Khorvax draws his laser pistol. But with Navasi in his line of fire, he instead sends a bolt of mental power at the nearest ganger. The ganger screams and collapses!
The ganger next to Altronus pulls out a baton and swings it at the Kasatha. The ganger on the far side of the bridge draws a pistol and shoots, also at Altronus. The
Round 1 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus, Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: The Gangers
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Round 2 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus, Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: Red, Yellow, Blue (dead)
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
The ganger reels as Senko's shot hits, and he nearly drops his baton.
Round 1 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus, Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: The Gangers
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Round 2 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus (-4), Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: Red (-12), Yellow, Blue (dead)
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Iseph moves forward and shoots with his pistol to hit the red thug.
Navasi points to the remaining thug and says, "Get 'em."
She then fires at the thug.
Pushing past the newly minted baker, Altronus closes in on the remaining gangster.
Iseph sneaks forward an takes a shot after popping out from behind Navasi. The shot hits and the ganger next to Ceren collapses.
Navasi shouts a word of encouragement and takes a shot at the last ganger, burning him lightly. Altronus closes to melee range and swings, but the ganger ducks under the blow.
Round 1 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus, Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: The Gangers
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Round 2 Initiative:
Block 1: Khorvax, Altronus (-4), Senko
Block 2: Red (dead), Yellow, Blue (dead)
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Khorvax and Huckle Jim take shots with their weapons, and both shots strike the ganger. He reels.
Looking at his dead companions, the ganger takes a step back, and then turns and flees.
Round 2 Initiative:
Block 1: Khorvax, Altronus (-4), Senko
Block 2: Red (dead), Yellow (-12), Blue (dead)
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
Round 3 Initiative:
Block 1: Altronus (-4), Khorvax, Senko
Block 2: Red (dead), Yellow (-12), Blue (dead)
Block 3: Huckle Jim, Iseph, Navasi
The ganger runs around a corner on the path and is soon out of sight.
Combat Over.
Both of the dead gangers have:
* flight suit stationwear,
* pulsecaster pistol with battery (one with 20 charges, one with 19),
* tactical baton,
* credstick (100 credits)
"Whoo!" says Ceren happily. "That was exciting! I haven't felt this young in years!"
After you fill her in on her new identity, she pulls a data wafer from her handbag.
"That sounds wonderful! Here's that file you wanted. I'm afraid it's encrypted. I hope it's worth as much as you seem to think."
"If you folks ever need help from a..." she looks at her ID again. "... humble baker, just give me a ring!"
When the party contacts Historia-7 to report that they have acquired the file, she nods. "Well done. I am glad I don't have to correct any of your work; this is not always the case with new recruits. You don't need to deliver the file in person; I have a secure line you can upload it to."
"I am sending you a package. Consider it to be a reward for your services. It will arrive by robot courier shortly."
A rudimentary courier robot greets the PCs sometime between the completion of this mission and the start of the next. It presents the PCs with a gift box containing a standard datajack and 200 credits. A simple electronic message from Historia-7 indicates that the datajack is a token of thanks from the Dataphiles. The box also contains a frostbite-class zero rifle. The rifle is an old—albeit out-ofplace—acquisition of Ceren’s that Jubair found while cleaning out the family house.
The headquarters of the Wayfinder faction is a large ship in the Armada called the Master of Stars. The ship is old and undergoing an extensive refit.
The Wayfinders send a shuttle to pick you up and deliver you to the Master of Stars.
The station’s Armada can be seen from the shuttle’s view screen as it takes off, gleaming figures standing out against the emptiness of space. The Master of Stars immediately stands out from the rest, as layers and layers of scaffolding obscure its hull. Tiny lights flicker among the metal beams as distant figures weld plates and heat shields to the ship’s exterior. The shuttle smoothly glides closer until it reaches the starship’s docking bay, slipping through the magic field that keeps the hold pressurized with breathable atmosphere. As the shuttle doors open, a small drone flies in and pops up a holoscreen, displaying a harried-looking ratfolk.
“Finally, fresh meat!” the ysoki exclaims over the screen, sounding pleased.
“Ha! Yeah, anyway, name’s Fitch—pleasantries over, time to get to work. I had some trouble earlier with the lights flickering on the ship, and now both the lights and computers have suddenly gone out on E-Deck. No idea what’s causing it, but you work this job long enough and—”
Fitch’s attention flicks to something offscreen, and she shouts “Kirkath! The welding torch is not a toy! You wanna go in the toddler’s pen with the other kids?”
She snorts dismissively before continuing, “Sorry, some of these little ones would cut off their own heads if I let them. Anyway, it could be some lunkhead screwed up the wiring, but that’s a pretty big system failure for a simple electrical short. I’d prefer to send in some people with combat training to scout it out, just in case someone or something is sabotaging the ship. If it’s nothing, great, get the power back on if you can. If there’s something suspicious, use your comm units to report in to me. I’ll give you the access codes, so— Selicha!” Once again Fitch's attention is directed off-screen.
