SFS Salvation's End and After

Game Master therealthom

Thanks for the adventure. I'm overextended in the PBP arena, so I'll not be joining the board game, as interesting as it sounds. I'll play a different PC in the next installment of the Starfinder adventure, when that is started. I'd like to enter Stell in PFS scenario when an appropriate one is offered.

Thundergun is frustrating about experiment suddenly ended, but sometime risk prevention confiq might work this way.

He does his best to use admin facility and let everyone be evacuated and not lost in the facility after full blackout and likely further cleaning or sealing.

Technomancer is thoughtful. Starfinders push him to decide others destiny, not for the first time. Thundergun slowly comes to a thought: it is not for us to make decisions, but sometimes other options not exist.

Very benevolent of you. And Joro-vacuation, quite apt.

With Idir directing, and the other party members helping, the Joros are organized for evacuation. For their part, most are willing, but slightly confused, some excited, and handful fearful of leaving the vault.

Perhaps the most interesting reaction, is that of Venture-Captain Kunoris Vex. The drow expresses a strange mixture of bemusement and confusion upon hearing about the PCs’ expedition and promises to house all the clones pending a final settlement for them. He congratulates the PCs on learning so much and comments that clearly there’s something wrong with the guiding intelligence if it’s performing tests of this nature.

Idir is the one who brings up the rear, in the end, making sure the last Joros (and non-Joros) are escorted out of the Vault and taking one last look at the place from the hole they entered in before the strange little world they'd discovered there was erased, only living on now in the memories of the people they'd saved, and the reports he himself would write about this.

He gratefully accepts Venture-Captain Vex's offer of temporary housing for the Jorofugees, and begins throwing himself into the work of facilitating the immigration process for the clones over the next month or so, assembling the paperwork, helping them fill it out, making sure none in the process attempted to take advantage of their relative naivete, and locating housing and employment options to help any and all Joros stay on their feet during this intense period of change and adaptation. Whether they chose to transplant their community into Absalom Station and keep the roots of Joro culture alive, spread out into the wider Pact Worlds to learn about the new ways of seeing, experiencing and living now open to them, whether Relton, Finbar, Annalise or Kenro wanted to travel to the homeworlds of their respective species and learn what being a shobhad, ryphorian, nuar or lashunta was like, these were decisions he couldn't make. But he does keep in touch, especially if any express interest in joining the Starfinder Society itself. And he takes Kuozar's offer of a game-night up, to indulge in the more adventurous side he was surprised he was developing in a safer, more comfortable way. He needed those moments, especially as the next real adventure was just around the corner...

Begin Live! Exploration! Extreme! here!

On first Seeker Luwazi Elsebo's orders, the team has boarded a modest Starfinder shuttle and landed on the Exemplarion, Zo!’s personal starship and luxury space-yacht. Mission details will be communicated on board the media-mogul's ship.

Upon arrival, you're given an opportunity to clean up and to tour the ZO's ship if you wish. The Exemplarion is six decks of luxury. A casino, spa, trio of restaurants, and other extravagant amenities are there to accommodate the hundreds of guests on board.

A chance to pull the team together and get sorted.

Idir, of the Herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society, trots along with the tour once he's gotten a chance to clean himself up.

His eyestalks dart around the glamorous vessel, trying to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the sheer opulence and keep an eye out for potential danger. Zo! wouldn't allow his guests to come to harm, certainly. He knew Zo! would only allow things like live-fire weapons or hungry monsters on-set. But the kinds of people Zo! mingled with didn't necessarily share his fastidious dedication to that...and just might be tempted by the possibility of tasting fresh dromada meat...

Dr. Luanna Farella, M.D., arrives and joins the others on the tour of the ship. She is a Damaya Lashunta, pleasant looking with long straight black hair that gives off glints like stars glittering in space, powder blue antennae, and a slender figure. Her body hugging Zeizerer diffractor armor reflects almost no light, making her medical EMT patches and a badge identifying her as a person with medical and healing skills stand out clearly. She has at the ready a medkit attached to her utility belt around back. Also prominent on her armor near her right shoulder is a patch with the holy symbol of the god Eloritu, the god of magic, history, and secrets, sometimes known as The Hidden Truth. She carries two weapons, a sword and a pistol.

Feel free to read Luanna's background spoiler on her profile, as she will gladly share that sort of information to those who are interested.

Soon after Luanna meets her fellow Starfinders, she verbally asks each if he/she/they/zir are okay with her using telepathy to communicate. She also asks each to indicate preferred pronouns and to share any important medical information she may need to know to treat them should it become necessary. She is happy to communicate such medical information telepathically and promises to keep such information private should that be the individual's wish.

