Dot in here.
Venture-Captain Arvin stands before a hologram of a planet that appears to have been ravaged by some disaster; there is very little water and no obvious greenery. “Greetings, Starfinders,” he says, without turning. “You are looking at Elytrio, a newly charted planet in the Vast. While you might dismiss it as a lifeless rock at first glance, it still has mysteries to plumb. The starship that discovered it was attacked by some kind of orbital defense system when it got too close; the vessel didn’t have the firepower to respond, so the crew made a prudent retreat. But we Starfinders don’t let these sorts of things go.” He pauses before continuing. “I’d like you to take a starship, travel to Elytrio, and discover all you can about it. If you find any inhabitants on the planet, do everything in your power to make peaceful contact with them. If the place is deserted, try to locate information about who might have built those defenses. Once you’ve got something interesting, report back to me here at the Lorespire Complex. Any questions?”
As you speak, a floating drone with a holoscreen projector hovers into the room. The drone projects an image of a confused looking ysoki child, whose head is quickly pushed out of the screen by an older ysoki woman. “Fitch from the Wayfinders here. Sorry about Kirkath popping on the screen; kids always like the holoprojectors. Anyways, I hear you’ve been assigned to explore Elytrio. First contact is important. Need to make a good impression. Wayfinders specialize in this sort of thing, so I wanted to offer some help! The drone has a translation module strapped on its back. It’s not as reliable as some magical solutions you might have, but if you’re in a pinch for communicating, it might help!” Upon closer examination, you see the drone functions as a tetrad certified translator.
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As V-C Arvin speaks a big female Vesk wearing the functional gear of a Dockworker and mechanic listens intently before posing a tactical based question;
'Venture-Kaptain a qvestion if I may. The ship that retreated. Did they report anything on the nature of the orbital defence system? Mounted Veapons? Manned or automated? It vud assist our ordinance preparation."
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A tall, lanky Lashunta moves across the room to look at the planetary hologram. After VC Arvin answeres Kultha's question he adds his own, "Well isn't that a charming piece of rock. No plant life, little water. Any other planetary anomalies we're aware of? Gravity, atmosphere, other 'need to live' type statistics?" He grins playfully waiting for the Venture-Captain to respond.
After recieving his answer, the Lashunta turns to the group, "Soryn Viaxeiro at your service. Lover of life and adventure. A pleasure to make your acquaintances." He concludes with a short bow.
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A tall, lanky Lashunta moves across the room to look at the planetary hologram. After VC Arvin answers Kultha's question he adds his own, "Well isn't that a charming piece of rock. No plant life, little water. Any other planetary anomalies we're aware of? Gravity, atmosphere, other 'need to live' type statistics?" He grins playfully waiting for the Venture-Captain to respond.
After receiving his answer, the Lashunta turns to the group, "Soryn Viaxeiro at your service. Lover of life and adventure. A pleasure to make your acquaintances." He concludes with a short bow.
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Seated towards the rear of the briefing room, a female Android leans back and absorbs the presentation. She is adorned in a leather jacket over a Digital Junkies band t-shirt and tight fitting graphite skin armour, revealing tight knit muscles on her small frame. With glowing blue circuits visible in her skin painstakingly modified into elaborate designs like tattoos across her face, and topped with a neon-green mohawk swept lazily off to one side, she has a lot going on visually.
She watches the briefing intensly, and smiles at the mention of a taking a ship into the vast. When the questions from the rest die down, she raises her hand. "What kind of ship?"
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Kultha eyes swivel to take in the rest of the group, before nodding in acknowledgement of Soryn's introduction;
"Pleased to make your aqvaintance Soryn Viaxeiro. I am Kulthalovosh. Dock vorker and Mekanik. My friends know me Kultha."
You cannot help but notice that the big vesk's tail is missing its final third.
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Kat smiles at her new crewmates introductions. "Nice to meet you, Soryn and Kultha. I am Kat. Looking forward to working with you."
