"Give us the coordinates to your ship now." Obozaya growls.
"And I will let you go with your arms attached." she continues.
Exegara shifts uncomfortably, then slowly raises her hands, points to the inside of her cloak, and pulls out a small data pad. She taps on it a few times, then hands it over to Obozaya. "There - the coordinates are there." You can easily copy the information to your own data pad or commit them to memory. She seems somewhat shrunken now, less certain of what to do next. "Well, what now? You have the means to find my ship, and can get the coordinates for your ship in any way you like. Will you let me go?"
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Iseph wanders back over to the group, giving a slight nod at Exegara's request. "Initial hostilities aside, you've been quite cooperative in our investigation. Do what you must to get back to your ship, and we will see you a couple of days."
Iseph turns and looks around at her allies, and mutters in a low tone. "With the Threnody stranded in the Drift, it'll quite some time before the repairs can be made. That will give us enough time to hire a ship of our own. Surely we will be able to find her."
The ysoki proprietors of the Vat Garden return shortly after you conclude your business with Exegara. They are thankful that the PCs dealt with the thieves and provide six plant bulbs as a reward. "Chew on this if you get poisoned," the family's leader offers. "Fancy chems got nothin' on old family root-knowledge!"
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With coordinates in hand, you return to the Lorespire Complex and meet with Venture Captain Arvin. The lashunta's assistant ushers you in after a brief wait, and he welcomes you warmly. "I'm glad to hear that you have found something! Show me the details, please, I look forward to knowing our next steps."
He listens carefully to your description of the exchanges with Julzakama and Exegara, and at the conclusion he looks at the coordinates to the Endless Threnody in the Drift. "Yes, excellent. Though this Corpse Fleet soldier is certainly not to be trusted, I think that we can get you there quickly, perhaps before she can acquire components to fix her ship."
Arvin keys a button on his desk, and opens a communication channel. "Hangar bay - this is Arvin. Prepare the Loreseeker for immediate deployment. We'll be there shortly." He keys the channel closed, and stands while stowing a personal comm unit in his jacket pocket. "Meet me in docking bay 57 as soon as you're ready - I want to launch you to these coordinates right away. If you aren't interested in going further with this, tell me now and I will contact other Agents to step in."
Altronus still has work to do. No time to waste, send me the coordinates
rungok wrote: I'm enjoying playing Obozaya so I'll keep with her. However, do we get healing in between parts? Otherwise I'll be going in on half HP. Yes, HP gets healed, because this is when I'll hand out Chronicle Sheets, and per the guild guide, chronicle handouts equal recovery. If this were all one scenario, then no, not yet. You would need to pay for it. I'll try to get an initial Chronicle ready for everyone.
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135676-701, Z-Data-Z, Aquisitives
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Venture-Captain Arvin stands next to the entry ramp of a sleek-looking starship. He waves his hands over the side of the starship affectionately. “This is the Loreseeker, a Pegasus-class ship. One of the fastest and lightest in the Society’s fleet.
“You helped us learn that our lost Starfinder vessel, the Unbounded Wayfarer, was discovered by undead creatures from a starship called the Endless Threnody. We’ve pulled some strings with our more reputable Eoxian contacts to get more information, but they’ve disavowed knowledge of the Endless Threnody entirely; this likely confirms our suspicions that the Endless Threnody is connected with the Corpse Fleet, a group of Eoxian separatists who refuse to work alongside the living.
“We have the location of the Endless Threnody in the Drift, courtesy of that ghoul you tracked down. Its Drift engine is incapacitated, so it’s unable to escape the Drift. Take the Loreseeker into the Drift, cripple the Eoxian ship—as a Corpse Fleet vessel, they won’t be open to negotiations—and recover the location of the lost Starfinder vessel. Any questions?”
Not all elebrians (natives of Eox) supported their planet’s decision to join the Absalom Pact. Rather than face potential disarmament at the hands of the Stewards, many undead admirals and captains in the Eoxian Navy left the Pact Worlds and took their ships deep into space. The grim vessels of this so-called “Corpse Fleet,” forged of steel and bone and staffed with undead crews, have no need for atmosphere, food, or other supplies, allowing them to easily prey on the ships and crews of the living. Officially, Eox has severed all ties with the Corpse Fleet, claiming it’s a rogue remnant of the “old regime,” but many in the Pact Worlds suspect that the Bone Sages are still in communication with the ghastly armada, offering clandestine support to the Corpse Fleet and its activities.
