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The mists blow in, and distant music plays...
A little gnome, the same size as Trusty, is giving him culture lessons. "Remember Trusty, the first thing that you do in first contact situations is pay attention. Remember when I met all of you on Lumina, and how I matched you for a moment so that you knew that I had friendly intent? Watch them! Learn their etiquette!"
"Once that's done, offer them some of our etiquette -- like tea. But do their greeting first, no matter how strange it is." The little gnome grins. "You're smart. You've got this."
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Trusty gives a mental thumbs-up to his gnomish mentor, and then he puts his arms out, robotic palms forward, and spins in a slow circle, while texting the team on his built-in comm unit.
Yo, team! Do the Copaxi hokey-pokey!
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Trusty continues to text the team, because he majored in smartass:
You put your right palm out
You keep that ego in
You put your left palm out
While you start to spin
Do the Copaxi-Pokey
While you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about -- yeah!
Trusty is oblivious to Baskoro's discomfort, which is good, because otherwise he'd enjoy it too much.
They look awkwardly between each other at the few utterances but seem relieved as the party begins their ritual. The one with the tall symmetrical antlers steps forward. "My thanks for your greeting. We are... unfamiliar with traditional Pact World greetings. I am Therseis, historian and leader of the research team. Please, come join us in the research office for a brief meeting."
He leads you into the office where each of them introduce themselves. The jagged-antlered copaxi quietly and quickly addresses you. "I am Bryanisis, biologist."
The one with the ram-like antlers seems much more verbose. "I am Gnaucara, the research team's physicist and pilot. You have come quite a distance have you not? Drift travel is quite new to us, and I wish to hear details of your journey."
The spiky-antlered copaxi also seems quite eager to speak with you. They proudly show their chest, which seems to have been partially reshaped to display the Pact Worlds' insignia. "And I'm Panacula, archaeologist and geologist. I see that each of you hails from a different region?"
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Baskoro seems startled that Y2K addresses him in his self-assigned role "Thank you Y2K! Although on the ground I think we don't need to be that formal."
"Thank you for having us Therseis. Traditional pact world greetings is to extend a hand and shake it. Would you like me to show how that goes?"
Inside the office the vesk responds to the introductions "Well met, all of you. I am Baskoro. I am a Vesk and come from the Veskarium, which is a mighty empire. I will let the others make their own introductions."
Therseis raises his hand sleightly. "You had best refrain from your... cultural greeting amongst the Copaxi. The bowing of the head or outstretched arm is generally considered aggressive, and physical contact with any copaxi is not recommended unless it has been specifically invited." He tilts his head to the side, giving a profile view of his antlers and leans closer to Baskoro.
"I do not know how to describe them, but you may feel and perhaps understand."
While the antlers appear smoother than the rest of his body, they feel quite rough, almost sharp, like they are made of fine coral or sandpaper. It is no surprise that a firm handshake would not be the most ideal of greetings with these folk.
"Also, speaking before the traditional Copaxi greeting is considered taboo... a sign of malicious magic. We - " He motions to his team " - of course are eager to learn your greetings, but other Copaxi you meet may be taken aback by the offer of a handshake or a bow. But you seem to be well practiced in meeting new cultures... something we wish to learn."
Bryanisis pulls out a modified comm unit while Panacula withdraws a map from the drawer of the desk and opens it up on the table.
Panacula points to a few spots on the map while Bryanisis fiddles with the comms. "We have already explored the Market, Academy, and Transport station, however the remaining sites had indications of potential active danger and we have not yet investigated. While the first sites have been secured, we would like to return with experts such as yourself to see if any additional findings can be uncovered."
Bryanisis finally gets the comm working and hands it to Y2K. "We have added some prototype software for translation between Common and Copaxi."
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"We do have practice in meeting new cultures, but an explanation like you have given us can be very helpful. Thank you for offering it. Would it offend you if I offer you the greeting which my people, the servants of Sarenrae, the Lady of Light, offer? I would simply hold up my hand in your direction and speak a brief blessing in her name."
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"Ooh, a translation program? Do you mind if we copy it?" Trusty finds the blank Copaxi faces particularly hard to read. I gotta read their body language, and that's tough. These colony creatures clearly have different cultural paradigms. Sheesh. It was hard enough to learn to read regular organics.
"'Okay, so no touching, bowing or talking when doing a greeting... Sounds fair enough to me since I can spin with the best of them. Still... I gotta ask you something, 'cause otherwise my boss will tell me that she's a sad, sad gnome."
Trusty opens up a compartment in his pack where he's got a teapot stored. "Do your people drink? My boss has this obsession with a hot beverage called tea... She likes to drink it with people, and get them to tell her their life's stories. So... Do you guys have anything like that?"
Then Trusty looks at the other researchers before settling on Gnaucara. "S'up? If you want to talk space travel, I'm your bot!" Trusty launches into a loving discussion of the finer points of piloting a Pegasus-class craft, and then asks, "So... what sorts of things do you pilot? Got any sweet rides that you're working on?"
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Y2K takes the foreign comm device and begins wiring it into his circuitry. Pulling a frayed cable out sends a spark and a very loud bang as a capacitor blows. Most everyone seems startled except for the droids. Slipping it into his chassis Y2K finds a small nook to secure it while wiring it into his own speaker system.
"Can't have anymore spyware, malware and trojans than I already have in myself." He sends an awkwardly reassuring smile to the rest.
"Where do you suggest we investigate first?" He asks Therseis.
