|
Izzip, draws his plasma pistol and moves in on the undead Rastar is fighting before firing a line of superheated plasma at it.
J'Shun, strikes down the undead he is fighting and immediately he feels a surge or energy through his body that then propels him toward the next undead.
"Victory is mine!" He yells as he focuses his control over entropy into his arms as he throws a punch followed by spinning elbow at the incorporeal undead.
Izzip fires plasma but the creature avoids the blast, it doesn't avoid J'Shun though, and he lands a solid blow to it.
R9
Vyv
Izzy - acted
Helix
R10
Rastar
Chorizal
J'Shun - acted
ENEMY
B 49
DG Deaddead
LG Deaddead
W Deaddead
Boss 122
The power gauge on the Fangblade is concerningly low, with just one bar showing, but the blade strikes true nonetheless and carves enough of the creature away that it ceases to exist as the second swing comes through.
Chorizal also lands a blow.
R9
Vyv
Izzy - acted
Helix
R10
Rastar - acted
Chorizal - acted
J'Shun - acted
ENEMY
B Deaddead
DG Deaddead
LG Deaddead
W Deaddead
Boss 130
Vyv gets the beast in a moment of distraction and nails it with an exceptionally well-placed shot; it finally succumbs and the otherworldly bonds holding it together finally collapse, as does the monstrosity as it begins unraveling before your eyes.
/end combat.
Silence descends on the ship once more, you are in pretty bad shape, and know it is a matter of time before all the meds wear off.
In the bridge the computer screens continue their soft glow, and the silence is only slightly disturbed by various chimes and beeps.
|
"Someone remind me to get a fusion that will let me hit ghosts, THIS I COMMAND!" Chorizal pants as he stands over the broken body of the one opponent he could actually injure.
He returns to J'Shun's side and hands him his sword hilt first. He claps the man on the shoulder for a moment and gives it a squeeze before moving on to pick up his dragonglaive.
"Can anyone crack these things open? I can do it but they won't be very useful the way I'm going to do it," he says, brandishing his weapon.
|
Vyviane takes a moment to blink at the finally dead amalgam and slowly move from off the ceiling. Once back on the ground she grabs a battery out of her other pistol and replaces the nearly fully used up one in her sonic pistol. She then looks at everyone with a wane smile, not even trying to cover up the anxiety and exhaustion she had been feeling. "We servived. J'Shun and Izzip will likely need some major healing magic in a bit but no one died, so there's that!"
She then takes a moment to breathe and reenter herself before moving over to the console and taking a look at the controls. "Right we were going to reboot the ship, right? I'll help with the console over here if Dr. Helix or Izzip would like to take the lead."
|
|
"Well done, Captain Chorizal well done." J'Shun, sounds like he's taken a beating. He accepts Tears of the Sun from Chorizal and places it back in its scabbard. His movements are much slower than normal.
He's still up on two feet, but looking a little shaky. Doctor Helix's biohack is the only thing keeping him standing.
Never the less he continues to give orders.
"Lieutenant Isafira, give me a status report."
|
"Hey Chorizal, jus tbecause you picked up the idiot's sword doesn't mean you have to start acting like him! Or does it? Anyone know if J'Shun can possess his sword and make Cho act the fool?"
Rastar was only half-heartedly paying attention to his banter. That last fight had been difficult for all of them. Idly, he swapped out the nearly depleted charge pack in his sword for a fresh one, and hoped that there wasn't another fight like that around the corner.
"What's you find in that computer?"
As a final act of spite, the computer terminal arc electricity and tries killing Vyv.
Electricity
18 Ref for half.
Once that is dealt with, you gain root access to the computer
system, bypassing its basic encryption. You retrieve several interesting pieces of data, including ship logs, legal cargo manifests, navigational data, and biographies of the original kasatha crew.
The ship’s logs confirm the identity of the vessel—a commercial transport called the Jiri Nunkor—and its owner, QuikJett’s CEO, Jett. The vessel previously ran passengers and goods back and forth between the Pact Worlds and several new colonies in the Vast.