Altronus knows, he spreads the knowledge. So they could be anywhere in the galaxy as the rogue ships spread out, just great
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"Endless Threnody, eh?" whispered a charcoal-furred ysoki to the fellow Starfinders adjacent to him. A whisper low enough not to elicit a response and possible reprimand from Venture-Captain Arvin.
Small and lithe, and perhaps a bit shorter than the average ysoki, he wore a pilot's zero-g jumpsuit over a well-worn second-skin. Much like the name implied, it had acquired a nice patina from the years of use.
"I mean, say what you will about them stiffs, but the Corpse Fleet always manage to have some pretty awesome dread-inducin' names for their bone buckets. We took on a frigate a while back? Transponder came back with the name Harrowing Dirge of Despair."
The ysoki straightened his posture, noticing that Arvin was looking his way. He snapped his head to the front with military-drill precision.
"Close one. Sorry, never got to introduce myself back there before the briefing. Name's Rez, I'll be your pilot for this trip."
"All right. Let's get going!" she exclaims, boarding the ship. "Rez, I hope to see what this can do, got it?" she says to the Ysoki with a toothy grin.
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Rez follows behind Obozaya, running his paws up the guardrail as they head up the steps.
”Oh, I got it alright." he smiles back. "Man, one of the higher-ups must want this job done right, handing over the docking codes to a boat like this.”
The ysoki looks around the main crew area, marvelling at the various lights and holodisplays. ”She's a Pegasus-class. Fast when it needs to be, and has enough teeth to make anything bigger than us think twice before chasing.”
He climbs the few steps to get into the pilot’s chair. ”300 degree coverage with gimbled lascannons... a coilgun on a swivel turret…” Rez plops down in to the cushioned seat, and it conforms to his slightly smaller height and weight. He grabs a headset from his pack and plugs its jack into a port on the control panel in front of him.
”Testing the ship-board comms. One-two. Test, test. Alright. I’ve got the reins, so who’s got the control of her horn? Whoever it is, make sure your trigger finger is sufficiently itchy, would ya? Corpse Fleet'll hit us with everything they can, so we should be doing the same. Once we got that settled, everyone strap in, and we’re ready for the Drift.”
"I wish you well in your journey! Check in regularly - I want to know what happened to your colleagues, and I know that the answers are out there." Arvin ushers you into the ship, where a flight deck crew is finalizing preparations. They show you where everything is located on the ship, and you get settled into your respective stations...
- The pilot should have a good Piloting bonus. Here are the actions that a pilot can take in combat. ALSO: Here are the types of stunts that a starship can attempt.
- Gunners should have a good base attack bonus (at least equal to her level) or the Piloting skill. Here are the actions that a gunner can take in combat. ALSO: Here is information on the firing angles that a starship will have in combat. This is helpful to know so that you are aware of what your ship's weapons can actually do.
- Engineers should have a good Engineering bonus. Here are the actions that an engineer can take in combat.
- Science officers should have a good Computers bonus. Here are the actions that a science officer can take in combat.
- The captain should have a good Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate bonus, as well as any of the skills identified above. Here are the actions that a captain can take in combat.
And here is some information about the Loreseeker again, just in case!
-Posted with Wayfinder
After getting cleared for takeoff, Rez pilots the ship out of the docking clamp, and away from Absalom Station. You pass through the Armada, a vast and shifting swarm of ships, both transient and permanent, that constantly orbits the station.
When you get clear of the Armada, you punch in the coordinates as you can best approximate for the Endless Threnody, and you enter the Drift, a separate plane of existance that helps you (via a special engine) to cut across vast distances in relatively little time. It is a void of swirling color without substance, a mostly empty place of mutable laws (at least, regarding physics or magic), and thought by some to be the quantum foam underlying all creation.
Travel through the Drift is never predictable, and it takes you over two weeks of travel to get to the coordinates that Exegara gave you. You travel for several days, and your ship is outfitted with good crew quarters for rest, a general science lab, and a tech workshop.
A science lab contains scientific apparatuses and other laboratory equipment to aid in the research of certain topics. A general science lab provides a +1 circumstance bonus to Life Science and Physical Science checks.
