Into the Void

Game Master Peet

Thuldas spends some time with his crew, but he also wanders through some of the quieter drinking establishments in the Arms, buying drinks for strangers in exchange for a story or two.

Not looking to get anything particular out of this, but a Diplomacy check seems warranted nonetheless.

Diplomacy check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (1) + 0 = 1

Unfortunately, Thuldas's uncouth ways cause many to assume he's a scammer - or worse - and he almost universally receives the cold shoulder.

Wint probably makes a complete pest of himself trying to get the whole group to stick together and have fun together :-)

After a week of relaxation and station life, the group gets a message from Venture-Captain Arvin.

Got you another mission, the message reads. Pulled some useful data from the logs of the Unbounded Wayfarer. Meet me at my office at Lorespire for a briefing tomorrow morning 0900 station time.

The next day you arrive at the Venture-Captain's office and are ushered in by his assistant. The stacks of papers, charts, and data screens are still there, but the space in the center of the office has been cleared to to make room for a holoprojector, and seats are clustered around it, leaving the corners of the room stacked with files and other detritus.

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.

“Greetings, Starfinders,” he says, without turning. “You are looking at Elytrio, a newly charted planet in the Vast. While you might dismiss it as a lifeless rock at first glance, it still has mysteries to plumb. It was discovered by the Unbounded Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was attacked by some kind of orbital defense system when it got too close; the Wayfarer didn’t have the firepower to respond, so the crew made a prudent retreat. But we Starfinders don’t let these sorts of things go.”

He pauses before continuing. “I’d like you to take the Calico Wanderer, 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. Any questions?”

"I have no questions. I am eager to spread the light of Sarenrae to this unexplored world," Dawn says.

Before the meeting starts.

Stell waltzes in--literally, strumming a melody in 3/4 time on her violin, three-stepping to the beat--wearing new Freebooter armor. She has an armored jacket in light brown leather, matching sturdy knee-high boots, with pants that have built-in plates protecting her thighs and knees. She has her pistols on both hips and a shoulder holster with a third pistol. She also has the grenades from the last adventure hooked to various places on her person. She would look pretty formidable if she wasn't so short and with a teenager freckled face and slightly messed up red hair.

"I hope you all had a great week! Did you catch my new music releases? I sent you the links. I've gotten lots of great comments and I was even interviewed by Sch!tkxo Vilx'x themself, the music reviewer and vlogger who discovered the Tasko Pantarans!" They wanted to hear all about my Starfinder adventure. And I got this new armor and I wore it when I recorded a tune inspired by our last space battle with the pirates, called The Last PIrates at the Party. It's already trending on the charts--well 2314th, but considering how much music is available, that's pretty good!

Finally she pauses to breath.

In other small talk while waiting for the full crew to arrive:

"It wasn't all fun and games, just so you know. I came by the 'plex and took some enviro-learning modules. I passed my certification as an engineer and my first aid protocols. I don't have any kits yet, but if anyone needs any help with stuff, I can be more useful. I also studied some melee battle videos and learned to recognize weaknessses in the enemy tactics. So if we get into hand to hand, listen for me to point things out that you can take advantage of."

At the meeting:

"What kind of weapons did the defense system use? Did it send missiles up from the surface or send automated attack ships? What kind of environment is it--I mean I can see it looks like a desert, but that last planet had acidic sandstorms--so did they get any weather reports? Is it hot? Cold? Is there breathable atmosphere? What's the gravimetric on it?"

Thuldas wanders into the meeting only a hair before he'd be considered late. Slumping down into a chair in a clatter of iridescent armor plating with a sigh, he listens patiently as the VC outlines the mission. Quickly thinking of a question pertinent enough to sound clever, he opens his mouth - only to come second to Stell, who asks his question as well as a few more. With a rueful smile, Thuldas settles in and watches.

At the end of the briefing...

"Sounds like th' kind of job I joined th' Society for. Lookin' forward to it!"

Iolas trundles in slightly after Thuldas. He says somewhat abashedly, "Agh, sorry I'm late. Missed the train."

"Uh, does our ship have substantially more firepower than the Unbounded Wayfarer? Just thought I'd ask"

"What kind of weapons did the defense system use? Did it send missiles up from the surface or send automated attack ships? What kind of...

