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As the doors to the Lorespire Complex slide open, a green holographic image of a middle-aged human woman shimmers into view at the center of the room. “Greetings,” it says. “I am Guidance. Please use the cheek swabs in the open receptacle to provide a genetic sample for Starfinder Society identification purposes. If desired, you may place your hand on the glowing panel to receive a subdermal implant further marking you as a member of the Society.”
"Please introduce yourselves as you do, so that I may know you."
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An androgynous-looking bleachling gnome dressed in utilitarian clothing; mostly greys, greens with yellow accents; steps forward, and takes a swab. They swab their cheek, and place it into the receptacle.
"Hmmmm, this doesn't seem fishy in the slightest." You're genuinely not sure if they're being sarcastic. "I'm Peri," they say, pulling up files on their datapad to transfer to Guidance, "And that should be everything you need to know about me and my service to Triune. As you can see, I prefer to summon robots, since they are superior defense options. I'm also not above participating in the fray myself."
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The doors open and in walks a dwarf with ruddy skin and brown hair. He looks back at the lobby, shaking his head, then steps up to the receptacle. Accepting both the swab and the implant without even a wince, his face bears an expression of childlike naïveté unfit for his voice and body.
"H'lo all," he says, sounding like a rock scraped against the inside of an engine. "Most call me Ivan. I'm learnin' ta build and fix things here. This whole place is amazin'!"
Ivan turns to Peri. "So, ye like robots? Well..." As if on cue, through the door walks a massive steel horse! "Still workin' out all tha kinks in this silly thing," he mutters. "Ye coulda come in with me, but no. Everyone, I call this big guy Roll-4. Always wanted a horse, but this is even better! Torag helped me build 'im." Roll-4 whirs and snorts in approval, steam coming out of its nostrils.
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Peri nonchalantly sticks their hand in the implant slot without paying much attention while analyzing the robot. "Torag hmmm..."
"That seems highly unlikely. He disappeared during The Gap. I'd presume he's long gone or dead. How'd he~ help you build this automaton?"
They look over the craftsmanship of the horse, and seem pleased. "At least it's interesting. It seems serviceable enough."
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The well-equipped Half-Orc approaches Guidance, and provides the cheek swab, as well as presents their left-hand for the implant.
"I can't believe it. All that training, all this time... and now we're Starfinders!"
The Half-Orc then takes a seat and begins idly fidgeting with something in their hands. Maybe fixing something? Or taking something apart?
.... NOPE! Pretty sure that's a grenade.
"oh, my name's 'STIK'"
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"That seems highly unlikely. He disappeared during The Gap. I'd presume he's long gone or dead. How'd he~ help you build this automaton?"
"Tha's what I've heard. Wouldna expect anyone but th' faithful to get it proper. But yer to welcome to that opinion." Ivan shakes his head, as if in pity his vision isn't shared.
"I'm...new 'round here. Torag made sure I was a whiz with all these new gizmos!" He seems a bit morose at first, but breaks into a wide grin thinking of the new technology he's found. He continues talking, like few other dwarves can for so long. "Hard ta believe Golarion's been gone for 3 cen-shuries, but Torag'd never bail on his loyal dwarves. And there're so many doodads now, even fused with magic, it's crazy! Never knew I needed somethin' so bad without it."
"Nice ta meetcha too, STIK. Feelin' excited? I know I am. 'Bout time I can take Roll-4 here for a test-run. Th' three afore him weren't half bad, but they didn't have what he's packin'."
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Peri walks towards Twitch and extends their hand to the Ysoki.
"Greetings Twitch! I would love to discuss magical theory with you. Why, the combination of thaumaturgic componentry and technological apparatus is something that I find endlessly fascinating."
They also wave at Stik, seemingly unphased by the grenade.
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A large walrus looking creature enters, taking photographs of different objects as they do. While he is the size of a larger creature, he is thin for his species and appears to be quite conscious about how he moves fits in the sometimes cramped space of the Station. ”It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL here!” He says while approaching Guidance and takes a swab. He eats it, takes another and eats that as well before finally returning the third swab to the tray. While getting the subdermal implant in his neck, the creature speaks to the others in the room.
”You can call me Monty, sorry I’m late.” He then attempts to move through the tight quarters without causing too much of a disturbance. ”I’m with you there Twich, I’ve been studying the existential mysticism of the cosmos for sometime myself. It’s a pleasure. Peri. Ivantir. STIK.” Monty nods to each of the others while greeting them individually.