A tech workshop contains all the space and tools necessary to craft technological items, though the crafter must still provide the necessary raw materials. Such a workshop reduces the crafting time by half.
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After setting in a course and seeing the nav computer come up green across the board, Rez speaks on the headset through the main shipboard comms. Out of the Black, and once more into the Drift...
"Alright folks! Good news, bad news time. The good is that we're well in the Drift, and on course for the Threnody. Shouldn't be any issues on our way there."
The ysoki flopped out of the chair and onto the ship's deck, stretching his legs. Travelling in the Drift didn't bother Rez, so as long as he didn't look through any viewport or catch any live feeds from the external cameras on one of the seemingly hundreds of display screens on board the ship. All the swirling colours tended to churn the stomach of the usually unflappable ysoki.
The leg stretching was Rez simply trying to get used to the arti-grav in the ship, as it never quite felt like the gravity back home on Absalom Station. "The bad? It's going to take about two weeks' time in Absalom days to get there. So I'm hoping some of you guys play cards to pass the time." ... and I'm hoping at least one of you gambles, so I can least make it interesting. And profitable.
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Obozaya will sit back in the captains chair and sigh. "Two weeks? I've had worse." she grunts.
"I don't play cards." she comments, lifting up her tablet and loading her game in Tactics Unchained. Little arcade sounds pip out through the cheap speakers as she taps the screen and grins.
Altronus We can beat anything, right!?
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It's been how many days?
Rez double tapped the sheer black screen in front of him, and the display glowed a faint blue. He took note of the current time, then tried to recall how long it was since the last time he tapped that same sheer black screen and made note of the time before.
Too long, he thought.
No matter whatever the time displayed was, Rez and his crew were still days away from reaching their destination in the Drift. He had volunteered to man the helm for the first shift, as there wasn't really any reason to have the entire ship's compliment awake and burning their candles while the space outside stretched and waned in streaks of every hue imaginable.
But this "first shift" was simply the first shift of the rotation. And the rotation? Well, the rotation had... well, rotated at least four, perhaps five times? Rez wasn't quite sure.
Rez turned to the side and tapped on another control screen.
"What's that, captain?" he said, turning his chair 180 degrees to face the captain's chair, which sat empty.
"Blah blah blah, give me a target, ANY target, so we can blow them to oblivion!" he mimicked the vesk's voice in his head.
"Affirmative, captain madam!" he replied to the figment of his imagination.Checking medium-range sensors... nothing to report.
Rez kicked off the support that held his starboard panel, wheeling the chair back around to the fore. He looked out the viewports to the Drift before him. The ysoki exhaled, slouching down the back of the pilot's seat.
Sorry to report, captain 'Zaya, but you'll have to wait another hundred days before we make contact with another living s--...
Rez stopped his train of thought.
Okay, technically? Not living souls. But you know what I mean.
Rez looked over his shoulder to the imaginary captain in the empty chair.
Okay, this was fun at first, but now I'm startin' to wonder if I'm actually losing it, this much time in the Drift. Gods, how I hate the Drift. Rez tossed his headset on, and punched a button on the comms touchpad.
"Someone, anyone. I don't care. Come to the bridge. It's your turn. I think I'm getting loopy without some sleep."
After over two weeks of travel, your ship arrives at the indicated coordinates. It hasn't been all terrible - the crew quarters are quite nice - but it's clear that having (relatively) just met is not making things easier. Once you arrive, however, there's a hitch... the Endless Threnody simply isn't there.
Raia and Keskodai step up to the controls for the sensor...
...and you are able to catch the "signature" of a ship's wake traveling away from the coordinates. Rez is easily able to follow, and after a few more hours of pursuit, there it is - the Endless Threnody.
The Eoxian freighter is a massive vessel made of bone and steel. The front of the ship is a single enormous red lens, appearing as a sullen, bloody eye. The ship bristles with bone protrusions, as though it were some horned, skeletal beast. Some of the bones are charred and broken, indicating past battle damage. Laser cannons protrude from the front and sides of the freighter; but its rear weapon mounts are a twisted wreck.
Gaps between the bones show the ship’s interior, but this is not from battle damage—this ship was never intended to accommodate living creatures.
