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A lean, fit looking lashunta man stands in the center of the room. His posture is impeccably correct yet also relaxed and despite being slightly shorter than average he seems to fill the room with his presence. He is dressed in a loose fitting red kimono embroidered with a pattern of swirling gold dragons; with a long, rainbow colored scarf wrapped around his neck. He seems to shed light, as if thousands of tiny bright bulbs were glowing from underneath his skin and three small motes of light lazily swirl around him.
He briefly appraises each person as they enter the room; looking them up and down, his lip twitching into a slight sneer before being forced into a disdainful and clearly fake smile.
"I am called The UMBRAL DAWN. I was trained as a Battle Flower in Ming and know the Dance of Blades. Besides that I also have the ability to bend light and gravity to my will. What is it that you do?"
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A striking female android with purple eyes cocks her head to one side, observing Umbral Dawn as he speaks. "Designation Umbral Dawn, acknowledged. Control over light and space-time is formidable. 'Dance of Blades' is an unknown term, however. The etymology of the phrase seems to be nonsensical."
She smiles at the Lashunta. "I am designated LA64397F. However, many organics prefer to use the designation Elle or Ella. Either is acceptable." Ella wears simple street clothes in the punk style preferred by some hackers. She sports a pistol on her hip, and you see a second in a thigh holster.
First Seeker Elsebo Luwazi clears her throat and makes an announcement to all of the gathered Starfinders as they slowly trickle in. “Starfinders, we stand at the precipice of momentous history, and I want to thank you all for making it possible for us to be here today. The Starfinder Society has spent the last year recovering from the Scoured Stars incident, our greatest defeat in recent history. We are finally ready to return to the Scoured Stars, find out what happened to our missing colleagues and friends, and rescue any survivors we can find. Report to your stations and lend your assistance to our fleet by performing the final preparatory tasks. More instructions will come shortly.”
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After a long voyage through the Drift, the bulk of the Starfinder fleet has arrived at the outer reaches of the Scoured Stars system. Several immense carriers form the core of the fleet and contain docked transport ships, fighter craft, and scout vessels. Each of the stored ships contains armor, weapons, provisions, and other equipment. There is an almost palpable feeling of tension and excitement as hundreds of Starfinders aboard the central carriers prepare themselves for the mission. Ahead, a shimmering veil of golden energy conceals the three stars known to be within.
Venture-Captain Naiaj, a no-nonsense bleachling gnome, approaches with a datapad in hand. “Do you have all your gear? Are you ready? Good. Now let’s help our fleet get ready for the final journey into the Scoured Stars. But first, tell me your names and what special training you have so we can assign an appropriate task for you to assist with.”
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"I'm Spanner, sir. I'm an engineering specialist. I'm skilled with computers and an able medic. I'm excited to be here." Spanner is a tall humanoid male with dark, straight, shoulder length hair. His android nature can be determined by the simple tattoo-circuits all in black and eyes that are opalescent. They almost seem to glow.
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"We are 6ix, pronounced as the number. Acquisitions specialist, particularly good at hiding, and flexible. We are capable at literally any onboard station, save for command. Trust us with a gun, a computer, engineering, or practically any other non-interactive task." He looks to the other android. "We are also appreciative to find several of our kind aboard." 6ix for his part is a rather shady figure, with extremely short-cropped hair on top, and a more mechanical look about him than many androids go for. A laser pistol and tactical baton are at either side, and he has assorted gear in his backpack.
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A young lashunta woman, gives a big smile, "Zoicoluu" her name sounds like a sweet song from her lips. Her voice hints at the excitement within, it modulates captivating those listening, "I've managed to travel from my home planet of Castrovel and join the Starfinders, with just a little persuasion and maybe the odd little white lie." She giggles a little, her naivety of the harshness of the world apparent. "I know that this is a dangerous mission, but it's exciting to discover what lies in the black vastness of space and discover its secrets. If we have to fight, then I can help, but I'm no good with weapons really." her smile turns wonkey across her fair face with this acknowledgement of her weakness.
"Perhaps I should go see Captain Arvin, if I can help the mission by providing words of encouragement to one and all. Anyone want to join me."
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Her nose and whiskers twitching, Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, reads something on a large screen in the science lab while her children operate other consoles and devices. “Hey, can you help me with something? What we have here is a database built from references to creatures in travelers’ logs and fragments of communication signals that were sent from the Scoured Stars before the force field appeared. Sift through the info and take notes on what kind of threats we might face.” Fitch then pats one of her nearby children on the shoulder.
“See this red guy here, Kirkath? Your notes should be: This is a balor demon, if you see one… RUN!”
"That's about everything I have that you can use. You went through the database so fast! Maybe some other leader still needs your help?"