You also know that Jett reported the disappearance of the Jiri Nunkor almost two years ago. Additionally, the most recent logs and navigational data indicate the ship had traveled to a region of space currently affected by sudden Drift beacon failures. The ship’s final waypoint transmission is dated from one year and 220 days ago.
Along with all of this, you identify the remains of the rogue artificial intelligence embedded in the computer’s operating code and hardware. The AI had been installed on the ship and programmed to attack other vessels in the Vast. Once you disabled the ship, the AI executed its self-destruct protocol. The AI code is irreparably corrupted, and no additional information on its actions can be discovered.
***
After recovering the data from the ship, you left the Idaran vessel. Aphon recommended leaving a buoy so QuikJett can retrieve the missing vessel once you report back to the Lorespire Complex. After a buoy was launched and Captain K’zyk confirmed the Linovae is sufficiently repaired and ready for travel, the two ships then made their way back to the Pact Worlds without further incident.
Following the return to the Pact Worlds you escorted the Linovae safely to Verces, then continued onward to Aballon. After docking at Resurgent Technologies’ shipyard, Aphon reported the results of the tests to Dr. Tsi Tsorsk, who is incensed about the damage to the ship (no matter how minor) but nevertheless thrilled by the prototype’s performance.
***
Chiskisk arrives and greets you, the shirren seems very eager to hear what happened "How was the ship? What happened out there?"
|
|
"Doesn't hit hard enough. We ran into a ghost ship that came close to knocking us out of space. Then had to fight our way through its ghostly crew to glare at the AI a bit. Then we came back."
The nonchalant way Rastar delivered the summary made it seem like a walk in the park, and not the harrowing near-death experience it was.
"You made a very admirable decision to rescue the Linovae, despite piloting an unproven prototype vessel. Due to the ship’s impressive performance data, the prototype starship will—after a few modifications—move into full production. And not a moment too soon, it seems there are numerous Drift beacon failures in the Vast and mysterious activity surrounding these increasingly frequent blackouts"
You are all aboard a Starfinder Society chartered shuttle traveling to the Prize of Kashak in Verces’s orbit. Venture-Captain Naiaj addresses you from the main viewscreen of the shuttle's conference room.
“I trust your trip has been speedy. With the pleasantries out of the way, we have a briefing to conduct. By now, you’ve almost arrived in Verces’s orbit. Your destination is the Prize of Kashak, a starliner that is hosting the pre-show gala for an upcoming qualifier for the Absalom Run. That’s a starship race. I’m sure it’s quite fun. But for you, this trip is all business"
“As you know, the Society is working on a new era of starship. First Seeker Ehu Hadif aims to expand our presence in the Vast, and we need something better suited to the task. This goal has become critical now that we’ve noticed malfunctioning Drift beacons there"
“We’ve been approached by Redshift Revolution, a prominent Pact Worlds starship manufacturer, to help with the engines and thrusters for our new ships. As it turns out, they also need our help. I’ve invited one of their representatives to explain.”
A second viewscreen activates, displaying a bald verthani woman with pure black eyes and muted blue skin.
“Greetings. I am Rostessa Yaszan, Vice President of Intercorporate Affairs with Redshift Revolution. I am responsible for solidifying our business partnership. I am also responsible for handling a… minor dispute… that we have with Terminator, a rival corporation"
“A disgruntled employee named Elinva Petrilus—a skilled mechanic and pilot—stole a prototype X-64 starship, the successor to our famous X-62, and disappeared into the Vast. We believe she intends to hand the vessel over to Terminator. This would be a catastrophic setback."
“We don’t know where their rendezvous will take place, but we know that Petrilus was seen socializing with Dezros Grinn, a mid-level Terminator executive. Dezros will be at the qualifier race gala. We’ve managed to get you invitations, and we’d like you to discreetly download all recent communications from his datapad. This information should lead us to Petrilus and the X-64. As much as we want to let the authorities detain Dezros for questioning, we fear doing so would ruin our only shot at recovering the prototype.”