She is fluent in several languages: common, Lashunta (Castrovelian), Traxian, Celestial, Auran

Grathus clomps along with the others as they tour the ship. He rolls his eyes every time he sees another 'extravagant amenity'.

He attempts to keep a low profile but it's a bit hard to do since he's nine feet tall, weighs half a ton and is covered in bright silver scales. Grathus is wearing iridishell armor with a large piece of the chest plate missing. There's probably a force field or something to make up for the loss in metal and underneath his bare chest can be seen. On his chest is a brand in the shape of the Skyfire Legion's emblem.

When Luanna asks if he's okay with telepathic communication he responds by casting telepathic message.

"I prefer it. Lost my ability to speak years ago."

A corpsefolk,a corporeal, intelligent undead, with sickly pale skin, and and advanced case of rot on his left hand that has left the bones of his fingers exposed, interrupts politely. He's wearing the slim maroon business suit that's nearly as tight as the skin drawn over his skull.

The rot and bare bones don't seem to affect his use of the hand. He points at you.

"Pardon me, but are you the Starfinders? I was told I'm to bring you to Zo! and First Seeker Elsebo in the studio, but I only see three of you. There should be four. Is your companion indisposed? Perhaps taking care of an organic inconvenience?"

Idir, for his part, is an average, relatively nondescript dromada, covered in coarse, short, brown-striped hair and notably two eye-stalks that dart around and move independently of each other. He's smartly-dressed in crisp business-casual garb blended seamlessly with carbon-skin armor and a laser rifle slung on his back.

Upon being greeted by the corpsefolk, he holds up his hand, and an image of the Starfinder Society's symbol glows into life on his palm.

"Yes, indeed. Idir, of the Herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society, at your service."

Upon being asked where their fourth person is, he jumps a bit and one of his eyestalks swivels back around to look behind them.

"Oh no. Ohhhh dear, we lost track of them!" he moans, his muzzle scrunching up in anxiety.

The door slides open and a husk ghibrani peeks into the room. Seeing the team's Starfinder insignias, he smiles in relief.

“Please forgive me if I am late. Starship layouts defy natural wayfinding. I am sure someone thought it made sense to organize the spaces as they have, but I cannot discern the order behind it."

He enters somewhat stiffly, giving off every indication of a being who is clearly outside his natural environment.

“I am Ferrox of Elytrio. It is a pleasure to meet with you all, doubly so in such beautiful surroundings.”

He stands to one side of the room in a protective posture, back against the wall.

"Ahh,Ferrox is the fourth. All are accounted for now. Please follow me."

The studio takes up the fourth and fifth decks of Exemplarion. It is a large, multi-tiered auditorium with an immense window that looks out over Salvation’s End. Dozens of professionals rush about the studio,
adjusting lights, testing holographic displays, pulling clothes from wheeled wardrobes, cleaning the hundreds of tiered seats, and more. The undead elebrian media mogul Zo! sits on the stage with the Starfinder Society’s First Seeker, Luwazi Elsebo, animatedly telling a story while Luwazi marvels at the ongoing activity. When the First Seeker spots you, she waves for you to walk down the aisles and join them. Assistants immediately rush out with additional chairs to accommodate the new arrivals. (you)

Zo! stands and also gestures for you to climb to the stage. “Yes. Yes! You’re everything I was hoping for,” exclaims the undead showman while looking over the new arrivals. “Oh, Luwazi, you’ve truly outdone yourself. They’re so exciting, so energized, so—”

“—alive?” finishes a ghast woman wearing well-tailored clothing as she steps onto the stage.

Zo! frowns at the blunt observation and tries to respond, but Luwazi intervenes.
“Starfinders, no doubt this is all happening a little fast, so let me explain. After the Scoured Stars incident, the Society struggled to support new expeditions. I reached out to numerous people and organizations for grant money, and our host was eager to help. He financed more than a dozen missions, including the one to Salvation’s End. There was one big catch.”

Zo! visibly bounces in his seat with excitement as Luwazi continues. “If we found anything especially exciting, we’d need to limit exploration long enough for him to get a film crew out there to document whatever we found next. Well, Salvation’s End may look like a moon, but our initial survey of it found there’s something built inside—the whole thing might be artificial. That qualifies as especially exciting, but that was also several months ago.”

