while not as strange as metallic being, was acting much more actively. She observes his actions. The closest comparison she had to what Castor was, was predators constantly hunting their prey. She asks in complete innocence:
"What is a prisoner? What are you? Why are you acting like an animal? Are the Nemeans the bodies of the Nemean hivemind? What hivemind are you?"

[Vhaidara]

Evo slowly begins to recover from the shock to his system, though his neck still jerks around occasionally. He begins to stand and address the strange alien. The one from the hivemind, not the one that just tried to break him. The time would come for revenge there.
Why is your body not made of metal? What is important about a planet? What minds are there that are not our own?

[Actana]

As the three others try to figure out what is happening and at least one control panel is being battered into submission, letting out sparks and bits and pieces of glass and metal, the remaining fourth pod has its door pierced by what can essentially be called a laser sword, even if it might not be the exact truth. The damage dealt to it allows the pod's door to be easily kicked down, and the fragile glass shatters as it hits the ground, spreading small shards around its impact point.

The room you are in is very spartan in nature, a combination of a cargo hold and a prison cell. The only notable features that appear seem to be a small ventilation shaft on one side of the room and the exit door on the other. Under Dim Red Lights the visibility in the room is hindered slightly, but not enough to make it impossible to see. There is some small amount of room between the stasis pods, and they are large enough to hide behind if need be.

From the speakers a voice is heard. "Attention, all personnel. Code Red. I repeat, Code Red. This is not a drill. All personnel, to your battlestations", the voice announces. From the other side of the door, faint voices can be heard gathering, though not loud enough to be heard properly. Distinct from the noises that come and go, these ones seem to stay in place right beyond the exit. Staying in place for now, at least.

[Capt. Infinity]

With one final crash, the large observational window of Kaiser's pod explodes across the room, shattering harmlessly on the floor. Stepping free of the entrapping device, the young man takes a few confident steps out of his cryogenic prison. He wobbles for a half second, feeling his newly defrosted blood settle in his feet, before dusting off the frosty mist sticking to his leather duster. He looks to his right, assessing his current company. He speaks to the Floro-Fauna first. "Umm, he doesn't have DNA. He's an artificially constructed consciousness, and his mind is placed cleanly on top of his shoulders, near as I can tell. You're not from around here are you? What do you call yourself?" He asks the foreign entity named Valena. "Allow to introduce myself, I am Kaiser Regis Heros, but you can call me Kai, it's more convenient that way. Hey, you okay over there big guy?" He asks of the robot near him, noticing him still twitching slightly. He turns his head up to look at the hulking mass of muscle currently attempting to work the door control panel. "Well I'll be damned. If it isn't Castor of the Czarnians, upstart warlord extraordinaire. You've been causing quite a stir for the old Empire as of late. Looks like they finally caught up to you huh?" He takes a moment to look at himself. "I guess I can say the same for me. I really hope the people shooting at this vessel are a contingent of the rebellion coming to rescue me, otherwise escaping recapture by the Remeans will be the least of our worries." He pauses when he hears the voices gathering beyond the door. The young man can't possibly be beyond his early twenties, but he still puts his body into combat-ready stance in a way that harkens to that of a veteran of the beyond-ancient art of swordfighting. "Looks like this isn't going to be easy. Unless one of you feels like chancing the ventilation system, you better be ready for whatever's beyond that door... It's enemy combatants, by the way, enemy combatants are beyond that door." He makes clear, fully aware of the apparent ignorance towards modern society of certain members of the peanut gallery within the room. He looks at his new fairweather companions, assesing their reactions to the situation.