Venture-Captain Naiaj nods and says, “We’ve managed to get you contracted as security for the event—as long as you wear the security badges you’ll find in a package on the table there, you can bring your equipment to the gala. The badges also contain an automatic program that will download the data we need—if you’re good with computers, you might
be able to boost its efficiency, but all you need to do is get close to Dezros Grinn for a few minutes and let the program do the work.”
“Thank you, Starfinders. I trust this will be a profitable relationship,” Rostessa Yaszan says before disconnecting.
Naiaj continues, “I don’t like corporate espionage, but we desperately need top-notch engines for our starships. Once we have the X-64’s location, we’ll send you to retrieve it. By the way, we haven’t formalized our relationship with Redshift Revolution yet. If Terminator makes a similar offer to work with the Society, I expect you to consider all options. I leave the choice to your professional judgment.”
“You’ve all been working hard on this crucial project. I commend you for your consistent efforts to ensure the Society’s next model of starship is the best that it can be.”
|
|
"Yeah, let's go with Terminator. I mean, Redshift Revolution is a good name but it's nowhere near as good as Terminator," Chorizal says, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Then again, if they'll commit industrial espionage they may not be the most trustworthy partners.
"Then again, I've heard every big company engages in industrial espionage so maybe this is just business as usual.
"What do you think, Vyv?"
"The competition is fierce and the stakes are high - doesn't bring out the pleasant side of things in the corporate arena"
|
|
J'Shun, spent the last leg of the journey back to Absalom Station unconscious because of the beating he took from the Amalgam. However, after an appointment with a doctor affiliated with the Starfinder Society at the station he was back to his normal self in no time.
Not wasting a moment after he was back on his fee he composed a highly detailed after action report on the Kommandos latest mission. During the debriefing he expressed concern about the weaknesses in Resurgent Technologies new starship prototype. His critical commentary focused mainly on the destroyer's lack of firepower.
Now on the shuttle in route to the Prize of Kashak, J'Shun is his normal self. He's spent most of the flight conversing with Captain Chorizal about the merits of owning a Rageshokor shield and the best tactical use of it capabilities.
After hearing the vesk's comments on the current mission he adds, "An espionage mission, we haven't been assigned one of those in a while. However, we are a special forces team after all. We've been trained for any type of mission."
|
|
Rastar, fresh uniform and no new weapons on him (apparently) moved into the briefing with a casual wave.
"Oh good, being sneaky. Exactly what we're good at." He rolled his eyes. "At least this time we're supposed to be sneaky while looking like we're armed to the teeth and ready for anything. I've got that part covered!"
"How do these badge things work?"
|
|
"Next time we have an extended leave I propose we organize an expedition to the Veskarium where we will hunt a rageshokor, so I can acquire a shield made of its body in the proper ceremonial manner."
"Regarding your question about leadership, an officer's voice needs to be as commanding and intimidating as possible. I suggest you have an anacite voice amplifier implanted in your throat. The next time you give orders everyone will hear you, even if you are in the middle of the most chaotic battle. So says the first son of Clan Summersword."
|
|
"That sounds like a good time. You'll just have to decide if you want the full, traditional experience or just to go out and kill one. I've heard there are places that do either one. Although, if you don't care about the rituals, we could just go to a planet that is known to have them running wild," Chorizal replies.
He touches his throat and shakes his head. "No room. I've already got a combat surprise in there."
"How do these badge things work?"
"As long as you visibly display the security badges, you can enter the event with their armor, weapons, and equipment. Their range is...short, you will likely need to be within arms reach of the target for a couple of minutes, and that means finding a way to stop them moving. Once a download is done your badge will discreetly vibrate and ping your comm unit to notify you that the task has completed"
|
|
"What do you think, Vyv?"