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Venture-Captain Arvin briefs the PCs in the access corridor just outside the bridge. “Many Starfinders, especially newer recruits, fear what might await us in the Scoured Stars. Talk to your colleagues and see if you can lift their spirits. You have my permission to be creative—pep talks, jokes, or playing some music through the comm system are each valid options.”
With Zoicoluu's help, VC Arvin manages to rally the Starfinders so they can help their allies and friends behind the golden field.
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Venture-Captain Naiaj takes the PCs to the hangar bay. “All right, let’s get to work. See all these ships here? Work with the chief engineer to check the engines of these transports, fighters, and scout ships, and help her make any necessary adjustments.”
Spanner and Centian manage to check the remaining engines.
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Ella seeks out Historia-7 to try and help her with the ship's diagnostics. Unfortunately, she seems to have trouble interfacing with the ship's internal sensors. "It seems the sensor protocols are written in an analog of reverse polish notation. I am unable to directly interface without significant lag errors."
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The arrogant lashunta grows dismayed as one android after the other enters the room. When he sees Centian he sighs and his shoulders visibly slump in disappointment. The first flesh and blood man on our team and it is some slob who can not bother to run a comb through his hair. What a waste.
When Zoicoluu enters the room Umbral Dawn visibly relaxes and he greets her telepathically. "Finally! I am so glad to see another of our kind aboard. For a minute I thought I would be surrounded by machine people for this whole mission."
Umbral Dawn sneers as he hears the tasks being described. [b]"THE UMBRAL DAWN joined the Starfinder Society to fight, not to spend his time playing the part of grubby fingered mechanic. I shall report to Zigvizix and make sure that the missile bays are properly maintained."
He turns curtly on his heels and strides out of the room.
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Zoicoluu smiles at The Umbral Dawn as her antennae twitch and she replies mentally, "It is good to meet with another of my kind, though your name is not one I recognise from Castovel. I am sure your deeds and valour are worthy of retelling, but would they be known by your given name or by the name you go by now?" Her head tilts slightly to the right as her flaming hair tumbles across her shoulder. "And I hope your opinion of these 'machine men' will soften. Many in my experience have contributed greatly to the success of missions I have had the privilege to being a team member." She looks intently at the lashunta man, a quiver passing through her body as she studies the dragon man's body.
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Zoicoluu goes to help Radaszam check equipment knowing that she doesn't want to get dirty in the engine room.
But her mind is still clouded by the image of a lashunta in a red kimono as she finds it difficult to maintain her concentration.
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Historia-7, leader of the Dataphiles, shows you the carrier ship’s science station on the bridge. “Thank you for your assistance. Once we jump into the Scoured Stars, we will need to scan the system to locate any survivors from the previous expedition. Please check connections and run tests on the ship’s computers to ensure the sensors, comms, and other critical systems are running without glitches.”
Ella and Spanner run the diagnostics tests required by Historia-7. Working together they iron out the kinks in the system, they are sure there's no further tests to be ran.
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6ix and THE Umbral Dawn meet with Zigvigix, leader of the Exo-Guardians, in the missile bay. “Hey! Thanks for showing up! I’ve got a special mission just for you! See those missile tubes? I need them checked to make sure that there’s nothing obstructing missiles from being launched, so could you climb or crawl in and have a look? I’m pretty sure it’s safe and we won’t accidently fire you into space!”
They make sure to clear the tubes from any debris that could cause a misfire. There are no more tubes to clean for the acrobatic duo.
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Umbral Dawn pulls himself up from the tube and looks down in horror at a grease stain on his kimono.
This is unacceptable! I will not have time to get this laundered before launch!
Seeing that there is still work to be done, the lashunta wanders over to the cargo bay. Lacking the technical skills to be useful, Umbral Dawn walks around the cargo bay inspecting the equipment and occasionally barking orders at the few people who happen to be lower in rank then himself.
Someone needs to make sure these lay-abouts are actually working.
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Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives, waits for you in the cargo bay. “As you’ve probably surmised, things might get hairy once we’re in the Scoured Stars. Ain’t no glamor in this task, but it’s important—check these weapons, armor, medical supplies, and survival gear, and replace any faulty gear so we all might just make it back home alive.
Are there any engineers or medics among your ranks? Hell, I'll even take a sharp-eyed gunner right now!”
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Venture-Captain Naiaj approaches your crew once again, "Thanks to your efforts the Leaders are only waiting for the First Seeker's orders to move out. I'd like to use what little time we have left to inform you about R-TEP.
"In order to help Starfinder agents get out of dangerous situations during mass missions, the Starfinder Society has devised a Rapid Team Extraction Protocol (R-TEP.) I'll send the brief to your comm units." She pulls out a datapad and as the glow of the screen brightens her graying hair, your comm units begin pinging/vibrating.
