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At some point in the Drift, Isu bounds out of his cabin holding a dogeared and creased Abadar.Com catalog.
"Aha! I found it! Abadar has my dream hammer! A paramagnetic storm hammer! This current..."... his mouth twists with revulsion..."diamagnetic storm hammer is for chumps. A cheap model. A beginners model! But the PARAMAGNETIC storm hammer has twice as much electrical current! Twice! It says so right here in the magazine, Arcalinte Soter. Think of the halfling smashing power! And it will only cost my entire life savings!"
Isu starts drooling. You notice he is also wearing his new golemplate armor, though two of his arms don't even have holes for them and stick out awkwardly.
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Arcalinte sighs lowering the textbook he's been reading.
"Upgrading your gear IS vital, yes, Isu, but don't forget to have some money set aside for emergencies. And have Ted or Spectre refit that armor for you...Wait, AbadarCorp still uses paper-based catalogues? I thought their catalogue was infosphere-based...how old is that thing?!"
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"I think you overestimate your value as one consumer among literal millions, Isu," Arcalinte replies with a raised eyebrow. "Back when I was a kid, I read up on accounting, economics, marketing, that kind of stuff. Had Sola Gorsen not chanced through our town, I'd probably be working for AbadarCorp...like my late mother apparently did. But you probably didn't want more sad stories OR an economics lesson..."
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Arcalinte is taken aback.
"Isu, it's times like this I wonder if your connection to reality's become...tenuous. Either that, or you've been playing the stock market this whole time and not told us! I'm not jealous, though...I prefer spiritual and intellectual fulfillment to material fulfillment. Any possessions I come to own won't come with me to the next turn of the Cycle..."
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Isu nods and agrees. "Absolutely, Arcalinte Soter. You should pray more and read more, and instead of accumulating material possessions you should know that this one, and probably Spectre, would be very happy to be responsible for your credits. This one saw a great anti-halfling spray in my catalog, and this one will be happy to buy it for you..."
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Spectre takes note of Isu's priorities.
"Perhaps we could join forces, Isu. We could earn enough credits for you to purchase whatever you wanted from that catalog. Perhaps we could even find some Abadarcorp employees who will work with us, in which case you could have any of their merchandise that you wanted."
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"I never agreed to any of those proposals, you just ran off with an assumption like you usually do!" Arcalinte replies, trying not to hide his exasperation. "And I strongly doubt getting free stuff from the church of the very god of capitalism is possible. Besides, there ARE other manufacturers, you know! Arabani, Brortrav, Magnari..."
Sydney enters into the galley looking fresh. Her neon-bright hair is styled and her motorcycle boots look like they've been polished. She grabs a seat near Isu and crosses her ankles on top of the coffee table.
Sydney doesn't raise a brow at the conversation she's entered to, but she does glance around the room for the only other female part of their crew. "Ready to disembark for Eox?" She isn't sure what to do with her hands, so Sydney drapes her arms along the back of the couch. "Gotta freshen up my gear." She nods at the suit she's wearing.
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Sydney wheels the Sunrise Maiden around and you set your destination for Eox! While the planet of the undead is just beyond the Diaspora, your current location within the asteroid belt is rather far from the planet's orbital location. It ends up taking you a full two days to make the trip.
On the first day, Solaria retires to her room. She looks rather stressed out after all the fighting - both up close and in the aerial dogfight against the Corpse Fleet. While she says it was really eye opening and exciting, you also hear her muttering about all the horrible mess everywhere. It seems the horrors of the cultist base have gotten to her.
Later that first day, you establish contact with Chiskisk on Absalom Station. At this distance, the communication is limited to video/audio messages with a significant time delay. Despite the delay, it seems Chiskisk is very quick to respond - they must have been sitting and waiting for you to check in!
>Oh! I was very very worried when we heard nothing for a couple of days. Pirates, I thought! Or the cult was more dangerous than we expected! Or... anything! But if you're contacting me now, it went well, yes?<
After you fill them in on the broad strokes, their return message is much less panicked, but also even more grave in tone.
>So the Corpse Fleet was one step ahead of us. How did they know about the Devourer Cult base, and how did they know to target it? And what did they learn there that they erased from the Cult's computers? So many questions...< They pause, deep in thought. >You did very well out there, fighting against the Corpse Fleet and learning all you did! As you suggested, the Corpse Fleet trail leads to Eox, though its not clear at first glance where to begin the search once you're on planet. You mentioned a code describing a drop point? I'll set some of our data scientists to analyze it. In the mean time, I'll also see if I can pull a favor in from Ambassador Nor. Strange though he is, his comments have made me think he has no love for the Corpse Fleet. He might have some insight.<
>And team? I'm wiring 2500 credits to each of your accounts. Against the Corpse Fleet - you'll need to equip yourselves well. And you *did* investigate the base, even if you didn't fight the cult inside.<
>So what are you planning to do once you get to Eox?<
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Spectre is glad to have an ally in Isu.