“The Unbounded Wayfarer was attacked by some kind of automated carrier in orbit that sent drone fighters after it. They were equipped with laser weapons, but the Unbounded Wayfarer ran for it before finding out too much about the details of the enemy.”

“As far as the planet goes...” Arvin turns back to look at the holo of the globe.

“I can't tell you much, I’m afraid. Initial scans were too brief to get too many details. There are no open bodies of water. The planet would be a temperate one were it to have water, so you will experience a possible range of temperatures depending on where you set down. But the extremes of temperature are nothing an ordinary suit can't handle. 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.”

"Uh, does our ship have substantially more firepower than the Unbounded Wayfarer? Just thought I'd ask"

Arvin smiles. “Oh, I should think so,” he says. “You did destoy the Lawblight, the pirate vessel that destroyed the Unbounded Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was just a light scout, and not heavily armed.”

Arvin looks around the room. “Any other questions?”

No additional questions from me. Good to hit the Drift!

"All right then. The co-ordinates to Elytrio are being downloaded to your ship's databanks as we speak."

"If that's all the questions, let me wish you good luck. And Weydan be with you."

Guys, I'm ready to start the first encounter, but I don't think everyone has leveled up yet. I'll begin posting details shortly but please get on that.

"And with you," Stell replies to the VC's blessing.

As the group is filing out, she suggests, "I'd recommend packing environmental clothing, just in case the environment holds some surprises. We've got some creds for serums of healing and the like. Do we have a medkit, spare batteries, lights?"

I see Dawn has a medkit. Perhaps we should spend some of the group share on a few serums of healing and maybe some medical supplies like sprayflesh and medpatches.

Sorry for the delay in actually levelling up. Done now. We can proceed as far as I'm concerned

"If radiation might be a concern, we should have clothing to protect against that," Dawn says. "I concur that we should spend some of our funds for additional medical supplies."

I'll spend 10 credits for a suit of environmental clothing to protect against radiation. I can provide additional credits for healing supplies if necessary.

"A radiation badge costs 100 credits. Someone in the group should have one. We can use party funds if no one has the creds to spend. It sounds an alarm if dangerous levels of radiation are detected."

Ready to head back to the Calico Wanderer, the group heads down to the lobby of the Lorespire complex. A small robotic drone intercepts the group as they depart from their building. The floating drone projects a holoscreen in front of it. The screen comes alive and a confused-looking Ysoki child appears on the screen, 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!”

“I'd'ave come in person but I'm out here on the Master of Stars. Waaaaayyy too busy.”

There is a sound of a crash and a dull BOOM! coming from off screen. Fitch's attention is drawn away for a moment.

“WHAT!?! POWER THAT DOWN FIRST, YOU IDIOT!” She turns back to the screen. “Gotta go-Good luck on your mission. WHO HIRED YOU MO-” The transmission suddenly cuts off.

On the back of the drone is a package containing a modest-sized device.

TETRAD CERTIFIED TRANSLATOR LEVEL 2 (BULK L)

This elaborate datapad has several additional audio receptors to capture nearby sounds. If you don’t share a language with creatures you encounter, you can activate this device to collect basic linguistic information. The device requires 10 minutes of observed conversation to gain enough information to operate. The device then acts as a rudimentary translator. It does not allow you to converse with creatures with whom you don’t share a language, but it can relate very basic information. Examples of statements the device could interpret would be: “come with us,” “lower your weapons,” or “leave immediately.” The device cannot parse proper names, including personal designations or the names of items and places. Some extraordinary complex or obscure languages might not translate clearly with this device.

A Tetrad certified translator has 10 capacity and 1/hour usage.

After the group takes the translator off the drone, the drone speeds off down the street, heading for its next errand.

The group takes some time in the shopping districts purchasing supplies, and then returns to their ship, to find that the Starfinder Society's tech division are resupplying the ship's missile magazines.

Soon the ship is ready for launch. Once again the ship clears Absalom space and then enters the drift.

5d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 4, 3, 1) = 13

The thirteen-day trip to Elytrio is mostly uneventful. Four days out, the Calico Wanderer passes within comm range of another ship, the Clutter Collector, a small salvage ship. The ship’s captain, a ysoki named Winks opens a communication link to talk to the Calico Wanderer, more out of boredom than anything else. She thanks the PCs for any conversation they engage in before having to end the link an hour later as her ship moves out of range.

