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With a new generation of Starfinders already accomplishing great deeds within the Pact Worlds and beyond, First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo is ready to announce the Starfinder Society's next initiative that will define her tenure. The PCs attend a gathering at the Lorespire Complex to socialize with several visiting dignitaries, each instrumental in the Society's survival following the Scoured Stars Incident. Nothing is as it seems, though, and when Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives faction, uncovers a plot against the First Seeker, the PCs need to step in and ensure the Society's public event doesn't end in disaster!
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"Greetings all," cheerfully says the surprisingly charismatic android, sporting a Starfinder Insignia, "I am Prototype Android & Nanite Genesis Enterprise-Akiton - PANGEA - Zeta model, serial number 101218-706... but just call me Zeta!"
A non-sexuated android, with yellow lights under dark synthskin, and an aeon stone circling its head, Zeta wears light armor and sports an auto-pistol in a holster and a laser pistol in a quick release sheath.
It has a knife at its belt, beside a half a dozen grenades, and a battleglove on its fist.
A pack strapped to its back with a coil of cable.
Typing away on its comm' unit, it sends you all a little file: --> PANGEA <--
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"Greetings" the android clad in inky dark armor reacts. Although his armor seems to be a standard freebooter armor it is a lot darker than it should be. On his forehead the letter I stands, while what you can see of his arms is covered in spiralling patterns. On his left hip he carries a longsword and a small gun. On the right hip you see a survival knife.
"The lady has brought us here. We are her instruments and will cary out her will" he intones before extending his hand "I am I-5, short for itteration 5"
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"Schmooze," the little Ysoki hacker squeaked out affirmatively. "I've always been told I'm good at that. Maybe that's why they decided I should do this as my first assignment with the Starfinders. Always the talkative one. Well, every one of my siblings is talkative, but my ma always said I was the best at it. Not a time I can remember when I couldn't talk my way into something...or more importantly, out of it!"
His comrades wouldn't have been remiss to not have noticed Vikrahn before he spoke up, he was quite diminutive after all. His whiskers twitched as he nimbly stepped in between the other Starfinders. "Name's Vikrahn by the way. Though no one's been calling me that for ages. It's just Mouth now...on account of all the talking I suppose."
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The First Seeker’s meeting room is a lavish space, with several lush couches and armchairs surrounding a wide, low table. First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo appears uncharacteristically extravagant, having exchanged her typical stationwear for a sleek, fashionable suit in a shade of copper that matches the Starfinder Society logo emblazoned on the table. Behind her stands the towering vesk leader of the Acquisitives faction, wearing a suit of ceremonial armor.
Luwazi smiles and gestures to the seats. “A pleasure to see you all. I trust you’ve heard about tonight’s gala? I have a rather important announcement to make, so we’ve decided to use the opportunity to entertain and impress representatives of the various interests who have helped the Starfinder Society through our setbacks with the Scoured Stars Incident."
“That’s where you come in. As some of the shining stars of the newest Starfinder Society agents, I’d like to have you mingle with the guests so they can see for themselves what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s nothing too fancy; I’d just like you all to be polite and talk about some of your experiences with the Society so far. We’re expecting some government dignitaries, investors, corporate interests, and the like, so be sure to stay on your best behavior. Also, don’t be afraid to brag a bit—it’s our goal to impress them.”
“But don’t be stupid,” the armored vesk breaks in. Luwazi Elsebo glances over her shoulder and grins. “Have you all met Radaszam? He’s certainly someone else you should be trying to impress.”
Radaszam scowls. “Events like this never go as planned. Luwazi’s contracted one of my merc outfits, the Obsidian Spiders, to provide security for the night. I want to make sure that if anything goes down, you’re working with my agents, rather than us all tripping over one another. So stay alert, but if anything happens, make sure you’re talking to me about it rather than jumping in blindly.”
The First Seeker nods and picks up the datapad. “I’ve singled out five guests who I would really like to make a good impression with. These folks should be your priority tonight, so I’ve compiled basic information about each of them here. Things will start up in about an hour in the Skyreach Room. Any questions before we go?”
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Zeta politely nods to Radaszam, its faction leader.
Then frowns sadly when the Scoured Stars Incident is mentioned.
But smiles upon being named a shining star: me?!
Startled by the vesk's interjection, Zeta types: don’t be stupid on its comm' link, checking to see if the First Seeker's info' package has been shared.
