[OutPost II] SFS 1-33: Data Breach (Inactive)

Game Master GM Red

"Do not fret," Hawthorne says. "I am certain that there will be plenty of things to disassemble in the coming mission."

Moxie thanks the Steward for the supplies. "Our partnership continues to remain strong. We will use these items well. I would just ask that you do everything you can to keep this man safe. He fears for his life and I think he's got good reason to be scared."

Moxie looks the gear over. "I wouldn't mind have any of the magic items, but I think other people could use them more. I think we should definitely give one of these cloaks to the old man. No offense, but you look like you're the most vulnerable one here. And if nobody else wants the other one, I would take it."

Moxie walks up to Hudathan and pokes him in the chest with her finger. "You need to put your stubborn Vesk pride to the side so that you can concentrate on making sure everyone survives this mission. You can see better than a human in low light conditions, but I know for a fact Vesk can't see in pitch black darkness. And you're going to need to see if you want to actually hit something with those big guns of yours." She shoves one of the darksight googles towards him. "Put this on your head, or get it installed in your armor. If you don't know how, one of the mechanics here could probably show you."

"Indeed. I installed my infrared sensors in my armor myself," Hawthorne adds congenially.

With no understanding of the undertones, Mnamae-6 pipes up, "I could help in installing it. As a Tsukuza Corporation doctor, we are trained to not only deal with organic biology but also with the latest cutting edge technological augmentations."

Hudathan sputters as Moxie confronts him. ”Uh, well, I, uh, I mean, I can kind of see. When there’s a little light... At night...”. He huffs and takes the goggles.”Only so I can better protect you lot! Harrumph.”. He smirks, confident that he totally recovered, and goes to the corner to fiddle with the goggles. ”Can’t put them on myself, of course I can put them on myself. I was a mechanic in the vesk navy! Until I flunked out...”

Sounds good to me! I was eyeing those, but this vesk is definitely too proud to have taken them on the first round.

Moxie looks the gear over. "I wouldn't mind have any of the magic items, but I think other people could use them more. I think we should definitely give one of these cloaks to the old man. No offense, but you look like you're the most vulnerable one here. And if nobody else wants the other one, I would take it."

"Oh I hope you're not talkin' t' me now, Moxie," Chikasa says, bristling at her perceived meaning. "I ain't no 'old man,' I'm an old MOUSE, thank ya very much! Still, a little protection wouldn't be a bad thing I s'pose. If no one else wants it, I could take one o' them cloaks."

Not sure if Moxie was referring to Chikasa there, but he would certainly perk up at the insinuation that he were anything but a true-born ysoki! :P

As promised, Historia-7 arranged for your transportation from Absalom Station, and you board a private shuttle used specifically for Dataphiles missions. The trip through the stars towards Verces is uneventful, and the views Cuvacara provides upon approach are as breathtaking as Sophia's data package had implied: bright neon displays, diverse architecture, and gleaming triangular skyscrapers.

You fly towards a location between the South and Southwest Facets of Cuvacara, and touch down on a concrete shuttle pad. The adjoining city blocks are predominantly warehouses, storage facilities, and city utilities, and the area looks sparsely trafficked overall.

There isn’t much to the facility site from the vantage of the small shuttle pad built adjacent to it. From the landing pad, a concrete walkway leads west behind a twenty-foot-high chain-link enclosure. The gate to the enclosure is padlocked to dissuade normal transient foot traffic, particularly from the Southwest Facet, Cuvacara’s industrial and lower-income district. East of the landing pad is a heavily fortified bunker entrance constructed of concrete and steel. The bunker is octagonal and thirty feet wide on all sides, with a heavy steel door on the south side.

Current Map Feel free to move your pawn to a different position if you'd like.

Mnamae-6 silently directs T771-M4 to the front, while he steps behind, pulling out his rifle. He waits for the rest of the party to ready themselves.

I'm assuming that we bypassed the padlock. If not: Engineering (Take 10) for 28.

Hawthorne initiates his armor's environmental protocols. An elaborate helmet unfolds from the back of his chest plate, encasing his head in a stylized mask of the Precursor. The eyes gleam red for a moment as the infrared sensors spool up. He draws a railgun from over his shoulder and readies it.

