Claim to Salvation (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

Dot here.

Dot to the dot.

Dot. Will fill in actual pregen character stats when we know who is playing who.

Gonna play the Mechanic..

A motley collection of mercenaries have gathered at the Lorespire Complex, waiting to hear from their contact, someone named Luwazi Elsebo. A short hiss precedes the opening of an adjacent door. A woman with a determined look steps through the opening, holding a datapad in one hand as she sits down at the nearby table, takes a calm breath, and begins to speak, “Ah good, you made it. All of you come highly recommended. You have skills, and the Starfinder Society has credits.” She pauses, looks over the group she has assembled, and continues, “How rude of me — introductions. I am Luwazi Elsebo, the elected First Seeker of the Starfinder Society, and I have an exceptionally fair sum of credits available in return for your specialized services. For this mission, each of you will represent the Starfinder Society, but hold no official title within our organization. As you can probably tell by the empty halls around us, I need to use mercenaries to act as temporary agents. If you agree to the terms, I would like to offer you all a job.“

"The Starfinder Society endured a staggering setback several months ago when our previous First Seeker led a mission into a region of space known as the Scoured Stars. We lost almost all our experienced field agents and assets in that endeavor. What the Starfinder Society really needs right now is something to entice outside interest and investment. In short, we need to make a major discovery.“

"Prior to the Scoured Stars incident, the Society acquired exclusive rights to explore a rather unique moon. The inhabitants of the nearby planet call it Salvation’s End and see it as a ‘false moon’ due to its visible metal components and underlying superstructure. There’s the potential that it’s nothing more than a mangled hunk of stellar debris on the remains of a moon, but there’s also the chance that the entire object could be one inconceivably large structure.” Luwazi lets loose a devilish smile. “This is where you come in. I want you to go to Salvation’s End and explore the surface. First, you’ll need to make a quick trip to the moon of Varos, which orbits the nearby gas giant, Bretheda. There’s a high-level security complex on Varos that has a survivor from a rogue prospecting mission to Salvation’s End. I want you to question the prisoner, find out what you can about the so-called ‘false moon,’ and then make way to Salvation’s End. Once there, you will need to see if the moon is worthless, or something valuable enough for the Society to announce. Understood?”

An android with copper blue skin sits at a table awaiting the contact. He nods as Luwazi speaks. Listening patiently, he waits for her to complete her pitch.

"That is a lot to take in. I do not wish to disturb, but I cannot help but wonder what I am missing. The mission outlined seems easy enough but if that where true why would you need us?" Iseph takes a moment to reflect. "To the point, what is the danger? There is always a danger, no?"

He looks to Luwazi to respond.

A female lashunta seems to mull over what has bene said with a contemplative look on her face.

The Ysoki sits and takes it all in.. "And what would you consider valuable enough to report back? No sense in searching the whole place if we can get lucky.."

Any pertinant knowledge checks here?

A male shirren with a symbol of Pharasma floating above his head sits, adjusting the small, armored vial containing what looks to be a larva at his side, seemingly so that it can observe what happens at the table. "A relatively unexplored moon, you say? I am intrigued. What happened to this 'rogue prospecting mission' that caused there to be a 'survivor'?"

"Understood. As long as you honor our agreements and pay us our due there will be no problems with the mission. I look forward to interrogating this prisoner I hope he will put up some challenge" says a huge and dangerous looking Vesk warrior.

Iseph nods as his compatriots put forth their queries. He quirks a mechanical indigo brow and looks once again to Luwazi.

A woman sporting her black hair in a bob with two streaks of color in it, nods along to the woman's words. She gives a knowing smile and comments, "The reputation of your organization precedes you, I probably wouldn't have taken the assignment if I hadn't though. I'm sorry to hear the illustrious Starfinders have fallen on hard times and would be glad to help you out. It helps that you're willing to pay us of course!" She punctuates her last words with a grin and a wink.

She then turns to the android in the room and says, "Given that they have the rights to 'explore' the moon, I'm willing to bet she has few details of what dangers we will face there. Given the lack of people here, she probably needs people who can get this job done no matter what we encounter." She then runs her eyes back to the First-seeker and continues, "However to that end, any details you do have would increase our chances of finding something and living to report about it greatly." She sits back and waits for Luwazi's response.

"Question someone you say..that's something we should be able to do for you."

Luwazi stands and motions for you to follow her as she heads intomthe complex towards a large set of hanger doors. "We need you to seek out a pilot named Livewire, who is interred at the ‘Sauna’ — a prison colony on the volcanic moon Varos. Contact this prisoner, as she is the only survivor of an expedition that trespassed on Salvation’s End. Once you establish contact, it’s a matter of gathering intelligence. We doubt this information is cheap, so we authorized a spending account for you to encourage Livewire to talk. We need to know why her team’s illegal salvage on the moon failed. Once you get this information, we need you to travel to the false moon. Touch down, scout for hostiles, and look for any indications that it’s more than a moon with crashed starships piled atop it.”

