The ship was a nice one. It reminded Jessi of the type of vessel she used while careening across the planet, her and her old party handling jobs and tasks for a wide assortment of lowlifes, baddies, and corrupt companies. Standing on the bridge, waiting for Omin, she was reminded of the severity of things once more, and that she wasn't visiting such a craft under pleasant circumstances.
She and others were there because the fucking Calypsos took the map and bailed like a smart guy after a kegger.
"It…still doesn't make any sense." Jessi looked over to Strix as she also stared through the window, arms crossed as her features were scrunched in thought. "…it doesn't make any sense and it scares me, for once. Nothing scares Strix! Except this, apparently…"
"Nothin' makes sense anymore, Strix," Viari wished he had a pint to sip on while he was talking; always helped bolster his words a bit. "But what's scarin' ya so badly?"
"What Tyreen did to Omin. You saw her when we took her to the Med Bay, correct?!"
"Yeah…that…that's pretty fucking jarring." Jim was trying to be modest. That was fucking terrifying and then some!.
"But, knowin' ya, that ain' what's scaring you." Strix nodded.
"I'm afraid I could suffer the same fate." She sighed. "As much as I try to distance myself from my powers they are still a part of me, and I wouldn't trade them for anything, much less let them be sucked out by a shitty vampire streamer, or whatever the hell her and her brother are."
"Eh, all things considered, the chances of that're pretty low." Jessi affirmed. "No offense to ya, but Omin was in a class of his own with those powers of his. And now that the bitch has them I doubt she'd go through the trouble of taking yours too…but yeah, just stay careful out there, okay?" She smirked a bit.
"You're shit at pep talks."
"I'm more used to using magic to make 'em motivated. Believe it or not it works wonders." Jim turned when the doors parted, going a bit rigid when he watched Omin step inside…or rather limp. He still looked absolutely drained from what happened but at least now he didn't require anyone to stand.
"Hey, um…h-how're ya doin'," Jim was treading carefully for once. Considering what she went through he didn't want to draw open any old wounds. "You look drained—" He clamped a hand over his mouth. Fucked up already.
"I'm…I'm gonna be okay." Strix's visage softened.
"You sure?" Omin'a gaze averted for a moment before he nodded.
"Yeah, my powers arent gone just were drained, but I can still command this ship and keep things in orde. May take putting a axe in her head but I'm all for that." Jim grinned. He was damn near his old self!
"Now ya're speaking my language. But, let's save the lootin' 'til after we figure out where they're going next—"
"Innsmouth." Omin said without missing a beat, stepping further into the room as Viari, Jessi and Steix joined them as well. "Closest town to where we need to go that Warehouse, we have to get what ever is there out before they get there."
"And that will stop them?" Strix asked.
"It'll at least slow them enough for us to get a lock on the Calypsos, and we all know Strahd's children aren't the brightest." Jessi chuckled. "So, let me plug in the coordinates into the map. Let's get a move on."
Feeling a slight lurch as one of the others directed the ship and, in a flash of light in the windows, she could see Innsmouth in the close distance…along with an assortment of Maiwan ships around it, some descending to the town and others returning from the town as well.
"…huh…" Jessi crossed her arms, looking at the very disturbing scene. "Soooooo…tch…alright, I'm gonna be the one to ask it. What the flying flipping FUCK is Maiwan doing here?"
"Looks like we're not the only ones with an eye on Innsmouth, apparently." Omin shook his head. "We're gonna have to do this the hard way, with me." Jessi stuck close to Omin as he got to walking, the others doing the same, though they lagged behind a bit.
"Hey, Omin, about what happened back in Watersdeep…" Jessi watched his features contort into a frown. Truthfully, Jessi didn't even want to talk about it, but she knew she had to. She had to know where they stood.
"We can't let it slow us down, Jessi. So, until Im back to full strength," She could hear some pain to his voice with that one. "You four'll have to pick up the slack for me, and that means we have to hurry and get townside."
"Excuse me, townside with a buncha Maiwan ships flying about?" Jim chimed in. "That doesn' sound like a smart move, and this is comin' from the guy who unclogs crappers using bandits."
"It's not," Omin shook his head, moving to slide down a latter as Jessi did suit, the Paladin noticing the boss was bringing them to the cargo bay of the ship. "But it's all we got. Maiwan's no doubt jamming COMs, and that means we're gonna have to go townside and make contact with them directly; if anyone knows where the Warehouse is it's gonna be someone in town."
"And we're sure they're jammin' the COMs?" Omin nodded.
"If they weren't, my contact there would have already called. He always does when he's in trouble."
"That still raises a question," Viari spoke up, Jessi turning to the rogue. "How are we getting townside? The Fast Travel system aboard the ship is…out of commission. Thought I caught the sight of a drunk man trying to 'interface' with it, if you know what I mean."
They all did.
"With this." The Paladin looked over to see what Omin had brought them to see; a drop pod. Situated in the back of the narrow hallway, the door was slid upwards and showed five metal seats within, all sporting safety harnesses to ensure anyone inside didn't get a headache as it dropped.
"Hold up," Strix uttered. "Ya want us to drop down in that?"
"What's wrong? Scared of a drop from orbit?" Jessi legitimately felt weird when she watched Viari frown, not so much when he walked off, stating he'd be right back. The Paladin crossed her arms and turned her attention to Omin. "Seriously though, we're dropping in this thing?"
