"You have found the Unbounded Wayfarer? What great news!" Arvin responds through the holographic communication device. His gratitude is evident in his voice. "And another? Ah, yes--the one that responsible for knocking out the Drift engines on the Corpse Fleet vessel. Who knows? That may be of use too. Please forward me the information that you've obtained. I am eager to start our search."
"The coordinates of the downed Starfinder vessel correspond to a planet in the Vast, called Ulmarid." Arvin concludes. "Leave theEndless Threnody and return to here, to Absalom Station, while I research the planet Ulmarid and how best to approach it."
The hand of the holographic Arvin disappears from view, apparently manipulating a control panel or some such. "Before you sign off, there is one more thing." A smile can clearly be seen on the face of the holographic Venture-Captain. "As an additional reward, I have sent you with a password. It opens a concealed compartment within the Loreseeker, next to the sensor controls on the bridge."
Upon opening the compartment, you are confronted with a variety of delicacies that are suitable to most palates, such as sticks of candied meats. Also within the compartment is a hot-plate and a chilled container holding a greenish concoction.
“I know this mission isn’t yet complete,” the holo-Arvin explains, “but you’ve earned the right to celebrate a bit on your return trip. I asked the quartermaster to include a few delicacies so you can enjoy being alive—after an encounter with necromancy.”
As the party enjoys the delicacies provided by Arvin's arrangement, Iseph plots a course back to Absalom Station. But with the mysteries of Ulmarid still awaiting, it won't be long before this band of Starfinders are called upon once again.
You are en route to the planet Ulmarid, an isolated world located in the Vast, at the direction of Venture-Captain Arving following the coordinates that the party had obtained several days earlier aboard the Endless Threnody. Arvin’s research has revealed that the isolated planet is surrounded by a cloud of asteroids. Accordingly, at his recommendation, you are travelling aboard the larger Drake-class vessel, Odyssey, rather than the smaller Loreseeker used in your prior mission, as this vessel’s heavier shields can better withstand asteroid impacts while reaching Ulmarid’s surface.
After spending days in the Drift, the Odyssey exits into normal space and approaches the system containing the coordinates for the planet Ulmarid. As a necessity, due to the lack of Drift beacons to facilitate long-range communication in the Vast, Venture-Captain Arvin’s final briefing for this mission is delivered by pre-recorded message.
Upon activation, the message casts the bridge in a bluish glow. In an instant, Venture-Captain Arvin’s pre-recorded hologram stands on the bridge of the Odyssey, his hands clasped behind his back. “Hopefully your journey was uneventful. Based on your previous mission, we’ve obtained information about the planet of Ulmarid. The desert world has breathable atmosphere but is devoid of intelligent civilization. A cloud of asteroids—leftovers from a collision of the planet’s moons long ago—surrounds the planet, so you must carefully navigate the Odyssey to the surface to find the crashed Unbounded Wayfarer.”
“Be sure to bring the Starfinder insignias with you.” The holo-Arvin instructs. “They will be critical in recovering the information the Starfinders left behind. If you can recover any of the lost Starfinders—alive or dead—please do so as well. Good luck.”
The holographic message flicks off, allowing the Starfinders to get to the business of completing their mission.
Planet Name: Ulmarid
Diameter: ×2/3
Mass: ×4/9
Gravity: ×1
Atmosphere: Normal
Day: 2 days; Year 14 years
Descriptive Analysis: Ulmarid is an isolated, desert planet wracked with sudden and ferocious storms of poisons crystals that scour the surface. A variety of seemingly unintelligent creatures inhabit the planet’s surface as well as subterranean tunnels. The planet’s two large moons collided ages ago, resulting in a field of tumbling debris high in orbit that prevents easy access to the planet’s surface.
The asteroid field around Ulmarid appears to almost consume the planet, large portions of the seemingly desolate planet's surface are obscured by the rocks traversing its orbit.
Iseph stares out with a blank look on their face.
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Rogers manages to navigate the massive cloud of colliding asteroids with ease. The Odyssey is unscathed as it enters the atmosphere.
Tracking the distress beacon emanating from the Unbounded Wayfarer crash site makes locating the down ship easy. However, the crash site is amid dunes too soft to safely bear the Odyssey’s weight, and the safest place to set down is about a half-hour’s walk away.
As you disembark, you find that the surface of Ulmarid is a wind-scoured desert with jagged protrusions of rock thrusting up through the sand. The air has a harsh tang, like burning metal. With the signal from the distress beacon as your guide, you head out into the harsh, barren environment.
About fifteen minutes after you begin your trek to the crash site over rolling dunes and swathes of sand, you notice that the once clear sky appear to be changing color rapidly. You realize, rather quickly, that the area you occupy is about to overtaken by a storm! With insufficient time to return to the Odyssey and no natural shelter to be found, you are forced to act quickly.
Braford manages to the corral the party together to weather out the storm and just in time!
Within mere moments, the storm overtakes you. Even as you are being pelted with sand and debris driven upwards by the storm’s winds, crystal formations, like tiny knives, congeal out of the air and begin to swirl in the wind all around you. Although the fast-moving storm will pass within a matter of seconds, it carries with it a deadly potential that could last for far longer.
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Laniakea activates environmental protections before disembarking. He huddles in the herd--guided by Braford--and does his best to protect the vulnerable portions of his armor.
"I do not intent to inhale any of it, but those crystals look sharp," the woioko warns just before gasping and clapping a long-fingered hand over a bleeding gash on his arm.
