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Venture-Captain Naiaj stands sternly next to a small sentient robot—an SRO—bearing the holy symbol of Triune. “Greetings. I have called you in for a pressing matter related to a piece of the Society’s past. In 160 ag, former First Seeker Lanrah decided to make it the Society’s priority to research the Gap, using much of the Society’s resources in the pursuit of this quest. One vessel the Society deployed at that time was called the Amber Reconnoiter. That vessel disappeared under mysterious circumstances on a mission in the Drift. While it has been lost since then, the Amber Reconnoiter has become of interest to the Society yet again. MP-8 here can explain the details.”
The SRO wheels forward on treads, its single, focused lens looking around the room, and performs some semblance of a bow. “I am MP-8, a priest of Triune and native of Aballon. It is an honor to meet you all. A few weeks ago, I received a vision from Triune itself regarding a precise location in the Drift. From this vision I deciphered a set of coordinates: a beacon code. Triune provides these beacon codes only in instances of the utmost importance, so we in the church knew we had to take action right away. I formed an expedition to travel to the beacon code’s coordinates, whereupon we found the wreckage of a starship from centuries ago. The ship still bore insignia of the Starfinder Society.” MP-8 rolls over to the Starscape unit in the center of the room and attaches an adapter cable to its datajack. The lights in the room dim, and the unit projects a holographic image of a ruined starship floating in front of the colorful backdrop of the Drift. “Naturally, we assumed there must be something of great consequence on that starship, so we approached. However, much to our surprise, the ship opened fire.” The Amber Reconnoiter’s hologram begins silently firing its weapons, projectiles exploding harmlessly and then fizzling out. “While we could have retaliated, we did not want to risk damaging what Triune considered so important. Seeing that the ship used to belong to the Starfinder Society, I have reached out to Venture-Captain Naiaj for aid.” MP-8 disconnects from the projection unit, and the image of the Amber Reconnoiter flickers and then disappears. “Whatever is on that ship is of the utmost importance to Triune, so you must recover it for us.”
Naiaj nods to MP-8. “We will help in any way we can, as this find doesn’t just interest Triune’s church but also the entire Pact Worlds.” Naiaj turns from the SRO. “I believe we have records of the Amber Reconnoiter along with the corresponding access codes that should allow us to disable the ship’s defense systems, allowing for safe exploration." Naiaj pauses. “This vessel is also of interest in our matters. This ship was one of ours, from over two centuries ago, that disappeared during a mission in the Drift. The Society has been unable to ascertain what happened to the ship and its crew, and we would certainly like to find out. If you could, investigate the ship to see if there are any clues or records as to what happened to the crew.”
"We have two potential leads among our records that may help you on this assignment. One is the Communion Vaults, where an ally of the Society—the Liavaran Dreamer called Whisperer of Solar Winds—has supposedly had a vision that may pertain to this mission. The other is our Halls of Discovery, where we keep records on all ships of the Amber Reconnoiter's make and model. Venture-Captain Arvin can help you there. Any questions?"
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The tall, pale-skinned half-orc, draped in a duster and leaning against the wall, looks up slowly. His eyes, peering out from beneath a wide-brimmed hat. As he does so, a glimmer of light from a nearby console illuminates sickly-looking, almost mummified flesh.
"A ship back from the dead? he mutters in a deep, gravelly voice. "Sounds like my line of work."
His head casually resumes its earlier position.
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A tall and well built female Vesk with a ridge of colorful blue and purple scales running from the top of her head to (presumably) the tip of her tail stands and bows to MP-8, "I will be happy to assist you in this. A direct message from one's deity should be a clarion call to action!"
She then turns Naiaj,"Ah, the dreamer. I've been on a mission from her before. Always interesting. If the codes we have don't work and there is no way to board her without causing major damage, are we to leave it for a future attempt or destroy the ship? I know this is a worst case scenario but..."
Naiaj nods as she listens to Yith-Naarin's question. "The beacon code is of prime importance. If you cannot disable the weapons systems, approach the wreck with extreme caution but do not return fire and risk damaging the code."
