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Anticipating that the assorted humanoids might depart, Khwam drifts over to them. He uses the shy smile.
"Pardon me, I'm looking for a friend of mine. Not a friend really, at least not yet, we just met a few days ago, but I really liked her. Then she just disappeared. I haven't been able to find her anywhere. I remembered she told me that she spent time at Respite, and was hoping that someone could tell me where to find her..."
and maybe if a you want bluff roll for that little white lie and I can't just take 10
Anuzoreus inquires at the front desk and gets a wave of a hand towards the counseling room "Bygones-B should have just wrapped up a session. They may have a moment if you're quick."
Meanwhile, Khwam gets the attention of some of the patients that are leaving. A few give shrugs of commiseration, and a couple give smiles and murmur that Khwam must've gotten tricked, but one teal-shelled shirren stops to telepathically say "Mmm Hmmm, I noticed that we have fewer people coming to sessions. Who was it that you met? Maybe I know her, yes?"
----
Sully leads the way into the counseling room, Anu (and potentially the rest of the team), at his heels. Inside, you see a small room with chairs and side tables arranged in a circle. Cheerful salmon-toned paint on the walls and a large window looking out into a grassy courtyard give the room a relaxing look. A heavily scarred android picks up chairs and tidies up pieces of trash that have been left behind. They look up as you come in and speak in a soft voice.
"Ah, welcome? Are you here to receive counseling services? If not, I would appreciate if you could excuse me - I have to set up the room for our next session."
The scarred android takes a longer look at Sully and says "I am. Missing Starfinders? I do have a few individuals that used to come to my sessions that are missing from them. But that on its own is, to an extent, normal. People stop coming when they have recovered, or if their circumstances change." The android continues cleaning up as they speak. "By far the strangest to go missing is Hurondo. We are all concerned for his well-being."
---
Domak peeks his head into the workout area and sees a group of humanoids doing exercises. Off to one side, a dark-furred ysoki wrestles with a kasatha on a set of soft mats. Despite her much smaller size, she uses her speed and technique to keep the kasatha off balance. With a squeaky "IAI!" she manages to knock the kasatha to his knees and bind a pair of his arms behind his back. The kasatha taps out, looking pleased despite having been beaten.
The ysoki springs to her feet and helps pull the kasatha up, then steps over to check how the rest of the group's exercises are going. As she does, she notices Domak looking in from the doorway and calls out "Hullo! Here to join us?"
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Sully listens to the android keenly. "We're actually looking for Hurondo. Why the concern? Has he been behaving strangely? We also heard that a woman suddenly stopped showing up for treatment in your sessions. We'd love to follow up on her as well. Can you tell us anything about her?"
"Also, do the words 'You - night' mean anything to you?"
Bygones-B pauses, then adds "You are investigating on behalf of the society it seems. Unfortunately, none of us have seen Hurondo for a number of days. The last direct observation I had of him was putting up missing persons holo-posters right outside the Arches." The android gives off an aura of unhappiness, despite showing little on their face. "I know he was investigating why we have had fewer patients showing up these last few weeks. Doing house calls, asking around, that kind of thing. I joined him a couple of times, but..."
"One of my most challenging counseling patients went missing two days before Hurondo did. She was one of those that had twice-daily appointments and never missed even one. The two of us went to visit the address we had on file for her. There was no response at her dwelling, despite our persistence in contacting her both digitally and physically." They take a datapad out of their vest pocket and page through for a moment. "I have her address here if you would like to investigate yourselves."
The address corresponds to a densely packed housing section in the Spike district.
At the question about 'you-night' the android simply shrugs. "Nothing other than their conventional meaning."
----
The scarred, black furred ysoki peers up at Domak and just says "You found her! Let me towel myself off and I can answer what you've got." She rolls on a plush towel for a moment and then steps out of the exercise room. "This is probably about Hurondo, isn't it? Ziggy sent me a message to expect a team."
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"Yes. We're here." Domak proudly displays his insignia denoting his membership in the Exo-Guardians (or gives the secret sign or whatever) "This is a great place. It's good to know we have a place to go to talk about.... things. The work you and Hurondo are doing is the work of angels." Domak will try to get the attention of the others and have them come to talk to Jiwalla.
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"Agreed, thank you. If we find anything, we'll be sure to let you know."
