*Splash!*
You’ve received a message from Wayfinder faction leader Fitch that you’re needed on a mission of the utmost importance. The meeting room is well-furnished and stocked with refreshments, but there’s no sign of Fitch yet.
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Charli looks arond the room happily. “Ooh, spicy Akiton treats! Delightful!” She dips some of the fresh vegetables into the spicy cheese dip.
I wonder if Fitch gets them from that neat vat garden we explored on our first mission?
“You know what would make this great? Tea!” The little gnome considers making Brethedan bubble tea for everyone, but then reconsiders. The cheese dip is very spicy, with several types of peppers, and lots of interesting seasoning. She pulls out the leaves for Akiton Red, and starts them brewing, filling the whole room with aroma of cinnamon. Then she turns with delight. “Mikka! Is that you? And you still have Bob!” She pats Mikka’s robot, then looks at the others coming in the door.
“Hello, all! Are you my team? I’m Charli Poshkettle! I run the tea stand across from the Lorespire, but this round of tea is on me. Please, have some!”
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Antoine enters the room at a slow pace with his camera strapped on him. He surveys the room with his brown eyes to find the best place to observe and to take pictures.
Startled by Charli's declaration, he approaches the table with the same pace as earlier and looks at intriguing disposition of vegetables, cheese dip and, of course, tea.
"Miss... Poshkettle? I think we are in the same team. I am Antoine Désilet. You may have read some of my article or seen some of my pictures.
I may be too expediting but would you accept if I take a picture of your tea set before tasting it? It is very beautiful."
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“Oh sure! I don’t mind! I have seen your articles. I really loved the series you did on the different levels of Absalom Station. Reading about the different neighborhoods in the lower levels of the Spike — especially those that were gang-run... That was fascinating.”
Charli poses with her tea set and smiles. “It seems like everyone that I meet these days has a vid feed or little show. Envar told me that he wanted to make me a star, but I’ve been kind of happy just doing my thing. What got you started on your journalism?”
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The little gnome had caught her just as she bit into one of the appetizers. Mystery meat, but at least this was better than the normal grub she was served back in the service. More flavor and a course texture that no vegetable could match.
Definitely not fabricated food.
The distraction of the human’s entrance gave her a chance to finish chewing and swallow.
Best get this over with before the gnome has everyone shortening my name!
She strides towards the two, holding out a hand towards the human in greeting. “I am Mikkazuki. Engineering specialist, with certification in medical. I do not believe we have met.”
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At the mention of Envar, Antoine’s gaze goes absent.
Not this Envar please… he thinks.
But his focus returns as he prepares his picture.
” I also am happy to do my own thing Miss Poshkettle. But those pictures I do for the Society and for many newspapers are very popular. I even receive contracts from publishers to write a tutorial book about photography.
A click can be heard as Antoine pushes the button of his camera. Looking satisfied, he takes a cup and sits on a chair.
"But you were asking where my journalism started. Well, my Uncle initiate me to photography when I was very young. He was a priest of Triune and he was doing portraits with a photographic film. To see in a black chamber, a picture who appears gradually impressed me by a lot. At my majority, I decided to join the Steward but not like a soldier but as a photographer. This is there where I learn to wield the longarm.
After I was expulsed of the stewards, I had taking contract for Abadarcorp. Than, I decided to be a photograph for the press. My father suggests me to one of his friend who was searching for a good photograph. “
Antoine sips the tea. It tastes very good.
” But as civilizations changed, so does the press. Today, they don’t have money anymore for a journalist and photograph. I needed to adapt myself and write the article myself.”
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A ruddy-skinned Akitonian man enters the meeting room, wearing a comfortable fitting traveler's clothes. The LED on the datajack installed on the side of his forehead flickers between blue and green as he surveys the room. He is marked by artistic techno-arcane hybrid tattoos and a medallion of Triunite authority.
A gnome! exclaims the implanted artificial intelligence within his mind.
"I see that I have the pleasure of working with a gnome on this mission," he says with a smile. "I have not had the opportunity to work with gnomes in the past. My name is Hawthorne."
