1-22 Protectorate Petition (Inactive)

Game Master Saashaa

Opening

dotting

Present and accounted for. Do we still only have 3?

Reporting in. We have a level 3 soldier protecting us. And we got most of the skills covered, and no starship combat, we can do this.

Level 4 soldier now. I'll take the hits if you all can bring the skills.

Maxamas looks over at the others. Three of us, but three is all we need, the gods are with us, and so is Rahm.

Elwin smiles, "Well then, we shall trust in Rahm then!"

Rahm, an imposing figure in hellknight stylized armor, nods and says "I will ensure your safety or die trying."

Elwin, an unimposing figure in ill fitting light armor with a shiny bald head that seems to be even more pronounced due to his tall Elven ears, looks Rahm up and down, "Well, hopefully it won't come to that but I love your enthusiasm!"

Well, knowing we did so few missions, I doubt the Starfinder Society would send us on a death wish mission. Those are for the people with years of experience.

As this scenario starts on Absalom Station, where is your character and what are they doing? If you are not on Absalom Station, how and why are you going there?

Elwin is actually a native, part of the small group of elves living down below with the 'less fortunate' individuals of the station. Between missions he could easily be found at home, at the Starfinder complex or anywhere between. He does like visiting areas with lots of vegetation...

Rahm splits his time between the Exo-Guardians converted warehouse headquarters and the local office of the Order of the Pike on the station. He sleeps when he has too, but otherwise remains focused on his duties with machine-like precision.

Elwin checks his chronometer. Plenty of time to relax and pack just in case this mission starts right after the briefing...

Rahm, every ready and perhaps a bit over prepared, already has all his adventuring gear with him. The android practically lives in his armor. Noting the time of the meeting, he settles in to finish the paperwork before him, scheduling a mental reminder to depart with enough time to be 30 minutes early to the meeting.

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 as she follows with a gesture at the display. “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 you may cross along the way, and report back to us."

“A few more things; one, half the planet is covered by oceans. Its atmosphere is fairly standard, but we have had some anomalous gravity readings. Be sure to run a scan of the planet with your ship’s computers when you arrive. Two, a full member of the Pact Worlds has voting rights in addition to citizenship, trade, and military benefits. A protectorate is very similar but lacks voting rights. It may be a collection of worlds or colonies, most often with smaller or only disjointed societies, such as is the case for Mataras and Aucturn. Rarely, the Pact Worlds also accept protectorates outside the system, though always with caution to avoid overextending our resources. Three, the Stewards seek information about the copaxis themselves: their attitudes towards other species, their tendencies towards peace or war, and anything in their history that can help determine if they would be a good protectorate of the Pact Worlds. Four, 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’ cultures 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. 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. Their researchers seem eager to learn from your example, and we hope that you can form a good working relationship with them. Any questions?” As Arvin asks you this question, he taps a couple things on the surface of the table and a message is sent to all of you.

TABRID MINOR (NEAR SPACE PLANET)

Diameter: ×1; Mass: ×1; Gravity: ×1
Atmosphere: Normal; Day: 1 day; Year: 1/2 year
Satellites: One small moon
Surface: 50% land, 50% water
Dominant Sentient Lifeform: Copaxis (singular copaxi)
Population: Approximately 2 billion copaxis
Notable Features: Flying landmasses; highly industrialized surface settlements; minimal natural resources; lower than average biodiversity. WARNING: Readings indicate gravitational anomalies. Caution is advised.

MISSION SUMMARY:

Contact the copaxi research team and leave a positive impression of the Starfinder Society.

Conduct an independent investigation of the ruined city.

Collaborate with the copaxi research team by reporting findings.

Make independent recommendations to approve or reject the protectorate petition based on the team’s findings.

Rahm gives the Steward a respectful nod, impressed by her standing and pleased to see a fellow android in a position of influence. He listens intently and asks at the end "Will we be spending time under the oceans as well? I recall from a previous mission that specialized equipment is needed for such assignments."

Elwin listens to the briefing and then reads over the data.

"Ah, good question, Rahm.. Overall this looks like a straight forward mission well suited for our organization. What are these Coapxis like, physically?"

Arvin shrugs, "I'm not exactly sure. You are being sent to discover what your can. If that means you need to go into the ocean, so be it."

Major Tower-9 nods, "Copaxis are complex colonies of coral-like polyps that develop into anthropomorphic forms. They develop segmented exoskeletons of calcium-rich shell that cover most of their bodies. Their heads develop elaborate crests and horns that identify individuals. Each polyp includes a set of five feeding tentacles about 2 inches long suitable for filter feeding or catching extremely small prey, but they pose little threat to larger targets beyond painful scratches. The polyps’ bodies extend beneath the exoskeleton, intertwining with additional polyps to create sheets of muscle fiber and even transform into specialized tissues for processing information, sensing their surroundings, storing nutrients, eliminating toxins, and reproducing. Over the copaxi’s 40-year lifespan, individual polyps die and are replaced by new individuals, which in turn can grow to address the copaxi’s needs. This information was provided by the Copaxi themselves."

Rahm nods, mentally filing the information away with the note that it may not be entirely accurate. He then asks "Are there cultural taboos or forms of address we should be aware of?"

Major Tower-9 shakes her head, "Not that I am aware of."

dotting right now. how is it you want me to sign up? cause i can't find it in the sheet you provided.
do you just want me to sign in, with all my info, on the discussion page?

No questions, I think you covered a lot.

"Colonies of polyp type organisms joining to make larger, more complex and intelligent life. Fascinating! I can't wait to meet one!"