When the Calico Wanderer finally emerges from the drift, Elytrio is only a few hours away. As you approach Elytrio, your comms suddenly squawk to life, filled with a crackling robotic voice in an alien language. The tone of the message is strident.

Subsequent recurrences of the message stutter and distort like a corrupted audio file, eventually cutting off with a loud burst of static. Simultaneously, a hemispheric vessel comes into view from behind one of the planet’s moons. It approaches the Calico Wanderer, and while it has no visible weapons, it does emit a ring of red light from the edges of its flat bottom hull.

Shortly afterward, apertures open on the platform’s bottom hull as the vessel enters a combat posture.

I'll get a combat map up shortly. In the meantime please make a list of anything your character is purchasing in the discussion thread. The Radiation Badge and anti-radiation clothing are quite reasonable precautions.

Since I've heard no objections, I'm going to say that Stell got a radiation badge using the group shared fund, which goes down 100 credits to 653.5 credits. Stell will wear the badge, but it's available to whomever tends to be first into a room or area.

Stell smiles at Fitch's distractions. "Glad someone's got the patience to raise a new generation like that."

She says a Vercite proverb to see how the translator handles it. "Sunsuboj estas superitaj."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Computers: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Rising Dawn spends the journey through the Drift in quiet contemplation and study, reading several religious treatises stored on the ship's computers. When they emerge near Elytrio, she takes her station on the bridge and watches through the viewport as the planet grows larger.

She listens closely to the message on the comms, picking up on the stern tone and inflections. "I cannot understand the language, but the message definitely sounds like a warning."

As the vessel comes into view, she taps a few buttons on her console, bringing up sensor scan results. "There are no life signs aboard the ship. It appears to be part of an automated system. I suggest we prepare for combat."

Culture check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

"I cannot understand the language, but the message definitely sounds like a warning."

"I would agree wi' that! We're steppin' on some toes 'ere, that's for sure!"

Thuldas reaches into his pocket, drawing out a small gem with a myriad of internal refractions. Hesitating for a moment, he snorts a quick laugh and mutters "No sense in dyin' with a pocketful o' serums" before activating the stone, which rapidly draws a ring of arcane signs about his face and head before fading away.

Casting comprehend languages from a spell gem; duration is 20 minutes.

"'Unknown vessel: turn back or be destroyed.' Right. That was illuminating." Thuldas sighs heavily and chucks the depleted stone back into his pocket.

Engineering check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

"Let's blast this tin can into mulch - maybe that'll get the attention of a livin' person!"

Iolas nods, ”Sounds good to me.”

I didn't see the post describing the journey to Elytrio, as it posted after I had begun my previous post.

Stell uses the time on the journey to practice her synth violin and work on new compositions. She'll play a tune for the ysoki captain.

As the ship approaches Elytrio, Stell is anxiously peering at the instruments and immediately begins to work on the messages received.

Sense Motive, Skill Expertise: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 5 + (6) = 30

Computers: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

"Whoa!" Stell blurts out as the first message emerges. "Getting a seriously negative warning type vibe here!"

Once the ship comes into view, Stell calls out, "Battle stations!"

Seeing Thuldas use his aeon stone reminds Stell to get out the aeon stone picked up on the previous adventure. She sets it in motion around her head and feels slight change in her sense of smell. Probably doesn't matter, but would wearing the stone mean she is not breathing at all, or just that if she chooses to, she doesn't need to breath? It could be a problem if something is detectable by sense of smell.

Same assignments as before? Stell will start in the Captain's post, but will shift over to work science officer or gunnery (or any other post) as needed.

Guys, I'm ready to start the first encounter, but I don't think everyone has leveled up yet. I'll begin posting details shortly but please get on that.

Iolas: If you prefer to remain at level 1 I suppose you can do that, but I personally would prefer that you level up.

I will start the space combat later tonight.

Wint definitely was VERY happy to chat to Winks. Hopefully the latter was willing to swap stories of Ysoki culture AND recipes. Oh, and cleaning tips (hey, rats must have a unique perspective on such things :-)

Already in the pilots chair, he twirls several arms excitedly as he makes sure all systems are functional.

"Pilot station manned and ready, captain. Lets DO this"

Alright, I think my stats are all updated.