We can handle further questions in the Discussion Thread.
"Now, all we have left to do, is wait for the green light." The VC begins walking back towards the hangar bay.
Suddenly, every screen aboard the Starfinder fleet switches to show nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo standing next to a golden obelisk about two feet in height. Behind her, a large observatory window showcases the Godshield, a shimmering force field surrounding the Scoured Stars system. Luwazi Elsebo slowly lifts her eyes from the artifact and addresses the Society.
“Starfinders, this is the Tear, an ancient artifact some of our most skilled agents recovered during a recent mission. The Tear is our key back to the Scoured Stars—our key to liberating those who were lost a year ago. We are ready, so let’s not waste any more time.”
Luwazi Elsebo speaks a few words in an alien language and the artifact start humming softly. She then traces her finger along the artifact’s surface, and a set of glowing runes appear around the obelisk. The golden field surrounding the Scoured Stars starts twisting upon itself, and massive gashes appear as the force field starts tearing itself apart. As the final shreds of the shimmering field evaporate, Elsebo speaks: “It is time. Good luck, Starfinders. Fleet—activate Drift engines! Go!”
One by one, the ships of the fleet pierce the veil between the Material Plane and others, splashing through space like it was water, and then vanish into the swirling depths of the Drift.
*****
Whisked away through the Drift, the Starfinder Society fleet spreads across the three solar systems that form the Scoured Stars. The ships begin scanning the planets, asteroids, and other objects orbiting the three distinct stars. The fleet’s long-range sensors soon start picking up communication signals, energy signatures, and signs of life. After a quick analysis, the Society has identified a few locations where information on the lost Starfinders is most likely to be found. After nearly a year of waiting, the search for survivors can begin!
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Seeing the stain gone from his outfit and that his likely beneficator was Centian; the lashunta gives him a curt nod and walks away briskly. Although he does not say anything, his anger does seem to diminish after this encounter.
Upon seeing everyone rush to their battle stations, Umbral Dawn declares, "I excel at both captaining a ship and at serving at the gunnery station. But know this; whatever role I take I will approach with a full intensity of purpose. I will not grant any mercy and I have no sympathy for weakness. My philosophy in this area extends to friend and foe alike."
The petulant lashunta's eyes fall on the captain's chair as he speaks and he begins edging towards it. His preference is clear to anyone observing him.
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Zoicoluu's antennae twitch as she speaks directly to The Umbral Dawn's mind, With your skills with weapons, you should surely take the glory of gunning the enemy and taking them down. The captain is merely a figurehead for the ship, the real skills lie with those who can pilot, aim and fire the weapons, maintain the life support systems and engines. A captain is the smallest part, not worthy of your concern. The lashunta looks once more to the screen showing the Scoured Stars system as they approach.
She looks at the others in the group, Ella, Centian, Spanner and 6ix, "Friends, I am not much of an engineer or know a great deal about science, so I can either help by taking the captain's chair or try to use the weapons. I apologise, but I might best be suited to sit in the captain's chair. You all have skills and abilities I can only admire and wonder at."
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Umbral Dawn grins wickedly. That is good judgement on your part. No one here can match my decisiveness of violent action in combat. I will go to the gunnery.
Umbral sits down at the gunnery console. "Ahhh...death at the touch of a button," he mutters under his breath before chuckling creepily to himself.
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Alarms and scanners begin to go off all at once as they try to keep up with all of the information. The Starfinder Society’s fleet has identified five locations where clues about the whereabouts of surviving Starfinders are most likely to be found.
While in the Scoured Stars system, the Tear resonates with the Drift engines of the Starfinder vessels in unexpected ways; as the massive ships spread out across the trinary system, they create a network that allows individual ships’ Drift engines to make short jumps in a matter of hours.
The Scoured Stars consists of three star systems, Agillae, Bastiar, and Callion, which revolve around a common barycenter. There are one or two missions available in each system as detailed below.
- Agillae: Agillae is an orange dwarf star with five planets, all of which are terrestrial planets in the star’s habitable zone. Recon and evacuation missions 1 and 2 take place in the Agillae system.
- Bastiar: The largest, brightest, and most massive of the three stars, Bastiar is a yellow dwarf star with eight planets—five terrestrial planets, a gas giant with more than three dozen moons, and two ice giants. Recon and evacuation missions 3 and 4 take place in the Bastiar system.
- Callion: The smallest of the three stars, Callion is a red dwarf star with two small, tidally locked planets whose orbits are synchronized so that they are always on the opposite sides of the star. Recon and evacuation mission 5 takes place in the Callion system.