As the malicious jinsuls continue their conquest of the Scoured Stars system after chasing out the Starfinder Society, the Society's leaders have banded together to learn more of their new rivals. Before attacking the Scoured Stars, the jinsuls had adopted a new homeworld out in the Vast. The PCs join an expedition to this largely abandoned and hazardous planet in hopes of uncovering the origins of the jinsul menace...
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A kasatha wearing a white suit with bell-bottom trousers, black shirt, and black heeled platform shoes struts rhythmically into the room.
"Hey y'all..." he says, greeting everyone with confident eye contact.
"My name is Fuunk and meeting you is my pleasure.
"I'm a dancer both professionally and for leisure.
"But when the society needs to bring the heat,
"I've got the tools to render our enemies dead meat!
"So when the laser fire starts rippin' every which way,
"Git behind me and down you stay.
"In between you and harm is where I'll be...
"And together we'll crack our enemies - jus like Humpty!"
"Ya dig??" He gives everyone a friendly, knowing wink.
Absalom Station looms large as it drifts past the windows of the Perfect Silence. The Millenia-class Idaran starship orbits the space-station, and as you sit in a minimalist but comfortable waiting room you have time to ponder what you’ve been called here for.
The past few months have had seen several major upheavals in the Starfinder Society. A recent rescue of fellow agents from their trapped position in the Scoured Stars trinary system brought about a sense of elation – one that was almost immediately complicated by the emergence of an alien but menacing new threat: the spider-like chitinous jinsul. The Society’s datasphere archives report a sharp uptick in encounters with the jinsul fleet and armies as their organization’ forces seem to be spreading to other systems. And while Starfinders continue to head into the Vast to explore new planets and document unknown species, more and more agents have found themselves reassigned to missions of a more urgent and militaristic nature.
Agents, you suspect, that now include yourselves. A cycle ago each of your received a priority message to report to the Perfect Silence, the personal flagship of the recently-recovered First Seeker Jadurna. Reporting aboard the vessel, you see that you’re not alone. Dozens of Starfinders seem to be boarding as well, and now you find yourself in this waiting room with several of them, waiting to be called in to learn what is going on.
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One of the gathered Starfinders is a shirren with some extra features. This shirren has a mechanical left arm and a pair of wings sprouting from their back.
{This shirren is known as Bugface. Bugface looks forward to working with Bugface's new friends,} Bugface communicates telepathically.
Despite the shirren reputation for peacefulness, Bugface is strapped for a fight. Hanging from a suit of ceremonial plate are a rifle, a pistol, a sword and a few grenades.
{Do any of you know what this mission is about?}
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A black furred Ysoki with a white skull shaped marking on his head is also one of the gathered Starfinders. He wears a stylish leather jacket and carries a big old hand cannon at his side. Anyone looking closely notices a small, razor sharp blade, affixed to his tail.
Must be something pretty big to be making all this fuss. The name is Bones by the way. Looks like no matter what we’re getting into, we’ve got a nice group here to properly give some hell.
Suddenly, the inner door of the waiting room slides open, and a woman's voice calls out: "Starfinders! We're ready for you!"
You follow the voice into a large circular conference room, at the center of which sits a briefing table manned by a dark-skinend woman: nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo. Dozens of other Starfinders file in as you take your positions and Luwazi uploads a holographic map of a sparse region of the Vast that is then projected above the room's table for all to see. First Seeker Jadnura stares out a window at the opposite side of the room, the kasatha's four arms folded behind his back as he gazes into the blackness of space surrounding Absalom Station.
“Thank you for joining us,” Luwazi says as she finishes positioning the map above the table. “We know there have been some hiccups in getting everyone on the same page now that the agents trapped in the Scoured Stars have returned. To keep any unnecessary schisms from
forming, Jadnura and I decided to cooperate as joint First Seekers for the time being and focus on missions the entire Society can get behind. And nothing unites disparate factions like a common enemy.” She brings up a flickering holograph of an alien with numerous eyes covering an ovoid body atop six chitinous legs. “These aliens call themselves jinsuls, and you may have already met them. A fleet of their starships ambushed us once we returned to the Scoured Stars, and we were lucky to make it out alive. They’ve interfered with our missions more than once now, but we can’t mount effective counterattacks because no one knows a damn thing about them.”
Jadnura glares at the jinsul holograph. “The only common thread between their attacks is the Scoured Stars,” he grumbles. "The jinsuls used everything they had to drive us away from the Scoured Stars, and the other civilizations they’ve sought out in the Vast all seem to have some ancestral connection to the worlds within that system. Luckily, we still have two helpful artifacts; they’re known as Tears, which emerged from the Scoured Stars and sought out its former inhabitants. I probed the energies within the Tears again, and whatever force is powering them revealed coordinates to a new region in the Vast. Our scouts have confirmed jinsul starships occasionally visit one planet within the area. It’s not much, but we need to start somewhere."
