Starfinder-Dead Suns ala Fabian (Inactive)

Game Master Fabian Benavente

@Fabian: I know you said we can't speak with the Ambassador directly but are all the comms down? We would have had a way of communicating with the Station other than the Hippocampus, not?

Kamiya sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Just because you live on Absalom Station doesn't mean you interact regularly with other races. And just because the goblins act differently than you think they should it doesn't mean that they aren't willing to work with us. But I'm not going to continue to have an ineffectual conversation. I told you all that I would stay here with the goblins and make sure they don't destroy anything. I don't understand why you're then continuing to argue for their deaths."

So if we can't take the Hippocampus back and we can't take the Acreon back and we can't reach anyone on the comm, what's your suggestion? That we just camp out here until someone comes looking for us?"

Kamiya's tone remained even as she said, "I never said I had all the answers. I'm just pointing out the fact that if we try to use the Acreon to get back to the Station that we would most likely be fired upon. Maybe we can get the ship's communication system functioning - did anyone actually check it's status? The crew should have had a way of communicating with other ships or Absalom Station."

Thread 1: RE Goblins
"We could implant them with Akata spawn, and tell them we will give them the cure when we return to the station." John suggests "That would give them an immediate motivation to help facilitate our return. Alternatively we could take their salvaged items, load them in a sphere with oxygen and an emergency beacon, and launch them towards the station. Finally we could drug them to sleep. Do goblins enter a power-down when deprived of oxygen for a short time?"

Thread 2: RE return
"We could load everyone is a sphere with oxygen and an emergency beacon and launch ourselves towards the station." he offered "That said, I suggest we keep trying to get the comms working. I also suggest we finish investigating the rock. We do not allow the camera to come with us. If the only record of the inside of the rock is our recollection then they have a reason to save us. They are unlikely to find another team to volunteer to redo the mission if they left their last team to die of slow starvation."
John paused "Additionally, we do not want to be in breach on the contract; either letter or spirit. So long as we keep to the contract we have legal recourse."

So Fabian said that the comm unit at the Acreon is working. He later said we can't raise the Ambassador. I think I need some clarification on how comms work. Can we put direct calls in to anybody? Or is it more like ham radio - we're just sending a message out and hope somebody is listening? Can we not raise the Ambassador because he's not picking up, or because we can't dial direct? If we can dial direct, can we contact Chizzexxkksxzz at Starfinder Society? Can we talk to the Station Authority? Who can we talk to? If we can communicate with anybody really, it will make a big difference to our planning.

Thread 1: RE Goblins
"We could implant them with Akata spawn, and tell them we will give them the cure when we return to the station." John suggests "That would give them an immediate motivation to help facilitate our return. Alternatively we could take their salvaged items, load them in a sphere with oxygen and an emergency beacon, and launch them towards the station. Finally we could drug them to sleep. Do goblins enter a power-down when deprived of oxygen for a short time?"

Oriana was scowling under her gele as John suggested deliberately infecting the goblins. However, his next suggestion brought a smile to her face. "I like the idea of sending them away. I was not aware of the extent of their "salvage tendencies"," she said this with a nod towards Zadie, who still looked angry with her for her "moral equivalency". "The ship, and ourselves, will be safer without their presence, but I am not willing to have them killed. Can we agree to launch them away with provisions in an escape pod?"

I would have presumed there would be an escape pod too and suggested jettisoning the goblins in it -- only then why wouldn't the crew have used it instead of going inside the rock the things that were killing them came out of?

I think part of the problem with Starfinder is that it's not at all clear what the technology the PCs have can do. I would have assumed that you could close and lock doors with it, for example. We thought we could secure the Hippocampus, and we couldn't do that, either. We (as players) don't know if we (as PCs) ought to be able to contact anyone or not. There's a big difference between our conclusions if we're just being ignored or if we know we're too far away to communicate with anyone. It's hard to suggest solutions to problems when we don't really know what our capabilities are.

Yeah, I struggle with what the tech can do and what makes sense for it to do based on me being able to tell an interesting and engaging story.

