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Moxie addresses the Vesk captain. "We out gunned you, but you fought bravely and can return to your commanding officer honorably. We will accept your surrender. Make the necessary repairs to your ship and depart from this sector. Captain Moxie out."
Moxie turns to the crew. "Great job everybody! Let's get suited up and prepare to explore that beacon."
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You easily make it to the beacon and recover the coded transmission. While you do that you can easily extract useful and valuable material from the surrounding asteroids.
You find the location of the drifting vessel and approach.
A heavily damaged kasathan transport ship floats in empty space, dark but for a slowly flashing orange light at its aft. Just a few miles away from the ship, a massive storm dwarfs the vessel, blue and gray etheric clouds warping the field of stars behind the ship and flashing internally with jagged streaks of light. For all its violence, the vast storm is silent, and it looms larger with each passing second.
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You get the basic map of the ship. As well as you notice power spikes in three areas on the Map (yellow Pentagons)
There is a presence of a life-form still active on the ship. Its exact species and location is indiscernible, due to the storm, but it’s clear that there’s something alive aboard the ship.
The Struggle’s Scholar is an older model of kasathan starship known as an Idaran Centuria. Its curved hull is representative of kasathan design standards, though the heavy damage inflicted on the ship has rendered it all but inoperable. Unless otherwise noted, each room is 15 feet high with walls made of starship interior material and steel doors.
The Struggle’s Scholar is on its last legs, but it has enough power to provide both basic life support and normal gravity. However, only low-power emergency lighting illuminates the ship, so each area should be treated as having dim illumination. This grants all creatures concealment (including a 20% miss chance) from creatures that don’t have low-light vision or darkvision
Rez is able to attach to the Scholar's aft airlock
This entire chamber is one large airlock, with access doors to the north and south. Loose netting floats in the gravity-free chamber. A warning light above the interior door flashes every few seconds, periodically bathing the room in a dim orange glow. A small panel next to the door flashes orange in time with the warning light.
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"The stakes have gone up. That drive on the bridge contains important information for the Exo-Guardians. It's supremely important that we recover it in conjunction with the investigation, as it may contain clues as to what happened on the Bulwark."
Darilian stands near the front, dressed in his copper-hued lashunta ringwear, his helmet positioned on his with with its visor retracted.
"Great work Yuta. Let's be alert for that life form. Hopefully it's a surviving crew member. But this rig's been into the Drift and back. Who knows what it might have picked up on the way. I suggest we start by investigating those power spikes."
His stellar mote, a spark of orange, flares to life in his right hand, extending out into a glowing blade. It casts a warm light, bathing all in an eerie firelight. With his other hand he draws his semi-automatic tactical pistol. "We ready?"
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"We're here to explore. Let's go in. Mavrik and Yuta, you two seem to have a good grasp on technological stuff. You should check out any doors or suspicious looking equipment for traps or malfunctioning before we go through. Otherwise, Darilian and Tamerriv are our heavy hitters and will take point. Rez, I don't know about you. You're a great pilot but I don't know what you do. You seem sneaky. That could come in handy, but we don't want you going off and getting killed. I'll hang towards the back and make sure nothing sneaks up on us. Is everyone cool with that?"
Moxie pulls out a her arc pistol and sets it to "kill."
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"I can't see many things surviving this long in drift, at least not friendly. Once it inevitably comes after us I will tell you what I can. The ship on the other hand isn't doing so well but I have patched up worse looking patients. Time is vital right? Let's get to it." Mavrik says while loading his dart rifle and motioning for the others to go ahead.
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Yuta listens solemnly to Moxie's instructions, and then nods at Mavrik, acknowledging their shared responsibility to pay attention to the ship and their surroundings. He draws his pistol and enters with the rest of the group, and then looks carefully at the floor and walls near the entrance, paying particular attention for any traps or other hazards.
He also casts detect magic and scans the area in front of them.
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The panels is the controls to the airlock. You can match the ship gravity and then open the door.
After making the nesscary adjustments, you are able to open the door in to the main cabin area.
A gruesome trail of blood runs across the floor of the ten-foot wide hallway that runs horizontally across the ship; at each end of this hall are metal access doors leading to the north and south. A shorter hall leads to a door to the north, with two doors halfway up that hall exiting to the starboard and port. Finally, a large airlock seal covers the center of the southern wall here. A double-barreled weapon turret limply hangs from the ceiling , just port of the aft airlock door.
