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Lynn grins at the sight of the northern room already being solved. "Nice! I wonder where the other Starfinders went after this? Could it be... here?" She pops her head back out into the hallway and looks to the yellow door directly around the curve of the station's walls. "Maybe we can catch up with them. Join forces?"
She hops back into the hallway "Anyone else think its weird that the Society never groups more than six people in each team?"
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”Could you imagine more than six cramped on a Drake though? Ki would be crushed!” the Skittermander chips in to the discussion regarding team sizes. ”Bigger doesn’t always mean better - we can help more if we’re split up!” As they chatter they follow Lynn through the offices, keeping an eye on Datch incase of anymore dastardly schemes planned by the treacherous Ysoki.
“Three down, one to go!” Fitch’s voice exclaims over the static. “That’s the third checkpoint. Keep up the good work!”
The door opens directly into the vacuum of space!
Air is violently sucked from the corridor for a moment before a forcefield activates creating a 10 foot hemispherical bubble on the station's exterior preventing anyone sucked out from floating off into space and also preventing the doorway from being used as a means of escape.
"Watch that first step Starfinders, it's a doozy." Datch teases from the rear.
Passing through the
H4. Central Hub
This circular chamber is empty, save for an intricate mosaic on the floor depicts an emaciated rat with red eyes curled in on itself. Metal doors lead outward in all four cardinal directions, with impressive double doors leading east and west, while single doors lead north and south.
K'saret notices the mosaic conceals pressure plates that trigger spiked panels built into the ceiling. The trap can be disabled with an engineering check, or simply avoided by going around.
Viper leads the party to
H5 [Name Redacted]
Three doors lead into this cavernous chamber with a towering forty-foot-high ceiling. The vault-like room is lined with black metal filing cabinets that feature heavy duty locks, and the area is dimly lit.
The cabinets are arranged in alphabetical order and labeled: AbadarCorp, Celita, Fitch, Iseki-Okaibo, Jadnura, Luwazi Elsebo, Radaszam, Starfinder Society, Zigvigix.
Creature: The vault's single occupant stands at the center of the room, their features obscured by shadows. A tall, androgynous elf with inky eyes and bluish-purple hair and wearing a jet-black armored suit.
The elf draws a longsword and pistol as they speak, "My instructions are to ensure that neither you nor Datch escape this complex alive."
Init - Everyone is up!
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K'saret
Daata
Viper
Lynn
Ki
Azara
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Elf
Deflecting Blade (Ex) As a reaction, when targeted by a ranged attack, they can wave their blade in rapid motions to deflect it, gaining a bonus to their AC against that attack.
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"Oooh, is this your vault of dirty secrets Datch? Can we peek?" Lynn sways as she teases Datch. "I wonder if there's a little file in there about me?"
To the elf, she says "Umm, sorry, but we definitely can't help you with that. In fact, I think we're going to fight you over it!" She points a finger gun at the elf and mimes firing it with a wink.
Quickly, she says to her allies "He's all juiced up with tech. He's got some crazy reflexes to block all sorts of shots, can shrug off stuff if we try to slow him down, and he's all hopped up on adrenaline. Careful everyone!"
Lynn wastes no more words and instead begins humming out a resonant melody. She clicks a button on her headset as soon as she's done with one bar, and her humming begins to loop.
Ki enters and levels their cannon...
K'saret feels the elf shrug off much of the mental attack. They take several glancing blows from the team and a direct hit from Mikey before side-stepping the microbot cloud and slashing at Azara. Almost as an answer to Azara's question, the blade flashes more times than the solarian probably expected.
Init - Everyone is up!
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K'saret
Daata
Viper
Lynn
Ki
Azara
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Elf -83 HP -1 SP
A direct hit from Viper, a barrage of missiles from Lynn, and another strike from Azara finally bring the elf down.
The files include everything from mundane trivia, to details such as blood type and net worth, to shocking personal secrets. Lynn does indeed find a folder with her name on it in the "Starfinder Society" cabinet. It even includes details about that time she [redacted from other players]. There are folders labeled Azara Thenason, Daata, K'saret, Ki'ren'nura, and Viper 6 as well.
