(Creating the thread!)
The summons beeps on your comm-pads: You are to meet Zigvigix at the Exo-Gaurdian's new warehouse headquarters, which may look very familiar to some of you...
An augmented host shirren watches a bustling crew move office equipment from several large pallets into a large warehouse, while other workers weld scrap metal to gaps in the warehouse’s walls. The shirren occasionally directs a crew member and makes a note on a datapad. The shirren, Zigvigix, notices their new guests and turns to telepathically project a greeting.
Zigvigix wears a set of shoulder speakers that blast out sugarpop music from the band Strawberry Machine Cake. They bounce in place along to the music. “Welcome back! Isn’t this song the best? I’ve been playing it on loop for hours!” Behind the excited shirren, several grizzled-looking station workers, each carrying a side of a heavy-looking holotable, roll their eyes. One of them makes a retching sound, that he covers with a cough as the shirren looks at him quizzically.
“Thanks for coming—I hope you’ll understand if I keep this brief; we’ve got a lot of work to do to get our new headquarters up and running, and you are on a short timetable. A ysoki salvage barge named the Clutter Collector, captained by a ysoki named Winks, picked up a distress-beacon transmission in the Drift. Winks didn’t have time to check it out, but she sold the data to the Society when she reached Absalom Station. How nice of her!"
“Well, it turns out that this beacon came from the Struggle’s Scholar, a kasathan ship that…” Zigvigix pauses for effect as their antennae wiggle excitedly. “…escaped from Sangoro’s Bulwark! If you don’t know, the Bulwark was the old base of operations for the Exo-Guardians. Now, First Seeker Luwazi wisely grounded us from investigating the Bulwark after all contact was lost with it shortly after the Scoured Stars incident, but we can’t pass up this opportunity to learn what happened there. We might even be able to find the coordinates to our missing headquarters. Wouldn’t it be joyous to have a large fortress to play loud music in?”
Zigvigix hands over a datapad. "Here are the coordinates of the distress signal. It is unlikely any of the crew survived, or they’d be here by now. So be on the lookout for bodies. Since the crew is mostly kasathas, it would mean a lot to their extended families if you could bring back their remains or keepsakes to the Idari! Otherwise, salvage any data you can—especially the ship’s log—as it could tell us what happened to Sangoro’s Bulwark. This datapad also holds a one-time-use decrypter that will let you decode the Exo-Guardians ciphers used on the distress signal. Good luck!”
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Her new teammates feel Delea's gentle touch on their minds. They can tell she is asking permission to speak to them this way. Hello, I am Delea. Weydan has sent me to heal those who are hurt. It is much easier for me to speak to your minds in this way than with my mouth, if you don't mind. Now that I have spoken to you, you can also respond to me in the same way. I have no questions, and am ready whenever you are.
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"UNDERSTOOD. MISSION PARAMETERS APPEAR SIMPLE. EXPLORE SHIP DESIGNATED STRUGGLE'S SCHOLAR, RETRIEVE INFORMATION REGARDING FATE OF VEHICLE, CREW, AND ORIGIN. PLAY MUSIC AT HIGHER THAN NOMINALLY ACCEPTABLE VOLUMES WITHIN STRUGGLE'S SCHOLAR."
Buff-Bot looks back over at his compatriots. "I AM A BUFF-BOT SERIES ANDROID, 9000 SERIES. DESCRIPTIVE DESIGNATION OF M DOT A CROSS { } GIVEN. COMPATRIOTS COMMONLY SEEK SUCCINCT DESIGNATION, AND SIMPLIFY PRIOR DESIGNATION AS MAX."
He looks back at Delea. ACKNOWLEDGED, METHOD OF COMMUNICATION ACCEPTABLE.
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An enthusiastic little Ysoki greets everyone, "Pleased to meet you all! By day, my name is Raatchet, TPS report specialist. And by night, my name is Raatchet (it's the same), tinkerer extraordinaire! I'll be running tech support on this amazing opportunity to approach a dead ship that is sure to be full of dangers that killed its an entire crew and will probably pose great bodily harm on us as well the moment we approach it. Exciting!!"
Raatchet turns to Zigvigix asking, "Ziggy, any idea if the ship has automated defenses or booby traps should we be incorrectly identified as hostile boarders?"
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The operative nods understanding to Delea, not terribly keen on the idea of telepathic communication, though the human knows the advantages offered - especially when stealth is need.
The dark-haired man speaks to the others after Raatchet. "I am Stiehle Darkwing, starship pilot and pretty good at getting around unseen when necessary." Two pistols are holstered at each hip, one a tactical kinetic weapon and the other an energy laser weapon and a sniper rifle is slung across his back.