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Yuta examines the trail of blood without getting too close to it. "Blood... why would there be a trail of blood? Something violent was inside the ship?" Recalling his mental map of the scan he performed on the ship, he points out, "One of the power spikes came from a point off to the right. I would like to investigate." He waits to see what the others think before heading in that direction.
He suddenly also remembers that there was a life reading aboard the ship, and so before they get too far from the exit, he calls out, "Is someone there?"
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"... Rez, I don't know about you. You're a great pilot but I don't know what you do. You seem sneaky. That could come in handy, but we don't want you going off and getting killed."
"Wandering off alone on a creepy derelict floating through the blackness of space?" Rez peers around Moxie to the "south", then looks back towards her. "Don't mistake my daring for recklessness, hah!"
He pulls the slide of his pistol back, checking that there's a round in the chamber. ... s'good I packed these frangible rounds for boarding and CQC... I want to put holes in bad guys, not ship hulls... With that thought, he brandishes his trusty knife in his offhand, ready for anything lurking in the dim light.
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As you follow the blood trail to the starboard side of the ship the lights flicker. Reaching the door, you realized it is currently sealed with magnetic locks. A quick review of you map, you determine that this would be the captain's quarters. Being thus, it is not easily by-passable from here. You will need to either override the ships systems, or find some other "key" to open it. Most likely some type of proximity key would release the locks.
You know there is no sound in space, but ethric storm outside the ship is some how affecting the hull making making sounds of winds howling.
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Opening the door to silent and empty crew quarters:
Four beds fill most of these tidy crew quarters. Each bed is neatly made with a prominent item placed atop its center. Above the beds are tightly sealed storage compartments. A single-tier metal shelf curves around the southwestern wall, its surface pristine but entirely empty.
The items placed atop the beds are each part of a kasathan tradition for those who are making a journey from which they don’t expect to return. The crew members left personal items on each of their beds, as gifts to those who survive them and continue to create future history. you can recognizes this ad hoc version of the tradition
One of the items left atop the bed items is an electronic scale model of the Idari (the roughly cylindrical kasathan worldship that currently orbits the Pact Worlds’ sun) rotating slowly in the air above a smooth stand.
Another bed holds a personal datapad, flashing with a lowbattery warning. Any flashlight or similar battery can be used to power the datapad, unlocking the most recent personal logs of one of the kasathas, Teliu ( Teliu’s Logs).
A ceremonial Idaran force training baton, engraved with the lengthy lineage and titles of its owner, rests atop the third bed.
On the fourth bed is an elegantly bound copy of the book Customs of Kasath, a gift traditionally given to a kasatha who has just completed the Tempering, a coming-of-age ritual. The nameplate inside identifies the copy as belonging to Yotto, one of the kasatha crew members. Nestled inside the cover is a least photon crystal.
The compartments above the beds are locked, but can be opened with Engineering or Strength.
An Idaran force training baton is a 2nd-level uncategorized basic melee weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage. The damage from this weapon counts as a force effect when wielded by a character with at least 12 Strength. Note, this does not mean the weapon deals force damage, only that it counts as a force effect for overcoming certain defenses such as incorporeal. It has the operative and powered (capacity 20, usage 1) special properties, it is light bulk, and it costs 400 credits.
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The combination of the blood and the bizarre sounds, along with the apparent presence of a life form that has not shown itself, are making Yuta feel unsettled. He briefly pauses to analyze his own sense of well-being. There has not yet been any danger. Why is this body reacting with a basic adrenaline response? He relaxes a little when the others express similar feelings. Spooky. On edge. That must be what this is.
Yuta still feels rather "on edge", but he shrugs it off as they enter the crew quarters. A quick glance around the room reveals a wide array of kasathan personal gear. "I believe we have located the crew's personal effects that we were requested to bring back."
His attention is drawn to the blinking datapad, so he first goes to pick it up and casts transfer charge to bring it back to a usable state.
He summarizes its contents aloud for the rest of the group, but they are increasingly disquieting, particularly the fate of this person Yotto. "I hope the ship's records will have a more complete account of what happened here," he concludes while looking around at his crewmates.
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Darilian closes his eyes, trying to place the pieces of this bloody jigsaw. "My first thought is that the ship's power failed, and so did the force field holding this creature, allowing it to escape and kill the crew. But there's still life support and gravity, and we've detected multiple power spikes. And if the creature has escaped, why hasn't it attacked us?" He looks around nervously.
