Tiktik clicks on Activities hoping for a game folder, "Maybe they have Doot, Doot, Magic Flute!"
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This module is unsecured.
The various text files and spreadsheets here make clear that the denizens of the complex were devoted largely to poring through prophecies in a sacred tome called The Entropy of Existance and Glorious Rise of the Void. The data contains the cultists analysis of various prophecies, including one of particularly high priority refered to as CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (or "nightmare green" colloquially). Details are scarce--most seem to make reference to files in the Sacred Lore module, but the references aren't hyperlinked. From the references it seems the prophecy refers to some sort of weapon--one powerful enough to serve as a key to some untold destruction.
Tiktik shook his head with disappointment. "Don't get too excited, Talek, while they sound like awesome video game titles, these just seem to be references to boring books. They do have spreadsheets though, which are the thinking mouse's video game!"
Checking out the Intelligence directory next.
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This module has a firewall and a feedback countermeasure installed, by you easily bypass it.
Once the way is opened, the module contains a wealth of data, and takes some time to comb through. You notice communication logs, several of which seem to be status updates from Tahomen's team on Castrovel. Tahomen's reports are boastful in the extreme, including a premature report of his victory over the team of Starfinders trailing him.
The last communication log, however, has a tone of triumphant glee. Tahomen reports that the infomration in the temple's inner sanctum has revealed the location of a "key" for CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN. In the final line of the recording, Tahomen crows "Our future awaits, far beyond the Star-Eater's Spine! You must fly, brothers and sisters! Fly to--"the transmission cuts out here--full of random junk data. It appears that the location Tahomen was speaking of was deliberately deleted and meticulously scrubbed from the system by another hacker. This occurred three days prior--by someone other than the cultists, according to the digital signatures left behind.
"Yup!" Tiktik answers.
"Interesting. It looks like somebody--and not cultists by the look of things--hacked in here 3 days ago, and deleted the record of the location. Maybe that ambassador guy? They wiped the computer clean of any digital tracks, but maybe they left some physical ones around here. Why don't you guys snoop for clues, while we see if the last directory has more info..."
We found remains of what we believed to be Corpse Fleet here. Maybe they're the ones who deleted this record. If the corpse Fleet were to obtain a weapon of this magnitude it would be doom for the Pact Worlds.
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"Hmmm..." Jax strokes his chin.
"What if, now hear me out, what if Lupo is behind this whole thing. He was here before us. His team was a ruse. The snipers were on his side. He's been throwing himself in the way of danger to cover up any suspicion. And is the culprit for erasing the files!...."
Jax points an accusing finger, but laughs seconds later.
"....nah, I'm just fooling. It would make for quite a plot twist. Like some soap-opera crap."
Jax, my entire crew, all brave protectors of the Pact Worlds, were slaughtered in the line of duty on this gods forsaken rock just a few hours ago. It's too soon to be making 'jokes' at their expense.
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"My bad Lupo, my bad. Seeing fallen mates and friends is never easy to witness or forget. Tis' why I'm so quick to joke in those circumstances.
It's best to laugh it off and press on with a smile and a fire in your belly and once the fight is done and you're back at port, only then do you shout their names over a stiff brew.
That's what me old captain used to say. So when we get off this rock, we'll break open a bottle for the crew and another for your comrades too."
Apology accepted. We'll grab that drink, and a donut or two. Rags replies to Jax, trying to hide his smirk.
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Jax doesn't spot anything useful in the room.
The Sacred Lore module contains wealth of information on the worship of the Devourer--from writings on the likelihood of proto decay, screeds decrying the concept of singularity ergospheres, mad ramblings and sacred texts.
There's more information here on the book sacred to the cult, including a good deal about Nyara, the author. Centuries ago, Nyara was an elven mystic living on Castrovel. She is said to have fed off the pain and suffering of those weaker than her, and slaughtered hundreds, quickly rising through the ranks of Castrovel's Star-Eater cult. As the number of atrocities she committed mounted, she came to believe that her uncaring patron would visit a terrible fate upon her soul should she not work to further the total destruction of existence that the Devourer coveted.