Vyviane raises an eyebrow at the question lobbed her way, "Corporate espionage is pretty common among most companies, but this level of clear and open theft is... rarer and alot more distasteful. Terminator is certainly leaving themselves open to legal action with this. Personally, a copy of the schematics on a cred stick would have been easier to accomplish and deny."
CULTURE (RECALL KNOWLEDGE) OR PROFESSION (CORPORATE PROFESSIONAL)
|
|
Chorizal receives the information with all the zeal that he usually does - almost none. But, this time, he finds that the story told actually catches his attention.
"So sad how the children of great people are so seldom as great as they are."
He sighs. "I suspect people will say the same of my children, someday."
|
|
"Look, it's like this. People that work hard to succeed are often great people. Then their kids grow up not having to work so hard. They turn not to be great people. Great people are made, not grown. What really makes great people great is when they do great things and people look at them and say "those people are great!". Simple."
Not long after the briefing ends, your shuttle arrives at the Prize of Kashak. The starliner is austere in every way, from its simple exterior to its unadorned corridors and efficient, minimal staff. A verthani staff member checks your names against a roster and confirms you have your security badges.
After verifying everything is on order she points towards the dining lounge where multiple viewscreens show all the latest starship news - "Relax, grab a drink or something to eat whilst preparations are underway"
Various people, from sound technicians through to 'guest speakers' and other non-VIPs congregate around the dining, helping themselves to snacks and the free drinks.
|
|
Rastar heard the words "grab a drink" and immediately disappeared to find something colorful, and maybe with a paper umbrella in it. While he was munching at some snacks and drinking a frothy orange concoction, he tried talking with some nearby people about the null-G sportball championship going on.
|
|
Chorizal snaps the badge onto his armor and gives the woman a thumbs up before heading into the reception. He grabs an adult beverage and a handful of nuts. He's going to join Rastar in the broing out when the news screens catch his attention.
He jiggles the nuts in one hand, rattling them against each other then popping them one at a time into his mouth, alternating sips with his beverage as he watches the information thoughtfully.
|
A frazzled looking woman in form fitting red and black armor pops into the room. She's got some Strawberry machine cake branded merch and a positivly ancient looking laser pistol at her side. "Terribly sorry, got my shuttle times all wrong. I took a look at the data from that little test flight and VCs though I might bring sometime to the party as a consult. Nadia, by the way, pleased to meet you all. A gala huh? Wish I'd remembed my camera drones. Oh well personal com cam should do just fine and help add to our cover story. I do a little techno magical hobbiest historian lifestyles vlog, but who doesn't have a side hustle these days? Anyway the point is xeno-studies is my specialty with a focus on tech and magic practies, but I do a little of everything. I've been trying to broaden my horizons with some extension courses at the lorespire complex. Seems like I'm in the middle of 10 things at once these days. Did I mention I'm Nadia, actually I think I did, ok I think I'm going to have a seat and put myself together. Look forward to working with some agents I've not collaberated with before."
Nadia will try to leverage her modest social media career
Nadia and Rastar get stuck in a conversation with a retired ysoki mathematician who has little to say about starships but a lot to say about a lot of other things, eventually needing to bail each other out of the conversation so they can escape back to the bar. Rastar may not have managed much in tapping any potential bro-network, but HAS managed to make contact with the social media influencer Nadia who has been dispatched by Naiaj to help the team.
#teamwork #explorereportcooperate #starships
J'Shun manages to get into a cozy group of technicians and picks up a rumor that Multifold Industries, an Aballon-based manufacturer specializing in automated starships, backed out from the qualifier race at the last minute. Apparently, their favored ship’s A/VI (artificial and virtual intelligence) refused to participate, claiming it would be unfair to the other competitors to face an “unflinching, unerring opponent.” Some suspect that jealous rivals hacked the A/VI.