He smiles and nods his head at the vesk engineer, greeting her in her own language.
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Charli laughs at Antoine’s carefully veiled look when Envar is mentioned. “Yeah, Envar was a handful, but overall a well-meaning guy and somewhat sweet when you got to know him. I have hopes that at some point he’ll gain more direction.”
Then she beams up at Hawthorne, blushing almost as pink as her hair. “Well, it will be a pleasure working with you too! I’m from Castrovel, originally. Do you hail from Akiton like Fitch?” She hands him a cup of Akiton Red tea.
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"Yes," Hawthorne answers as he accepts the tea from Charli. "Skin stained to prove it."
He answers Makkazuki's question in Common out of politeness to the others in the room. "I studied with the mechanical and software engineering of many races during my novitiate, including practical internships, so I have to learn the language of many skillful engineers."
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Arriving late to the party, Rahm takes in the other starfinders as he enters the room. As usual, an eclectic mix of different races and skills. Still, after the uniformity of Aballon, the variety of view points brought an interesting frisson to his work with the society.
Striding in he says "Rahm 9, Exoguardian at your service." His ceremonial plate and the starknife attached to his back gleam with polish.
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Nodding, Mikkazuki replies “Yes, that is why I came to Absalom Station after mustering out. I wanted to see some of how other races do things.”
Setting her plate down on a combat drone, she turns to the new person and extends a hand in greeting, “Mikkazuki, Engineering specialist, cert in Med. I’m also with the Exo-Guardians.”
“Has Ziggy sent you on any interesting missions you can talk about?”
The drone shifts it’s position slightly so the plate doesn’t spill off it. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have any appendages with which to steady the plate.
The robot looks like it has seen the wrong end of almost every type of weapon. Although it is intact, there does not appear to be any surface on it that isn't dented, scortched, or patched. The fresh coat of lightning blue paint just makes the previous damage stand out more. The robot has tactical pike sticking out of a sheath built into it’s back. There are arms on the robot, but they lack any fine manipulators. It is clear they were only designed to allow the robot to utilize the pike.
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“Sent off to retrieve some data from a vessel thought lost in the drift. Was able to recover this while on the mission.” She grabs a baton from her belt and shows it off. It has Kasathan symbols on it and uses a power cell.
“Although the mission wasn’t specifically from Ziggy, I was also charged with clearing a quarantined ship. Lots of action on that mission!”
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Charli smiles up at Hawthorne. “I see that you are a follower of Triune. I’ve always had a fondness for Triune, in part because I grew up with stories of the gnomish clockwork goddess, Brigh. It’s not often that I see humans who follow them, though. May I ask what led you to their worship?”
She pulls out the holy symbol of Weydan, a starship taking off into the unknown. “I became fascinated by Weydan, and idea of the endless horizon. We both follow gods of discovery and travel. I wonder where this mission will take us?”
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After several seconds of silence following the last arrival entering the meeting room, a large holoscreen descends from the ceiling of the northern wall. Fitch’s small, albino ysoki face appears in clear resolution. She whispers quietly to the assembled group.
“I have a very important mission for you. You should be aware that the Master of Stars, the best ship in the Starfinder Society’s fleet, is undergoing extensive renovations. Well, we’ve hit a bit of a roadblock. We need some clophirium to complete the next repair, but supplies have been quite scarce in the Pact Worlds for the last forty years. Luckily, we searched our archives and found a planet in the Vast with substantial reserves: Arniselle.”
Fitch’s transmitted image picks up a datapad but accidentally knocks a screwdriver off the desk while doing so. She flinches as the tool clatters to the ground, then continues whispering in an even lower tone. “NO! I’m sorry about that. They’re finally all asleep, you see. Now, back to the mission. We established a lodge on Arniselle about a century ago. It was abandoned when the First Seeker at the time decided to refocus Society resources closer to the Pact Worlds and abandoned several outposts in the Vast. Unfortunately, our scans show that Arniselle has undergone substantial seismic activity during the intervening years, and now the whole lodge is underwater. We assigned a special team to go investigate; they’re all kalos, call themselves the Manta Corps. Maybe you’ve met them. Anyway, a ship dropped them off, but the Manta Corps never reported back for their pickup.”