Committing herself fully to his cause, she began a career in prophecy. Her killings became ritualistic rather than indiscriminate, and she drew prophecies from the blood of her victims. She spent her long lifespan extracting the terrible secrets underlying creation and extrapolating innumerable doomsday futures. She recorded them in her magnum opus, The Entropy of Existence and the Glorious Rise of the Void.
A program, often used by the look of the logs, causes a holographic image of Nyara to read various prophecies from her work. One in particular is flagged as high priority, labeled NYHoPr_1216179.
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”Good idea! I’ll check! But first, I really wanna meet this goth serial killer lady.”
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this should prove informative, or perhaps terrifying. At least nothing has tried to impregnate is in the last few minutes. To me that is something of a victory. I may need to see a therapist then we return to Absolom Station.
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An image of a spiky-haired elven female in leather rags appears.
"In the Maw of the Twelve lies the Key. Forsooth, shall all be undone. When the knee meets the gorge, so far. The widening gyre implodes--magnificently."
Personally I prefer Strawberry Machine Cake to this nihilistic poetry.
Tiktik waves at the hologram with a giant grin on his face, "Hi! I'm Tiktik!"
Eventually the grin fades when she doesn't reply. "Lousy cultists, can't even bother to give their messiah a little AI?" he lets out a heavy sigh.
"So that was quite the word salad. Anybody got any guesses?"
Bepo visibly gets excited at the mention of Strawberry Machine Cake.
I love Strawberry Machine Cake, definitely my favorite band
"Wait. All this time you guys were fellow cakefiends? How has this not come up before?! We gotta make time for a concert one of these days. They're on tour right now."
OMG that would be amazing! I have always wanted to see one of their concerts.
I was on a special security detail once, and almost got close enough to touch one of them!
Good guess! It was Bone! Unfortunately I'm not well equipped to admire her muscles. But she smells lovely.
And a hint of cinnamon.
After an awkward amount of Starfinders daydreaming, Tiktik shakes off a daze, and says, "Alrighty! Well, I've downloaded all of this stuff on to my datapad so we can access it later if we need to, but I think that's as much as we can learn from this terminal. Let's finish exploring!"
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The room directly to the south appears to be another mess hall. Unlike the area to the north, this one seems to have been abandoned in mid meal--food still sitting, rotting on plates, and some in a state of half-preperation.
To the east, there are several more bedroom areas. In one, you find a datapad and a credstick stuffed under the sheets of a bed--the datapad has 2,450 credits on it.
Overclock
Elliot
Talek
Bepo
Jax
B-Bop
L
Ragabash
The last bedroom has a trap, but the perceptive ysoki spots it a mile away and is easily able to disable it. The dresser the trap guarded contains a brown force field, a mk I electrostatic field, a bleeding fusion seal (6th), and a vicious fusion seal (5th).
The last room seems to contain the cults armory. There are two d-suits II, two estex suits II, two kasatha microcord II, and an ysoki refractor suit, each decorated with skulls, fangs, black holes, and other strange devices. They are all broken, as the weapons found earlier, but can be repaired (and the symbols removed) easily enough with time.
B-Bop spots a hidden panel in the northeast wall, behind which is a set of Golemforged Plate III with jump jets installed. Unlike the other suits, this is not broken and is fully operational.
Bepo walks over to the Golemforged Plate III armor and starts to check it out.
Does anyone mind if I grab the Golemforged Armor along with the mk 1 electrostatic field. Then anyone can take the Thermal Capacitor that's in my current armor. Also Overclock I think I changed my mind on this rifle, I think we can sell it if no one wants it and here is your battery back.
"One of the Kasatha Microcords looks like it may be slightly more protective than what I'm currently wearing... once it gets some repairs and maybe not so many skulls and spikes all over it."
After handing over the battery to Overclock, Bepo starts to put the Golemforged Armor on.
This is really nice, can't wait to test out these Jump Jets. Overclock on the way back to Absalom Station could you install the MK1 Electrostatic Field?
