A set of white furniture stands around the door to a briefing room in the middle levels of the Lorespire Complex. A red light shines over the automated door, along with a strand of scrolling red digital text: Please wait here for briefing. Enter when the light turns green.
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Dotting.
A vesk in heavy red and gold armor walks in. He has a mote of yellow light hovering just over his right shoulder. Armed with a tac lash, and laser pistol at his sides. Also hanging from his belt looks to be a case holding and old fashioned book. There is a label in common on the case titled The Light and How to Swing It.
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Sitting in an armchair clearly suited for a larger creature is a halfling covered from nose to toe in cloth. His unnaturally white hair hangs unkempt. To the side of the chair he sits in is a decent-sized dark metal case, which leans against the chair, and what looks like a survivalist's backpack.
When Kigvan enters, the halfling merely gives the vesk a nod and continues sitting still in the chair that makes him look like a child.
“You’ve arrived just in time for the briefing. Please, join us,” Luwazi says, indicating the unoccupied chairs across from her. “I’m pleased you could make it on such short notice. With agents and resources diverted to other endeavors, I feared it would be difficult to get a team together. Still, it worked out that you were my first choices for this mission.”
Luwazi gestures first to the vesk on her right. “This is Captain Yuluzak, of the Veskarium salvage vessel Honorbound.” She turns to indicate the android sitting to her left and continues, “I’m sure you remember Iteration-177. They’ve been indispensable to the Society, especially in helping with our return to the Scoured Stars. It’s time for us to return the favor.”
Luwazi taps the screen of her datapad, and a hologram of a demolished ship appears suspended above the center of the table. “Let’s get you up to speed. Recently, Captain Yuluzak stumbled upon some unusual flotsam in the Drift. Captain?”
“The unidentified vessel was completely destroyed,” Yuluzak begins, taking his lead from Luwazi. “But my crew found a strange object within the wreckage.” The holographic image at the center of the table morphs into an egg-shaped obsidian sculpture ringed by interlinked disks of various metals. “My contact, a local pawn broker named Julzakama, said it was a piece of alien art. He assured us his buyers would pay top dollar for the piece. We logged the location of the wreckage, sold what we could, and called it a day. But it wasn’t that simple. I think Iteration-177 can explain this part better.” Yuluzak waves a claw toward the android.
“Thank you, Yuluzak,” Iteration-177 begins. “When Julzakama reached out to me, I instantly recognized this piece of artwork as unique to the Kreiholm Freehold, a federation of several races that once occupied several worlds in the Scoured Stars system. There are no extant records of the freehold since their mass exodus from that system centuries ago. Discovering evidence of the Kreiholm Freehold is certainly cause for excitement, but the fact that Yuluzak found the piece on a destroyed vessel concerns me. Sadly, I can’t see to this urgent matter myself, so I contacted my friend Luwazi, and here we are.” Iteration-177 folds their hands on the table in front of them and smiles.
Luwazi nods. “Here we are, indeed. If Iteration-177 is correct, the Kreiholm Freehold could provide us with valuable information about the Scoured Stars, and perhaps the jinsuls. Of course, as Starfinders we always jump at the chance to explore a new system. You’ll leave Absalom Station as passengers on the Honorbound with Captain Yuluzak. He’ll retrace his steps back to the Drift wreckage and confirm the ship’s origins, then transport you to that system to investigate.” As Luwazi speaks, the holographic projection cycles through an image of a three-dimensional star chart. “We may be dealing with an unknown alien civilization, so please be diplomatic."
“To recap: travel to this system, establish contact with their leaders, and find out what intelligence they have to share about the Scoured Stars or jinsuls. Any questions, Starfinders?”
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A swaggering Katasha strides in to the room. "Blessing of the Drinkless God fall on all. I am Dart Handman. Righter of wrongs and vanquisher of evil." At his hips is a holstered pistol and dueling blade.
"I fight with the true weapon Kadin Kalyn to bring justice to the unjust!" A mug of golden and red light forms around one his fists.
