"Is this Madame Wong's Happy Dragon Tian Kitchen?"
"Hello?" Answers a strong heavily accented voice. "You have? Yes, so good! That very good! Yes, my nephew have van. He come now. He good boy, named Chen. He see you soon."
"Have we contacted Ziggy with a report? We should probably let the security people outside know it is safe to enter now,"
A quick conversation with the Stewards outside gets them to lower the shield. The two stewards come in to have a look at the creature they had so far only heard about.
"It's a big sucker!" One of them observes. "I didn't realize it would be so big."
The other one nods. "I gotta wonder how something like this was able to stay out of sight on the way over here. You would think it would stand out like a sore thumb." They stop and take a few pictures of themselves with the dead creature.
While they do this, a young Tian man arrives with a rather beaten up van that says Madame Wong's Happy Dragon Tian Kitchen on the side. A young Tian man comes out and looks at the creature.
"Yeah, that's it all right. Aunt Wong said I could give you 100 credits for it, or I could offer you 200 credits worth of store cards good at the restaurant."
"I think I'll keep this as a souvenir," she says. "Maybe I'll add it to my violin when I'm onstage."
The quill is a little over a meter long, and has black and white stripes on the plume, not unlike a zebra. The tip is badly damaged, having come in contact with Stell's armor, but the quill is otherwise intact.
Zigvigix cheerily answers the comm when you call.
"Hello?" says the computer-generated voice. "Wonderful news! Yes, let's meet in person again. Shall we meet at the art park again? Good. See you soon!"
Ziggy is at the same bench and gets up when the party arrives.
{Hello again, my friends, and congratulations! I'm very pleased you succeeded. It looks like you didn't come away unscathed. Is everyone all right? So what happened? Please tell me about the creature!}
Zigvigix nods as the group describes the battle.
{I am glad it worked out,} Zigvigix' telepathic 'voice' speaks in your mind. {We Exo-Guardians understand the need for combat skills better than any other group within the Starfinders. Not everyone appreciates our efforts, and the Starfinders have enemies, despite our noble approach. Or perhaps because of it! And you can't always talk your way out of a fight. It's important that new Starfinders know how to handle themselves. I am sorry that some of you were hurt, but that comes with the territory.}
{One thing I might recommend though: if you find yourself in a firefight, find yourself some cover! Surviving is more important than killing the enemy. If you can keep from getting hurt, you can outlast your enemy. If there's no cover, then just hit the dirt!}
Zigvigix picks up a duffel bag and places it on the bench. He opens it.
{This is for you, as a reward for your work. There's also a credstick here with 400 credits. I wish I could offer you more, but I think you'll find the stuff here useful. Have fun with the grenades, but don’t blow yourselves up—I like you!}
Inside the bag, there is one suit of Basic Iridishell armor and four Mark I Incendiary grenades.
"Thank you, Zigvigix. The battle was harrowing, but we all managed to survive. We shall endeavor to be more cautious in future combats."
Dawn looks to her companions. "I am ready to depart. We will meet with Radaszam next, correct?"
"Yeah, that's it all right. Aunt Wong said I could give you 100 credits for it, or I could offer you 200 credits worth of store cards good at the restaurant."
{I am sorry that some of you were hurt, but that comes with the territory.}
"Thanks for th' opportunity, Ziggy! I won't speak for everyone here," Thuldas says with a wry grin, "but I, at least am glad t' get some combat under m' belt."
"We will meet with Radaszam next, correct?"
"I believe that was the plan, yeah. I dunno 'bout you all, but I'd like t' take a moment t' freshen up b'fore waltzin' into th' Palisades. Ain't that the fancy part o' town?"
"Ooh. Grenades!!. One each!! Yay.
sure, lets clean up first"
Wint goes and buys himself the flashiest bow tie that he can find.
"I'm not much interested in grenades. I'm afraid I'll do something wrong and it will detonate early or late or roll someplace it's not supposed to go."
I need to heal up a bit, Stell says, rubbing her wound. "Can we check in the Starfinder infirmary for some overnight treatment or do we need to get on the next assignment ASAP?"
"I have expended all of my magic for the day," Dawn says. "Perhaps it would be best to partake of a rest cycle before completing our tasks. We should send word to Radaszam and Historia-7 that we will be unable to meet with them until tomorrow."