Suddenly, a loud shriek erupts from the holoscreen, followed by quick pitter-patter footsteps. Fitch drops the whisper and turns away from the screen. “Hey, you’re all supposed to be asleep for another hour! Back in the beds before I duct tape you in and leave you to find a way out!”
Fitch turns back to face the screen. “Anyway, the current First Seeker agrees with me about the importance of this mission and has authorized me to mount a second expedition. We must finish repairing the Master of Stars, and to do that we need Arniselle’s clophirium. This could be dangerous, so I’ve selected you, some of our most experienced agents. Go to Arniselle and investigate the submerged lodge. See what it will take to re-establish our presence there. And try to find out what happened to the Manta Corps. Best case scenario, they’re just down there working, but it’s not like them not to report in.
“I’m sending you information on the planet now. Oh, and remember! There could easily be intelligent life on this world. The lodge wasn’t staffed long enough to really explore the oceans. If you meet any new species, be diplomatic! It’s not only our mission as Wayfinders, but locals might help us with getting that clophirium as quickly as possible. Any questions?”
Kalos often redesign weaponry to function much better underwater. You actually know where on Absalom Station they purchase their underwater weapons (Starfinder Alien Archive 69.) While such weapons generally cost 10% more than a regular version of the weapon, you can purchase such weapons at the base weapon’s normal price—many kalo manufacturers on Absalom Station are on good terms with the Manta Corps and want to help however they can.
Both lightweight and thermally stable, clophirium featured prominently in many early Drift engine designs, but natural sources were limited, and Pact World planets with clophirium deposits quickly exhausted their supplies. Alternate Drift engine designs that do not require the mineral have become more popular in the last 40 years.
It would be possible to update the Drift engine of the Master of Stars with a more modern design, but the entire engine structure would have to be rebuilt, taking years. Finding additional clophirium supplies is the fastest way to get the Master of Stars up and running again, even if the Society must identify a new mine to do so. The substance is incredibly difficult to find, so any charts or maps identifying existing veins of clophirium would be invaluable to the repair operations.
Player Handout #1: Underwater Combat
Land-based creatures usually have considerable difficulty when fighting in water, as it affects attack rolls, damage, and movement. The following adjustments apply whenever a character is swimming, walking in chest-deep water, or walking along the bottom of a body of water. For more information, see page 405 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook.
ATTACKS FROM LAND
Characters swimming or floating in water that is at least chest deep and characters who are fully immersed have cover against attacks made from the surface.
ATTACKS UNDERWATER
Most attacks made underwater take a –2 penalty and deal half damage. Attacks that deal fire damage do only one-quarter damage. Attacks that deal electricity damage take a –4 penalty rather than a –2 penalty. Melee attacks that deal piercing damage deal full damage. Thrown weapons are ineffective underwater, even when launched from land.
SPELLCASTING UNDERWATER
A creature that is attempting Constitution checks to hold its breath can’t concentrate enough to cast spells. Some spells might work differently underwater, subject to the GM’s discretion.
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Keskodai enters the room, and says "It appears I'm the last to arrive. Apologies for my tardiness. My name is Keskodai and it will be my privilege to ensure this fine party stays in good health. And, well, if anyone dies, never fear for death is but the next step in your soul's endless journey of adventure. I will be equally honored to ensure your soul peacefully transitions to that next step. But mostly, I'd prefer if none of you died. Isn't that right, Chk Chk?"
A little larvae in a heavily fortified cradle-jar taps on the jar's glass. "See! Chk Chk agrees! He's my pride and joy, my son, and he also hopes that none of you die on this mission."
With that, Keskodai takes his seat and gratefully accepts a cup of tea, a look of happy pleasantness washing across his face as he takes a sip. "Excellent tea Ms. Poshkettle!"
Keskodai then turns his full attention to the mission briefing.
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Underwater combat? That doesn't sound good. BOB should be fine, but what am I going to use for a weapon?
