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All of you receive a communication from Venture-Captain Naiaj (female bleachling gnome envoy) over your ship’s holoscreen. (Handout 1 on slides). She sends you to Vesk-2 to rendezvous with a local archaeologist and survey Trafodi’s ruins, gathering as much data as possible while there.
After landing on Vesk-2, you navigate to an administrative complex within Command 2. Inside, an ijtikri receptionist asks them to wait while their escort finishes her current meeting. Eventually, Jelbnerjeckti “Jel” Sqidtich (female vesk) emerges from a meeting room, frowning. After signing a multitude of forms at the reception desk, Jel ushers the PCs outside to her roomy hover vehicle.
As the hovercraft glides over the clear water, the vesk visibly relaxes and finally speaks her mind. I hate all the bureaucratic garbage they force on me—especially meetings and paperwork. I’d rather be out in the field.. She gestures towards islands in the distance. Welcome to the real Vesk-2. Beautiful views as far as you can see and a climate perfect for days spent on the beach, rather than in an office. Ruins practically cover the planet, some in better shape than others, and they all hold mysteries of the past. Jel smiles and looks to the horizon. I remember once I was surveying on Kilti when—
Jel curses as the hovercraft bumps against a sandbar just under the water’s surface. She refocuses and steers around the obstruction. Sorry about that. I get to telling stories, and sometimes they get me! So, about the ruins on Trafodi—I’ve spent years exploring them, but there’s so much I haven’t discovered. They’re structurally similar to other sites, but nearby radiation levels are unusually high. I’d love to get my hands on the technology you Starfinders have access to and take another crack at those ruins! Jel excitedly punches a few buttons to set the hovercraft into autopilot, then turns to fully face her passengers and grins. Now we can chat without wrecking our ride.
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A green-haired halfling wearing heavy armor uses his prosthetic right arm to adjust the position of a large shield, then leans back and smiles at Jel.
"Call me Kneepuncher," he says casually to anyone who accepts his invitation. "I'm here to... well, you probably figured that out already."
He then appears to be distracted for a moment, and whispers to no one in particular, "Yeah, I want to too, but talky parts first."
Navasi speaks sympathetically, "Hello! My name is Navasi. Yes, I can certainly understand the frustration with paperwork! I've certainly dealt with my share of red tape and negotiating my way through frustrations in the past.
"As for these ruins, what can you tell us about them? Do you know their history?
"And on the practical side, how deep underwater are they? Do we need any special diving gear? And how strong is the radiation? Any special protections needed to deal with that?
"If you're looking for some specific tech that we have access to, let us know! Perhaps we can find a solution!"
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A bulky, blue-tinted morlamaw bobbles back and forth as the hovercraft zooms along. A meaty appendage holds onto a monocle that adorns the pinniped's face.
"I am Sir Feignswelle of Arniselle. You no doubt recognize me as a pugilist of some renown," declares the hefty Starfinder. "You know, I wouldn't mind in the least if we were to swim to our destination!"
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"Nice to meet you all, too!" says a lightweight human man. "They call me The Specialist. Venture Captain Naiaj calls me when she needs something... 'fixed.'"
After listening to Naiaj's holo message, he scratches his chin with his prosthetic left hand. In fact, the entire left arm is prosthetic. It's got several dataports on it, and bears the logo of an Arkanen mega-corp.
His pack is brimming with equipment, kits, wires, tools, and more. Looks like he can fix quite a lot.
He leans toward Navasi and grins. "I'm guessing the VC wants you to handle the 'diplomacy'. I imagine I'm here if the negotiations need a round of positive thoughts."
He unslings his customized huchket rifle and checks the sights and its action. All good, he reslings it. If anybody's looking, they may notice the words "Positive Thinking" in Ghibrani burned into the stock of the weapon.
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A redheaded lashunta with a pair of welding goggles fiddles as she examines everyone else in the hovercraft.
"Did Venture-Captain Naiaj send you lot to? I met her a month or two ago during another mission."
She yelps as a chip or other device implanted in her neck sparks and she grabs at.
"I've heard of Trafodi, there was some fancy magic thing here that got removed, and then people started disappearing, but that's all I know."
"We're stopping? Is there something wrong? Nothing serious I hope..."
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Hopefully not Jel replies. A local farmer put out an advisory about escaped livestock. It's not far from here so I figured we'd stop by and see if there's anything we can do to help.
Results of Culture rolls so far:
Vesk-2 is the second planet from its system’s sun, Ghavaniska. It’s a largely oceanic world, and vesk leadership split the planet into 7 administrative zones, including its capital, Command 2.
Command 2 is an equatorial island at the intersection of the Ikzili and Trafodi Oceans, and the capital of Vesk-2. The seat of planetary government and its main base for the Veskarium military are located here. All requests for touring Vesk-2’s ruins must be approved through the city’s bureaucratic channels.