Iolas nods and says, "I agree with Dawn. I'm really worn out, and a good night's rest would do wonders."
"Resting sounds good to me. Lets find a hotel to rest up in"
"I don't need anything fancy. Just an efficiency room would do."
"I don't need anything fancy. Just an efficiency room would do."
The group finds some affordable accommodations not far from the Art Park and settles in for the night. The night passes uneventfully.
Dawn pays a credit to make use of a sleep pod, not really needing any creature comforts. She dreams of electric sheep.
In the morning, she prays to Sarenrae, kneeling on the floor and facing in the current direction of the sun in relation to Absalom Station's rotation. She waits for the others to awaken and eat breakfast before speaking.
"Shall we make our way to the Palisades now to meet with Radaszam?"
After making sure that everybodies sleep pod and/or efficiency rooms are all spic and span, Wint rents a sleep pod. After all, he is small enough that a sleep pod is basically an efficiency for him anyway :-)
"Sure, Palisades sounds good to me. Lets go meet the <Voice trembles slightly> Vesk"
Any sort of Sense Motive check is probably enough to show that Wint is quite nervous at the idea of meeting a Vesk
Dawn senses the skittermander's anxiety. Not well-versed in galactic history, she misinterprets the source of it.
"Do not worry, Wint. I have met several vesk before. Though they are large, they are generally quite civilized."
Thuldas rents himself an efficiency - more accustomed to life planetside, he values the extra space. Before going to bed, he polishes his new set of iridishell armor, hoping to look his very best.
In the morning, Thuldas runs on a brief errand to sell off his old, heavier armor plating at a pawn shop and pick up some breakfast for the crew. He returns to the hostel bearing a box of traditional dwarven hot pigs - heavily spiced sausages wrapped in pastry and stuffed with spiced cheeses, fruits, and vegetables.
"Shall we make our way to the Palisades now to meet with Radaszam?"
"Sounds like a fine idea t' me. I feel up for just about an'thing."
"Stell, before we depart, please allow me to tend to your lingering injuries."
The android spends several minutes praying to Sarenrae as she lays her hands on the envoy.
Iolas rents an efficiency, as his height leaves the sleep pods incredibly cramped. He sleeps heavily, dreaming about giant evil feathers. Come morning, Iolas gets up and does his morning routine. Diagnostics on his expcortex, maintenance on his artillery laser, and a good polishing for his horns. When Thuldas arrives with the hot pigs, Iolas perks up a bit, "Hot pigs? I didn't know dwarves were so fond of pastry. I'm not complaining though. Might be good with some mustard." Once breakfast has passed, Iolas grabs his gear from his room and nods at Dawn's suggestion to go to the Palisades.
Stell enjoys a shower and then sleeps as long as she can. When she gets up, her chest still hurts, but as she's debating whether or not to take her serum of healing Dawn spends some more quality time with her and she feels good as new. "That's amazing! Thank you! I could feel things getting better as we sat there. I always appreciated the Saranrae folks. Always helping people."
She packs her gear and is ready to move on to the next assignment. She makes sure to transfer some small arms rounds to her pistol. Then, while waiting for everyone to arrive, she pulls out her violin and noodles away working on a melody that came to her during the night.
The next day, the group leaves the Downlow district and takes a trip to the post Palisades district.
Unlike most parts of the station, the Palisades are beneath the central dome of the station, and therefore the area has an outdoor, park-like atmosphere. The upper streets are open to the sky, and electric cars drive around on roads instead of through tunnels.
You arrive at the address, an ordinary-seeming office tower, and take the elevator to the 7th floor, to the office of "Obsidian Spiders Corp". Inside the office the lobby is stark but expensively furnished, and when you announce yourselves the receptionist brings you to a set of doors in the back.
The plain white doors of the office slide open to reveal a stark, dimly lit room. The chamber is bleak and expressionless in its emptiness—no vanities line its smooth black walls, and no signs of use mar its smooth black furniture. The only occupants of the suite are a bug-eyed tadpole wriggling in a glowing blue aquarium and a reptilian vesk seated behind an onyx desk. The vesk gestures to a number of chairs in front of him, his features sharply illuminated by the light of his desk’s green holoscreen.