She gives a knowing nod to Mega Gelub, and holds her fist out for a fist bump. "Hey BigGuy. Been keepin' busy? How do you like my new voice? Got tired of the monotone android thing and spent a few creds on a new vocal modulator. Did it myself, so still working out the kinks and how I want to sound. Felt like to many people weren't picking up on my sarcasm subroutines before."
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A restless shirren nods along excitedly as Venture-Captain Arvin briefs the team, and waves frantically to Kirkath as Fitch's kid puzzles over the holoprojector. "Thanks for the translator, Boss-Fitch! I'm excited to work with you, Mechanic-Kultha, Lover-Soryn, Vocalist-Kat and Big-Guy-Mega! I'm Healer-Izzip, and as a member of the Wayfinder team I 110% agree with Boss-Fitch that this is a once-in-a-civilization opportunity to make the right first impression Elytrio's natives. It looks like there might not be all that many representatives of Elytrio's natives remaining to impress, but that makes it all the more important that we do our best with those we do meet, since it will impact an even larger fraction of the population's opinion of us! This translator will be a huge help, but if it fails I'm sure a touch of Sarenrae's grace will help everyone get along!"
Izzip turns to the hologram of the desolate planet. "That being said, a whole planet is an awfully large area to cover in search of locals. Venture-Captain-Arvin, did preliminary reports indicate any areas where we're more likely to encounter living souls? Also, do we know of any way to bypass the outer defenses without violence? If I want to make a good first impression - which I do - I generally don't like to start by wrecking the other party's stuff."
'Venture-Kaptain a qvestion if I may. The ship that retreated. Did they report anything on the nature of the orbital defence system? Mounted Veapons? Manned or automated? It vud assist our ordinance preparation."
"The last group mentioned armed orbital drones, almost certainly automated. They began approaching following a pre-recorded message of some kind."
"Well isn't that a charming piece of rock. No plant life, little water. Any other planetary anomalies we're aware of? Gravity, atmosphere, other 'need to live' type statistics?"
"There's not much I can conclusively say about that, I’m afraid. Initial scans were too brief to get too many details. The other Starfinders did report trace amounts of radiation in the atmosphere, so there is a distinct possibility the planet’s current appearance is not entirely natural. I haven't seen anything that indicates standard environmental protections would be insufficient.”
"That being said, a whole planet is an awfully large area to cover in search of locals. Venture-Captain-Arvin, did preliminary reports indicate any areas where we're more likely to encounter living souls? Also, do we know of any way to bypass the outer defenses without violence? If I want to make a good first impression - which I do - I generally don't like to start by wrecking the other party's stuff."
"The last group escaped early when they came under fire, so they didn't get the chance to perform exhaustive scans of the planet. Once you disarm the defenses, you'll be able to get a better lay of the land than they did. I would start with any signs of civilization: a city, or even the ruins of one. If the planet is completely deserted, search for some king of interesting flora, fauna, or mineral deposit. Those defenses have to have been put there for a reason."
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Kultha nods in appreciation of the Venture Captain's candid answer, then flashes a toothy smile at Izzip's enthusiastic introductions.
"Vell met Friend-Healer Izzip."
She turns to the others, mulling over the initial obstacle presented to their mission;
"So ve must neutralise defences before konducting survey yes? I had hoped ve could channel power to drive couplings and run automated blockade... Regardless I kan keep our vessel in fight and ov sound integrity. Key vil be strategy I think."
The vesk-tek ponders further, keying in on a couple of points raised in answers to Soryn and Izzip's questions;
"Radiation? Should ve konsider increased protektion?"
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"Interesting..." Izzip muses as their entennae twitch excitedly. "Do we know anything about the pre-recorded message of the orbital drones? Maybe it will give us a clue about how they work and what their creators wished to convey to visitors! Besides intent to shoot down their starships, that is..."