Round 1

Initiative Phase: Calico Wanderer is Ship A and moves second.

Ship A Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

Ship A Gunnery Phase

CALICO WANDERER:
AC: 17 TL: 16
Shields F: 23/23, P 22/22, S 22/22, A 23/23
Hull: 40/40
Nuclear Missiles Remaining: 5/5

Drone Platform:
Stats unknown

Drone Fighter:
Stats unknown

Everyone except gunners are up!

FYI: Map is up. The big black round thing is the drone platform. The little red thing is a drone fighter, slowly orbiting the platform.

Twisting dials and turning knobs, Thuldas focuses the Wanderer's sensors on the drone fighter, seeking whatever information he can glean from the ship's construction.

Computers check (Scan Action): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

"Do y' think that platform will spit out more drones at us? That might be worth a scan as well, but I fig're th' drone might be in more o' a shooty-shooty mood."

Stell figures there is no point taunting an AI and she trusts that Wint can manage the piloting tasks without her encouragement, so she says to whomever is at the tactical nuclear missile launcher, "Let's make this first tac nuke count. Your call on the target, but we might want to nuke the platform, in case there are more drones waiting to attack. I'll proceed to the torpedo launchers if it looks like we'll be able to use all our weapons."

Encourage using Diplomacy, DC 15: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Stell will move to the torpedo launchers by the start of next round.

"Scanning..." says the ship's AI. "Collating data now. Hostile contact is small and agile, but has no shields... displaying data now."

SCAN REPORT

SHIP CLASS: DRONE
SIZE: TINY
CREW COMPLIMENT: NONE - NO LIFESIGNS DETECTED.
SPEED RATING: 5
MANEUVERABILITY: PERFECT
ARMOR RATING: 16
ELECTRONIC/THERMAL SIGNATURE: 15
HULL STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 20
SHIELD STRENGTH: ZERO. NO SHIELD GENERATORS PRESENT.
WEAPONRY: LIGHT LASER CANNON IN TURRET MOUNT.

Round 1

Initiative Phase: Calico Wanderer is Ship A and moves second.

Ship A Helm Phase
* Captain Action: Encourage (gunner)
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: Scan (success)

Ship B Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

Ship A Gunnery Phase

CALICO WANDERER:
AC: 17 TL: 16
Shields F: 23/23, P 22/22, S 22/22, A 23/23
Hull: 40/40
Nuclear Missiles Remaining: 5/5

Drone Platform:
Stats unknown

Drone Fighter:
AC: 16 TL: 15
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Pilot and Engineer are up!

"Captain, I've scanned th' drone! It's quite lightly armed and could only chew through our shields if there was a bunch o' 'em. I'll get th' downlow on that platform as soon as possible!"

"There doesn't seem much to do, really, but let it come to us and dodge wildly. Perhaps we should keep the nukes for the platform? Using one on that drone seems a little overkill to me"

Wint just evades in place (automatically makes roll)

Okay, I think Dawn and Iolas are both gunners so I am moving ahead.

The drone turns quickly, and eagerly sprints toward the Calico Wanderer. It fires a shot with its laser... Hit! The laser bolt is easily absorbed by the Calico Wanderer's forward shields.

The enemy platform performs a tight turn, sharper than Wint thinks it would normally turn. Once it has completed its turn, a bay opens on its underside, and another drone is disgorged! The platform does not fire any weapons.

.

.

Round 1

...
Ship A Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

Round 2

Initiative Phase: Calico Wanderer is Ship A and moves first.

Ship A Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: ?
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

Ship A Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

CALICO WANDERER:
AC: 17 TL: 16
Shields F: 18/23, P 22/22, S 22/22, A 23/23
Hull: 40/40
Nuclear Missiles Remaining: 5/5

Drone Platform:
Stats unknown

Drone Fighter (red):
AC: 18 TL: 17 (evading)
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Drone Fighter (orange):
AC: 16 TL: 15
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Gunners are up! Then round 2 will start (I already rolled initiative) and Non-Gunners may act.

I'd like to put some distance between us and the mother ship. That way the drones will take longer to get to us and we'll have to deal with fewer each round.