The skeletal mogul waves his hands. “Oh, but Luwazi, I couldn’t just send a single crew. No, the Starfinder Society’s greatest triumph deserves far more production value.” He hops up again and gazes out at the moon as he paces and gesticulates. “Imagine: heroes from the Pact World, a mysterious planetoid, untold secrets, limitless adventure—all broadcast before a live audience in our greatest production yet!” He spins to look back at the group, his lipless mouth smiling gleefully. “Live Exploration Extreme!”

The female ghast claps politely before interjecting. “To translate, you’re scheduled to explore part of Salvation’s End accompanied by a professional camera crew and production team. You will find exciting things and be thoroughly entertaining. Any questions?”

Zo! adds "This is Wazasha Kevir, your associate producer. She'll accompany you during your jaunt, and supervise the film crew and pace the event."

Incredibly there's a break in the conversation while everyone breathes. (Or at least 1 of the three breathes, the others pause.) You might be able to fit in a few questions before They start again.

Prior to reaching the studio, Luanna introduces herself to Ferrox as she did to the others, letting him know she is a medic and mystic and checking to see if he minds if she sometimes communicates telepathically.

Luanna smiles, amused at Zo!'s attitude and unabashed to be the center of attention, or soon to be. She points to the right side of her head and quips, "This is my good side." Her blue eyes twinkle and her powder blue antennae twitch playfully. Then she adds, "Such explorations are dangerous. Is our crew prepared to defend themselves and administer first aid if the trouble we find does not seem to know that we are the stars and they just the paid staff?"

Then she practices tossing her thick black hair from one shoulder to the other.

"Ahh,Ferrox is the fourth. All are accounted for now. Please follow me."

Idir breathes a sigh of relief as Ferrox arrives.

"Oh, thank the gods! Hello, Ferrox!"

He then trots after the corpsefolk towards the head of the group.

The studio takes up the fourth and fifth decks of Exemplarion. It is a large, multi-tiered auditorium with an immense window that looks out over Salvation’s End. Dozens of professionals rush about the studio,

adjusting lights, testing holographic displays, pulling clothes from wheeled wardrobes, cleaning the hundreds of tiered seats, and more. The undead elebrian media mogul Zo! sits on the stage with the Starfinder Society’s First Seeker, Luwazi Elsebo, animatedly telling a story while Luwazi marvels at the ongoing activity. When the First Seeker spots you, she waves for you to walk down the aisles and join them. Assistants immediately rush out with additional chairs to accommodate the new arrivals. (you)

Zo! stands and also gestures for you to climb to the stage. “Yes. Yes! You’re everything I was hoping for,” exclaims the undead showman while looking over the new arrivals. “Oh, Luwazi, you’ve truly outdone yourself. They’re so exciting, so energized, so—”

“—alive?” finishes a ghast woman wearing well-tailored clothing as she steps onto the stage.

Idir plods up to the stage.

"Hello again, Zo!," he says, remembering the undead mogul from the gala before. "It is good to see you again." Oh gods I hope he forgot about the drink I got spilled on him! he thinks to himself.

Then he nods to Luwazi.

"First Seeker Elsebo. It's an honor and a pleasure, once again."

Zo! frowns at the blunt observation and tries to respond, but Luwazi intervenes.

“Starfinders, no doubt this is all happening a little fast, so let me explain. After the Scoured Stars incident, the Society struggled to support new expeditions. I reached out to numerous people and organizations for grant money, and our host was eager to help. He financed more than a dozen missions, including the one to Salvation’s End. There was one big catch.”

Zo! visibly bounces in his seat with excitement as Luwazi continues. “If we found anything especially exciting, we’d need to limit exploration long enough for him to get a film crew out there to document whatever we found next. Well, Salvation’s End may look like a moon, but our initial survey of it found there’s something built inside—the whole thing might be artificial. That qualifies as especially exciting, but that was also several months ago.”

The skeletal mogul waves his hands. “Oh, but Luwazi, I couldn’t just send a single crew. No, the Starfinder Society’s greatest triumph deserves far more production value.” He hops up again and gazes out at the moon as he paces and gesticulates. “Imagine: heroes from the Pact World, a mysterious planetoid, untold secrets, limitless adventure—all broadcast before a live audience in our greatest production yet!” He spins to look back at the group, his lipless mouth smiling gleefully. “Live Exploration Extreme!”[/b]

The female ghast claps politely before interjecting. “To translate, you’re scheduled to explore part of Salvation’s End accompanied by a professional camera crew and production team. You will find exciting things and be thoroughly entertaining. Any questions?”

Zo! adds "This is Wazasha Kevir, your associate producer. She'll accompany you during your jaunt, and supervise the film crew and pace the event."