[LordHavelock]

Castor can only stare incomprehensibly at first the alien spouting the sort of inane questions he would expect of a child, then the robot with it's abstract pontificating, and finally, the armed imperial apparently content to suffice all of Castor's hardships and struggles with a flippant epithet. '"And who are you supposed to be?" He quipped back, before the sound from beyond the door caught his attention, if only momentarily, before the manic Remean began spouting about some resistance or some such. Glancing towards the ventilation shafts, he snorted with derision before making his way to the opposite side of the room, over by the pods. "I don't much care about you, or these two, or whoever else is beyond that door." Castor declared, with a dismissive gesture towards the lot of them, "And you can make whatever arrangements or preparations you like. All I know for sure is that whoever is on the other side of that door, is certainly not prepared for me."

Grabbing the nearest crate of whatever happened to be close by, Castor braced himself against it and took a running charge towards the door . . .

Spoiler: Actions

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Forceful Approach to ram down the door using only my brute Czarnian strength and the impromptu ram. Overcome against a barrier to move in to the next zone, so I believe Implacable Advance should come in to play, and I'll spend a fate point to invoke Barbarian. Warrior. Punk. as this is a quintessentially barbarous solution to a problem and near literal Kick-in-the-Door Playstyle.
(4d3-8)[-2]+8

Fate Pool: 2

[Actana]

The security door attempts to resist Castor's advance.

Spoiler: Actions

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The door defends with a Good skill level of Resisting Brute Force. Any successes in shift will be dealt to the enemies behind the door.
Resisting Brute Force - (4d3-5)[5]

Result: Castor's +6 vs the Door's +5. Castor succeeds, clearing the obstacle and dealing 1 shift of stress to the soldiers behind it.

Castor slams himself into the security door, tearing through the metal and leaving an opening wide enough for two in his wake. He slams shoulder first into one of the marines behind the door, who falls to the ground reeling in wake of the surprise assault. The other four are startled by the hulking Czarian, but quickly gain their composure and get ready to repel the prisoners.


((Everyone can get a turn before the marines go. They'll work as a team taking attacks all at the same stress bar, but they'll also have a higher attack based on how many of them there are.))

Spoiler: Conflict statistics

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Marine stress: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
GM Fate points: 4

Scene aspects:
Remean Prison Hulk
Under Dim Red Lights,
Under Siege; Code Red

[Capt. Infinity]

Kaiser can only smile at the question but forth, and, when the opportunity to answer presents itself in the form of there suddenly being a hole in the wall, he can't help but take it.

"My name is Kaiser Heros!" He shouts, raising Gladius Rex skyward, shining it to it's max luminosity in order to dazzle the Imperial footsoldiers. "Pleased to make your ACQUAINTANCE!!!" He yells, rushing forward at the marines, jumping off the crate that was shoved through the door and bringing the full force of his might down on all the soldiers in a whirlwind strike, his sword a blur of bright, shining light.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm going to invoke my Gladius Rex Aspect in order to get a +2 to my Flashy Attack on the soldiers, which I am splitting the shifts of up so that I take down as many as possible.

Roll: (4d3-2)[6]

[Actana]

"Wha- Huh?" one of the marines manages to utter just as he was about to recover from Castor's assault when another assault is upon them.

Spoiler: Actions

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The marines will defend with their Average approach in Melee Combat. Since there are four of them, they gain a +3 to their attack, to a total of +4.
Melee Combat - (4d3-4)[6]
Result: Kaiser's +6 vs Marine's +6: Tie! Kaiser deals no shifts but gains a Boost of Press the Advantage!

The marines start falling back slightly when the second assault arrives, and manage to evade the strikes, but remain disorganized and broken in rank. "Fall back! Regroup! Now!" their leader orders as he lays down some hasty shots as covering fire.

[Capt. Infinity]

Kaiser deflects the shots easily with his sword. Turning back to the two still in the room and shouting: "They're disorganized! Attack now!"

[Vhaidara]

Evo stands very still. Too still, in fact. A pair of mechanical arms begin rapidly to grow from his legs, snaking along the ground towards the men at blinding speed and reaching up to grab their weapons and open fire wildly into the group.