"Would it offend you if I offer you the greeting which my people, the servants of Sarenrae, the Lady of Light, offer? I would simply hold up my hand in your direction and speak a brief blessing in her name."
Therseis shrugs. "Me? No... but that is precisely the sort of thing that would panic most copaxi if they aren't familiar with it."
Trusty opens up a compartment in his pack where he's got a teapot stored. "Do your people drink? My boss has this obsession with a hot beverage called tea... She likes to drink it with people, and get them to tell her their life's stories. So... Do you guys have anything like that?"
Panacula looks over the teapot. "If I recall correctly from my research, Tea is an herbal suspension? We have drinks that may be similar to tea... why is tea needed to discuss one's history?"
"Where do you suggest we investigate first?" He asks Therseis."
Therseis mulls over the question before responding. "The first few locations have been secured already and may be a good way to acclimate to the site." They seems to be trying to decide what to make of you all.
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"Yeah, let's do the Market. I work for a corporation now, so I should study capitalism in action. So... Therseis, you coming with us?"
Trusty thinks about Therseis's commentary on the tea. "My boss would be interested in learning more about your hot beverage, maybe even exchanging recipes. As for why you need a drink to discuss history... Here's my theory. People aren't that great at drinking hot beverages while doing cartwheels or running races. They have a tendency to spill hot stuff all over themselves if they try that. So... the tea forces them to slow down. It gives them something to hold on to if they're nervous, or to talk about if there's an awkward silence. Even more importantly, it gives people a chance to allow certain silences to draw out, because they can't talk if they're drinking.
"Well... unless they're telepathic like shirren and lashuntas..." Trusty pauses, realizing that he's wandering off topic. "Most sentient beings are afraid of silence. They try to fill it with noise, kind of like I'm doing now. But drinking tea encourages people to listen, and then to gather their thoughts before they speak."
Trusty cocks his head to study Therseis. "I haven't really found a robotic equivalent of that yet... Should we create elaborate ceremonies for hooking up batteries or drinking motor oil? It's just not the same. So mostly I pour the tea for other sentients like my boss taught me, and then try to listen to what they have to say."
***BZZZT**** "Botting for Cooooorrraaaa:"
Cora gives Therseis a quizzical look. When the opportunity arises, she subtly tells the rest of the party about the homemade comm unit they were fiddling with out of site of the rest of the Copaxis.
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When Cora tells them about the comm unit, Trusty texts back to the group:
Okay, so it is our job to assess whether the copaxi should be accepted as a Protectorate, right? What if our buddy Therseis is assessing us right back? Do you think that they're writing reports to their superiors right now? Maybe they're writing about our reactions, and teamwork and how awesome Pact World bots are. Trusty pauses to polish his casing for a moment. Eh, if so... I'm okay with it. Let's just watch Therseis and see whether they do that again.
Thersius notes a cleared path to the market place. "I admit I am very curious about the Starfinders and I'd like to see you at work. I understand that you may now wish anyone to meddle or interfere with your work, but if I could accompany you, or if you are willing to communicate your findings as you work I would appreciate it."
This open area contains scattered debris and abandoned market stalls. Scorch marks, ash, and burnt-out structures reveal that a fire devastated the area long ago.
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"Therseis, please accompany us. That way you will also get an understanding how a starfinder team operates. Although I have to warn you, we are not a military organization and each team has their own procedures. In fact the society believes in rotating team members in and out of teams, sometimes you work with people you know and sometimes you get assigned to a team with complete strangers"
Baskoro picks up one of the coins and shows it to the others "'We Few Above All' could that be a reference to a ruling class?"
He speaks load enough so that Therseis is shared in the conversation, even if the copaxi has kept his distance.
Upon further inspection, Baskoro notices that there is no actual indication of these coins ever being used in the marketplace.
Therseis seems to ponder his words for a bit before he responds. "There are... regrettably facets of Tabrid Minor's history that are poorly understood and findings here could help uncover those stories. Please be thorough in your investigations."
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"Oh, those coins. But those can't be from the old marketplace; look at the condition they're in, the lack of patina. These aren't more than five years old. Hey Therseis, did one of your people drop these here on accident? I'd hate for someone to have lost their wallet or something."
Therseis mutters in a somewhat non-committal tone, "We um... don't use coinage like that. Must have been left by someone..."
The rest of the research team seems very intent on watching how you inspect the findings, and seem to be taking notes themselves while doing their best to stay out of the way and allow you to conduct independent research. They all begin to pack up their equipment once Trusty indicates that the Academy is next on the list.
Y2K does few more rounds bout the site and is fairly content that the rest of the site has no other revelations.
Overgrown vegetation covers this sprawling campus of lecture amphitheaters, study halls, and dormitories.
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"Physical Science... Yeah. Okay. And lots and lots of books about Magic 101..." Trusty swivels to look at Teisu. "I'm not a scientist, just a practical guy. But do the books of Physical Science and stuff cover advanced topics? I'm wondering if this was the library of an elementary school. If so, why no stories? Why no legends? Why no guides to how to be a grown-up Copaxi?"
Then Trusty gives himself a dope slap. CLA-A-ANG!
He swivels to face Therseis. "Wait a minute... I spent so much time training with my boss I'm starting to think like a meatbrain. Do Copaxis even have childhoods, or do you emerge fully formed like androids and SROs?"
The science books range from maybe the starfinder equivalent of jr. high and high school. Matches up with what you'd guess is a college for a less advanced culture. The magic books start at cantrips and end at magic missile.