She then turns to Compucast. "I'm not sure what the crew's original mission was, but I imagine it was documented on some of the mission logs. See if you can find out as part of your preliminary research."
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A Ysoki known as Rocket is tinkering with some minor mechanical components while holding some tools in his mouth as he assembles what can only be described as explosive
listens to the briefing before spitting out a metal screwdriver and speaking up while rubbing the inside of his right ear with a finger.
"Investigate a centuries old Starfinder Vessel,find out what happened to the ship and its crew. Got it"
Rocket stands up, hoists his belt up with his left hand and starts to gather his belongings while shouldering a customized heavy artillery laser gun with his other arm.
"Where do we want to go first? Vaults or Halls of Discovery?"
Rocket looks over at the others.
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”There was a wrassler I worked with a while back whose signature move was ‘beautiful dreamer’.” says Thorval to no one in particular. ”He’d put you in a sleeper hold, then lay you down when you lost consciousness. He’d then then get up and sing... well... that was the plan, at least. He wasnkt very good, andwhen he tried t on me, I gave him the ol’ Solar Punch in the solar plexus, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. ”
In this stark chamber sleeps the Whisperer of Solar Winds, a jellyfish-like being whose glowing body slightly pulsates as it floats in midair . Beside it stands a nervous-looking halfling with shocking purple-and-pink hair, wearing a Starfinder insignia and a Starfinder backpack. “Uh, hello there! I am Kaeri, the, ah, current trainee interpreter for the Whisperer of Solar Winds. It is nice to meet you all.” Kaeri then winces slightly and resumes speaking in a softer tone. “I’m still not exactly sure what wakes the Whisperer, so I try to stay quiet. I hope I’m doing this right...”
Kaeri pulls out a datapad from her backpack. “The Whisperer presented a vision to me that it wanted me to communicate to you. I believe it wants to welcome you to its home and to show you how to find your own vision." She shows you her datapad, which presents a movable image of a strange, glassy white, 3-foot cube engraved with light-red lines that divide differently shaped panels.
As Yith-Naarin interacts with Kaeri, the Whisperer of Solar Winds suddenly snaps awake, bombarding the vesk with a vision. Yith-Naarin suddenly sees herself alone in the chamber, holding the relic in hand. The vesk sees in the vision every permutation of the relic overlaid atop one another, and every version of herself solving every permutation, the relic whirring to life as its white panels shift and red lines flicker with energy. The vision then cuts out, and the Whisperer resumes its slumber.
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Yith suddenly jerks erect, her eyes gloss over and she raises one hand as if something were in it. She nods at her empty hand as if there were something extremely important in it for several seconds and then suddenly snaps out of it, sagging slightly before coming fully back to her senses.
"Ah, powerful minds... they have powerful minds indeed..."
Between Sarangari's tech smarts and Yith-Naarin's powerful vision, you quickly solve the puzzle depicted on the datapad. As the tiles click into place, you all suddenly flash into a mystical vision.
You are psychically transported into the deck of the Amber Reconnoiter, the shifting colors of the Drift spiraling beyond the windows. An early stage barathu works at some of the kitchen equipment in the mess hall, while a vlaka and a haan sit at a table playing an analog version of Imperial Conquest, a popular strategy game. Up by the helm, a hot pink skittermander flips the ship into autopilot, then enters the defense access code into a datapad. The vision begins to fade, muffling the crew's voices just as they begin discussing their mission and before you can see the complete defense code. Gradually the colors melt together, then snap back to your surroundings in the Communion Vaults.