"When we arrive on Eox, I will see if I can establish some contacts with some AbadarCorp employees, or perhaps former employees who have been abruptly terminated. Now that I know your motivations, I am certain that I can make continuing transactions worth your while."
Looking at the others, Spectre lowers his voice and speaks to Isu. "On another note, while the others may not believe this to be the case, I have personal knowledge of halfling criminal enterprises and syndicates. My former master equipped me with all kinds of knowledge and involved me in many endeavors. I find that halflings, though they are half the size, have quintuple the criminal inclination."
Once on Eox, Spectre is glad to see credits coming their way. "This is more than a nominal sum, and we will put this to good use. Once we arrive, I suggest we gather information about the state of the planet, any rumors circulating, any criminal enterprises we might utilize to advance our cause, and purchase gear. Perhaps then we might see if this favor from Ambassador Nor is fruitful."
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Arcalinte nods at Chiskisk's suggestions.
"Grix mentioned you were having him keep an eye on the Ambassador...that's how we learned what to expect when we got out here. Hopefully he's open to forgive and forget after the whole thing with the package...he didn't seem too concerned that we maybe took our 'investigating' a bit further than he wanted, but people like him can be...hard to read at the best of times."
He shrugs at Isu's comment.
"We most likely will find an AbadarCorp location on Eox. There's AbadarCorps everywhere. More importantly, at least for Isu and me, there's also a chapel to Sarenrae in Pact Port, which is most likely where we'll dock. It's called Beacon...an appropriate name considering it's a small bright candle on a very dark world. At the very least, it could be a handy place to base our operations from, since it'd be more accommodating to us 'quick' people than even most of Pact Port, the place explicitly set up with the living's needs in mind."
Chiskisk looks troubled at Arc's comments and responds with...
>Yes, we still don't know what Ambassador Nor's goal is. Obviously, retaining positive relations with Absalom Station is important for Eox. But Nor has made many moves here on the Station and elsewhere. All for some master plan, I would assume!<
>While purchasing new gear is admirable and important, my question was on what you were planning to do on Eox about the Corpse Fleet lead.<
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”This one is not getting his hammer, is he?” Isu glares at Arc.
”Our one real lead is these strange necrograft things. We need to find a necrograft store and see if they know who owns the one we found. Maybe it is keyed to DNA.”
Spectre responds to Isu. "I have begun checking on equipment discounts. This piece of equipment seems vital to stopping the halfling criminal enterprises, or perhaps for taking them over. If you need this hammer, we should stop in Absalom Station."
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Without a clear picture of where to start your search on Eox, you drop out of the Drift and zip on impulse towards your destination, heads full of electric hammer-shaped dreams and not much of a plan. As you approach, the dead planet comes into view. Even from a distance, you can see its surface is lifeless and gray. Your ship's databanks and instruments remind you that the planet has no remaining oceans, a massive fiery crater on its far side, and a thin and toxic atmosphere. Hardly welcoming to the living, but hardly an impediment to the dead.
As the ship approaches the planet, a hailing channel automatically opens and you're greeted by the sight of a bored ghoulish face wearing a military style beret. The hail appears to be coming from a nearby orbital space platform named the Sentinel. "Eoxian Transportation and Security Administration. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Eox." The ghoul pauses, their expression showing 0% pleasure to welcome you to Eox. Their eyes glisten slightly as they focus on your faces. In a tired drone, it continues "Oh, breathers. Please provide your identification, destination, and reason for your stay."
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After consistent pestering from Isu, that may or may not have included some tears and banging on his Abadar.com magazine, Sydney changes course to Absalom Station.
Once there, Isu runs out of the ship cackling and waving around his diamagnetic hammer. He quickly makes his way to his favorite AbadarCorp Weapons branch and sells the old hammer for his new.
"Ah... it is no longer diamagnetic...It is PARAmagnetic, friend Spectre. Para means "three times as powerful." It is a beauty. It is a thing to behold. Makes this one's...eyes water...."
The trip is short, enough time to restock on weapons and goods. Isu also gets his new armor properly fitted, to save Ted the effort on the Dawn Maiden.
Unfortunately, time is too short to hunt down the halfling criminal ring, but Isu understands that their activities are perhaps secondary in importance to a doomsday device that can blow up stars. By just a little, anyway.
