You are recent fast-tracked graduates of the Starfinder society academy. Having just endured (or perhaps enjoyed) your graduation ceremony, you have been ushered into the Lorespire Complex for your "Commencement" mission...
As the doors to the Lorespire Complex slide open, a green holographic image of a middle-aged human woman shimmers into view at the center of the room. “Greetings,” it says.
“I am Guidance. Please use the cheek swabs in the open receptacle to provide a genetic sample for Starfinder Society identification purposes. If desired, you may place your hand on the glowing panel to receive a subdermal implant further marking you as a member of the Society.”
The implant you can make glow as a swift action and helps reinforce any claim you make to be a member of the society. It is not compulsory to accept it.
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Clayton makes his way into the room and looks up at guidance for a moment with a frown. Then putting his hand on the panel a grimace is shown as the implant is injected. Once done he steps back, adjusts the longarm on his back before regarding the rest. "Clayton at your service, callsign Claymore... I will provide the needed firearms backup for whatever need the Society has of us..."
Kultainen: Implant
Clayton: Implant
Flush Gordon: TBD
Jamzilla: TBD
Eben: TBD
Qstor: TBD
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Jaynix—a young, skinny, human man in mismatched spacer clothes—follows in on Clayton's heels. He gives the two other agents a friendly wave before turning to listen to Guidance. He swabs out his mouth, spitting on it for good measure, then considers the offered implant. With a shrug, he extends his left arm, accepting Society implant.
He steps back, rubbing the implant spot as his gray-eyed gaze returns to the other agents. His crooked smile returns.
"Heya, Clayton," he says brightly, with the unique cadence of deep-space-born humans. "I'm Jaynix. I dabble in a few things, but I can fly damn near anything."
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A towering lizard-person A somewhat meek vesk approaches. Clad in heavier armor of Kastathan make, they are apparently female from the bright technicolor blur that permeates their visible scales. It's confirmed when she opens her mouth.
"So, ah, I'm ah, here to ah, work for ah, the uh, Society and um, handle the uh, technical things and ah so um hi!"
She pushes her military-spec spectacles back up on the bridge of her snout while trying to juggle the swab and figure out which hand to place on the scanner. She eventually settles on her left hand for the implant.
"OWWWWWwwwww!" The hand is shaken for a few moments before she straightens up and jabs the swab into her mouth vigorously, pulling out a bloody-tipped swab and placing it where indicated for database inclusion.
"Fluth Gorthon!" She notes excitedly then blinks in confusion, tapping the side of her mouth and holding up a finger claw.
"Flussss Gorton?" There's another confused look and then she taps the side of her skull a couple of times.
"Suh... sorry. Kraznik 'Flush' Gurdon, um, here to ah, um, do the Society adventure thing and ah, not be um, a dumb jock about it."
She pushes the glasses up once more.
Kultainen: Implant
Clayton: Implant
Flush Gordon: Implant
Jamzilla: TBD
Eben: TBD
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Jaynix gives Flush a crooked but friendly grin, and waves at her introduction. She was—without a doubt—one of the stranger Vesk he'd met. It was refreshing. "Nice to meet ya, Flush-not-a-dumb-jock." He laughs, bouncing on the balls of his feet. You get the impression the young man isn't aware of the movement ... just an excess of youthful energy.
He looks at each of the Society members for a second, then back at Guidance. So, uh, whaddaya think they'll have us up to? Think they're sending us off-station?"
"I am indeed, Guidance. Please add a swab to confirm Gideon."
Kultainen: Implant
Clayton: Implant
Flush Gordon: Implant
Jaynix: Implant
Gideon: TBD
Guidance ignores the quip and continues, "“It is our pleasure to officially welcome you into the Starfinder Society. Today is the commencement of your new role as a Starfinder field agent. It is our tradition, at the end of the graduation ceremony, for new graduates to present themselves to the heads of our most prominent factions and complete a task at those leaders’ behest. This allows the leaders of these groups to become familiar with all new Starfinder agents, and it provides a constant supply of agents for handling situations in our holdings on Absalom Station. While these tasks were formerly symbolic, the heavy loss of Starfinder agents in the Scoured Stars necessitates that these missions become something more. Please treat any tasks given with the gravity you would grant any other Starfinder assignment.”
A print out from Guiance on the Factions
The program speaks one last time, "Once you complete the faction leader’s desired mission, that leader will signal me to indicate the mission is finished. Once all missions are complete, return to the Lorespire Complex to finish their commencement and prepare for future missions."
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Flush nods to Jaynix then blinks a few times, pushing her glasses up once more. "Um, your um, mouth seems um, ah, broken. Mouths aren't supposed to do that, are they?" She looks a bit worriedly at the hyperactive Human before nodding to the new arrivals.