Chorizal manages to follow a program on the history of Redshift Revolution’s X-series of starships. The segment’s android host energetically shows a diagram of the faulty X-63 and goes on a jargon laced diatribe about how a rigid adherence to old-fashioned methods doomed the design from the outset. The rest of the segment involves overly technical conjectures on how Redshift Revolution should approach its next ship and speculation as to why they’ve yet to announce the X-64. This would have been hard to follow for the average viewer, but Chorizal is all over it!
|
|
"Private Belluno, I am I understand you come highly recommended. I've read your dossier and you've received accommodations in cyberwarfare and naval intelligence in the field of xeno-studies. I also see that you have training from the academy in special forces operations tactics with an emphasis on implementation of technomantic magic during high altitude low opening insertion missions. I expect you to integrate yourself with the rest of the Kommandos as soon as possible. Our first mission will have to serve as our first field training exercise together, so I expect nothing but the best from you.
Introduce yourself to Captain Chorizal, Lieutenant Isafira, and Private Third Class Rastar as soon as possible and welcome to the 101st special operations group, Starfinder Space Navy, Kay's Kommandos. Oh, and lose the Strawberry Machine Cake clothing, it's not regulation."
|
|
"Ignore him, Nadia. He's insane. Cho listened to him once, and now he's caught the madness, too. They're effective in a fight, though. Cho's the big scaly one over there. Vyv is...around here somewhere. She changes her looks a lot so it could be anyone. Maybe not that ysoki we were talking to earlier. I don't think she's that good of an actor."
|
|
I am I'm also a Hellknight of the Order of the Pike and a Starfinder, obviously," the big scaly one introduces himself. His armor is a covered in a profusion of symbols and badges from his obviously divided loyaltied.
"Nice to meet you. I'm pretty sure Vyv is that Verthani over there. I think his legs are actually stilts," he continues, nodding not at all subtly toward a man chatting with two other patrons.
Prior to your entry into the gala - Naiaj provides details on the key starship manufacturers of note who will be in attendance.
The luxurious event space appears decorated in stark contrast to the austere corridors of the Prize of Kashak. Numerous screens display pilot and starship statistics while others replay Absalom Runs qualifier races from years past. Dozens of guests mingle at the bar, lounge near swimming pools, and enjoy the dissonant notes of a massive automatic electropiano.
The event staff maintain strict protocols for orderly decorum and cleanliness as they issue frequent reminders to avoid certain behaviors like running near the pools, touching the piano, feeding the plants, blocking the screens, spilling drinks, and so on.
Displaying your security badges, you easily enter with your armor, weapons, and equipment.
The guests described in your dosier are all in attendance. Several dozen other attendees mill about, socializing and talking business. The majority of the attendees are unarmed, but a handful wear security badges and sidearms. Most attendees are verthani or human, but members of other Pact Worlds races are present.
You overhear one of the guests - "That Dezros is pretty dismissive, I went to introduce myself but he just brushed me right off and told me unless I had something urgent that he might care about go find someone else to talk to - he seemed to be more interested in standing over there and scrolling on his datapad"
***
Social Round 1
Chorizal
J'Shun
Nadia
Rastar
Vyv
|
|
Hmm...overly smiling human male, a stiff shirren or a powerful vesk woman...what will Chorizal choose, what will Chorizal choose?
Chorizal sidles up next to Sundeba.
"Greetings honored representative of the Norikama Syndicate. I am Captain Chorizal fifth son of Clan Summersword, House Yashida, line of Kazsta, storm spawned! I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to speak to you. I am a pilot myself, and I must say, I enjoy the simplicity of Norikama interfaces. You truly understand what is required and meet those needs," he says, offering her a drink with one hand and a plate piled high with food with the other.
|
|
Nadia walks over to Xectaposh, "Good evening sir. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Nadia Belluno and my collegues and I have been contracted for security this evening. One hopes it will be an easy assignment, but please let me know if you spot anything out of the orginary. I understand Hivonyx industries has been investing in infosphere infrastructure lately. As someone well versed I understand the need for a rubust network and how vital redundancy can be in ensuring end to end communications, but I must admit I have been a bit perplexed by the shear scale of your companies expansion, perhaps if you have some time you could explain it to me..."