Luwazi frowns slightly, "The warden denied our requests to meet with Livewire. They indicated that our presence would rub salt in a fresh wound. So, whatever you do, do not let the warden or Livewire know that you are working for the Starfinder Society. I have set up a front to explain your meeting with Livewire: you are all investigators hired by an unnamed corporation looking to remain anonymous. You’re researching a rash of disappeared spacecraft that have gone missing when their flight path took them too close to Salvation’s End.”

She pulls out a credstick and continues, "I’m able to provide a spending account of 2,500 credits for mission expenditures; this does not include expenses for personal use, but instead for dealing with Livewire and the other occupants at the Sauna to help in your mission. Upon completion of your greater mission to Salvation’s End, you will each receive 3,000 credits. In addition, you have use of a brand-new Pegasus-class starship for the mission. If we end on agreeable terms, you can count on the Starfinder Society for more work in the near future. Trust me when I say an ongoing partnership would be quite… lucrative, for both parties.”

"So, are you in?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"You had me at lucrative, let's go."

Any knowledge checks for the Sauna or the Warden?

As soon as Luwazi starts giving details, Navasi whips out a small computer, and starts taking notes of the whos, wheres, whats, and whys.
"Livewire, Sauna, volcanic moon Varos. Need to make contact and gather intelligence, contact was only survivor, what attacked them? Can't go in with Starfinder backing, need to use cover of investigating missing starships. 2,500 credit mission expenditures, 3000 credits if we succeed." She pauses for a moment, frowning at the readout trying to get the details in her brain. She then turns off the small computer and turns to face the First Seeker. "That sounds like a great offer to me! So where do we sign?"

Iseph tilts his head and considers the proposal laid out by Luwazi. After a moment he straightens and addresses the agent.

"Your proposal is acceptable. I trust the ship is ready for departure, though I would like to check its systems before we embark. A few other questions. How aggressively shall we pursue this prisoner? If we are unable to peaceably gain access to the mission target, are you authorizing the use of deadly force? To that end, if we cannot obtain the information from the subject willingly, do you authorize use of alternate methods, including physical coercion if necessary, to reach the objective? Please realize that I charge extra for those services."

“Wonderful! I am so excited to conduct business with you.” With a renewed energy, Luwazi steps further into a large hangar bay containing a pristine ship with a stylized symbol of the Starfinder Society along its hull. Several engineers, laborers, and mechanics buzz about the hangar running diagnostics, polishing the vessel’s unspoiled hull, and finishing the last touches for a maiden launch. Luwazi looks up to the ship with beaming pride, reaches into the folds of her clothing, and pulls out an expensive vintage of champagne, and extends the bottle outward as she exclaims with a wide grin, “The ship is yours for the mission, it is only right you christen it! Tonight, we celebrate; tomorrow you sail off into the stars.”

Luwazi then leads anyone interested on a tour of the ship, pointing out the systems of note.

Ship stats are posted in the Campaign tab. Make any final preparations you need before leaving.

"Looks like you made a compelling case for your mission. Consider us on your paycheck then, but remember we take such commitments very seriously" comments Obozaya, her tone unreadable.

As she sees the starship she hisses:"Pegasus-class eh? Isn't she a beauty? But what can you tell us about her armaments? Things might get a bit rough during these kind of missions after all..."

Quig and his robot companion take a good look around the ship and pay extra details to the computer systems..

"Very nice indeed!! I'm sure she flies great.."

"I am not one to know much of ships, but this one looks adequate for our needs."

Luwazi points out the weapons stations in response to Obozaya. "There's a particle beam to the fore, and a second in the turret. Starboard side has a laser, and there's a laser net on the other side for point defense." She holds a finger to her ear and pauses. "I've just been notified the science lab is nearly ready. Would you prefer it set up for physical sciences or biology, or just general sciences?"

A life sciences lab gives +2 to Life Science, while a physical science lab gives +2 to Physical Science. General labs are +1 to both.

"Both could come in handy so I'll take a bit of both I guess..." comments Obozaya

Navasi also takes a detailed look around the ship, particularly the command area. "If no one objects terribly, I think I'll take captaincy of the ship. As for what kind of laboratory, I don't know exactly how such things work, so i'll leave that to someone who knows what they're doing. Now, what do we christen her? We could go with something to do with the renewal of the Starfinder Society, such as 'New Hope'. We could also name her something to do with beginnings or, my favorite, something that expresses the start of our new ties."