Incredibly there's a break in the conversation while everyone breathes. (Or at least 1 of the three breathes, the others pause.) You might be able to fit in a few questions before They start again.

Idir listens to the "briefing" such as it is and blinks in surprise at Zo!'s monologue. Then he gulps, and turns to Wazasha.

"It is...erm...nice to meet you, Ms. Kevir. Idir, of the herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society at your service. I...don't recall if we met at the gala."

He turns back to Zo! and Luwazi.

"What should our policy be in regards to possible "first contact" encounters? I've been to Salvation's End previously, and while the situation with the Joros ended relatively amicably, the presence of a film crew may...complicate things, especially if, like the Joros, they've lived their whole lives not knowing the wider moon and indeed galaxy is out there?"

...

Luanna smiles, amused at Zo!'s attitude and unabashed to be the center of attention, or soon to be. She points to the right side of her head and quips, "This is my good side." Her blue eyes twinkle and her powder blue antennae twitch playfully. Then she adds, "Such explorations are dangerous. Is our crew prepared to defend themselves and administer first aid if the trouble we find does not seem to know that we are the stars and they just the paid staff?"

Then she practices tossing her thick black hair from one shoulder to the other.

Zo! claps his hands. "We can only hope! That would be great tri-Dee. Do your best for them if that happens."

Wazasha comments, "Don't worry. We've insured them."

...

Idir plods up to the stage.

"Hello again, Zo!," he says, remembering the undead mogul from the gala before. "It is good to see you again." Oh gods I hope he forgot about the drink I got spilled on him! he thinks to himself.

Zo! looks searchingly at Idir for a few seconds, before nodding. "Agent Idir. Thank you for preserving us from explosive harm. I wish we'd had a camera crew that night."

Then he nods to Luwazi.

"First Seeker Elsebo. It's an honor and a pleasure, once again."

Luwazi nods her head. "It is for me too, Agent Idir. I'd have liked to reconstitute your original team for this mission, but the others are on remote assignments."

Idir listens to the "briefing" such as it is and blinks in surprise at Zo!'s monologue. Then he gulps, and turns to Wazasha.

"It is...erm...nice to meet you, Ms. Kevir. Idir, of the herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society at your service. I...don't recall if we met at the gala."

"Unfortunately I was not at the gala. Zo! had given me an opportunity that I could not refuse on Varos. I was filming a prison break, through the sanitary recycling and evacuation system."

He turns back to Zo! and Luwazi.

"What should our policy be in regards to possible "first contact" encounters? I've been to Salvation's End previously, and while the situation with the Joros ended relatively amicably, the presence of a film crew may...complicate things, especially if, like the Joros, they've lived their whole lives not knowing the wider moon and indeed galaxy is out there?"

Luwazi replies so smoothly, it sounds prepared, if not actually rehearsed. "Peaceable first contact is always the Starfinder Society's first preference. Facilitating a mutally beneficial exchange of knowledge is one of our primary tenets."

"But don't be afraid to defend yourselves!" Zo! interrupts.

As the team walks to the studio, Ferrox makes a point to greet the team members individually and quickly learn about them. “It is a pleasure being family with you,” he says to each person.

As Zo! describes the mission, he smiles and nods enthusiastically.

“Exploration and survival, I can do! That was daily life growing up. There are no paths where we will go, so we will make paths. A planet with an artificial interior sounds strange and wonderful… but I hope it was not designed by the starship people. Their deck layouts…” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

Somewhat shyly, he adds, "I am not sure about being ‘thoroughly entertaining’ but I will do my best to scout and keep this family safe during our mission.”

Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:

...

Idir plods up to the stage.

"Hello again, Zo!," he says, remembering the undead mogul from the gala before. "It is good to see you again." Oh gods I hope he forgot about the drink I got spilled on him! he thinks to himself.

Zo! looks searchingly at Idir for a few seconds, before nodding. "Agent Idir. Thank you for preserving us from explosive harm. I wish we'd had a camera crew that night."

If he was willing to be let that gaffe of mine be filmed, he must be more fine with laughing at himself than I expected...or he sees me as a good source of comic relief... Idir thinks to himself.

Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:

Then he nods to Luwazi.

"First Seeker Elsebo. It's an honor and a pleasure, once again."

Luwazi nods her head. "It is for me too, Agent Idir. I'd have liked to reconstitute your original team for this mission, but the others are on remote assignments."

"Oh, that's understandable. We need to be able to work anywhere with anyone, after all! At least until our current recruitment drives bear fruit."

Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:

Idir listens to the "briefing" such as it is and blinks in surprise at Zo!'s monologue. Then he gulps, and turns to Wazasha.

"It is...erm...nice to meet you, Ms. Kevir. Idir, of the herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society at your service. I...don't recall if we met at the gala."

"Unfortunately I was not at the gala. Zo! had given me an opportunity that I could not refuse on Varos. I was filming a prison break, through the sanitary recycling and evacuation system."

Aren't prison breaks supposed to be secretive? Filming would seem counterintuitive for that. I wouldn't know though. I've never been in prison," Idir thinks to himself.

Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:

He turns back to Zo! and Luwazi.

"What should our policy be in regards to possible "first contact" encounters? I've been to Salvation's End previously, and while the situation with the Joros ended relatively amicably, the presence of a film crew may...complicate things, especially if, like the Joros, they've lived their whole lives not knowing the wider moon and indeed galaxy is out there?"

Luwazi replies so smoothly, it sounds prepared, if not actually rehearsed. "Peaceable first contact is always the Starfinder Society's first preference. Facilitating a mutally beneficial exchange of knowledge is one of our primary tenets."

"But don't be afraid to defend yourselves!" Zo! interrupts.

No Prime Directive here, then! :P

"But don't be afraid to defend yourselves!" Zo! interrupts.

I knew this job was going to be a bad choice. Anyone,who thinks defending yourself is entertaining is always a bad boss. Grathus thinks while blowing smoke through his nose with a sigh.

He then casts telepathic message at Idir, "You've been before? Is violence possible?"

Luanna has no further questions, so she waits patiently for the next phase.

See discussion thread for my note on boons and 'the Booth'. I'm moving slowly to the next phase to give a last chance to retcon questions.

The interview complete, Wazasha says, "Follow ..." Her unnaturally long tongue lolls out of her mouth and she flips her head back to return it to a speaking position. "... me." Then she leads you to Exemplarion's shuttle bay. ALong the way she speaks about the show. "Today you're more than Starfinder agents. You're tri-dee stars. Your job isn't just to explore this rock. You've got to entertain. So live big. Act strong. You've got to get the audience to connect with you. So let them know what you're thinking. Show them how you feel.... "

The bay is roomy. In addition two the sleek shuttle, there is a shuttle sized pile of gear. Two androids and twelve ghouls are going through it all, comparing items to an inventory and checking functionality. Most prominent among the gear is a large hexapodal robot, but there's also holocord cameras, boom microphones, reflective screens to amplify natural lighting, and other equipment for properly recording the PCs’ exploits in several multimedia broadcast formats.

While you watch an android uses a datapad to control the robot. The bot marches a few feet, turns a few times and then plants itself on the ground. Three slab sides of the robot scroll upwards to reveal refreshments, portable seats, makeup, some kind of projector, a pair of
heavy-duty broadcast relays, and other equipment necessary to keep the operation running. The top unfolds and doors on a fourth sides wing open to deploy a seat in front of a two-panel screen that creates a visually neutral backdrop. At the same time, the robot deploys a pair of tiny hover drones equipped with cameras as well as a slightly opaque, noise-cancelling bubble to provide some privacy. The android says to Wazasha, "The Booth is ready to go."

Luanna asks, "Would you like us to ignore the cameras and behave as if they are not there? Or would you like us to break the Fourth Wall and talk to the cameras about the situations and what we are thinking and feeling?"

Grathus makes a strange chuffing noise, which seems to be laughter, and shakes his head. He stands by, not jumping to be the first to go.

Wazasha stares intently at Luanna while her tongue transits her upper lip from side to side. "The fourth wall?! Do you have experience in entertainment? Usually I tell people to act naturally. Even in the booth, I tell them to talk like the camera is just a friend sitting there. But you should play to the cameras. The fans will eat you up."

Ferrox walks up next to Grathus and watches the bustling preparations with interest.

“It looks like traveling day preparations. We moved our homes and herds with the seasons. The activity felt a lot like this, just without so much technology — and the undead.”

He turns to face Grathus.

“Have you experienced this kind of entertainment activity before? You and Luanna seem at east with it all.”

"My only connection to the entertainment industry is as a consumer," Luanna admits. "But I've learned how to get along with people and work on a team, so as long as the observers don't get in the way, I'll be okay. My first concern is for the safety of the team and second concern is the success of the mission. Any thought I can give to impressing viewers and earning fans will take a back seat to those mission imperatives."

That said, Luanna is photogenic and has had her share of admirers over her career and education.