"I doubt they'd be foolish enough to have a digital access point on the outside," the Triunite says, "But if you see one, let me know."

"We're going to have so much fun!"

You are far too excited. Don't download a virus like you almost did in Bluerise.

"That was not my fault..."

Seeing that Chik-Chik seemed offended, Moxie addresses him in Ysoki. "Please don't take offense, Honored Grandfather Chikasa. I don't think you are any less tough or capable than any of us younger Starfinders. I merely mean to suggest as the eldest of us, you deserve the additional protection these energy cloaks will provide."

At the compound, Moxie stops to concentrate. Her face quickly morphs, her skin darkens and her hair shortens into tight cornrows. Her jaw takes on a more masculine shape as it begins to sprout two days of beard growth. When she speaks her voice is several octaves deeper and she appears to be about an inch taller.

Moxie has a vocal modulator and basic morphic skin, which she is using to disguise herself.

"My face is far too recognizable for this kind of work. So everybody, say hello to Kayele Briggs."

Moxie takes a scouts around the octagon shaped bunker, trying to look as casual as possible.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Sovyal seals his armor and activates his suit's comms. "Ah, nice and quiet. No onlookers to worry about. But no crowds to hide ourselves in. Lets hope their security staff are ill trained and their cameras not monitored via AI." Sovyal sweeps his gaze across the path ahead, first looking for any traps, and then a second sweep for any security cameras and other monitoring equipment.

Perception vs. traps: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Perception vs. surveillance equipment: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

"Odd thing, this path, isn't it? If I were them, I'd make sure my entrance were as nondescript as possible. And I'd set up one or two or twenty traps. Preferably the kind that release ravenous dogs."

"The thing about that is it gives outsiders access to their systems," Hawthorne says. "Even something as simple as a central access system linked to a digital lock on the door is a vulnerability that could be exploited."

"Oh, I hope this paranoid shadow organization was that stupid."

Dare to dream.

"Hello, Kayele Briggs," Mnamae-6 greets Moxie, perhaps taking things too literally.

"Agree, Sovyal. There are likely various defence mechanisms set up. Do you intend to scout ahead? If not, I will send Tilly to scout ahead."
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

T771-M4 will not last long in combat, especially at level 3. But hey, better it than one of us. :) Oh by the way, did we decide who would wear the cloak?

Hudathan watches Moxie transform, confused. ”An interesting idea, to be sure. In vesk culture, we honor our warriors, not shame them. I bear my face proud.”[/b. He lifts his chin, proud of his work. Besides, that must make it difficult to collect paychecks. Who do they write them to?. He examines the facility before the group moves in. [b]”Not very subtle, is it?”

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14

"I begin to wonder if we are seeing the same thing," he says, glancing at the several other non-descript concrete and steel facilities nearby.

Chikasa "Harrumphs" mightily in feigned offense as Moxie makes her apologies, then takes the cloak. "Alrighty missy. No need to go 'grandfatherin' folks. I jus' wanna make sure you know who yer talkin' to!"

If the GM rules that T771-M4 can use the cloak, then I would be good with them taking it. Otherwise, I'll take the cloak.

---

As the crew disembarks from their shuttle, Chikasa raises a paw to his eyes and his spell cache gives off a pulse of light and a swirl of arcane symbols. The light is mirrored in Chikasa's paw, and when he takes it away from his eyes, it lingers within his eyes. "They ain't gonna make it that easy on us or I'm a vesk," he says grimly as he scans the area ahead for signs of a trap and for ways they might be detected.

Cast Keen Senses

Perception, keen senses: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 1 + 2 = 16

I'm going to say T771-M4 can wear the cloak. I, too, searched around and can't find anything one way or the other.

Getting through the chain-link fence is trivial, as is the padlock: Hawthorne easily defeats the plain lock that allows the rest of the party through.

As the party approaches the bunker entrance, Moxie Moon Kayele Briggs notices motion-activated lights and cameras that will activate upon their approach on the bunker doors. Sovyal does not notice any traps at ground level outside the bunker. Each pole is wired to a single control panel just beyond the first set of lights.

Panel added to map. Current Map

Sovyal eyes the motion activated lighting system and then lowers his darkvision goggles over his eyes. "Why, I think a little bit of darkness might prove exactly the type of cover we need to break in. Excuse me for a moment, my dear friends." He whispers to the rest while he stalks quietly over to where the control panel lies.

