Please dot in here...
You have been summoned to the Lorespire Complex by Venture Captain Historia-7. The staff has asked you to remain in a waiting room until Historia-7 is ready to meet with you.
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The android was here since a long time but he stayed quiet. The color of his constructsmaterial remains gloomy. That’s the reason why Tchisk didn't notice him when he arrived. In fact, he didn't pay attention to anything in the room, except his infosphere. The android remains quiet.
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The door to Historia-7's office slides open with a whisper, and another ysoki appears in the threshold.
Wearing a standard zero-g flightsuit the same cold colour of space-grade cerasteel plating over a carbon-laced body suit, Rez Cleftear does't cut an imposing figure. A diminutive 3-foot-nothing, he is as nondescript as most stationbound ysoki are. A place for everything, and everything in its place. Sheathes for a knife and a baton, two holsters for a pair of pistols, pouches for various tools. A quick look, and you could place him in any job around a ship or station. Not a threat; just like anyone else in the crowd. Just the way Rez likes it.
He saunters over towards the other two Society agents in the room, and with a lazy ease, takes a seat across from the other ysoki. "Name's Rez..." he says with a matter-of-face voice. "... how long've you been with the Society?"
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The android saw the newcomers arrived before this one spoke. He cautiously says with a robotic voice Hi after a while, when the two other people begin to discuss. Glad to meet you. My name’s Mec-01.
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A tall and heavyset Lashunta strides into the room confidently. His Starfinder dress uniform is crisp and clean in navy blue with white piping, and his red hair is slicked back neatly. The back on his back has several slots for the quick drawing of weapons, and a small warm glowing point of light floats over his right shoulder. He gives everyone a broad grin as he enters. "Hi, fellas!"
Despite his apparent jocularity, however, it is clear that the Lashunta before you could use some rest. He has dark bags under his eyes and his movements betray a stiffness on his left side. He sits down stiffly and looks around.
"I'm Aazanar. This will be my sixth mission. Just got back from number five. Sometimes they have to send you right out again though."
He stretches out languidly, wincing a little. "Anyone heard anything about this mission?"
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A barathu floats in. Immediately, his voice enters your mind. It is masculine, but full of energy and optimism. "Hello, friends! My name is Eweek Beeshee, but you can call me Bubbles! All my friends do!" He bobs and weaves his way over to an open spot, where he floats happily. "I am here to make new friends and see if I can find any like-minded souls to join our wonderful Society!"
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A half-orc walks into the room. He is heavily tattooed with a variety of lines that look like circuitry covering the exposed flesh of his face, neck, and arms. The circuitry is broken periodically by heavy piercings, metal studs and spikes and loops. Slung over his shoulder is a pulsecaster rifle, covered with decorative metallic spikes. "Heya, all. Flenn here, reportin' for duty. This is my first mission, 'cept for runnin' errands for the bosses around the station. Just came from helpin' this annoying mouthy girl win a race, in fact ..."
He glances over at the barathu. "Bubbles, eh? I met a cute rat girl named Bubbles once." He waves his index finger vaguely, indicating the barathu's body. "No relation, I assume."
An administrative staff member enters the room and says, "The Venture Captain is ready to see you now." He leads to you to and provides you access to the Lorespire Archive. The efficient hum of machinery fills the Archive’s Cortex. Projected images and text flit across multiple screens positioned around a raised swivel chair occupied by Historia-7, leader of the Dataphiles. Historia-7 swipes a finger to clear the feed and speaks without preamble.
“My sources indicate that you are the most efficient and capable team the Starfinder Society currently has for my mission. I sincerely hope you do not prove this claim erroneous. I recently detected a discrepancy in the Society’s data logs. As you may be aware, my primary objective has been decoding information regarding the Scoured Stars incident. Before the incident, my predecessor, Historia-6, and other Society members extensively investigated several corporations as well as the Scoured Stars system. Much of their knowledge was lost to us. A recent ally, a skilled hacker named Ceren, uncovered multiple data links from what remains of my predecessor’s research leading back to a corporation known as the Arch Energy Consortium. When I compared these findings to our records, I found no mention of this corporation, and all data related to Arch Energy Consortium was somehow deleted from our records. My worst-case scenario is being realized: our data has been tampered with.”