"That trail of blood out in the hall leads to a room with a registered power spike. Could that be where the captain lured the creature? Maybe it's still trapped in there."
Darilian looks at his solar blade, tactical pistol, hammer, and starknife with a frown. "I also don't know what I'll do against something like that. You hold on to that baton for now, though, Tamerriv. We may find another one."
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Mavrik steps into the room and frowns at the now empty quarters.
"Right, Tammeriv, they did die having a strong sense of who they were. I am sure that made it easier...hopefully."
He takes a look at the logs after the others and muses aloud while inspecting further.
"Force batons, imitating the dead, attacks passing through...hmm"
He keeps thinking on what the creature could be while looking for more clues. Noticing the lockers he works on getting them opened.
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Darilian picks up the volume of Customs of Kasath and flips through it, noting the existence of the ruby-red photon crystal embedded in its cover.
"This...might prove useful," he says, plucking the crystal. "I'll just borrow it. It might be effective against whatever's left on this ship. I'll make sure it's back in the book for delivery to the family."
He raises his solar blade and the crystal flies inside, as though drawn. It hovers near the tips of his fingers, it's lustrous red glowing ever brighter, encased in the light of his solar manifestation.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Darilian's heart tries to burst out of his chest as the lights, even his own mote, threaten to dim. "What could have that effect?" he asks, clearly disturbed.
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"Whatever it is, it's still not shown itself..." says Rez in a hushed tone through the comms of his Starfinder insignia.
"But I gotta say, I'll give it props for all the theatrics." He scans his eyes left and right, even looking to the ceiling for any signs of activity. "Reeeeally nailed it, full marks for creepiness."
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"Kasathan's lay their stuff out like this when they're prepared to die. I think they must have been planning some kind of last stand against whatever monster Yotto had turned into. Hmmm."
Moxie pauses to collect her thoughts. "The logs mentioned someone named Bluesky-101. Do you think that might be an android? I mean who else likes tagging numbers to the backs of their names, right? Maybe she's still alive somewhere on this ship. We should keep looking for her. Let's check out the other wing of the ship before to make sure its clear before moving towards the deck."
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Yuta considers what the others are saying about the nature of what was once Yotto, and whether he knows anything more about what she had become.
He brightens up slightly when Moxie suggests an android might have survived. "It is possible. I myself have a similar numeric designation. I had assumed it was some kind of robot or machine, but if there is the possibility of a survivor, we should look for her."
After the lights flicker, he turns uneasily to keep his back away from the door where they came into the room. He quickly tries to help Mavrik open the lockers, in case there is something else useful to be gained there.
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Yuta recalls tails of "Drift Deads." People who die with strong negative emotions in the drift can manifest as one of these creatures. While in the Drift, they are corporeal. While in the Material Plane, they are incorporeal. The current form of Yotto would be incorporeal. Hence why it was able to be trapped in the captain's force field generator.
All energy attack sand magical kinetic attacks deal half damage (50%) to it. An incorporeal creature takes full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as from all force effects. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage have only a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal creature. An incorporeal creature is immune to critical hits.
Yuta-133 is able to quickly open the locked compartments and finds 3 med-kits.
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Darilian nods at Tamerriv. "Let's check the engine room first thing. I don't like the feeling that there's something unseen wanting to prey on us. Assuming Yuta's right, the sooner we can access the Drift, the better." Darilian carefully steps over the blood stains on the floor, constantly looking up at the ceiling and over his shoulder.
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Yuta holds out the medkits, saying, "Does anyone want to take these? I do not know how to make proper use of a medkit."
He then agrees with Tamerriv and Darilian. "Your logic is sound. We can investigate the Drift engine next." He also scoops up the scale model of the Idari and places it gently into his backpack, in case they don't have time to come back to this room.
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"Well, from the sound of her voice, I think Tamerriv will have a conniption if we don't get that Drift engine fixed first."
I have very well-documented addiction issues and I don't think even I've ever wanted anything that much.
"Let's go there first. Everybody make sure you have some kind of energy weapon out, just in case. We don't know for sure where Yotto is. She could be waiting for us there."
Moxie checks her arc pistol to make sure that its still set to "KILL." Not going to take no ghost prisoner.