Though you are more senior agents, you have collectively been assigned patrol duty within the Lorespire Complex. It is unusual for agents of your caliber to have to shoulder the routine task of monitoring the various halls, countless chambers, and numerous meeting halls that fill the campus of the Lorespire Complex.
Your assigned route takes you past or through such well-known areas of the Lorespire Complex, including the First Seeker Ilyastre Memorial Museum, or the formal Skyreach Room gala hall. As the hour for the close of your shift rapidly approaches, you find yourselves not far from the offices of the current First Seeker, Luwazi Elsabo.
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A sleekly brown-furred ysoki, with a streak of white between his ears and over his jowls walks in small circles at the rendezvous. He wears a crisply pressed scholar's robe over tight tempweave armor. He shrugs a small pack off his shoulder and extracts a gunbelt with two sidearms which he buckles under the robe. Then he spends a few moments fussing with the drape of the robe over the firearms. He begins pacing in circles again, orbiting his pack on the ground.
"Never be first to arrive. It's boring and wastes time. As if this assignment wasn't also a waste of time. I'm a scientist, not a sentinel."
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Ombonth is a large blueish unsmiling Dragonkin with strange dark purplish glowing scars on his face. His left eye is blank, as one of the scar cross it. He wears a battered heavy armor and don't seems to have any weapon on him.
Following him, is a smiling Ryphorian.
With a coarse voice the Dragonkin says Ombonth the twice-born he shrugs at the Ysoki and Kiirinta and adds not a talker, but Alsayf is. Ombonth's claw points at the Ryphorian next to him.
Hi! I'm Alsayf, pleasure to meet you all. Venture-Captain Zafeldrin sent me to help Ombonth in social situation, when needed. Says with a bright smile the Ryphorian.
Ombonth grunts at Alsayf's words.
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A short Vesk carrying a grenade launcher a pulse caster and in second skin armour pokes her head in the You guys drawn the graveyard shift too? Any engineering problems need sorting?
"Nothing so interesting. Patrol duty." Ears practically spits the last two words out.
Octavii grinned at the music puns. Physicist huh? You know anything more about those musical equations we found on Elneth-7?
Ears cocks his head, and draws a hands from front to back over an ear. "No! I haven't heard a thing. What can you tell me?"
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On the corridor, a set of footsteps can be heard.
"205... 205, where on earth is 205." A medium height dark fur Ysoki in a para-military uniform stands in front of you.
"You look like an odd bunch." Says moving his whiskers as he looks at Ysoki, Kiirinta, Vesk, Dragonkin and a Ryphorian
"You must be Starfinder Agents! I am Croaker, it is good to meet you."
Says going closer, removing his laser rifle from his back, and taking a seat.
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Ears listens raptly to Octavii's tale. "Fascinating. Maybe it's some kind of code. "
He acknowledges the ryphorian-dragonkin pair with a satisfied expression, but his mind is obviously on something else, probably the Elneth-7 equations.
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A dwarf in coveralls comes waling in along with a huge (well...medium size, but large medium size) robot following him. The dwarf carries a large axe on his side, along with a decent sized gun. The robot has a large maul/mallet on its main axis arms, along with a gun mounted on his shoulder.
"Looks like I am being a bit late, sorry. Mechana'dross here, 'Dross for short, needed a bit of rebuild from last time, so I have been in the shop fixing 'em. Jagrur Cragsteam from Akiton at your service. 'Dross is a good front line shield, and is also a decent shot. Myself, I can usually fix things, and shoot them if needed."
As you are finishing your rounds, you see a figure approaching you from a connecting corridor. It is Luwazi Elsebo.
"A pleasure to see you all." says the First Seeker as she greets you. "And while you are all here, let me congratulate each of you on your recent accomplishments."
"Your recent trip into the Drift, Octavii, has earned the Society much good will with the Church of Triune, not to mention another mystery in which to delve." she notes.
"And you, Croaker, opened relations with the Darak-oni, while also bolstering our support with the Hellknights when you explored one of their abandoned outposts." she remarks.
The First Seeker gives you both knowing looks.
"The rest of you, also, should be proud of what you have done to advance the Society." she continues. "However, I suspect that patrol duty must pale in comparison to the new worlds and strange civilizations that you have encountered. Still, I trust your patrol was uneventful?"
Picture of Luwazi Elsabo is now on Slides.
"The timing of our meeting is quite fortunate as I am on my way to one of the Lorespire's recreation suites." she says. "I was hoping to play a match of harcoló."
