/dot in!
You sit on the bridge of Society starship already underway for a journey to Near Space, you play the briefing video from Ehu Hadif.
“Thank you for accepting this mission post-haste. I hope to cover everything you need to know in this briefing.” Ehu gestures, and the image of a gas giant with broad rings appears hovering over his hand.“Chart a course to Xys, a planetoid orbiting the gas giant Preluria. The Xystrian Brotherhood has invited you to explore their planet. The Brotherhood is known to have ulterior motives, however, and I suspect they are likely to ask you for a favor in exchange for the privilege of visiting their world. Playing nice with them could be the key to valuable future alliances, as they curate a collection of artifacts from different civilizations and have a reputation as information brokers.
"Timely communication with the Society will be impossible, so if they do ask you for a favor, please agree to it, so long as it’s not something incredibly dangerous—or unethical. I trust your discretion. Please record anything the Xystrians tell you or allow you to see, as this is a rare opportunity to gather information about an otherwise inaccessible world and its culture.”
/end transmission
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Zoey is in her usual place in the cockpit, flying somewhat competently without looking the part, all the while belting out SMC tunes:
Doesn't matter what you say, I'm me
I'm not you, I'm just who you want to be
I want to be me, me, me
So while you say to me that I'm not me
That's just you, and not who I want to be!
Message incoming! she shouts as Ehu appears on screen.
...
You hear that? We're not going to do anything dangerous today! and adds, cheerfully without a hint of irony that's a nice break from the showmasters trying to kill me in game shows!
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"If you say so," Benacu says through a bit of mechanical hiss. Still, the kalo's grin is there, if a bit obscured by the oddly murky water in his helmet. Though that and the bulk-rate cybernetics covering his body make for an unnerving appearance, he's proven personable enough on the short trip. "I've started going into all of these assignments assuming the opposite. But we'll figure it out as it goes down. And if you're right, all the better."
PRELURIA
Orbital Rings of Infinite Worlds
Diameter: ×100; Mass: ×100; Gravity: Varies
Atmosphere: Normal; Day: 12 hours; Year: 25 years
A massive, poisonous green gas giant with wide orbital rings. The rings consist of millions of ice and mineral bodies of highly varying sizes.
While Preluria has developed sentient life in its gaseous layers, the rings contain innumerable hidden smugglers’ bases, mercenary training facilities, and retreats for wealthy, influential, xenobiologically curious, or misanthropic individuals from across the galaxy. Preluria’s rings have no centralized government; instead, various factions vie for control of the orbitals.
***
The Xystrian Brotherhood is a Prelurian faction of outwardly pacifist ascetics who use their reputation as a cover to operate as information brokers and saboteurs.
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From her Engineering station, Kultha rumbles a chuckle at the crews buoyant mood before speaking over ship comms in her thick accent;
"Zometimes mission go vell, zometimes nyet zo vell. Zhis I know."
The big vesk-tek pauses hoping those more learn'ed might help prep for what's to come upon planetfall.
"Zo komrades, vhat kan ve expekt on Preluria?"
After traveling for ten days your ship exits the Drift. An intensely green gas giant recognizable as Preluria dominates the viewport. Its rings sparkle against the darkness of space, massive compared to those of the Pact Worlds’ own gas giants, Liavara and Bretheda. Xys itself is but a tiny speck within those rings, a planetoid caught in Preluria’s orbit.
As your ship enters Xys’ atmosphere, several ships appear to guide you toward a landing pad where a group of humanoids stand ready to your arrival.
As you disembark The obvious 'leader' steps forward to greet you - he appears to be human but with smooth, pliant gray skin. The six others in his entourage wear light gray robes without any adornment and have their hoods drawn to obscure their faces. “Welcome to Xys, travelers. I hope you had a pleasant trip. My name is Makao, and I will be your guide during your stay here. Your interest in Xys and the ways of the Brotherhood honors us.”
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Ah, don't be pessimistic, mister Shallowspeaker. It is as uncle Kultha says, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it's Zo!
As the huge gas giant comes into view, Zoey lets out an ooooh!
---
One the ground, Zoey takes her usual bow and greets Makao with her standard greeting, Hello mister! I am bright and sparkly Zoey, and I'm in charge of curiosity!
Which may not be the right attitude for this setting...
