Dot and delete, please
First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo steps forward to her podium addressing the Starfinder fleet. “Starfinders, after two years of hardship following our devastating first foray into the Scoured Stars, we now stand taller than ever and are back to fighting form. Today, new recruits rally beside experienced agents and rescued veterans, coming together to form the most resourceful, prepared, and skilled organization the Pact Worlds have ever known. This newfound strength comes not a moment too soon, for the threat within the Scoured Stars is unlike any we’ve ever faced: a hostile military force known as the jinsuls, committed to our complete destruction. Stopping the Jinsul Hierocracy will challenge us more than anything we’ve done before, but what I’ve seen from our agents these past two years assures me that we are more than up to the task! Your orders will arrive shortly; for now, gather your equipment, finish your preparations, and send any messages you wish before we reach the Scoured Stars.”
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You see a lashunta with piercings, stylish bad boy clothing and a lean but tough frame. It seems as if his lineage stretches back to the legendary lashunta hunters from centuries before the Gap.
He pops up in the briefing. His robe is of a dark blue color with emblems of a four-armed dragon.
“These damn invaders don't know anything about the strength here it seems! I have an idea how to convince them to get out of our way! We just blast them to bits!“ the Lashunta shouts.
“Damn! I should be more concerned about my safety. Why the heck did I want to become an aspiring agent?? You knew these assignments are dangerous." he whispers to himself.
Then he shakes his head and realizes that he spent so much time with non-telepaths that he is even starting to speak verbally TO HIMSELF.
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A human walks over to his mustering area, a slight limp to his gait. A few feet behind him walks a small bipedal dinosaur with a domed head. The human nods to the others as they arrive.
"Hey there, everybody. Name's Officer Wilson. I was a security guard, then when I was working a job at Songbird Station during a Strawberry Machine Cake concert, you guys really inspired me. So I decided to join the Starfinder Society. Joined up just in time to go get the lost Starfinders back from the Scoured Stars ..." His eyes seem to look off into the distance. "It was ... rough. But I'm better now, though."
The dinosaur nuzzles his arm. "Oh, yeah, this is Dozer. He's my emotional support Pachycephalosaurid. Helps keep me calm and focused, especially in social situations. I'm training him up to help in fights someday, but right now he's gonna hang back when things get hot."
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The very petite and quite attractive woman in a corporate business suit wraps up the encrypted text she was sending and pockets her comm unit as Luwazi begins speaking. 'Devastating first foray' is putting it mildly, she thinks and can't help but roll her eyes at the sentiment. She wasn't one of the ones trapped there with us. She scans the crowd looking for Jadnura or any of the other agents that were also trapped and subsequently rescued like her, but fails to spot any that she knows.
When Officer Wilson introduces himself, she turns and gives him a dazzling smile. "So you were on the rescue teams? I, uh, just want to thank you. " She scratches Dozer under the chin then smiles wryly and gives a little laugh. "And to think, I wasn't even technically a Starfinder when I went in there."
"Mahari Jones, corporate espionage," she then introduces herself. "And Scoured Stars survivor, ready to go back for a little revenge on those damn bugs."
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A young looking Half Orc saunters over to join the group. She is bubbling with excitement...or completely nervous. Who knows!
Greetings fellow Starfinders! Another Mission for us! How exciting. All those years working in the security gangs in Night Arch, I never dreamed my trusty Armor would get me this far! oh, yes, err um, my name is Rhubarby! Tech Support. It is so nice to make your acquaintances
Despite herself, she takes the time to make a personal greeting with each member of the team.
As far as Half Orcs go, she is a Half Orc, what is striking is her unusual one of kind totally unique Armor. You are quite sure you have never seen anything like it. As soon as the greetings are over, Rhubarby nonchalantly becomes quiet and tinkers with her armor. While milling around with the team.
As you introduce yourselves, you're far from the only group of disparate Starfinders making hasty meetings. Hundreds of Starfinder agents hustle throughout the loading docks aboard the ever-impressive and newly refurbished Master of Stars, the pinnacle of the Starfinder fleet. Junior agents hastily pack every docked starship with weapons, armor, spare parts, and provisions, while technical staff runs diagnostics on starship armaments and senior officers finalize flight formations and supply routes. Many Starfinders’ faces are dark with uncertainty, but the fiery resolve burns in their eyes.