"I'll take the engineering spot, unless someone had their eyes on it. I'm decent at that sort of thing.. I think New Hope sounds like a good name, so I'll second that name."

Iseph agrees to the tour of the new vessel. He quietly takes in all the ship's systems and stations.

"A fine ship. I am an experienced pilot and shall take the helm. I do not object to Navasi being captain of the vessel." He turns to Navasi, "I shall prepare the ship for departure, captain. As for a name, I find numerical designations work just as well, but I am sure you all would care for a more living name. In that vein, I think Captain Navasi has the right idea." Iseph closes his eyes and appears to be doing the android equivalent of thinking. After a moment his eyes open suddenly. "Might I suggest the Salvation's Bounty."

"I agree, an even distribution seems wisest unless we have information that we will need to specialize on one of the rather."

"Since the ship hasn't revealed it's name to me yet I have no problem with regarding to it as "Salvations Bounty" for now. Nor any other name until it's true name reveals itself to me"

The trip to Bretheda takes a couple days through normal space, and you soon arrive in orbit over The Sauna. This bizarre organic complex wildly contrasts the more pleasing Brethedan arcologies found within the swirls and eddies of the neighboring gas giant. Here, only the indentured or the foolhardy suffer Varos’ tidally heated hellscapes for a chance to mine the moon’s spectacular gemstones. While the prison is safely above the moon’s surface, the extreme temperatures radiate upwards, heating the structure despite its distance and advanced organic coolant systems. From this clammy complex, indentured prisoners descend upon the moon’s blistered surface as conditions permit.

A fawning voice comes over the comms. "Salvation's Bounty, this is the Warden. Identify your business here."

Quig reminds the group of what Luwazi said..

"We are investigators hired by an unnamed corporation looking to remain anonymous. You’re researching a rash of disappeared spacecraft that have gone missing when their flight path took them too close to Salvation’s End.”

"Probably best to let the captain do the talking however.."

Obozaya nods at Quig, signaling she's more than willing to let the others take the lead in this diplomatic approach...

Who's our captain btw?

Who's our captain btw?

Here! I think, we had enough people for concensus, I believe.

Navasi gives the ysoki a big smile. "Why thank you, Quig, I appreciate the gesture. But don't feel you have to defer to me for everything. It'd be much better if you didn't." With a nod, she turns to the comms control panel and thumbs a section of it. In a loud, clear, and commanding voice, she replies to the warden. "This is the captain of Salvation's Bounty. Me and my crew are investigating the rash of disappearing ships in the area for a couple of companies that have lost a few too many ships near Salvation's End. We hear you have a prisoner who might be able to help us in our investigation, one 'Livewire.' If we may, we would love to be able to interview them.

As she thumbs the channel closed, she gives a sigh of relief. "Let's hope they bought that." ....and don't inspect our ship visually. If Luwazi wanted a stealth mission, why's she put the symbol on the outside?

________

"Very good, Salvation's Bounty. Please begin your approach to the designated landing pad. Do not bring any weapons or other contraband, such as food, toiletries, clothing, or other enticements for the inmates. However, donations to the Sauna are always accepted, we encourage you to bring any credsticks you may have with you." The odd voice cuts out and the computer chirps with the directions to the landing pad.

Once your ship sets down on the landing pad, an organic bridge extends out from the facility and hooks onto the pad. As soon as the ship doors open, the reason for the name becomes obvious. The exterior temperature is easily 120°, and without the environmental protections of your armor you wouldn't want to visit long. Four barathu guards approach, bizarre creatures resembling floating jellyfish, and lead you across the bridge.

Iseph exits the helm and embarks with captain and crew. He unstraps his gunbelt, but secretly loads his survival knife into his hidden wrist sheath built into his android body. Iseph walks past the captain on his way to the front of the column. "Captain, I may suggest a small donation to our hosts. I find a little grease makes things run smoother."

Iseph walk ahead and scans the area.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Riaa checks the readings on her internal display

"So this is why it's called the sauna" she thinks as she follows after the others across the organic bridge.

When the response comes in, Navasi visibly relaxes, glad their fabrication was accepted. She then prepares her things, packing only what she can carry on herself, notably her computer and hacking kit. She takes note of Iseph's knife and anything else everyone tries to smuggle onto the prison.

When the android walks by she nods at his suggestion. "Thank-you Iseph, I'll take it under advisement. I'd been thinking something along those lines myself." With this she brandishes her plain looking cred stick. With a wink she hides it away again and heads to the bridge.

On the bridge, she tries to strike up a conversation with the guards. "So is this whole ship an organic creation? I notice your bridge is at least. And is that why it's so warm in here?" She does keep an eye out for any trouble or signs of trouble from their escorts.