Makao smiles and nods positively, the expression seemingly genuine - even if it also appears he is doing it out of a custom and practice he's not necessarily used to. He looks to the rest of the Starfinders to see if any more introductions are forthcoming.
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These guys seems interesting! May be I could make some deals with the Free-Captains too!
Ysh' was always working on "improving" the ship's computers, sometime shutting them down 'for their own good'.
Always bearing with her, hundred of bits and parts of used computers or mechanical devices.
Howdy! Nice to make your acquaintance guys! I've hear only good thing about the brotherhood!
I'm Ysh'yaal.
With the strange 'greeting pleasantries' coming to an awkward end, and all introductions completed, you are whisked away by the friendly diplomats.
What follows are five days of relaxation in luxury spas and hotels, guided expeditions to farms and meditation circles, and meals catered to your preferred tastes.
Makao accompanies you any time you step outside your accommodation. Whilst you are seemingly free to ask questions and take notes about everything you see, anything else not on the tour you show interest in is brushed off as ‘not important’, ‘currently not open to visitors,’ or prompts some other vague or roundabout answer.
You receive what you highly suspect is a sanitized version of the Brotherhood’s beliefs and practices, highlighting their sustainable farms that source to hungry populations throughout the system, pacifist beliefs, and meditation practices.
You are also allowed to tour heavily curated sections of the Brotherhood’s information vaults. Whilst you take the time to transcribe some interesting notes about various artifacts and historical documents but quickly realize you’ve only been granted access to a tiny fraction of the organization’s resources.
"There is nothing there that would interest you, they are just boring records that we wouldn't want to waste your time with, mostly related to the weather. The weather is really good tomorrow, speaking of which - a good opportunity for you to see some of our factories and get some good photos of the well treated and highly productive workers who are making surplus food that we provide to other planets who do not share our blessed abundance and advanced food technology - I expect that you will be keen to see that - we will make sure you have more interesting documents like the ones we have provided you so far so that you do not possibly get bored. I'm so glad you raised this with us. I will get you a copy of the Brotherhood's scriptures for your bedtime reading. Good chat" - they clearly have no intention whatsoever of allowing you to deviate from the tightly controlled 'tour'
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Kultha pauses from admiring her pediclawed talons to listen to Makao's carefully fabricated spiel as their tours are conducted.
"Komrade Makao. Please indulge qvestion. Your kulture is pazifistik? How do you defend zuch vealthy resources? Vithout armed forces your vurld must be seen as an easy target niet?"
"Of course there are always unenlightened forces out there who would try to raid and steal from us, however our glorious Brotherhood is widely respected through the region and our enlightened benevolence and generosity - as well as willingness to share our advanced medicine, science, food technology and the like means that we never need to fear attack as the powers of the local region see us as generous friends and allies worth fostering deep ties to - like the way your Society seeks to build the great bridge of friendship between our two families"
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Zoey looks embarrassed enough to burn a hole in the ground when she realises her mistake addressing Kultha...
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Zoey thinks the brotherhood guys sound a bit like her manager, who seems to think that 'abundance of food' is equivalent to an extra apple slice. She is sceptical, but doesn't let it show.
Auntie Yshieieie... Zoey says when there's a moment of quiet, do you think we can hack the local network to see what's on the news?
Zoey is fiddling a bit on her personal device, to see if there's a signal.
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Uncle... eh... brother... mister Makao, Zoey says, not sure what the proper form is, how did this brotherhood get to where it is? Is there a founding history?
Also, she adds are there any sisters in the brotherhood?
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"You'd have to try very hard to bore me," Benacu says with a smile. "We can postpone a trip to the archives if you want, but unless our time ends up running short, I wouldn't mind going after wherever else you'd care to show us. Though I don't think we ourselves are on a clock."
Having been informed that the Brotherhood has ulterior motives, the kalo watches for any odd reactions to his request.
He also listens intently as Makao explains how peace is maintained here. "If only it were that simple everywhere! I know it's not exactly about our main subject, you and yours, but could you fill us in on the friendly neighboring powers?"
Zoey tunes into the local planetary broadcast and finds the infosphere to be a highly limited affair with not a lot on other than news broadcasts of farmers happily growing food that the headline suggests is being grown to aid far-off communities through the great benevolence of the Brotherhood. It goes on like this for hours. Zoey also realises that when one connects to the infosphere, the infosphere connects to you...