I will not be updating until tomorrow (something like 16 hours). At which point I'll be working to get into a rhythm of a time during the day in which I will always be available, so that I can stay on the aforementioned 24 hour based progression.

That said, feel free to do purchasing and slot boons

"First question. Who wants to bet we end up surfing that city to the ground and hitting it like the fist of an angry hellknight?"

The human woman chuckles, reaching up to tilt her military cap to the side. Her form is tall and athletic, clad in clothing styled after the uniform of a Corpse Fleet commander but far too stylized and a bit too revealing to be the real deal. Her hip-length hair seems to be greying despite her youthful appearance.

"Pretty great way to go, if you ask me." She snorts, brushing a bit of glittering powder from just above her lip before she continues. "For real, though. What do we know about the local religious structure? Any fun water gods going on, or has the Pharasma Long Con snaked its way into another batch of hapless mooks?"

“Lets hope it doesn’t come to that” replies Rahm, the actual Hellknight.

A half-elf steps into the room
"I don't know, might make things interesting. But, then again, might not go well with actually getting these guys into the pact worlds" he says "I mean, we are here more in the role of representatives right? we are here to set an example."

"sorry I'm late. they thought you could use an extra man here. hope I'm not intruding." he continues "I'm Jeen Scott."

Arvin speaks up, "I encourage you to ask the religious questions to the Copaxi themselves. Your role is to investigate the Copaxi. Get information, follow up, compile all of it and send it in as a report. Sometimes such missions can be dangerous, that is why we are sending you. You are also hypothetically a pretty neutral party, this is another reason. I look forward to hear your reports."

Your trip to the Copaxi homeworld takes 9 days through the Drift, what do you do during this time?

"mind if I take a look at the engines?" He asks the captain "I am a decent engineer"

I talk about all the different planets and stars.

Miss Integrity has a great time on board, handing out free sample tracks from her band, Downward Spiral. Such tracks include:

- Infest & Process, a song about playing host to a flesh eating alien parasite (with a level of detail that hints towards personal experience)
- Under Control, an old vesk war song spruced up with heavy metal guitar riffs, guttural roars, and the constant sound of marching soldiers to keep the rhythm
- To Stand Against the Gatekeeper, an extended and ultimately heroic sounding tale about mankind rising up against a tyrannical dragon, adding an extra twist that reshapes the dragon into a metaphor for the church of Pharasma.

Other than that, Integrity mostly lounges about getting drunk on cheap vesk beer. In particular, a brand called Victory Rush. She also offers to share her stash of Hyperleaf with the team.

Stats for Hyperleaf are on 419 of the Core book. She isn't shy about sharing the ups and downs of it.

Rahm stoically remains on guard duty through out the voyage, breaking only to sleep. He prefers classic Aballonian electronica, but tries to keep an open mind about Integrity's offerings. He doesn't partake of the hyperleaf, or any food.

He does politely, though stiffly, inquire about the others combat abilities during the voyage. He hopes the mission goes without a hitch, but has found it best to always prepare for the worst, and a assessment of the team's combat readiness will help him prioritize targets should fighting occur.

Elwin spends time getting to know his fellow Starfinders.

He listens to Miss Integrity's music, joins for the occasional drink but declines the drugs.

He sits with Rahm and states that his combat potential is less than stellar. He is obviously a ranged fighter but can deliver a nasty jolt with a touch and a spell...

He'll happily spend time discussing astronomy with Maxamas and discuss engine theory with Jeen Scott.

Jeen gladly accepts company, especially when it comes to anything engineering bast. Be it computers, engines, or the specs of his odd little hover drone AGE.

company of another type is appreciated socially.

i don't see why we can't continue dialogue

Jeen goes off to a quiet part of the ship and begins transmitting a message.

Jeen passes by Elwin, standing in a corridor near the bunks, one headphone in his ear.
"You know, this song To Stand against the Gatekeeper is really starting to grow on me..."

"haven't heard of it" He says in passing
"I might listen later"

Sorry for the lateness of this update

Upon emerging from the Drift…

Shortly after your arrival, you receive a transmission 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 last 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 computational device 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.”

"Oh hey, what is up my dudes?" A very excited Miss Integrity greets the coral beings, her cheeks slightly flushed from joy. Or intoxicants. Or maybe both. "Yeah yeah, we're comin' right down. to, uh, engage our landing device on your open receiving pad."

She leans off camera, giving room for another crew member to greet them, while she murmurs to them. "Hahaha. That sounded kind of dirty, didn't it?" she says, not entirely inaudible to the copaxis.

Rahm stands stoically by, in his full armor. His helmet hides his face, so there is no way to see he is frowning at Integrity. Whether he approves or not though, he is not the expert here in inter-species interactions. The Society must have had some reason to send this particular group of agents.

computers: 5 + 1d20 ⇒ 5 + (16) = 21 open those spoilers people

life sciences: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Lol. There's life here?

Elwin looks at Miss Integrity with a smile. "It is exciting to see a new race for the first time!"

Elwin turns to Maxamas and quietly speaks so that it does not go out in any transmissions.
"That is... very strange. One huge life form that makes these anomalies?"

Making sure the comm channel is no longer open, Rahm says “the copaxis are coral colony creatures, perhaps these gravity distorting creatures are coral colonies as well.”

Jeen finally makes it up to the bridge
"hey, I heard we just made contact." he says "Sorry i wasn't here, I was taking care of some stuff"

we takes a look at the computers
"so, we are landing then? taking a shuttle?"

I hope that is what we do do.

"Well, we've been invited. I say we head on down. We need to do some scans at the surface level any way."

Rahm says "Agreed. That is the logical next course of action."