GM Debug's SFS 1-22 - The Protectorate Petition (Inactive)

Game Master DebugAMP

Venture-Captain Arvin is expecting you...

An android that looks to be a shell of its former self stands as firm and still as a statue in the corner of the room. Blue and red circuitry line his body made with mixed shapes and panels to fill age old gaps and broken exterior in a hodge-podge sort of rustic way as the exterior skin has long been removed for several decades.

The top half of the Androids head is missing making it look flat in comparison as led lighting forms shimmering colors and holographic images that reflect something in the form of emotion or just pretty lights. Where the mouth is has been replaced by an old speaker box to allow speech a pair of red eyes glow out near the top of what remains of the head.

Hanging from it's arms are nearly a dozen digital, abandoned Tamagotchi pets that slowly move about begging for food and leaving behind small digital poop emoji's.

In the top of his head rests a single discman with a scratched archaic compact disc inserted within. Nothing named or professionally created but more of a mixed tape labeled 'Becky's Hits' in faded lettering.

An almost impossibly tall, lanky man with large black eyes strides in, stooping to clear the doorway as he enters. An odd, hypnotic pattern shifts across his skin, except on his clearly prosthetic arm. "Hrm. I suppose this is the place" he says, awkwardly displaying an implanted Starfinder insignia as credential. "I'm Teisū."

The door to the conference room remains closed. As Y2K and Teisu approach, a calm voice begins an automated greeting.

"Your meeting with - VENTURE-CAPTAIN ARVIN - will begin momentarily. The preceding meeting is scheduled to end in - NEGATIVE TWO-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES. Please stand by, and VENTURE-CAPTAIN ARVIN will be with you soon."

"Your meeting with - VENTURE-CAPTAIN ARVIN - will begin momentarily. The preceding meeting is scheduled to end in - NEGATIVE TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVEN MINUTES. Please stand by, and VENTURE-CAPTAIN ARVIN will be with you soon."

A small, white-furred ysoki with a laser rifle strapped prominently across her back approaches the designated meeting room. She hears a droning voice echoing down the corridor and as she turns around the corner of the corridor she tilts her head to one side and thinks aloud, “I wonder what’s keeping him. Ah well, nothing to do but wait patiently, I suppose.”

She turns to the two others already present. She blinks at the mesmerizing patterns on the tall one’s skin for a few moments, and then looks askance at the starving tamagotchis hanging from the android. “I’m Cora, pleasure to meet you, I’m sure. Shouldn’t you, er, do something about those, dear?” She jerks her nose in the android’s direction to indicate the electronic pets, unable to keep silent in the face of starvation, even if it is merely digital.

A human woman in armor enters, a little point of golden light hovering near her shoulder. An old-fashioned holy symbol dangles from her neck, recongnizable to many as a symbol of Sarenrae.

"Your meeting with - VENTURE-CAPTAIN ARVIN - will begin momentarily. The preceding meeting is scheduled to end in - NEGATIVE FISH BLANKET MINUTES. Please stand by, and VENTURE-CAPTAIN DAISY... DAISY..."

ERROR: SEGMENTATION FAULT - CORE DUMPED. REBOOTING.

A few minutes later...

"FRIEND COMPUTER welcomes you to conference room number 142-9 sublet B. A meeting is currently in progress. Scheduled meeting attendees are -"

The pre-recorded voice of each meeting attendee cuts in one by one, with varying degrees of volume and clarity.

"Venture Captain Arvin"
"Major Tower-9"
"Faria Sunburst"
"Cora Jex"
"-y my name? Hrmm? Oh now? Baskoro!"

The audio cuts out altogether for a few seconds, then the default computer voice adds, "A perfectly ordinary garbage disposal receptacle"

Another strange pause before the remaining names are recited, again by their personally pre-recorded voices.

MODEL Y-2K
"Teisū Birudā"

The computer pauses again before continuing. "If you are any of the designated meeting attendees, your meeting is scheduled to begin in negative two-hundred and ninety three minutes. Warning, meeting tardiness is an infraction and may result in putative measures, up to and including summary execution. Thank you for visiting Lorespire Complex."

A not so big Vesk enters. He carries himself with an air as if he was 8' tall, instead of a mere 5'6". "Wel met companions, I am Baskoro. Opera singer extraordinaire and rising star within the Society. Perhaps you have heard about me."