Sully approaches Jiwalla. "Yes, we're the team investigating Hurondo's disappearance. Do you have any clues as to where he might have gone? We understand that he was looking for missing Starfinders, including a patient of Bygones-B. We'd love to follow up on her as well. Can you tell us anything about her? Also, do the words 'You - night' mean anything to you?"
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...
Meanwhile, Khwam gets the attention of some of the patients that are leaving. A few give shrugs of commiseration, and a couple give smiles and murmur that Khwam must've gotten tricked, but one teal-shelled shirren stops to telepathically say "Mmm Hmmm, I noticed that we have fewer people coming to sessions. Who was it that you met? Maybe I know her, yes?"...
"Her name is [insert name from your Happy Easter post] ."
After getting what information he can, Khwam hurries after the others.
As you say your goodbyes to Bygones-B, the android adds "If you feel the need for therapy of your own, I am here to guide you through that process. Even if you are currently on a mission, you may find it helpful." and returns to their work aligning chairs and preparing the counseling room.
Gulkyn does indeed reckon that Bygones-B isn't hiding anything from your team.
---
Back outside in the hallway, Khwam shares the name of the missing woman and the teal-shelled shirren quivers its antennae in the direction of the group emerging from the counseling room. "Mmmm, mmm. I remember the name. She was coming here, yes. Haven't seen her in a while. Maybe ask Jiwalla. She knows everyone. Good luck with your romancing, mmm?"
---
Just outside the workout room, Jiwalla scratches at one of her scars. "Well well, you folks are pretty well informed already. Great! You're right that Hurondo was looking for some of our patients that went missing. We've been trying to keep that quiet by the way. This is a place for healing, not for panic, after all."
"What he shared with me was that all the missing patients had been living down in the Spike, all around the same general neighborhood. Oh, I should explain. One of the things the Respite was able to get for our less fortunate patients recently were temporary housing and food vouchers. Just, y'know, for people to get back on their feet." She looks up at your group proudly. "Those housing blocks were all down in one region of the Spike. That's the region where our missing patients are all from too."
"Last I saw of Hurondo was him heading out at the end of the day saying he was going to check up in person at a few more addresses. I don't know the exact ones, but if you ask around the area, you might be able to learn more."
Jiwalla shakes her head sadly "None that we know of. Hurondo was baffled - and how he's gone too!" She cocks her head at the last of Sully's questions from earlier. "And I'm not sure what 'You night' might be."
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Sully nods soberly. "I suppose the next obvious course of action would be to investigate this area of the Spike. Thank you for your help, and for all you do to keep this place up and running. You are a true friend to our agents and organization."
Once out of earshot, however, Sully turns to his allies. "We should check Hurondo's office and the social room while we're here. Maybe we can find some other leads before we go poking around the Spike."
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Khwam slips into the room with Jiwalla and the team and listens quietly for a few moments before asking.
"I was talking to some of your clients outside. Apparently an Irisa* is missing also although no one seems sure of her last name. Do you have an idea of her full name and did she live in that neighborhood?"
"We should check Hurondo's office and the social room while we're here. Maybe we can find some other leads before we go poking around the Spike."
"Sounds good to me. I'll try the social room. I'm playing the part of Irisa's new friend. Maybe they'll open up to me in a way that they wouldn't to an official investigation."
At the mention of a specific missing person, Jiwalla frowns and says "Irisa? The name sounds awful familiar, but I might not have personally helped her. " She raises her wrist and taps at her comms device for a few moments. "Ah, yep. Irisa Eisvorne. One of our patients, certainly, and the address we have on file for her is in the lower sections of the Spike. Here-" She sends you the file with her address wirelessly.
As you turn to start to leave, Jiwalla raises a paw. "Before you go, I would be rude to not offer you to take part in our services here. Even people who aren't struggling currently with their health can benefit from some physical exercise and mental reflection and guidance. Bygones-B could give you a taste for the second one - but I'd be happy to show you what we do here with the first. If you're interested, that is?"
She nods "I think you'll find a refreshed body and a clear mind might help you with the tough task ahead. Plus a little bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone, right?"
Jiwalla looks pleased as you suggest that you might be interested. She draws herself up. "Hah! Great! Now some of the folks that come here have injuries and need more gentle conditioning to get themselves back into fighting action. But you lot are pretty healthy, so let's try a little competition between any of us that want to test their fitness?"