“The new graduates,” he greets, in a low and pleasant voice.
“Good day. I am Radaszam, though since you are here, I should hope you already knew.
“I trust you are aware of our Society’s traditions, so I will cut to the point. I have a minor situation that needs resolution. One of our members, a human named Laboni, had a rather public altercation with a junk scavenger from the Spike. You might be more familiar with the scavenger than I, actually; he is a ysoki who fancifully calls himself Ratrod. I am told he runs a popular racing competition that has, hmm, several hundreds of thousands of viewers on the station’s infosphere. For some reason, Laboni felt the need to tell him that any ‘real’ mechanic could easily beat the garbage that Ratrod and his associates slap together. Now that Ratrod has issued an infosphere-wide demand that she race him and prove it, Laboni doubts she can back that claim up.
“Embarrassing, isn’t it? Not really the sort of troublemaker that suits our Society. Perhaps she would be better suited to the bottom of a trash compactor... Well, we cannot afford to throw her out, not after so many Starfinders were lost in the Scoured Stars. Besides, we can’t let people think we are so weak that we can’t control our own members, or that we cannot stand up to a scrapyard junker. No, I would like you to assist Laboni in winning this race. Show our detractors that even the least of our Society is not someone to be trifled with.”
Radaszam lays a set of five clip-on badges onto the desk.
“Here are some badges that will identify you as members of Laboni's pit crew, and I've sent you a file with directions. I suggest you don't delay, as you will need as much time as you can manage to help Laboni win.”
“Any questions?”
The dwarf takes one of the pit crew badges and slips it into his pocket. "I've rebuilt plenty o' sand racers in my time - I think we'll manage t' put on a good show."
"I will do what I can to assist," Rising Dawn says.
Iolas' eyes widen when Radaszam mentions Ratrod and the racing competition, "Ratrod? As in the Ratrod? This is awesome, I can race against a bona fide celebrity for my job! You can count on me Mr. Radaszam, if I lose that race I don't know if I could ever live it down." He enthusiastically grabs one of the badges and clips it onto his shirt.
Wint visibly quails and hides himself behind Iolas when Radaszam threatens to kill Laboni by crushing her in a trash compactor (that IS the way he interprets Radaszams words :-().
"Please don't kill Laboni for this. We'll make it right for her. We'll make sure that we win the race."
Stell stiffles a giggle at Wint's reaction to Radaszam and says, "I'll try to put the best face on the effort, communicate with the media covering the event, and maybe even provide some colorful trash talk before the race. It sounds like we not only want to win the race but shine a light on Starfinders as resourceful and responsible representatives of the Pact Worlds as we explore the frontiers of space."
"Will this be a two ship race or will we be just one of a group of competitors? Does Ratrod have a reputation for playing fair?"
"Ratrod? As in the Ratrod?...."
"Yes, that Ratrod. He is influential among the Ysoki Scrap Union, and his races are broadcast on the station Infosphere. He is the host of the races, and something of a media personality. The shows are called Ratrod's Scrap Battle, and previous races should be available publicly if you wish to view them."
Now that you think of it, you think you have heard of Laboni's antics. Everyone is excited about the upcoming junkrace. Apparently some nobody mouthed off to Ratrod, the reigning junkrace champion. People know that trash talking really gets under Ratrod’s fur and wonder whether there will be more harsh words exchanged before the race.
"Please don't kill Laboni for this."
Radaszam's eyebrows go up.
"Since you are new to the Starfinders, I will explain. The Starfinder society is not in the habit of executing field agents who speak out of turn. No doubt there will be some disciplinary action, but that will have to wait until the situation has been managed."
"I'll try to put the best face on the effort.... It sounds like we not only want to win the race but shine a light on Starfinders...."
"Obviously it is important to impress upon the public that the Starfinder Society can deliver on its promises."
"I don't know how much of an opportunity you will have to speak to the media, though. The face of the operation is, and must remain, Laboni. Your job is not to take over for her, but rather help her to win. If we pulled her from the competition the replacement would be seen as a 'ringer.'"
"It wouldn't hurt to give Laboni some coaching in that regard though. After the race she will face a number of interviews."
