Hell

With the keycard in Vitaly's hand the crew were finally able to interact with the markings on the info board, it lit up with a shimmer and swirl of purple energy. Reluctant at first the crew entered the instance after "Doc" sent the junk cycle in seeing it came back through unharmed. They land on an unfamiliar plane with a broken landscape and angry swirling purple energy encompassing them. Inside they find more Ysoki... this time undead and accompanied by and undead horror leading the charge.

This is the first time the crew has run into issues dispatching foes, however the bounty was plentiful as the majority gained new power hunting rifles to help them at range. They pressed further on into the next gate ahead finding a similar plane of broken steps and stone leading to another focal point of energy similar to the one they blipped into. They was a drow wrapped in robes channelling the energy source, startled she blipped into this end point. Quickly discerning that this must be a gateway of some sorts note that they went in the front and this must be the end point. Again they send the junk cycle through first but this time it didn't return.

In a brave or possible stupid decision they all leap through and end up in a set of dunes by a obelisk with no sight of the portal. Using their various communication devices they are able to coordinate that they are somehow now on Akiton, pretty far from their ship. They do find tracks for the cultist heading east from the pillar and Falk noted this would be a great smuggling route given the portals and vast distance crossed. After some poking and prodding they are able to reopen the instance and walk back through to the Diaspora mining facility to their ship. From there they are going to fly to the same coordinates they ended at to further investigate what the hell is going on.

On the ship however, they realized things were misplaced and some of their rations were missing and the wrappings spewed about. They follow the snack trail to the lower storage deck and find an opened "egg" which upon further investigation shows that it was a mechanical incubator, how it made it onto the ship is unknown. Sweeping the storage area they run into a young purple Skittermander who was clearly the culprit of these crimes and the former inhabitant of this egg.

Falk was very curious about the creature however Atvar wanted to immediately space the creature. Vitaly demanded to protect it and nurture it, at least his version of that was to put it in the room with a computer with learning videos and giving it an unloaded gun to "learn" with. Again Bob's excellent piloting skills made the trip from Diaspora to Akiton in a day. Upon entering the atmosphere they see a swirling sandstorm east of the obelisk that they came through and land their ship outside it.

There was't much in the desert besides running into a Vlaka bounty hunter who had info of a contract he was on pertaining to the pirate leader they already had slain a day before. His intel was saying that he would be in this area on Akiton, the crew knew it was somewhat correct as there was a gateway from his hideout to near here but offer no full information to the hunter. Defeated after stalking these dunes for a week, the hunter handed over the contract to the crew and went on his way. But before that he gave a warning of a weird cult structure beyond the "sandstorm", he noted that it seemed bad but after he sent a drone into it it came out unharmed.

The crew moved forward into the sandstorm bravely without their junk cycle to scout through for them this time noting that it was like nothing was actually there, a mere illusion. That's where they see the structure the bounty hunter noted, it was huge and monolithic. They enter carefully but Vitaly hated this structured and urged haste. They encountered two very similar shadow like spirits who seemed benevolent and didn't like what happened to their temple, they warned the crew members to not press on further if they are not affiliated with their new masters. At the very top of the temple at the back wall they encounter a odd mechanical looking wall with runs in a pyramid shape.

Vitaly again with haste began mashing the runes, while the others were still trying to puzzle out what it meant. Two soldiers with unfamiliar gear appeared yet eyes glowing and undead like leaped into attack, the crew quickly dispatched them however they didn't fall easy. Finally inverting the pyramid the lattice of the door open revealing an angry red and orange portal with sharp piercing beams blasting out in towards them. Before this Falk wisely sought council with the other shade warning about the "hellgate" the cultists use and how it works. Quickly he warned the others as they opened the portal.

With a habit of leaping through portals the crew jumped in finding them in a new hellscape, lava flowing rivers, volcanic rock as far as you can see, a crimson sky, and worse... demons, lots of them. A horrid assault began as Vitaly fell towards the end but was able to pick himself back up again, Falk nearly with him after being assaulted again and again by these imp like hell creatures. Atvar was took one hell of a beating as well and the crew had sub stained massive damage, physically, and mentally after jumping the rift to this world.