He notices Iteration-177. "Ah, by the gracious pure water! It is good to see you again. And I see we will not have a feast this time, but I am always at your pleasure to server your quest for knowledge"
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After Moment Dart recognizes the Vesk Captain. "Captain Yuluzak, it is once again an honor to meet you again. Hopefully now on the same side of the battle lines. However, if you wish, I would be happy to fight again for the sport and honor, after the task at hand is delt with"
Turning to the rest of the assembly. "Do we know if the Freehold is open to contact? Are there other threats in the area that we should prepare for?"
"Do we know if the Freehold is open to contact? Are there other threats in the area that we should prepare for?"
Iteration-177 and Luwazi exchange a look. “We're not fully sure,” Iteration-177 explains. “I found no records of contact—military or otherwise—in several centuries of data. Their current location is unknown but is likely an uncharted system somewhere in the Vast. The freehold has no known allies or trade partners.”
Yuluzak lets out a hearty chuckle and interjects, “I think what they’re trying to say is, be ready for anything.”
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Raatchet enthusiastically shakes everyone's hands if they're willing and says, "Pleased to meet you all! By day, my name is Raatchet, TPS report specialist. And by night, my name is Raatchet (it's the same), tinkerer extraordinaire! I'll be running tech support on this amazing opportunity to... ummm... well.... make first contact with an entire civilization that we don't know the exact location of and who's existence we know of only from some debris deep in the drift and an egg-shaped sculpture being hocked by a somewhat lowlife pawn broker? Really? This is all we have to go on? Wait I'm getting paid right? Okay I'm in!!!
"I mean, we'll probably hop on the ship, go out there, scan some debris, find out that, yup, it's debris! Then find nothing that can give us the location of an entire almost unheard of civilization, travel back here to Abaslom and then get paid for time spent, amirite??
"And good to seeya again Yuluzak, especially since it was me and my crew that kicked your ass last time. HA!! Let's talk about that little encounter over drinks on your ship on our travels through the drift, yah? We can talk about how exactly we whupped you then talk about it again... and again... and again. HA!" Raatchet teasingly winks. "And for being a good sport about it, first round of drinks on me, agreed??"
"So I've got a question. Any idea what language these freeholder folks speak? They speak common maybe? If not, anyone here have magical means of communicating? Or maybe we should buy some magical means or technological means of communicating?"
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Weird, How does he knows about the kreiholm? Does he reads Antoine's paper or something?
"Mr. Itiration! I am Layla Isabella Béatrice Radermaker Eight or LIBRE, in short." she says in a platitude and almost robotic Tone.
"How Do you know all of those things?"
Flûte, i forgot my social Chip this morning!
"So I've got a question. Any idea what language these freeholder folks speak? They speak common maybe? If not, anyone here have magical means of communicating? Or maybe we should buy some magical means or technological means of communicating?"
Luwazi replies. "We're not entirely certain, so any methods of bridging a potential language gap would be helpful. Sadly, our first contact protocols is an area we’ve overlooked in our exuberance to interact with other cultures. We’re not a military or government organization, after all. We don’t have any official rules, but in general, my personal policy is to treat each alien species as a group of potential allies. They had a saying on ancient Golarion: explore, report... and get along. I think that applies here."
"How Do you know all of those things?"
The android’s normally genuine smile turns cold. “I’ve been reading up on the Scoured Stars in light of the Society’s recent activities and came across it in a footnote. It’s a long shot, but the two may in fact be related.”
Meanwhile, Captain Yuluzak's face spreads into a toothy grin upon seeing Dart, Kigvan, and Raatchet. “It is good to see the Starfinder Society is stocked with honorable fighters again! Sadly I don't expect we'll be on a battlefield, per se. My contract specifies transport and protective services in space, but if enemy ships do threaten us, I have your back. Planetside, I’ll keep the engines running for you. But you have full use of my ship’s amenities for the journey. Treat my crew with respect, and they’ll do the same. On the Honorbound, we are family. I'm sure you scoundrels will fit right in!” He gives his old sparring partners a wink.
