"I'm going to attempt to rebalance whatever shields we have left." Replied the Elf-droid, fingers moving across the science console.
Both ships Fire!
Clara's shot hits the power core of the enemy ship causing to to throw sparks into space.
Tylur spins the turrent around and fires
The enemy ship lacks an aft gun.. and with that last blast from Tylur the ship. The power core goes critical and the ship blows, whiting out your view screen for a second.
Your ship drifts through space slowly through the explosion. Without your Android engineer holding the ship together you can't even control its movements. The hull is down to 3 points. It is going to take some serous repairs to get it back up to full. You can spend a bit of time to get your systems back online, but will need 520 UPBs to repair the hull yourself. Possibly less if your engineer does well. Or you can pay for it to get repaired back at the station.
What now? Where to?
THe crew gets to work, getting the ship back to functional shape. It takes a little while but nothing is catastrophicly damaged. Though some repaires are in order.
As the ship hums to life, there is a small dread of making it to the station, but at 1/4 speed you make it out of the no fly zone and back to the Armada. Clara speaks up "you can let me out here. I believe my ship is waiting for me. I hope to never meet you again"
As Clara goes to the airlock she turns around and plucks the small stone floating around her head and tosses it at whoever is closest "Here. Payment for my life". She shuts the airlock and jets out to space. Going nearly invisible against the dark sky. You are able to track her until she goes dark. It seems like a black ship, nearly invisible against the scanners of your ship has opened a port and let her in. It goes dark again. Soon you see the drive plumes as it zips back into the fray of the armada.
As you continue toward the station you start to see giant advertisments projected onto sails out near the station. At first you don't think anything of them, you are used to ignoring the ads. But you soon realize they are showing footage of you! You can see yourself on the Acreon, then on the drift rock. You can see the final blow against the strange creature, it slumping half way through the stone.
While you are all watchin in shock there is a buzz, "Pinging the Sunrise Maiden. This is traffic control. We are pinging you to let you know that we have waved all docking fees for you and have opened up a docking port for you in section 1A." Those of you from the station quickly realize this is a very swanky docking area.
"You may now approach and dock. Thank you. Also it is an honor to talk to you"
Tylur heaves himself out of the turret and drops back onto the main deckplates. "Whew!" he calls out loudly to the rest of the crew, "That was cutting it mighty close! Hell of a job, Sybil...Dee...Yon...and you too Clara! We needed every bit of firepower, piloting, and engineering to hold off those guys! It was an Eoxian cutter by the looks of it. Sheesh...have I mentioned how much I hate those undead bastards! I've got half a mind to just dump our special cargo, but I have a feeling that's what drew them to us. We might need a few words with our benefactor when we get back..."
Then, the big soldier takes in the sparking panels and lit up warning lights throughout the Sunrise Maiden. "Well...that's assuming we make it back..." He grabs a hydrospanner from the engineering bay. "Yon? You wanna give me a hand? Let's see if we can patch things up a bit. At a minimum, we need to get the engines back and make sure life support's intact..."
It takes the better part of an hour before Tylur's satisfied the ship will hold together. It feels good to be working on the mechanical systems of a ship again. Even though it wasn't his primary calling, he'd seen enough time on maintenance duty among the belters in the Diaspora that he felt at ease with it. Of course, Yon and Dee were the experts. Still, he could lend a knowledgeable hand. And pretty soon, they were on their way.
By the time the team reaches the drop off point for Clara, he seeks out the android to see her off. "Hey, like I said, no hard feelings about what went down," he tells her. "You were paid to do a job, just like we were. And, we're all professional enough to know how that goes. In the end, we needed each other to get off that rock. You helped us and we helped you. I'd say that makes us even. And, if we cross paths again, I hope it's as friends rather than adversaries. Take care."
"Well, I'll be a vesk's uncle..." Tylur wonders aloud, "I guess that little bot we had tagging along didn't miss a beat, did it? I never figured it'd have our mugs splashed across every vid-screen on the station, though." The soldier notes his rather haggard look in one of the close up shots playing across a passing ad-board. "Hmmm...maybe I'd better go clean up a bit before we dock..."
"Yes!" Zam agreees, giving everyone high-fives. Her immediate instinct is to agree with everything Tylur just said, but she takes a deep breath and forces herself to speak calmly. "They've definitely tested our patience, but we can't attribute this extremist behavior to the entire planet's population. Cold and calculating the Eoxians may be, but we don't yet understand what's behind that attack, much less our own cargo. Regardless, an unprovoked attack on Starfinder agents is almost certainly going to create some space-time ripples. We need answers, and we need them soon."