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STIK stops working on his gadgetry for a moment to wave back, some piece that looks like a dial or a button in his hand.
An odd grinding sound (like gears moving) can be heard from the components still in his other hand.
"Ope!"
He stops waving and puts the piece into the rest of the components and the grinding sound stops.
STIK lets out an audible sigh of relief. Then begins to stare dumbfoundedly at the large creature that has just entered...
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A tall thin damaya lashunta enters the room last. She gives the other gathered Pathfinders a nod, and moves forward to Guidance. She takes a swab and quickly swabs her cheek and returns it to the receptacle.
"I will take the implant as well please." her voice is soft and quiet. Once those tasks are completed she turns to the others in the room.
"Hello. I am Lira Daru from Castrovel. Are you my team?"
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Guidance continues, now that all of the Starfinders have entered and been identified. “It is our pleasure to officially welcome you into the Starfinder Society. Today is the commencement of your new role as a Starfinder field agent. It is our tradition, at the end of the graduation ceremony, for new graduates to present themselves to the heads of our most prominent factions and complete a task at those leaders’ behest. This allows the leaders of these groups to become familiar with all new Starfinder agents, and it provides a constant supply of agents for handling situations in our holdings on Absalom Station. While these tasks were formerly symbolic, the heavy loss of Starfinder agents in the Scoured Stars necessitates that these missions become something more. Please treat any tasks given with the gravity you would grant any other Starfinder assignment.”
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People around the station are increasingly amenable to Starfinders. They respect both the dogged veteran field agents who were not lost in the Scoured Stars disaster and the new recruits, whose presence brings renewed hope. Stating one’s association with the Starfinder Society is likely to garner support from the locals of Absalom Station.
The latest prerelease song from sugar-pop sensation Strawberry Machine Cake is about to be released. Unlike previous releases, the band is putting out a limited-edition physical copy prior to the concert when the released single and additional tracks are scheduled to debut and become available in digital form.
Word on the street is that a dangerous alien predator got loose somewhere in the Downlow district of the station. The creature is now contained in a warehouse, but not after it impaled a security officer with a harpoon-like natural projectile.
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Ivan is still a fish out of water, and doesn't know much about the universe around him. He also has difficulty talking to strangers, despite his wishes to. As such, he eagerly absorbs the information his teammates share.
"I don't much care who we see first. This...Zigvigix fella seems to know wha's up; keepin' people safe an' all. I like the cut of his jib," the dwarf manages after stumbling over the shirren's name several times.
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Monty exhales a few breathy snorts and stammers a bit in response to Ivantir, "Well I'd say I'm quite average in size, only a bit bigger than..." he trails off while looking around and blushes.
"I'm a Mormalaw, sir. It is my pleasure to be an ambassador of sorts for Arniselle! Any mission works for me I am just as excited to see one side of this beautiful Station as another!"
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Peri looks up from their datapad at Montgomery and says completely matter of factly: "It's okay to admit you're bigger than me. I'm a gnome. I know that we're not known for their stature."
"Personally, I'd love to go meet Historia-7 again. Realistically, so long as we see her today, we can go in whatever order. I'm also fine seeing Zigvigix. His crush on Historia-7 is amusing."
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A host of starships, known locally as the Armada, orbits Absalom Station. Ships from the Armada are often starships that have taken advantage of the station’s Starstone core—a mystical device that allows for quick travel through the Drift back to Absalom Station. The ships of this fleet are increasingly at risk of bringing back undetected alien life, simply because the policing Stewards lack the numbers to search every orbiting ship.
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"Oh by the trenches, not at all Peri! Quite the opposite actually, since arriving on station I've discovered how out of proportion I am to every doorway, chair, and room.. It's just taking some adjustment to acquaint myself with it all." The Morlamaw adjusts the collar of his tailored space suit as a bit of perspiration begins to grow on his brow.
"I believe we have it settled then, Zivigivigix.. it is! Then Historia-7 promptly after." Monty seems to calm down a bit after distracting himself with the superficial topic.
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"Hmmm.... Fascinating." Peri seems to be taking all of that information in and processes it.
"I'm with Monty. Why don't we start heading to go see Zigvigix?" Peri starts fiddling with her comms unit.