Spoiler: OoC

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Okay, since they seem to be in route, I feel Surprise Evolution could come into play here, so I'm invoking that.

And Cap said I can use his advantage. Not sure how that works, but going with it.

(4d3-4)[5] So, -8, +2 from Sneaky, +2 from advantage, right?

[Actana]

Stripped of their weapons, the marines attempt to fall back to gain cover before forming any other plans.

Spoiler: Actions

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The marines will Defend with their Average approach at Retreat. Teamwork gives them a +3 again.
Retreat - (4d3-4)[2] Marines are going to use a Fate point to invoke Remean Prison Hulk for a +2 bonus: there are lots of corridors on the ship, and can easily provide cover from the assault.
Result: Evo's +5 vs Marine's +4. Success! Evo creates the Disarmed aspect onto the soldiers and creates one free invocation!

Despite their best attempts at avoiding the mechanical arms, their pulse rifles are grasped from their hands and the marines suffer hits from the stolen weapons as they attempt a retreat. Curses can be heard from under their helmets as the rest of them manage to find a corner to hide behind, occasionally popping out to take a look at the situation. "Call for backup. The prisoners have escaped!" one of the shouts from their cover.

Spoiler: Statistics

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Marine stress: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
GM Fate points: 3

Scene aspects:
Remean Prison Hulk
Under Dim Red Lights,
Under Siege; Code Red
Disarmed - Marines (free invocations: Evo x1)

[Lord Raziere]

Why is your body not made of metal? What is important about a planet? What minds are there that are not our own?

"Because the elements necessary to make my body are not metallic. Planets are places of origin. None, unless you count the one I came from."

He looks to his right, assessing his current company. He speaks to the Floro-Fauna first. "Umm, he doesn't have DNA. He's an artificially constructed consciousness, and his mind is placed cleanly on top of his shoulders, near as I can tell. You're not from around here are you? What do you call yourself?" He asks the foreign entity named Valena. "Allow to introduce myself, I am Kaiser Regis Heros, but you can call me Kai, it's more convenient that way. Hey, you okay over there big guy?" He asks of the robot near him, noticing him still twitching slightly. He turns his head up to look at the hulking mass of muscle currently attempting to work the door control panel. "Well I'll be damned. If it isn't Castor of the Czarnians, upstart warlord extraordinaire. You've been causing quite a stir for the old Empire as of late. Looks like they finally caught up to you huh?"

"It is possible to have a working sapient being without DNA? You can make such beings artificially? Fascinating Kai! Thank you! This is a groundbreaking discovery! I am Valana, of the hivemind Narela.....what hivemind are you of? You mean Castor belongs to the Czarnian hivemind? Whats a warlord? Whats an empire? Whats a combatant?"
She sees them fight the soldiers
"Oh, they're like prey? I should hunt them? Oh. Do you always eat the bodies of other hiveminds? Excuse me for a second."
She finds a nearby access panel for the electronics of the ship. With some rewiring, she causes some of the security turrets to suddenly pop up and fire upon the Marines hiding in their corners while completely ignoring the prisoners.

Spoiler: Action

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Clever Roll to make the turrets fire upon the marines, 1 Fate point to Invoke Cutoff Hivemind Scout as her hivemind origin gives her a ton of knowledge and skill in technology:
(4d3+6)[2][1][1][1](5)

Fate Pool: 2

[Actana]

The security systems, already in motion, attempt to block Valana's access to its systems.

Spoiler: Actions

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The ship's security systems will Defend with its Good approach at Firewall. Successful shifts will be dealt to the marines, who are taken by surprise.
Firefight - (4d3-5)[1] - oops typo. No matter.
Result: Valana's +3 vs the security system's +1. Success! Valana deals 2 shifts of stress to the marines!

The marines, taken unaware by the turrets being hacked, take a casualty as they scramble to form a line against an assault from both fronts. Once the turrets are done with their volley, the begin reforming their ranks.

