"As long as it's not too pressurized and it makes your hair all static, right?" Navasi offers to Vixi with a bit of a kidding tone. "Let's see if there's some way to 'knock' or let folks know we're here?"
The human pauses for a moment.
"Attention Arniselle Starfinder Lodge or Manta Squad, we are from the Starfinder Society. Are you receiving this message?" she transmits on the 'standard' Starfinder frequency via comm.
Navasi receives a message back, in Common: "Come in."
Navasi will motion to the folks by the door to head on in, relaying the message.
On the team frequency she'll add "So, how are we going to secure the can to keep it from wandering while we're inside?" In all fairness, even she hadn't thought that far ahead.
Raia shrugs. "We will have to see what mechanism they have inside. If not we will figure something out." She pats Navasi on the shoulder.
"Huh. Friendly squatters, then. I'll follow your leads. But I'll stay ready. Just in case...."
Obo lets the "talkative" members take the lead, but keeps her guard up and her claw on the trigger of her auto-rifle anyway.
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"The whole world isn't out to get us," she says. Hrrmm..... I like Vixi, but I remember what my father used to say, "Be prepared, be honorable, and none can take you."
Obo checks her weapons again as she thinks back warmly on the military training that her parents both gave her.
The airlock is unlocked and easy to use. The water drains out, and the airlock opens into a large room filled with air. A large curtain divides this room, and faint lines on the ground indicates that several walls were likely removed to make this space more open. A five-foot-high stage and eight rows of benches fill the northern half of the room, while the southern half has several large tables. An airlock on the eastern wall acts as a front door, and airlocks on the northern and southern walls lead to other areas. Steel doors lead to the north and south, and one is covered in yellow caution tape reading, in Common, DO NOT ENTER.
Two creatures await on the other side. One creature is a vibrant teal and the other a similarly bright magenta. Both are large creatures with an imposing presence, each with a stout body that ends in a single wide flipper. They have articulated side flippers with a surprising level of fine motion, brightly colored whiskers, gills, and four long tusks, two on each side. The tusks are lightly carved with decorative patterns. They both wear white robes that drape to the ground, and the magenta creature speaks in slightly accented but otherwise perfect Common.
“Hello, and welcome! I am Hinevera, and this is Teltham of the morlamaw people. Welcome to our home. You must be more Starfinders, I presume? The last group left rather quickly, so we assumed another group would arrive soon. Greetings!”
"Greetings, and thank you! I am Navasi. I am Human, and yes, we are here on behalf of the Starfinder Society! So, what sort of traditions or the like should a guest bring to someone's home in your society?" the envoy inquires, not wishing to offend the hosts by making unknowing mis-steps if at all possible.
To Id, she answers, “They were quite funny, weren’t they? With their… wings? Is that what they’re called? The other Starfinders visited for a little while, and we offered to let them inventory and take back all the Starfinder-marked property. We certainly have no need of your weapons and armor; it’s hard for us to use them!” Hinevera waves one of her flippers to demonstrate. “They left quickly though; I don’t think they were keen on inventorying.”
To Navasi, "Oh, you can just act normally! We've read all about humans like you!"
"Morlamaws? Amazing..." Raia is dumbfounded as she had never seen a Morlamaw before. Only read about them at the University.
"What exactly were they here to inventory?" Raia inquires. "The last group was sent to investigate this place and it seems as if they have disappeared and not reported back in. Do you happen to know how long ago they left or where to?"
"Do you recall what was said *just* before the other team left, and how long ago that was? And... you've read about Humans?" Navasi inquires then gets a worried thought-chain. I hope like heck the folks who closed this place down didn't leave porn or the like behind by accident.
"We should also inventory things, and if you're staying here see about getting some equipment better suited to your needs if our leaders think it's necessary."
Obo opts not to introduce herself and just gets right to the point.
"How long have you all been using this facility? And what's with the warning tape on the door there? Radiation, or something?"
She tries to avoid sounding un-diplomatic. But not very hard.
"They left...."Hinevera thinks, "about thirty days ago. Maybe less. They didn't stay long."
To Navasi, “Yes, of course! We learned it all from the educational materials kept here in your former lodge. It must be so exciting to travel among the stars, as you do! I don’t think any morlamaws have ever left this world. I don't know what the last thing they said was.”
To Obozaya, "Our particular group was cast out of our homeland because we discovered a new faith, but we were lucky enough to stumble upon this structure to shelter us from local predators. We’ve spent the last 10 years repairing this place and making it suitable for us to live in. It’s now both our home and temple.”
“We worship the Weeping Knight, and we know through him that we can only find meaning through enduring many trials. Losing our old home was painful, but that was but one early trial and now we can worship freely.”