"We're Starfinders, violence is always possible," Idir replies to Grathus' telepathic question. "While the majority of the Joros specifically were friendly, if a bit naive and non-introspective, we did need to defend ourselves...and my experience has shown once the shooting starts the situation tends to spiral."

He then nods to Ferrox a bit.

"My calfhood on Dromaritia was probably similar," he comments. "Herd Fernas was a bit more old-fashioned and migratory than the average modern dromada herd living in a big communal home guarded by several layers of security technology."

He shudders a bit at Wazasha's tongue flapping around, but tries to keep his own prodigious upper lip stiff.

"I would say I'm...rather boring, I'm afraid..."

"That's a lie, I would very much LIKE to be boring, but the galaxy seems to conspire to put me in interesting situations."

"...What would you...um...recommend to ameliorate that, Ms. Kevir?"

“Have you experienced this kind of entertainment activity before? You and Luanna seem at east with it all.”

The Skyfire Legion brand on Grathus' chest glows as he replies, "You kiddin? Starfinders is eat up with fledgling media personalities."

The Skyfire Legion brand on Grathus' chest glows as he replies, ”You kiddin? Starfinders is eat up with fledgling media personalities.”

Ferrox tries (and fails) to hide his surprised reaction.

With complete seriousness, he says, “Really? I did not know this. It sounds like a skill I should learn. I will look forward to observing how you and Luanna… uh… perform this portion of our duties.”

After several beats, he snorts. “I did not plan that pun. It was funny.”

Grathus makes his strange laughing exhalation once more.

"Oh not me, but half the teams I've been on...," He waits a moment and casts his cantrip again, "have had one. Don't emulate me, I think it's stupid."

"My only connection to the entertainment industry is as a consumer," Luanna admits. "But I've learned how to get along with people and work on a team, so as long as the observers don't get in the way, I'll be okay. My first concern is for the safety of the team and second concern is the success of the mission. Any thought I can give to impressing viewers and earning fans will take a back seat to those mission imperatives."

Wazasha sighs. "So much promise wasted. "

...

He shudders a bit at Wazasha's tongue flapping around, but tries to keep his own prodigious upper lip stiff.

"I would say I'm...rather boring, I'm afraid..."

...

"...What would you...um...recommend to ameliorate that, Ms. Kevir?"

"A little light flaying and a few hours buried in a bed of hot coals. Unghuhh." Her tongue falls out again and is retreived again by the head flip. "Just joking, dear. Be yourself and it will be fine."

Idir wordlessly yelps at the suggestion before realizing it was a joke.

"Um...yes...thank you, Ms. Kevir. That sounds like...quite an intense spa treatment."

Another of Zo!'s slim-suited assistants, a simple corpsefolk approaches and signals for Idir and Luanna to follow. "Zo! remembers your previous acquaintance and would like to offer you a token of appreciation. " He leads you to a separate room.

Out in the bay the crew continues going through gear. One of them waves at Grathus, "Didn't I work with you on Heroes of Triaxis? Your wing prothesis looks really good. I'd swear it's real."

Grathus gives the chatty crewmember the same look he'd give someone if they just claimed his mother was rotund but does not deign to respond.

Luanna looks over the offerings and settles on changing out her current armor for the business stationware, which offers a little stiffer resistance than her Zeizerer Diffractor suit. If there is a choice of colors, Luanna prefers darker shades with accents of blue. The suit makes her look fashionably sleek and ready for bear.

Sure, you can get it in your color scheme. Luanna gets another choice also if she wishes. Idir also has 2 choices, if he wants. Let me know.

In the hangar bay, the crew finishes their inventory and system checks and starts packing up gear. Wazasha tells the android to deploy the Booth.

"Starfinder Ferrox, I'm sure our fans would love to hear how you're feeling on the eve of this adventure. Would you mind stepping into the booth for a private interview?" Wazasha sweeps a hand invitingly toward the privacy bubble.

Luanna takes a static arc pistol, mostly because it affords a nonlethal attack option. Besides, if one of the camera crew gets in the way, she'll have a way to motivate them to stay back.

A friendly voice speaks through Ferrox’s comms. "You’ll be fine. Smile. Speak clearly with confidence. Tell your story. They want to know, so tell them."

Ferrox softly replies. "I will try, Apex. I learned much from you. I did not think I would use it quite like this, though. I will do my best. I will make you and the family proud."

The connection closes. Ferrox shuts his eyes for a moment, then strides toward the booth. He walks with purpose, stepping lightly and with strength. As he enters, he looks to Wazasha.