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Garbage litters the ground around the district’s largest art park—a cement lot filled with undulating metal sculptures and covered in graffiti of grotesquely adorable creatures. The sounds of music and chatter drift over from the nearby clubs, chronically interrupted by the roar of the local gangsters’ engines. A heavily augmented host shirren is sitting on one of the park benches, eating a simple meal of cold grub-noodles and rice candy. Their antennae perk up at the tremor of approaching footsteps. “Welcome, new Starfinders! And congratulations!” the shirren’s voice telepathically projects. “My speech-name is Zigvigix, but feel free to call me Ziggy, if that would be easier for you. Have some rice candy to celebrate your graduation! Today is your big day!
“When you are ready, I have two assignments I could use assistance with. The first is to help me secure a new headquarters on Absalom Station. I’ve been in talks with our station’s protectors, the Stewards, and they were kind enough to give us ownership of a warehouse here in Downlow for that purpose! The current owners no longer want it because a vicious alien took it over and kills anyone who goes inside. Once the alien is gone and the warehouse cargo has been returned to its owners, we can start installing desks and computers, so please go in and incinerate the creature!
“My second assignment...” Zigvigix twitches their tooth barbs for a moment and then holds out a credstick. “Please buy the brand-new Strawberry Machine Cake album, Star Sugar Heartlove!!!, which is out today, and give it to Historia-7 when you see her. She is the head of the Dataphiles, so you should meet her today! I wish to do it myself, but I... I have trouble standing for long periods of time. Thank you very much!”
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"Nice to meetcha, Zig," Ivan grins, accepting a rice candy. He seems a little distracted by the moving metal things. "So, whadda we know 'bout this alien? Either way, we'll take it down no problem."
"And, we're getting you...music?" The dwarf looks skeptical at first, but shrugs and smiles once again. "Eh, tha's fair. But don't you want it for yerself?"
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"Yes, music! The most tremendously amazing and uplifting music there is! Oh, the times that Strawberry Machine Cake songs have kept me going during my convalescence." he says, antennae twitching. 'Historia-7 has seemed down after losing her mentor in the Scoured Stars. I hope the sugar-pop music can cheer her up! The band’s music always makes me feel much, much better!"
"I regret that I will not be able to hear the new songs, as they are certain to be fantastic. But, alas, I cannot stand in line for nearly so long."
You get the idea that clear that despite their obvious desire, Ziggy is downplaying their opinion when it might benefit themself. They just seem uncomfortable spending money on their own personal wants—an oddity for the highly individual shirrens.
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"It's a pleasure to meet you Ziggy. I am Lira Daru." Lira says in greeting.
"Let's see stand in line to get music, and clear out an alien. Those two things could be similar to each other. Have any of you ever stood in line for a new release of a popular thing? It can be a fight to make sure you get a copy. I suggest we get the music first, and then work on the alien. They might run out of albums if we don't hurry. The alien probably isn't going anywhere." Lira looks a little excited at having permission to stand in line for an album.
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"I believe that the creature is a feather stalker, a predator far more unpleasant than its name implies. As far as the Stewards have been able to piece together, a two-bit crime lord illegally imported the creature, and the beast promptly ate him."
He then pushes some holorecordings to your comm units.
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Peri tries to recall what they know about feather stalkers.
They then almost absentmindly try one of the rice candies, but definitely makes a face. "Interesting..." They seem pretty nonplussed about it.
"So let me get this straight. You want us to wait in line for this album to get a copy for you? For someone else? What kind of bonkers sense does that make? Clearly you need a copy too!"
"Either way, I'm definitely in for both of these, and I agree with LiraDaru here. Music first, monsters second!" At that, they tap their laser rifle, definitely seeming excited to use it.
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"Wonderful! We have a consensus then, music first, monster second, and a copy of the album for Ziggy. Thank you for your service, sir. We'll help you right away!" Monty attempts to watch the video, but has to look away. "This is a major issue, please let no one near that facility until we have accessed if there is further danger."
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A feather stalker is a large black-and-white creature (specifically, a crinoid) made up of long feathery appendages and little else. (Large aberration). They can attack with their feather appendages, and can throw feathery harpoons as a ranged attack. They tend to be ambush hunters.
Zigvigix asks, "Are you sure you don't want to handle the threat first? It has already killed its 'owner', who's to tell who else might die while you wait in line?"
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"Ziggy makes a good point. We are already here in Downlow.. Maybe we should go 'take care of' this little stalker, then head to the line. We can message Ziggy on the way, right?" they ask the Shirren.
"Besides, this old girl could use some action." they say while placing their hand on the laser rifle on their back.