You recognize the harcoló as an aggressive sport where teams of one to three compete against one another by using specialized hand pads to hurl a crystalline sphere into the opposing team’s portion of the play board. The crystal is typically psychically resonant, allowing players to funnel their latent emotions into the shots they make with their handpads.
"Since you are here," she proposes, "Perhaps you all would like to join me? I'll let you choose your teams of three."
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Croaker looks up at clearly excited Ysoki and he smiles broadly showing his teeth
"Sorry, I am a medic. Starfinder usually pays me a commission for every living agent that comes back from a mission. Well unless they began being dead, then usually they expect that their level of unliving stays as is. " He moves his hand and a spiraling light follows
"Oh, and I am a Mindbreaker, I usually can find my way into the mind of my enemies which sometimes prove handly. Good to have you Ears!"
When the dwarf walks in Croaker stands up
"Jagrur, my old chap! What were you up to after the Pact World Warriors? Oh, I see that dross got some upgrades here." Ysoki looks at the robot wielding a maul that is almost bigger than he is.
Then he turns to Ombonth and his eyes focuses on him as he tilts his head
"Ombonth? There is something in your features that reminds me of an odd picture. It depicted a cleric of Asmodeus called Tamerius I think. And for some unknown reason when I looked at you that drawing was recalled by my memory. That is really odd..."
Croaker smiles seeing Luwazi Elsabo. She always seemed to him as a cool gal. He hears what she is saying and he comments
"Oh yeah, that mission. I recall a couple of agents, but Master Filament he was a piece of something I will say you that. I hope he is all right. And Kitkul, sometimes I felt like they wanted to make me a part of hive of something... Sorry, I am a bit tired and am in a mood to recall things."
Croaker is a gambler and tries to read whoever he is playing with. And mission briefing is nothing different than banter before the real game.
But he gets nothing. He really should have rested.
"Harcoló I heard of that game. It is fairly popular on Castrovel right? I always wanted to try it."
Croaker looks behind his head and he frowns for a moment.
"Where is it?" he dives into his bag and gets a crystal that he tosses in the air, it quickly begins to float above Croaker. It must be one of the Aeon Stones
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Ears runs both paws back to front over his ears, then stops fidgeting. "First Speaker, it's an honor to meet you in person. I'm Ears."
"Harcoló, eh? I could give it a try."
Then he's distracted by the aeon stone. He takes a swipe at it. " Croaker, is that a real aeon stone? Is true that only the owner can grab it out of the air?"
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Ombonth shrugs at Croaker's comments. Then said You looks like a dwarf.
He listen to the First Seeker and follows her. When she proposes to play Harcoló, Ombonth turns to Alsayf and asks What's that?!.
The riforian shrugs, not knowing either what that could be.
Hearing his comrades agreeing to the game, Ombonth adds I'm in.
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Jagrur nods at Croaker. "Good, good. And yeah, Done some upgrades to ol' 'Dross here.....hopefully learning from Pact World Warriors helped me figure what I needed to do with em. Also upgraded his weapon...he doesn't need range, so gave him an ol' fusion gun that will be good for things like bulk enemies, or those dreaded swarms. I assume you have been up to no-good recently, eh Croaker?"
Hearing Akitonian being spoken Jagrur smiles. and back in Akitonian.
Listening to Luwazi he tries to see if anything she says feels normal, or if she is implying something.
But he feels everything seems normal....
"Harcoló. Haven't played that in a few years....did it for wa while while I was studying at a University on Castrovel. It is fun, but Wall-e-ball is my preferred...something about seeing that ball zingging around all of the walls and ceilings....makes it a hard one to track, but fun."
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Ombonth shrugs at Croaker's comments. Then said You looks like a dwarf.
Ears looks at the dragonkin, then announces in a stage whisper, "Fur, pivoting parabolic ears, long tail, just like a dwarf. Someone needs a lesson in basic species identification."
The ysoki eagerly replies to Jagrur.
"Anyway, glad to meet you. Is that a Kesselly 5 power converter on your robot?
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Smiling at the ysoki, Jagrur continues to convers with him in Akitonian.
"Oh yeah, that mission. I recall a couple of agents, but Master Filament he was a piece of something I will say you that. I hope he is all right."
"Master Filament subsequently uncovered the fate of one of his missing students during the first expedition I led to the Scoured Stars." Luwazi replies grimly. "It was most unfortunate."
"Harcoló I heard of that game. It is fairly popular on Castrovel right? I always wanted to try it."