He listens with interest to Ziggy's answer to the Ysoki, trying to tune out the sugar pop music that assaults his ears relentlessly. After the shirren answers, Stiehle asks a question of his own. "Deck plans for the Scholar might be good to have as well. Is it an exploratory ship?"
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Before you crawls an enormous spidery creature covered in an irridishell that has massive looking power gloves at the end of each foot and wicked pike across its back and perhaps most curiously, giant starbursts with swords in them across his thorax and abdomen.
The mood of an alien spider creature is probably normally hard to read but his frustrations with Ziggy are almost instantly boiling over when he walks aboard this ship.
He-who-grinds-blade-to-dust seems thoroughly unimpressed with his faction head as once again he is both airheadedly sending his people into danger when he would rather be listening to the insufferable music and to boot is trying to end around some pretty strict instructions.
He had joined up for the promise of victory against terrorizing creatures of deep space! Just like the Knight of Golarion.
I can't believe I took a ssssabbatical from the Knightsss for thisss. He will mutter lowly klaking his long vicious mandibles.
I just joined the Ssssociety, are sure we should be moving forward against the first seekers wishes? And turn that CD off. I would never have brought it to you if I had known you were going to be so irresponsible to your loyal crew! Theressss other music!
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Rubbing his hands together at the thought of exploring a drifting ghost ship, Raatchet says,
Technically, the first seeker said no investigating Sangoro's Bulwark. But nothing was forbidden about investigating a ship that has broken off the Bulwark and is now drifting around in...well...the Drift. Amirite??
Raatchet makes a mental note for the upcoming voyage to see if he can find a way to hardwire a repeating playback loop of Star Sugar Heartlove via our ship's intercom/speakers...but only into whichever room He-who-grinds-blades-to-dust is currently in, especially his personal quarters...
Ziggy waits until the introductions and back patting have ended before his mental cheerful voice pops in your heads. "It’s a kasathan starship that was undertaking a short mission to Sangoro’s Bulwark around the same time the signals stopped coming in. We assumed the ship was lost along with the Bulwark, but this signal proves otherwise—thrilling! I do not think any of the crew could have survived this long, though—sad! Still, the ship is compact, with only ten or so internal compartments, so once you find it, it shouldn’t take long to search. Crew of maybe 6-8?"
He chitters a bit into his comm for a moment and nods back to you. "I have arranged for a Drake or Pegasus class ship to be readied for you. It's up to you which one you choose!"
Ziggy looks confusedly at Grinds. "But this is GOOD music! And it makes my mandibles quiver with happiness! Is that not a good thing, too?"
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"Don't worry Ziggy. Anything that can make anyone quiver with happiness is all right in my book! Like this one time, I found this screwdriver in an old odd 'n ends shop, but get this...it turned screws with SOUND WAVES. It was so awesome my entire body quivered in happiness!"
Raatchet turns to his teammates and says, "But anyways, do we have a ship preference? I'm fine either way really."
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"APPEAL OF MUSICAL GROUP DESIGNATED STRAWBERRY MACHINE CAKE UNEXPLAINED. RHYTHMS FOR REMAINDER OF PERFORMANCE ACCURATELY PREDICTED WITHIN 3.2 SECONDS OF INTRODUCTION FOR MOST SONGS."
Buff-Bot (or Max if you prefer) looks over the presented options of spacecraft. "FOR INVESTIGATIVE MISSION, PEGASUS APPEARS PREFERABLE. HIGH MANEUVERABILITY AND SUPERIOR SENSORS SHOULD FACILITATE SPECIFIED MISSION PARAMETERS. DEFENSES APPEAR ADEQUATE, ALTHOUGH IF A LARGE FORCE IS EXPECTED, ARMOR AND ARMAMENTS OF DRAKE APPEAR SUPERIOR. GIVEN KNOWN MISSION PARAMETERS, MY ASSESSMENT WOULD BE THAT THE PEGASUS WOULD BEST SUIT OUR NEEDS."
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Raatchet holds up his hands in a 'stop, don't move' pose and closes his eyes tightly showing intense mental concentration and says, "Wait...wait...I'm getting a feeling. I'm getting a bit of inspiration..."
After a few seconds, he puts his hands down, opens his eyes, resumes a relaxed pose and says, "Well guys, I have NO idea why, but a thought came to me that we should christen our Pegasus-class ship the 'Gobble Gobble'. Anyone have any clue as to what that could possibly mean? Kinda strange...eh?"
Stiehle recalls some information!