He does not acknowledge that he is late at all.

The perfectly ordinary trash receptacle listens carefully to the other attendees arrive, and to the demented computer. Then it stretches, popping out one limb and then another, unfolding again and again until its head at last pops out, looking around.

He opens a comm channel to the Lorespire's main AI. "Sheesh, Guidance! You need to send a Maintenance Bot STAT to look into Arvin's receptionist program." Trusty plays a recording of the Receptionist's last three announcements. "Honestly, Guidance, listen to this crap. 'Execution?' 'Negative two hundred and ninety three minutes?' I'd take care of it, but I got a mission briefing, and this is my first real mission so I don't want to mess it up."

Then he looks around at his fellow Starfinders. "S'up? Trusty Trashbot at your service. Is this going to be awesome, or what?"

"S'up? Trusty Trashbot at your service. Is this going to be awesome, or what?"

Model Y2K holds his hand out awkwardly, mostly in a fist though his thumb and pinkie finger are left straight out. "Tubular." The abandoned Tamagotchi pets clatter together as he makes twisting motions with his hand.

"I am known as Y2K" The android introduces himself. At least that is the last he can remember being called as his model is so out of date and useless to society that he is mostly ignored by everyone. His software had not had a real update in centuries.

Just above his head pops up an ad as the small projection he procured illuminates as a big red 'x' box. Your system is at risk. Would you like to update your Security?"

Y2K quickly closes it out and it pops up again 23 more times before finally going away for good. He goes back to waiting in the corner while the discman inserted into his body quietly plays Sir Mix-A-Lot - "Baby Got Back" followed by Will Smith - "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It", then finally Matchbox Twenty - "3 A.M.".

Finally, with a sigh of self-satisfaction, the door opens.

Venture-Captain Arvin sits near the head of a large table that glows with images depicting an unfamiliar planet and its tiny moon, all surrounded by data readouts. He speaks with an android who wears a blue military uniform with gold accents. Bright red conduits trace across her bald head. Arvin gestures to the remaining seats. “Join us, Starfinders. This is Major Tower-9 of the Stewards, and we have much to discuss.” The android stands—she is nearly eight feet tall—and gives a stiff bow.

“Hello,” she says in a deep voice. “The planet you see before you is Tabrid Minor, a Near Space world whose primary sentient inhabitants recently made contact with a Pact Worlds survey vessel. They call themselves copaxis. Having just developed Drift technology, they are only now learning about the galaxy and its many inhabitants and threats. Copaxi leaders have petitioned for protectorate status. It is up to the Stewards to decide if Tabrid Minor is an acceptable candidate. As the supervisor for Tabrid Minor’s petition process, I have asked your venture-captain to organize an independent review of the planet and its people.” The android sits, and Arvin waves his hand across the table. The display zooms in on one of the planet’s largest continents.

“The copaxis are a terrestrial species numbering two billion, and their petition claims they have a unified government and a peaceful history. Massive floating cities drift over the planet’s largest continent, but they are apparently abandoned. The Major and I have determined that an independent review of one of these sites would provide the Stewards with valuable information for their final decision. Your destination is a city called Tabantria. It is your job to do what Starfinders do best: explore this area, cooperate with the copaxi research team, handle any dangers along the way, and report back to us. Any questions?”

Teisu's stares in amazement as the trash receptacle unfolds into a fellow agent. "Fascinating."

----

"Flying cities? Hm. Why would they abandon such a thing?"

"Tubular?" Trusty checks his systems, making sure he has no actual tubing hanging out, before returning the fist bump from the decrepit Y2K. Sheesh. Nice enough bot, but it needs an upgrade or three. Msybe I csn help him with that, later.

Then he returns his attention to the briefing. "Flying cities? COOL! Sign me up! Oh wait, you already did." Then he thinks about what he just heard. "Anyhow... That sounds way cooler than the mining colony on Lumina where I came from! What can you tell us about these copaxis, and what can we expect of their research team?"

Cora’s eyes sparkle a little at the description of this important mission, and she looks a little shyly at the very tall and impressive Steward representative. She raises one paw to asks her own question. “Do they know that we’re there to evaluate them, or are we meant to just be assisting with their research?” She pauses briefly and adds, “Do they speak Common?”

