Critical hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
The pirate’s health bar flashed with each attack, then drained. One more blow and it emptied entirely.
Pirate Lackey assisted kill - 800 EXP gained!
Achievement Unlocked!
Swabbing the Deck - 200 EXP!
Clearing pirates from a system is always welcome. The righteous will thank you for your efforts. The less than righteous will... well, you’ll find out.
Kaiden turned to the next pirate, who was a half-dozen paces away, and activated Hammer Toss. The throw was on target and slammed into the opponent’s chest, dropping her health into the red. An Improved Burst Arrow from Zelda came in over Kaiden's shoulder to explode against the pirate and finish her off.
Pirate Lackey assisted kill - 800 EXP gained!
“Hey! Fight your own pirates,” Kaiden shouted jokingly.
“Already finished all of mine,” Zelda retorted. “Looked like you needed the help.” She smirked.
“How smug you all are!” The shout caught Kaiden’s attention. The pirates' captain was striding toward them.
Argos Andros (NPC)
Pirate Captain
Faction: None
Level: 35
“Who sent you?” he shouted, the veins in his neck visible as his voice echoed through the cargo hold. “Answer me! Who sent you!”
Kaiden hesitated. “Uh, that’s a good question.” He racked his brain. “Hey, Titus. Was this the quest we picked up from the station security chief or that merchant captain?” They’d grabbed so many at once it was hard to remember.
Titus shrugged. “Does it matter?”
Kaiden turned back toward the pirate captain and raised his hammer. “Guess not.”
“Such insolence!” The pirate captain flung back the folds of his haggard trench coat to reveal an extra set of arms – robotic and melded on to the sides of his torso. “I’ll teach you to cross Captain Andros!”
Kaiden ducked behind his shield as each of the captain’s four hands drew a pistol and started firing. His charge bar filled more with each blast that he blocked – a good thing, considering he’d been just about empty.
“This guy’s got four levels on us,” Zelda said while doing her best to bob and weave through the hail of blaster fire. “Let’s not underestimate him.”
“He might not be our only problem,” Kaiden said as the captain turned and instead of shooting at them, fired half a dozen rounds into the lock of a door at the rear of the room. The door hissed and smoked, then slid open. A roar echoed through the cargo bay and then a massive beast clawed its way out of the too-small room it’d been crammed into.
It looked like some foul cross between a rhinoceros and a camel. Thick brown fur covered its body, retreating only around its two humps and nose where a bramble of horns jutted from the creature’s flesh.
Enraged Ceraphalodon **Huntsman**
Level: 40
Quick facts: Captivity has left this creature wounded and weakened. It cannot heal to full health while captive.
Kaiden read as much about the beast as his visor would tell him, focusing specifically on the “Huntsman” tag next to its name. What was that about? The Baboulian Manhunter they’d fought way back in their early days in Nova had been marked “Elite,” he vaguely recalled. It’d been a tough opponent. But what was this “Huntsman” tag?
Creatures in higher level areas can spawn with an additional status attached to them.
“Elite” represents a general increase to all of their stats. “Tenacious” means the creature will deal more damage the lower its health is. “Huntsman” means the creature will always attack the highest-level opponent in the vicinity.
Kaiden relayed the information to the others as the Enraged Ceraphalodon shook its head and took in the room. Its eyes scanned over everyone.
“It’ll attack the highest-level opponent in the room?” Zelda asked, frowning. “But that would be…”
The NPCs in Nova were well programmed, but there were some areas where they fell short of human intelligence. The Enraged Ceraphalodon gave a roar, then lowered its head and charged Argos.
It slammed into him, leading with its foremost horns. The captain was flung backwards to slam into a wall. He grunted as he hit it, then slid to the floor.
“Suppose I deserved that,” he mumbled. “Oh, well. It was worth a shot.”
He raised all of his guns and fired a flurry of rounds into the Ceraphalodon. The creature’s already low health drained. It roared and charged again. Argos kept shooting, and all at once the Ceraphalodon collapsed to the floor, the momentum of its charge causing it to slide several extra feet.
Argos pulled himself to his feet and dismissed the beast with a curse.
“Wasn’t being paid enough for you anyway.”
“Can we get back to our fight now?” Titus asked. He stepped out from behind his shield and the captain opened fire. Several shots hit Titus in the chest and shoulders. His health bar flashed and dropped to forty-five percent. The big man seemed unconcerned.
Ability: Energy Grip
The warden can unleash an energy coil to lasso targets and pull them closer.
Maximum range: 50 feet
Cost: 10 charge
Cooldown: 20 seconds
A coil of energy whipped out and wrapped around one of the captain’s arms. Titus pulled hard and the pirate was dragged forward, flying through the air to land at Titus’ feet. He tried to pull himself up, but Titus had another ability at the ready.
Ability: Shield Slam (Replaces Shield Bash)
The warden slams their shield into the ground, stunning enemies in a 5ft radius.
Cost: 15 charge
Cooldown: 2 minutes
A small shockwave rushed outward as Titus brought his shield down and the captain stumbled a half-step back, then teetered in place, seeming on the verge of collapse.
“There’s your window!” Titus said, then started in with a barrage of hammer strikes.
Zelda focused all her fire on the captain and Kaiden darted forward as well, making the most of their precious seconds against a stunned enemy. The assault sent the captain’s health plummeting into the yellow.
“I like to call that little combo the grab and smash,” Titus said, still admiring the one-two punch he’d thrown to stun the captain a moment ago.
“Ha! Have a taste of this!” the captain shouted, then spun down in a circle, arms windmilling around as his blasters