She guides any interested parties through the workout room and into a small gym with equipment. She points out various pieces of equipment and explains how they make sure of relatively old-fashioned techniques to help the injured regain full strength and control over their bodies after traumatic injuries. "It was Hurondo's idea to keep away from too heavy a use of drugs or cybernetic assistive devices - even during treatment. It's worked out great for us, but a lot of the first set of patients were skeptical."
She stops in a clear corner of the room where three sets of equipment are in easy reach. On one side, racks of heavy weights and a bench press. On another, stationary rowing machines set to high resistance. And finally the start of a small indoor running track that starts in this room and loops into a hallway.
"Now, who wants to test themselves!"
---
You arrive back in the counseling room in time to join a group of recovering Starfinders for a session. Bygones-B gestures for all of you to take a seat and provides comfortable cushions and snacks for those who need them. They quickly begin to facilitate a discussion between the gathered Starfinders, at first getting them comfortable talking and then slowly helping them confront their most recent traumatic events.
Late in the session, they turn to Sully and anyone else who decided to join the counseling session. "You've all gone through difficult emotional and physical challenges in your time with the Starfinders. I think it might help the group to hear how you recovered and recalibrated. If you'd like to share one of your experiences?"
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Sully works up a sweat with Jiwalla's regiment, and his small twitches seem to grow less noticeable as he exercises.
Upon joining the therapy session, Sully is quiet for a moment, then speaks. "I was on First Seeker Jadnura's original mission to the Scoured Stars. We kept our cool at first when the shield went up, but eventually we realized that nothing we tried was working, and we were running out of fuel." He twitches slightly. "My team bounced from planet to planet, fighting tooth and nail with the local fauna for anything we could use to get out. Eventually that became anything we could use to keep our equipment working, then whatever we needed to feed ourselves. We wound up on a spooky little moon, where we were rounded up by demons spawned from the fell temple we used as a shelter. One of us was sacrificed every day while the rest of us starved and...watched from our pens." He blinks twice. "We were rescued from that hellhole, but I can still hear my teammates screams in my sleep sometimes. Those stars are cursed." He shakes himself out of the memory. "But talking about it, recognizing where the fault lies and finding new purpose in our return home, those helped me a lot. This Society is my family, and as long as I can keep helping them I feel like I can overcome those horrors. Sessions like these certainly help."
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Anuzoreus takes off his heavy armor before trying the physical tests. He wears nothing underneath but his body is a blue carapace so there's nothing really lewd about it.
Anuzoreus puts his armor back on and joins the therapy session. He stands off to the side as though he wasn't going to say anything. After Sully's story he feels the need to say something.
"I was also in the original Scoured Stars mission. Most people still don't recognize my species but for those who do that's an odd fact since my planet was only recently visited by the Starfinders...
This is something I've never told anyone. I was abducted as a child from my homeworld. I had it rough for a few years, basically a slave. Then the Starfinders rescued us so I joined up. No one knew what I was and I had forgotten. It was a big surprise making it out of the Scoured Stars and seeing another person who looked like me."
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The scarred ysoki instructor looks rather impressed. "Either of you two interested in coming and working for the Respite on a temp basis? We could use some people running the patients through their practice and the two of you would be a fine example."
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Domak agrees to participating in Jiwalla's 'mental health treatments'. He gives it his best and is in good spirits no matter how well he does.
Weightlifting
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Rowing
Rowing
Rowing
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Sprint
Sprint
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Domak attends the meeting, but when the time comes, he declines to share any of his own experiences. When it's over, he leaves feeling crestfallen.
The rest of the party has a tough time with the weights, from Khwam, who pulls a muscle by trying a weight too heavy for him, to Gulkyn, who is outlifted by the surprisingly buff ysoki.
Khwam also gets winded quickly with the rowing challenge, as does Gulkyn a little later. Domak on the other hand powers through and finishes the set, though significantly after Jiwalla, Anuzoreus and Sully.
The sprint proves rather competitive, and after Sully taking an early lead, Domak is the one who squeezes past him and seizes the victory.
Jiwalla looks very pleased by everyone's honest effort. She grins and says "Worked up a sweat, great! Now that that's done, how about we see what other help the Respite can get you for this investigation. You probably want to see Hurondo's office, right? I'll take you there."