Zam regards Clara's departure impassively from the observation deck. This has certainly been an exercise in diplomacy. They'd met all sorts of personalities on this short little mission. Something tells her this won't be the last time they have to work with someone like the android. Heck, they might even encounter her again...
"What the..." Zam trails off, flabbergasted by the footage. "Apparently we're celebrities. This could play out great, or awful. I doubt the ambassador's happy to see these details, unless he's the very reason they've been leaked. On the other hand, transparency on this conflict could be a good thing. Also great is the fact that we survived! Great job, guys!" Zam ignores the tingling in her gut, the nervous anticipation of what fallout their choices are about to reap....
"I wouldn't worry about it, Tylur. Something tells me that 'fresh from adventure' look is exactly what our 'fans' will be looking for."
"After the ship is docked, we also need to figure out what to do with Hebiza. They demanded we take them immediately to the ambassador, but part of me thinks it would be better to report immediatey to Chiskisk. Starfinder HQ is where our jurisdiction originates, afterall."
Freebooter armor I
Azimuth Laser Pistil
Survival knife
Tactical Shirren-eye rifle
The Aeon stone She gave away
credstick with 300 credits on it
After selling the noqual and getting paid from Nor (if you want) you will all be able to shop for things too.
Absolutely, Agent Tylur.
yon works with Tylur and spends most of.the flight back constabtly checking systems and making minor repairs where he can.
Yon inwardly sighs, and decided to outwardly as well, to express his relief for all.
Looking up at the monitors he studies the display, curious.
I do not understand this, what is the reason our journey is being displayed?
Yon begins smiling as Zam posits the their survival.
This is good news, I will be most pleased when we get our business resolved.
I am okay with Starfinder HQ as our first destination."
"After the ship is docked, we also need to figure out what to do with Hebiza. They demanded we take them immediately to the ambassador, but part of me thinks it would be better to report immediately to Chiskisk. Starfinder HQ is where our jurisdiction originates, afterall."
"If that's what you want to do, I'll back your play," Tylur nods, "But, keep in mind, the Ambassador's probably got a lot more pull on this station than Chiskisk. Not that I'm downplaying the resources of the Starfinder Society or anything. I joined up with them, of course, and I'm pleased with that decision. All I'm saying is if Nor takes an ill view of how we handle his 'cargo' and delay getting it to him, it could cause trouble for us, and possibly the Society, as well. I mean, we could be bringing a problem to Chiskisk's doorstep, and even the shirren might not appreciate it. Maybe it's better to just finish off this bit of business, collect our payment, and move on? That's what I was always taught as a mercenary..."
Sybil watches the station as the ship docks with an unamused look. She was pleased with the docking priority and location. Damn straight... leave us on stuck on that rock to whatever might eat us.'
The halfling had reservations of being plastered all over the view screens. She never sought the spotlight only to discover what was out in the dark.
"I would suggest we leave the Ambassador's package... we'll be kind of visible for the next bit, until something else comes along that is. It can always be fetched 'later'." Sybil suggests to the group.
She also adds "I would rather get our dealings with the Ambassador over with and be done with this business. I am sure that there are things we can... discover for the Starfinders afterward. I am sure a limited notoriety will open a few doors too."
Before heading back to Absalom Station...
“I believe we have all performed adequately well.” Replied the Elf-Droid looking over at the Captain. Fingertips dancing across her digital keyboard, Dee scanned the area to see if there were any other threats out there. “All clear Captain, I don’t see any other threats out there.” She replied as sans returned, showing nothing other than the debris from the ship of their previous opponent.
“Although I too would like to enact revenge on those undead bastards, I believe the Starfinder Society may have a problem with us visiting Diplomat Nor and causing a diplomatic incident.” Dee had found such a resource here with the new crew of the Sunrise Maiden. She hated to see it come to end, only hoped it wouldn’t but it was hard for me to convey those emotions in their current state of situation.
“I can assist too if you need me to...turn a wrench.” Dee replied, her engineering skills were adequate enough to provide assistance if needed. Before Tylur could respond, the Android was already on her way to him.
“Good luck Clara 247, may the digital streams guide your path to ascension.” Replied DeeV8, giving the proper farewell greeting to their Android passenger. She had no grudges against Clara, knowing all too well what it meant to do a job. The technomancer had done her fair share during her darker days of being part of the Nocturnum Corporation.
Upon seeing Absalom again...and the vids of their adventure...
“A Vesk’s uncle? Is that possible considering your biological genetic DNA?” She asked, pondering on what Tylur had just said. After a paused, she gave the soldier an even more confused look when he commented about cleaning up. “Considering we have been televised during our whole Drift Rock Incursion, perhaps we are well pass beyond any sort of appearances.” With their privacy compromised, making up for any sort of appearances really didn’t make any sort of logical sense.