Raia tries to remember if she read anything about the Weeping Knight at all.
"Early trial huh. What other trials have you endured?" She peers about. "Do you mind if we took a look around while we speak?"
Obo notes that their "host" studiously avoided answering her question about the door with the placarded warning, but stays near her friend Vixi. Just in case things go sideways.
Raia has never heard of the Weeping Knight.
“The whole structure was flooded when we found it. The computers and other equipment in there don’t function underwater, so we managed to restore breathable air to a lot of the rooms. There are airlocks, like the one you just came in from, between some rooms. Still, we try to keep some areas filled with water—it’s just more comfortable for us. Something shorted out in that room, and it zaps you whenever you try to go in.”
Hinevera suddenly realizes the nature of the creature she's talking to.
"Aaah! A vesk! But aren't you...aren't you at war? Aren't you the enemy?"
"No, we didn't know that. So you're not at war, then?"
They still seem slightly uneasy around the vesk. Hinevera responds to Raia's question. "Yes, you can look around, but first, you must meet Oshessa! She's our leader; she's so amazing!" Hinevera hurries to the back of the Lodge, and a dark blue morlamaw emerges from the airlock at the northwest corner (north is to the left). She is almost regal in bearing, and looks you all over.
"Welcome to our home. I hope you'll be comfortable here."
"A vesk? So you say you are no longer at war." She reaches for one of Obozaya's hands to examine the claws. "Yet you are always armed, are you not?"
"And a human? Most of the information on the datapads is about you. How many times have your teeth fallen out?"
"And a halfling! I never expected to meet a halfling here. Are you completely proportional to a human or are you scaled differently? It seems like your head is scaled a little differently, a bit larger relative to the rest of you?"
"And you must be an android. You are part mechanical and part biological, yes? Could you tell me more about how that works?"
"A lashunta!" She tries to touch one of Raia's antennae if you allow her. "Are these what give you telepathy?"
"A shirren! Please tell me about your telepathy, how does that work? Do you use your antennae? Does it work differently than hers?" she asks, as she gestures toward Raia.
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As Vixi leaps to Obo's defense, she catches herself musing about something her mother drilled into her. "There are two activities in a war: the Preparation, and the Fight. Neither exists without the other."
"The Vesk are not in battle with the Pact Worlds," she calmly answers Hinevera. "But the state of War never really ceases for us Vesk."
She pauses, realizing that perhaps she has failed to assuage their hosts' concerns. Be diplomatic, they said. Ugh. Let Vixi talk.
"But, ummm, I'm a mercenary, and a Starfinder. I'm not part of the Veskarium military any more."
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Obo is a bit taken aback by Oshessa's curiosity. As she reaches for Obo's claws and makes her comment about always being armed, she replies with a quote from her Historical Tactics instructor on Vesk Prime.
"Every creature is armed with some weapon. Some are just more visible than others."
What she doesn't mention is how that instructor then went on to discuss how to "disarm" every different species the Vesk had ever met.
"Umm. Could be. I am not really sure." Truthfully she had never really put much stock or thought into what exactly gave her the telepathy.
"We were kind of looking for a group of our companions that left here recently. We were hoping if we looked around it might give us some sort of clue as to their whereabouts."
"Thirty-two. Individually, that is. Not counting things like extractions to prevent some from growing improperly or when I've gotten a couple knocked out fighting people, that is." Navasi offers with a bit of a grin, displaying a full set of teeth.
"But you probably already knew that. How has this place been holding up since you found it?"
"I do have quite an interest in biology, and it's so fascinating to meet new species. The whole structure was flooded when we found it. The computers and other equipment in there don’t function underwater, so we managed to restore breathable air to a lot of the rooms. There are airlocks, like the one you just came in from, between some rooms. Still, we try to keep some areas filled with water—it’s just more comfortable for us.”
"Thank you all for indulging my curiosity. I'm afraid I must leave you, as I must prepare for this evening's sermon. I do hope that you'll join us; I can give the service in Common for your benefit. Please, until then, feel free to look around and catalog your equipment. I will see you later."
Unless you have more questions for her, she returns to the Northwest airlock.
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Id follows the conversation closely, enraptured by the fascinating new species and their own fascination with his companions. To be honest, I don't know how my telepathy works! I just use it, like my arms and legs and eyes. I'd very much like to read your sermon and learn more about the Weeping Knight! In the meantime, do you know where the other Starfinders might have gone? We're supposed to check up on them.
In the meantime, Id opens a telepathic line to Vixi. Sounds like there's a trap on the door, can you disarm it? He also looks around and tries to get a read on the morlamaws' faith.
Further inside, a half-dozen morlamaws, in colors ranging from blue to green to violet, pray quietly at the benches and work busily at the tables, some cleaning fish and others repairing clothing and equipment.