When Guidance begins to speak, she pulls out a small pad from her kit and begins typing on it frantically, a somewhat comical image as large fingers pound away as if writing 'the next big novel'.
"So, ah, I ah, want to ah, go to ah, Historia-7 and ah, see what ah mission they have for us if that, um, is okay?"
Provided the party heads in that direction Flush will as well.
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The young human shrugs, "That's fine with me." He pauses for a second, blinking confusedly at Flush as he touches his mouth. "Wait ... what's wrong with my mouth?" He wipes at his lips self-consciously, "Do I have food on me or something?"
He uncertainly tries to regain his train of thought, which he then finishes. Somewhat hesitantly. "Let's hit the Acquisitives second. I'm supposed to check in."
Since you're already there, you opt to stay within the complex. The Lorespire Complex, home and heart of the Starfinder Society, is a striking campus dedicated to knowledge. Communal labs and historical departments study the Archives’ massive collection of artifacts and texts, gathered by generations of agents from across the galaxy. A quick search of the directory indicates Historia-7 frequents the Archives’ Cortex, a computerized matrix containing digital records of the Starfinder Society’s most prominent discoveries.
The android reclines on a raised chair and is plugged into the local infosphere when the doors open. The neural cables detach themselves from her neck as she swivels in her seat to address the new arrivals. “Greetings, Starfinders,” she says calmly. “I am Historia-7. If you are seeking a mission from me, please be aware that my request requires both discretion and speed. Do not accept it if you feel incapable of working within these parameters."
“I discovered someone recently hacked into Bluerise Tower’s computer systems and stole a large amount of sensitive data from the resident corporations. I wish to be privy to this information. I managed to trace the hacker’s location through many proxies and erased the trail so that station and corporate security should be delayed in their pursuit. This deception will not fool them for long, so you must move quickly to retrieve the data before they can recover it. I will leave you to decide what to do with the hacker afterward, but should it be feasible, I believe that person would be an asset to the Society.”
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The vesk waves excitedly to Historia-7, tail wagging eagerly!
"So, ah, find ah information um, quickly that was ah, stolen." Flush starts. "And then um, try to recruit hacker to Society because um, they have skills you ah want?"
"Oh, um, and ah, don't um, get caught, either?" She pushes her glasses up her snout once more. They must have slid down en route to the room.
You can make a culture check, or spend some time making a Diplomacy check.
Jaynix doesn't remember anything in particular, it's a private office structure maintained by multiple corporations and legally protected to the point that even the station’s Stewards have difficulty entering. Why these corporations need such absolute sovereignty over their own affairs is a question of great interest to many people, (including Hitoria-7.)
The coordinates that Historia-7 gives you point to an apartment that resembles a cement cube, with several tomato plants in plastic barrels sitting on an otherwise barren porch. Easily seen inside the door are boxes of nutrient broth, gardening tools, and various cultural knickknacks clutter the floor of the flat, leaving barely any room for visitors to sit down. The plants are being hand-pollinated by a young
man.
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Jaynix strolls along with the group, getting distracted by—and often fiddling with—odd bits and bobs as they progress through the station district. He seems to move with a jittery athleticism that is surprising for his slim frame, and his eyes never seem to stop moving. As they come into view of apartment, but still some distance away, the young spacer pauses.
He looks around, trying to note anything of worth or interest.
"So our hacker's a botanist, maybe? Could be an angle to recruit him. Ya know, in addition to offering to help protect him from the response that security team is likely drop on him for hacking their system. I'll hang back," he says after a moment, then shrugs. "I'm not much of a talker, anyway." He winks over at Flush, apparently gaining back some of his early enthusiasm, "Ya know, with my crooked mouth and all."
He pauses, considering. "If our hacker seems resistant, and we need to figure out a second way to get to that information," he taps his personal comm, "give me a signal. I'm no hacker, but I might be able to get in there to have a look around without getting noticed."
He gives the team a few moments to respond, then he tries to vanish into the crowd to find a good place to watch the encounter.
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Kultainen watches Historia-7 with great interest.
I wonder how old she is?
"This sounds achievable..." she agrees.
When the group comes upon the hacker with the plants she offers Jaynix a shrug and cautiously approaches.
"Greetings." she offers, extending out a lovely hand to the young man. "I am Kultainen, and I was hoping to discuss ethical use of computer systems with you;."
Flush doesn't even see anything to hook into. The boy looks up and answers Kultainen. "Umm.... I don't know what you're talking about. Ummm GRANDMA?!"
A wizened old woman in a blue-and white abaya steps out. "Can I help you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Can you be ...specific?"
"I think you're insinuating that I might have information on something. But I left that life a long time ago. Why me? Why seek out an old woman?"
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Flush will look up from what she's doing (which isn't all that much) and will make her way back over to the older woman.