"That is the one." Luwazi affirms as she leads you all into a large circular room with glass half-spherical window that overlooks the grounds of the Lorespire Complex campus.
"First Speaker, it's an honor to meet you in person. I'm Ears."
"Yes, of course, Ears." Luwazi responds warmly. "The honor is mine."
Hearing his comrades agreeing to the game, Ombonth adds I'm in.
"Glad to hear it, Ombonth." The First Seeker says encouragingly.
"Harcoló. Haven't played that in a few years....did it for wa while while I was studying at a University on Castrovel."
"Playing harcoló is many ways is like riding a hoverbike." Luwazi smiles. "Once you've got it down, it comes back to you pretty quick."
"Still," she continues, "as I suspect that I have the most experience at harcoló, I will play as a team of one."
With you all now in the room, Luwazi promptly takes up position on the opposite side of a rectangular table with a single line of jagged violet crystals dividing the table into two distinct play areas. "Are you ready to go? Or would you prefer that I assign you to teams?"
As the first team takes its place to compete against Luwazi, a team unto herself, the First Seeker says, "I want to thank all of you for humoring me with this little game. I don’t get a chance to get as much recreation in as I probably should, what with the Society’s ongoing search for a new First Seeker. Also, I can’t keep just beating up on poor Radaszam.”
Luwazi says with a vibrant smile as she finishes her stretches and takes to the table.
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Croaker chuckles at the conversation happening between the Ears and Jagrur. He looks at Luwazi and gets on the field as a part of the first team.
Croaker gets on the field and warms up a bit. He dropped his backpack, rifle, knife and everything else that was not necessary. He even set aside a couple of cards which he held in closeby. As the game started his eyes begun to shine as he mimicked the sound of the ball hitting the floor before it happened, trying to trick Luwazi
As Croaker and his teammates take their positions, the ysoki makes the first move, taking Luwazi by surprise.
"I thought you had said you hadn't played harcoló before?" Luwazi says, clearly impressed. "That was quite the first move."
"Speaking of firsts" she continues as she sets up for her move. "The Forum has put together a list of initial candidates for our new First Seeker. Since you represent our new generation of agents, I was wondering if I could pass some of them by you. I’m sure that each of you has the potential to one day take my position, but until that day comes, we’ve got some immediate candidates to discuss!”
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"How about Team Akiton? Croaker, Jagrur, and myself?"
Luwazi gives a competitive nod.
Ears makes a poor move. He shuts both eyes, turns his head and opens one eye to view the result. Ugh. Sorry, team. Let's get the next one!"[b]
Luwazi easily counters the move by Ears. [b]"The next one?" she continues. "The next First Seeker? Well, Avor Stelek is a possibilty. He’s an interesting man, known for being a doctor as much as he is a master of blades and dance. I’ve seen him working with agents like yourselves who have only just begun their careers in our Society. I appreciate his enthusiasm for recruitment and training. However, I’m worried that he isn’t willing to work with other organizations. Avor believes that factions like the Dataphiles and Wayfinders need to take even more of a backseat to the greater needs of the Society. That sort of refocusing on our core mission may be just what we need in the coming days, though."
Limbering up...as much as a dwarf can at least...he gets in and does his best to help his team.
The dwarf manages to get a crystal past Luwazi.
"Good match," concedes Luwazi. "You know what else might be a good match? Ehu Hadif Ko’ra Amares of Clan Tolar and the position of First Seeker. Ehu exemplifies diligence. He’s a kasatha who’s done a lot of work on bringing old Society lore back to the forefront. He was personally responsible for arranging an upcoming mission based on the findings of a recovered Starfinder starship called the Unbounded Wayfarer. Ehu’s recent interest lie in the library world of Athaeum and uncovering a mystery Starfinders found on an earlier mission. Focusing our efforts on a single world could be a welcome change of pace that allows us to dive deep into its history—that is, as long as the world interests enough of our agents."
With the first match going to Team Akiton, Luwazi gestures for the remainder of the party to take their positions for the next match.
Ombonth take his place and tries to understand the rules of the game.
The vanguard makes a valiant effort, but the First Seeker is too skilled.
"You didn't think that I'd go easy on you, did you?" Luwazi smiles. "I know that you agents are quite capable of handling all sorts of challenges."