A vesk named Sangoro founded the Exo-Guardians, which is an especially unusual fact, given the long hostilities between the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds. Many Starfinders initially did not trust him, even after he provided the Society with a huge fortress on a remote planet to operate out of. Sangoro later dedicated himself and his followers to protecting the Society from external threats, forming the Exo-Guardians faction within the Starfinder Society.
The fortress Sangoro bequeathed to the Starfinder Society was the only structure on the planet. It was a massive edifice left by some forgotten race, with extensive underground tunnels and storage vaults. The Exo-Guardians kept a large stockpile of equipment within the Bulwark, letting field agents on missions in the Vast access necessary items without traveling back to Absalom Station. Because of the importance of these resources, the exact coordinates of Sangoro’s Bulwark were kept from most Starfinders, and ships traveled to the location only by using encrypted flight plans.
Shortly after the Scoured Stars incident led to the disappearance of most Starfinder Society field agents and leadership, an unknown force overwhelmed Sangoro’s Bulwark, and—until now—there have been no survivors or distress calls. With this attack, the Society’s data archives lost all information on the exact location of Sangoro’s Bulwark, with even nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo bereft of such knowledge. Only the Society’s amalgam digital consciousness, Guidance, might know the location, but it has ignored all requests to provide the data.
Some rumors from the few Starfinders who visited the Bulwark before the fall report that the Drift and Material Plane space surrounding the area was prone to strange events. Exactly how these dangers manifest varies by each rumor, but it appears the space surrounding the Bulwark’s home system is prone to odd interplanar abnormalities. Starships are advised to carry powerful scanners to identify potential stellar hazards and bleeding between the planes.
Armed with Stiehle's knowledge, you board the Butterball and head off into the Drift! days. For the first 2 days you are accompanied by a freighter called The Promise of the Future. The ship maintains radio contact throughout the two days and the most interesting thing about this chatter is that you're talking to a fellow band of Starfinders who call themselves the Manta Corps. They hail from a Brethedan moon called Kalo-Mahoi, and are native Kalo. The first Kalo you speak to introduces as Deepspeaker Alloguoth.
You've heard of this group - rumor has it that they operate almost exclusively in underwater missions.
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Stiehle knows that time relative to distance in the Drift can vary widely, and so keeps up a friendly dialogue with the Manta Corps so long as they remain within hailing distance. The pilot is intrigued by the idea of underwater missions, asking Deepspeaker Alloguoth about the sort of vehicles they utilize for such excursions, what kind of hazards are encountered, and the like.
Once they reach their destination, Stiehle activates his commlink and advises Max to keep a sharp eye out on the scanners. If there are any nearby stellar hazards or some sort of planar 'bleeding', the sooner they know about it, the better. No novice to computers himself, the pilot flips through several screens, trying to identify any anomalies that might be lurking out there.
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Raatchet will also join in on the banter, interested in hearing about their underwater vehicles but also interested in talking about what other specialized underwater equipment, gear, and weaponry they use. If it's some kind of gizmo or machine, Raatchet will want to hear and talk all about it.
And once at the destination, while crew members are scanning the area, Raatchet will hum Star Sugar Heartlove on comms to everyone on board while also diverting auxiliary power to Science in order to boost their scans (or do whatever else may be allowed by Engineering to assist with the Science scans).
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The interaction with the Manta Corps causes the giant Haan to do something akin to sulk. They get to go on a mission to an underwater locale, doing something fun and amazing and we....are basically just going to look at an old fort... at least Ziggy didn't come with us The Spider skitters around, his body sticking out of the gunners chamber trying to relax.
In particular, the Archnoknight seems really on edge regarding Raatchet. Stiehle and the others think its probably a day or so before there is some sort of serious outburst from the normally taciturn warrior.
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Max shrugs. "OLD FORT APPEARS TO BE AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF THE FACTS. GIVEN THE SO CALLED PLANAR BLEEDING EFFECT REFERENCED BY STIEHLE, MY BASE ASSUMPTION IS TO CURTAIL ANY EXPECTATIONS OF A SIMPLE ASSIGNMENT."
He goes over the scanner results, looking for any sensor aberrations in the vicinity of their destination.
"I MUST ADMIT THAT WHILE I FIND ZIGVIGIX'S AFFINITY TOWARDS SUCH MUSIC STRANGE, I ADMIRE HIS ENTHUSIASM AND ABILITY TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTWARD APPEARANCE IN THE FACE OF SUCH HARDSHIPS AS HIS PHYSICAL DAMAGE AND THE TRIALS THAT THE SOCIETY HAS FACED FOLLOWING THIS SCOURED STARS INCIDENT."