He moves very slowly to avoid triggering the lights and then approaches the panel. He slips out a set of tools, inspects the panel for any clear traps or alarms, and then attempts to disable the system.

I've put my engineering roll below in a spoiler because I suspect other people have a better bonus. If someone else wants to take the lead on disabling this panel, please treat my roll as an aid. Otherwise, Sovyal will do the disabling.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16 :< Maybe if this attracts attention, someone else can get in there and disable before we get in too much trouble?
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

I'm not entirely clear on where the panel (P) is supposed to be.

"Give me a moment," Hawthorne says. He concentrates and then, with a gesture, creates the illusion of the ground raised to just over their heads from before the lights up to the bunker door. "See if that will suffice," he says as he slowly moves toward the covered area.

Holographic image represented by the white zone. Intended to look like the ground, just raised up so we can walk under it.

Once at the control panel, he removes a series of tools from a slot on the side of his head. The LED blinking blue as the UBP printer generates the necessary tools. He attempts to open the panel and disable the motion sensor portion of the system.

Engineering (Take 10): 10 + 14 = 24 +2 from Sovyal?

Hudathan smiles as the operative goes and does what he does best. Then his eyes grow wide as the ground lifts up several feet! A sigh of relief leaves him as he sees Hawthorne move under it. An Illusion... tricky. He waits to see how this turns out before approaching.

Mnamae-6 studies the holographic project and nods at its effectiveness. He follows along with Hawthorne, deferring to someone more skilled than him. Of course, with Tilly in tow for protection. Retrieving his custom rig from his forearm, he sets out to assist by stabilising the bypass circuits while Hawthorne focuses on the main sensor components.

Auto-assist with +11 to engineering.

Chikasa scampers over with the others and whispers at them, "Hold up now, you youngun's! Don't forget the one with real experience under his belt here!"

Auto-aid engineering with a +12

HA! Nice thinking with the illusion Hawthorne! Also, is anyone untrained in engineering in this group? :>

The illusion was a great idea!
And it looks like the only one who doesn't have any ranks in engineering is Moxie. Everyone point and laugh! HAHAHA! ;)

As long as she has ranks in Computers, I shall refrain from laughing. ;)

I love this idea! The panel's basically on the wall to the south above where the 'P' is.

An image of concrete tiles resembling the ground itself flickers up above the floor level. The lights turn on for a moment as it does, but then shut off again as the holographic image stabilizes.

Most of the crew stalks over towards the panel and pop it open. A small solid-state drive sits in a bay inside, with several wires and circuits connecting it to the motion sensor, camera and outdoor lighting systems. Hawthorne pours some flux into the circuit for the motion sensor to melt the solder and Sovyal cuts the wiring, disabling it.

To the north lies the secured bunker. The bunker door has a slot for a key card and a keypad to enter an access code.

"Good job, Hawthorne. Now for the door," Chikasa limps his way over to the door and looks up at the security panel. The elderly ysoki furrows his brow in determination, cracks his knuckles, raises his hands toward the panel...

And steps aside. "Hawthorne, I think I'll let you and that lovely little AI in your head take the lead here as well. I'll be here to supervise, though, of course."

Looks like Hawthorne has Chikasa well beat on Computers, but I can auto-aid with a +11.

We didn't have line of sight to the bunker itself when we were at the east end of this map, so it's probably a good idea to check for traps again.

Sovyal surveys the bunker for any sign of traps...
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

But he finds himself distracted by the hologram floating inches above his head and covering the group's approach.

Hudathan grunts in appreciation at the fine work. I coulda done that. Probably. With a few tries. . He shakes off the self-irritation and catches up with the group. ”Alright, don’t dally. We can’t stay out here long.”. He looks around nervously.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Mnamae-6 dutifully scans the room for potential traps but is quite confident there are none.
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

"Indeed. We need to move fast." He moves up to assist Hawthorne with the door. (auto-aid with +11)

You can laugh all you want, but the reason I didn't put any ranks into Engineering is because everyone and their mother has that skill; but I've played and GM'd at plenty of tables where no one in the party has Diplomacy or Sense Motive trained. Besides, Moxie is too pretty to be getting her hands dirtied up with greasy engine parts.