"Wazasha, where do you want my, uh… eye... line? Yes, where should I look while I speak?"

Then he notices the “look here” target on the wall next to one of the booth’s cameras.

"Ah, I see. I have this now. Thank you." He turns away, then pauses to look back. "Good luck with your tongue. I am sorry it keeps falling out of your mouth. That must be frustrating."

He enters the booth and settles into the chair. He swivels a tiny bit and looks straight at the target.

The practice sessions run through his mind. Put your best angle forward to the camera. Three-quarter view, angled left. Don’t worry about any other lenses; focus on the primary camera. If it likes you, the others will too.

"I feel proud to be part of this Starfinder family. The word 'family' means different things across the Pact Worlds. To my kind on Elytrio, it means blood relatives and what you call ‘found family.’ Our team is my found family right now. Like blood family, we will probably fight with each other, but we will also listen and respect. And we will protect each other. This is an important opportunity. I am glad to be here."

He pauses for a moment, then holds up his arm and turns it back and forth for the camera.

"I wish I had polished my armor more during the trip here. The dust makes it hard to see the marks of past encounters and missions. Each one is a memory, some of my found family at that time, others of my blood family. Every mark has a meaning. Armor is the book of your battle life. Here, we will explore together, and I will protect my mission family and Wazasha and Zo's people. We will write new chapters here."

He smacks his hand against his arm and nods to the camera.

"Report ends. Ferrox out."

"I suppose an additional side-arm and perhaps a survival weapon will be useful. My own carbon skin is a bit more effective than the stationwear at this moment, I'm afraid."

To clarify, when you said we may take "up to two" was that "two between the two of us" or "each of us can take two if we want?" I'll definitely be grabbing an arc pistol, but whether or not I take a plasma kukri would depend on the answer to this question.

Once he's secured his new gear, he clops out to join the rest of the crew.

Seems like we may each take a turn in the booth to begin the entertainment element of the mission. If so, this is Luanna's intro.

Before entering the booth, Luanna checks her appearance in a reflective surface, adjusting her hair and running a finger along each antenna to smooth out the fine blue hairs. Then she enters, takes a seat and waits for her cue.

"Hello. I am Doctor Luanna Farella, a medical doctor and a proud Starfinder. Since I was little, I've longed to do more than just admire the stars from the ground. I wanted to travel among them, witness the wonders up close and without the constraints of an atmosphere. With Eloritu's guidance and help, I've been blessed with the ability to do that.

"In addition to my medical and Starfinder credentials, I am a star shaman, which is a mystical order of interstellar adventurers. If I choose, I can exit a starship without a space suit, and move where I choose in the vacuum of space, seeing the stars, planets, nebula, and galaxies without the annoying reflection of your eyes that a standard space suit introduces. This is true freedom and, if you'll pardon the somewhat oxymoronic assertion, when I'm in the vacuum of space, I am in my element."

Luanna's blue eyes twinkle as she makes this small joke. She shakes her head a bit to move a strand of hair that is falling at the edge of one eye. Faint motes of light appear and disappear as her black hair moves.

"This mission, of course, will allow none of that, but it is almost as exciting for me to be one of the first in the Pact Worlds to view what is inside this strange construct. My place on the team is primarily as a healer, which I can do with both conventional medical treatments and my star shaman mystic spells. I have weapons and know how to use them, as well as some offensive magic, but I only use them in self defense or in defense of my allies.

"I look forward to this adventure and I hope we have a safe and successful mission. Enjoy sharing with us the thrill of exploring the unknown. May Eloritu watch over us and over you all."

Idir, grab the kukri too.

The starship dock featured is roomy. You could park four or five shuttles in here. On the far side of a transparent, temporary bulkhead, a team of workers in heavy mining jack armor bearing the compass rose of the Starfinder Society are repairing a badly damaged, no wrecked, set of outer doors. One of them, a shirren, comes through an airlock in the temporary wall and strides across the bay toward doors to the interior.

After Ferrox finishes, Wazasha nods and thanks the ghibrani. She sees Luanna enter the dock and hustles her into the Booth.

After Luanna finishes, Wazasha approaches Grathus. A few a brief verbal-mental conversation, she exclaims, "I can't film telepathy! What was Luwazi thinking? All right. Pick a translator, it can one of your team or one of my crew. "

Grathus rolls his eyes. As much as he hates the idea of having some stranger "translate" his words into what will probably be a bunch of corpo-speak, he hates the idea of making a fellow Starfinder go through this nonsense twice even more.

"Give me one of your crew."