Kigvan knows that Yuluzak is the captain of the Veskarium salvage vessel Honorbound, and he is known for his exemplary degree of professionalism, loyalty, and persistence. Yuluzak observes ancient Veskarium codes of battle with unshakeable resolve, including the custom of the honor duel. A few months back, Yuluzak challenged a group of Starfinders (including several of you) to such a duel. The results greatly shaped his impression of the Society. Yuluzak respects strength, but does not believe might makes right. Above all else, he values honor and loyalty. The Veskarium, family, and his allies are of the utmost importance to him, and he sees those who would betray such bonds as beneath vermin.
***
The journey through the Drift takes days. During this long jaunt, you have the opportunity to interact with the four members of the Honorbound crew.
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Raatchet approaches Yuluzak and says...
"But honestly, you're looking at a participant in one of the greatest naval battles in recent memory! I was there at the battle of the Scoured Stars when the jinsul appeared! There we were, the starfinder fleet running rescue operations, when suddenly hundreds of hostile ships appear and pow pow boom boom!! Big capital ships open fire with massive guns. Smaller starfighters dotting the inky of blackness of space, laser beams shooting every which way! Pew pew pew!!!
"And as hard as we fought and as hard as we flew, we were outmatched and had to withdraw. Dozens of ships, including mine were tasked with a desperate gambit to fight a delaying action to allow the rest of the fleet enough time to jump away into the drift. Our lives were on the line but it was our mission to save many, many more."
"In the end, we succeeded, saving a great many of our fellow starfinders' lives!"
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Bumping into Joyozalva, Raatchet wiggles his own tail, saying, "I wholeheartedly agree!! Never skip tail day!! May I join you?" Raatchet follows Joyozalva and Flip to the gym proceeds to work out, attempting to impress his two shipmates with the power and intensity of his athletic prowess!
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Meeting Shaakar, Raatchet declares, "Move over buddy!!! Time to give you a run for your money!! I kick ASS at this game! Show me what you've got!!!"
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Listening to Suwalnazka, Raatchet says, "Oh hells no! I ain't here to preach and I don't judge!! I don't claim any god to be evil. Tell ya what, share some of that gol and you can tell me ALL about why Damoritosh isn't evil!"
A couple hours later....
Raatchet, wobbling back and forth on his feet, speaking to Suwalnazka, says, "Oysh! Yesh! I see whatscha means!! I agree-sh. Damoritosh is bright an shiny-sh for suresh!!! Yesh yesh, I see it now. Damoritosh fartsh unicornsh and rainbowsh!!! So...so...pretty...."
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Dart happily regales Yuluzak of his exploits:
Although many combats with the Jinsuls, there is one story that reminds me of our first meeting. You may be aware that the vessel we fought over had itself been taken over by undead. And yet on another planet there we found another ship of damned souls. I has wished I kept one of the force batons from that trip since there was another ghost, but Kaydin Kalin did provide his holy tankard enough might for me to vanquish yet another ghost.
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Dart sees Joyozalva and joins happily in her routines. "My additional appendages are up on the torso but I think I can keep up"
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Meeting with the skittermander, Dart smiles at the preacher. "It seems we serve those on different sides. I have no care for your drink, since it is drink that makes us forget our calling to right injustices and fight the good fight! War without right is wrong, but war with cause is right, maybe we can find some common grounds between our faiths
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Libre meeting with Yulusak is weird. She doesn't react to the big and responds the question like she is a text Reader.
"Our Duel was mémorable. I do not had the same type of fight since then. I have pilot ships against an space shark and an old Azlanti relic.
"Of course", she responds to the tall vesk without asking question.
She stumbles a lot of Time.
"I love to play video game."She Says in a non emotionnal Tone.
When playing Libre gives herself an handicap to be able to fight like equal.
Libre actually takes the bottle and drinks without a thought. Her body glows like she was a sun that have transformed into an android.
"I am becoming a goddess. I know what Gods. They Do not have an actual Will. Therefore, they cannot be evil or good because they cannot have free Will. Once you are a God, you Will forget that your husband cooked you pancakes in your nowork Days."
She takes an another swig of the bottle.
Yuluzak eagerly gobbles up the tales of the Starfinders' exploits, asking for greater and greater details and imagery. By the end of the storytelling, he's so tickled by your heroics that he gifts your party a black force field armor upgrade he recently salvaged!