Venture-Captain Arvin, a damaya lashunta man, emerges from the shifting crowd of activity, his expression hard with repressed concern. “It seems fate has made soldiers out of explorers. We’ve always prepared our agents to navigate danger and violence, but never anything like this. Still, there isn’t another organization in the Pact Worlds that I would trust more with this daunting task.” He pauses for a moment, then shakes himself back to attention. “Right, much left to do! There are still a few specialized tasks remaining that you might be able to help us complete.”
Looking around you see that the Venture-Captain is right. All around the vast space the higher-ups in the Society are going over final preparations, flagging down agents to assist them.
Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, see you coming and waves you over. Heading to an airlock leading out to some of the scaffolding on the ship’s exterior she does a classic walk-and-talk. “It’s strange to not have my children aboard, but this is no time to be bringing the young ones along. Last time, the jinsul capital ships chased away our carriers. I’d love to see how their flagship holds up against ours, but we’re still not quite finished with renovations. Try to wrap up the finishing touches on this gem of a ship— I want the last thing those jinsuls see is just how brightly it shines.”
You got any tips?
Looking for the enigmatic android Iteration-177, you find them in a conference room, as charming as ever.
“It appears I finally get to participate in a famed Starfinder adventure! I suspect you still have some desire to seek solace with the divine before heading into battle? I too, know this desire. I’m more than happy to converse, if you’d care to sit and chat.”
You see Venture-Captain Arvin looking over a group of anxious recruits in the mess hall. “Those green agents are not ready for a battle against an organized foe. Sadly, they’re liabilities when they’re frightened. Talk them through some of your experiences, set them at ease, and help them prepare for the challenges they’ll face ahead. We need them primed and ready for combat if we’re going to win this.”
The speech is passable, but many of the junior agents still seem nervous.
Celita, leader of the Dataphiles, feverishly works on the mainframe in the command center of the Master of Stars. “Greetings, I’m Celita of the Dataphiles. You may have known me as Historia-7, though I’ve since stopped using that name due to reasons we don’t have the time to discuss. I think I’ve devised a way to artificially replicate the resonance effects of the Tear relic to help our ships stay in communication and traverse the Drift more precisely. I need you to double-check my code for errors and then see if you can shield the network from detection by jinsul sensors.”
Zigvigix, leader of the Exo-Guardians, sits before an immense cargo bay filled with crates of supplies.
“They say an army marches on its stomach, but it also fights with guns and ammo! Can you take a look at all our gear to make sure it works and then load it onto the ships? Just try to keep the explosives separated from the food, please. We don’t want to have that mistake happen again!”
Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives, overlooks a large holographic map of the Scoured Stars system, overlaid with smaller, more detailed maps of terrain on specific planets. “I don’t know about you, but I’m keen to take this fight to the jinsuls on their home turf. We have topographic data collected from our last foray into the Scoured Stars, plus some information on fighting styles our agents have reported from past jinsul encounters. See if you can make sense of it all and formulate a plan of attack.”
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Walking alongside Fitch, Mahari gets a wicked smile as she tells the ysoki of her last starship battle. ”Oh, you’re gonna love what I ‘found,’ Captain. It’s a classic Manticore frame that may-or-may-not-have once belonged to a certain caf mega-corp CEO,” she says with complete plausible deniability for how it came into her possession. ”But the Mean Gurl is ours now, and I’ll get your Master of Stars into the same fighting shape that I keep the Gurl in.” As she walks, Mahari gives Fitch a quick summary of the time she took the ship Into the Veskarium and chased down some pahtra terrorists. Those cats didn’t last long against the Mean Gurl’s big guns and Mahari’s own piloting.
”It’s good that you’re coming along this time,” Mahari replies to Iteration-177. ”I know a couple of us have already spent more than enough time in the Scoured Stars system already,” she says with a comradely nod to Officer Wilson and Dozer. ”I’m not really one for contemplating the Divine, but after nearly getting blown up by cultists of the Devourer on my last mission, maybe I oughta pay a little more attention to it.” She sits politely and chats with the android as long as they are willing.
”’Prepare for the challenges ahead by hearing about my experiences? Oh, boy, are they gonna get an earful,” she says gleefully to Arvin.