Moxie moves up with the group, her hand on her thunderstrike pistol as she keeps watch.

"Good work with the illusion. Now let's get that door open."

Moxie examines the keypad and card reader to see if there are any obvious vulnerabilities. Then she starts to look up the model in the infosphere to see if she can find anything about it.

She's trying to aid someone on their Computer check to hack into this door.

Aid Computers: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Even with the motion sensors disabled, Hawthorne continues to concentrate on the illusion as the Starfinders approach the door. Hawthorne chuckles over the coms at Chikasa's deferential comments. "Thank you. Sophia started working on the lock five steps back," he says. The LED on the side of his head is flickering wildly.

Computers (Take 10), Starfinder Tools, Aid: 10 + 14 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 32

Hudathan, Sovyal, and Mnamae-6 examine the door for any signs of traps. Confident that they aren't any, the party gets to work. Hawthorne pops open the access code key panel and connects his AI to the system to hack the code. Just as the last digit appears on the terminal screen, an arc of electricity blitzes from the door, zapping anyone standing within 10 feet of the door.

Electric damage: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 3, 4) = 11
DC 13 Reflex halves

I would imagine this would be Hawthorne, Chikasa, Mnamae-6 and Moxie Moon given their aiding.

After recovering from the shock and continuing the hack, the access code is soon revealed, and the red outline surrounding the keycard slot turns green just as the bunker door slides open.

Beyond the door is a forty-foot staircase descending inside. The ceilings are 15-feet-high and the corridor is lit normally. The air feels climate controlled with tolerable temperature and humidity.

Current Map

Hudathan shakes his head as the arc flashes. "Ah... this is no vesk engineering. Good try. Now for the real fun." He pushes past the smoking door and begins down the staircase - laser out.

He doexn't need to be closer than 20 ft or in physical contact via Remote Hack.

Reflex: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Sovyal hums to himself "Well well. Cunningly hidden, but not especially potent. I personally would have used a rain of poisoned needles with sky-fisher venom. Make sure any of my lovable guests don't get much further than they have." He sniffs. "Our paranoid friends here are cutting corners." He tut tuts his disapproval.

Sovyal eyes the staircase down for any further traps, then stealthily makes his way down and peeks around the corner.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17

ref: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Mnamae-6 drops to the floor quickly enough to drain part of the charge through the surface of his semi-conductive skin into the floor.

"That was foolish. I should have noticed the trap. But what's done is done."

With Tilly leading, he follows along, scanning the area more carefully this time. Or at least he tries.
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Moxie jumps back as the electricity arcs towards her.

Reflex save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

"Abadadar's goatee! Its always electricity! Every single time."

Not too badly hurt by the shock, Moxie brushes herself off.

"Any of use could have seen that trap and we missed it. Don't beat yourself up over it, 6. We'll get the next one. I'm sure there's going to be a next one."

"Chikasa, would you mind scanning for magical auras as we proceed?" Hawthorne asks. "We were warned that the organization added arcane defenses."

@Hawthorne, my bad - I think you can keep that 5 SP in this case. I can't find a clear ruling on how aiding a remote hack would work, but I would think those who don't have remote hack have to be adjacent to the object they're hacking to aid, so the others still take the damage, here.

The corridor eventually connects to a large and empty but well-lit chamber. Clean vinyl tiles cover the floor with a neutral checked pattern commonly seen in buildings across the Pact Worlds. Power outlets and data jacks routinely jut from the walls, suggesting the area could repurposed or left empty for future expansion.

Sovyal doesn't detect any traps on the staircase or along the corridor extending to the adjoining room.

A door can be seen at the end of the room to the east.

Current Map

My paranoia levels are extra high here :>

Sovyal keeps his eyes open for further traps and stays towards the edges of the large open room. There's nowhere to hide in here, a fact that leaves a scowl on his face. He whispers into suit comms "Any chance one of you lot can overload the power here and take the lights out? I don't like sneaking about when its so damn bright."

Perception vs. traps: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

What's different about those blue-tinted tiles?

"I would expect a power overload to trigger an environmental alarm, at least," he replies. Following behind Hudathan, he looks for a light switch.

Yes. Sadly, without Remote Hack or the remote tools, others are stuck using their hands/tentacles/pseudopods.

