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Following instructions sent to your personal comms from the Society, you attend a meeting which begins at a round table in Restaurant Lashav, one of Absalom Station’s most expensive and exclusive restaurant. A trio of lashunta waitstaff deliver several trays of exotic, spiced foods and pour drinks into intricate, crystal goblets. A small, blue-furred skittermander missing most of his left ear sits at the opposite end of the table. His left eye and three of his six limbs are cybernetic replacements, and he wears the tooth of a large creature as a necklace around his neck. As he waits for the restaurant staff to finish setting the table, one of his prosthetic hands detaches itself, crawls halfway across the table, grabs a date from one of the dishes, and returns to the skittermander, reattaching itself to his wrist. Munching absently on the date, he examines the group he’s assembled with a calculating stare. The graying tips of his grizzled fur and occasional twitches in his cybernetic limbs give the impression that he has seen some serious and perilous action.
As the staff finish their final table placements and depart, the skittermander waves a clawed, prosthetic limb toward the food and speaks, "Please, eat your fill. This is the best kasathan cuisine in the system. It seems fitting for the job I have for you. I am glad to see helpful Starfinders, such as yourselves, have responded to my invitation. I like those who are helpful. My name is Eshki. I am not much for long conversations. First Seeker Jadnura’s return has caused many political ripples within the Starfinder Society. Worse yet, now that First Seeker Jadnura has gone off to the Idari to meditate in solitude, these ripples have started to grow into waves. I need you all to go to the Idari, find First Seeker Jadnura, and convince him to get back here before his absence permanently damages the Society."
After taking a moment’s pause to eat a handful of vegetable stalks dipped into a spicy, orange sauce and washing it down with strong tea, Eshki continues, "I have arranged and paid for your transport to and from the Idari. Your transport leaves tomorrow morning." As he hands out the travel credentials, he says, "Remember, the kasathas on the Idari are rules followers. If you follow their rules and customs, this will go a lot easier. However, sometimes their customs can be frustratingly slow. Find First Seeker Jadnura and get him back here as quick as you can. Any questions?"
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Oh a chance to visit the Idari you say? A halfling with a number of cybernetic implant - notably his back and eyes but wearing a set of denim coveralls that completely clash with the aesthetic otherwise comments. Sweet implants by the way. he gestures to the skittermander.
I am very interested in how they provide food for themselves living under the conditions they live in - oh and of course the First Seeker. Need to find him too. Name's Chassarch - I come from a long line of farmers from Absalom - Absalom Station now I guess. Or so says our family legend anyway. Why is he staying away anyhow? Jandura I mean. Seems weird after all we did to rescue his sorry behind.
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A male kasatha with a shiny armor, gold and red, with the holy symbol of Iomedae on the plastron of his armor sat with you.
Return to Home, but my time is not yet settle. It will be a interesting come back for sure.
With a baryton voice, the Kasatha says It's my home planet, I think I could be of assistance here.
Name's Eselar by the way, nice to meet you all and may the blessing of the Inheritor be upon you.
Eshki, do you know what push Jadnura return to Idari and go under the radar? Do you have any idea where he was headed?
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"It is," the middle-aged, somewhat weary looking human sitting down the table replies. "The Idari is the world ship the kasatha took from their home world to the Pact Worlds." The woman raises her arms and stretches, brushing her dark cape off of her shoulders and revealing the pauldrons of her armor, each of them bearing a scratched out symbol of the Stewards. "There's a long story behind it all, but I'm sure Eselar would be better suited to tell you that tale.
"Oh, and as long as we're doing introductions, I'm Desha Doash." Desha nods curtly to the group gathered at the table. "As you can see, I used to work for the Stewards, but my story has taken some turns since then, so now I'm with the Starfinders. I've served with Jadnura since before the Scoured Stars; still would if he hadn't gone AWOL. Now I guess folks don't know who to take orders from." Desha shrugs.
"So, Eshki. Couple of questions for you. First off, sorry, but what's your connection to Jadnura? I'm guessing you served with him too, but I guess we haven't met before.
"I'm also curious if you have any initial intel about where Jadnura has been spending his time. The Idari is a big ship, and it would be good to have a starting place for our search."
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Looking over the food arrayed out on the table, a short-haired dwarf in a close-fitting armored suit selects something and begins munching on it as everyone else begins talking. Swallowing, he asks their skittermander host "So, we are heading to Jadnura's homeworld to bring him back. Is there any chance that things could go sideways while we are there?"
"Like I said, I’m Eshki; keep your ears up for important information, or you’ll end up like me." He nods to one of his prosthetic arms for emphasis. "I was a quartermaster onboard one of the Society’s larger ships lost in the first Scoured Stars excursion. I ended up stranded on a volcanic world in that ****** place. Had to learn how to operate a machine gun real fast. Jadnura helped me get through the first few months, and I feel like I owe him."
"If I knew where to find him I wouldn’t need a whole team of Starfinders, now would I? The Idari is a ship big enough to be considered a Pact World. You’ll need to hunt him down yourselves. The
transport taking you to the Idari should dock near the Crucibles— the Idari’s shipyard. The Outland Markets aren’t too far from there and probably has someone who knows or has heard something. People in that area tend to be friendlier to outsiders. You can start asking around for information there. Otherwise, how you find him is up to you."
"He's doing something to do with solarian meditation on the balance of the universe stuff. I’ll be honest, I know these solarians like their force armor and gravitational sword doohickeys but, give me a good blaster any day. Just convince him he needs to come back."
"As you should know, nothing is ever certain when dealing with Starfinder Society affairs. However, I do not expect the kasathas will cause you any trouble."