”Hey, listen up,” she says gently to the small group. ”The first time we went to the Scoured Stars, things didn’t exactly go as planned. I know. I was there.” She pauses dramatically to let that sink in. ”I was a new Starfinder agent, and I got trapped on Callion-1 for over a year until great folks like Officer Wilson here came to our rescue. But then the bugs showed up and chased us out. Of course we got our butts kicked. These guys came on a rescue mission, and the folks like me that they rescued weren’t of much use in the fight. They protected us, just like when you go on missions and you have to protect some Ambassador or religious leader.” She pauses again to let them reflect on their own experiences.
”But this time it’s a war. And we’re all ready, and we’re all in the fight. And if things go bad - (which they won’t)” she asides with a soothing smile, ”we’re all gonna take care of each other.”
Not all of that is entirely true. But the best lies are always built around a core of truth.
”Hey, Boss, good to see you again,” Mahari greets her faction leader. ”And I gotta say, I like the new look,” she adds sincerely. ”Hmmm, let me take a look at this. Oh, I think if we do this,” she types a few commands and edits a couple lines of the code, ”it’ll make it a little harder for the bugs to detect us.”
Mahari nods at Zigvigix’s instructions and follows the others through the cargo bay. She pulls out a broad spectrum scanning kit and sets it to detect explosives. She wiggles her ears, and her clothing shifts into what looks like a maintenance tech’s uniform. She then slips her petite body into the smaller cracks between pallets looking for anything that may have fallen out of it’s container. As they said, getting explosives into the rations would be bad. Very bad.
It takes Mahari a minute to tear her attention away from the terrain holo of Callion-1. As much as she’d love to strand a few of the bugs there, that’s not where Radaszam wants to take the fight. So she thinks back to one of her first missions with the Starfinders after her rescue. ”Other than the Vesk, the Gideron Authority is one of the top militaristic societies in near space. I had a run in with them and easily took out one of their ships. But they used a very effective maneuver tactic…” which she describes to the Acquisitives leader, hoping that maybe someone can use it to destroy a bug ship.
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Master of Stars Touch-Up
Officer Wilson nods. "Yeah, I have a bit of experience fighting against the jinsul, the last time we were in the Scoured Stars. Their fighters are fast, but have trouble doing tight turns. The capital ships are weaker at medium range." He begins giving some advice on how to optimize the ship's attack and defense profile.
Prayer and Reflection
Officer Wilson doesn't have much experience in regards to spirituality, so just listens and tries to understand what Iteration-77 is trying to explain.
Rookie Training
Officer Wilson lays out some practical experience from his experience in law enforcement. "If possible, you want to defuse situations before you have to resort to physical confrontation. Always be armed, get yourself a pulse gauntlet or something, because you never know when you'll need to stop a hostile that's trying to move past you."
Starship Priming
Supply Run
Officer Wilson slips out of his constricting armor to help load the equipment. Unfortunately, he isn't as recovered from his injuries as he thought, so he overextends himself.
Tactical Preparations
Pointing at the tactical maps, Officer Wilson offers direct intel in many situations. "This place is hot as hell. And damp. You sweat buckets in a few minutes. Be sure to hydrate before you disembark there. And this ridge here is a very defensible position, so the best place to set down for a base camp."
As preparations wind down, a stillness settles over the crowd of Starfinders gathered on the command deck of the Master of Stars. First Seeker Jadnura, flanked by nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo and the android Iteration-177, steps forward to an elevated captain’s platform and looks out over the assembled agents. Jadnura’s resonant voice carries across the assembly. “Starfinders! Today we gather not merely as explorers and scholars, but as defenders of the galaxy. Ever since the jinsuls ambushed our rescue mission into the Scoured Stars, they have assailed us and our allies at every turn. The danger the jinsuls present to our friends and homes cannot be ignored. We now know that they intend to awaken the divine being responsible for trapping our first expedition into the Scoured Stars. We know that this scheme threatens not only the Scoured Stars but all the space surrounding it. This leaves us with one mission: break the jinsul fleet and drive them from the Scoured Stars, putting an end to their depredations once and for all. Today we march to war!”