So bear with me! :)

COMM
The comm unit is like ham radio; you send out a message and hope that others are picking it up and respond so there's no dialing XYZ.

HIPPOCAMPUS
The Hippocampus was always supposed to return to base via remote control so I had to fudge that. An automatic pilot kicked in after a certain amount of time.

Although, taking out a car's wheels for example would have prevented a car from going anywhere. I wasn't sure what you guys had taken out and assumed it could be bypassed. Again, lack of what is possible or not.

REPORT DROID
There's the little 'reporter droid' too. What can it really do? There's not much guidance on the AP on that but I know why it could be important later on so I'm allowing you guys to turn it on and off.

ACREON
The doors on the Acreon being able to be opened from the 'inside' by resourceful goblins was easier for me to envision. I don't think a 'stripped down/utilitarian model' of a spaceship had any way to function as a jail.

GOBLINS
I am willing to let you 'solve' the goblins issue with a stern warning (intimidate check) that has some 'teeth' to it. I'll let you RP that.

I intend to get you guys to exploring the Rock later this evening so I will 'solve' the goblin issue one way or another. :)

More questions?

Game on!

BTW, I like that you guys are worried about your PCs (and the game); it lets me know that you are engaged.

Turn 114 – Back to the Rock

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

Kamiya gave Oriana and John 1 serum each (and Oriana had one of her own), so I should have received 2, and John 1. If there are still any left to consume, I don't know if Oriana should take it since she's a front line fighter, or keep it in case somebody takes an unlucky hit.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Oriana was starting to feel more comfortable in zero-g. Staring out at the drift rock, she lined herself up, and using the hull to push off from, launched herself out into space.

Unfortunately, her right boot slipped against the slippery hull just as she launched herself, and she knew right away that her trajectory was off. Vainly, she waved her four arms in an attempt to correct her course, but it was to no avail. "Ahhhh! Help!"

Action 3

"How can there be so many different threats inside one chunk of rock?!" Oriana's mote had appeared as the dark gravity sword in her hands, and she braced herself against the walls of the strange hallway with her lower hands. "John, can you communicate with it? Is it a threat?"

photon attuning

Action 1:

Kamiya tracked down the goblins who were in the middle of standard goblin behavior in taking everything that wasn't nailed down. Grabbing each of them by their arms her voice took on a very authoritative tone. "Rolf! Titi! That's enough! We have had enough of this behavior and it WILL stop or you WILL regret it. You will be allowed your freedom and allowed to live BUT only if you stop your looting and your tinkering. You will sit quietly and NOT TOUCH ANYTHING."

As she speaks to them verbally she follows up her words by mentally speaking into their minds. Her tone is slightly softer but just as forceful. Your lives are in danger and the others are looking for a reason to kill you. If you disobey my instructions at all, they will kill you and I won't be able to stop them. You touch anything on this ship then you forfeit your lives.

Action 2:

As Robert begins to cut the tow cables, Kamiya spoke up again. "I want to go on record saying again that I think this is a very bad idea. It doesn't matter if it enables us to make a quick getaway if we don't get back there to begin with."

Kamiya looked at the void of space and her stomach plummeted as the reality of the distance sunk in. One wrong move or muscle twitch and she'd be lost to freeze to death in space. She was all for taking calculated risks but this verged on suicidal. Still, she had no choice. So she dug deep inside her to the part that made her Tort-Ace and moved forward.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

From behind her, she heard Oriana's voice over their comms yelling for help. Unsure if she could turn, she addressed the other person who she knew was behind her. "Robert, help her!"

I'm putting Oriana's rescue on Robert because it was his idea to cut the tow ropes :)

Action 3:

Kamiya looked around at all the unknown technology and felt a rush of excitement. If this was indeed unknown alien technology then maybe there was something or someone new to encounter. Hopefully someone who was sentient and not aggressive.

But then something mechanical hummed to life and began to shamble towards them. Was it hostile? She was glad that Oriana already asked that question. As she waited for someone to answer she contemplated whether she'd be effective against it if it couldn't be reasoned with. And with all the blinking lights and promise of unknown technology in the room, she was hesitant to throw a grenade for fear she'd destroy something important. So she decided to watch intently and protect herself as best she could should things turn violent.