After another several days in the Drift the crew reaches Eox. When the Dawn Maiden is hailed, Isu frowns and says, "This one thinks that they will not accept "Hunting down the Corpse Fleet" as an answer. We should lie."
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Arcalinte keeps to himself as Isu diverts their course to Absalom Station for his little shopping trip, finishing his latest assignments and i-mailing them back to the University on Castrovel.
When they arrive and are hailed, he frowns at Isu.
"We'd make poor Sarenites if we actively lied to cover our @sses, Isu. But fortunately, we don't have to."
He approaches the comm.
"Hello, ETSA. This is Arcalinte Soter of the Starfinder Society vessel Sunrise Maiden. We're bound for Pact Port to make inquiries into some necrografts that were discovered at one of our expeditionary sites. We're associates of His Excellency Gevalarsk Nor, Eox's Ambassador to the Pact Worlds?"
"Ah. Sunrise Maiden. I see your registration code." The ghoul scans something in its view with its glistening black eyes. When Arc adds that the team are associates of Ambassador Nor, the ghoul's eyes whip back to look at you all. It's the first sign of any kind of enthusiasm or excitement from the undead ETSA agent. "Ambassador Nor, is it? I will check on your claim, please wait a moment. And please be aware that any false statements or misrepresentations will result in a mandatory deep cavity search of your starship and its contents. Most breathers find it deeply uncomfortable."
It begins typing rapidly on its console, giving you a moment's breathing room.
While the ESTA agent works on their terminal, you silence your microphone and discuss the wisdom of tricking the Eoxian officer. Before you get too far, the agent finishes their check and resumes speaking, sounding a little frustrated. "You're a lucky group of breathers. Looks like Ambassador Nor lodged a request just... four Eoxian hours ago. No cavity searches for you today." It sounds disappointed for a moment and then drops slowly back into disinterest.
"According to Ambassador Nor's request, there's a recorded message here for you. Transmitting it now. You have visa authorization to land in Pact Port or Orphys." You receive a ping as the Ambassador's message arrives along with your documentation. "Eox, a full Pact member, wishes your a nice day and a pleasant stay." The last part is spoken in a truly oppressive monotone.
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"You should know I haven't forgotten about you. Arcalinte Soter, Ted Under, Spectre, Isu Greelax Zyte of Clam Tarma, and Sydney Jordan." He allows the names to hang in the air for a moment. "Thanks to the advocacy of your friends in the Starfinders, I am compelled to provide you a modicum of aid. You should know I offer this freely. Do not feel as though you owe me anything in exchange."
"While Chiskisk has not provided your full purpose, I understand that you seek the Corpse Fleet on Eox. You mean to oppose them." He steeples his bony hands atop his desk. "Good."
"The Corpse Fleet location shorthand code Chiskisk provided does indeed refer to the planet Eox. Specifically, it provides increasingly narrow directions... Planet-City-Region-Drop Number. Blindingly simple, no? The Corpse Fleet was never one for sophistication."
"My contacts have previously seen such codes that refer to Eox and to Orphys, 'Or' in terms of shorthand. You may be well served heading there. If you do, you may find some use in stopping by the local Ministry of Eternal Vigilance. One of my contacts, Waneda Trux, handles that chapter of the Ministry and may have more current information for you once you arrive."
The elebrian sits silently for an uncomfortable few moments before adding "You play with dangerous toys. May they not explode in your hands."
The video cuts off.
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"We should blow this planet up."
"Someone already tried, Ted. Take a look," Arcalinte says, gesturing to the massive crater exposing the planet's core. "Somehow I doubt the Maiden has firepower enough to match whatever did THAT."
He listens carefully to Ambassador Nor's message, and when the agent bids them adieu, he bows politely.
"Very handy information, indeed. I suspect the good Ambassador did not ask for compensation for this because the destruction of the Corpse Fleet's operations is itself compensation. We're likely more useful to him as a weapon he can point at a mutual enemy than as delivery-people for a discreet package. The first time we encountered the Corpse Fleet, they DID describe Nor as a 'traitor.' Would you like to visit Beacon too, Isu? I think meeting High Cleric Luxotroskin would be good for you."
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"Luxotroskin, Isu," Arcalinte replies. "She's the High Cleric of Sarenrae here on Eox. She could help you understand the powers the goddess has given you and what she expects of you, and it'll be handy to have allies on the ground here, especially living ones. The Ambassador's, and presumably Waneda Trux's, goodwill will only carry us 'breathers' so far on this planet."