Levels 1-4
Tags: non repeatable, Faction (Wayfinders), Starship
"A Starfinder expedition's dusty data from an orbital scan shows signs of active technology on a distant, war-ravaged planet. Following up on this old lead, the Society dispatches a team of Starfinder to investigate the far-off world. Between making first contact and exploring the ruins of a dead civilization, long-buried secrets of the past are ripe for discovery."
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The Ysoki in the back seems to have waited in the shadows.
He steps forward with a quirky stance rarely seen when Ysokis are observed.
He is wearing a black spacer suit with a pistol, a baton, a knife as well as lots of gear strapped to his utility belt and a large backpack in his hand.
He seems to make himself larger than he is and when he starts speaking you have the feeling that he is intentionally trying to make his voice sound deeper "Hmmmm ... excuse my silence dear gentleman and respected ladies ... hi ... ha ... ha ha " and he suddenly starts laughing as if he just told the greatest joke ever.
With the typical squeaky voice of an Ysoki he continues "... ha ha ha ... oh guys I am sorry! Surely no ladies and gentleman in my company, you know!!" and he starts laughing again.
After a while he gets a grip on himself "Oh man, I am Fazaah Taabestuun and am not really pleased to make your acquaintance. These missions are a hassle sometimes! I just recently joined the Starfinder Society and was assigned as a hacker and engineer to this mission and I sure hope that if something attacks us it is going to be you guys fighting in the front." he says with a stern look.
You have been waiting in the Lorespire Complex on Absalom Station within a standard room, featureless with smooth polymer walls that could have placed it anywhere within the massive structure. The male damaya lashunta Venture-Captain Arvin has summoned you for a standard briefing. As you all start to gather and commiserate a hidden door opens within the wall.
Inside this new room Venture-Captain Arvin stands before a hologram of a planet that appears to have been ravaged by some disaster; there is very little water and no obvious greenery. He is quite focused on his study of the hologram, but with a casual gesture waves you in. "Greetings, Starfinders," he says, without turning. "This is Elytrio, a newly charted planet in the Vast. New to us, but an ancient cradle of history unto itself. While one might dismiss it as a lifeless rock, there are still mysteries to plumb. The starship that discovered Elytrio was attacked by some kind of orbital defense system when they got too close; the vessel didn’t have the firepower to respond, so the crew made a prudent retreat. Merely a welcome sign for us Starfinders." He pauses before continuing. "So, Agents, what I have for you is a mission. I would like you to take a starship, travel to Elytrio, and discover all you can about it. If you find any inhabitants on the planet, do everything in your power to make peaceful contact with them. If the place is deserted, try to locate information about who might have built those defenses. Once you’ve got something interesting, report back to me here at the Lorespire Complex." The Venture-Captain raises a hand and rotates the hologram slightly, his antennae twitching to suggest he is open to your questions now.
Alvin nods to Builder-42, "Defend yourselves, of course, but I agree wholeheartedly. Let’s not start a war here. If something is living down there and there seems to be direct violent opposition, return to Absalom Station and we’ll assess our options going forward."
Then to Faria, "All that was relayed by the discovery team is that the defense system consisted of smaller vessels launching from satellite bases in orbit. Though I can also infer laser fire from the scouring on their hull."
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"Okay, that sounds like the suicide mission that I was forced to sign up for." the Ysokis sighs.
"Due to the fact that I do NOT want to die I would really appreciate the scanning data that the ship which was attacked collected. Maybe that will give more information on the orbital defense system. Additionally, I would like to know which ship we are going to have and what you will provide in terms of resources!" Fazaah says with a mousy eyebrow raised.
"Of course." With a hand gesture a packet of data is sent to all of your comm units. "Initial scans were too brief to get too many details. Events escalated quite quickly. The other Starfinders did report trace amounts of radiation in the atmosphere, so there is a distinct possibility the planet’s current appearance is not entirely natural, but that is all that was retrieved before fleeing. We have two ships docked that are options for you, choose whichever supports your strengths, there details are in the links I forwarded you all." In the slide show I've added here and to my tagline, on page 2.
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"I want the Drake! My brother Harqen always says that your have to blow holes into you enemies ... well he is an idiot but in this regard I believe him." Fazaah says and starts to look at the ship's details with interest.
"So what positions would you guys like to have on a starship? I can do anything ... seriously anything! I am the greatest guy ever! But I will not battle anyone on the frontline ... there is red line for everybody, right?!?" Fazaah says sticks out his tongue.
"Very good. I have been notified that your sixth member is on their way shortly. Any other questions while we wait?"