Historia-7 unhooks the neural cables from her neck and massages the attachment sites. “I require additional information about this corporation. Arch Energy’s CEO, Ilia Tamm, has enough security resources and paranoia at her disposal to make a direct infiltration inadvisable. The weak link in this proverbial firewall is her son, Envar Tamm. His proclivities make him very suggestible, and I hypothesize that resourceful individuals could convince him to provide the information I seek."
Historia-7 touches a control and an image flickers up on the screens.
“Envar routinely attends gladiatorial fights on Arch Energy’s corporate space station, Brilliance. It will take you some time to reach Brilliance from here. During your journey, I want you to create false identities. Meanwhile, I’ll make sure that you’re entered into one of these gladiatorial matches as contestants. From there, you’ll need to get Envar to grant you access to his mother’s computer records. Acquire any data related to the corporation’s board of directors. Above all, this mission demands subtlety, as Envar has quite the media presence.
"For this mission, you may choose either a Drake or Pegasus starship for your journey to Brilliance but remember, avoiding discovery is key. Now, are there any questions?”
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Bubbles bobs up and down, glowing slightly. "We need to sneak into a corporate hot spot to steal information about people hiding from us?" The barathu pauses for a moment. "Sounds like a GREAT way to make new friends! And gladiators, that sounds fun!"
"If we are to avoid discovery, the Pegasus should be our vessel! Perhaps if we lay low we won't need the Drake's guns!"
Historia-7 stares blankly at Bubbles' bubbliness - blinking a few times.
Historia-7 closes her eyes momentarily, during which you can see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids. Her eyes opens again and she replies to Flenn, "Based upon the data of millions of arena matches stored in the archives, arena match conclusions often depend upon the nature of the combatants. If the combatants involve a beast, the beast will typically fight to the death and if victorious, usually devour their slain opponent. If the combatants are sentient beings, it will depend upon the disposition of said beings."
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The prospect to be eaten by a savage beast didn't interest the android at all. All in all he will be uneatable...
So we have to construct a false identity. I won't use make up for sure. But for the rest, if we have to appear as more common people, we should travel with the Pegasus I think. The Drake is a more powerful spaceship.
Further:
As you speak about it: what happened during the Scoured Stars incident?
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Bubbles picks up on Mec's point. "Do these disguises need to be digital or physical? Or a mix of the two!" He twirls in place. "Gladiator disguises could be fun! Barathu do not tend to wear make-up but this could be an exception!" He turns on the camera on his datapad and tries out various scary faces.
Replying to Bubbles an Flenn, "The disguise can be either physical or digital. Both approaches will serve in keeping your identities secret. Tattoos will certainly work towards a physical disguise."
Responding to Mec-01,“It was our greatest concerted effort in decades. Led by First Seeker Jadnura, many of our trained veterans - including my predecessor, Historia-6—journeyed to a largely unexplored star system. We spared no expense and poured over eighty percent of our assets and resources into the expedition. We thought this glorious mission would bring us knowledge, resources, and new discoveries. It brought us only ruin. Just after the task force reached the Scoured Stars system, all communication ceased. A shield of golden energy surrounded the system and now prevents us from contacting or reaching our lost agents. Those of us left behind are struggling to rebuild.
"Any other questions?”
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The more they talked about it, the more Tchisk go into the it. "No makeup?" He says to Mec-01. "How about a costume? Or just a bandoleer with skulls to indicate your prior victories?"
"Flenn, I can help with the identities. I have computer skills and I come from Akiton. Gladiator combat is a big sport there."
With no more questions, Historia-7 says, "Good luck on your mission and remember, subtlety is key." She swipes a finger and the feeds she was examining prior to your arrival resumes.
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Questions:
"Why Envar? What more can you tell us of Envar to help us influence him?"
"Any more information about Arch Energy?"