"Will this be a two ship race or will we be just one of a group of competitors? Does Ratrod have a reputation for playing fair?"
"Honestly, I have never followed this show before yesterday. But I do understand that there are a half-dozen contestants. Ratrod usually wins, but he is not undefeated. Whether that means he cheats or not, I cannot say. He does clearly have a 'home turf advantage.' But this is a... 'contact sport' as it were. The racers shoot at one another while racing, so anything could happen."
Radaszam stands. "Well, if that is everything, I'll wish you good luck. I'll be watching the race tonight."
The track is located in the Spike, the lowest part of the station. The Botscrap district is the home of the Ysoki Scrap Union and salvages equipment from all over the station and beyond. Most of it is left in enormous piles in Botscrap. There is no artificial gravity in Botscrap, and the rotation of the station around the central axis (where the Spike is located) provides a centripetal pull that keeps materials stacked against the outer hull. This makes it easier to move large pieces of wreckage by hand.
The track itself runs in a gap through a mountain of scrap, and this tunnel runs all the way around the circumference of the spike. Thus the vehicles experience the track as if it is a centrifuge, and this increases the downward feeling of gravity, which in turn allows for more traction. So the faster a vehicle goes, the more traction it has. A large open area around the start/finish line is the only access to this area.
On the way, Iolas is able to explain the rules to the rest of the party.
* The race consists of a single lap around the track (approximately 3000 meters). Whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner.
* The vehicles must all be built from nothing but scrap materials found in Botscrap.
* The vehicles may have weapons as long as these weapons are nonlethal and merely interfere with the operation of a competing vehicle. Firing into the audience causes immediate disqualification.
Upon arrival the group sees that there is quite a bit of activity here at the track, even though the race is not until tonight. A large lounge area is dominated by a huge animated billboard that shows images of the racers and the odds being given by bookmakers.
LABONI 6-1 - Pictures of Laboni show her to be a young human woman in her late teens.
LEMGEM 7-2 - Lemgem is a female gnome with bright blue hair. her bio indicates that she is a technomancer.
NYIZIN 2-1 - Nyizin is a Winterborn Ryphorian Female, with a grizzled look. Her bio indicates she is a veteran from the Skyfire Legion.
ORSIS 3-2 - Orsis is a well-dressed Lashunta male with a black-and-gold uniform. His bio indicates that he is a mechanic.
RATROD 1-3 - The star of the show, everyone can recognize the raggedy male Ysoki with mottled gray-and-white fur.
VEOLCITY 5-1 - Velocity is a non-binary android with silver hair and skin. Their bio has few details but they seem very comfortable with the media.
In her paisley clothing and white lab coat, Laboni is easy to find.
"I'm so glad you're here!" she shouts, clearly relieved and happy at the presence of the group.
"The older Starfinders are always talking about how great they are, and I was just trying to be like them. I got carried away! But now I'm in this race, and Radaszam has said I better win or I'm in deep trouble!"
"If I had lots of time I'm sure I could build a really great racer... but the other drivers have been working on their own racers for months, or even years. I put one together but I don't think it'll hold up, and the race is tonight! I really hope you can help! Are any of you guys mechanics?"
"I'm actually not that great of a pilot either," she confides sheepishly. "Or good at shooting things. I'm just good at building stuff! But it has to be me on the racer or it doesn't count. But if any of you can drive one of these things, I built a remote control rig into the racer. You guys could fly it remotely from the pit while I ride on it! What do you think?"
As they enter Botscrap, Iolas becomes visibly nervous, resting one hand on the power guage of his artillery laser, "So...ah, I may have run afoul of a prominent gang here in Botscrap. Maybe keep a bit of a watch out for any shady characters, shadier than normal I guess."
Once the party reaches the arena, Iolas calms down a bit, his fear overwhelmed by his excitement. In reply to Laboni, Iolas says, "I think you're in luck. I'm pretty good at building too, and I even did junkracing a while ago. I'll make sure we have the best damn racer on Absalom Station or I'll...I don't know, break off a horn or something. I'm really excited for this, been too long since I got in a race."
Stell introduces herself, reaching out to shake Laboni's hand. "Stell Z-Lin," she says and pauses a moment to see if Laboni recognizes her from her music career.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to win. Teamwork makes everyone stronger. We'll do what we can. We've got good mechanics and good pilots, and those of us who are not so good at those things can still help out and provide other kinds of support. What do you need first?"