Listening to everyone talk about their next plans, Dee had to agree with Sybil when it came to Nor’s cargo. “I have to agree with Sybil on Ambassador Nor’s Cargo. I believe that the Starfinder’s Society isn’t aware of our special cargo for the Eoxian benefactor, fulfilling his wish would benefit both us and the society in the end.” It was the logical path, considering there was probably a reason why Nor had hired them to smuggle the soldier into the station.
As you eventually bring the battered ship into dock. You slowly move into the very nice docking area 1A. Around you all of you see luxuery ships and yahts docked up with the station. As your burned out ship connects with the station's, the docking clamps have to be adjusted to connect to a non-burned out area. Your ship looks to be in a very different quality to the ones around you.
Your ship connects up and you are able to leave. As all your personal data units connect to the local mesh networks you all get several pings. Most seem to be fan emails of some sort, but after a second of filtering you find a few serious messages.
1. The Ambassador's staff have messaged you a short message of Now that you have arrived on station please report to Nor for debriefing. Also any cargo found can be picked up by contacting this number. What follows is a contact address. Looks like you can call and they will come and pick up "anything" from your ship if you wish.
2. A direct communication from Chiskisk "I have been told you are back on station. I would be very interested to hear what you found on the ship and Rock. When you have a chance I would love to check in. Hope everyone is safe
3. A offer from a local repair company, with a 77% positive feedback on the mesh, offering to repair your ship for 15% off the standard price.
4. An offer for an interview on a local Absalom network show. Any locals would recognize this as a "morning" show of sorts. They are not 100% serious, but love to bring on current happenings on the station for interviews.
5. Docking receipt with everything marked out for free. Free docking while your ship is here.
Outside the ship is a small crowd being controlled by local security behind a barrier. Looks like you might have fans.
“A Vesk’s uncle? Is that possible considering your biological genetic DNA?”
"It's a figurative statement, Dee...not literal," Tylur winks, "Just a turn of phrase for exaggeration..."
“Considering we have been televised during our whole Drift Rock Incursion, perhaps we are well pass beyond any sort of appearances.”
"My mom always used to say that 'manners maketh the man'..." Tylur shares, "And sometimes, manners can be extended to include one's outward appearance. Blasting aliens on a great big Drift Rock requires one kind of demeanor and outfit. But, interacting within the public eye is better done with a different one if you want to make a good impression and set yourself up for lasting success. Think of it as 'marketing'. Zam's probably got a good eye for it, as well."
"I would suggest we leave the Ambassador's package. We'll be kind of visible for the next bit, until something else comes along that is. It can always be fetched 'later'."
"Great idea," Tylur agrees. "We don't want to draw any attention to it. Best to leave it here until things cool off. Then, maybe we sneak it out during a sleep cycle or something..."
"I would rather get our dealings with the Ambassador over with and be done with this business. I am sure that there are things we can...discover for the Starfinders afterward. I am sure a limited notoriety will open a few doors too."
"Seems like that's always the case," Tylur responds, "I used to carry notoriety on my shoulder all the time as a merc. I kind of wanted to leave that behind after joining the Starfinders. But, I guess there's a fine line between making a name for yourself in a good way, and just gaining more notoriety with someone else. This business with the Hardscrabble Collective and Astral Extractions is a good example. You wind up favoring one over the other and you're hailed as a hero by one side, and a life-long enemy by the other. Fame and notoriety are just two sides of the same coin. And whatever we do, we'll be rolling in that kind of currency from now on..."
"Speaking of which," he adds, "I still want to follow-up with HC and deliver those bodybags of the crewmen from the Acreon. I think it's the least we can do, and I'll volunteer to transport them over to Captain Serissi, if you guys want. You're all welcome to come along, too. I suspect it'll be a pretty somber affair, but maybe we can do right by those families by leaving them with a bit of coin from the noqual we collected from those akata."
Tylur's datapad begins pinging as he connects to the station's networks, so he looks over it for a bit.
"Hmmm...looks like Nor might be willing to send some folks to collect his 'cargo' while we're off distracting everyone. Maybe we can position it for a quick pick up in the cargo bay with a warning not to touch anything else."
"Looks like Chiskisk is also ready to talk whenever we are. I'd like to wrap up the Ambassador's debrief first, if we can. That way, when we talk with the shirren we'll have more information about our benefactor's take on this whole Drift Rock, as well."