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Waiola walks in late, grunts, and stands in a corner. Not caring that he is late, he nonetheless pays attention to Luwazi as he speaks. However, Waiola does bown deeply to Radaszam, a fellow Vesk and leader of his faction, when he speaks.
"Who? Why?" Waiola states, rather bluntly, but he gets his point across.
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"Will all the mercenaries be clearly identifiable? or are some of them working undercover? I'm just asking in case we spot someone doing something unusual or carrying uhm...unreasonable amounts of concealed weapons"
Revvy tries to remember if he heard anything about the 5 people that need to be given special attention
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Having checked the info-package, Zeta will try to recall any knowledge about it just read, like the Aspis Consortium, parasitic isopods, Eox and its media empires... maybe during its travels?
--and for Profession, Travel VLogger, in case it ever traveled somewhere, or dealt with the Eoxian media outlet
w. a bonus of +4 if the kit applies (for me that's the camera and such, so I doubt it does)
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Pangea knows about a couple of the people.
Iteration-177: Iteration-177 is a relative newcomer to the Aspis Consortium. In addition to making waves by urging Consortium support of the Starfinders, they have an interest in religious artifacts and connections.
Naiaj: Naiaj is a bleachling gnome with a fierce protectiveness of the Starfinders who encourages—some say demands— competence and teamwork from Society agents. She’s a venture-captain who served long before the Scoured Stars incident.
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"So are we supposed to prove to them that everything with the Starfinders is going swimmingly? New recruits are quite an impressive bunch and what not. That the incident isn't scaring anybody off."
The ysoki hacker looked down at his comm to see if he knew anything about the guests that the android did not. Not that it would particularly matter to Mouth, he was fairly confident he'd be able to sweet talk any of the participants.
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After reviewing the information sent to his communications unit, Mordin heads into the reception. "Interesting," he muses. The dwarf scans the room until he catches sight of the ysoki described in the packet. He trudges over to the corner where Royo stands.
"Royo?" Mordin asks as he holds out his hand, glowing with the Starfinder insignia. "I'm Mordin. One of the newer Starfinders. I understand you're a fancier of the old ways of recording information. Is that true?"
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Between you all, you learn the following:
Royo: The ysoki Royo has something of a rivalry with Historia-7 and the Dataphiles faction, and he tends to snub individuals who he perceives to rely overmuch on technological “crutches.” He’s also an elected member of the Forum, the Starfinder Society’s governing council.
Ykris: The alien symbiote Ykris represents CeriCore Labs. Business-wise, the corporation has very little to gain from the Starfinder Society’s endeavors, but it nevertheless made a substantial donation; rumors suggest the contribution was someone’s pet project.
Zo!: Zo! is an undead media mogul well known throughout the Pact Worlds, always looking for an idea for a new show, strategies to improve his ratings, or other lucrative entertainment deals. His organization funded the recent Society expedition to Salvation’s End, and he is keenly interested in further exploration of the false moon.
"If there are no more questions, the party is about to start..."
Status, the first quarter hour of the party, bold may chat!
Waiola,
Mordin,
Revvy,
Vikrahn,
I5
Pangea-Zeta
What you have learned/influenced!
I177
Naiaj
Royo
Ykris
Zo!
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Mordin chats with Royo fot a bit. Royo wears immaculate formalwear about 20 years out of date; his tawny fur is beginning to go silver around his whiskers and paws. He wears elegant spectacles, "They tried to have me take corrective surgery, but I would lose hours or
even days in which I would have been be unable to read following
such a procedure."
Tucked beneath one arm is a small folio of physical paper. He stands among a circle of scholars engaged in an exuberant discussion of esoteric topics.
You discovered he is very interested in history (culture) and biology (life sciences). Interestingly you discover he also has an interest in cultures religions (mysticism[i])
I5 starts chatting to I177. Iteration-177 wears their sleek dark
hair pulled back, in a sharp contrast to their silvery skin and the android’s signature circuitry pattern shining nearly white. They wear Absalom Station’s latest fashions in shades of black, white, and gray.
Iteration-177 is surprisingly charming for an android, quick with a compliment or a joke. "I'd love to hear here about some of your missions..." he says ([i]Bluff or Diplomacy);
Status, the first quarter hour of the party, bold may chat!
Waiola,
Revvy,
Vikrahn,
Pangea-Zeta
Mordin,
I5
What you have learned/influenced!
I177 - Bluff; Diplomacy;
Naiaj
Royo - Culture; Life Science; Mysticism;
Ykris
Zo!