"Still," she continues, "The Society is certainly facing some challenges at present. If ever we needed someone to help our reputation, now is the time. Tara Nova seems to fit that role quite well, and she’s a strong proponent of the Society becoming more of a force in the media circuit. I know she still harbors a lot of resentment for what happened in the Scoured Stars, and she’s made it very clear that if any organization tries to attack us, she’d be willing to use overwhelming force to take them down. But will such aggressive tactics make us more enemies in the long run? That much is quite unclear."
Octavii looks hesitantly at the bat he is currently holding and hopes that he can do something useful with it.
He does indeed, catching the confident Luwazi off guard.
"Well done, Octavii!" she concedes. "You took me by surprise with that move."
“But, then, I rather enjoy a pleasant surprise. For instance, I never thought that we’d see a morlamaw rise to the heights that Calder Soren has so quickly. It was only two years ago that we authorized our mission to the morlamaw home world, and now morlamaws have joined the Society in droves. Calder Soren wants to reestablish our presence in Near Space and in the Vast. He’s been pushing an initiative to construct a whole new series of lodges out beyond the Pact Worlds! Expansion could help us greatly, as long as his vision doesn’t neglect the work that needs to be done in the lodges that we already have.”
"Good match. We'll call it a draw." affirms Luwazi. "Thank you all again for playing."
"Please visit each of the candidates that I've mentioned and offer them assistance, however you can." explains the First Seeker. "Then, return here to the Lorespire Complex for an informal debriefing on each of the potential new First Seekers. I will do my best to answer any questions that you may have, but I want you to form your own opinions and conclusions."
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A Verthani in corporate attires arrives and go straight to the Dragonkin before stopping under Ombonth's murdering look. He then turns to the Ryphorian.
After a short conversation, the Ryphorian turns to Ombonth and talk to him for a moment.
Then, he bows to the group and says A legal matter push us to go back to Triaxus, sorry to let you alone.
After a last grunt, Ombonth follows his friend Aystif out of the station.
The Verthani turns to the group and says.
Greetings! I'm Malaak Goodman. If you need a lawyer I'm your Verthani! Anyway I will replace Ombonth for this mission. I was briefed before, so I'm ready.
Beginner's luck I suspect though. Sooooo ... if you don't mind me asking ... what are your plans during retirement. Umbrella drinks on a Castrovellian beach perhaps?
"Retirement?" Luwazi replies with a smirk. "Who said anything about retirement? I may be stepping down as First Seeker, but I am still a Starfinder through and through!"
By recalling earlier viewed data feeds or by asking around, the Starfinders may find they have some information regarding the candidate Calder Soren.
You are readily able to find the election headquarters of Calder Soren, which are located within a trio of adjoining meeting rooms within the Lorespire Complex that have been temporarily converted into Calder’s election headquarters. The quarters are filled with mock-ups of signs and numerous potential campaign slogans.
Upon your entry into the headquarters, you notice a set of guideposts intended to accommodate a line of hundreds of people. The line is empty.
On the far side of the headquarters, you see a morlamaw onboard a circular hoverplatform engaged in an animated conversation with one of the few staffers present in the headquarters.
Picture of Calder Soren now available on Slides.
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Octavii was mentally chastising himself on the way there Dude ... what did you ask her THAT for .... pronk ... that coulda been embarrising
He hovered at the doorway looking at the long, empty, snaking roped off line. He could try flying straight over it but that could be considered as rude. Besides ..... why not ...
So, with headphones on, and playing the 'Ride of the Valkyries' he sped flew the entire line, banking at the turns, basically trying to beat his air-speed record, finally curving upwards and backwinging to slow down before colliding with either Calder, the staffer, or the back wall.
After that exhilarating run, he hovered nearby waiting for the morlamaw to finish.
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Croaker looks at Octavii flying in a zig-zag manner and he shakes his snout not understanding what is happening.
"Are we all planning to do this show?" aska about Octavii flying routine.
If given no answer he walks around the zigzag walk not willing to participate in this preposterous waste of time.
Calder turns his head at the swishing sounds of Octavii's frantic wings maneuvering through the roped line in time to see the kiirinta collide with the back wall.
"Oh, my!" he remarks as he begins to move his hoverplatform towards Octavii to check on the Starfinder's condition.
However, the morlamaw then spots walking around the line, immediately earning Calder’s attention. Shifting directions, the morlamaw flies in onboard his circular hoverplatform toward the ysoki.
"It would appear that you are not taking the procession line seriously." Calder scolds, pointing a side flipper towards the roped-off line. "I must demand that you go back and walk through the procession before I can tend to whatever matter may have brought you here."
The purple-hued candidate gives a stern look through his spectacles.