Luanna replies to Wazasha's question about her experience dealing death during adventures. "So far, the only things I killed are a couple of different kinds of constructs, robots that went haywire and began attacking people. I knocked out a few with spells and my weapons. These were not sentient constructs like androids, but essentially mindless machines, so I felt no remorse in damaging them to keep others safe."

"Thank you, Luanna."

The tip of Wazasha's tongue creeps out of the corner of her mouth. She nods at the dragonkin. "Mork, in the Booth. Grathus will think to you, and you'll tell the camera what he said. Grathus, this way please."

The corpsefolk Mork puts down a heavy coil of cable, and shambles toward the Booth. It's soon apparent that the Booth was really designed for just one person. Grathus' tail and left wing and occasionally the tip of his right poke through the translucent privacy energy screen. Even though Mort is inches from cuddling Grathus, his entire back is also protrudes outside. Despite this,the noise cancelling effect still holds and those outside can't hear what's said.

I'm writing this assuming Mork has natural telepathy. If not then just assume I added in bits of Grathus getting annoyed because he has to continually use Telepathic Message which only allows 10 words at a time.

Mort's voice is dry, and somehow crusty. "Past tense in the Skyfire Legion, my roll is."
.
" Back to minor military discipline, bring everyone."
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"Fresh food, possibly a little trouble, I expect."
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"That this expedition will turn out like most others, there is."
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"As much trouble as possible, negative conjunction, everyone makes."
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"Back alive. I don't know anyone else on the -- ."

Mort thumps his chest. "Now team, they be Starfinders though, so at least, they will."
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"Keep up, definitely can only I speak on one. "
.
"The team's track record, so I say, imperative."
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"He's the most likely to let down the team , his."
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"Name is me, and already failed team."

Wazasha holds her face in her hands. "Did somebody drop him on his head? Nine-D, can we use any of that?"
The android operating the Booth answers, "Maybe post-prod can do something with it. Anyway the stoners will love it. There's not time for another take now. Five minutes until we're live. "

Wazasha spins around. "Starfinders! Get over in front of those blast doors. Look heroic and stay there. Nine-D get a monitor set up for them. Let them see the opening scroll. Where's the dromedar and the gibrany? "

Technically no one can see the booth segments until the show goes live.

Luanna joins everyone at the entry point. She has tied her hair in a ponytail and tucked it inside her armor to keep it from getting in the way or from being grabbed in case she gets into close combat. It doesn't look as glamorous, but she doesn't care to risk anything just to please the producers. As for looking heroic, she spends a moment inspecting her weapons to make sure they are loaded, even though she did that earlier.

Once Grathus comes out of the booth, Luanna telepathically asks him in common, "How was the translation? If you want, I can serve as translator. I grew up on Triaxus and am familiar with Dragonkin culture. I don't speak draconic, but Triaxian is my native tongue."

"That would be wonderful. Common or Triaxian is fine. If I cared about the way I came across on the show I'd have to hurt that weirdo, but meh."

Grathus moves into position and is ready to get on with it.

Idir buckles his new armaments to the bandoliers holding his other gear.

He then turns to Washaza.

"I presume I'm next?" he asks, pursing his lips.

"No time now. Get in line with the others and we'll put you in the booth later. GET IN LINE PEOPLE. LIGHTS, CAMERAS READY."

A flurry of activity from the crew getting everything ready for the first shot. Lights and cameras point your way.

When you line up you can see yourself on the monitors, and the doors behind. The background blurs out and is replaced with shadowy shifting muted colors. Bold red lettering spelling out LIVE! EXPLORATION! EXTREME! arcs over your head.

Wazasha says, "There will be a voice over for a while. I'll let you know when our mikes are live. Just hold your position and wait for the camera drones to start moving. Look heroic for Kuthon's sake, especially when the cameras zoom onto you. After the intro, go , no march through the doors behind you."

On the monitors you can see a montage of overly dramatic renditions of your personal biographies to introduce viewers to the show’s stars. Obviously Starfinder human resources has fed the 'good' portions of your dossier to Zo!'s team. Cut to a space view of Salvation's End with Exemplarion in orbit. Zoom, rush past Zo!'s ship toward the docking bay on the surface.

A drone zooms from the outer doors toward you. On the monitors the scene transitions smoothly inside the docking bay and picks up the drone's view. On screen fireworks burst in a riot of color behind you. Computer generated smoke clears. Wazasha tells you, "we're live. Mics are hot. Through the doors, explore already."

The doors are heavy built to withstand vacuum and maybe even heavy weapons fire, but they open easily.