"Hey...take a look at this! There's a discount offer for repairing the ship! Dee? Yon? Sybil? Maybe you guys can look over the repair list and see if it's a good deal? We should get the Maiden back in fighting shape as soon as we can. There's no telling when we might need it again in service to the Society. Plus, she's looking pretty beat up in this hangar bay next to all the glitz and glam of the elites. It'd be nice to have her looking shiny and new again in honor of its former captain."
Sybil looks at her own messages and finds the one that Tylur has and shrugs, "We can keep this in mind, but lets us look around first... someone might be willing to help us out with repairs. use the fame while we got it, it will be over soon enough."
"As for Ambassador Nor, Lets get this business done." The halfling suggests. And whispers, "Let us get rid of the cargo too."
"And afterward we can Chiskisk" She says with a firm nod before looking to her companions for their reactions and consent to her suggestions.
"I'm good with that plan..." Tylur replies.
Before leaving the ship, he asks Yon to help him position Nor's 'cargo' container into an easily identifiable spot just inside one of the Sunrise Maiden's airlocks. Then, he creates a coded sequence for opening the door. "That ought to be as good a place to secure it, as anything else," he tells the android, "Now, all we gotta do is send the Ambassador's staff the key-code and they can come get it while we're away..."
Once they've arranged the pickup, Tylur grabs a quick shower, changes clothes, and swaps out all the heavy gear for his handguns, leaving the rest on the ship. Emerging in the galley, he announces to the rest of the team that he's ready to go. "Everyone ready for the close-ups?"
"Nope, but let's get this over with." Sybil says with a deep sigh. She was not going to like this... and like ripping the band aid off, was eager to get it over with.
You ready the cargo into the air lock and prep a one time key code to open just the external lock. Take a deep breath and open the air lock.
The first thing that hits you is the screaming. There are groups of people behind the caution tape screaming at the top of their lungs.
Cameras pointed your direction. The local port authority are keeping everyone at bay, but you can hear and see many media stations requesting interviews. It also seems like the station has provided an access to a shuttle to get anywhere without talking to anyone if you wish.
Standing tall, Tylur surveys the crowd amid all the noise. The military training in him assesses the situation for possible threats, but it's really just a coping mechanism to center himself and deal with all the sudden public scrutiny.
"Wow!" he speaks loudly so the others can hear him over all the clamor, "This is crazy!" He holds up a hand as a general acknowledgement to their 'fans'...not quite sure what else to do. "How're we gonna get out of here?" When someone points out the waiting shuttle, he nods. "That seems like as good an exit as any..."
Dee follow's Tylur's lead, looking about appearing a little uncomfortable with the gathering crowd. "I agree, it is certainly the best course of action."
"All for that!" The halfling lets out and makes for the shuttle ignoring the crowd.
Enter of course the halfing uses her keens senses to get a lay of the land, to see what the shuttle is all about and who it might be from.
Upon entering the shuttle, you can see it seems to be programmed to go to the Eoxian embassy. All you need to do is sit down and tell it you are ready and it will move through the station, avoiding all the onlookers, and make its way straight to the embassy, pasty any security.
As you eventually settle and get it going you seem a great view of the station for awhile. Amazing views of various parts of the different districts. It does enter a inner tunnel system for awhile, which just shows flashing lights as you zip past them. Eventually making its way to the park district in the center of the station.
The shuttle flies around the embassy, and lands expertly, on a landing pad in the center of the embassy. From above it looks like the rib cage of some massive creature with buildings filling it up like strange box shaped organs.
Upon landing the ship door opens and a finely dressed skeleton with glowing eyes is there waiting holding a data pad. A quick glance at you and the pad, "Greetings Sybil, DeeV8, Tylur, Zamasea, and P-1101. Or as you seem to be known as "The Drift Rock 5". Please follow me, Nor would like to speak with you immediately."
With a swift turn the creature takes a step back and waits to verify you are following before continuing into the building.
"Sure...lead the way!" Tylur waves, still uncomfortable around walking, talking skeletons.
You are brought into a similar office. Nor, eyes glowing red, head elongated, and floating a few inches above the ground looks to all of you. "Welcome back. Congratulations on a successful mission. I am curious to hear what you found out there. Both on the Acreon and the Rock itself. I did withness quite a bit, but I get the impression there where things found that where outside the scope of my lens. I also wish to know if you have obtained my cargo. I wish to secure that as soon as possible."
He waits, fingers steepled in in front of his hollow chest. Unnerving in his glare down at all of you.
Sybil greets the Ambassador as warmly as one can an undead being. The halfling considers his las comment a moment which seems odd, She asks, "Ahhh... Ambassador Nor... Were you not the one who sent the message that you were going to retrieve your cargo?" She quickly brings up the message and displays it for the "man" to see.