Makao hands Zoey a book on the Brotherhood "Here, this book is full of good news and the answers to all your questions, and other questions you may not want to share with others because you are afraid to ask, and even questions you had not yet thought of..."
***
Makao turns to Benacu "There are a fair few friendly local powers, mainly smaller tribes and collectives, so many to count, all protected by the relative isolation and vastness of the rings. We will be speaking with you about these soon" he offers encouragingly "We shall show you more archives on the way back to the spaceport soon too"
***
Eventually the grand tour comes to an end and you are bundled into a people mover to return to the spaceport with the whole entourage in tow. The driver gives a pleasant spiel on the way, pointing out many 'great and glorious' buildings, parks, statues, and other features.
"Yes Murgatroyd, this is good, I am sure you will reflect that we are a friendly and benevolent group, interested in fostering good ties with the Society"
***
"Ahhh the Veskarium, we are too far away from them to be of interest, however we are certain that they would welcome us, and we them, despite our apparent differences as a peace-loving and pacifistic benevolent society"
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Ysh' was amazed by what she saw! They are soooo good at this! I need to beef up my game to be at their level
The tiefling stayed silent all the way, wondering when they will show them something useful and not their recorded gibberish.
Very interesting tour Makao! You're such a benevolent group, I can't wait to talk to our superior about all the good you do here.
After Zoe tries to access the infosphere, she uses some of her hacking tools to tries to access it too through Zoe's datapad.
She also tries to recall any info about the brotherhood she could have get in her past life.
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Oh, Zoey says with amazement a real book! I held one once for a video shoot, but it was just a prop with nothing in it.
Zoey opens the book browses through it This is the greatest book I've ever seen! she remarks cheerfully, So many words!
A few moment later, when Makao isn't paying attention, she whispers to Kultha Stuffy...
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"Yes Murgatroyd, this is good, I am sure you will reflect that we are a friendly and benevolent group, interested in fostering good ties with the Society"
We too are interested in fostering good ties with you. We could do a cultural exchange! Have you heard of Strawberry Machine Cake?
After hacking through layers of infosphere the only thing you learn is that they are monitoring you and are aware that their 'guests' (you) are trying to hack the infosphere.
Shortly after the attempted hack the tour comes to a jarringly abrupt end as the tour guide ceases the cheery guidance and changes his tune to something about some technical issues and unscheduled maintenance coming up at the space port so they are keen to get you safely to the spaceport and on to your return home.
As this enjoyable but uneventful tour comes to an end, Makao leads you to a conference room at the Spaceport. As you settle in, Makao’s demeanor shifts from friendly and servile to direct and businesslike. He casts a suspicious eye at Ysh, but says nothing.
“We hope your stay was much to your liking, and that you send glowing reports back to your Society, but I would be lying if I said inviting you here was just part of a cultural exchange. We hope you can help us discreetly solve a disappearance. One of our agents has gone missing on the nearby Vault of Vorlath, and we’re concerned for his health. We have his last known coordinates, and of course a detailed description of him"
"Your organization’s increased presence in Near Space, combined with your outsider status, makes you the perfect candidates to investigate this matter.” Makao slides over a datapad. “In return for your cooperation, my organization will provide monetary compensation as well as inroads to a future alliance. We understand if you are hesitant about this mission. I can assure you that our agent wasn’t initially involved in anything illegal or dangerous, though I can make no such guarantees about his current situation. Ultimately, we need a neutral party to investigate the situation on Vorlath, and if you accept, we will owe your organization a debt.”
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Benacu winces at the attempted brute-force entry, but doesn't comment further to either party.
He too tries more to remain businesslike during the next meeting, more out of a guess their hosts would prefer it than due to habit. "Calling one of your own an 'agent' sounds like quite the break from the rest of your order. Is he a peacekeeper? Perhaps you can't share many exact details, and understandably so, but something a bit more specific would be appreciated. It'd likely ease the task, too."
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Kultha leans in, suddenly far more interested that their trip promises an element of excitement;
"Vault ov Vorlath. Sound ominous... Vhat kind ov place? Sounds like trouble if you fearink for heath... Maybe agent just vent AWOL? Vun too many Akitequila or bottle ov Castrovelian Vine and you lose track ov times. Happen to best of us.