---
The group of gathered Starfinders and ex-Starfinders nod sadly and knowingly at the stories from Sully and Anuzoreus. Most of the people here have been affected by the Scoured Stars, one way or another. Sully's positive attitude about overcoming loss and overcoming his own trauma seems to have a positive effect on the group, as does Anuzoreus' story of finding a home of sorts in the Starfinder Society.
Bygones-B wraps up the session and once the group has filed out turns with a smile to the three of you who sat in. "Thank you, always good to see new perspectives. And I hope it was helpful to talk for the three of you as well."
---
Jiwalla leads you into the back of the Respite and into Hurondo's office. The door is labeled with an old-fashioned brass nameplate which Jiwalla taps once with a nail before pushing the door open. Inside, the cramped office is rather messy. A holographic interface displays a newsfeed from the infosphere - something about new pharmaceutical developments. Several holographic projections on the walls display images commemorating Hurondo's service to the Starfinder Society. The largest shows a continuous loop of a ribbon cutting ceremony outside the Healing Arches attended by Jiwalla, Hurondo, Zigvigix, Luwazi Elsebo, and a small group of other high-ranking Starfinders.
Jiwalla looks up at the pictures on the walls and smiles. "Ah right. That wasn't that long ago. Hurondo was the one that convinced me all this would be worth doing. I don't think I would have ended up helping people like this without him."
The large open room to the back of the Respite's facility contains multiple types of vidgames, old fashioned card and board games and tables to play them at, and several extremely comfortable looking pieces of furniture. A coffee machine and a platter containing various finger foods commonly enjoyed by Pact Worlds races are also freely available.
A female korasha lashunta lying in a plush sofa in currently the only occupant. She lies back with her eyes closed, though as you enter the room, she (with her eyes still closed) says "Very sorry, Hurondo's open gaming sessions for this afternoon are canceled. We'll reschedule you for when he's available."
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Sully finds the stacked datapads and wracks his brain for knowledge about the patients documented on them.
Following the sports, counseling, and office search, Sully makes his way to the rec room. "Canceled? That's a pity, I thought I heard folks playing in here before. We're actually looking for Hurondo, do you know where he might have gone?"
Almost the whole party pick up datapads and start taking a look. You gather a couple of interesting things from a quick scan. First, Hurondo has annotated each of the patient files with a date - something you quickly realize must have been the day they last showed up at the Respite. Second, you see that the addresses of the missing patients are all in the same section of the Spike. Third, you find that the datapads contain extensive confidential information related to the type of trauma each creature was being treated for as well as their associated treatment plans.
You quickly put two-and-two together. Hurondo was trying to find a link between the missing people beyond just the location of their accommodations. It seems he thought that the nature of the trauma or treatment might link the missing individuals together.
Jiwalla gives a rough squeak. "I'll have to ask you to set those down. Those are confidential medical records, and I would be betraying the trust of my patients if I allowed you to look through them. Despite the investigation, we can't sacrifice their privacy." She looks up at you sternly. "You do understand, right?"
---
The lashunta keeps her eyes closed and rubs her temple with a free hand when Sully asks his question. "I wish I knew... You're the ones Jiwalla said were coming to investigate? I hope you find him soon. Trying to run the rec room without him has been a nightmare."
She peels her eyes open and looks at Sully. You see they're puffy and red. "That and, if he doesn't come back soon we'll have bigger problems than skipping a few game days. People are already getting nervous about the disappearances. And there's that group outside the Lorespire Complex trying to redirect our patients to another clinic. If everyone leaves, what'll happen to this place?"
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…
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The lashunta keeps her eyes closed and rubs her temple with a free hand when Sully asks his question. "I wish I knew... You're the ones Jiwalla said were coming to investigate? I hope you find him soon. Trying to run the rec room without him has been a nightmare."She peels her eyes open and looks at Sully. You see they're puffy and red. "That and, if he doesn't come back soon we'll have bigger problems than skipping a few game days. People are already getting nervous about the disappearances. And there's that group outside the Lorespire Complex trying to redirect our patients to another clinic. If everyone leaves, what'll happen to this place?"...
"Outside Lorespire? That's practically poaching. That's also the first we've heard of it. "
Khwam moves to half-sit on the sofa, half crouch beside it. He takes her hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure this will all work out. Were you especially close to Hurondo?"