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As the group of Starfinders splits up, heading out to gather information from all these people, Zeta shakes it head, a faint smile on its lips: Here I was thinking that Starfinders were dashing adventurers, always battling it out and strange faraway rocks... but this important work too.
Heading over to Zo!, Zeta introduces itself, the company that made it, and the fact it is a Starfinder of the Acquisitives faction, pursuing with some talk to try and divine more about the Eoxian: "What's going on with Salvation's End. I heard a bit about that place, but would love to see something about it on the HoloNet, might even watch some reality show based there: Who'll end up with salvation!... but I heard it's some old Alien artefact? What do you think would be the most interesting thing that could come out of this?"
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Originally one of Eox’s native elebrians, Zo! retains the characteristic appearance of that race even in undeath: an elegant build with refined features and an extended cranium. His face now bears a permanent rictus grin, which adds another level of enthusiasm to his exaggerated interactions.
"My man! I did!" Pangea remembers catching a back season of 'The Necromancer' a few years back - while twenty years out of date, the face of Zo! as the title character hasn't changed a dot.
"I'm pretty excited about what we might find when we go back." he admits to Pangea.
"I'm thinking of a new show highlighting peoples physical talents. If you can turn a cartwheel, you may be my new star!" (Althetics, and Acrobatics checks would work well for him, or a 'bluff' check to do a combat feint.)
Status, the first quarter hour of the party, bold may chat!
Waiola,
Revvy,
Vikrahn,
Pangea-Zeta
Mordin,
I5
What you have learned/influenced!
I177 - Bluff; Diplomacy;
Naiaj
Royo - Culture; Life Science; Mysticism;
Ykris
Zo! - acrobatics; athletics; bluff (to feint); Automatic success if you have Claim to Salvation chronicle and talk about it.
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Revvy steps up towards I-177
"Sorry, but I couldn't help but overhearing.....I was talking to fellow starfinder a while ago and the told me that they found this elevator filled with an unknown language...it had some strange symbols...almost religious if you heard him talk about it. Could I interest you in the option of cooperating with the Starfinder Society if you come across something which sounds similar? Sharing access to data found on located artifacts, we might pick up on something which has been overlooked in the past?"
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"Ah, not Royo," Mouth muttered, "That old ysoki's got it out for guys like me. Thinks we rely a bit too much on our computers. We're spacefaring folks now, what does he expect? Amiright?" He shook his head in feigned astonishment. "May as well keep me away from him. I'll schmooze whoever's left."
Which ended up being the parasite. Mouth approached the symbiote and half-elf host near the buffet table. He smoothed out his arm and face hair as he approached. Best to look in order when talking with people who could throw the big credits around.
Sounding entirely like he was forcing it, Mouth asked, "How are you finding the gathering tonight, good sir? Are the refreshments to your liking?"
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Revvy talks with I-177 for a while, sharing stories about a previous venture. He gets the feelings that such stories would be very much appreciated.
Naiaj makes no concessions to the formality of this event; she wears her usual carbon skin armor, datapad never out of sight and wrist-based comm unit constantly blinking with updates. She wears her gleaming white hair cropped close, and despite her small size, she looks as if she could stare down a team of hardened vesk mercenaries
Waiola realises that Naiaj is not especially interested in flirting. "You should put more attention into your core skills, and less time worrying about women." she tells him sharply. "Both can get you killed." she adds. He gets the feeling she is very focused on making sure the starfinders are well equipped to carry out their missions, so demonstrating some such skills would be helpful to impress her.
Vaikrahn talks for a while with Ykris. Ykris appears as an iridescent,
segmented insect clinging to the scalp of a cleancut, immaculately dressed half-elf man. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that many of Ykris’s spiny legs pierce the man’s skin and deeply into his flesh, particularly along the base of the man’s skull and down the back of his neck. But he can't make out what makes the alien tick.
Waiters circle with canapés, giving you all a chance to exchange information. Meanwhile others circle with trays of drinks, both alcoholic and non.
Status, second round of drinks at the party, bold may chat!
Waiola,
Revvy,
Vikrahn,
Pangea-Zeta
Mordin,
I5
What you have learned/influenced!
I177 - Bluff; Diplomacy (no penalty for repeated stories from unique chronicles; 1 success;
Naiaj - Computers; Engineering;
Royo - Culture; Life Science; Mysticism;
Ykris
Zo! - acrobatics; athletics; bluff (to feint); Automatic success if you have Claim to Salvation chronicle and talk about it.