Raatchet and Libre get absolutely demolished by Joyozalva's workout: they crawl, wheezing and quivering, leaving a trail of sweat reminiscent of a snail's, from the gym to their sleeping quarters, from which they don't move for two days and only periodically groan from soreness. Dart, on the other hand, masterfully keeps pace with the vesk, building up a healthy sweat but still limber and mobile the following day. Joyozalva beams at the kasatha. "Didn't think any of you explorer types had it in you. Color me impressed!" She goes to her gunner's station and retrieves a yellow star plasma rifle from a rack on the wall. "Clearly I can leave this in good hands. Just make sure it gets back to me in one piece."
Raatchet embarasses himself, clearly more accustomed to PC games than console games, but Libre holds her own and actually triumphs over the pahtra in a couple of matches. As a prize, Shaakar cooks a masterful meal of Libre's choice for the entire crew .
Meanwhile, Raatchet, Dart, and Libre stagger out of the skittermander's chambers in a drunken stupor, the cogent theological conversation inevitably succumbing to crippling inebriation. The following day the three Starfinders are each massively hungover, but Suwalnazka is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, already starting her next round of shots. "Those were some mighty interesting ideas you posited, nufriends. I look forward to hearing more about your perspectives on divine intervention in the age of advanced technology. In the meantime, it looks like you could use some of these." She hands Raatchet, Dart, and Libre each a spell ampoule of mystic cure (3rd level), then happily trots away from the stupefied Starfinders.
***
Following its long journey through the Drift, the Honorbound approaches the scattered wreckage of a ship of unidentified origins. Yuluzak confirms that this is the ship he and his crew recently salvaged, though the main hull was left behind, and only major pieces of technological relevance were secured. It takes a full day (reduced to 6 hours if you assist) for the crew to penetrate the wreckage field and extract coordinates from the ship’s damaged computer—an impossible task had Iteration-177 not provided Yuluzak with decryption codes.
The recovered files reveal that Ardent Seeker was a military scouting vessel returning from a routine patrol of the nearby region. The ship’s destination coordinates point to a nearby star system: your next destination. During the work, you also have the option to survey the starship wreckage for clues. It takes 3 days of analysis and cross-referencing documents to glean any information .
***
Another three days pass in the Drift. Eventually the Honorbound exits the swirl of colors and half-formed images and emerges into open space above a blue-green planet. Numerous ships with designs completely unknown in the Pact Worlds form a protective grid around the world below. Around them, hundreds of sleek fighters wheel in tight formations. Three massive rhomboid battleships position their guns to lock on to their targets while smaller black-and-purple ships with triangular frames dart among them, firing mercilessly at their foes!
It’s initially difficult to tell which side has the upper hand, or even how many sides exist, in the chaotic battle. A Drift portal opens near Honorbound’s starboard side, and dozens more of the dark, triangular ships pour through, ignoring Honorbound in favor of other targets closer to the surface. These ships appear to be outnumbered but not outgunned as a flash of light signals a crippling explosion in the side of one of the battleships.
Captain Yuluzak’s attempts to hail nearby combatants meet with radio silence until a loud burst of static signals an incoming transmission. On the bridge, Captain Yuluzak flips a switch and a frantic message filters through the ship’s intercom. The brief message repeats twice in an unfamiliar language, before playing a third time in perfect Vesk: “Hospital bombed. Ground troops overwhelming our position. Request for immediate aid!”
“Starfinders!” Yuluzak barks, addressing his passengers. “I don’t know what this battle is about, but you want to meet this system’s inhabitants, yes? Someone down there speaks our language, and they need help. If the Veskarium has allies here, it’s our duty to intervene. Honor demands it.”
Shaakar locks onto the coordinates of the distress message's location: a hospital on the outskirts of a large city that appears to have endured a recent bombing. Captain Yuluzak directs his ship to safely land west of the ruined hospital, roughly a 5-minute walk away. He requests the PCs head out to investigate while his crew keeps the ship ready in case the jinsuls get any ideas and attack the ship.
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Drei appears on the bridge when the ship arrives at the wreckage. A large (compared to Drei) sniper rifle is secured on his back and his environmental protections are up. A robotic voice speaks as he types onto his personal comm unit.