The Vesk-Tech shrugs, then looks to the others;
"Havink debt to Soziety vud be good to report komrades. I am in if you all are."
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Ysh' smiles innocently at Makao during the debriefing.
Like Benacu she notices the use of "Agent" rather than "Brother" when Makao described the situation.
Of course, the Society agent are well known for their ability to rescue people. I will glad to be able to help recover your agent for your Brotherhood.
Can you tell us more about the Vault of Vorlath?
"Yes Benacu I can see the term seems unusual, he was less a Brother proselytizing and spreading the good word, he was more checking in on the Brotherhoods regional interests"
"Vorlath is another planetoid within Preluria’s rings. It is governed by the Vorlath Mercenaries, a cutthroat company that hires themselves out to the highest bidder. They’re... less hospitable than we are here on Xys. The planetoid itself is nothing much. Mostly deserts, rocks, hovels, and terrible bars. Thus I don't think he may have gone missing by choice, the bars are not very good"
"We're a wholesome and benevolent Brotherhood, we would never wish to participate in hiring bloodthirsty thugs, and even if we could suffer through such an unwelcome and out of character ordeal we would simply be fearing the day someone with more credits came along and they just betrayed us. Who the highest bidder is can vary day to day, job to job, they are simply space harlots with guns"
"Firiz was last seen at a seedy dive bar, The Crooked Doshko,It would probably be good if you created a cover story explaining why you’re looking for Firiz. Perhaps he owes you money, or he stole something from you. I’ll leave that decision to you. Probably best to avoid the mercenaries as much as possible as they may otherwise take an interest on what you are doing and stymie your progress - or worse - somehow tie you back to us and put you in danger"
Ysh agrees that this is probably accurate info, and avoiding the Mercenaries is probably advisable.
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Kultha listens with interest, noting the disdain of the circumstances surrounding their "agents" operation;
"Krooked Doshko? Huh. Is zhis Vesk establishment?"
She mulls the potential of running into other Vesk as concern raised about locking claws with these unscrupulous mercenaries;
"Danger? Do nyet vurry Komrade. I always karry protektions..."
The vesk-tech pats the heavy sledge at her hip with a toothy grin.
"Trankvilizator."
Kultha lets her rumbling laugh subside, then focusses on the mission;
"Oki Komrades. Ve need digital ID of your missink agent. Also need vay of him trustink us, Da? Kode-vurd or zomezuch. Like in spy trids..."
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"Oki Komrades. Ve need digital ID of your missink agent. Also need vay of him trustink us, Da? Kode-vurd or zomezuch. Like in spy trids..."
Makao sent us? Zoey offers, having seen something like that once in a drama.
Upon Kultha's worry of running into fellow Vesk, Zoey says:Hey, at least you know the language, right? I only know 'Стреляй в блондинку'. Don't know what it means, though.
Shoot the blondie
"We are not sure if it is a vesk bar, but it is certainly frequented by vesk - and mercenaries looking to spend ill-gotten gains"
"You need only mention my name to the agent - if you manage that we will be relieved. We started to worry a week after he failed to check in. Although it’s not uncommon for agents to go quiet for a while, they have several subtle ways to get a signal to us. None appeared. We contacted your First Seeker at that point. Had our agent reappeared before you arrived, this would just have been a pleasant holiday for you. Drift travel being what it is, plus your tour, allowed more time for Firiz to resurface, but there’s still no word from him. We fear the worst.”
The unmarked shuttle proves up to the task of traveling anonymously to the Vault of Vorlath. The shuttle’s journey charts a roundabout route to make it harder to determine its exact origin point.
The Vorlath spaceport incorporates an amalgam of technologies from different eras and worlds in various stages of disrepair. The ship effortlessly passes through the checkpoints and docks without drawing any obvious attention.
You follow up Firiz’s last known coordinates point to the rowdy dive bar close to the spaceport - The Crooked Doshko. Between you all you recognize the graffiti on the building’s windowless outer walls as tags associated with local mercenary companies - a sure sign that this place is a regular hang for guns for hire. A bored worlanisi bouncer stands outside the bar. A flashing neon sign announces Show tonight - 20 credit cover charge. You can hear the heavy bass pounding through the wall and the occasional sounds of...breaking glass?