There are lots of shots fired, but not a lot of hitting.
EN - 14(Get em)
The chemist injects themselves with something...
R3 Ground combat
Kultha
Zoey
Murg
Thidreks
Benacu
Ysh
ENEMY
EN - 14(Get em)
The Free Captains will have to wait it seems, because the sword blow is miles off.
The axe clatters across the ground after missing.
R3 Ground combat
Kultha
Zoey
Murg - acted
Thidreks
Benacu
Ysh - acted
ENEMY
EN - 14(Get em)
Benny singes the boss!
R3 Ground combat
Kultha
Zoey
Murg - acted
Thidreks
Benacu
Ysh - acted
ENEMY
EN - 15(Get em)
Thidreks manages to shoot a wall.
R3 Ground combat
Kultha
Zoey
Murg - acted
Thidreks - acted
Benacu
Ysh - acted
ENEMY
EN - 15(Get em)
The shot hits home! The chemist is a complete mess by this point
EN - 19(Get em)
It reaches over and stabs at Ysh
Attack vs KAC
Damage
But only a light hit!
R4 Ground combat
Kultha
Zoey
Murg
Thidreks
Benacu
Ysh
ENEMY
EN - 19(Get em)
/end combat.
With chemist and bodyguards defeated, you have time to search the delivery van. It’s packed full of laboratory equipment and crates. The crates contain both unrefined shimmerstone and ampoules of kinwood sap. Other crates contain enough finished shimmersheen to power a small army. After witnessing its effects, you easily deduce that the serum increases physical abilities while clouding the senses. To determine shimmersheen’s exact effects and chemical composition, you will need further study at the Lorespire Complex.
Stuffed halfway into a broken crate is the lifeless body of Firiz, the Xystrian agent. A quick examination reveals that he died from a broken neck more than a day ago, but that the body is remarkably well-preserved by cold and is beginning to thaw. With nothing more to do you load up the goods into one of the vehicles and drive back to the spaceport, where you can transfer the cargo to your shuttle for the return journey to Xys.
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"Justice has been served, though the goddess surely penalizes me, by not allowing me to be a part of it. I shall atone and reflect on my mistakes. Praised be Iomedae, for her wisdom is endless, and her justice swift."
Murgatroyd takes a look at the goods found. "We are clearly on a journey to discover the creators and distributors of these narcotics. We shall end their wrongdoings and deliver them to justice." he concludes.
You pilot the borrowed shuttle back to Xys without further excitement. Makao collects the body of the deceased agent with reverence and thanks you all for your efforts in returning his Brother to their world. He doesn’t press you for details about what you found on Vorlath, however, and you suspect that the knowing looks and lack of questions probably means they already know. Makao generously rewards the Society with a credit transfer and escorts you back to your own starship. From there, you enjoy a tranquil trip back to the Pact Worlds.
As you check the local infosphere news feeds after leaving the Drift, you notice a headline buried in a host of mundane weather and financial reports that catches the eye: “Robotics lab suffers massive data loss.” The report provides no additional information except that the facility affected is located somewhere in the Vast.
Back at the Lorespire Complex, Ehu debriefs the group after a few days of analysis and closed-door discussions with other Society leaders. He explains that the Lorespire Complex’s labs confirmed that the raw materials recovered from the laboratory and shipment are shimmerstone and kinwood sap, though the sap displays variations in appearance and molecular structure different from any other sap samples their technicians have encountered before. Ehu also elaborates on the nature of the shimmersheen serum and reassures you all that most of the shipment has already been destroyed, with a few samples kept in the Archives and sent to the Stewards. "The shimmersheen’s similarity to an experimental serum recovered on Zrulik-3 is too great to be a coincidence. I have plans to investigate further, beginning with a trip to Ghorus Prime, the only known source of kinwood sap. I ask for your patience while leadership prepares for the mission, I WILL be in touch"
You have been hastily ushered into modest sleeping quarters located on a small Near Space fuel and supply outpost freighter named Safety Flare.
First Seeker Ehu Hadif stands behind a black desk with a holographic projector in its center. He flicks a switch on the side of the projector, and it lights up, displaying a projection of a glass vial filled with yellow liquid. “Starfinders, I’m glad you’re finally here. Sorry to pull you away to such a remote location so suddenly. The Society has just made a breakthrough, and I wanted to get some of our agents on it as soon as possible.” He gestures to the projected image in front of him.