"Affirmative." model Y2K's lights on his eyes flutter from left to right like an older LED belt buckle or digital sign giving a message. "Why were the cities abandoned?" He asks as the answer was not stored in his meager database.

Arvin smiles at Teisu's query. "That is precisely the type of question the research team is hoping to gather I'm sure. The copaxis are also conducting archaeological research in the abandoned cities. Apparently, they have only recently developed the technology to safely reach these cities, which float miles above the planet's surface. The researchers seem eager to learn from your example, and we hope that you can form a good working relationship with them."

Tower-9 addresses the questions about the Copaxi in particular.

"We have had few official interactions with them, so we hope you can add to our understanding of their society and history. A copaxi is a colonial network of specialized creatures living within a flexible exoskeleton, and each colony behaves and speaks as a single creature. So far, they have been worthy diplomats and shown great interest in Pact Worlds' culture and technology. Some of their representatives have even learned our common language and used it to write their petition. You should have no trouble communicating with their research team and any delegates they send. It would be prudent to not make any assumptions about whether or not the research team has been afforded the knowledge of the evaluation you'll be conducting."

"Are there any particular dangers we can expect, or neighbors who don't like the idea?"

Baskoro glares at the towering steward who makes androids so big that they can look down on you? It is ridiculous!.

Adressing Venture Captain Arvin and ignoring the steward he asks "I assume the society is compensated for the time of and risk to their agents for this. Do we report back to you or to the Major?"

"Are there any particular dangers we can expect, or neighbors who don't like the idea?"

Tower-9 responds, "The Stewards are interested in peaceful diplomacy, but that does not mean your team needs to put itself at risk. Handle any danger as best you can and use your discretion if the copaxis themselves are a threat. It seems unlikely, but the galaxy is filled with surprises."

Adressing Venture Captain Arvin and ignoring the steward he asks "I assume the society is compensated for the time of and risk to their agents for this. Do we report back to you or to the Major?"

Arvin answers, with some degree of indifference. "Your reports may be send to Major Tower-9, but CC me on the message. Compensation will be per the usual arrrangement."

There are no tags, nor specific boons applicable to this scenario. You may begin slotting your boons now.

Having received some instrruction himself from Poshkettle Enterprises, Trusty Trashbot spends some time at the Lorespire teaching new students awesome disguise techniques.

Arvin pulls up a data readout including some basic information about Tabrid Minor and forwards it to each of you (In the maps and handouts slide package).

"Remember, while you are working together on this mission, I expect independent reports from each of you. You may send them to me confidentially. These decisions are not to be made lightly and I look forward to getting each of your unique viewpoints on the matter. Your ship has been readied at Docking Bay 22."

You have a bit of time to make last minute purchases before leaving, so if there is anything else you need to grab go ahead and put that in the discussion thread. Also, still need boons from Cora.

Drift Travel: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 3) = 11

Drift travel to Tabrid Minor takes a week and a half, and is uneventful.

Computers: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

"Hrm. Something's off about the gravity on this planet. Here, see for yourself." Teisu points out the anomalies on the readout to anyone who's curious. Spoiler is open.

Teisu is able to bring up a holographic image of a coral-like organism that seems to be the source of these anomalies, as well as an image showing where it is found on the planet. This organism appears mostly underwater, far from land, but traces of it appear here and there on the planet’s continents, and high concentrations exist in the floating landmasses.

"What sort of creature is this? Does it pose a harm to you lifeforms?" Y2K asks as he is unsure and missing portions of his database. Being mostly full Y2K must delete information to make room for more each mission he goes on.

"Well done Teisu! Tell me, how do I pronounce that squiggly thing above your name?"

"Oh. It's just a slightly longer vowel sound. Don't worry about it."

"Should we make contact with the Copaxi Research team first?" Y2K surmises the situation.

Faria nods to Y2K.

"Open a comm channel please"

Baskoro waits for the pilot to open the comms "Copaxi research team for Starfinder Starship Drake 3453 Alpha. Please point out the best landing site. Over."

Just need boons/final purchases from Cora, then I'll handle the comms.

I see some boons already in Cora's profile, so we'll move forward with those boons and no additional purchases.