Eegar the Dark. His robes are black with white flames on the bottom. He has a fake eyepatch. Eegar's fur is dark too, though Tchisk does not hide the white streaks that glow when spellcasting.
Eegar is a new gladiator with only a few wins, but each win was notable in its ferocity, style, or tactical use of tactics. He even has one kill to his credit.
to help another PC
Historia-7 replies to Tchisk, "My research led me to discover that Envar has an addiction to transdimensional pesh, and while he’s impaired, he may be highly suggestible. Additionally, Arch Energy PR constantly edits his info feed, suggesting he may already be prone to leaking sensitive information to the infosphere. This is an unenviable task, and I fully intend to ensure that Envar receives the help he needs—after we get our data.
"As for Arch Energy, it is a minor subsidiary of Resurgent Technologies, which is a larger Aballon-based corporation. Analysis of Arch Energy’s finances suggests its CEO wants to keep it that way. Ilia Tamm has made multiple business decisions over past fiscal cycles that stunt company growth. I therefore conclude that the company is a front—for what, exactly, I don’t know. I suspect that Resurgent Technologies is still unaware of this.”
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Bubbles is far too interested in his outfit and disguise to remember anything about the destination.
But boy is he excited! First he pulls out a replica Strawberry Machine Cake costume, obviously homemade. After putting it on, he makes a small rumbling noise, like laughter. "I'll be the talk of the town!" He flips a switch with a tentacle and the whole ensemble starts going off with strobe lights.
After hearing a gentle explanation that the point was to fit in, not stand out, Bubbles sinks a little lower to the floor and removes his first costume. Then, getting an idea, he shoots back up, nearly to the ceiling! [b]"[i]But gladiators always stand out! He goes back to putting on his hand-crafted cosplay, this time throwing in some black and white face makeup, mimicking the intergalactic space band, KISS.
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Rez pulls out the hand terminal for his comms unit, and begins tapping away with his nimble paws. "I know someone who know someone, and they do wonders with fake IDs, I can call in an extra favour if someone needs a lead...*"
He puts the hand terminal away, then splays his paws out, jazz-style. "You're looking at the newest ex-inmate from an Akitonian mining internment camp, Budge Drillbit. Small, mean, and lookin' to make his fortune in the fightin' pits. I mean, some of that applies still to me, but hey, can't stray too far from the source material, otherwise I'll get all bungled up in a lie."
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As a well-known police inspector in another world, the android turned back to say: Still a question. Where do you think we have a chance to find the data you are looking for? I mean, how do we check to achieve this goal?
Culture, Recall knowledge:
Memory Modul reroll
Culture, Recall knowledge:
Computer:
Computer to help another:
The disguise is more thought upon a new digital identity. But the costume he puts on is the one of a gladiator's manager with a large wallet because he's a very important person.
Historia-7 replies to Mec-01, “The data should, presumably, be found on Ilia Tamm's computer. Once you gain access to it, a capable computers expert should be able to locate the appropriate files. I am not entirely sure what you will find, so download anything secure and return it to me. If you are unable to extract the files on-site, removal of the computer’s storage module will suffice, but it will alert Tamm to the security breach.”
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After the meeting, Aazanar gets down to crafting a new identity for himself.
He finds a terminal and begins crafting a legend.
Let's see... he thinks. Have to come up with an identity that doesn't match my theatre background. Someone who would want to be a gladiator.
He begins searching. This looks interesting. The Gan family was wiped out in a tragic accident in 309 in Komena. I could pretend to be from Komena, Aazanar thinks.
Aazanar begins typing.
NAME: Hakarlo Gan
SPECIES: Korasha Lashunta
PLACE OF BIRTH: Komena
DATE OF BIRTH: 7 Kuthona, 294 AG
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: No fixed address
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: None on file
NEXT OF KIN: None. All other known members of the Gan family died in 309 AG. (See attached news file.)