The shirren turns back to the Venture-Captain. "While I'd much rather bring back the well-wishes of a new ally, if we don't find any friendly occupants on Elytrio, what should we prioritize when we survey the area and collect samples for analysis?"
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"Interesting..." Izzip muses as their entennae twitch excitedly. "Do we know anything about the pre-recorded message of the orbital drones? Maybe it will give us a clue about how they work and what their creators wished to convey to visitors! Besides intent to shoot down their starships, that is..."
"If the ship recorded the message in its logs, a chance to study it would be nice. We may not have the time, or substance to the message, when we encounter the orbital defences for the translator to work with it before the shooting starts.
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Soryn begins walking to the door as VC Arvin answers the last round of questions. "A little radiation isn't so bad, gives you a health glow," he says with a grin. "If there's any additional information from the ship that made initial contact, can you share it? Maybe we can translate it while we're in the Drift."[/b]
As he passes by he gives Mega a friendly clap on the back, "I'm with you big guy. Desna favors the bold. Let's mount up and ride." He beings whistling an old tune as he heads to the docks.
"Again, the last team didn't stick around long enough to learn details; once they were shot at, they fled. Finding these details falls to you, piloting a more well armed vessel. Bring back whatever information about the planet and its inhabitants that you find pertinent; I trust your judgment." Arvin turns to go. "Make whatever purchases you need, your ship will be waiting for you in the departure docks."
***
Your journey through the Drift is mostly uneventful, taking days. At one point you cross paths with am ysoki salvage barge called the Clutter Collector. Its captain, a brown ysoki named Winks, shares some pleasantries with you, likely out of boredom throughout the lengthy space travel.
Eventually you drop out of the Drift, and the reddish surface of Elytrio grows in the distance. You comm units suddenly squawk to life, filled with a crackling robotic voice in an alien language.
Simultaneously, a hemispheric vessel comes into view from behind one of the planet’s moons. It approaches your starship, and while it has no visible weapons, it does emit a ring of red light from the edges of its flat bottom hull.
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Kat collects her rifle and helmet, and follows Soryn and Mega Gelub towards the docks. She doesn't make any additional purchases on route.
She spends her time in the drift trying to get to know the crew a little. She is friendly to the others when approached, but also spends quite a bit of time alone, compulsively working out where ever she can find a place to knock out some chin ups. Otherwise she'll just familiarise herself with the science station and the ship's computer.
On arrival to the system, Kat will begin making scans of the area from her position on the bridge.
She addresses Izzip. "Scanning the orbital, nothing new to report from our briefing. It's still broadcasting some kind of warning, and appears to be unoccupied"
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Like Kat, Kultha collects her own gear and kit before making her way to the docks.
She emits a contented hiss as the big Vesk inspects their Pegasus with reverent care, before assisting with any loading and ordnance checks.
Once onboard she familiarises herself with the Engineering station and workings of the ship's systems. Gregarious for a Vesk, Kultha also takes time to garner the background of her fellow crewmembers, whilst enlightening them on her own strange path to the Society
When the ship is hailed upon arrival in the system, she becomes all business, quickly taking her station, before reading into the telemetry that Kat's scan garnered...
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"Koncured Kat5e. Station is automaton... Vhat are your orders Kaptain?"
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Soryn takes sometime to get used to the ships controls and fiddle with them, making himself comfortable in the pilot seat. As the ship drops out of the Drift and the alien ship comes into view...
"Agreed, it's automated and clearly annoyed we're here... I think we found our defense system."
Watching the vessel approach, "Hey, before we engage I want to try something. See if we can keep that thing in sight, figure out where it waits for ships." Soryn pulls the Pegasus away, as if heading the warning.
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”Get ready to fire, but bring the ship to a halt first. Before we go in can we try to get the translator from Boss-Fitch to pick up on the recorded warning? Also can we get a read on their armaments from our sensors?” Izzip tilts their head quizzically while trying to make out words from the robotic voice’s message.