The Starfinders disperse to their ships and launch into orbit, assembling into either tactical strike formations or vanguards surrounding the larger vessels. The fleet’s synchronized screens flash to life, showing Luwazi Elsebo from her own command station. “We are ready to approach the Scoured Stars system from the outer orbit of the Agillae system’s star. The majority of our fleet will stay together to protect our supplies and support our ground troops, while our field agents are to scout the system and find the most strategic places to engage the jinsuls. Kadrical’s divine herald, Dhurus, is the head of the snake: find where he is hiding so we can direct our full forces against him. Once we close in on him, we can face down Dhurus on equal footing and end this conflict.”
Luwazi nods to the camera. “Stick together, support each other, and stay the course. We live or die as one today. Good luck, Starfinders. Fleet—activate Drift engines now!” The screen shuts off, and each formation of starships surges forward as a unit, vanishing into the Drift.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
The Starfinder fleet emerges from the Drift as a single force, the three suns of the Scoured Stars burning brightly against the surrounding void. Moments later, onboard computers ping with streams of incoming data detailing nearby jinsul ships, planets with concentrated industrial activity, and further commands from the First Seekers. Several files emerge on the captains’ screens: briefings of locations where field agents could find useful information about how best to target the jinsul fleet’s weak points.
Walking alongside Fitch, Mahari gets a wicked smile as she tells the ysoki of her last starship battle. ”Oh, you’re gonna love what I ‘found,’ Captain. It’s a classic Manticore frame that may-or-may-not-have once belonged to a certain caf mega-corp CEO,” she says with complete plausible deniability for how it came into her possession. ”But the Mean Gurl is ours now, and I’ll get your Master of Stars into the same fighting shape that I keep the Gurl in.” As she walks, Mahari gives Fitch a quick summary of the time she took the ship Into the Veskarium and chased down some pahtra terrorists. Those cats didn’t last long against the Mean Gurl’s big guns and Mahari’s own piloting.
Officer Wilson nods. "Yeah, I have a bit of experience fighting against the jinsul, the last time we were in the Scoured Stars. Their fighters are fast, but have trouble doing tight turns. The capital ships are weaker at medium range." He begins giving some advice on how to optimize the ship's attack and defense profile.
Fitch beams as the two of you offer suggestions. The ysoki furiously scribbles down noted on her datapad. Yeah, yeah, that's great. Should soup up the Master nice and good when we face those jinsuls out there. I've already jiggered a few tricks into her, wanna see?
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”It’s good that you’re coming along this time,” Mahari replies to Iteration-177. ”I know a couple of us have already spent more than enough time in the Scoured Stars system already,” she says with a comradely nod to Officer Wilson and Dozer. ”I’m not really one for contemplating the Divine, but after nearly getting blown up by cultists of the Devourer on my last mission, maybe I oughta pay a little more attention to it.” She sits politely and chats with the android as long as they are willing.
Officer Wilson doesn't have much experience in regards to spirituality, so just listens and tries to understand what Iteration-77 is trying to explain.
Mahari does seem to try and mentally prepare herself for the coming invasion, but her talkative nature doesn't seem to fit well with quiet contemplation. Iteration-177 does however seem to take a liking to Officer Wilson's stoic calm. The android shares a few of their tips for meditation and insight before he needs to excuse himself.
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”’Prepare for the challenges ahead by hearing about my experiences? Oh, boy, are they gonna get an earful,” she says gleefully to Arvin.
”Hey, listen up,” she says gently to the small group. ”The first time we went to the Scoured Stars, things didn’t exactly go as planned. I know. I was there.” She pauses dramatically to let that sink in. ”I was a new Starfinder agent, and I got trapped on Callion-1 for over a year until great folks like Officer Wilson here came to our rescue. But then the bugs showed up and chased us out. Of course we got our butts kicked. These guys came on a rescue mission, and the folks like me that they rescued weren’t of much use in the fight. They protected us, just like when you go on missions and you have to protect some Ambassador or religious leader.” She pauses again to let them reflect on their own experiences.
”But this time it’s a war. And we’re all ready, and we’re all in the fight. And if things go bad - (which they won’t)” she asides with a soothing smile, ”we’re all gonna take care of each other.”
Officer Wilson lays out some practical experience from his experience in law enforcement. "If possible, you want to defuse situations before you have to resort to physical confrontation. Always be armed, get yourself a pulse gauntlet or something, because you never know when you'll need to stop a hostile that's trying to move past you."
Between the halfling's fiery rhetoric and the officer's practical advice, the newer agent's morale seems to rebound tenfold. Arvin gives you a relieved smile form a distance as he moves to direct the rookies to their assignments.