Spoiler: Statistics

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Marine stress: [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
GM Fate points: 3

Scene aspects:
Remean Prison Hulk
Under Dim Red Lights,
Under Siege; Code Red
Disarmed - Marines (free invocations: Evo x1)

[Actana]

"We can't take this. Fall back, fall back!" the fireteam leader shouts commands to his team as they begin their retreat before they all fall. "Inform command, we need backup!" their voices grow quieter as they withdraw, leaving you alone in the corridor with the two corpses of the soldiers.

On the wall, there are signs guiding the way to various facilities on the ship. To the left there are signs of "Command Center" and "Armory", and to the right reads "Prisoner Inventory", "Holding Blocks A-D" and "Holding Blocks E-G", with different colored lines for the different destinations. For now the hustle in this area of the ship seems to have quieted down, but there's no telling when there might be more of the soldiers, with greater numbers too.

The marines concede the encounter, retreating. Conflict over.

[LordHavelock]

"Cowards!" Castor calls after them, but holds off pursuit as he picks up one of the fallen guards weapons, checking the chamber and ammunition before grabbing as many spare clips as he can off both guards and slinging them bandolier style over his shoulders. "Now then . . . I think we can give any backup they might have a proper reception. But first . . . " Directing the weapons in a slightly less than threatening manner towards his fellow prisoners, he stares each of them down in turn. "Introductions. Who are you all?"

[Lord Raziere]

"I am Valana of Narela. A scout sent from a greater mind to investigate other beings for this thing called "Individuality.". That is body over there is Kai, the metal one is a groundbreaking discovery I don't know the name of and your name is Castor? By the way, you didn't answer any of my questions."
She was real confused by the situation. Perhaps this was all some kind of...what was the word...game? One where hiveminds worked out a mutual exchange of bodies to eat based on how many they can kill as score?
Does the one that gets the most bodies to eat...what was the word....win? It would make sense, bodies are disposable and produceable after all.

And strange, the other hiveminds around her don't seem to share her attitudes or methods. perhaps the environment their bodies evolved in caused each hivemind to think differently based on what the method that allowed the most amount of bodies to survive? Though she didn't see why a hivemind would make a metallic being when they could produce their normal bodies through normal means and accomplish things through them. Perhaps they made it to endure some sort of environment that none of their normal bodies can? Perhaps its a body intended to explore the vacuum of space? While this Castor....hm, the animals and obstacles on Castor's planet must be huge and incredibly dangerous to force his hivemind to adopt such forceful methods.

[Vhaidara]

The newly formed hands retract back to Evo, tossing the stolen guns up to the machine.
My programming calls me Evo.
He begins disassembling one of the guns as he speaks, looking into it and at all the various parts
I've been stealing things for a long time, and they finally caught me.

Spoiler: OoC

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Evo is attempting to familiarize himself with how this particular gun works, the better to sabotage/repair/replicate it in the future.
Clever (if needed): (4d3-4)[6]

EDIT Okay, so I'm trying to Create an Advantage by the name of Firearm Familiarity (wouldn't normally straight up use the suggestion, but it does hit the nail on the head)

[Capt. Infinity]

Kaiser looks at Castor with a quirked grin. "You seriously don't know who I am, do you? I guess it's not that surprising. Lord knows you've got your own problems to deal with, and I'm not exactly a household name quite yet." He admits, but where there should be deflation, there is only yet more confidence. He thrusts his right hand forward at the Czarnian. "As I yelled loudly before not just once, but twice, my name is Kaiser Heros, claimant to the throne of the Remean Empire. And before you blow my brains out, I'd like to make it explicitly clear that I hate the Empire JUST as much as you do." He pauses for a moment, looking at the fallen soldiers with disdain as he continues. "These monsters killed my family, my friends, my entire damn town! All in an attempt to make sure I never made a move for a throne I never even knew I had a right to. The Empire is sick, a good Empire doesn't murder out of fear." He turns to Evo "It doesn't ban progress out of fear" He back to Castor, his eyes shining with pride and hope. "And it doesn't deny a race its well deserved reascension out of fear. I'm not asking you to kneel at my feet, and I'm not asking you to abandon your quest for glory. I'm just telling you that we both share a common goal, and I'm offering a chance, at least for now, for you and I to work together to achieve it. So what do you say?" He asks of the entire group. "Who's with me?"