“After analyzing samples of the drug Shimmersheen, we discovered that the serum is made from a mixture of shimmerstone and kinwood sap. However, the sap we found in the serum differs from samples of the sap from Ghorus Prime, where kinwoods originate. The shimmersheen sap has been corrupted somehow, leading me to believe that something dangerous and nefarious is happening on the planet.” He quickly waves a hand across the holographic display, changing the image to a translucent hologram of a green, forested planet. “So, we’re sending you all to Ghorus Prime to investigate. Begin your investigation in the capitol city of Memory Willow. Find out what’s causing the corruption, and stop those involved from harvesting more corrupted sap. We suspect that High Despot Jularaz of Vesk-8 may be personally involved, based on his connections to raw shimmerstone and this serum. While you’re planet side, see if you can find any evidence that might prove his guilt.”
“We don't, so I would start asking around the spaceport. Listen for any rumors of unusual activity in the forests nearby. Memory Willow has a Xenowarden chapter based in the Vineside district. I’m willing to bet that if anyone has seen or heard of anything harming kinwood trees, it would be them.”
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"Hm. Will this be the sort of op where we have explicit authority to look into things?" Benacu asks. "Doesn't sound like it. It's more what I'd expect to get left to the Xenowardens if they were in the know. But obviously it's down to us, even if we pick them for some clues."
"Don't worry, we'll try to be covert about it."
"You are correct in your assumptions - we have no authority. We do have an interest in getting to the bottom of the problem though, and if it fell to the Xenowardens we might not get the full picture, and they would also not be positioned to make any connection to the High Despot without our background experience and findings from your recent missions. Subtlety is good, both to ensure we can operate freely, but also to ensure that any parties aren't tipped off to our line of enquiry"
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The sight of Zoey walking into the sleeping quarters is that of a short, blonde lady, with a fresh haircut, carrying a plasma rifle with an oversize, pink gunsight. Smiling brightly, she bows along with the gun saying Hello everybody, I'm bright and... she pauses for a moment ...well, I guess you all know me... Have you been well?
Zoey listens to Ehu and then asks, worriedly Doesn't this Jularaz have like... a whole Vesk army working for him?
I think we need stealth and subtlety, she says, looking somewhat dejectedly at the rather sizeable and unsubtle rifle she is holding.
“Ghorus Prime is the adopted home planet of the ghorans, a species of humanoid plants. The planet was supposedly a wasteland until the ghorans arrived and revived the sapient kinwoods, who were dormant deep beneath the planet’s surface. Today, the planet is almost entirely forested, with cities and communities built around and inside massive living kinwoods. I think you’ll be able to learn more about the world with boots on the ground rather than listening to me.”
“The Veskarium does not have any outposts on Ghorus Prime - Jularaz is the high despot of Vesk-8, a frozen planet far from its system’s sun. Rumor has it that he sees his posting to Vesk-8 as an insult, and much prefers the society and lifestyle of the Veskarium’s inner planets. Since Vesk-8’s penal colonies are the primary source of shimmerstone, the Society suspects his involvement in the production of shimmersheen. As for motive, it’s possible he meant to use the serum to leverage for a better post or position. Keep watch for anything that might confirm his involvement. We certainly can’t say anything for sure without evidence.”
You board your ship and travel to Memory Willow on Ghorus Prime to begin the investigation.
Five days later you land your craft at the spaceport. The space dock opens into a crowded cityscape. Intertwining vines support and connect the streetlights on either side of the roads. Buildings are shaped irregularly to fit around branches and sections of trunk that extend upward—and occasionally also sideward—into the footpaths of the city. The spaceport itself is crowded with many different species from across the galaxy, but the plantlike humanoid ghorans vastly outnumber them all.
Upon departing from the spaceport docking area you begin exploring and keeping an ear out for local rumours.
Culture or Diplomacy
In passing conversation one of the locals points you in the direction of Vineside and gives you directions to the Xenowarden Headquarters, "It offers tours to curious off-worlders, come and learn about our beautiful planet"
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Thidreks starts asking around about the kinwoods and recent goings-on.
He is very curious to learn about these giant sentient trees which make up center of the ghorans settlements.
More than once he finds someone who talks about suspicious folks entering the forest after dark and carrying large containers. Everyone suspects them of being up to something illegal, but no one seems to know what.
He shares all that he learns with the others.