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Giving his business card to numerous people, Malaak uses the time to try to know more about Calder Soren.
As they approach the headquarter he not even remarks that the line are empty, but as a lawyer he knows that is better to follow the guideline and uses the guidepost zigzag.
He realizes that he made the right choice when the Morlamaw moves to the Ysoki, fire in his eyes.
Greetings Calder Soren! I'm Malaak Goodman, corporate lawyer. Please, this is my card in case you need legal advice.
Also, we've have been sent by First Seeker Luwasabo to help you. I've heard that you're looking to reopen a lodge in Near Space, may be we can be of help?
"Greetings Calder Soren! I'm Malaak Goodman, corporate lawyer. Please, this is my card in case you need legal advice."
"Greetings!" Calder replies excitedly to Malaak and those who approached via the zigzag cue.
"Also, we've have been sent by First Seeker Luwasabo to help you. I've heard that you're looking to reopen a lodge in Near Space, may be we can be of help?
“Well, you see," begins Calder making his pitch, "I’ve heard about this abandoned Starfinder lodge on Kalcijet 5, a habitable world in Near Space. Some prospectors from Ulrikka Clanholdings got in touch with me and said that the lodge’s lights were on, which is strange, since we haven’t sent a team there in decades. If you can go clear out any squatters, I think it would go a long way in showing people how getting us back out into Near Space, and eventually the Vast, is important to keep us relevant. I’ll even arrange the transport, as long as you listen to my latest guitar solo!”
Remaining true to his word, the morlamaw produces an electronic guitar from under the press stage he’s set up in the back of his election office. He performs a brutal bass melody. Then, asks, "So, do you have any further questions?"
"Of course!" Calder replies. "There is always room for cello."
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Ears is just stepping into the line with the intention of cutting through under the tapes between the guideposts when he sees the morlamaw chastise Croaker. Ears follows the lawyer, muttering, "Stupid, stupid stupid."
While Calder deals with Malaak, Ears nudges his fellow ysoki. "Burned! If you weren't faster, it would have been me. So thanks. "
"Seems simple enough. Anything special that we should know about Kalcijet?"
"Seems simple enough. Anything special that we should know about Kalcijet?"
"Standard gravity and atmospheric composition." Calder recalls pensively. "The lodge is located within a forested biome. Some dangerous flora or fauna, I suppose. The Kalcijet 5 lodge, however, stands atop a steep hill that overlooks the forest, so I wouldn't expect you to encounter too many of the local lifeforms. None are thought to be intelligent enough to turn on the lights at any rate."
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Jagrur follows the line along with the rest of the group.
Listening about what the morlamaw wants, and comments, "The Ulrikka Clanholdings....yeah, if they say that this abandoned lodge has lights and power...when we obviously have not been there, we probably should go check it out. You know, to clean out any sensitive data or equipment that shouldn't fall in the wrong hands. Though if there are squatters there, I don't know who has the rights on the item...did we actually abandon it? If so...isn't it finders rights? I think we might have a lawyer that might know about that, and if property law isn't their strong suit, maybe we should contact Meller and Meller or some other lawyer like the Sledgehammer or Len N00n--you know that famous Android Lawyer that seems to chase air-bulances........."
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"It would appear that you are not taking the procession line seriously."
"Why should I? The place is empty, I don't have all the time in the world."
"I must demand that you go back and walk through the procession before I can tend to whatever matter may have brought you here."
"You've got to be s*** me, boy! I am not cutting the line or anything for you to be d*** about it!"
Yells Croaker and turns around. He enters the queue going under the tape in 1/3 of the way and follows the others.
When he hears about the mission
"And what do you exactly means when saying: clear out any squatters! Can we use force to do that? What if they take a stand? Should we bring you their heads to hang on your wall?"
He nods to what Jagrur is saying and leaves the room angry straight after the guitar solo.
When they go to the ship he acts normally and cheerful.
"If you wonder why I was such a pain in the fin, it is that I wanted to see how far is he following his mania to follow the rules. How does he handles people who are troublesome? THe fact that I believe all the things I said, made it easier."
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Maybe the last entity out forgot to turn the lights off
Ears places his prehensile paw in front of his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
...
When they go to the ship he acts normally and cheerful.
"If you wonder why I was such a pain in the fin, it is that I wanted to see how far is he following his mania to follow the rules. How does he handles people who are troublesome? THe fact that I believe all the things I said, made it easier."
"I hardly blame you. Our morlamaw friend could have been a nicer fussbudget."