[Lord Raziere]

"....I don't know what "family" "friends" or an "empire" is, but if I help you, will you give me information on such things in return? I don't know what your talking about, but you seem pretty passionate about it. Also, whats a throne?"
This Kai seems the most talkative and cooperative. He was probably the best source of information on things outside her planet there was here.

[Capt. Infinity]

".....Sure thing, Valena. Sounds like fun. Also, it's a really big chair. They do have chairs where you come from, right?" Kai asks of the downright fascinating creature next to him, his hand still outstretched to Castor.

[LordHavelock]

Castor's eyes (and the barrel of his newly acquired weapon) track to each of his fellow escapees in turn as they introduce themselves. "Valana of . . . Narela? Never heard of that planet, and I'm not in the habit of answering questions posed by strange aliens I've just met. Besides, if you don't recognize a Czarnian on site . . ." He shoulders the weapon and grins as his eyes flash with bloodlust, "I think you should form our own impressions."

The robot's succinct and pointed answer is much more to Castor's liking, as is his appreciation for the firearm he is in the process of deconstructing. "You were programmed with a name? And to steal? What kind of robot are you?" he asks, but is quickly cut off by the Remean's verbosity.

Castor's expression shifts from one of distaste to growing astonishment, just at the sheer fervor of how seriously this callow pretender to the throne seems to take himself and his "quest". It wasn't so much a matter of doubt, this man could claim to be anything he damn well pleased, and claiming to be the long lost descendant of an Emperor or another was certainly enough reason to get you killed or imprisoned by the Regean Autocracy. No, it was the ardor with which he conducted his little speech, and Castor's eyes could not hide his growing skepticism. 'Does he really think he can prove a claim to the Imperial Throne, and does he really expect to do so with the help of some prisoners he just met?' The Czarnian wondered, but as Kai put out his hand and spoke of the Czarnian people, he was suddenly struck. Whoever this boy was, he seemed to know enough about him to remind him that Castor had shared such an idealistic vision not long ago.

"The enemy of my enemy, is not my enemy." Castor quoted, extending his hand, taking Kai's in his own iron vice of a handshake. He understood the Regeans had a similar maxim involving friendship, but wasn't about to relent that far. "Honor requires me to repay my captors in full for their slights, and if you would see the same, then let us together," He glanced at Evo and Narela as well, " . . . for however long that may last."

[Vhaidara]

Name, yes, stealing, no. I have no purpose. I stole because it seemed a use for the abilities I have. As far as what kind I am, I seem to be the best kind. After all, I am me.
Evo doesn't look up from his examination of the gun while he speaks.

[Capt. Infinity]

Kaiser smiles. "Good enough for me! Now then, what do you all say we make ourselves some allies before storming the Armory and Bridge?" The Remean asks, gesturing with his eyes at the labels on the wall listing the cell blocks.

[Actana]

Spoiler: Actions

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Evo's Clever +6 vs a passive resistance of +2. Success with style! Evo creates the Firearm Familiarity aspect and creates two free invocations on it.

Evo's study of the weapon gives him a fair bit of insight into the gun. A standard issue Imperial Navy pulse rifle, the PR13-MkVII combines both accuracy and stopping power in the form of tiny inducted shards of metal. Effective against biological targets, the rounds can safely be fired on board a space vessel, as the damage dealt to the ship's hull stop harmlessly in their tracks. The weapon also features capacity for modifiable ammunition if the need arises, for example against synthetic enemies - but such actions take time if not prepared beforehand.