Doing total defense for Round 1 until we know what it's going to do.

Kamiya gave Oriana and John 1 serum each (and Oriana had one of her own), so I should have received 2, and John 1. If there are still any left to consume, I don't know if Oriana should take it since she's a front line fighter, or keep it in case somebody takes an unlucky hit.

I thought you each got one and there was one left over. But no matter, I'll add another serum to Oriana (+5 hp) and then you'll still have another one left over.

Questions?

Game on!

acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
ZIP!: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 7 - 4 = 10dam: 1d10 ⇒ 2
ZAP!: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 7 - 4 = 13dam: 1d10 ⇒ 5

John floated serenely through space - until chatter on his comms made him realise something had gone wrong. Idly he flicked his wrist, the gyroscopic motion slowly swivelling him around to see Orianna drifting gently off into space. Carefully he considered his cannon. 'Used sparingly I might be able to intercept' he decided 'But best to see if Robert really can help.'

Action 2
Don't want to force anyone, but I think John will react with violence if that is okay
"What?" John remarked "No. Yes - it looks like an Akata!" this superficial resemblance was enough for John, who proceeded to light up the robot with his artillery laser - or at least to light up around it.

The Hippocampus was always supposed to return to base via remote control so I had to fudge that. An automatic pilot kicked in after a certain amount of time.

It’s irritating to have best laid plans foiled by an adventure mechanic we have no control over, but the ambassador might just as easily have sent another team shadowing us, who could have snatched the package and possibly accidentally (or just for kicks) trashed the Hippo. So we’ll just have to live with it ;^)

Might very well be that the cutting the cables precaution is just as unnecessary – if the module expects us to run away with death mere inches from our heels, Fabian will just find another way to slow us down or speed up the pursuit. But I see no practical reason for Robert not to try to take precautions.

Action 2

From behind her, she heard Oriana's voice over their comms yelling for help. Unsure if she could turn, she addressed the other person who she knew was behind her. "Robert, help her!"

”Yes yes, everyone just take a deep breath and calm down, it’s not like you are zooming away at 20G or anything, and you have environ supplies for ages,” Robert sighed, taking aim. His processor nodes began calculating intercept trajectories but the technomancer dismissed them with a thought – no reason to make this needlessly complicated, and even if he knew just how much thrust he’d need to catch up with Oriana in so many seconds, he had no way of adjusting the power of his initial jump to those specifications anyway. The target was still close enough and floating away at a measly speed of a couple feet per second. A guesstimate would do just as well.

It wasn’t that Robert was used to the environment yet, but he had a definite edge – he knew he could manoeuvre here with his little utilitarian reality manipulation. That small boost of confidence – along with the knowledge that he did have hours and hours of air to spare and thus no real hurry – made all the difference. Still, he did find himself drawing a completely unnecessary deep breath before launching himself into space towards the target slowly drifting away.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14 To catch up to Oriana

His aim was not perfect but good enough, and he could make minute adjustment to his vector by having his rifle manipulated by the force of his will drag him this way and that. With the low velocities involved, it took Robert several minutes to catch up to the helplessly floating Kasatha but catch up he did, reaching out one had to grasp her boot so he could begin to steer them around, back towards the rock.

”Please don’t trash around too much. I’d hate to spend the whole day chasing after you,” Robert grunted as he felt Oriana stiffen at his touch on her boot. ”Just relax and take in the scenery for a while, hmm?”

Action 3

Culture: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 Anything from the symbols on the walls? I don’t expect a translation, but does seeing them ring any bells?

Robert was feeling happier than he had been in quite a while when the door opened and they saw the signs of intact tech in the hallway beyond. Functioning systems on the wall, symbols of the alien builders flickering on small displays, giving hints of their purpose to any eye that could see and understand… he touched one wall with the tips of his fingers and felt the reverberation of the wall, a sign of intact machinery not too far distant. His observations were rudely disturbed by the awakening of the mechanical guardian, however, and immediately afterwards by the brilliant flashes of John’s stripped-down field energy cannon firing in the close confined of the hallway.

Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29 This should be the skill to identify Construct (technological) opponents... anything Robert gets to know about its defenses?

”So much for diplomacy,” Robert muttered, taking a hurried step back as he considered the creature – no, enemy no doubt by now, as shots had already been fired. Realizing that once again he had found his way too close to the melee for comfort he backed away from the mechanoid, raised his rifle and squeezed the trigger. After all, if the thing hadn't classified them as enemies after John's attack it was faulty enough to deserve scrapping.

Move action to back away (thank you, gravity). Unless the Engineering check suggests using projectiles is a bad plan, Robert will use his rifle (before I forget it is an actual weapon and not just a means of propulsion). If elemental damage seems more effective in light of what he learns, let's shoot an energy ray instead, of a suitable element.

Autotarget rifle: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 2 In case the rifle doesn't seem feasible... attack bonus is the same for both, but not, unfortunately, the damage

Oh, if by some miracle the droid wants to talk or someone shouts to hold fire, I'm game with skipping the attack. There's much the thing could tell us, if it wanted. Or at least the possibility exists.

The construct is 'unliving', vulnerable to electricity and critical hits.

it seems damaged as well.

I have more info on the symbols and the alien machinery but there are more pressing matters at the moment...

Questions?

Game on!

Vulnerable... is that double damage from electricity or something else in Starfinder?

Vulnerable... is that double damage from electricity or something else in Starfinder?

A creature with a vulnerability takes half again as much damage (+50%).

Action float away.

Facing away from the others, and in the silence of space, Oriana didn't hear Robert approach. When the hand closed around her foot, she spasmed in utter, atavistic panic. He quickly announced his presence however, and the reassuring sound of his voice over coms quickly reassured her that some horrible space creature hadn't just grabbed her for its supper. Trying to relax, she allowed the clever human to tow her along to the Drift Rock.

"My thanks, Robert. I owe you."

***
Seeing that the others weren't hesitating to fight the robot, Oriana drew her pistol and shot at it.

shoot em up: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Action 2

With a +9 bonus, Zadie auto-passes the Acrobatics check.

Zadie pushed off from the edge of the Acreon a bit nervously; but her aim was good, and she floated neatly toward the drift rock until she caught hold of its rough surface to stop herself. She watched Captain Grandma start to angle off toward deep space with a touch of concern that was allayed by Robert's rescue mission. "We should have tied ourselves together," she opined through the comm. "When we come back, we ought to."

She gave a last anxious look at the Acreon before entering the tunnel in the rock. "What if someone decides to call the Acreon back while we're in here, like they did the Hippocampus?"

Action 3

Zadie hardly had time to register her relief at finding the articial gravity working behind the door when half the party opened fire at the cute little robot as it activated. "Oh for the Starstone's sake!" she protested impotently. "It could be the concierge!"

Total defense

something about the head makes me think of an Azata.

Turn 115 – Malfunctioning Robot

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

Moved back last round, but Robert's still in the second line. So let's try that again, move back to the corner and shoot.

"It could be the concierge!"

"Could be, but I think that's a bit academic at the moment," Robert said, wincing as his suit didn't quite manage to invulate away the spark of electricity. Feeling his beard standing straight out in every direction and unable to do anything about it because his helmet was in the way, the technomancer continued backing away while shooting at the droid, but this time the bullet hit its armor at a shallow angle and deflected away harmlessly.

Autotarget rifle: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

"It might not mean to hurt us," Zadie objected. "It looks like something's wrong with it, poor thing. Who knows what it's been through since it got sliced away from wherever it came from? If we could just shut it down, we might be able to access its memory and find out something about this rock."

Is there something like nonlethal damage in Starfinder? Or some way to shut down a robot that's not just destroying it (since a robot's not an android and can't technically be killed, right)? In Pathfinder, you could take an NPC below 0 hp and still heal it back to ask it questions, but it doesn't seem like that's an option in Starfinder, at least with organics.