Do you mind if I move EVERYTHING (ships, patterns, etc) 8 hexes to the SE? That way I've got more room to maneuver

"Iolas, concentrate our long range fire on the Drone Base. The sooner we take that out, the fewer mosquitoes we have to swat. I'll get to the torpedo launcher and fire it as well. Dawn, concentrate your fire on the drones. Wint, keep us pointing toward that drone base."

Stell heads for the torpedo launcher console and preps a missile to fire in round 2.

Iolas can use Stell's encourage bonus to target the drone platform.

Dawn follows the captain's orders, firing flak in the general direction of the drone fighter.

Gunnery, Computer: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9

"Certainly captain"

Well, that makes this the most boring piloting fight ever :-).

Wint automatically evades in place.

Iolas runs to the missle console, typing commands into the keyboard before firing.

Nuclear Missle, Computer, Encourage: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 4 + 1 + 2 = 20
Damage: 5d8 ⇒ (6, 1, 7, 3, 7) = 24

Thuldas readjusts the ship's scanners, trying to learn as much about the drone base as possible.

Computers check to Scan: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Do you mind if I move EVERYTHING (ships, patterns, etc) 8 hexes to the SE? That way I've got more room to maneuver

Since the enemy is moving away from you, you won't need to.

Dawn's bursts of flak burst too early and get lost in the void. But Iolas' missile locks on and homes in towards the target.

Thuldas directs the ship's scanners at the larger ship.

"Scanning next contact..." says the ship's AI. "Data coming in now. Displaying..."

SCAN REPORT

SHIP CLASS: DRONE PLATFORM
SIZE: MEDIUM
CREW COMPLIMENT: NONE - NO LIFESIGNS DETECTED.
SPEED RATING: 3
MANEUVERABILITY: AVERAGE
ARMOR RATING: 15
ELECTRONIC/THERMAL SIGNATURE: 14
HULL STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 70
SHIELD STRENGTH: 40 TOTAL
* FORWARD: 10
* PORT: 10
* STARBOARD: 10
* AFT: 10

The enemy platform thrusts away powerfully, putting more distance between it and the Calico Wanderer. As it moves the drone bay opens again and another drone is disgorged.

Meanwhile, the drone that already attacked the Calico Wanderer continues to do so, inching closer and flying an evasive pattern. The newer drone fires on the nuclear missile speeding towards the target. But neither laser bolt finds their mark.

The nuclear missile continues to speed towards the enemy ship.

Iolas: I have already moved the missile towards the enemy for round 2. Since you rolled a hit you do not need to roll again; the missile is locked on.

.

.

Round 2

Initiative Phase: Calico Wanderer is Ship A and moves first.

Ship A Helm Phase
* Captain Action: none
* Engineer Actions: none
* Pilot Action: Evade
* Science Actions: Scan

Ship B Helm Phase
* Captain Action: ?
* Engineer Actions: ?
* Pilot Action: Evade
* Science Actions: ?

Ship B Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls: Miss, Miss

Ship A Gunnery Phase
* Attack Rolls:?

----------------------

CALICO WANDERER:
AC: 17 TL: 16
Shields F: 18/23, P 22/22, S 22/22, A 23/23
Hull: 40/40
Nuclear Missiles Remaining: 4/5

Drone Platform:
AC: 17 TL: 16 (evading)
Shields: F 10, P 10, S 10, A 10
Hull: 70/70

Drone Fighter (red):
AC: 18 TL: 17 (evading)
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Drone Fighter (orange):
AC: 18 TL: 17 (evading)
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Drone Fighter (purple):
AC: 16 TL: 15
Shields: none
Hull: 20/20

Gunners are up! You won initiative for round 3 so the enemy will have to move first.

Dawn fires the flak launcher again, this time scoring a hit.

Flak Launcher, Computer Bonus: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 2 = 21
Damage: 3d4 ⇒ (4, 4, 1) = 9

Can't access map right now, targeting closest fighter.

Stell waits until the Calico Wanderer is just within the range of the torpedoes and sends one at the drone base.

Torpedo launcher, Computer Bonus: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9
Damage: 2d8 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10

Stell realizes the targeting system was out of adjustment. She hastily tries to recalibrate the coordinates for the enemy drone ship from the last scan and loads another torpedo.

Let's keep things moving...

Iolasbot launches another missile.

Nuclear Missle, Computer: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 2 = 16
Damage: 5d8 ⇒ (4, 3, 8, 5, 4) = 24