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Despite himself and what he knows of these beings, Azara feels an overwhelming dread of these supernatural beings from beyond the grave.
He invites the photonic power fueling the universe into his body, but cannot resist the urge to get away. He presses up against the door, very likely also covering up the hole cut in it.
"I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to them!" he calls out to Scott, aiming his finger at the pile of bodies.
"We know! We know what happened! We know you were no threat! Your end was unjust and unwarranted. Tell us how we can help you. We'll give you a proper burial! We'll tell your story! It's the least you deserve!"
Pulling down his stellar mote, he starts slashing at the door.
Azara makes it out but the Brig is still blazing away.
Spectral skittermander faces appear the Brigadier, angrily shouting, “You! You killed us!” as they fly through her body, pummeling her viciously!
In a burst of light, a translucent green skittermander materializes in the garden, hovering over the pile of bones. “Shh, shh, shh,” the spirit soothes, shaking her head forlornly. “They don’t mean to hurt you,” she explains. “They’re just confused. All they remember is pain.” She regards the living, then crinkles her nose and points at the vesk accusingly. “Why’d you bring these meanies into my garden? Haven’t they done enough?”
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Scott scrambles through the hole and into the garden. Maybe the sight of a corporeal skittermander might help pacify the haunt.
Stop stop stop .. nu-friends. There's no need for violence. I feel your pain but I'm here to help.
And you Brig .. stop shooting .. you're only making it worse
He pauses for a bit. Sprout., Is that you?
The Skitterghost looks at the corporeal Skittermander and the retreating Brigadier a bit perplexed but then notes what Scotty is saying is saying. “Hey! That isn't the vesk who killed me! Why didn’t you say so in the first place? Hi, nufriends! Yes I’m Sprout! I was a gardener before I died.”
Sprout nods sagely-yet-sadly to Sprout "It was a bit sad. My friends and I were heroes called Allsix Assist. We helped the Veskarium do all kinds of stuff! Until the soldiers came and shot us–which was super rude! I died here. I’m not sure where my friends died, but when I woke, we were all heaped together. There’s something wrong with them, though. They’re not like me. They can’t remember anything.”
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I would like to help them but I am not sure how to at the moment. Given the amount of bullet holes we found, I suspect your friends either died in their quarters or in that large rectangular room that your shared quarters join on to. It was a long time ago though, Sprout. If you have any suggestions of how I can help, I'd like to hear them.
He then places his datapad on the ground and presses the record button.
Anyway, please tell your story and the story of the AllSix. This device will record everything so it will be preserved.
"I'll happily tell you a story, but my friends, well I'm not sure… I think they’re perplexed because their bodies got mixed up and they don’t have any way to untangle themselves. Nothing they love, you know? Not like me! I have my garden! But their stuff’s all gone. Maybe if you bring them something they loved, they’ll get better! I’d like that. I miss them. Will you help?”
Sprout speaks into the device "My All-six friends, they’re the best! Prismacora loved to sing and make music. Viverivim was a great painter! He was married to Bixby, you know. Bixby was a visionary! He thought if we helped skittermanders join the Veskarium’s family we’d be the greatest helpers ever! Too bad it didn’t work. I guess we didn’t help enough… Tipps loved cartoons and was really great with computers. They even made Compy! Compy used to be in one of the small rooms down the middle hall. Razzlefrazz was old and clumsy and had a really long beard! He loved to make fireworks and see things explode! He got blown up, though. I’m not sure he liked that.”
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Ah. We spoke to Compy and this device also holds a copy of his records for preservation. I'm actually tempted to build me my own Compy to help me with disaster relief and rescues.
As for the things they love. Yes .. I believe we can do that.
Scott turns to the Brigadier If I may borrow Jomp and Mimsy please. We;re going to fetch the skittermander's personal effects from their quarters and bring them here as a sort of memorial. This should put their spirits to rest
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Azara returns when his unreasoning fear has subsided.