There may be other ways to influence some of these folk that you havn't discovered as well by the way.
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Mouth spent a great deal of time nodding along with the parasitic-elf-man, but became more than anything quite uncomfortable with the interaction. He wasn't gaining any traction that much was clear and was frankly a bit perturbed. He couldn't help wondering how much of it was consensual and that thought distracted him enough that he didn't learn anything useful.
Taking the interruption of drinks and appetizers circling the room Mouth hastily made his exit. Upon reconvening with his fellow Starfinders, Vik decided he'd have better luck talking with Naiaj.
"Naiaj," Vik approached the gnome. "If you could spare a few seconds, I'd be honored to get a chance to show you some of the apps I've been working on." He waved his comm-pad at her charismatically.
"You see I've been working on some tech that can help Starfinders keep track of and share discoveries..." He trails on...
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"Aye. It's important to remember the past and its tools," Mordin continues his conversation with Royo. "What would happen if the power went out? I fear too many people wouldn't know what to do. We certainly don't need another Gap brought on by overreliance on digital medium for storing knowledge."
He snorts and chuckles. "But enough griping. I know there aren't many dwarves remaining in the Society, so I give you an opportunity to pick my brain. Have you heard the tales of how Angradd came to lead the dwarven pantheon?"
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Vikrahn gets a ghost of a smile from Naiaj. She looks at his app "Impressive - have you thought about EMP hardening it?"
Meanhwile Mordin starts to tell Royo tales of dwarven cultural lore, engaging him in an engrossing conversation. Wailoa elicits a quick round of applause from Zo! - and others nearby.
Status, second round of drinks at the party, bold may chat!
Revvy,
Pangea-Zeta
I5
Waiola,
Vikrahn,
Mordin,
What you have learned/influenced!
I177 - (1) Bluff; Diplomacy (no penalty for repeated stories from unique chronicles;
Naiaj - (1) Computers(used once); Engineering;
Royo -(1) Culture; Life Science; Mysticism (used once);
Ykris
Zo! - (1) acrobatics(used once); athletics; bluff (to feint); Automatic success if you have Claim to Salvation chronicle and talk about it.
There may be other ways to influence some of these folk that you havn't discovered as well by the way.
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Pangea moves over to Ykris, bowing its head in greeting to both the half-elf and the insect, but addressing the latter: "Greetings! I am Pangea-Zeta, a Xenoseeker. We seem to be somewhat alike, I think, in that I have an AI implanted into a body. Like osmosis... Do you work well together? We do! Even having shared interests."
Pangea tries to see how the host works, and to see if it seems interested in anything specific, though this its first time trying to read such a small insect.
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Pangea quickly learns that Ykris is dependent upon its host, Jhireu, to move and speak;
"My legs embedded in Jhireu's nervous system allow me to control the body as I require." the symbiotic creature lets slip that "I am a representative of CeriCore Labs, a biotech firm that specializes in direct neural connections."
Pangea-Zeta determines that gossip (culture) and people interested in its work (Life sciences) would probably give a good impression.
Status, second round of drinks at the party, bold may chat!
Revvy,
I5
Waiola,
Vikrahn,
Mordin,
Pangea-Zeta
What you have learned/influenced!
I177 - (1) Bluff; Diplomacy (no penalty for repeated stories from unique chronicles;
Naiaj - (1) Computers(used once); Engineering;
Royo -(1) Culture; Life Science; Mysticism (used once);
Ykris - Culture, Life Science
Zo! - (1) acrobatics(used once); athletics; bluff (to feint); Automatic success if you have Claim to Salvation chronicle and talk about it.
There may be other ways to influence some of these folk that you havn't discovered as well by the way.
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Revvy continues to talk to I-177
"You seem interested in listening to stories from what we in the Starfinder Society encounter, we'll I've got a story for you."
"A few weeks ago I was inside an abandoned mine, trying to talk to some guy about a thing..and he tried to get away from me by riding away in a mining cart..I tell you, it was something out of one of those old holo shows featuring one of those action heroes. I wish I'd have a whip and a fedora with me for that one."
Revvy then continues to tell the story without spoiling too much for people who haven't seen the holo show yet
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Leaving Revvy and I-177 I-5 walks over to Zo!.
"Good day, is it correct that you are always on the lookout for great ideas? Have you ever thought about doing an obstacle run in vacuum? It would make for great shots and as you are all dead anyway it would not really matter that you can't breathe out there"
While his idea might a tiny bit of merit, the delivery is very flawed...