The automated warning shuts off, and warning lights come on instead. Multiple ports on the hemisphere's flat surface begin opening up.
The platform's red field lights up, propelling the device backwards away from your ship.
Engineering
Helm (enemy has moved)
Gunnery
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Kat attempts to scan the orbital for any additional information.
Science Officer - Scan
The DC for this check is equal to 5 + 1½ x the tier of the starship being scanned + its bonus from defensive countermeasures (see page 298). If you succeed at this check, you learn the first unknown piece of information on the following list. For every 5 by which you exceed the check, you learn another unknown piece of information. Subsequent checks reveal new pieces of information, continuing down this list.
Basic Information: Living crew complement and ship classification, size, speed, and maneuverability.
Defenses: AC, TL, total and current Hull Points, total and current Shield Points in each quadrant, and core PCU value.
Weapon: Information about one weapon, including its firing arc and the damage it deals, starting with the weapon that uses the most PCU. Repeat this entry until all the starship’s weapons are revealed.
Load: Information about how the starship’s expansion bays are allocated and any cargo the starship might be carrying.
Other: Any remaining ship statistics.
The android completes a deep scan of the platform, uncovering swaths of data.
Medium starship drone platform
Speed 6; Maneuverability average (turn 2)
AC 14; TL 13
HP 70; DT —; CT 14
Shields basic 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)
Attack (Any) drone launch
Power Core Pulse Gray (100 PCU); Drift Engine none; Systems basic computer, basic medium-range sensors, mk 2 defenses, mk 3 armor; Expansion Bays drone bays
Modifiers Computers +2, Piloting +1; Complement automated
Automated (Ex) An orbital drone platform has no crew, though it has an on-board computer that can perform most crew actions. The on-board computer can perform engineer, pilot, and science officer actions as if it has a crew of three.
Drone Launch (Ex) During the gunnery phase, an orbital drone platform can launch one orbital drones (see below), which appear in any adjacent hex at the start of the next round. The platform cannot control more than four orbital drones at a time. It ceases launching drones when four are active.
Meanwhile, Mega fires a powered shot from the turret, shredding the platform's forward shields. The platform then opens a port and releases a tiny spherical drone with four steering arms into the near space.
Ship (F/S/P/A/HP)
Platform (0/10/10/10/70)
(success)
(+5 SP)
The platform banks around to its starboard side, spiraling into a defensive maneuver.
Engineering
Helm
Gunnery
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Soryn begins swinging the ship around, "That mining laser will be in range shortly, gunners get ready. I'll try to keep the platform in our forward arc and keep its weak shields open. Let's deal with the momma platform first, then the baby probes?"
As Soryn brings the platform into firing range, he jukes the ship gracefully making it as hard a target as possible.
0/10/10/10/63, drone launcher glitching 1/2
Mega's shot misses its mark, but Kat5e lands a targeted attack directly inside the opening drone launcher, sending a ripple of sparks through the whole platform. The drone approaches and fires a laser cannon, but Soryn's evasive flying helps you avoid the attack. A second drone launches from the open platform, but the next bay door appears stuck from the critical damage.
Platform (?/10/10/10/?)
Engineering
Helm (enemies already moved)
Gunnery
(Captain post with desired support at any time)
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"Well, this just won't do... I'll try to keep those drones off of us, but they're quick! I haven't had this much fun since I borrowed a freighter to show a pit-boss's daughter... Uh, in a long time." Soryn gives a playful laugh as he twists the ship through the drones and rolls to avoid their lasers.
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As Kat's modulated shout echoes over the Comms, Kultha
"Great shot and var cry Friend-Kat! More of the same is in order I zhink!"
Once again the Vesk Engineer works to maintaining power channel optimisation to the vessel's armaments;
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"Again our veapons remain maximised. Make scrap ov zhem!"