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Medicine
"One of the "augments" appears to have been a failsafe to prevent capture, on their defeat it released a chemical agent into the bloodstream killing them instantly and preventing any chance of revival"
"Maybe should have spent more time worrying about the battle rather than spending so much time planning for their defeat" Viper dismisses the elf.
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After the elf is taken out, Azara gives a bow.
"Whether augmented or not."
"Woe to all our foes.
"Starfinders overcome all."
"Well my life is an open book, there's no secrets...but...but...that happened at summer camp! It doesn't mean, anything!" Azara says, taking his file, perusing it for a moment then shoving it back into the cabinet and slamming it closed.
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Lynn only sees a little of her folder before she "accidentally" drops it, "accidentally" polymorphs herself to grow flame glands, and "accidentally" immolates the file in a wave of flame. Afterward she pokes her own cheek, turns her head to the side to flutter eyelashes at the rest of the team and chirps "Ooopsie~"
"Hmmm, Datch, did you put all this together yourself? Its awful thorough!" She wiggles a finger at Datch "Someone has waaaay too much time on their hands, I think!" To the team she adds "There's like, way more fun info here than would be useful for sabotaging the Starfinder Society. Its almost like Datch REALLY liked us - you know, like a stalker-ish fan would."
"Hmm, I always suspected Iroiveth had ulterior motives, but they provided valuable information the drone ships and on a useful substance harvested from Arniselle." Datch says regarding the corpse.
The trio of doors directly across the hall lead to open space, but having fallen for the trick once the PCs are wise enough to avoid them. This means another trip skirting the edge of the central mosaic to the last unexplored room.
H6. Temple of Grandmother Rat
This opulent chamber is a temple to honor Lao Shu Po, and its decor represents a drastic departure from the aesthetics of the surrounding complex. The transparent ceiling forty feet above exposes a spectacular view of space. A twenty-foot-tall statue of Grandmother Rat presides over the room atop a stone plinth. The steps, plinth, and statue are carved jade, and the statue's eyes are flawless rubies. Velvet drapes of purple and green hang behind the shrine, and a patterned rug partially covers the ivory floor tiles. Candles are the only illumination in this room. Unlike the other rooms this shrine displays no offerings.
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Lynn whistles "Woow. This is awfully gaudy. Like, Datchie, I didn't know you were so devoted to this whole Lao Shu Po thing." She focuses her senses and inspects the room while humming to herself.
"Hmm, no offerings, so maybe there's something behind one of the curtains or under the rug?" She taps her chin with a finger.
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Seeing nothing of use on the Elvish Assassin and unsure as to why they would be after silencing Datch or where they had come from, Ki shrugs their six arms and bimbles after the rest of their Starfinder allies after adding their own 'spiritual' document and the ones of their Captains to the bonfire started by Lynn.
Plasma cannon readied in case of any other nasty surprises, Ki ponders the strange nature of this place, with the force fields and twisty corridors.. "So complicated - me wonders what Datchie so scared of?" they comment, not aiming it at the Ysoki directly. As they enter the grandiose ritual chamber they whistle softly. "Please help us Datchie? Your allies seem to have abandoned you... We keep you alive at least, they see you dead."
“Now that you’ve deactivated the fourth barrier your escape route is clear.” This time, Radaszam addresses the Starfinders. “Drinks are on me at the elevation ceremony—I expect to see you there.”
Days after their daring escape from Datch’s compound, the Starfinders return to Absalom Station to find the Lorespire Complex grounds completely deserted. Its chambers are silent except for the faint sounds of speech from a nearby hall.
Hundreds of diverse creatures fill the Hall of Discovery. Familiar faces appear among the masses as faction leaders, venture-captains, and friends of the Society gather around an illuminated platform. First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo’s magnified voice rings out over the audience’s excited murmurs. “Thus, it is with both sadness and pride that I step down as First Seeker. But before I can welcome my successor, Guidance has an announcement to make.”
A green holographic image of a human woman materializes beside Luwazi and addresses the room. “Greetings, Starfinders and esteemed allies. I have considered your nomination of Ehu Hadif Ko’ra Amares of Clan Tolar as First Seeker. I agree with your selection and have confirmed his elevation in my records. This is a day for celebration.” Guidance bows its head and dissipates.