I'll need to report back in to my superiors. I want to keep following this lead. Despite initial set backs, we seem to work well together. If you all are agreeable, I'll request to liaise with your crew since it seems we are working towards the same purpose.
I do have a request. I'm no pilot. Would one of you be able to accompany me and pilot my ship back to Absolom? If that is indeed where you are headed next?
I think it would be great to have you come with us. But of course we would have to talk to our superiors to make sure they are fine with you working with us. We are going to be headed back to Absalom Station and I know B-Bop is our normal pilot but I'm sure one of us could help you.
Rags desperately casts his gaze about at all the other Starfinders, avoiding Jax, hoping someone else will volunteer.
Tiktik chuckles at L looking at the armor's decor and shrugs, "I think I'm gonna just go with it for mine. I think with a little tweaking I can make it look like Bone's concertwear!" he says with an elbow nudge to B-Bop.
"Don't worry Rags, Jax is a former pirate. He probably won't steal your ship," Tiktik says cheerfully with a pat on his leg.
Turning to Bepo he replies, "Oh that's easy. These upgrades are designed for easy replacement. I can knock that out in 10 minutes or so. The repairs to the rest of the new armor sets though, that'll take some time on the ship."
Once all of the armor upgrades are complete, and the group is back aboard Sunny, Tiktik scurries ahead to the comms so he can get to be the one to call Chiskisk.
"Hi! It's me! How's the kiddo? What do Shirren babies eat anyway? How's that thing working out with Zo!? Any more of that gang violence on the station? Did you remember to feed my rats like I asked? Princess Snaggletooth didn't bite you, did she?" after bombarding the shirren with small talk, he can eventually be steered towards the reason for the call, "We have explored and cooperated and now it's time to report! We found the cultists' hideout! But it seems like somebody from the Corpse Fleet beat us here and deleted the important info from the computers before they left. Oh and we met a really nice Stew-Pot--that's what B-Bop says they like to be called--who beat us here too. Officer Rags Lupo," he says with a mock salute, "He and his friends were here hunting down the same cultists! They got attacked by Sarcesians and Skreesires--nasty things that don't understand the importance of consent--and his friends didn't make it. But now we are friends! He's gonna ask his boss about joining up with us! Can he be a Starfinder, too? PLEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEE! He's super nice. He let me pet his fur. Ugh, so soft!"
"Where was I? Oh yeah, so we know that the cultists got word from Tacoman"--a brief interlude of giggling--"who told them about the star eater weapon thingy before we killed him on Castrovel. He sent them off to find it, but the Corpse Fleet guys hacked into the computer and erased the location before we got there. So they are probably heading there too now. We gotta hurry up and catch them, but we need to solve the riddle that the goth lady left for us. Sorry, I mean Nyara, an elf who wrote The Entropy of Existence and the Glorious Rise of the Void and a bunch of other doomsday prophecy stuff. Her hologram said 'In the Maw of the Twelve lies the Key. Forsooth, shall all be undone. When the knee meets the gorge, so far. The widening gyre implodes--magnificently.' So whatever that means, it seems to be our clue of where to head next. Does that mean anything to you? If not, I think we need to come back to the station and research I guess. Hopefully we find it fast, ya know, so stars don't get eaten."
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Chiskisk waits patiently through the ysoki's speech.
"I see. It is a grave matter, indeed, that the Corpse Fleet is interested in this matter. I presume this means that they are searching for this Stellar Degenerator themselves. They are not to be trifled with, and their schemes perpetually frustrate the Eoxians here on Absalom Station. The Eoxian Delegation diligently reports the efforts their planet takes to curb the Corpse Fleets activities, but they never seem to make a dent in the threat."
"GMy contacts in the Eoxian embassy here on the station have worked with a bureaucrat an historian in Eox's ministry of Eternal Vigilance named Waneda Tru. She is posted in the city of Orphys and handles reports on Corpse Fleet activity on Eox. According to my contacts, Ms. Trux recently received some indications that the fleets agents are up to something--perhaps recruiting for a big mission, or gathering resources. But folloinwg any leads she has gathered could very well reveal the Corpse Fleets plots for the Stellar Degenerator and, if we are lucky, the coordinates where the Cultists fled to."