_______

Mostly complying Quig stores his gear on board, but hides his pistol and ammo in his cheek pouches before exiting the ship. Scout uses it's internal storage to hide it's pistol as well before flying over his master's shoulder..

"I do not like leaving my weapons behind... I prefer to always have a weapon available with which to defend my progeny, Chik Chik. Can I count on your help if things go wrong, my friends?"

Assuming his allies are willing to protect Chik Chik if things go south, Keskodai unstraps his pistol and leaves behind his battle staff and grenades. They can't take his spellcasting away from him, though.

"No weapons... I don't like it. Not at all. If needed be I can defend myself anyway but the rest of you will be vulnerable. Are we sure we want to abide to this ludicrous request?" asks Obozaya, sounding vaguely annoyed.

Once inside the aptly named Sauna, Obozaya keeps her maw shut but seethes at the prospect of having to walk inside potentially hostile territory without advanced means of defense.

Perception check: 1d20 ⇒ 4

The barathu guards aren't very chatty, and ignore your attempts at smsll talk as they lead you through the prison. The halls and rooms of the Sauna are entirely organic, comprised mostly of fleshy blue walls replete with pulsating green veins. Tunnels take odd angles, sometimes sloping up or down, which is a nuisance to humanoid creatures but not an impediment to the floating barathus.

Once you arrive at the Warden’s office, several hard, plastic chairs await arranged in a semicircle around a matching table. Opposite the table floats the Warden, an almost comical creature that looks like a dozen of the barathu guards mashed together into a floating mass of iridescent flesh and tentacles.

The same fawning voice that hailed you earlier echoes in your minds as the Warden shimmers. "Greetings. Please have a seat. Would you like some refreshments?" The Warden gestures to a tray of gray mush and several glasses of opaque milky liquid. The drinks seem quite cold, but the disconcerting stench of the organic architecture threatens to turn your stomachs.

The Warden then continues. "Introductions are in order, we are the Warden, in charge of the Sauna. Oh, and how was your flight out here?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 Oblivious he is..

Iseph looks at the offered food dispassionately. He looks to looks to the warden with a blank stare and does not touch the food.

"The flight was uneventful." Iseph looks to his compatriots before saying anything more, but stands ready to assist in any attempts to begin a dialogue with the warden.

Navasi takes a chair and the proffered refreshments. Hoping that the warden would try to poison people, she takes a sip of the drink and a small sampling of the mush. As she pretends to savor the flavor of the food, she tries to get a read on the multiple? creatures in front of her.

She swallow and gives a smile. "Wow, this is a treat! What is this, and, if you don't mind me asking, could I get a recipe? I'd love to try making it at home!" ...and actually give it some flavor. That was soooo bland and didn't help my nausea.

With another sip of the liquid, Navasi prepares herself. She turns a shade more serious,but she still keeps a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Warden. If it's not rude, may I ask why you appear different from your guards? And as I Sephardic said the flight was uneventful, but enjoyable nonetheless. But if you don't mind, I'd like to get down to business. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions to get a better understanding of the situation?"

__________

Feeling a bit naked without most of his gear Raia studies the warden for a bit

Life science: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

Sense motive: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (2) + 0 = 2

"..no idea why Navasi is so happy with the food, it seems rather disgusting..I'd better check"

Telepatically contacting Navasi Raia informs about the food and tells her that the warden is a combined barathu, a number of individual barathus who have merged for a time into a superior form.

Navasi's face gives the barest twitch as Raia contacts her. I'm trying to focus here... but that does explain the Warden. She continues talking with the warden and with out breaking her stride sends Raia a short mental message. "Thanks for the information! I appreciate it. The warden is really wanting us to enjoy his food, I think they made it themselves. But if you can't bluff liking it, then don't eat. Can you tell the others? Now I need to focus, I don't want to run into problems here cause I couldn't."

_______

Life Science: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 "Greetings, oh combined and exalted one. We appreciate your offering of refreshments."

Raia beat me to the explanation via telepathy, though. :-P

Keskodai takes a glass and a handful of the mush on a plate, and consumes both voraciously.

Diplomacy aid Navasi, plus food: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 2 = 15

Quig remains silent and does not try the food. He instead reamins vigilant of the surroundings..

Perc: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Raia relays the information about the food to the others by telepathic link

"Thank you warden for these treats. It's an acquired taste but I am honored you went to all the trouble to arrange these for us"

Bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Sense Motive check: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Obozaya refuses the offered food:"I never eat while working. Stomach problems, you know. But Navasi can have my part too if she likes it so much"

Iseph tilts his head sideways as he receives the unexpected telepathic message from Raia. He blinks once and looks down at the offered food. The experienced operative contemplates trying to pretend to eat the refreshments, but shakes his head not sure what the mush would do to his inner workings.