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Savoy tries to act like he's supposed to be here and knows where he's going..but suffers from a momentarily memory lapse
" I'm supposed to meet some guy around here, but I'm a bit hung over I know it's around here..it starts with a K I think.....it's at the tip of my tongue....do you know whom I mean, you know that guy...with that thing...He deals in "private contracting"...."
Savoy continues to mumble as he snaps his fingers studying the person he's talking to for visual clues he's on the right track
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Lightfoot ponders what he knows of local places where the ikeshti may be hiding out.
Though tempted to openly begin soliciting bystanders regarding their own knowledge of the party's quary as he normally would, when he sees his companions being more discreet, Lightfoot refrains from doing so for the moment.
Your group carefully and secretively searches through the slums for any sign or word of this 'Kong' character. Breq, Lightfoot and Savoy manage to do so particularly expertly, catching wind of your quarry's current location: making the rounds at an apartment complex nearby. Your team regroups in front of the apartment complex with the intention of tracking down Kong, but before you can plan out your approach, a red-skinned lizard-like humanoid stomps its way out of a nearby building' flanked by a pair of verthani.
The leader of the group advances towards you confidently, massive metal pike already held in hand. They hiss out what might be a laugh "I thhhought I sssmelled sssome offworldersss ssssmiffing around. But there'sss more of you than I thhhought..." The ikeshti points the pike at you. "Now, you wanted Kong? Becausse you found her."
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Antares spends her time analyzing the situation from her position in the middle of the group. The android knows her talents are strong in negotiations such as this. Instead, she keep a sharp eye out for trouble, ready to use her affinity to touch the electrical currents that flow throughout the universe if needed.
The ikeshti thug grins cruelly. She hisses out "The hard way sssounds good right about now..." and makes a quick hand signal to her allies. The two verthani fan out and flex their battle-glove equipped hands.
Kong and the two thugs are blindsided by the sudden appearance of Lightfoot and Savoy at the rear, they turn slightly, just long enough for the party to begin their attack!
||||Init order||||
Breq
Antares
Xenal
Kong
Thug A
Thug B
Lightfoot
Savoy
Weoren
Bold are up!
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Antares moves to find a bit of cover, drawing her static arc pistol as she ducks around a boulder. The amethyst amulet at her neck glows softly as she taps into the electrical currents that flow through the body of the one named Kong as she tries to short circuit his mind for a few moments.
to identify lizard creature 'Kong'
to identify verthani
Antares-1 recalls that the lizard-ish creature in the center referred to as Kong is an ikeshti, one of a hardy race of lizardfolk native to Akiton. As a social and tribal race, they generally keep to that planet rather than spread out into the Pact Worlds or work with other races. Antares also recalls that while ikeshti don't have too many powerful resistances, they *can* shed their skin to quickly slip out of any kind of restraint or grapple.
Antares-1 also recalls some basic facts about verthani: a race of tall, skinny humanoids native to Verces. These particular ones are decked out in an assortment of mechanical augmentations, marking them as members of the Augmented caste. While most verthani are capable of changing their skin color, these ones have picked a pale color reminiscent of humans.
---
Breq's sudden attack, while not very tricky, still manages to land between the plates of Kong's armor. The ikeshti grunts in pain, following that up with a roar as Xenal's strike connects accurately! She seems just about to retaliate when Antares' mental attack causes her eyes to go momentarily dull.
Her two allies jump into action, one stepping towards Breq to swing a fist at the operative. The blow connects with a crunch!
The second thug ducks and weaves as she approaches Xenal (Using acrobatics to avoid attacks of opportunity successfully) and attempts a punch against the well armored vesk. The swing falls well short, leaving the skinny verthani exposed to any counterattack!
||||Init order||||
Breq 6 damage
Antares
Xenal
Kong 16 damage
Thug A
Thug B
Lightfoot
Savoy
Weoren
All up!
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Lightfoot moves closer to the nearest, standing thug, weaving through the nearby crates, and drawing his humming blade as he does so.
Approaching the thug, the ysoki gives a slight bow. "There is no need for further hostilities. The one you call 'Kong' has been defeated. We have come only for the evidence necessary to clear the name of one proclaiming innocence. Hand off that which does not belong to you. Yet, know this. Any further hostile action will be met with corrective force!"
With his fusion sealed blade drawn, he prepares to counter any hostile act.
With Kong brought down so incredibly easily, the two thugs exchange an alarmed glance. Magical energies begin to gather around the party, and the intimidating vesk doesn't do much good for their morale either. One of them mutters in a low drawl "Shit, let's get out while we can Cam..." and the two of them, in unison, turn to run.