EDUCATION:
* Kariskalan Youth Academy (Graduated 311 AG)
* Komena Royal Military Academy (Dropped out 314 AG)
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
* Mercenary, Crimson Light Lancers (Hired 314 AG, Discharged 316 AG)
* Mercenary, Resolute Guardians Company (Hired 316 AG, Discharged 317 AG)
* Bounty Hunter, Janus Petraia Bond Agency (Hired 318 AG, Discharged 318 AG)
Looks good, Aazanar thinks. A disaffected mercenary who never stays in one place for long, fired from respectable outfits. Just the kind of guy who could use some cash from fighting in an arena.
Aazanar hits the PRINT button and his terminal produces an Ident Card for his new identity.
After the briefing concludes you make your final purchases before you board the Pegasus and depart Abasalom Station.
After days of Drift travel, during which you perfect your disguises, you arrive at Brilliance Station.
Upon arrival, a female korasha lashunta customs officer records your names and images on her computer. "Let's see... Eagerly Dark... Unnamed Barathu... Budget Drillbits... Generic Mech 1... Geek Steelfans... and Hacking Cough Gan... Yessss... Okay, got it!"
Looking at her screen, she does a double take as it flashes ominously. "Oh hey!! I see! You guys are gladiators!" She glances at her watch. "Oh my! Come with me immediately please!!" She motions to four other colleagues who moves to join you and the five of them rush you through the station, yelling at people to move aside and practically knocking down anyone who gets in the way. If it weren't for not knowing why you were in such a rush, you'd feel like a group of VIPs! They lead you down some hallways, through a few doors and finally to a massive metal door which they quickly usher you through. Yep, you're in an arena.
The ceiling of the auditorium is made of artificial transparent sapphire, providing a stunning view of space. The nearby sun blazes against a backdrop of inky space through the transparent ceiling of the arena. The glare obscures the faces of the roaring crowd crammed into bleachers towering above the floor. Overhead, six suspended holoscreens loop images of the arena. Metal pillars rise like jagged teeth from the bloodstained arena floor, and an announcer’s voice booms, “Are you ready for some carnage?” The crowd echoes the refrain as the silver metal door to the east grinds open.
The customs officer explains, "You've been matched up against some kind of alien creature imported at the request of Envar himself. And...uh... sorry about the rush. You see, Envar is a bit impatient and he really wanted to see this creature tear into some people like yesterday, sooooo yah."
Then the big metal arena entrance door comes slamming down, shutting you off from the direction you entered through.
As you're about to turn around and see what kind of creature you'll be facing in the arena, you hear a knocking sound on the now-closed entrance door as you hear the officer shouting through the thick metal, "By the way, what is your team's name?!?? What do you call yourselves???"
They respond, "Okay, good luck and try to last longer than what the bookies are estimating... which is 30 seconds. Huh? What's that?" You hear her colleagues mumbling something to her and then she yells out again through the door, "Oh! Uh...15 seconds!!!"
At the other end of the arena, a team of two male korasha lashuntas and a female vesk armed with stun guns guides a harnessed and chained creature through the metal door at the north end of the arena. The group latches the harness clips onto either side of the door before hastily retreating. Presumably, once they're far enough away at a safe distance, the beast will be released.
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Bubbles hesitates at the security station, mind abuzz. Name? Name?! Who said I needed a name?! Oh, no!!! Perhaps... Bubbles. No, too obvious. Eweek? No, that's already on my ID card! Stupid... stupid... When the agent brushes past his name and on to his status as a gladiator, the barathu smiles. Yes! The face paint worked!! My new name is Un. Un Named. I like it!
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At the arena, bubbles starts to slowly spin, a nervous habit. "Did she mean us? Are we going to fight? I thought this was just our job! Oh no..." In response to this fear, Bubbles' natural skin thickens, creating a thin sheet of armor-like material.
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Hoo, boy. Rez's mind races at the thought of staring down the pointy teeth of whatever beast from some backwater planet lies across from them.
He disengages the maglock on his holster, and draws his staticaster. It was a stock X3F, a recent purchase. Man, I didn't even have time to customise this thing... I wonder if this'll even feel like more than a tickle to that horned beast... Swallowing a lump in his throat, Rez grabs his survival knife and holds it in his off hand, cradling the arc pistol in the notch of his wrist.