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Making a dramatic entrance, a tall, red-headed half-orc, chest bared, showing a dramatic sunburst tattoo pushes his way through the door. He stand at the door way, nodding, pointing to each person in the room. "Never FEAR! Thorval Thorvalson the N+18th IS HERE!" He strikes a "superman" pose as he says this, and he is obviously glowing in solar energy.
Those of you that watch gladiatorial games recognize him as a fighter in the arena, who relies on his bare fists (augmented by energy) in his fights!
"So, which is the toughest, most gnarly ship we got. That's the one we need. With extra weapons, of course."
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Builder-42: Pilot/Pegasus
Fazaah: Any/Drake
Ryu: Pilot-Engineer/Drake
YDataY: None/Pegasus
Thorval: None/Drake
Faria: Captain-Pilot-Gunner/None
Unless folk want to change up their votes, it looks like the Drake won out.
Positions (only suggestions):
Builtder-42 as Pilot
Ryu as Engineer
Faria as Captian
YDataY as Science
Thorval as Gunner
Fazaah as Gunner
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A human in counselor clothing walks into the room. "My apologies to all for my tardiness. Last minute appointment. My name is Tolmu. I have some skill in life and physical sciences, and am fairly skilled in culture and diplomacy. Please feel free to come to me if you need to talk, and my Sarenrae bless us all."
"It has been a pleasure, Starfinders. Haste and luck, I'll be looking forward to your report on this." Arvin says while dismissing you all and returning to studying the hologram.
As the six of you head down the corridor to the Starfinder private docks, a small robotic drone intercepts you and hovers along in stride. The drone projects a holoscreen with the image of a confused looking ysoki child, whose head is quickly pushed out of the screen by an older ysoki woman. "Fitch from the Wayfinders here. Sorry about Kirkath popping on the screen; kids always like the holoprojectors. Anyways, long and short, I hear you’ve been assigned to explore Elytrio. First contact is important. Need to make a good impression. Wayfinders specialize in this sort of thing, so I wanted to offer some help! The drone has a translation module strapped on its back. It’s not as reliable as some magical solutions you might have, but if you’re in a pinch for communicating, it might help!" ... fizzz.. Then the screen goes black as some commotion seemed to be starting on Fitch's end.
Entering the docking bay two ships sit before you with a handful of workers bustling about. Both seem prepared for flight.
Loading into the Drake, you all set out the next day on your long trip to Elytrio. On entering into the Drift, your computers calculate that the trip will take days to reach the exit point. Roughly eight days in your ships passes a salvage barge named the Clutter Collector. The ship's captain, a female ysoki going by Winks, opens communication with you out of apparent boredom. "Hey! Whhaaaaa'cha doing? Where ya going? Any news? Want to play 20 Questions?" She engages anyone willing to chat for the next few hours until the connection needs to be broken as your two ships lose range, thanking whomever was willing to talk. If no one wants to spend the time, she respectfully leaves you alone.
Approaching the exit point, the Drake re-enters normal space. You find yourselves less than a few hours’ travel from your destination of Elytrio. While approaching, the comms suddenly squawk to life, filled with crackling sounds that seem synthetic and utter nonsense, yet with some linguistic structure.
Approaching the Elytrio, a hemispheric vessel comes into view from behind one of the planet’s moons. It approaches your starship, and while it has no discernible features, it does emit a ring of red light from the edges of its flat bottom hull.
As people scramble into positions, those at monitors can see apertures beginning to open on the platform’s bottom hull. The warning continues to play, now with the addition of odd sound bites dispersed throughout it. There is no change in the ships course or apparent attitude.
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"Evasive, Aye, Aye!"
Builder concentrates on the Drake pilots station.
You can attempt any one of the stunts described on page 319.
The DCs of the Piloting checks required and the results of
success and failure are described in each stunt’s description.
Evade
The ship moves up to its speed and can turn as normal, but it
gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its AC and TL until the start
of the next round. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a
Piloting check (DC = 10 + 2 × your starship’s tier). If you fail, the
starship moves as normal. If you fail the check by 5 or more, the
starship moves as normal, but it also takes a –2 penalty to its AC
and TL until the start of the next round.
The Whole bridge shutters and the drive lets out a painful whine
As the Starfinder vessel flanks out in questioning anticipation, the alien ship gradually inches closer while releasing an object into space via the open hatch. As this object is launched it is clear that it is a type of drone.
"Bringin' it down!" Throval shouts as the missile turret can be heard firing, sending brief shakes through the control room. The missile silently careens across the void, easily striking the other vessel at this range directly in its fore section.
Drake F:15,A:10,S:10,P:15 -0hp