"I remember speaking with some of the Manta Corps while shipping out on a different mission. One of them had a machine gun they named Muncher. Any ideas where they might have gotten their ordnance?"
"Given the rarity of clophirium and how expensive it is to refit engines to use other materials, are we likely to have other groups competing to control this site?"
"Hmmm... If I recall correctly, the Manta Corps are staffed by an aquatic race that take on underwater assignments. They excel as commandos where a mission calls for heavy action but aren't exactly experts at making friends or handling situations that require a lighter, more friendly touch."
Turning to Fitch, Keskodai asks, "We're not exactly a group of water breathers here. Do you have any equipment to assist us with this underwater assignment... or at least any suggested equipment that we pick up prior to departing?"
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Turning to Fitch, Keskodai asks, "We're not exactly a group of water breathers here. Do you have any equipment to assist us with this underwater assignment... or at least any suggested equipment that we pick up prior to departing?"
“I might be able to help with that,” Charli pipes up, bouncing enthusiastically. She holds up a special tea cup with a vacuum sealed lid and built in straw. “I have been researching ways to reach out to other markets, and serve tea in aquatic environments, so I did some visits to the Puddles district. It was—” Charli breaks off. “Back to the mission. Right.”
She puts the cup back into her tea set, and continues. “Kalos often redesign weaponry to function much better underwater. I ran in to some when I was doing my inquiries, and actually know where on Absalom Station they purchase their underwater weaponry and tools. While such weapons generally cost 10% more than a regular version, I bet we can purchase such weapons at the base weapon’s normal price—many kalo manufacturers on Absalom Station are on good terms with the Manta Corps and would want to help however they can.”
The little gnome smiles. “I can even bring them tea! It’ll be a good field test.”
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"I was recruited, actually. Sophia is the more devout of..." Hawthorne begins to answer Charli when the holoscreen activates. He listens carefully as the ysoki explains the mission. The LED on his datajack flickers furiously.
"Most field armor provides S.C.U.B.A. functionality," he reassures Keskodai before returning his attention to Fitch's projection. "Other than the base becoming submerged due to the seismic activity, do we have data on any of the other environmental factors of the planet? Relative gravity? Radiation?"
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Looking over to Hawthorne, Mikkazuki mentions "Space suits don't tend to worry about the increased pressure caused by depth. The ideal gas equation has a few ways around it, but that requires the equipment be built for it."
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"Don't frighten the poor shirren," Hawthorne says with a chuckle.
But he's correct.
"Hopefully, we will not need do descend that far under the water," he comments both to his integrated artificial intelligence and to the people around him. "Will we?" he then clarifies, looking to Fitch. "Prolonged exposure would require a submersible or significantly modified power armor."
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In a corner of the room, Antoine notes to himself that Charli is probably a better journalist then he is. Her way to ask questions about the background of each of the agent is superb.
During Fitch’s briefing, he takes notes of what she is saying and after everyone has talked, he says in a decisive tone:
“Fitch, I have some questions to ask,
What happen to the Master of Stars?
What is clophirium?
What is his proprieties ?
Where do we find it?
Why the society had a lodge here once ago?
Could tell us more about the Mantha corps?
You said that it could have intelligent life? Should we have an augmentation or spell amp to talk to alien and magical beasts?
Also, he continues with a softer voice and a smile,“ Fitch, Why each time I see you, you have kids around you? “
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Fitch just said--
"I know, but not everyone has a custom-built, overclocked processor with hybrid circuitry and access to the infosphere while I'm sleeping," Hawthorne counters his artificial intelligence.
"Clophirium is a light weight, thermally stable metal that was quite useful in early Drift engine designs," the engineer comments helpfully to Antoine. "More recent designs have found ways around the problems with heat dissipation without using clophirium, which is very useful, as civilization has depleted the known deposits in the Pact Worlds."
Fitch responds to your questions.
"Mikkazuki, I wouldn't expect to have more groups looking for it. There are a few other fleets that might be trying to renovate old ships, but newer ones just avoid using clophirium entirely."