You appear to have caught up to them before their sensors were able to detect you. From what Arvin told you, it's unlikely that the Eoxian ship can be talked into providing the coordinates (though you can certainly try).
Obozaya takes her captains seat and looks over the scans. "All right, we've got the drop on them. Take us in along their aft. When they finally spot us, we're gonna need to keep as many guns off us as possible."
She leans back with an honest smile full of pointy teeth. "Our objective is to disable their ship and get what we need from their computers. Voluntarily or not. Do not fire until we're close or they've made us."
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Rez finds it hard to swallow as he begins to address Obozaya.
"Cap'n, if I may? I can get in closer, but our coilgun'll hit targets out to an effective range of 20 klicks, and do more damage than our light laser cannons. We're well within that range, so I can just keep on their tail while Altronus blasts them from behind."
As you close on your approach, your comms panel starts blinking. If you punch it, an imperious voice barks over the loudspeaker, " “So good of you to deliver the skulls we need for our repairs - MWAH HA HA HA HA!” before ending communications. The Endless Threnody prepares to turn towards you!
- - - - - - - - - -
HP: 55/55
Fore Shields: 10/10
Port Shields: 10/10
Starb. Shields: 10/10
Aft Shields: 10/10
Damaged systems: None
HP: 100/100
Fore Shields: 0/10
Port Shields: 0/10
Starb. Shields: 0/10
Aft Shields: 0/10
Damaged systems: None
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Engineering
Helm
Gunnery
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She lets the comm click off with a smirk.
"They're half busted up and think they can take us? Fools. Gunner! Open fire!" she highlights a vulnerable spot on the enemy ship.
-Posted with Wayfinder
And he is firing the turret, why cause most damage, fire one gun, not two with a penalty
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'Shall we redirect shield power to the front? The captain might want us to scan the undead ship? Are there systems actually damaged? Or are they appearing defenseless waiting for a ship like ours to investigate? Yes let us scan. Scan for what now...'
"Tchk..tchk..scanning systems on the undead ship..Obozaya...tchk..tchk...I will try to confirm the ship's defenses are still damaged."
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Rez looks on the main viewscreen, expecting to see a shimmer from the enemy shields doing their best to protect their ship from the ferromagnetic ceramic projectile hurled at it by the Loreseeker's coilgun. Or better yet, the debris from a clean shot, punching clean through the decks of the undead vessel. Only nothing showed on the screen. The Threnody was still there, limping towards them.
"Uh, did we miss there? I didn't see anything!"
Keskodai is still getting used to the sensors array on the Loreseeker, and unfortunately their initial scan doesn't return any helpful information.
Altronus' shot fires wide of the mark at this distance. Unfortunately, the gunner on the Endless Threnody seems to be a bit more prepared, even at this range! The enemy's forward cannon, a heavy laser, punches through your front shields and scores the nose of the Loreseeker!
HP: 52/55
Fore Shields: 0/10
Port Shields: 10/10
Starb. Shields: 10/10
Aft Shields: 10/10
Damaged systems: None
HP: 100/100
Fore Shields: 0/10
Port Shields: 0/10
Starb. Shields: 0/10
Aft Shields: 0/10
Damaged systems: None
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Engineering
Helm
Gunnery
Knowing they are within standard firing arc, Altronus fires the turret again, after the ship moves forward
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"Okay, that shot just missed us all here in the ops deck by degrees, people! I'm taking some evasive maneuvers, make sure you're strapped into your crash chairs!" Rez throws the throttle back in a hard burn towards the Threnody, then cuts thrust and makes a sharp turn, hoping to mess with the Eoxian ship's gunnery systems. "Pulling around beside them! Hopefully they have something a little less punchy on that side, plus we can at least afford to take the next hit on our portside shields!"
DC = 14 (10+2*2)
"Damn them!" Obozaya hisses. "Keskodai! Get the shields back up!"
You can balance the shields, redirecting power from one quadrant to protect another. With a successful Computers check (DC = 15 + 2 × your Starship’s tier), you can shift Shield Points (Sp) from the shield in one quadrant to the shield in another quadrant, including to depleted shields (after rebalancing, every shield must have at least 10% of the total current SP). Alternatively, you can add up the SP from all the remaining shields and evenly distribute them to all four quadrants, putting any excess SP in the forward quadrant.