Brigadier Teshgari listens patiently to your boasting. Once you have finished, she simply says, "We shall see." The vesk then stands and excuses herself for the evneing. Mimzy waves farewell to you, while Jomp picks up the weapons and staggers away.
Once the general and her retinue depart, the serving staff becomes much more helpful, and are willing to fulfill any other orders you wish, including drinks and side dishes. Teshgari has prearranged payment for the meal. You have free rein of Ewagadravona until the next morning.
Skrivix addresses the group, "What do you guys know about Stridermanderlingthingies? How do we kill 'em?"
To Talc - "You ever actually fought one of these before?"
Skrivix doesn't say or telepathize anything, he just stares at Talc flatly. Unblinking.
Rei's research reveals that m inor earthquakes and tremors are a constant occurrence on Vesk-3. This tectonic activity regularly alters the tunnels of Gadraveech, adding to the dangers of venturing underground. Two months ago, an earthquake uncovered a new tunnel system in Gadraveech, below Ewagadravona. The first to discover these tunnels would’ve died, if not for the timely intervention of a skittermander rescue party. The tunnels remain unexplored, though a number of powerful vesk have bid over the rights to first exploration.
Karyn knows that stridermanders, called strovions by vesk, are vicious and cunning subterranean predators distantly related to skittermanders. They can alter the appearance of their fur to blend into their surroundings. They are resistant to disease and poison and can be temporarily blinded by bright lights.
***
The next morning, you meet Brigadier Teshgari, Mimzy, and Jomp at the entrance to Gadraveech. Brigadier Teshgari’s outfitted for battle in defrex hide, with a tactical doshakari and tactical rotating pistol holstered at her hip. Jomp carries four different guns and a polishing cloth. Mimzy wears a backpack bristling with baked goods and a belt lined with bottles of water.
Brigadier Teshgari leads you into the dark, well-travelled subterranean tunnels of Gadraveech. After a few minutes she hands you a small device and says, “Prove your worth.” The device emits a holographic map of the safari tunnels, with your destination highlighted, though the map doesn’t track your location.
Skrivix telepathizes to his team, "Not sure I can bullshit my way through this one. I sure hope one of you can read this."
Skrivix takes the holo-map and glances at it with a confident smile. Dripping bluster he points imprecisely to a few spots on the map. "Seems straightforward enough, here to there and then along this route, right Talc?" He hands the map to Talc and grins at Teshgari.
"Nice Defrex Hide. We could almost be twins, eh?"
"Nice Defrex Hide. We could almost be twins, eh?"
Teshgari looks at Skrivix disdainfully. "No," she says firmly.
As you fumble with the holographic map, the vesk sighs in disappointment and takes over. The Brigadier quickly directs you to the correct path and orders you forward, while her skittermander followers profusely apologize for the general's overbearing attitude. Mimzy offers you a few hearty rolls in compensation.
After an hour, the group arrives in a large cavern with multiple branching tunnels. Brigadier Teshgari retrieves and deactivates the projector, gestures at the cavern, and asks, "What do you see? I'm curious how skilled you Starfinders truly are at these sorts of things."
Brigadier Teshgari sniffs the air from the eastern tunnel that Harrac pointed to, then she nods. ”Lead on.”
Thick stalagmites rise up from the uneven floor of this vast cavern, reaching for the stalactites mirrored on the jagged ceiling thirty feet above. The air is thick with a sour stench and a haze of grit, which drifts down from the ceiling, becoming lost amid the pebbles and filth coating the stone floor.
As you enter the cavern, a stalactite falls from the central ceiling, triggering a chorus of high-pitched screeches from the creatures within. A dozen tiny furry creatures scurry around the cavern. They hiss at you and rub their eyes when light is shined upon them.
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Karyn made sure her helmet light was on full bright as they moved into the cavern. If the vicious creatures they were hunting didn't like bright lights, then she was going to use it as a weapon. Then, she saw the tiny furry creatures and smiled to herself.