Looking down at the halfling. "Yes, that was my office's message. I was aware of you getting some shards of valuables on the ship. It was a general offer to assist, but I was hoping to get confirmation that my special cargo was also in fact available for pick up. You had done quite well keeping my cameras out of the way, so I have come to assume my cargo is on the ship. By your words, it does sound like you do in fact have it. Out of curiosity, did you open it?"
It seems silly to lie at this point. Their newfound celebrity status would make it to outright kill them. Wouldn't it?
"We did, in case the cargo unit contained additional survivors. And, it did." Zam briefly wonders if an Eoxian counts as a "survivor" since they're already dead. She waits for Nor's reaction.
"Yes, as Captain Zam stated. However, be aware that we did bring the cargo illegally back to Absalom Station." The Elf-droid had seen plenty of monstrosities during her enslavement in the Nocturnum Corporation. The Ambassador's undeath appearance did little to perturb her.
"So, we have accomplished our end of the bargain and wish to be compensated for the retrieval of your precious cargo." Dee crossed her arms, an air of newfound confidence emanating from their successful mission. "A win-win for all of us, isn't not?"
Glowing eyes squinting down at you all, "It is a bit unfortunate you opened it, but I thank you for your work. If you would be so kind as to finish the delivery or let me know where I can find the package I can continue with the payment process"
A quick tap on his datapad and he continues the conversation. "If my people find the package in tact I will be transferring the funds over to you. For now.. Another quick type on his pad. "You have all been sent 600 credits for your work as investigators and mediators on the acreon. I will be sending over the remaining 500 credits after I have confirmation from my people."
Looking over at a screen displaying some of the technological equipment you found on the rock, "This, fascinates me. It seems to be part of a much bigger structure. I do not recognize the language. This all does seem to be very very old. Pre gap and Drift travel. Some of the computer screen print outs seem to talk about Large amounts of power or some sort of maneuvering Thrusters.. Anyway"
After a beep on his panel "It looks like you did your work well. Here are the remaining 500 credits each. Now, if you would excuse me. I have some work to do"
Zam relaxes a little. Phew. He's not so uptight, for a corpse.
She notes with interest Nor's mumblings, then smiles. "Hey! I'm glad we could work together on this venture. If there's something this system needs more of, it's interplanetary cooperation and diplomacy. I hope we might have more opportunities to work together."
"So what do you think this means? Is the Drift Rock a ship itself? From a different time, or civilization?"
Zam's comms unit beeps, alerting her to the credit deposit. "Wow, thank you!" She wonders where they'll be celebrating tonight. She'd definitely need a shower and a change of clothes. Space zombie and Akata guts are definitely not going to impress anyone.
"Yes, that is what the Pact worlds is all about, after all"
"I doubt the Drift Rock is a ship itself. Likely part of some larger construction. Definitely a different time and civilization. Time frame is hard to judge, but from my knowledge I would put the technology in the millions of years old. Pulled into our collective awareness because of the Drift. Since the drift is only about 3 hundred years old, the part of the larger whole must be only maximum that old."
Thinking for a second, "I hope you continue your search for the information regarding this artifact. Please let me know if you find anything interesting. My curiosity is peaked."
"What of the dispute between the Hardscrabble Collective and Astral Extractions?" Tylur finally interjects. He was comfortable letting Zam, Sybil, and Dee deal with the transaction involving the ambassador's 'cargo' as well as the nature of the Drift Rock. But when it came to ensuring a just resolution to the miners' cause and fending off the overreach of a megacorporation, Tylur felt honor-bound to see that part of their mission through just as much as the rest of it.
"When we first spoke to you about their dispute, you mentioned you had a genuine interest in helping both factions resolve it. And, as a mediator in their legal arbitration, I assume it now falls to you to offer a ruling. Given what we learned aboard the Acreon and about the Drift Rock, I'm curious as to how you plan to weigh that information in your final decision? And, if you're open to any recommendations on our part?"
Looking to the human, "Ah yes. Your footage will be invaluable during the trial. The best way to resolve this dispute was to have someone like you go in and do the research, without bias. I had offered to step in and do it, and I hired your group to perform this. Saddly this type of legal dispute could take months to years. While I am required to stay impartial about this, I think your footage will resolve some of the conflicts. Hardscabble Collective wished to know what happened to their crew. They know now their fate."
"I imagine the mining data will go to Astral Extractions, the crew's remains and personal effects will go back to the Hardscrabble Collective. The ship will likely be handed back to the families. As for the Drift rock, we know now that is of more significant importance. I would not be surprised if the Stewards came in and maintained some form of quarantine. Again, this decision could still take years, even with my input."
"As my agents in this matter, do you interpret my ruling as fair?"