Combat Over!
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Antares releases the energy she had gathered and holsters the pistol, watching the fleeing thugs. "Those are verthani, belonging to the Augmented class as demonstrated by their mechanical augmentations. Most curious, as they chose a pale hue reminiscent of the human race as the color of their skin, which they can change at will." Her eyes flicker toward Kong. "A lizardfolk native to Akiton. A tribal race that generally keep to their planet rather than dwelling on other Pact Worlds."
She eyes the datapad picked up by Breq and continues in a thoughtful tone. "A very strange crew to be common criminals. I wonder if there is more to this than is readily apparent."
Breq inspects the datapad and finds it to be protected by a fairly basic layer of security, but one that it seems Kong left intact.
Perhaps more interestingly, Lerecti's own musings over who framed them are also included. Their attention is particularly focused on a verthani named "Karelite Bogdin", the owner of a high-end club on Verces and an individual that Lerecti believed was involved in the android slave trade. Lerecti's notes end with the following comment: 'If that package I intercepted had just been the damned trade ledger like I thought, instead of that stupid useless tablet, it'd be Bogdin on trial and not me! Now... I have to hope the anacites are less easily swayed than the cronies back home.'
--------
You return to a Lerecti that seems surprised that you're both back so soon and unscathed. When you present the datapad, they visibly swell with renewed hope. "You found it! How did you manage to- Wait, I don't want to know the details. All that matters is that the information here is going to help my case." They clutch the datapad tightly. "You have my sincere appreciation. You are more than welcome to take the tablet. Hopefully it brings you less trouble than it brought me."
They produce a large shard of a sandstone tablet, about the size of a vesk's head, and covered in a web of indecipherable arcing lines and wriggling markings. It is clear that the contents are not any kind of language... in fact, it looks more like some kind of map. Without the other two parts of the tablet though, the map might be impossible to decipher.
--------
With your mission accomplished, you return to the shuttle and check in with Venture Captain Arvin via inter-world datalink.
Upon hearing that the first fragment has been secured, Arvin gives an excited "Excellent work agents!" before launching into "While you've been hard at work on Aballon, we've continued analyzing the other dream fragments. I believe we have narrowed down a precise location for the second as well..." Your viewscreens suddenly switch from his face to a transcript of the dream message:
"Bandits stalk the fields
Two sisters long since passed
Allies feast upon stone"
The image switches back to Arvin and he grins. "You may have already guessed, but this refers to a location within the Diaspora, the 'two sisters' referring to the worlds of Damiar and Lovo that were shattered so long ago to produce that place. Some of our other information gathering tracked down a group of Dwarven miners from the Silverbrew clan that had been working on an asteroid there. These fine folks were the ones who found the sandstone tablet in the first place! Unfortunately, some smugglers decided to liberate part of their find from them, so the clan only retains a single fragment of the tablet." He points at your group. "What I need is for the group of you to head to the diaspora and help the clan with their smuggler problem, and in exchange we might earn ourselves a second tablet fragment!"
"Questions?"
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If Breq has trouble with the datapad, Anares politely asks to take a look and tries to hack it herself.
She will relate the information to the others (unless Breq has already done so), and feels a strong pulse of emotion at the idea of an android slave trade. Surely this Karelite Bogdin must be stopped! When they depart, leaving Varecti with her datapad, Antares gives the android a nod. "I wish you luck in stopping this Karelite Bogdin."
After being given their next mission, Antares follows Weoren's query with one of her own. "So these dwarves have one tablet, and the smugglers have another piece? Or did they take something else of value from the miners?"
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With this initial mission accomplished, Lightfoot pulls forth his humming blade, lays the flat of it against his forehead, and bows to Lerecti and his fellow Starfinders.
""My fellows, we do not all carry on at this juncture." the ysoki declares. "For, though I move at the pleasure of the Society, I am beholden to a greater power. And for now, I believe I have been called to bring light elsewhere in this system. Thus, to that end, I must bid you all farewell.
Again, rising upright, he sheathes his blade. "Safe travels to you all. No doubt, the Society will send someone to aid you in my stead--likely, one more skilled and able than myself."
Then, as he parts ways at the space port, the white-furred ysoki waves, reciting, "'Til our eyes lay upon one another again, may the light guide our ways."
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Breq frowns as she reads the information on the pad. The Abolitionists will want to know about this. She slips a portable hard drive out of a pocket and plugs it into the datapad. "This seems important. Might need a copy for our reports." She passes it around for everyone to read. "Thank you, Antares, I appreciate the offer. You will want to read this for yourself."