Kaeri apologizes that you were unable to get the entire weapons code, but you did pick up the first half of it. Suspecting you'll find the crew's mission and the other half of the code in the Halls of Discovery, you make your way their, passing several meeting rooms and auditoriums in the Lorespire Complex en route. Eventually you stumble upon Venture-Captain Arvin , who looks up from his notes, clearly having had his head down for a long time. “Good to see you all. Thanks for stopping by—it’s a bit of a busy time right now, so I haven’t been able to get out of the office much.” He turns off his holographic note projectors and stands. “I’ve heard from Naiaj that you are seeking information on the Amber Reconnoiter. Thank you for looking into the matter.” He pulls out a datapad from his pocket and thumbs through it a bit. “The records on the vessel are pretty old, so we don’t keep them accessible in our normal information banks. However, it seems that some record keepers here in the Halls of Discovery might be able to access the information you’re looking for. They specialize in maintaining historical records, so they might be able to help you out.”
Arvin leads you to an elevator, which descends into a basement level. This room is dimly lit, aside from the brightly illuminated window counter. Inside, a robot with a thin body and six arms leans on the counter, while a dwarf wearing glasses and a large set of earphones sits hunched over a computer terminal at a desk facing toward the counter, typing furiously. The robot spreads its arms wide and speaks in a grating and annoyingly chipper voice. “Welcome to the Bureau of Historical Records from Antiquity. I am Recordbot-128. How may I assist you today?”
You turn around, expecting to see that Arvin has left, but he is still standing nearby. After a pause, he says, "I'd like to stick around, if that's alright. Our records-keepers tend to be a stuffy bunch with rules and regulations, so I can try to leverage my position to help you out if need be."
Right on cue, the robot responds to Compucast's inquiry with "Have you submitted your information request forms?" You glance over the robot and see a placard on the wall that reads, "ALL REQUESTS PROCESSED IN ONE WEEK. NO EXCEPTIONS."
The robot enthusiastically replies to Compucast. "Excellent! I will look up your request right away and verify its status." It turns to datajack into a nearby terminal, taking its sweet time to do so.
"See. Right there. I thought you were more efficient here in the halls."
"Yes, following correct protocols does indeed increase efficiency!" the robot replies, obviously not getting the sarcasm. It pulls up your doctored request, approves, then goes to the back to retrieve the documents. Venture-Captain Arvin frowns at Compucast, clearly not approving of the forgery, but he remains silent, ultimately turning to leave once the robot returns.
The record you receive is a shipping invoice to deliver a supply crate to the ship. The invoice lists the names of the crew members—Zantik, Berkal, Dayn, and Jarzi, respectively—as well as the shipment’s contents: diplomatic dossiers on several fringe organizations from throughout the Vast, collections of precious stones likely arranged as payments, and ambassadors' attire, as well as some leisure items, such as an imperial conquest strategy game and a Small-sized saxophone. You also find the complete access codes to override the ship’s automatic defense systems, completing what you need to safely approach the wreckage.
Upon returning to Naiaj, she acknowledges your good work and shows you how to use the codes to remotely disarm the ship's weapons. She recommends you take a Pegasus on the mission, given the improbability of major threats in the area, but ultimately leaves the choice of your starship frame to you.
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"I wonder if that is the set of imperial conquest we saw them playing in the dream?" wonders Compucast.
Then considering the rest of the mission load out. He surmises.
"Bribes and blackmail. Well, at least we have an idea that someone maybe didn't want them getting where they were heading and upsetting the balance of power."
You board your vessel and warp through the Drift to the coordinates, but surprisingly you emerge directly into the midst of several immense bubbles drifting about the surrounding space! A quick scan shows the bubbles are potent caustic fluids pulled from the Plane of Earth by Drift travel. Several globes of acid shift quickly and unpredictably in front of your starship, closing in fast!
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The eyes of the one they call "Harrowed Jack", narrow as he notes the bubbles of caustic fluid appearing around the Pegasus.
"Hold on." he mutters into the ship's comm system.
With an impact with one of the bubbles seems looming, the half-orc gets back on the comm system. "Spell-Weaver," he bellows to Compucast in a deep, gravelly voice over the comm. "I have a use for you."
Yith barely threads the Pegasus through the intersecting bubbles, but accidentally steers the ship to a point where multiple bubbles are all converging on the ship! There's a small opening to get out, but you'll have to gun it!