“Well, Keskodai, you all have armor, don’t you? That will let you breathe underwater just fine. Hopefully, you’re all decent swimmers. You’ll also want to be sure to bring some piercing weapons; those work pretty well underwater.”
"So full of questions, Antoine! It sounds like Hawthorne can tell you about clophirium. The Master of Stars is mostly just old. It was long overdue for repairs; that's the only reason it wasn't headed to the Scoured Stars. I've sent you the coordinates of Arniselle, but I've arranged transportation for you. The Lodge was a Wayfinder outpost in the Vast. It certainly "couldn't hurt to have a way to communicate.
“There are four members of the Manta Corps. The leader, Deepspeaker Alluguoth is a spiritual type. He doesn’t say much, but when he does, I’d advise listening. Then there’s Mantarider Ushuul; he’s a lot more talkative and loves to show off his gun. You might have seen Mantarider Suulhu-Huur around the sparring rooms. She’s a fighter and uses some kind of fancy cryopike. Lastly, there’s Wavetreader Vhoosh. She’s even quieter than Alluguoth, but that’s probably a good thing. She can be a little bit unnerving. She always wants to know about how many people you’ve killed. They’re good agents, all of them.”
"Yes, you make a fine point, Fitch. I do in fact have armor that will work just fine underwater"
Keskodai turns to Chk Chk and says, "You hear that Chk Chk? We're going on an underwater adventure! It'll be like those times I took you to the aquarium but this time we'll be IN the water itself!" Chk Chk responds by tapping the glass in excitement.
Keskodai turns towards the party and says, "Well, I have no further questions and am ready to depart, my friends! I anticipate a long journey ahead of us, so please let me know if there's anything Chk Chk and I can do to set your mind at ease and prepare you for the rigors of the mission that lies before us!"
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On hearing that it is unlikely to be other competition, Mikkazuki starts skimming through the information that Fitch sent them on the planet. Her full attention goes back to Fitch as she talks about the Manta Corps personal.
"Just a few more questions, please."
"You said that the Manta Corps were dropped off at the planet, to be retrieved later. How long was it between the time they were picked up, they missed their check-in and now?"
"Is there any sort of base or equipment they would have that could be scanned for from orbit?"
"Will we be dropped off as well, or will the ship wait there for us?"
"The Manta Corps were dropped off a few weeks ago. They were were supposed to meet up two days later, but never showed. You'll have the same arrangements. The entire land mass is underwater, so there's nowhere for the ship to land around there. It will drop you off in submersible, do a couple of orbits around the planet, and pick you up two days later. They didn't have a submersible; they preferred not to."
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Mikkazuki nods acknowledgement.
"Hopefully we will have somewhere on the submersible to recharge our suit's environmental systems and recharge batteries. Anything specific we should worry about in terms of logistics?"
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After getting her answer, she turns to the rest of the group.
I'm sure Hawthorne has already realized this, but some of the others might not have.
Looking to the rest of the group, she says "Given what has been said about Manta Corps, they were much better than us with weaponry, especially in an underwater environment."
"We need to be smart and look for other solutions. That doesn't mean walk in helpless, but don't expect to solve everything with a gun."
I am so glad none of my family is here right now. They would throw a fit, saying I had gone soft.
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Charli nods. “We may not be an elite underwater combat team, but we do have some competencies that the previous team might have lacked. I joined the Wayfinders specifically so that I could be a point person for first contact situations. Let’s be cautious, yes, but let’s not discount who we are either.” The little gnome speaks with confidence. “We can do this, and hopefully bring the other team home too if they are still alive.”
Then she grins. “Who’s up for a shopping trip?”
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Charli confidently leads the way to the Puddles district, where she greets the manager of Qualdeep Limited. “Blurble!”, she grins as she sees the crusty Kalo. “Do you remember me? I’m the gnome who consulted you on underwater tea cups! Hey, can you help me and my friends out? We have to get outfitted for an underwater rescue mission. The Manta Corps hasn’t reported back, and we need to find out what happened to them.” She says softly, “I know Ushuul did a bunch of promotions for your shop a while back. I am hoping you can help us help him.”