"I am available for precision reconnaissance and acquisition."
As the crew is recovering what they can from the wreckage a message comes from Drei, "The combination of impact damage and small lacerations from automated drones clearly indicate this starship fell victim to a jinsul assault craft."
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Yet again, during the next three days, Drei remains aloof unless contacted.
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When the ships alerts go off after the scene of the space battle is seen, Drei once again appears on the bridge in short time.
"The triangular purple ships are jinsul assault crafts."
Drei quickly moves toward the exit as the ship is landing. "I have spotted Jinsul ground patrols have surrounded the building, but there are two strategic locations where we can enter without being attacked: the western exterior door, or the ruined southern wing."
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When the crew searches through the space wreckage and manages to find the coordinates, Raatchet exclaims, "Huh?!? Wait wut?!?! We actually FOUND some coordinates?!?!? What are the chances?? Man!! And I thought I was in for an easy pay day. Well, alrighty then. Time to do some real work, I suppose!!"
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"The hospital is surrounded! There's no way we can fight through all of them. But look! I see two alternative ways in that can get past all those jinsul! Either through the western door or the southern wing. My vote is for the southern wing. What do you guys think?"
This area bears little resemblance to the functional hospital ward that stood here only an hour ago. Fires smolder throughout the heaps of twisted metal and chunks of building material. Tangled wires spark and writhe like snakes amid the rubble. The acrid smell of burning plastic fills the air as plumes of inky black smoke curl up toward the exposed sky.
The three Starfinders with jetpacks or natural flight easily fly over the debris, although Kigvan lands on an unstable platform and some rocks fall onto his armor. Libre gets snagged on some of the rebar as he clambers through the rubble. Luckily, no one steps on a live wire en route.
Once at the building, Raatchet directs a quick way to move the debris and access the building beneath. Dart does most of the heavy lifting and opens a pathway to an office through the collapsed ceiling.
The orderly office workstation that occupies the northern half of this room stands in stark contrast to the wreckage to the south, where the partially collapsed ceiling crumbles to meet a mountain of smoking debris outside. A double door stands on one end of the room, a single door on the other.
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Seeing Drei make all manner of strange, odd, unfathomable movements, Raatchet decides to contribute by silently chipping in with movements of his own!
And when he's done, he balls his fist.... but nothing happens. However, when he sees everyone else drawing their weapons, he shrugs and draws his laser rifle as well.
Kigvan opens the door into a largely undamaged main hallway into the hospital. Some of the furnishings have been cast into disarray, either by the residual bombing or the trio of jinsuls rooting through the place. Their eyes zero in on you as you enter, and they scream a battle cry!
Libre
Kigvan
Drei
Raatchet
Jinsuls
Dart
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kKigvan will enter Photon mode as combat starts.
As a Standard Action he will activate his corona revelation.
Granting him Cold Resist 10, adjacent creatures that hit me with a natural weapon or a melee weapon take 2d6 fire damage. Creatures that start their turn adjacent to me take 3 fire damage.
Then he will move into the middle of the group. Forming his solar hammer, as he moves. This will provoke from the one in the front if it is capable of making attacks of opportunity.
-8 DR
-5 resistance
The lead jinsul appears distressingly mobile and resistant to fire, shrugging off both Kigvan's nimbus of fire and the burst of flame that emerges from the vesk as he gets slashed by an opportunistic leg blade attack. Some of Raatchet's laser blast injures the jinsul, but Libre's sword cane pings off its armor. With a shriek, it bursts into flames, skittering around Libre to create a wall of fire as it nimbly dodges Libre's and Kigvan's efforts to lock it down. As it moves, it conjures a third leg blade from a plume of fire and thrusts it into Kigvan's shoulder.
Meanwhile, the other two jinsuls reposition themselves and hurl grenades into your midsts, creating a deafening peal of sound. Most of you shake it off, but Drei shakes his head a few times, deafened by the noise.
Dart (-3 SP)
Libre (-10 SP)
Kigvan (-46 SP)
Drei (-6 SP, deafened 1 minute)
Raatchet (-3 SP)
Red jinsul (-10 HP)
Blue jinsul (-33 HP)
Purple jinsul (-3 HP)