"Trux's office is located in a district of Orphys called the Splice. I have informed her that you will be arriving; I will not misrepresent Eox--it is a dead world, and it will not be comfortable, even for representatives of our Organization. But Eox is a member of the Pact Worlds, so one can expect a...certain amount of civilization."
"As to the matter of your Steward friend, I see no reason why he can not continue to aid you, assuming he has the permission of his superiors. I will extend the same stipend to him that I do to you: 2,500 credits, which will be wired directly to your personal account."
Her antennae twitch. "Do you have any questions?"
Rags contacts Steward HQ.
This is Officer Lupo reporting in. Upon arrival on the asteroid my team and I came under heavy fire from a sniper who appeared to be working in tandem with a Skreesire and Skreelings. I am the only survivor, thanks in no small part to a group of Starfinders, those from the Drift Rock, who are also following leads on the Cult of the Devourer.
It appears this could have greater consequences than we initially suspected. The Drift Rock appears to be part of a larger weapon, one that could fall into the hands of the Cult. This weapon is ancient and of unknown origin, but the destruction it could bring about puts the whole system in danger.
It does appear, that prior to our arrival on the asteroid, members of the Corpse Fleet made a move against the Cult, ferreting out information as to the weapon's location, which they subsequently deleted. The Starfinder recieved Intel there may be a lead on Eox to follow. They have pre-established contacts and will be en-route to follow up.
I'm requesting permission to join the Starfinder crew. I will continue to gather Intel and keep HQ in the loop. The Starfinders aren't one to drop the search, especially something of this magnitude. It's also clear that this search will take me outside of the Stewards jurisdiction. Having the support of the Starfinders in the vast would be beneficial to the outcome of my mission.
After giggling for an uncomfortably long time at the pun, Tiktik eventually says, "Oooh, I've always wanted to visit Eox. It's gonna be so neat! Waneda Trux? Mkay, we'll look her up. Don't worry, we'll be super good and only kill the bad guys." he says grinning like a proud child.
When the credits get mention he gets rather excited, Wow another paycheck? Thanks! I could get used to this! By the way do we get dental? I have this--" he starts to point out a dark gray, rotting tooth in the back of his mouth, before presumably Chiskisk or one of the rest of the crew cuts him off.
Talek initially appears engaged in TikTik's report to Chiskisk and subsequently Chiskisk's response. As soon as the city Orphys is mentioned a change comes over him as he becomes more and more withdrawn. By the time the exchange ends Talek looks wild eyed and is rocking back and forth slightly at his console muttering softly to himself f*#%, f++$, f@!%, f@$$, f*&+ before slamming his hands down on the table housing the terminal. FUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKK Talek closes his eyes, takes a deep breath i thought i had escaped Eox. I spent years working on that hell hole. That planet changed me, seeped into the very core of my being. I thought i escaped, and now i am going back. Talek gets up from his terminal and trudges back to his quarters after rifling through B-Bops stash for a bottle of alcohol.
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There is no response to Rags message for several minutes before a message is received.
"Message received, Agent Ragabash. Permission granted, you are to attach to this Starfinder team and continue to track down this cult, and the weapon they are looking for. Leave your shuttle on the asteroid, we have a destroyer near the diaspora inbound to retrieve it, ETA 8 hours.
"You are hereby given a brevet promotion to Inspector, and temporarily transferred to the command of Deputy Director Tlaxhosh in Ops. We are sending contact information and ciphers to you now. Report any pertinent findings to him.
"Take care on Eox, Inspector Ragabash. We do not want an international incident interfering with our pursuit of these criminals."
The message ends.
Rags collects his personal belonging from the Steward vessel and reports to Sunny.
My superiors have granted me permission to join with your crew. Permission to board?
Of course, why are you even asking. Come on!
After helping Rags with his stuff to board the Sunny and looking at the rest of the crew.
So are we going to stop by Absalom Station or head straight to Eox?