"As my agents in this matter, do you interpret my ruling as fair?"
"For the most part...yeah, I think that's fair," Tylur responds, "I might also recommend that whatever the Stewards...or anyone else...does about the Drift Rock, I think it would be best if Astral Extractions and the Hardscrabble Collective shared equally in any profits derived from it. The Acreon's crew more than lived up to the spirit of their contract...and they gave their lives for it. The Drift Rock wouldn't even be here if they hadn't towed it back to the Pact Worlds. Likewise, they'd never have been in a position to discover it, if not for the commission they received from Astral Extractions. The bottom line for me is one party risked life and limb. The other didn't. And while there's a contractual argument to be made, there are counter-arguments against it in the legal wording of it. The best arbitration should find a middle ground by awarding both parties some measure of the outcome. I'd hate to see one seize it all over the objections of the other..."
"In the meantime," he adds, "I plan on taking the bodies of the crewmen back to the Hardscrabble Collective. Their families deserve closure and a chance to grieve their loss."
Looking down at his desk terminal. He presses a button without touching it and a small hologram of Tylur stating these facts pops up about 7 inches tall on the desk. It repeats what he said. "This will be contributed to the trial record. We will see what the outcome is"
"As for the bodies, you should return those now before there is any potential repercussions. Thank you for your time. I will be in touch if I need something. Thank you for your time"
You feel very dismissed at this point. The doors behind you open and you are escorted out when ready.
Once outside of the undead building hand the hafling shivers just slightly. She takes a small breat and looks to the others, "Shall we see to the Hardscabble Folk? I feel they deserve to put their loved ones to rest, properly."
"Definitely," Tylur nods, "I'd like to get as far away from this embassy as I can. Eoxians still give me the creeps. And I'm still not sure I trust Nor's motivations. The guy's inscrutable. There's no way to get a read on him. And that makes me uncomfortable..."
He looks around for another shuttle that can get them back to the Maiden. "You think we can take the ship back out to the Armada, as damaged as it is? Or should we ask the Stewards for a lift while we get someone started on repairs?"
Sybil nods to Tylur as they start away, "The Sunrise Maiden took a beating... I do not think she is going anywhere until we get her repaired. She will be fine docked here at the station until we get our business attended to."
"After we are done with the Hardscabble, we can return to the Starfinders, I am sure Chiskisk will be able to get us in touch with a reputable repair facility, and not cost us an organ or an appendage." The the halfling says wht last with a giggling.
"We can't trust Nor any further than we can spit," Zam acknowledges. "But it's important not to burn our bridges unnecessarily. Nor might be ready to throw us to the Akatas, or he might serve as a powerful ally. That's why we need to maintain a working relationship. Or at least the pretense of one."
She laughs at Sybil. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that!"
As you gather your selves after meeting with the Eoxians. You leave their embassy and out into the main streets. There are no major groups following you here, but you have free reign of the station at this point.
With the desire to meet up with the Hardscrabble collective, you head to a pretty convenently located shuttle bay. Luckily in this area of the station there is very frequent trips out to the armada. So small ships without drift engines are easy enough to charter. A quick ping to Otal Serissi, they offer a comped shuttle ride out to the Dust Runner in the armada.
A short trip out of the station, you see holovids playing around the station, still showing your exploits on the rock, but now include footage of you leaving your ship, with commentary questioning where you are, and what you will do next.
You arrive at the very practical working freighter The Dust Runner and are met with Otal. Very red skinned human from Akiton. "Greetings Drift Rock 5! I have seem much of your exploits. I would love to hear the story from you personally. Time for tea?" He chuckles as he ushers you into a small common room with tea already ready to go.
"There are rumors that you where able to bring the bodies, or what was left, of the Acrean crew. Is this correct, or just sensational news reporting? I want to thank you for what you have done. It is terrible to know what happened to the crew, but it is so much better than not knowing at all! I guess now we just have to deal with the speed of law."
"There are rumors that you where able to bring the bodies, or what was left, of the Acreon crew. Is this correct, or just sensational news reporting? I want to thank you for what you have done. It is terrible to know what happened to the crew, but it is so much better than not knowing at all! I guess now we just have to deal with the speed of law."
Tylur shakes hands with Otal, still feeling a kinship with his fellow Akitonian. "There's nothing sensational about it," he says, "It's true. We brought back all that we could. Each one's in a bodybag, though I suspect you'll be hard-pressed to identify all of them. Some were...transformed...due to an alien infection. Seems like their mission was cursed from the beginning, and it claimed their lives...but, they did manage to bring back the Drift Rock...and that thing's gonna have the Pact World scientists and xenologists busy for quite some time trying to decipher its mysteries."