“We suspect the jinsuls inhabited this planet before relocating to the Scoured Stars,” Luwazi adds, “which means it may hold troves of information about their technology, leadership, culture, you name it. We’re planning to travel there, scan the planet from orbit, and send a few ground teams — including you — to conduct reconnaissance on sites of interest. With any luck we’ll get in, learn what we can, and get out before the jinsul commanders ever know we’re there."
She lowers her gaze from the holographic images and looks at each of you. "Your ground team assignments should have been sent to all of you once this meeting began. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask.”
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A second shirren emerges from a chair in the briefing area.
His long out of style overcoat appears to cover new looking, perhaps even advanced, armor. He has chosen a red fez as headwear.
"So it sounds like stealth is an important aspect of this mission. Tell me, will we be in contact with these other teams? Will all of the teams be able to mutually support one another as needed?"
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A thoroughly glammed up halfling woman bounds into the room, hair bouncing wildly around her as she beams up at the co-Seekers with a holo-enhanced smile, "Hiya Jadnura, Luuwaaazii, glad to have another gig with you!" Her smiling eyes, suddenly turn steely. "We've had to wait too long to get a good shot at these jinsul murderers." She turns to Quirk and the others, all smiles again, "I'm Vixi Trixen, yes that Vixi Trixen, autographs after the briefing please."
Yes, Luwazi says emphatically. While each team will land separately, you are to remain in close proximity to each other in case one of you discovers something and needs greater assistance. Should you lose contact with us, keep following your primary objectives: we’ll fix communications from orbit and adjust the plan as needed She nods towards Jadnura. First Seeker Jadnura will remain behind with several Idaran gunships in reserve as well, should things go catastrophically wrong. Though should that be required, we will need to evacuate all of you as our presence is revealed.
Several of the assembled Starfinders murmur at this, but First Seeker Jadnura steps forward and continues. Looking at Fuunk: Preliminary scans indicate the planet is barely habitable; its atmosphere is breathable but polluted, and its surface is mostly barren. The climate is prone to harsh winters, and there’s a constant danger of electrical lightning storms, so prepare for difficult overland travel. As for enemies, there’s no telling what lives on the surface, so bring plenty of ammo and whatever you need to get around unnoticed in case they outnumber you. Most signs of life are clustered in a few discrete sites, so we’ll be searching those first.
The kasatha turns to each of you. We know frustratingly little about the jinsul, which this mission aims to rectify. Biologically we know they have 360-degree vision and insect-like chitin plating that gives them solid armor though luckily no particular resistance to energy weaponry. As a civilization, they’re hell-bent on bringing the other Scoured Stars species back to their ancestral homeland, and they’re more than willing to use violence whenever something gets in their way.
Set then? Luwazi calls out one last time to the assemblage. Good. Finish your requisitions fast and report to quarters. The Silence is heading out!
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As the Perfect Silence heads through the drift, the weeks stretch out before you. While the starship is laden with simple comforts and opportunities to relax between planning sessions for your mission, the atmosphere is tense with waiting for your arrival. For much of the journey Luwazi Elsebo is preoccupied in her offices reviewing diplomatic missives and cultural notes regarding a pending negotiation with the Kreiholm Freehold. Jadnura in contrast seems to be everywhere on the ship at once. The kasatha regularly spars with Starfinders on a set of training grounds within the ship, but he spends copious am mounts of time checking and re-checking every corner of the craft and talking to the other Starfinders about their past assignments and what has changed since the first Scoured Stars mission.
Then, on the 23rd day, the Perfect Silence transitions back onto the material plane with a lurch. Looking out the ship's viewscreens and windows reveals a blue-grey world distantly orbiting a large blue star. The world seems about the size of Castrovel, but the space around it seems barren of any other bodies.
Sensors are detecting no jinsul vessels in orbit Ma'am. a science officer reports as Luwazi gathers you all onto the bridge. But there is one warm spot...
A grainy image is projected in front of you: a series of large objects in the middle of a frozen wasteland that appear to be a ruined city. Luawzi smiles at this and turns to you.
Good. she says. That's where we'll begin our reconnaissance. You, you, and you she says as she points to your group and two of the others head to the personnel shuttles and descend. Land around the city in a spread: I want you close together but approaching the place from different angles. The remaining squad stays with me to oversee operations and communications
In and out. Now let's get to your ships and start learning what we came here to learn!
The shuttles take off from the Perfect Silence and begin to descend towards the unknown planet. The other two ships begin to break off as you start to enter the atmosphere. There is a thick cloud cover over much of the region, but the atmosphere is otherwise thin and the transition goes smoothly.