"I apologize for losing my head," he says, with as much dignity as he can muster after his shameful display of cowardice in the face of beings he knows are harmless, or at least without malice.
[b]"I'll help," he calls out to Scotty as the skittermanders skitter off.
When they get to Allsix Assists' personal chambers, he looks around thoughtfully before helping gather up the things he thinks will bring the skittermanders peace -
A triticale (three-necked guitar), painting supplies, a gold wedding band, and a framed photograph of two smiling male skittermanders dressed in old-fashioned wedding robes, a hand-held comm unit and four sparklers and a half-filled lighter.
Azara heads back with a pretty comprehensive list of items (but also notes ad collects one the well-loved but mouldy toys near Compy!)
Each time Azara returns an object of emotional significance to the pile of skittermander bones, one of the spirits appears, glowing with an aura the same color as their previous fur. They hug Sprout and give you all a big wave.
As Asara 'anchors' and re-unites the five confused spirits, the Allsixers seem ecstatic to be reunited as a team once more and begin dancing in a bit of a circle - happy to have found themselves again.
Sprout chimes in "Thanks for helping out nufriends, we will be ok now. There's some really tasty super rare mushrooms growing here which you can take back, they can be used to grow more!"
The Brigadier has shaken herself off and looks at the scene with some concern, "Suppose we should get out of here, come, let's drag that Alpha back to town and be out of this place"
You leave the complex, dragging the Alpha corpse back as a prize.
Once outside the tunnels, Brigadier Teshgari asides to you all, "We now know about the secrets buried in Gadraveech, and buried is where it belongs. Clearly the murders were scrubbed from the archives for a reason, Starfinders revealing damaging information that could tarnish the Veskarium’s reputation on Vesk-3, and would wound the relationship that the Veskarium have recently begun to cultivate with the Starfinder Society. If you are ever directly questioned, what you found was the site of a terrible accident, someone must have tripped and fallen with some explosives with tragic consequences. Thoughts and prayers"
"We all on the same page here?"
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Azara is ever more relieved as each relatively minor trinket buys peace for a tortured spirit. He tries not to think of the years of torment the skittermanders went through between being unceremoniously dumped here and today.
"Wails of six tormented souls"
"Calmed by compassion"
"What they deserved all along"
In the midst of his composition the brigadier interrupts.
"You mean be an accessory to the Veskarium's crime? No thank you. What happened here was tragic. What happened here was a mistake. What happened here was not an accident. The Veskarium has changed since this happened, there's no doubt about that, but pretending like things didn't happen doesn't help anyone.
"Tell the truth about what happened. Apologize for what was done in your history. Promise to do better then do better. People will understand," Azara says.
"The Starfinder Society is in the business of bringing truth to light, not burying it in the darkness."
The Brigadier looks somewhat unimpressed "You all feel the same way?"
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"I can certainly understand that skittermanders may have acted in a way that made the Veskarium's error understandable, and will tell this tale as a tragedy of misunderstanding, but I will not be part of keeping it quiet."
It's a long speech for the quiet little ysoki, so she evidently feels strongly on the subject.
"Fine. I suppose that is the sort of headstrong nature of Starfinders, you march to the beat of your drum and won't be swayed. I can at least respect that"
***
You return to the Brass Clutch, Radaszam - "A job well-done, I compliment your efforts. You achieved the task set of you and have built relations with the Veskarium. Tragic tale about the Allsixers though, but we 'report' even when it is not something we like. I don't know what the impact will be, but if we're to be taken seriously we need to remain consistent. I see we have a new Starfinder too, Adrovor. A fair bot to be done there, but we have good resources"
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Still not sure about the reasoning for some of the 'help' they were providing, but one thing I had to learn during my training was ... think, before you act. Sometimes, us skittermanders fail to consider the consequences of our actions, we just are so driven by our need to help, that ... well ... can actually make a situation worse. Presumably, that's a lesson for us all.