Cute! I thought they would be bigger. Or are these kits?"
Brigadier Teshgari looks disgusted. ”They are too tiny. Not even worth the effort. We must find the big ones.” She waits for one of you to take the lead.
Skrivix telepathizes Talc with a wink, "She's looking for the big ones, I think now's your chance. Go get her tiger!"
Skrivix looks all around to make sure nothing else dangerous might be hiding nearby.
Skrivvix spots worked metal near the southern ceiling. It appears there's an entrance to another chamber up there. He also notices that the cavern there is not entirely stable. A larger creature moving through, or an explosive weapon, will cause a partial cave-in. This might also make it easier to ascend to the chamber above, though.
"Alright gang, we've got some options here. Looks like the structural integrity of the cavern to the south is questionable. If we head in we're liable to cause a cave-in. We might be able to reinforce it and sneak through, though who knows what noise that might cause. Alternatively, we can throw the concept of stealth in the trash and just blow it up now. There may be a path above that cave that may be more approachable if we let out some of the flooring."
Skrivix takes an obvious glance at the array of weapons being carried by Jomp.
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Rei walks up to Talc and pushes his launcher down. "I am sure there is another way."
Rei takes a good look at the cavern. She whips up some scraps and attempts to craft a makeshift support for the cave.
"I am positive that this cave should not collapse on us now. There should be no need to force a collapse. Additionally you should not need to sneak through. Just proceed as normal. Lastly, if we are on a hunt, I am sure that causing an explosion such that that would alert everything in the surrounding area to our presence. I am sure qualified hunters as yourselves would agree that is an illogical approach. "
Skrivix beams a smile at Rei. "Great work Rei. I would have enjoyed watching Talc makes things go boom, but I don't want to alert our prey if we don't need to. I'm sure we will have plenty of chances to shoot things very soon."
Telepathically to Talc - "Keep that thing loaded, I don't like sneaking into the hive of unfriendly underground meat-eating monsters."
Rei is able to successfully prop up the ceiling. As you move further into the cave, though, two of the stridermander whelps snarl and rear up on their hind legs. Long, hooked tendrils emerge from their stomachs, lashing the air as they prepare to attack!
Skrivix points his weapon at the nearest whelp and jukes to the left and to the right. He doesn't actually fire, but brandishes his pistol threateningly while displaying his flashy moves.
Dodging Rei's shot, the two whelps move in and lash out at Harrac, piercing him with their fanged feeding tendrils!
Skrivix stops dancing long enough to fire off two shots at the nearest whelp.
His shots go so far astray he just starts dancing again afterwards to make it look like it was part of the act.
"Yeeeehaww! Get 'em guys!"
Talc and Karyn shoot one of the whelps, and as it falls, Harrac impales the other one with his solar blade. The other creatures shriek and skitter away, clambering up the far wall and through the door up there. Brigadier Teshgari clicks her tongue in disgust. ”A waste of ammunition.”
You find some gear amidst the rubble to the east: a beacon, ten flares, and two mk 2 serums of healing.
When you reach the rock face, Rei uses her jump jets to fly up to the top before lowering some cable to allow the rest of you to climb up easily. The wooden door of this dark underground room lays shattered on the filthy tiled floor. The walls show signs of bright paint beneath layers of muck and dust, and rows of lights line the ceiling. The stale air is heavy with the stench of rot and stridermander musk. Three wide hallways echo with sounds of dripping water, scrabbling claws, and hissing.
As you enter, a trio of stridermander whelps shriek in panic and flee. Two run down the east hallway, while the third scrambles into a nearby vent in the west hall. A lightly dented vivifier flare rifle sticks out of the vent.
Mimzy shrugs. "It's possible! This is our homeworld, after all. Who knows what the older generations might have gotten up to? Bottled water?" She offers Karyn one of the bottles on her belt.