All of the party, save Laniakea, manage to avoid being slashed by the crystal formations brought on by the sudden storm. The woioko begins to feel a weaknessin his arm, as the poison within one of the clusters seeps into it his exposed cuts and begins to sap muscle his strength.
With the violence of the storm in the distance, the harsh metallic smell in the air abates, as there is no similar storm pending in the near future as you continue on towards the crash site.
In the distance, about 170 feet away, you spot the crash site of the Unbounded Wayfarer, much of it now buried in the soft sand. A piece of the wreck, half-buried in the sand contains the Unbounded Wayfarer’s antipersonnel weapon, a tactical X-gen gun. The heavy weapon looks as if it is still operational, but it has less than a dozen charges remaining and its reloading mechanism is clearly damaged.
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"Oh dear, it stings," Laniakea notes as the storm passes. He fishes out one of the fleshy bulbs from the Vat Gardens and lowers his environmental protections long enough to ingest it. It crunches noisily between his pegged teeth.
After a while, the woioko seems to flag. "Ah. I do not think that did enough. Never mind me, though. Let us press forward."
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Seeing the turret whirring to life and pointing toward the group, Gamuzali looks about him. Spotting the raised ledges to the north, he points them out to the others. "Look, high ground. I will try to move in that direction, along with any others that would like to attempt that route. I would recommend we do not all stay gathered together, though."
Seeing the turret whirring to life and pointing toward the group, Gamuzali looks about him. Spotting the raised ledges to the north, he points them out to the others. "Look, high ground. I will try to move in that direction, along with any others that would like to attempt that route. I would recommend we do not all stay gathered together, though."
A gust of wind blows a bit of sand in the vesk's eyes and as he takes a second look, the X-gen gun now appears in its original position, lifeless--the original vision likely being the result of heat, glare of the desert sun, or simply the nerves of an adventurer always anticipating the possibility of trouble.
Suddenly, the sand beneath your feet begins to give way as the ground trembles.
Braford and Laniakea get a sense that something large is moving beneath them, just as a long, monstrous creature erupts from the sands between you. Light glistens off of the creatures’s crystal carapace, reflected from the scorching desert sun, as remnants of the sound that once contained it now cascade off the towering beast like tiny waterfalls. Yet, the most fearsome feature of this monster, at least of those portions of which are now above ground, are its enormous mandibles, which emit a continuous buzzing-like sound as they energetically thrum with anticipation.
Surprise Round Initiative Order
Creature
Gamazuli
Braford
Rogers
Levylissa
Laniakea
The skreebara momentarily considers the potential food items before it.
Then, it decides to sample one of each kind. Its vibrating mandibles rip into Levylissa, then attempt to close tight on Rogers, but they cannot get through his leathery hide.
Round One Initiative Order
Creature
Gamazuli
Braford
Rogers
Levylissa - 5 SP | -6 HP
Laniakea (encumbered)
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Gamuzali moves toward the biggest gun he can see, the x-gen gun he had previously suspected of being their enemy. While he is unable to reach the weapon for now, he can certainly draw his own azimuth laser rifle as he moves. Moving as far as he can toward the x-gen gun for now, he presses the butt of his rifle to his shoulder, brings the the sights up to line up with the large, sound-wielding beast, and fires.
The skreebara reels in pain as the vesk’s shot manages to burn through a portion of its carapace. Then vibrates in anger as the two nuar slices into it.
The continuing cries of pain within the creature seem to well up, overtaking the creature, until soon all of it is vibrating. As the vibrations build, they are viciously unleashed in a sonic screech in the direction of one of the nuar and the vesk.
Both Starfinders find themselves caught in the blast!
The skreebara then backs off, heading closer to potentially easier prey.
Round Two Initiative Order
Skreebara -23 HP
Gamazuli - 6 SP
Braford - 6 SP
Rogers
Levylissa -0 SP | -6 HP
Laniakea (encumbered)
"If this don't work, we hightail it towards that gun."
It does work! The skreebara could not get away from the nuar, whose relentless chops and stabs find gaps in the creature's gleaming carapace. A purplish liquid and gore begins to flow out of the skreebara along with its life-force. With a final, buzzing cry, it falls down dead.
Braford recognizes that the tough, overlapping crystals that make up the creature’s carapace look like they could be valuable.
Upon reaching the wreckage of the Unbounded Wayfarer, Gamazuli can plainly see that the vessel is far beyond repair. The tactical X-gen gun affixed to a section of shattered hull, however, can be removed with about 10 minutes of work. Although the weapon is too damaged to be functional, you figure that it can be sold as scrap for a couple hundred credits.
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Gamuzali looks the x-gen gun over as he jogs the last few feet to stand beside it. As soon as he gets close, he recognizes that it is beyond any immediate use. He gives the gun a half-hearted kick and hisses under his breath.
With a sigh, he turns to the rest of the team. "Well, anyone wanna help me get this thing off of here? We could sell it for parts. Better yet, those parts can be used for the defense of the Pact Worlds! Not a bad deal in the end."
Turning his attention to the hull of the downed ship, Gamuzali sees the tell tale signs of heavy shell impact blasts. "Looks like the ship that brought down the Unbounded was using some heavy guns. Like the coilgun we had on the Loreseeker. Let's hope if we run into these same folks again, our new ship's thicker shields will hold a bit better."
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Levylissa approaches the defeated beast and takes her time to look it over. After awhile, she pulls out her sword and starts separating the valuable crystals from the corpse. She then makes her way towards the wreck with the rest of the group. When she arrives, she looks the wreckage over, "This damage was massive. We need to let the Venture Captain now about this."