"So, ah, you're um, a more experienced uh, sentient. That, ah, means, ah, that you um, um have lived through a lot and learned a lot and know a lot of things and um, even for the ah, not-so-smart Vesk out there uh, you're a survivor and ah tough." she begins, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her snout.
"We're ah, here on behalf of someone that ah, wants you to ah, use your skills if you're ah, willing, to ah, help other people find things they are ah, looking for in the infonets. Not for ah, money, or for stress or ah, dangerous things, but to learn all the things that um are uh out there, because um, the more data in given files, um, the better off ah, everyone is."
Flush looks 'worried' as she looks around. It may be hard to tell with a Vesk, of course.
"There may be people that are also looking for ah, information that may ah, be coming here and they ah, aren't ah, gonna be as nice about it and ah, we think you um, would be um, a good person to ah, have as ah, part of our team."
"If, ah, it turns out that ah, you or your um, family aren't doing this, then ah, it could be ah, that um, someone is ah, trying to set you up the explosive device, which is ah, bad for everyone."
trying to set you up the explosive device
The woman looks worried for a moment, then holds up a finger. "please come inside and have tea. I think I might... know something."
The old woman's eyes flicker back as you see she has some kind of neural implant. After she examines her neural implants she turns back with a frown.
"I'm assuming you're after the files I've stolen... Oh dear. I had no idea that I did that. I was indeed a hacker in my earlier years—one of the best of the best in her field. However, old age brought on a degenerative brain disease, which forced me into retirement. Augmentations in my brain halted the damage and keep me functional, but I still have large lapses in memory and am no longer as capable as I once was. I must have slipped into a younger mindset, performed the hack, and forgotten about it."
She looks at her grandson and frowns even deeper. "I am happy to give you the files.... in exchange for your aid. Since I am guilty of stealing from Bluerise Tower, it is only a matter of time before corporate security hunts me down. I have no hope of evading agents in my state..."
The frown turns to a wry grin, "Help me fake my death to get her out of the hot water I'm in and give Jubair Society protection. Do this and we have a deal."
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"Um, we can ah, probably help you ah, both, even. It is also, ah, possible that ah, someone fooled you into ah, doing the work without you ah, realizing you were ah, doing it. I could ah, take, um, a look, but ah, first, how do you ah, want to um, die? Do you ah want it to be ah, messy and ah, dramatic or um, quiet pass in sleep sort of um, thing? Because um, the datanet is a very um, fluid thing and ah, between that and um, knowing a little bit about ah, humanoid life ah, sciences and in particular um, biotechnology maybe we could ah, get something special done that no one would ah, doubt? And then um, our ah, contact can do the things you ah, need done." Flush offers hopefully, pushing her glasses up her nose ridge once more.
"Well it's been a while, but..." she takes a deep breath and holds it long enough that you begin to become concerned. Finally she speaks, and quickly. "You'll need to manipulate data to convince the station systems that I'm dead. You also need to provide me a new identity..." her rapid rattling continues for a few minutes, but in the end you've got a rough idea of your options:
Playing dead
- Use your knowledge of medicine to disguise a body. (A simple bribe of a coroner should score you one.
- Or use your knowledge of computers to hack into a hospital records to attach Ceren's name to a Jane Doe.
- Just straight up bribe a mortician to cover your tracks, but remember anyone willing to do that for money would be willing to sell you out if they had no reason to stay quiet...
- If any of you do this kind of thing professionally the whole thing might be simple...
New Identity:
So Starfinders, what's the plan?
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"So ah, I'm ah, thinking um, that ah horrible 'lift accident' with um, family wanting cremation after um might be the ah, best solution. It ah, makes it easier to cover up and um, then it is easy to make um, Medical notes to show the horrible Engineering problem and then um, the Computer ah, documentation can um, match up." Flush offers almost calmly, as if it were some sort of logic problem -- nevermind how horribly disturbing it sounds from someone that comes from a race of honorable lizard-warriors...
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Jaynix had followed Clayton to the door, pausing and slouching against the open door frame. He pulls out his personal comm, idly flipping through infosphere feeds as he keeps one ear on the conversation with the old woman and one eye on the outside corridor.
”It ain’t a bad plan, yeh,” he says back through the door. ”I can’t help with faking the death, but I may be able to help scrounge up some fake docs for whatever identity is chosen.” He shrugs, ”I don’t think she’d be too interested in taking up my particular line of work.”
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"The process sounds simple..." she says
The identity
Kultainen takes out some of her makeup and gets to work trying to make the elderly hacker match the identify papers.
She also knows a lot of people who could help set her up in a new life.
Being a trained writer, Kultainen knows that the hackers life skills will be invaluable in starting a new career in that field.
After doing that, if nobody else has managed to get the computers to accept the new identity, she'll have a go at that too.