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"I'm sorry to hear of your experience in the Scoured Stars," Desha says somberly. "It almost makes my time there seem pleasant by comparison." The ex-Steward looks down at her empty glass, wishing the waiter would hurry up with the next round of drinks.
After a beat of silence, Desha carries on with more questions, "You said there's been some politicking going on since Jadnura returned. Do you suspect there will be some parties interested in keeping him away? Do you think they might resort to something as extreme as an assassination attempt?
"I'm also curious what you think Jadnura should do when he does return? Do you think Luwazi should step down to let him resume his post as First Seeker?"
"It is not important what Jadnura does; it is important that he do it, rather than not being present and doing nothing. I am unaware of anyone who might be trying to keep him from returning; investigating this is part of your job."
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Desha nods at Eshki's rather blunt response. "Fair enough. Well, I think we know what we need to know. Should we talk about something else while we finish our meal?"
Desha will continue speaking with her fellow agents and with Eshki, though she keeps something of a suspicious eye on the skittermander. While the evening progresses, the ex-Steward occasionally pulls out her comm unit and types a few quick things in before setting it down again and rejoining the conversation.
By the end of the evening, her comm unit's infosphere browser is full of tabs related to Jadnura: his career prior to joining the Starfinders, his early days as an agent, his election to become First Seeker, and more recently, his disappearance into and rescue from the Scoured Stars. Desha has some late night reading to catch up on tonight.
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Early the next morning, before the ship departs for the Idari, Desha swings by the headquarters of the Xenowardens, whom she had helped investigate an old, abandoned colony during one of her early missions as a Starfinder. One of the xenowardens meets her at the entrance, a package in his hand. "Be careful out there," he tells her as he hands across the package.
Eshki begins to talk lightly of other matters while you finish your mean, and then provides you with instructions to get to your transport.
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Starfinder-19 shoulders his kit, and is ready to head out. ”Should the inevitable happen, is there someone accurate enough to use supercharge weapon on, or should I plan on using magic missile?”
"I'm starting to get some of my old training back," Desha says as she pats the holsters holding her pistols. "While I keep practicing, though, I'd say go with 0689. He seems like the capable sort."
Eshki bids you a polite fairwell, and then you travel to your transport.
Desha finds a map of the Idari’s basic layout and a breakdown of major locations you may wish to explore,
Jadnura was known to often visit the Idari’s Outland Markets district. The market boasts the Idari’s largest population of non-kasathas and is something of a local melting pot. Explorers can find almost anything from one of the stalls littering the market.
Solarians often come to the Idari to find spiritual enlightenment and peace. There are several sites onboard the Idari that cater to solarians, but none are more notorious than the Pradulex Monastery. Outsiders seeking to enter the Monastery must have a prior rapport with one of the masters.
You easily find your transport, which takes 5 days to get you to the Idari.
The journey goes smoothly, with no significant encounters with other ships.
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Desha spends some time getting to know her fellow Starfinders better, and tells them of her own background. She explains that she served with the Stewards from the time she completed her education. She advanced through the ranks until she was granted the rank of First Lieutenant Investigator, but a job gone wrong put her in her superiors' ill graces. They shipped her off to a small Steward outpost on Akiton, which is where the drinking started. Before long, she was out of the force and on her own.
Several years later, she met some Starfinders who were working a mission on Akiton, including Jadnura, who showed her a new path she could follow, if she learn to work with others again. She joined up and quickly became a devoted follower of the First Seeker, all the way until the Scoured Stars. She was one of the many unfortunate souls who became trapped in that god-forsaken system. It's only since she was rescued by this new generation of Starfinders that she's really begun to grow back into her old skills, and she hopes to use them to lead from the from the front, just like Jadnura.
She also introduces everyone to her pet: a purple pentapus she calls Bubbles.
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Eselar also get acquainted with his fellow Starfinder. He explains that he was born and raised on Idari, but he when he came of age, he starts asking question that elders won't answer and starts looking for answers of his own. That's how he decides to choose the path of the Piligrim, to explore the world and beyond, to discover new cultures and learn from them.
It's during of of his travel that he found his faith. During one trip to Eox, his vessel was attacked by a pirate chip, and only the intervention of one of the Knight of Golarion battleship save them from slavery or worse. Too crippled, their vessel wasn't able to continue its trip so he embarked on the battleship. There, he discussed with many knight and saw in their righteousness one of the answer he was looking for! That's how he became a dedicated priest of the Inheritor as some of the human worshipper call Iomedae.
But he's hunger for discovery wasn't yet satisfied, and he decided to continue to travel, but after such an experience he decided to also be able to not be only a passenger, but an actor of his own. That's how he decided to join the Starfinder Society and how he participate at the rescue of many other Starfinder trapped with First Seeker Jadnura that he meet personally once to help him recover some data from a previous trip leading to the unfortunate incident of the Scoured Stars.
As your ship docks in the Crucible area of the Idari, you see a dizzying amount of construction on ships. An umbilical cable from the docks attaches itself to your transport ship, and when you walk down it, you find a chartered transport car waiting for you, already paid for by Eshki.
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Chassarch gets all excited when the Markets are mentioned.
I agree. I am very eager to see how the economy of such a place works. Like do you still make everyone pay for food even on a big starship? Where does it all come from? Plus everyone shops. I bet someone down there has seen our wayward Seeker.
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Desha agrees with Chassarch and Eselar, "Yes, I think the Markets would be a good place to start. As Chassarch mentioned: everyone shops. Besides, as Eshki pointed out to us last night, the Markets are a likely place to find someone who knows or has heard something, and people there tend to be friendlier to outsiders such as ourselves, Eselar excluded of course."