Oriana was torn. The robot had zapped them, but then again, they'd fired first. Holding up two of her hands, she said, "Stop shooting! Let's try to talk. If it keeps firing at us, we'll have no choice but to retaliate."

To the robot, she turned and said, "Please, let us stop the violence. Will you communicate with us?"

To John beside her, she said, "Can you or Alice communicate with it electronically?" She wasn't sure if that was the right term, but she trusted he'd figure out what she meant.

Kamiya held back a biting comment directed at Zadie being concerned about the robot but had no problem slaughtering the goblins. The robot was definitely posing a physical threat yet the goblins never tried to harm any of them. Such conflicting responses on the part of the young human gave the lashunta pause but she said nothing.

Even though the lightening being thrown by the robot was dangerous, Kamiya recognized that it was trying to say something. Keeping whatever furniture she could between herself and it she said, "It sputtered something that I couldn't quite make out. Maybe it's trying to tell us something important."

Continuing full defense

"Are you serious?" John asked, but reluctantly complied, raising his rifle to the roof and backing away.
Full Defence? Ask Alice to try to ping it.

I'm game with Robert just moving away as a full action... I think the chances at diplomacy were blown with the first attack, though. On the other hand, it is a robot and might not bear a grudge.

I'm out all day but I intend to move everything along later tonight.

Game on!

Is there something like nonlethal damage in Starfinder? Or some way to shut down a robot that's not just destroying it (since a robot's not an android and can't technically be killed, right)? In Pathfinder, you could take an NPC below 0 hp and still heal it back to ask it questions, but it doesn't seem like that's an option in Starfinder, at least with organics.

nonlethal damage

Turn 116 - Parley

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

Ugh. This new layout is going to take some getting used to.

"Okay, we tried. But I'm not letting it zap me again!" Oriana swung hard at the robot, hoping to disable it without destroying it.

staff: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Crit
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4) + 4 = 12

The staff cracked the robot right at what was apparently a critical panel, because the robot spasmed, sparked, and lights began to blink strange patterns.

attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 dam: 1d10 ⇒ 1
John stumbled backward as the robot advanced. He fired from the hip - but found his shot fouled by poor Oriana.

2 squares to the right to get to the corner and gain some cover if necessary, then casting Energy Ray

'Told so,' Robert thought as the droid ignored attempts at communication. At least he had got far enough from the battle to feel safe. Seeking shelter behind the corner, Robert extended an arm towards the enemy, trying to alter the probalities to cause the droid's power cell to short out but failing to achieve sufficient control for anything truly destructive.

Energy Ray: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 I doubt sigle digits will get the job done

Zadie?
Kamiya?
anything or continue total defense?

Seeing the robot attack Oriana, Kamiya pulls her pistol and takes a shot at it. Even if it was malfunctioning, it was still a viable threat and the lashunta wasn't about to sacrifice one of their own for its sake.

pistol: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 (Maybe?)
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

"Either it doesn't understand us," Zadie reasoned, "or it's programmed to attack anyone unauthorized. Either way, you can't really blame it." She aimed her laser pistol just over the robot, not wanting to destroy it but hoping to distract its defensive programming enough for John or Oriana to decommission it cleanly.

Harrying Fire 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Turn 117 – Stun Baton

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

I don't think John moved back 5' last turn?

John gritted his teeth as his nano-circuitry protested - violently - at the assault. Continuing to step backward he concentrated on keeping his laser on centre mass and etched through torso armour and componentry like a hot knife through water-fat emulsion in stabilised crystal form.
attack: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 2 = 28 dam: 1d10 ⇒ 6

"Stand down!" Kamiya demanded of the robot. She accentuated her command with another blast from her pistol.

pistol: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Energy Ray: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 No saving this roll, even if that +2 applied to everyone's next attack

Safely away from the combat, Robert tried again to destabilize the droid's power cell but was met with just as little success as the first time.

Zadie shot again, just over the robot's other shoulder, hoping to give Oriana an opening.

Harrying Fire 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21: +2 to Oriana's attack

FYI, unless something significant happens in this round (Round 4), I will carry on the combat for one more round.