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”Hey, Boss, good to see you again,” Mahari greets her faction leader. ”And I gotta say, I like the new look,” she adds sincerely. ”Hmmm, let me take a look at this. Oh, I think if we do this,” she types a few commands and edits a couple lines of the code, ”it’ll make it a little harder for the bugs to detect us.”
Yes, I see. Celita takes Mahari's coding and immediately begins to build off of it. And if that is implemented here, it would not only refract their sensors, but the improved efficiencies in power distribution could be re-routed to the weaponry systems... The android trails off, but seems quite pleased with your assistance.
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Wilson loads and Mahari scans to try and get everything sorted promptly. Even with Wilson's back acting up, the shirren seems quite pleased Excellent! That should be more than enough supplies and ammunition to last us through. Unless the Godshield goes up again, but what are the odds of that happening twice! Can't plan for it anyway. So with this done, we should be able to have room to load up more specialized equipment as well. Thank you for your help agents! I'll make sure you're flagged on the priority access list!
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Pointing at the tactical maps, Officer Wilson offers direct intel in many situations. "This place is hot as hell. And damp. You sweat buckets in a few minutes. Be sure to hydrate before you disembark there. And this ridge here is a very defensible position, so the best place to set down for a base camp."
It takes Mahari a minute to tear her attention away from the terrain holo of Callion-1. As much as she’d love to strand a few of the bugs there, that’s not where Radaszam wants to take the fight. So she thinks back to one of her first missions with the Starfinders after her rescue. ”Other than the Vesk, the Gideron Authority is one of the top militaristic societies in near space. I had a run in with them and easily took out one of their ships. But they used a very effective maneuver tactic…” which she describes to the Acquisitives leader, hoping that maybe someone can use it to destroy a bug ship..
those hobgoblins know how to run a military. Radaszam snorts as he listens to Mahri's advice. The trick sounds good; won't be usable over and over, but I'm sure we could catch a few unawares. Still, this'll be a fight above and on the ground. he muses and turns back to Wilson. As you discuss tactical considerations, you get a good overview of the Society's general deployment positions, and a strong sense of how the overall tide of battle might be ebbing and flowing.
As the entirety of the Starfinder fleet emerges from the Drift into the Scoured Stars system, the sheer scale of ships visible through the viewports is awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, the throng of jinsul vessels is just as numerous, if not more so.
Starfinder ships begin to splinter off towards their missions, when a skittermander hurries towards the four of you.
Hey nufriends! Don't have time to meet all of you well and hang out and be best friends forever (sad) because very busy. But there's a lot of things to do and the big people are looking to me to find poeple to do them!
Zigvigix needs some people to go to Agillae-2 and get some intel on the ground. There's a lot of jinsul there, and we need to know what they're up to! Meanwhile Hist---sorry, Celita is planning a sneaky hack on some data plant on Agillae-4.
Venture Captain Arvin is trying to hunt down some jinsul scouts in the Drift before they can report their findings, and Venture Captain Naiaj is trying to locate and rescue an early scout flight that seems to have been ambushed. Oh! And Radaszam says he has a prisoner? but he's not sure if they're being honest or its just another trick.
As I said, lots to do! So can I tell any of them I'm sending assistance?
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I too have encountered the Jinsul in the past. Clever opponents, we defeated them by using advanced tactics. I bet I can review our ship sensors and update them to alert on Jinsul boarding parties. Should give us an advantage if things ever come to that.
Praise be and pass the bourbon. Rhubarby shares her flask of premium Vesk bourbon with anyone who wants to partake in the spirit of the good whatever. Amen.
Rookie Training, that is what Rhubarby's do best!
She goes around lending her armor efforts and shows people how to check their gear, batten down clips, tie up loose ends and prepare their gear for battle.
Hey, I can assist with diagnostics when I catch a break helping all these pukes suite up into their battle gear
Supply Runs, I mean THAT is what Rhubarby's do best! I know right where to get the best Veskarium Bourbon. I will be right back hic! I will put the Tab on the Starfinder Society! Those cheap basta...I mean really nice guys wont mind one bit
My old Srgt. always said when it comes to tactics, those who get their first with the most guns usually win. That and don't be a push over. Toughen up and learn to deal with the pain. Though, admittedly, that is not exactly her words, but everyone around here is such a light weight, I would hate all the paperwork I would be forced to sign if I actually was tough enough to quote her. She was such a boss
As much as I'd love to take the Manticore out for a spin, we only have 4 players, so maybe we pass on starship combat until or unless that's all that's left.