Upon seeing the tea set aside for them, Tylur tentatively raises a cup, savoring the smell of the drink as he recognizes its Akiton origin. It's funny how memories can be triggered in the brain with something as simple as a familiar scent. He'd spent a number of years downing cup after cup while trying to stay awake among the sand dunes during watch duty with his military unit. And, of course, it reminded him of his parents, and how many times his mother would prepare tea for his father.
After a quick sip, Tylur continues explaining the aftermath of the team's excursion. "We just came from the offices of Ambassador Nor. The Eoxian has our statement on file, which he says he'll enter into the record for your arbitration with Astral Extractions. It could take a long time to resolve, but I encouraged him to find an equitable split of any profits derived from the Drift Rock and to share them between you, regardless of any strict wording of the contract your crewmen signed. That rock wouldn't be here if they hadn't gone above and beyond. And they paid for it with their lives. At a minimum, I figure the only honorable thing would be to ensure the families they leave behind share in any largess the corporation stands to make from it."
"And...to that end..." Tylur finishes, "We collected some noqual samples from the beasts that killed the Acreon's crew. You should be able to render at least a few credits from them right away...and maybe more if you can convince the buyers they came directly from the Drift Rock. Use the profit for the funeral arrangements, and do right by those who lost their loved ones. If you make it public, you might just win enough sentiment to shame Astral Extractions into acceptance of the arbitration deal. I think that's your best play. I'm only sorry we couldn't do more for you..."
Listening to Tylur Otal seems pretty calm and pensive. Letting his speak, and letting the pauses linger. Does not feel like there is any real need to rush anything.
Eventually he speaks up, "Thank you. We can make sure to get those bodies taken care of. I am sure you can pass access codes to my people on station. I appreciate it."
He softly taps his chest with a closed fist, a Akitonian sign of respect for the dead, before moving on. "Thank you for your words on our behalf with Nor. I was not sure what to think about him, but he has stepped up to be a middle man for all of this. Not sure we could have afforded anything like his services, or yours for that matter. So I guess I need to thank him. Even though I am still not sure why he offered to help"
"As for the noqual. We have heard of that type of material. I even saw evidence of it during the recording. I don't want you to feel like you have to send all or even most of it back toward us. You and your group did great work there. I am sure Nor paid you, but now that it is over I wish I could offer you some credits as well. Please, don't hesitate to keep whatever you want as payment. Our funerals are not expensive ordeals. I believe, if I could get the bodies it would only cost about 500 credits to get a basic film crew for the funeral. With the state of bodies we will likely release them into space and burn them in our drive plume. Dust to Dust, fuel for the burn. "
"Please. Whatever you do decide to send us will be appreciated. Just make sure you all get paid as well for risking your lives"
Dee watches everything unfold, keeping to herself but soaking all the data in. It felt good to be part of something, watching the universe unfold from the oppression at the hands of her creators.
There had been 8 'models' designed to provide a diplomatic visual while their real design was to distract and destroy. Unlike her kin, Dee had deviated from her programming becoming sentient and escaping her captors.
Despite joining the Android Resistance, Dee had never truly found a calling until now. She was part of the Drift Rock 5, something the Elf-droid had found proud of being part of. She had finally discovered purpose.
"Thank you Otal. We've all become stakeholders in this, and I know I speak for all of us when I say it means a great deal if we've been able to bring any comfort to the survivors of these events."
"Very much appreciated! Thank you again for all of your work"
After a nice tea and talking, Otal goes into the lives the people you found. It is a bit sad, but you can tell it is helping Otal to process the deaths of his friends.
You eventually get the shuttle back into the station. Your will is your own.
Items on your group docket:
1. Sell stuff
-Send any amount you wish back to Otal
2. Buy stuff
3. Visit Chiskisk.
4. Get ship repaired
As the group makes their way to the Lorespire Complex via some public transportation systems from the Eye to the Ring of the station. You all have some decent familiarization with the layout of the various buildings, you know which building Chisick is located in.
You are all briefly scanned on entry into the building, but your Starfinder badges are flagged and you are allowed to enter without any difficulty.
You make your way through the halls to Chiskisk's office. Their door is open and you are allowed in. Inside you see the Host Shirren poring over some documents, but they look up at you {Oh! Hi! Welcome back. I have been excited to talk to all of you. Please, please sit! I have been looking over the footage from your little adventure. Some very interesting stuff. I was just running through the language through our database. But while we wait, I would love to hear everything from your side. I assume you also dealt with Nor? How did that go?} The Host's mind is projecting the language straight to you. A little unnerving to those of you who are not used to this, but the positive demenor or Chiskisk is somewhat infectious.