“If you touch that panel I will staple you to the hull!”
The screen on the drone cuts out, then flashes to display the ship’s schematics and the passwords for the computers on E-Deck.
The group takes a lift down to E Deck. When the lift reaches E Deck, the doors fail to open, but the group is able to force the doors open fairly easily. However, there are no lights on E deck at all.
Iseph looks around and checks out the wires to restore illumination.
"I cannot believe that we are really doing another one of these missions for Fitch. At least this one seems to be an easy task."
Iseph patches into a local network hub and manages to restore emergency lighting. Though most fo the major systems on this deck are without power, Iseph is able to control things that only use a small amount of power, like opening electroic locks.
When the lights come on, E Deck is revealed to be an area that sees little use. Many maintenance panels are off the walls and cables run along floors. Most of the rooms nearby seem to be empty or store unuses equipment of one kind or another.
Iseph starts to walk into the rooms and checks if he sees anything out of the ordinary.
Altronus waits patiently while Ispeh messes with the computers.
"I am thinking I should learn a little something about these things" he says in reference to to computers. "Maybe i'd have been a bit more useful these last couple hours."
As the lights come back on, Altronus moves over to the electric panels and begins to inspect the contents of the electric panels and empty rooms. Specificially, he is looking for signs of recent use or sabotage.
Navasi, too, looks around for any signs of sabotage or the presence of a saboteur.
The deck is large and a thorough search takes about an hour, after which, Altronus discovers a door that is locked.
A quick look around the door shows less dust on the floor leading to it, suggesting that someone has been here recently. Iseph has already gained access to the computer network and is easily able to unlock the door, after which the group is able to pry it open.
Beyond lies a storeroom. Scattered barrels and boxes line the lowered floor of this storage chamber. A thick bulkhead to the port side leads farther onto the deck, while a similar bulkhead to the aft connects to an arterial hallway that runs the length of the deck (which is how you got here).
Iseph, Khorvax, and Senko can all hear whispering coming from in or behind various containers. Khorvax and Iseph can actually make out words:
"Shhhh! Be Quiet!" one voice says. "You're gonna get us in trouble!"
"You shut up!" says the other. "This is all your fault!"
"Is not!" says the first.
Iseph walks forward, draws his weapon and shouts.
"Come out, now! We will not hurt you but you are trespassing"
Hearing Iseph shout, Navasi draws her firearm.
At the sound of Iseph's voice, there is silence for a moment. Then two children pop out of the containers, shouting at one another. One is male, the other is female, and both are human. They look to be around eight or nine years old.
"It wasn't me! It was all her idea!" the little boy shouts.
"You shut up!" shouts the little girl. "It's your fault, not mine!"
After numerous recriminations the group is able to get the children to settle down. It turns out that the children (named Kieu Lan and Kieu Si) came down here to feed their "pet ferret" named "Wang" (they have a variety of "food" for Wang, including seaweed snacks, candies, and some breakfast cereal). They found Wang while exploring the adjacent chamber and adopted him. They liked to come down here "because the children's creche is soooo boring," explains Kieu Si.
The children don't know why the lights went out but hid because they were afraid they would get blamed for that. "We didn't do anything, really!" says Kieu Lan. "The doors locked and we couldn't get out!"
"I suggest that you grab your ferret and go. We have concerns that a saboteur may be lurking around down here. It isn't safe for you children."
Navasi gets on her comm unit and tries to get ahold of Fitch to see if someone knows the parents of the two Kieu children.
Iseph looks at the kids but stays silent for a moment.
He starts to search the room.
”Oh! Kids! You startled me.”
Altronus listens to each of the children and their story. He interacts and asks basic questions before hearing the telepathic communication.
”A pet, huh? So where is this pet again? Why don’t you just level with us- what are you guys really doing down here?”
"Look, we are not here to get anyone trouble. We just want to fix the problem with the lights and make sure that there is no one dangerous down here." stas Navasi changing tact. "No doubt you are scared. We can keep you and your pet safe while we get things fixed."
"I suggest that you grab your ferret and go. We have concerns that a saboteur may be lurking around down here. It isn't safe for you children."
"We can't grab Wang!" says Kieu Si. She points at the adjoining chamber. "He's in there, and when the lights went off, the door locked!"
"Besides," says Kieu Lan. "He lives here! We wouldn't be allowed to keep him upstairs!"
Navasi gets on her comm unit and tries to get ahold of Fitch to see if someone knows the parents of the two Kieu children.
"What?" Fitch asks incredulously. "A couple of gorram kids? It figures. I think-" Fitch turns away to shout at someone off screen. "WILL SOMEONE TURN OFF THAT FRAKIN' ALARM? HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?!?"