"No other option. We try flying down in this ship Maiwan's gonna blow us apart. Only option we have is dropping and, when a chance arises, sending a drop ship to retrieve us and return us here." Strix scowled.
"Well, let's get this show on the road." Jessi stepped back when Viari walked past, the Rogue holding a literal arm-full of alcohol as he plopped down onto one of the seats, setting his many bottles of booze down so he could strap himself in.
"…where did you even—"
"Jess. Its us, i got some whiskey, gin, scotch, and even some rum for the ride down. I'd rather die drunk than screamin' after all." Jessi just shook her head, stepping to the side again when Jim and Steixboarded the pod as well, strapping themselves in as Omin boarded.
"Augh…I just hope this doesn't kill us." Jessi stepped in last and strapped herself in, watching the massive door slide down and lock into place.
Her head ached, her stomach was spinning, and her muscles burned, but for the most part, Strix was doing well from the pod's…well…crash into the ground.
Stumbling out the pod and onto the dark soil, the Tiefling reached up to clamp her mouth shut and make sure she didn't lose her lunch, swallowing down the bile that was building and turning to check on her team.
Jessi was face down on the ground, noisily expelling the contents of her stomach. Jim was standing away from the pod, examining himself for any injuries.
And Viari?
"Woooooo! Let's do that again!" Viari was being dragged out of said pod by Omin, je was dropped face first once he was safely out the pod. Viari hopped to his feet, shaking his head as he looked around; his jubilee expression turning instead to a grimace "Why the fuck are we at the city limits?" True to Viari's words, they were indeed just outside the futuristic, technological city. Strix's eyes roamed over the tall buildings decorated in shining lights as, more or less, Night City looked to be the pinnacle of progress and prosperity…save for the Maiwan forces assaulting the place. That sort of lowered the appeal.
"Because right before we launched, We picked up a distress beacon outside the city. Don't know who launched it. Save them, and that's our way to contact my source." Jessi couldn't fault that logic, though she wished Omin told them before just adjusting their drop location.
Regardless, everyone was back up to speed; even Jim. Viari saw the distress beacon's location wasn't too far from their current position; was just a hop, skip, and a jump through some wetlands and they'd get there.
…said wetlands had giant rats scurrying about. Strix shuddered at the sight of the filthy creatures, almost finding comfort when Jim suddenly blew one's head into pieces with a magic bolt.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Let's hunt!" Jim took off and everyone followed suit, Jessi peppering a ratch with her bow as she heard an transmission emanate from her device.
"Command, do you copy?! Zombies are appearing out of fucking thin air! I'm pinned down over here! Send back-up!"
Strix's blood froze at that. The Inheritors were already here?
"How'd those vampire fuckers beat us here?" Jessi cried out, hastening her pace to keep up with the others. "I don't remember them having a damn ship!"
"Strahd has money." Viari wanted to throw a retort, but he was…disturbed by that.
Jessi knew she was inevitably supposed to kill Tyreen and Troy, but now she was slightly conflicted on if she could do it. Least without a scratch like she wanted.
The Siren's train of thought came to a halt when. Someone was busy holding off a line of zpmbies, open firing with an assault rifle and doing a pretty good job at killing them. They lasted even less time when the team open fired on the remaining zombies, dropping them like dumb, confused ratchlings. The area was, for once, quiet, and the someone holding off the zombies calmed down and relaxed, stepping forward.
"Well, that was a shitshow, wasn't it?" She looked like a civilian turned soldier; rugged and a bit hardened from fighting. The woman sported sharp green hair, a few piercings, and a dangerous looking Machine crossbow that. "But, you four have some good timing. Oh! Forgot to mention, I'm Mio; did Crystal send you?"
"Okay, first, me name's Jim, good t' meet'cha. And second, who the fuck is Crystal?" Mio lifted a pierced brow.
"My…boss? The CEO?" Jessi smirked. Things had a funny way of working themselves out, apparently.
"So, you were the one who sent out the distress beacon?" Viari asked, the woman giving a quick nod. "Then Death smiles on you. We were sent to make contact regarding the Warehouse of jill valentine…and…unfortunately, the crazed animals trying to kill you are also in search of it, in the name of Strahd."
"Damn! Well, means we gotta move, then. Sooner I patch you through to Crystal the sooner we can get something done about these assholes. Cause," She kicked over a dead zombies. "These zombies got their hands on Maiwan geae. So, either they raided a supply locker before getting here…"
"Or Maiwan's supplying them., and might even be working with them, too." Omin concluded with a frown. "Let's go, then." Mio turned to start jogging ahead, everyone following suit and—
"Hey, superfans, you finally made it!" She heard that snide, sick voice right in her ear, courtesy of her com, Jessi's joy at finally getting somewhere brought to a skidding halt. "Gotta say, took you long enough. We've been here for a while already. Might even make friends with Maiwan and get them to help us get that Warehouse. We'll see." Omin's eyes were narrowed. Looking ahead, "Why are you calling us, bitch?"
"Cause, there's no way you're stopping us. We have a whole ARMY of zombies willing to turn you and your friends into bloody instruments in our name, and all you have is a run-down ship we can probably just blow outta the sky." Her blood ran cold at the sound of that. The Strahd's knew where the ship was? "So, make the smart choice, 'kay?"
"Hey, Jessi?" She looked over to see Omin had lagged back, the normally furious and stoic Cleric low looking outright worried. "You good?" He was hesitant for a moment but finally mustered a nod and a smile.
"Never better, friend. Now, let's send these inheritors back in body bags."