"Looks like these executive-types want a bit of a show, eh?" Rez says to the rest of the Starfinder crew, under the roaring sounds of the assembled crowd. "Let's just be their little playthings for now, then once we're done here, we bust that little twerp Tamm...
He motions to the crowd, arms outstretched. "Oh, you all want a show!?" And with that, Rez tosses his arc pistol and knife in the air, and attempts a backflip.
He barely sticks the landing, but quickly stretches his hands out to snatch his falling weapons...
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The manager android comes mechanically inside the arena. He looks like the kind of people who doesn't have to handle with a combat in a arena. All in all it's his case, but who knows... An android in costume with a large wallet in his hand.
Once Rez has got the attention of the crowd, Mec-01 opens his wallet to take out first a black staff, the kind of one the people will think it's a metal one, but it's a plastic one, of course.
Then he shows it to the crowd and snaps in two the object to demonstrate his strength.
Athletics:
After this point he bends over his wallet and takes out his azimuth rifle.
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...Yep, you're in an arena.
"Well that was quick," Aazanar quips. "If I had known it was so easy to become a gladiator, I would have started years ago!"
He pulls a rod from his pack which quickly telescopes out into a 6' long spear.
"Well, I guess this is it! See you guys on the other side." Aazanar grins.
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Bubbles floats into the arena, mentally speaking to his friends. "Well, that's not so bad! Maybe he wants to be friends! "
He tries to remember if he's heard about this beast before. Then, he floats to just out of reach of the monster, extends a freakishly long tentacle and waves it in front of his face! " Nah, nah, I'm not afraid of you! Raar! "
The scary fact paint does wonders to help his sunny disposition. Then the barathu floats back to a safe distance.
As the party performs various tricks to win over the crowd's hearts and minds, a couple of announcers' voices booms throughout the arena....
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"I didn't hear you all the first time! Are you ready for some CARNAGE?!?!??"
The crowd yells, "Carnage! Carnage! Carnage!"
The announcer continues, "That's more like it! I'm Raatchet and my cuz Arratoi are your guest announcers for today's - probably brief - spectacle. For your bloodthirsty viewing pleasure, we've got Envar's specially imported monster, a crest-eater!! And going up against them we have..."
On the holoscreen up above, you see a ysoki, presumably Raatchet, lifting up a piece of paper as he reads, "The Ass Dragons!!!"
The crowd roars in laughter!
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"What?!? That can't be right! Let me see that!"
Another ysoki, presumably Arratoi, grabs the paper from Raatchet and announces, "No! No! It's the Abyss Dragons! And the members of the Abyss Dragons are....
"Eegar the Dark an up and coming new gladiator who's aleady earned a kill!
"Un Named who's got an amazingly disturbing face paint job!
"An ex-con trying to make something of himself, Budge Drillbit!
"Their money man and manager, Mec the Manager!
"A former soldier-of-fortune turned gladiator Glek Steelfang!
"And the maverick who just doesn't fit in anywhere else, Hakarlo Gan!
"Give it up ladies and gents! For these six may very well be giving up their lives for your viewing pleasure!"
The crowd cheers as they turn their attention to the party's demonstrations of prowess...
The crowd cheers as they see Rez showing off your nimbleness. The weapons come down and you easily snatch them out of the air and you strike a menacing pose, pistol in one hand, knife in the other. The crowd cheers approvingly, "Drill-BIT! Drill-BIT! Drill-BIT!"
Mec-01 easily snaps the fake metal staff and various members of the audience oooohs and aaaahs. You think you see a few female members of the audience scream and faint from delight at your show of manly strength. You look a bit longer and you realize they were actually male. But hey, you impressed them, right?
With his admittedly disturbing face paint and equally disturbing tentacle, Bubbles roars and makes a show of intimidation! The beast itself doesn't react but a hush falls over the crowd as they go silent for a second... Then they burst out in cheers even more eager for the carnage to begin!