Unless asked to do something specific toward constructing the craft, Stell will offer to mingle with the competitors to see if she can determine any weaknesses. "I'll stay away from your construction effort initially, so no one suspects I'm with you and see what I can dig up."
"I'm a pretty good pilot. But instead of a remote, why don't I just sit on your lap and drive? Nobody will see me and it will be a LOT more fun for both of us than my just piloting. That way, you can help me and learn how to pilot better yourself!!
I'm not very good at machines. Maybe I can go and make one of the other machines a little less good? Nothing harmful but if it can't get out of second gear that would be good, right? Although one of you would have to tell me what to do :-)"
"I do not have experience with this sort of thing, but I will aid however I can. Perhaps it would be best if I speak to some of the competition, as well."
Laboni smiles. "I knew I could count on the Starfinders!"
She hits a switch on her rig, and projects a set of holographic schematics for her racer.
"Okay, here's the layout for my racer."
LABONI'S RACER
Speed 40 ft., full 400 ft.
EAC 10; KAC 12
Attack: energy weapon (a hit gives target –4 to Piloting)
Steering: +2 Piloting
Targeting: –3 attack
Passengers: 1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Remote Control: Laboni’s junkracer and weaponry can be
remotely controlled by the PCs, allowing them to make attack
rolls and attempt Piloting checks in her place.
"What I really need is better components. This racer is decent, but not good enough compared to the others. If you find cooler stuff I can put it in pretty easy, or we can upgrade the stuff I have already."
"...why don't I just sit on your lap and drive? Nobody will see me..."
Laboni looks at Wint nervously. "Uh... I dunno... there'd have to be no chance at all that you'd be spotted. At the start and the end the when pilots are getting in and out, there a lot of cameras on them. I think they would see this blue fuzzy thing on my lap."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"So... what do you think we should do first?" Laboni asks.
Action 1:
Dawn:
Iolas:
Stell:
Thuldas:
Wint:
Dawn asks Iolas and Laboni for advice on what to look for, then starts searching the scrap piles for useful components. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much luck.
"Ok, if you think it best, I'll pilot your ship remotely. Won't be as fun though :-)"
Wint would definitely look at the racing records for RatRod.
If allowed, he'd take 10 on piloting. If not allowed,
I mean, of course I'll roll and not take 10. Yeah, that is what I mean :-) (seriously, I take 10 pretty much always if I can. Including times like this :-))
Dawn searches the the piles of junk around botscrap, but without much luck, while Wint downloads previous episodes of Ratrod's Scrap Battle and watches them closely.
Action 1:
Dawn: Scavenged (fail)
Iolas:
Stell:
Thuldas:
Wint: Analyzed Ratrod (success).
Instead of working on the racer you can go around and Size Up every enemy pilot by making five separate Sense Motive rolls.
Stell pretends to be a reporter and goes around asking each pilot a series of questions trying to learn something of their tactics, experience, past race successes or failures.
"Hello. I'm a freelance reporter for PIR (PactWeb Independant Reports). Could you tell my readers how you will approach this race? What's the secret to beating the great Ratrod?"
LEMGEM:
NYIZIN:
ORSIS:
RATROD:
VELOCITY:
Stell finds the android particularly hard to read, but seems to get a pretty good read on the others.
During the break, Dawn will socialize with her fellow android, Velocity.
Iolas notices that the primary radial thrust attenuator is missing from the engine. However, he's not quite able to jury-rig a working solution.
Instead of working on the racer you can go around and Size Up every enemy pilot by making five separate Sense Motive rolls.
During the break, Dawn will socialize with her fellow android, Velocity.
"Hello," says the android Velocity. "You must be one of Laboni's new pit crew. It was sensible of her to hire some."
Stell makes the rounds, pretending to be a reporter, while Iolas tries to fix the crankshaft leading to the induction scoop, but finds it is made from a hardened alloy and the dent cannot be reshaped.
Action 1:
Dawn: Scavenged (fail)
Iolas: Repaired (fail)
Stell: Sizing up (ongoing)
Thuldas:
Wint: Analyzed Ratrod (success).