I will assume here that some or most of you have followed Sovyal in after he's given you the all clear rather than waiting outside but if you would like to have stayed further outside prior to this, let me know.

As the party steps into the large room, a muted tone rings from the walls. The tone grows louder as two doors hidden into the walls slide open, revealing four security bots.

A robotic voice thrums from one of them. "SILENT ALARM TRIGGERED AT BUNKER DOORS - INTRUSION CONFIRMED. ELIMINATE TARGETS IMMEDIATELY."

Owing to the apparent silent alarm, the party has little time to react to the bots, and the deterrent-class bots fire their lasers.

Azimuth Laser vs Hudathan: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 171d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Azimuth Laser vs Hudathan: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 181d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Azimuth Laser vs Sovyal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 231d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Azimuth Laser vs Sovyal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 251d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Hudathan and Sovyal are harrassed by a barrage of azimuth laser fire.

Combat Map

-- Bold is up --
Hudathan (-5)
Security Bot Blue
Hawthorne
Security Bot Yellow
Chikasa, Moxie Moon, Sovyal (-7)
Security Bot Red, Green
Mnamae-6

___
Mechanically: There was a silent alarm on the bunker door that had gone undetected. Setting it off meant the bots were granted a surprise round and initiative bonus.

Outside

Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Chikasa sees the arc of electricity building up just in time to plant the but of his staff and ground himself so that he doesn't take the full brunt of the countermeasure. The jolt still stings quite badly, though, and he spends a good moment or more cursing in a variety of languages.

Chikasa is down 5 SP from the countermeasure on the door

Hudathan moves to the wall, ducking around and firing his large cannon at the rightmost bot. ”FINALLY! No more sneakin’! “ He smirks as his enormous laser flies through the air.

Corona Laser@blue bot : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21 DMG@EAC: 2d10 + 4 ⇒ (10, 8) + 4 = 22

DMG@EAC: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (2, 6) + 4 = 12

Hudathan's laser blows a smoldering hole through the bot's side. "DAMAGE REPORT: SEVERE. ACTIVATE RIOT SUPPRESSION PROTOCOL."

The same bot hovers over towards Hudathan. Hudathan feels his rifle begin to shake in his hands with magnetic energy...
Disarm vs KAC+8: 1d20 + 8 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 6 = 32
And then it flies into the air. The bot extends its free metal appendage and snatches away the rifle.

Combat Map

-- Bold is up --
Hudathan (-5)
Security Bot Blue (-12, grabbed Hudathan's rifle)
Hawthorne
Security Bot Yellow
Chikasa, Moxie Moon, Sovyal (-7)
Security Bot Red, Green
Mnamae-6

The LED on the side of Hawthorne's helmet, which mirrors the one on the side of his head, flickers and changes to red as he moves into spartan room. He takes aim at the (blue) damaged robot with the strange rail gun while Sophia scans their combined engineering records.

A green gas fills the rail and then is magnetically compressed and super heated before the bright dot of light is launched from the rifle.

12-notch plasma fork, no modifiers: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 Does not use ammo on miss.
E&F, no boost: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 Assuming it possesses the robot vulnerability to electricity: 16 damage

The following information is retrieved into Sophia's data banks:

Deterrent-Class Security Robot - EAC 14, KAC 15

The plasma blast fries the bot's circuitry, causing it to fly in an uncontrolled arc up at the ceiling where it crashes trimuphantly, falling to the ground as a dozen smoking metal panels. Hudathan's rifle sticks out from under the wreck of nuts and bolts.

It can be picked back up from blue's square.

The yellow bot whirrs over, and fires a beam from its own gun, targeting Hawthorne.
Azimuth Laser Pistol: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 121d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
The beam blows past Hawthorne and into the nearby wall.

Combat Map

-- Bold is up --
Hudathan (-5)
Hawthorne
Security Bot Yellow
Chikasa, Moxie Moon, Sovyal (-7)
Security Bot Red, Green
Mnamae-6

Chikasa moves up to stand behind Mnamae and reaches up to quickly slap a glowing rune on the stock of the android's laser rifle. "Don't go wastin' that now," he shouts as the din of the blue robot's explosion nearly drowns out his voice.

Moved up and cast Supercharge Weapon on Mnamae's laser rifle.