Feel free to post your actions for Round 5 or I will just 'rinse and repeat' your action for Round 4.

Questions?

Game on!

Suits me, here's another energy ray roll, using electricity since it was vulnerable to it

Energy Ray: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Energy Ray, damage, electricity: 1d3 ⇒ 3

Round 4
1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 2 = 20
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Round 5
1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 = 26 CRIT
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 1) + 4 = 11

Oriana continued to press the attack, hoping that her teammates weren't going to accidentally put a hole through her body with their guns and lasers. Her staff continued to find its target, thumping on the metal body, and knocking off bits and pieces. The robot started to twitch and spasm, before finally falling to the floor, dark and motionless.

John will continue to move backwards as long as it keeps following. Eventually Orianna will be able to do a 5' to do flanking. As soon as he's out of AoO range he'll doubleshot.
I like Oriana's finish move, so if possible please make sure she gets the kill.
round 5 attack 1: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 7 - 4 = 21 dam: 1d10 ⇒ 10
round 5 attack 1: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 7 - 4 = 13 dam: 1d10 ⇒ 3

Turn 118 – Robot Guard

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

if someone does start poking...

"I'll sit here and bandage my wounds while the rest of you poke around then." John remarked. Androids were notoriously hard to read, but John's irritation leaked through, if not its target.

I'll sit here and bandage my wounds while the rest of you poke around then."

Kamiya gave John a small shake of the head, "Come now, you don't need to be like that. I'll help you. Or at least I can help cheer you up."

Inspiring Boost to give John back stamina points

With everyone sporting a few scratches, they spread out to study their surroundings. Kamiya walked around looking at the foreign materials but couldn't make head nor tails of what she was seeing.

Engineering: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Can anyone in the group even make a DC30 check?

DC 30... with a thrown 19 and some Aid Another, Robert could just manage the check, but let's see what RNGeesus has in store for me today...

Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Culture: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

So much for those. If Kamiza aids Robert, we can just about make the first DC 15 Engineering check together.

With the guardian droid down, Robert wasted little time in getting back to examining the various artifacts around them, the strange metal the hallway was lined with among them. And found even that quite interesting. He and Kamiya put their heads together, murmuring theories and counter-proposals before eventually agreeing the material was new to both but not totally alien - rather, a variation of what was used in the Pact worlds for similar purposes. About the purpose of the integrated machienery or the symbols and language shown on the displays neither could give more than wild guesses about.

"That's about it for what can be done with the information we have," he mused, exchanging nods with Kamiya. "Would love to take a page from those goblins' book here and see if I can take apart some pieces of those integrated systems to take with me, but that's a project for when we are getting back out. So. We have for us a closed door and another stretch of the corridor we ignored. Let's see if we can figure out the lock since we are here already..."

Is there some obvious unlocking mechanism by the door? Would the droid for example have a "key" on it? I'd rather go back and look at the passage to the east before we try forcing this, but if it can be opened nicely...

Is there some obvious unlocking mechanism by the door? Would the droid for example have a "key" on it? I'd rather go back and look at the passage to the east before we try forcing this, but if it can be opened nicely...

No obvious key but there is a 'lock' that can be 'picked'. I think it's engineering in this game.

Game on!

Can anyone in the group even make a DC30 check?

Zadie can with a 19 in Engineering; the highest she can hit in Culture is 29. In Pathfinder, you could only attempt an Aid Another if you were capable of hitting the DC on your own; I don't know if the same rule is in Starfinder.

Engineering 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

"Whoa," Zadie remarked over the shoulders of the conferring Robert and Kamiya. "This tech is way more advanced than anything in the Pact Worlds. But look -- it's a monitoring station. Whatever worked in here was monitoring ... something. Something bigger and probably even more advanced. This is just a guard shack to keep an eye on something somewhere else. A prison or a ... a factory or power generator, maybe? Something important enough it needed constant watching and prompt repair. I wonder if the tech is good enough to still be monitoring it even after it got sliced off into the Drift. I have no idea what's on the display...."