---
Breq nods at the venture captain's explanation. "Not much law out there. I'm glad we can help, and support the Society." She takes notes on her datapad, "So the dwarves found all three pieces, but lost them to the smugglers? I wonder how one made it to Bogdin and Lerecti." The android packs her bags and prepares to board the starship again.
The Venture Captain nods approvingly on the vid-screen "Good questions."
He answers Weoren's question with "According to the Clan representative we contacted, the smugglers seized control over a mining facility that the Clan operated. The smugglers, a group of ysoki, have since been camping out there and using it as a base of sorts. What the Silverbrew Clan would like us to do is chase them off and give the clan an opportunity to reclaim the facility. That shouldn't be too difficult for this team, right?"
And responds to Antares with "The Silverbrew Clan expects that the smugglers have already liquidated anything of value they stole from the site. That includes the map fragments that were still at the facility when it fell into their hands." And adds to Brew's comment by saying "It does seem that the smugglers must have sold at least one of the two other map fragments to this Bogdin. We're lucky that the Silverbrew Clan kept their hands on the last one."
After you ask any other questions you might have, he mentions "Now as Lightfoot mentioned, when you arrive back at Absalom Station, I have another agent who will be joining your crew. You'll be working with them from here on out, so make sure to fill them in on all the details. Good luck. We're well on our way to working this dream-puzzle out!"
----
After a few days flight you return to Absalom Station and switch from the serviceable but unexciting shuttle to the far more capable Loreseeker vessel that the Venture Captain requisitioned for you. When you board, you find its computer systems are already preloaded with both navigation data for your destination, and contact info for both the Venture Captain and a 'Cabrin Silverbrew', who must be the Clan representative.
To facilitate that, I'll be rolling the piloting checks for 'initiative' each round for both parties. Once those are done, each player should declare their crew action (order doesn't matter: helm, engineering and gunnery phases can be done simultaneously) and I'll try to decode them in a way that makes sense. After 24 hours are up, I'll resolve the actions that both sides have taken + provide 'initiative' piloting rolls for the next round. As in normal combat, I'll skip anyone who doesn't post within 24 hours of the round starting, unless they've specifically given me botting instructions (see my GM alias profile page for more info on that).
When you move the Loreseeker across the map, please copy the GREEN arrows provided on the map to show the path of the starship's movement for that round.
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From my experience pilot and gunners are the most important, followed by engineering and then computers. A captain is nice to have to give out a bonus, but can easily take on an extra gun or science/engineering role instead
From what people have posted and looking over Wearon's profile I think we've got;
Master Filament: back-up gunnery
Breq +5 gunnery - turret/best weapon we've got
Xenal captain
Antares engineering
Weoren +8 piloting
Savoy +6 science
The Loreseeker eases out of Absalom Station's docks and Weoren engages its drift engines. The trip itself takes days as Weoren manages to optimize the drift-route appreciably. When you leave drift-space, the wide open expanse of the Diaspora spreads in the ship's primary viewscreen.
It doesn't take longer than a couple of hours to weave through the debris of the Diaspora towards the Clan mining facility, and before long, you find yourselves looking out into a densely packed field of asteroids, with the inactive facility centered on the largest among them. You can even see the telltale yellow hazard striping common in dwarven architecture on your visual scans of the facility. Thankfully, the rocks are in a relatively stable orbit and Weoren is confident that he can pilot in without too much difficulty.
From a visual inspection, the facility appears to be completely abandoned. Savoy takes a moment to scan the asteroids, facility, and surrounding area...
...and detects multiple power signatures. One of the signatures appears to come from a spacefaring vessel nestled in a divot in one of the asteroids, while the others come from several craterous rocks out in the field. Those secondary signatures appear to belong to short-range defense turrets hidden among the asteroids.
Before you can start planning out your approach, the vessel (a slim, dagger-like ship) emerges from its hiding spot. Its olive-colored hull shows signs of recent and incomplete repairs. It approaches at a slow, cautious speed. The hologram of a ysoki dressed in fine clothes and gaudy jewelry appears in the Loreseeker’s bridge, a wide grin on his face. “You’ve come a long way, travelers. You can call me Mr. Smiles. I’m everyone’s best friend around these parts.”
The ysoki, Mr. Smiles, looks off to the side, nodding at some unheard comment. “Of course. Crank, Stock, Shell, Shuffle, and Breach all say hi. So, what can Her humble grandchildren do for you?”