"Sure, happy to lend a helping hand. In fact, I'm sure The Specialist here can fix just about anything! Even a couple of livestock run amok, yes?"
Navasi playfully grins in anticipation of The Specialist's reaction to being put on the spot.
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After a half hour of driving full throttle around a chain of islands Jel slows the vehicle and parks at a rickety dock. A nearby sign labels it as "Zorbolo Ranch" A strip of sandy beach gives way to rolling hills. On the crest of a large hill stands a cottage with fenced fields all around it. Bozamn Zorbolo (male indigo ijtikri) squats in the yard, repairing a gate with synthetic ropes.
As the ijtikri catches sight of Jel, he shouts happily: Big sis! Thank gods you came—and brought friends! As you can see, my fence is busted. Coral—that’s the little one—charged me this morning at feeding time and broke clean through the gate. I couldn’t run after her and leave the fence like this. Two of his tentacles gesture to the damage. One of them getting loose is bad, but the entire herd? I’d never risk it. But now I can’t figure out which way Coral went. Can you help track her down?
Jel looks slightly apologetic as she looks at the Starfinders. Erm .. did I mention me and him go waaaaaay back?
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That's basically what we breed the defrex for Bozamn replies. There's also a demand for defrex meat and defrex milk as well in some culinary circles.
Anyway, if you're up to catching Coral, you'll need this He fetches a specialised defrex harness and shows Kneepuncher how to use it to restrain Coral once they find her.
Navasi says to Jel, "Ahhh... I see. This is a case of we scratch your back, you scratch ours, correct? We bring you your brother's defrex and you bring us to the ruins. Fair enough, it's a win-win - especially with you helping us cut through all the red tape that this planet seems to be wrapped up in."
Turning to Bozamn, "Despite our teammate here..." Navasi gestures towards Kneepuncher, "...obviously having multiple lifetimes worth of experience dealing with raising livestock, perhaps you can give him a pointer or two on how to catch defrex? Or maybe tips about something specific that Coral responds to? I mean afterall, we wouldn't want to hurt her with any methods as barbaric as simply knocking her out and dragging her back, now would we? Any advice?
"And while we're at it, would you like a hand fixing that fence?"
Navasi gives Kneepuncher a sly wink.
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Well, given there are several adult defrex in the pen, identifying one in the wild shouldn't be too hard.
Well, with Jel here to help, I should have the fence repaired before you get back. As for what Coral likes ........ hmmmm ...... I'll be right back
It looks like Bozamn had just came up with an idea as he heads off to the nearby barn. He is soon back with a bucket containing small round objects.
Take this with you. They're defrex nuts. She loves these
Navasi says, "Ah thank you. Hmmm... Defrex nuts... And <ahem> Where do these come from, exactly?"
Regardless of how Bozamn replies, Navasi says to the rest of the party, "Shall we see what we can do?" and Navasi looks towards the direction that Bozamn indicates Coral ran off to.
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The Specialist checks the action on his huchket rifle and then smiles,This is going to be GREAT! An easy mission, helping the locals, improving relations. I'm feeling good!"
He grins when Navasi mentions defrex nuts. A small, immature giggle escapes his lips and then he returns to preparing his backpack.
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Bozamn explains that the nuts are made from local dried seaweed with other natural ingredients mixed in, such as grains, dried fruit, and fibres, and compressed into small balls. He looks rather perplexed when the Starfinders react with giggles and amusement. He then looks towards Jel who just shrugs, not getting it either.
When you embark on your hunt, the weather is calm. The still air is tinged with a faint smell of salt coming off the water. A line of tracks in the sand lead north past the broken gate but disappear after a few yards into a grassy field.
Roll Perception or Survival to pick up the trail again.
Looking at the damp swamp and slippery tree trunks, Navasi says, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
And she tries walk across the tree trunks....
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Three hops later and he's in the swamp as well. It ends up with Sir Feignswelle having to pull all the other Starfinders out of two foot deep water.
The marsh leads to a dune-covered beach. A set of defrex tracks is clearly visible in the sand, but as the PCs follow them across the beach, the sky darkens as distant sand clouds obscure the late afternoon sun.
"Yes, please Delea! I could definitely use your help!"
Not being the foremost survivalist herself, Navasi attempts to assist others in assessing the situation...
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Delea uses token spell to clean the muck off of herself. 'Does anyone else want to be cleaned up?' she asks.
After cleaning up anyone else who the muck bothers, she helps figure out what is going on.
[dice=survival with 1 aid]1d20+7+2
"No worries about the mud, Delea. It's good luck in some cultures, don'tcha know?" says the Specialist channeling some intense positivity, despite the muck dripping from him.