The crowd erupts into thunderous applause as a kasatha clad in crimson armour strides onto the stage. He nods respectfully to Luwazi, who steps back to offer him her place at the centre of the platform. Ehu Hadif raises two of his hands and says, “Thank you for the warm welcome. I am honoured to accept the title of First Seeker, and all the responsibility that comes with it. First Seeker Elsebo has been our rock through countless hardships. Few First Seekers in our Society’s history has overseen so many successful struggles. Thanks to her, and the brave Starfinders who worked to outwit our foes, we now enter a time of peace. My goal during this time is to return our organization to its roots of discovery and exploration. My colleagues and friends, I invite you to once again turn your eyes to the distant stars. Together, I believe we can gather and preserve precious knowledge for the good of the universe.”
The Starfinder Society triumphed over Datch’s lies and schemes, and a new era of discovery under First Seeker Ehu Hadif is dawning.
After a few minutes of head scratching the party correctly deduces they must provide the shrine with a secret. This reveals another console which opens the last barrier and allows the party to escape before the explosion. "My, look how competent you've become. You should really be thanking me for pushing you in the right direction." Datch says as she is lead out in restraints.
If you investigate the mysterious Iroiveth, you find yourselves contacted by Celita of the Dataphiles. She sends an invitation for you to meet her in her personal office in the Archives' Cortex. She speaks plainly, "After my initial investigations into the one known as Iroiveth, they are still a mystery to me. They were a member of the Society, though we have no records on their actions or their associations. Based on the information provided by other agents, we can tell that they joined the Society well over a century ago. I've started further investigations and will keep you updated as I learn more. That is all I have for now."
Datch is temporarily taken into custody by the Stewards. Shortly after Ehu Hadif's elevation, the Stewards offer to transfer holding custody to the Society, and Datch is placed into confinement within the Adamantine Prison on the grounds of the Lorespire Complex. You can visit the ysoki, who sits in a call with restricted infosphere access tossing a ball against a wall. "Have you brought me any apples?" She asks. If questioned about Iroiveth. "I suspected Iroiveth was a disgruntled ex-Starfinder. We had an arrangement of convenience. They provided me with information to use against the Society, and I didn't ask too many questions. It is clear now they were in the employ of some other organization. Who, or what their motivates are I have no more idea than you."
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Pouting grumpily at Datch's continued sass, Lynn is visibly happy to pass the captive over to the Stewards. She waves as the ysoki disappears to be placed in some kind of secure holding cell, calling out "Bye bye Datchie! Don't go bothering the people in jail now!~"
At Ehu Hadif's elevation, Lynn skips around, telling stories, singing songs and generally being a bright light in the party. She shamelessly tells people about her new album, Conducting Starlight, as well as singing a few songs for it with special lyrics to accommodate the occasion. Eventually she finds her way back to the party, where she delivers a round of high fives.
"Woo~!" She smiles at the group "Everything went great in the end, both with Ehu Hadif and Datch, huh? And now we'll be off exploring the galaxy and meeting cool new aliens! So many new people to meet. So little time~"
She pulls out her datapad "How about a pic to commemorate? C'mon, it'll be fun!" She drags the group together and takes a wide-angle selfies with the whole team, Ehu Hadif in the background."[/b]
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Azara is happy to take the elevator ride up to their ship once the final forcefields are down. He watches on the viewscreens as they soar away and Datch's complex explodes behind them, the fiery ring surrounding the fireball almost reaching them.
At the elevation, he applauds raucously. Much as he liked Elsebo, he looks forward to the future under a new first seeker.
He grins for Lynn's picture but holds her back as the team begins to scatter.
"Have you ever considered doing a collaboration? I've recently begun thinking about setting some of my poetry to music..."
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"Another victory. Nice working with you all, we pulled some pretty smooth plays and everyone knew their stuff - look forward with working with you in the future" Viper heads off, not really caring who the First Seeker was or caring about the bigger machinations of the society - so long as the thrill of adventure exists and there's the chance for life and death combat in the cold void of space she's happy.