Fitch turns back to the screen. "Yeah, those are Kieu Kein's kids. I'd give the nannies a beating if they weren't robots. I'll send him down to- DAMMIT THAT'S THE OXYGEN! KEEP THAT TORCH AWAY FROM THERE! HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAY?"
The connection ends abruptly.
Senko looks down a the two kids. "Hey, it's okay. We're not here to get you in trouble." He gestures at the door to the nest room while looking directly at Lan. "Just tell us what's up with that door."
"Uh... well, we didn't want anyone bothering Wang. So, ah, well... we set the fire extinguisher to go off in someone's face if they opened the door. Heh heh."
Iseph examines the door and is easily able to find the jury-rigged trap.
Navasi is disappointed when she loses contact with Fitch. "Guess we are on babysitting duty until the father arrives. And 'ferret' wrangling too."[/b the woman says to the others.
Approaching the kids, she asks, [b]"What do you mean, this 'Wang' lives here? This is a Starfinder vessel. Why don't you tell us how you met this creature. And provide us with any details that will let us... um... make his life a little easier when you return to your father."
"What do you mean, this 'Wang' lives here? This is a Starfinder vessel...."
"Lotsa things live on this ship. It doesn't actually go anywhere," Says Kieu Lan.
Kieu Si explains, "We found him in there!" she points at the door to the other room. "He was crawling around all by himself, and there wasn't any food in there. So we started bringing him some. He likes Choco-Caramel Bombs. But daddy says you can't eat just candy all the time so we brought him some other stuff."
"I am honest kids ... I have had enough! You tell us everything now about your little friend and what you have been doing here!" Iseph says with a stern look on his face.
"I am honest kids ... I have had enough! You tell us everything now about your little friend and what you have been doing here!" Iseph says with a stern look on his face.
The children begin to cry and deny any wrongdoing. They blame the whole thing on their robot teachers, who are either "too mean" or "too boring." They have been sneaking out to this level of the ship for some time.
Iseph and Senko work together on the trap and manage to disarm it. They open the door.
As the door opens, steam billows out of the door. The room us uncomfortably hot and moist, and the steam is so thick that it is diffucult to see more than a few feet.
"We didn't do that!" shouts Kieu Lan.
"Yeah! It wasn't like that before!" adds Kieu Si.
This area consists of two adjoining chambers. Four large containment capsules fill the fore room, three of which hold stasis-locked objects, including a tablet, a strange curved sword, and an odd spiral of bioluminescent coral. A crack leaks fluid from the fourth capsule, which displays a foot-wide breach near the bottom. The aft room contains several desks, each hosting a deactivated computer terminal.
as they move into the room, the group quickly notices a large number of very small footprints. A lot of them. They go all over the room and often in and out of vents. It is hard to tell which direction they are going or which tracks are most fresh.
Navasi makes her way through the steam to the computers in the second room. "Someone or something has been trying to access the terminals here." She notes, The dialog for the environmental controls is currently open and waiting instructions."[/b]
"It doesn't look like the would-be-hacker was successful." she notes. "Let's see if I can access the system and turn down the heat." She tries to adjust the environmental controls to reduce the temperature and vent out some steam.
Iseph looks at Navasi and nods "Good job! Let us see if we can find any tracks in the vicinity."
"Look guys, there is a particular concentration of tracks near the ceiling of the second room."
Iseph looks at it in more detail.
"Ok, this makes me think that whatever made these track goes in and out of the vents in the ceiling of the second room very frequently. Hmmm ... but getting in there would be kind of tricky. Maybe we can lure it out!"
Iseph walks back to the kids.
"Look, I want to apologize. Active listening is obviously not my strength. So sorry for my behavior!" Iseph say apologetically.
"But I need your help. Do you still have more of these Choco-Caramel Bombs?"
Navasi accesses the environmental controls and shuts down the heat. It will take some time for the steam to clear to full visibility but the room begins to cool down quickly.
Iseph is able to figure out that the tracks seem to emanate from a certain point, and clearly "Wang" must be living within the vents at that location.
Senko thinks he can hear the sound of something faintly moving in that area, though it must be pretty small.
Navasi realizes that she can use the controls to push air through those vents and flush out whatever might be hiding in there.
She hits a few keys and clicks "enter." Soon there is the sound of air blowing hard through the vents. For a moment there is nothing else, but then an object the size of a softball gets spat out of one of the vents, landing with a "plop" in the middle of the room.
"There he is!" Shouts Kieu Lan. "That's Wang!"
The creature on the floor looks nothing like a ferret at all. It is a brownish centipede-like creature with perhaps forty orange legs. It is stunned for only a moment, and then it looks around the room in panic and darts particularly fast into the corner.
Kieu Si offers iseph a Choco-Caramel Bomb. "Here, give him this! It's our last one."
Iseph will use the choco-caramel bombs to attract the little being and then will try to calm the creature.
When it comes nearer Iseph will try position himself so it does not get away.