She pulls out schematics for a ghilbrani huchket rifle. “Can you make an underwater version of one of these?” The she looks to the rest of the team. “Go on, tell him what you want!”
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Antoine is stunned at Charli's order. It took him hours to know what to buy.
... I want the same thing... but with a merciful and glamered fusion. The glamered fusion would be like a big lens for my camera. In fact, …"
He draws his own schematic of the ghibrani huchet rifle, takes a pencil and does a few modifications on the fly.
"... it will work also like a lens and will protect the camera from water.
Oh, and I will sell my pulsecaster rifle also. But before that could you put the weapon fusion glamered on this and then use it for the one on the rifle? I know it will be less costly."
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Hawthorne cannot help but chuckle at the gnome's enthusiasm.
Yes. She's very... cute, Sophia remarks dryly and with a hint of jealousy.
"I'll catch up with you," he says. "I need to stop by my apartment and then the temple first."
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Hawthorne negotiates with one of his fellow priests for a small datapod with an elaborate casing and specialized circuitry.
If you dare place on AI on that datapad that sounds like that female gnome, I'm sending you into v-fib.
[i]"Never fear. You're the only artificial intelligence that I'll ever need,"[/b] he reassures his companion intelligence.
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Hawthorne meets the others in the Puddles district at Qualdeep Limited. He is dressed in formal heavy armor comprised of white ceramic plates and gold piping. The symbol of Triune is inlaid in gold over the left breast. An amulet bearing the face of the Precursor hangs around his neck.
"Apologies for the delay," he says as he moves past the others to approach the kalo merchant. He scans the equipment available. "May I have that diving knife, that underwater tactical pistol, and--no, thank you, that is a lovely zero-rifle, but I understand that creatures of the deep tend to be resistant to cold--so, I'll also take that tactical acid dart rifle."
He smiles and hands over his credstick as the merchant lays out the indicated items. "Thank you. With Triune's logic, this will help me to survive long enough to rescue the Manta Squad, if we encounter hostile resistance in the deep."
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Mikkazuki looks over the available melee weapons and decides that a dueling sword should work. She then asks about pistols and selects a sonic pistol.
She also inquires if they have a submerged area where she could try the sword out, admitting that she has never practiced in that environment.
Just as everything is packed up and paid for, she asks Blurble “Would you happen to know of a merchant of good aquatic sound systems?”
Blurble gets right to work on filling the orders, and offers some recommendations on speakers. "By the way have you heard the new Abysshead album?"
Keskodai remarks, "This is an amazingly fascinating shop you have here, Blurble! I won't be purchasing anything today but rest assured I'll be back in the future with an eye to purchase a few items!"
Keskodai holds Chk Chk up all around the shop so that Chk Chk can see the variety of underwater gear available in the store. Chk Chk responds by tapping on the glass he's encased in.
Turning to Charli, Keskodai says, "Thank you for bringing us here! Chk Chk is having great fun!!!"
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"Keskodai," Hawthorne calls the host shirren over. "I'm not sure why I'm letting you know this before the need arises..."
Because preparation is key.
"...as I hope that if the need does arise, I'll be conscious enough to tell you, and if I'm not, it won't do much good. Anyway, this amulet here." he lifts the amulet and slides the likeness of Brigh to the side with his thumb to reveal a small touch screen. "It has a spellchip installed with the magic to understand alien languages."
Keskodai nods in acknowledgement to Hawthorne
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You spend days traveling through the drift, onboard the Peregrination into Night, a large Society freighter. Zhast (a female shirren) is the ship’s captain and a jovial host during your time onboard. She offers daily (and delicious) meals in her private quarters, which she painstakingly prepares herself.
"Rahm, I'm quite interested in androids' perception of flavor! I've found these ingredients to be generally appealing to both shirren and humans, but you must have a totally different perspective! Cup, what did you think of the banana pudding?"
After three days of travel, you come across an organic arkship lazily floating in the Drift. The biomechanical ship openly broadcasts its affiliation with the Xenowardens (Starfinder Core Rulebook 481), along with free informational download packets on recent ecological events.