Vixi starts working on the door, but finds that the door itself is not trapped. However, she knows that the usual way the Starfinder Society would have protected a room like this is with a security robot, and that such constructs are programmed to stand down when confronted by agents with the appropriate identification, such as a subdermal implant.
Id has never heard of the Weeping Knight, but as far as he can tell, all these morlamaws are genuinely devout.
Navasi will take a few moments to look around and see what else is nifty about this place, checking the rooms that haven't been marked 'off-limits' or 'Priest Praying Quarters' or the like to try and get a start on an inventory.
It's a request from the host as well as part of the primary mission, so getting both of them done at the same time can only be a good thing.
"If anyone needs help, please let me know, I'll poking around looking at stuff."
"Y'know, on second thought, let's stick together. This place is in a fault zone and we don't necessarily know the stability and all that. Better to play it safe than sorry." Navasi offers after a moment or two of poking around.
Raia nods. "Thanks you Oshessa. We will gladly attend your sermon." She moves over to Vixi and waits for the halfling to unlock the door.
Vixi opens the door to reveal three flying security bots emblazoned with the Starfinder Society logo.
"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!"
They begin scanning palms. "Security protocol accepted. Security protocol accepted. Security protocol accepted. Stand down." The three buzzing bots retreat to the corners of the room.
This crowded workshop has benches and a large cabinet lining the walls. The room is filled with disassembled computers, weapons, and gadgets. A door exits to the north, while another door exits to the east.
A weaponsmithing tool kit lies near a pile of 600 UPBs. The benches are covered with bits of machinery and broken pieces of printed circuit boards.
The cabinet is locked.
Obo watches Vixi "charm" the security bots into submission with her implant. She follows the team into the room to look around, then positions herself near the northern door while waiting for the tech-nerds to evaluate the gear.
"Nice, Vixi. Don't think I'm gonna get one of those implants tho. I've got this instead," she finishes, hefting her auto-rifle for emphasis.
ISEH looks ready to fire, but backs down when the bots back off, instead retreating to their quiet place in the back. At the sight of the goods and the locked cabinet, he takes a crack at them, staying quiet the whole time.
Seeing ISEPH-4 having a small bit of trouble with the cabinet Raia steps in to help, though she still keeps a watchful eye on the security robots. "Nice quick thinking Vixi!"
Having a small bit of problem with the cabinet Raia shifts around to investigate the northern door.
Iseph and Raia investigate the benches. The bits of technology on the workbenches originate from numerous cultures, which is typical for a Starfinder lodge. However, some of the technology is much more recent in design than when the lodge was abandoned. Raia examines the counter very closely and spots a few broken needles, consistent with someone working on an injection weapon here.
Iseph and Raia both struggle with the locked cabinet.
Having a small bit of difficulty Raia shakes her hands. Determination was one of her stronger suits. She had after all make it through several years at the University on Castrovel. You don't get a degree or two without a bit of perseverance.
Raia keeps at the lock, trying older and older techniques until she finally pops the lock open.
The cabinet contains an underwater tactical cryopike and an underwater squad machine gun, with something written on the barrel. The cabinet also contains a serum of enhancement (scientist) as well as holds 6 mk 2 serums of healing.
When Raia gets the cabinet open, Obo's eyes catch the squad machine gun. She sidles over to Id at the cabinet, and waits (less than patiently, albeit politely) until Id figures out what the writing reveals. Looking around at the team, she realizes it's likely no one else is proficient with such a beautiful killing tool.
In her impatience, though, she reaches out and fingers the serums of healing.
Enough for each of us to have one of these.
She then passes one to each of the team members, keeps one for herself, and hands the sixth off to Raia, who looks the ... squishiest. She returns to the cabinet and peers over Id's shoulder to see if he's finished his translation.
Id does not understand the language that the inscription is in.
Navasi, who has been kind of quietly sitting to the side watching the goings-on will attempt to figure out the script, even using her Anarchic Flame Pistol for comparison (not shooting, just trying to compare the scripts with her weapon's fusion). She will offer any insights she can glean to those who would know more about such things.
In addition, she will note the recent Assets in the catalog:
3 flying security drones keyed to Starfinder badges
1 underwater tactical cryopike
1 underwater squad support weapon (machinegun)
6 Healing drinks (Distributed 1ea, 2 to Raia)
1 weaponmithing (Engineering) kit
600 UPB
1 unidentified pile of parts
1 room full of disassembled equipment
"Anybody else find anything that I missed? Trying to keep a list of things going here."
Raia takes a gander at the strange writing. "Let me see if it is anything I recognize." She grabs ahold of the barrel and brings it up to her vision.