All right, Luawzi Elsebo’s voice comes through clearly over your comms. We’re tracking you well. Keep your headings nd bear 2.5 de-*^*#* - rees sun-side unti-**^*-ving trou-*^*^*^**^
As you begin passing through the cloud line, the missives from the Perfect Silence start sputtering static. Electricity begins to spark and flash all around your shuttle and the unexpectedly thick clouds block visuals on the other shuttles. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning lances out and strikes your ship directly!!
Warning lights blare across the bridge as the engines start to fail, along with the rest of the ship’s systems. The alititude readings show you plummeting downwards right before that display too shorts out.
The shuttle continues to plummet out of the sky as Fuunk, Vixi, and Quirk struggle to level it out. The craft's bow rises slightly but storm continues to batter the ship to and fro. those of you downloading the last readings off of the ship begin to see why: according to all of your sensors an event of this size and force is not natural for a planet of this type. The lightning seems to have bypassed the protective Faraday cage of your shuttles and almost surgically fried certain circuits. You try and trace more of a pattern of details of these odd bolts when -
The shuttle finally breaks through the cloudline and slams into the snow-covered surface of the planet. The impact jostles and throws you about the bridge to slam hard against the machinery and bulkheads.
As you regain your footing and assess the situation, the personell shuttle seems like a loss. The structure of the metal ship is mostly intact, but virtually all systems seem non-functional and unpowered. Outside, vast sparse snowy plains stretch out as white flakes fall down from the sky. In the distance, the vague outline of a city - the same one you were headed towards - looms against the skyline several miles away.
Bugface does a check of the current state of the shuttle. Unfortunately for the shirren, it's not good. A section of the aft broke off upon impact, including one of the engines. The hull is mostly maintaining its integrity for now but most systems are barely functioning and life support is about to go. The mechanic's able to pull a last few readings about the surrounding environment - it's severely cold outside, well-below freezing point - before the last scanner glitches out.
Fuunk tries to hail the other shuttles, or the Perfect silence, or anyone on the comms. All the kasatha gets its the ^**^**^**^**^*^^*^ of crackling static.[/b]
The city can clearly be made out in the distance, even through the snowfall. The terrain between you and it is relatively flat, though snowbanks dot the landscape ahead as you gaze out from your crashed shuttle. Various structures and objects peek out from below the snow as you look at the horizon. Buildings? Vehicles? It is hard to make out without getting closer.
With Vixi taking point, the six of you make good time as you advance through the snow. Bones, Data, and Bugface each take time to examine several partially snow-covered and abandoned vehicles you pass. the machines seem to be mostly composed of low-quality steel patchworkily shored up by pieces of jinsul chitin. Only traces of degraded fuel still remains in their engines, but analyzing the remains shows they ran on common but low-yield combustibles - signs of an inhospitable land that is devoid of most resources. Unfortunately, Data's examination of one such buggy isn't quite as careful as the andorid intended, and the engine he is scanning explodes in his face.
Quirk, being experienced at getting a read on people, is more interested in the architecture of the decrepit buildings you pass. the shirren notices that all the structures are built more for function than beauty, with what limited ornamentation there is almost exclusively being religious in nature. Themes and motifs of penance and punishment are repeated in the art you see, as Quirk tries to piece together a cultural narrative from his observations. Apparently this world - 'Rax' as best the investigator can translate - was viewed by the jinsul as a sort of sacred trail place: a new homeland whose hostility was something for them to endure as punishment for forsaking their old god of Kadrical in exchange for their freedom.
Building on this, Vixi's eyes take deeper notice of the multitude of cairn-like monuments and tombs you pass, unnnatrual mounds and slabs of stone poking out from the cold snow. The marking on such markers seem to show that for millenia the jinsul viewed survival and conquest as not just a vital part of living, but evidence of divine favor. Each victory of a jinsul represented Kadrical’s acknowledgement of that being's superiority .
All of this initial analysis is undergone as the six of you travel through the wilderness for an hour. While most of the Starfinders are cautiously excited to analyze and research the jinsul ruins, Fuunk keeps a nervous eye on the snowy terrain. The kasatha does not spy any other living creatures around - yet at least - but the sky continues to churn with stormy clouds. Making things worse, the continual snowfall is slowly accumulating on his and the other's helmets, creating troubling splotches across the party's lines of vision.
Suddenly, Vixi spies a strange swirling in the snow as it drifts down from the sky. The halfling squints to see if she can identify the disturbance - Is that a sensor? - when an abrupt bolt of lightning lances out from the sky and strikes at Quirk. The bolt strikes down right at the shirren's feet, and almost as quickly the faint image in the snow vanishes as well.
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