RECAP
We started right where we left off with the Aeroblade gathering the crew. It said we had to decide amongst ourselves who would be captain, first mate, and all other crew assignments. We decided to go with "captain tryouts" where someone would be captain for two days each until we all agreed on who gets the position. The first was a lion creature who was arrogant, but did an okay job. The second was a rat creature who was weird, but did alright, then the last one was Ganymede. The Kender tried to be captain, but the Aeroblade insisted that wasn't allowed.
As navigator, Phineas was able to determine we were 16 days from Cald, so we plotted course and attended our stations for the duration. The lion's run as captain was uneventful, as was the rat's. During that time we flew to Cald virtually untouched. In that time, Q took over the maintenance room as his "fortress of solitude" and began going through the tools and basic equipment in the room. Cornelis got to know one of the extra crew members who had a knack for finding hidden compartments in the ship. We found a backup bridge in case the original fails, a hidden refrigerated bar in the mess hall containing several bottles of vintage wine as old as 800 years, and a room near the hangar that looked like an equipment locker for marines, but it was empty. We also figured out how to use the horn of plenty and Frobner used his creation magic to produce water. On one occasion, the horn produced food that tasted good going down, but got the entire crew sick. We lost one day of travel due to illness, but recovered nicely after 24 hours.
Frobner commissioned Q to create him a perfectly measured box in order to collect urine from the crew to "test hydration levels" but ingeniously used the contraption to cast Purify Food and Water" to recycle the urine as drinkable water.
At one point, the same crew member who found the secret compartments was found in Q's liar uninvited. He had picked the lock and was rooting through the tools in the room when Q confronted him. Q angrily told him to leave, but the other claimed to also be a mechanic and refused to leave. Q manifested an astral construct that looked like a penguin in stormtrooper armor who grappled and removed the crew from the room, but not before the construct was shot with a pistol. The boom from the firearm alerted the rest of the crew and Captain Ganymede sent the master at arms down to calm the situation. Ganymede did a fine job de-escalated the situation and came to a compromise for both mechanics to have their own space and places to work. It was this, as well as a few other good decisions that got Ganymede elected full-time captain. He then named Sunny as first mate.
With the crew now in tact and cooperating again, we continued our journey to Cald. We were closing in on the planet when Ocular noticed movement outside the ship during one of his shifts at the helm. Shortly after, we were intercepted by a small but quick alien vessel with octopus-like tentacles protruding from the hull. With the ship in close proximity, it took the "Eagle" out of spelljamming speed and reduced to us to maneuvering speed. We tried evasive maneuvers but were outmatched by the speed and skill of the opposing crew. Before long, the tentacles had latched onto our ship and began using a battering ram to breach our hull.
Ganymede ordered all hands on deck and we prepared for battle. Q took position by the breach and used psionic mending to repair the initial damage, which bought us time to get to our stations. Earlier in the journey, we discovered the Eagle has two fireball cannons and an ice beam launcher up front, while there's two large cannons in the back of the ship and a siege weapon in the observation bubble at the top of the ship. Phineas and Cas took up positions in the fireball launchers, Cornelis took one of the cannons, and others scrambled to try and fill the rest.
It didn't take long before the battering ram did additional damage and puncture through the hull, albeit a very small hole thanks to Q's repairs. What could be seen on the other end of the 10 foot ramp connecting the other ship to the Eagle was an Umberhulk. After a round or two, we noticed four more Umberhulk's scaling down the tentacles and preparing to board our ship. It was at this time that Cornelis grabbed his Gem Cannon and went to the observation deck with several other crew. We cranked the bubble open and then leveled the Gem Cannon at the enemy vessel. With a force gem loaded, Cornelis let loose the cannon and connected with the hull of the ship. The impact of the force was quiet at first, but eventually erupted in a blazing display of blue/white energy that rippled through the enemy ship and tore a 10 foot radius gaping hole in their hull. The blast launched several of the crawling Umberhulk's into space and caused the ship to separate from our ship. Once the reverberations settled in the other ship, one of the Umberhulks that was launched into space got caught in our gravity well and came crashing down on our ship. The impact wasn't enough to kill it, so it began to right itself and prepare to attack.
That's where we left off. We caused the other vessel to flee, but shot it several times with the gem cannon and fireball launchers before it got away. We still need to deal with the Umberhulk, but Cornelis successfully loaded a normal round into his cannon and is ready to take another shot at this thing once he gets the opportunity. If it does breach the ship, all the marines are waiting in the hangar where the puncture hole was and they are fully armed.