I vote for Callion-2, the Captive Interview to start off with.
The four of you choose to help Radaszam acquire intel directly from your opponent. By the time your shuttle reaches the vesk's ship, the Acquisitive leader seems in a mood. Radaszam’s already imposing vesk figure appears extra threatening as he looms over a bound jinsul on his starship’s bridge. “Let me introduce you to my guest, Teskrkah," he gestures to the spider-like form strapped down before you all. "She is a jinsul who claims to have betrayed her teammates — those teammates being an assassination squad sent to kill me. Now, I don’t know what to believe, so I want you to figure out the truth here. I have some bigger fires I need to put out at the moment, so I’m handing this off to you. I’ve programmed the computer to translate for you if you need it. Remember, we’re Starfinders and not depraved killers, so don’t torture this pitiful creature. Just get what information you can from her. Engage the ship’s autopilot once you’ve gotten her to talk and it’ll bring you right to my location.”
As the vesk departs swiftly towards his own shuttle to head back into the fray, the jinsul Teskrkah struggles violently against her restraints for a moment as the bridge door closes. Then, finding no release, she slumps back into the chair with a series of mandible clicks. The computer registers the clicks as a language and translates, “DHURUS, THOUGH AN ABOMINABLE CURSE ON MY PEOPLE, SEEMS SET TO MOUNT YOU ATOP ITS FLAGSHIP, AS IT DID THE GREAT HEROES WE ONCE FOLLOWED."
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Knowing they're heading in to talk to a prisoner, Mahari wiggles her pointed little ears and her clothes shift their weave and appearance. Instead of the maintenance tech's coveralls she wore when searching through the stacks of pallets and supplies, she's now dressed as a med tech. Not that she's any good at providing medical care, but people tend to trust medical personnel, and the outfit tends to open lots of doors, both figuratively and literally.
Just like the interrogation I did on Mr. Lanzio. Well, maybe not just like it. He wasn't a jinsul trying to kill all of us.
Mahari glances at Rhubarbie's data-pad as the half-orc calls up data about Dhurus. She suspects maybe Teskrkah isn't loyal to Dhurus, but venerates their old "great heroes" instead.
"So, Teskrkah, help me understand. Dhurus overthrew the old heroes, and now he leads all the jinsul. What happened to those heroes of your people? Why aren't more of the jinsul unhappy about that like you are?"
As she talks to the captive, she tries to also get a sense of whether she's injured, dehydrated, or otherwise in need of medical care.
Teskrkah does not appear seriously injured: a few scratches but all minor. As Mahari tries to sweet talk her, the halfling does detect a distaste from the jinsul as she brings up Dhurus' veneration by her fellow jinsuls.
Her clicks are again translated by the bridge computers.
"OUR HEROES WERE THE GREATEST OF US. FORGED BY THE HARSH TESTING OF RAX, LEADING THE JINSUL THROUGH OUR TRIALS . BUT DHURUS OVERTHREW THE CHAMPIONS AND NOW LASHES THEM AS TROPHIES TO HIS VESSEL. HE DOES NOT EVEN DEIGN TO KILL HIS FOES. AND HE BRINGS US BACK TO THESE STARS WE LEFT FROM? THE BLASPHEMER SEEKS TO BE A GODLING HIMSELF, AND TOO MANY ARE FOOLS TO FOLLOW HIM. I STAY TRUE TO THE OLD WAYS. THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHERE YOUR LEADERS WOULD BE. BUT YOU SCALED AND FLESHED CREATURES MAY BE THE PATH TOWARDS SWATTING DHURUS DOWN."
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Wilson's training at law enforcement has made him good at interrogations, and listens carefully to Teskrkah's responses, to figure out what she's holding back. But he keeps back, not wanting to say anything. The person doing the talking is the one most likely to let something slip.
While he tries to stay casual, Dozer glares his pachy eyes at the jinsul. Clearly, he has memories that make him dislike these creatures, and that anger is evident in his gaze.