You do receive a response from the planet's surface. Four creatures appear on the starship's video screen. The faces of these humanoids are featureless masks of smooth coral, distinguished by elegant antler-like growths. One of them has two antlers that form a swooping, symmetrical pattern before meeting nearly two feet above the creature's head. The other creature's antlers are shorter, but no less elegant: one has three jagged antlers like lightning bolts, another has two antlers curled like ram horns, and the lass has countless antlers that resemble spiked hair.

The four creatures stare at the screen for a few moments, muttering to one another, pointing excitedly, and coming in and out of view as they jostle for their comm unit. One of them urges, “Be quiet! Look! It is working! There they are!” The speaker—the one with tall, symmetrical antlers—enters the center of the screen.

“Greetings, esteemed Starfinder Society representatives. I am Therseis, representative of the Yihil regional government, and these are the members of our research team. Thank you for accepting our transmission from our two-way planetary range personal communications device. I hope that your space journey was pleasant, and your Drift travel was of a minimal duration. Welcome to Tabrid Minor. We are using our computationaldevice to share our latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates with your starship’s computational device. We have prepared a landing zone for you. We hope that it is large enough for your orbit-to-ground personnel shuttle.”

I’ll copy my boons here as well for future reference

“Oh! There they are!” Cora squeaks, and peers at the screen almost as curiously as the creatures are doing on the other end of the connection.

Life Science: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

I didn’t know they’d have antlers, how intriguing! But she bites her tongue to stop herself from making any, most likely culturally-insensitive comment about it. She merely responds to their polite greeting, “Thank you for the welcome! We look forward to working together.” She grins broadly, thinking, This should be quite interesting indeed.

"Thank you for your greeting, and your work to prepare for our arrival."

Baskoro gives Faria and Cora a stern look while he keeps the audiochannel with the copaxi closed "I will bring up the communication on your displays. As captain it is my prerogative that I do the talking, unless I delegate to you."

He then turns to his own display and opens the audio channel "Thank you for your welcome. We look forward to working with you. We will board our shuttle in a moment so that we can meet in person."

Faria gives Cora a look that clearly says What's his problem?

"Um...who's driving?"

Life Science: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Y2K plugs straight into the infospehere so as not to use anymore space on his harddrives as the discs whirl and fans whine in his body. It sounds as loud as an ancient Sega Dreamcast.

"Those "masks" and "antlers" are part of the creature's anatomy. The minute patterns on the masks and growths seem to resemble those on the coral-like organism you pulled up on the display earlier." Y2K explains further to the crew.

The copaxi seem quite excited for your arrival. Teisu's question seems to be the most pertinent issue however as a simple scan reveals that the landing site is... well... barely enough to land your shuttle in. And the approach will be rough given the anomalies.

I'll need someone to try to bring the shuttle in for a landing with a Pilot check.

"Pilot, what are you waiting for?"

Trusty Trashbot has been fastidiously cleaning the pilot seat, and then with a flourish, seats himself on it. "Baskoro, they don't teach patience in the Veskarium, do they?" He reaches for the controls. "That little strip of land might intimidate some bots, but not me!"

Piloting: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

"I love it when I get to drive a Pegasus!" Trusty looks at the ship ruefully. "Too bad they ain't sentient. A guy could fall for ship that smooth."

Faria gives Trusty a sympathetic look as Baskoro continues to try to control all of them.

Y2K sits rigidly in his seat as the Trashbot is entrusted with shuttling their synthetic lives to the ground. A very strange tune emits from his speakerbox.

The landing spot is barely large enough to land the shuttle, and the position of the city makes for a very rough approach, but Trusty manages to guide it perfectly and land it in a single pass.

The landing platform occupies most of a small field, about 100 feat from the research base. Beyond the landing platform, the jagged edge of the floating landmass is completely open to the sky—the view of the smog-shrouded cities below is staggering.

The encampment contains four small structures arrayed around a single larger structure, all temporary but fully enclosed. The copaxis wait outside this structure. Behind them, the dilapidated stone buildings of Tabantria stand in eerie silence.

None of the copaxis carry weapons or wear armor; they are dressed for a day of research. They approach the with their arms angled slightly out to the side, empty palms facing forward. When they approach within about 30 feet of you, each of them spins in a slow circle.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 5 + (6) = 16

Baskoro stops and seems to be out of his depth. He whispers to the others "Does anyone know what they are doing?"