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He is an immature grub and I live in shame that he leads the faction that most closely aligns with my goals. He is proof that this Society is doomed. The irritated haan comments.
He needs to shed the childish notions if he wants anyone to take us serious after the society made such a blunder. His only notable accomplishment was not going on an important mission. Hardly inspires confidence.
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Stiehle glances at Raatchet, an amused grin on his face, but he shuts off his comm as he whispers. "Easy there, I think that giant spider is going to explode if he hears that tune one more time. And remember, he's manning the big gun on this thing!" Still, the pilot chuckles to himself as he flips his comm back on and tries to make sense of what Max brought up on the screens.
Time passes on the ship, while you try and fail to drive the Haan crazy with STARSUGARHEARTLOVE! 15 days in, the proximity sensors start to beep wildly - the ship's scanners have picked up an asteroid field surrounding the beacon you're following. You drop out of the drift on the edge of the field!
As you're scanning, your comm chirps. "Unidentified ship, this is the Veskarium vessel the Honorbound. Identify yourself."
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Raatchet shares his physical science observation with the group.
Raatchet then looks to Max, saying, "We've got nothing to hide right? However, I bet you they're also investigating the ship we're after and will try to run us off. I'm a ysoki AND a corporate bureaucrat by trade. People are ALWAYS trying to get rid of me. Trust me, I have a sixth sense for when people want to be rid of me!"
Out of the corner of his eyes, Raatchet peers momentarily at Grinds before turning his full attention back to Max.
Combining Raatchet's knowledge with Max's sensor sweep, you realize that the asteroids might be a tactical hazard/opportunity.
Spaces with an asteroid are impassible and block a starship’s direct-fire weapons—tracking weapons move to avoid striking these asteroids. Any starship can shoot at an asteroid (considered to have AC 5 and TL 5); a hit by any weapon that deals at least 1 Hull Point of damage punctures the obsidian shell and imparts the shot’s momentum to the asteroid, causing it to violently hurl magma into nearby space. A damaged asteroid deals 4d8 damage to starships in adjacent hexes. The struck asteroid is then removed from the map and poses no further obstacle or threat.
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"INTERESTING. THESE ASTEROIDS APPEAR TO HAVE MOLTEN STONE CORES. THE EXTERIOR BEING THE OBSIDIAN SHELL THAT RAATCHET INDICATED. QUERY RE: HAILING VESSEL. DEFAULT VERBAL INTERFACE FREQUENTLY DEEMED 'UNNERVING' OR 'AWKWARD.' ALTERNATE INTERFACE SUGGESTED?"
Max toggles a few switches on his computer panel and switches the on-screen display back from sensors to comms. He looks over at Delea and poises his finger over a switch. "HAILING FREQUENCY ESTABLISHED, CAPTAIN. COMMS ON SCREEN IN 3... 2... 1..."
He throws the switch, putting the image of the Honorbound on the forward display, along with any video image being transmitted (if any).
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He-who-grinds presses the button to open their hail.
He is no talker but he makes sure to be front and center. Haan are undeniably scarier Vesk. This is a simple fact of biology. Some of my kind even eat the Vesk. he says offhandedly before realizing the screen was on.
Oh yesss, this is Starfinder Vessssel, the Butterball and I am Gunnery Off issh er, He-who-grinds-blades-to-dust. Our captain, Delea will speak with you now.
He then moves out of the shot.
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Max cringes a bit as He-who-drives-diplomatic-envoys-to-tears begins to speak, and quickly adjusts the volume of the mic in an attempt to cut off the impending statement regarding consumption of their kind... although likely, not quickly enough. As soon as the Haan gets back to the business of name and rank he flips it back on.
He smiles as Delea begins her greeting, then starts to droop. He attempts to speak with Delea telepathically. Vesk appreciate honor and strength. Try to be a bit more to the point.
"BUFF-BOT 9000, DESIGNATION F DOT M A CROSS. COMMUNICATION OFFICER AND TACTICAL ADVISER ABOARD THE STARFINDER VESSEL BUTTERBALL. PERSONAL SOBRIQUET 'MAX' ACCEPTABLE."
The viewscreen shows a large Vesk male, smiling with uncharacteristic Vesk joviality. The Honorbound is a normal Vesk transport, although ablaze on either side with three bright-red thrusters, which are reminiscent of the energy blades of a plasma doshko.
"I am Captain Yuluzak, Butterball Starfinders. I will not mince words. I believe you are here investigating this signal as well? I am a Veskarium salvage vessel, tasked with investigating technology and materials vital to the Veskarium war against the Swarm. Not the most glorious assignment, but when one is at war, one follows orders. Please, tell me of your assignment."