Wilson sizes the captive jinsul up before he speaks. Despite the creature's clear hatred of Dhurus and their plans, Teskrkah still appears hesitant. As she rants about strength and endurance the 'proper' way, the old officer has a hunch she's still not sure if your Society is strong enough to stop them, or if you're just going to be the losing side.
Unfortunately, Dozer finds that a staring contest with an eight-eyed creature is hard to win. The jinsul seems unimpressed by the dinosaur's presence.
It is extremely hard to read the jinsul's expression. Their insectile anatomy simply does not display thoughts and emotions in the same way that humanoids do. Still, Teskrkah seems to relax in the restraints she is held in, a sign that the words, if not smile of the lashunta have calmed her.
THOUGH WE MAY BE IN THE SAME FLOATING CONVEYANCE, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH NEEDED TO ROW US AWAY FROM THE PERVERSION INTENDED BY DHURUS. YOU MAY SIMPLY TAKE US INTO OUR DESTRUCTION.
Whatever tension left the Jinsul at Donovan's words returns as Mahari speaks and the computer translates for her. Her many eyes flick around the room and the gathered Starfinders.
YOUR THREATS ARE MEANINGLESS. YOUR KIND DO NOT HAVE THE COURAGE OF BRUTALITY. IT IS WHAT MAKES YOU WEAK.
Still, you suspect that Mahari came very close to frightening her and if someone just gave the threat a little aid, it would stick.
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Rhubarby in the meanwhile has been pulling up a schematic of her armor. Using captured video of the the guets, she is nonchalantly creating schematics of her armor with the Jinsul's chitin (they have a somewhat armored carapace) in useful and decorated fashion. Rhubarby's profession is Engineering Armorer Profession, this is something that she clearly looks like she could do, looking at the custom Armor she has on. Rhubarby She is sizing up the our new friends legs and bodice and working it into how this might augment her armor. This of course is all on a projector in plain sight of her raw material....Teskkrah to see.
The jinsul tenses further then relaxes, or more accurately, slumps in defeat. Slowly, mechanically, it begins to chitter again.
A NELENTU DOUBLE-AGENT FROM THE KREIHOLM FREEHOLD NAMED TSIMTSARA PROVIDED ME INFORMATION. THAT'S HOW I FOUND YOUR LEADERS AND WAS ABLE TO STRIKE AT THEM.
There is a pregnant silence in the room after the revelation then from everywhere and nowhere, a voice booms, “NONE BETRAY ME!” as Teskrkah’s body violently convulses before ripping apart in a surge of divine energy. The energy then coalesces into two jinsul-shaped demonic entities, who immediately attack!
Donovan leaps into action, somehow both frightening and off balancing a demon.
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"Nice moves, Donovan," Mahari says in appreciation of the lashunta's feints. She quickly takes advantage of Red's confusion to slip away from it while also making Blue believe she's going somewhere else.
"But what are they?" she thinks as she tries to remember if she's ever seen anything like them before.
Mahari not only manages to hit the demon but also manages to bluff it into an advantageous position. Unfortunately, the electricity from her pistol crackles over and through the creature without seeming to hurt it.
Rhubarby is not quiet so fortunate and her swing misses, even with the red marked creature not being fully able to dodge.
Mahari also figures out that these are Blooddrinker Demons and what she already realized, which is that they are immune to electrical attacks. They are also immune to poison and resistant to acid, cold and fire. Fortunately, they don't seem to have any particularly nasty attacks.
That's not to say they don't have ANY attacks, however and the Red one goes after Rhubarby while Blue skitters at Donovan.
Both manage to hit.
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Jeez. I've really got to get a backup weapon, Mahari thinks as she watches the electrical bolt ground out harmlessly. Oh well, here's goes nothing. She drops her (uselss) pistol, jukes right then left around Blue as she draws her tac baton, and takes a swing at the demon.
"Donovan, step into the flank with me. Just don't use electricity, in case you didn't notice."
Mahari and Donovan work together to leave the blue tinged demon disoriented and shaken, but Mahari is unable to land a blow on it.
Not so for Rhubarby and Wilson who both literally bring the thunder, landing a 1-2 punch on red.
It's not enough to bring it down, though and it lashes out at Wilson while the blue one continues to attack Donovan.
They both connect, though Donovan has gotten into their heads and their muscles betray them somewhat.