The halfling takes up a chair and smiles at the Shirren. She looks to her comrades before she starts, "Starting with Ambassador Nor, yes, we stopped there first to complete our arrangement. It went well. It is hard to tell how the Ambassador felt, consider he was undead and all, but pleased enough to give us payment and put our recommendation of the Drift Rock's outcome on the official record."
Sybil than starts in with the party's tale, adding in being "abandoned" on the Hardscrabble starship by the station but quickly moves on of the going through the ship, moving onto the asteroid and the assassin sent by "someone" to thwart their efforts. She relays moving through the strange asteroid insides before the final encounter of the spirit. She does going into the story as best she can in some detail. She purposely does not mention Nor's cargo and if any other party member chimes in lets them add any details they might have.
Once done she looks to the others to fill in anything she might have forgotten.
The Elf-droid listened to her Halfling teammate recall the events of their Drift Rock adventure. Compared to the first time everyone had met Dee, the Android had adapted rather well with the flood of emotions she had experienced throughout the mission.
Dee had met a few Shirrens in her lifetime, but one thing for certain, she would never get used to their way to communicate telepathically. Perhaps it was the fact the invasion of privacy? Or simply being in control of someone else had made DV8 a little less tolerant to that sort of approach even if it was not malicious.
"No I believe the lovely Sybil has covered all information prevalent to the mission the Starfinders had assigned us to. However, I do defer to Captain Zam personal assessment." Dee smiled at her Lashuntant Captain.
The Host Shirren listens very carefully to the story. You get the impression, being a Starfinder point of contact they hear debriefs like this all the time.
As the long story wraps up a bit, Chisick's computer beeps. They look at the computer. Scanning the results quickly. Head bobbing appreciatively at first before their antennae droop dejectedly.
{There is some good news. The Starfinder Society's linguistic database recognized many of the symbols you found on the Drift Rock, because this is not the first time they've appeared post-Gap. The bad news is that the source is... highly unreliable} Chiskisk notes, as segments of their chitinous body scrap together in agitation. {All that we have about these earlier texts comes from Halkueem Zan nearly three centuries ago, and it seems that no published studies of those texts have appeared since. According to these records. Zan's original findings where donated to the Qabarat University of Xenoarcheology and Xenoanthropology at Castrovel shortly after his- } The shirren pauses while contemplating how best to phrase the sentence. {Disruptive expeditions..}
{Fortunately, the Society has numerous alumni from the university, and i can readily secure you a contact there and forward my personal recommendation to a few faculty members. Perhaps they can show you Zan's notes and even take you to the original site so that you can search for more clues about whatever this Drift Rock once was.}
Halkueem Zan was a Hack of an explorer. Made a name for himself writing a book called: Pyramid People of Ukulam. He went to the continent of Ukulam, which is off limits for nearly everyone on the planet. This was a agreement between the Formians, Lashunta, and Elves. He got denied access, but went anyway and explored.
Think of him as a SUPER terrible Indiana Jones. Its unlikely you read the book, but you would have a least heard of him. At least as an example of what not to do.
The university is one of the foremost institutions of higher learning for exploreres and galactic ethnographers in the Pact Worlds. In addition to training many great archaeologists, the university maintains a staggering archive of artifacts, recordings and other findings from throughout the system.
{Fortunately, the Society has numerous alumni from the university, and i can readily secure you a contact there and forward my personal recommendation to a few faculty members. Perhaps they can show you Zan's notes and even take you to the original site so that you can search for more clues about whatever this Drift Rock once was.}
Zam brightens. "Heck yes you do, one's sitting right in front of you! QUXX Castrovel is my alma mater! I majored in interplanetary relations and conflict resolution, but the university's famous for its archives and artifacts. I remember learning about Halkueem Zan, in History of Castrovel 73001. He, erm, developed a sordid professional reputation."
Chisick gets rather excited at your comment. {Yes, Zan was a bit of a sensational person. But either way, it looks like these writings are similar to his book Pyramid People of Ukulam}
He taps a few buttons on his console and each of your com devices received a data attachment {I have sent you all a copy of his book. Feel free to look it over, though I am not sure what would be real and what is fake. He was not supposed to go to Ukulam. He had been denied passage, but went anyway. I believe they confiscated most of his findings. The whole incident spurred a decade of restrictions on offworld explorers.}
Again looking at this data terminal, { There is Postdoctoral student named Whaloss who has worked with the Society in the past. I'll ask him to greet you when you land in Qabarat... That is if you are willing to go? Zam should know her way around, but being an active member Whaloss will likely be a great resource. You do have right of first refusal for this mission. I think you would be great candidates to continue this mission.}