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Harsh fluorescent lights illuminate a stark conference room within the Lorespire Complex, its walls covered with mounts that once held the monitors and motion-sensor holograph projectors that were corrupted in the recent cyberattack. First Seeker Ehu Hadif sits at a large round conference table, his arms folded as he patiently waits for a small team of IT engineers to scan or confiscate every computerized device that crosses the threshold of the room. “I know the added precautions are annoying, but I assure you they are necessary,” the First Seeker says as the tech inspection concludes. “We still know next to nothing about the malicious code that’s been spreading unchecked throughout the Pact Worlds’ infospheres. The mission we are about to discuss may change that, so we need to make sure our computers don’t secretly contain any prying eyes. "
“As you know, a robot army attacked the Lorespire Complex around the same time this code started disrupting digital systems in Absalom Station and beyond. The robots didn’t malfunction when exposed to the malicious code, so somehow their programming is perfectly synchronous with the cyberattack. Celita and her team recruited the hacker Noname, who was able to decipher an encrypted wireless signal that kept the robots’ internal processors in lock-step with the infiltrative code without compromising the function of either. Tracing the signal through the Drift wasn’t easy, but we managed to find an identical transmission arising from an uninhabited space station out in the Vast. It’s our only lead at the moment, so I’m sending you, our more experienced field agents, to investigate the station and bring back anything that might help us get to the bottom of this attack. What questions do you have?”
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A rather brightly coloured vesk wearing a loud tropical theme shirt and a ball cap with a 'Bamford Tools'Ⓡ logo on it sits down at the conference table, as does a space goblin wearing a red bandana and a pirate eye-patch (with a hole in it). The goblin pops open a briefcase full of promotional materials and signed 6" x 8" photos of the smiling vesk and a range of power tools, as well as a shining hover truck ('The Big Jim Truckster'™), a recon enercopter ('Big Jim One'™) along with 'Buster the Quadbike' and 'Buddy the Goblin' (also noted as the on-set technical and safety adviser).
Big Jim slides a few signed photos over to Edu-Hadif "Look it has been a while since we did a 'Jims Jams' special episode, and some uninhabited space station out in the Vast sounds just like what this kids and viewers at home might be looking for" without letting any response come forward he continues "Great so let's discuss the technical details"
"What do you know about this station so far? Do you think it is the source of the transmission or just a relay? Do we know anything so far that might alarm my technical and safety adviser?"
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Edu-Hadif shrugs, which is kind of impressive when you have four arms.
“About the station we know nothing, which is unusual for a structure of this size. It doesn’t exist in any known database or starship manifest, so no publicly-sourced organization in the Pact Worlds or the Veskarium has interacted with it before. We’ve seen no evidence of life, or even atmosphere, inside the station, which is consistent with a completely automated operation.”
He grins at Buddy "As for alarming your safety adviser... we expect it full of robots. We’ve had more than one encounter with this enemy, and every time they have used exclusively artificial soldiers. Electrical weapons seem to effectively overload their systems, and tools that let you interface with computers may prove useful.”
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"We've tried to avoid getting too close to the station, we don't want to alert them. There are some signals, but we were too far away to read them clearly. You'll need to pick a ship to fly there in. If you take the Pegasus you may be able to use her computers to find out more. Of course if you run into trouble, the Drake may be a little more robust..."
He offers a smile. "or you could take one of the new Azatas for a spin. Once you’re inside, you’ll want some kind of computer that will let you interact with the station’s systems; our IT team can help shore up your gear’s defenses in the likely event that you run into more Data Scourge code on this mission.”
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"Computers? I'm sure we can get something rigged up if we need to. I have a Tier 3 with VI in my carrybag and an extra hacking kit as backups, and can use my own rig for any work I need to do myself - so we have a pretty good setup."
"For ships, happy to take the Pegasus for those long-range sensors, and the tech bay and science lab might come in handy if we need to do field research"
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A woman in her mid-fifties strides into the briefing room shortly after Jim, having submitted her few pieces of computerized equipment to the tech team at the door. She stands at attention at the other end of the table from the First Seeker and introduces herself, "Desha Doash, sir. Glad to be aboard for this important mission. I know it's of paramount importance not just to the Society but to everyone in the Pact Worlds and beyond."
As the floor is opened to questions, she looks around at the other agents present, sizing up the group's capabilities, then turns back to the First Seeker, "This mission being comprised of senior agents, sir, are we also authorized to disable this station if the opportunity arises, or is this purely a mission for intel?"
"As for our preferences on ships, I stand with Big Jim on this one, sir. The Pegasus's technical capabilities seems most important to me here, plus, its maneuverability is a major asset if we are engaged in ship to ship combat...or if the station has any automated defenses, which seems likely, now I think of it."
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"Robots and Computers it is, looks like we have the right people"
"Desha raises a good point about the potential for automated defences, we need to think about how we might deal with those and what their sensors and triggers might be, but then we wont really know that til we can scan the station safely from a distance"
"I wont be needing the truck or 'copter for this outing"
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A halfing with damp rainbow coloured hair wearing a T-Shirt and shorts over a swimsuit is also in the room. The T-Shirt says "I can get out of anything - except chores" She was also carrying a notebook and pencil instead of a datapad.
I'm more used to the Pegasus but it would be interesting to have another go at the Azata, but whatever you guys want, I'll fly it. she says. I'm Rani Silvermist, acrobat and escape aretiste extrodinaire. You might have seen me performing with Cirque d'Absalom
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A glamorous looking woman dressed in a black jump suit with an Abadaran symbol emboirdered on it in golden sequins strides into the room, loudly talking on a comm unit. She has creamy brown skin that literally seems to glow and short black hair with streaks of silver and gold. Something about her seems vaguely familiar to most people.
"I can't talk about this now. I'm going to space, Murray! Didn't we already work this out? They can't keep coming back and trying to change the deal. Murray, I need you to show them some of those persuasion skills you learned from the Veskarium. Tell them that if they try to mess with my residuals again, I'm going to space walk my way out of the project. Okay, I have to go now. Give my love to Khazimi, okay? Alright, bye."
After putting away her comm, the human rubs her temples, takes a deep breath and lets it out in a noisy exhale. "Sorry about that, everybody. Just taking care of one last bit of business."
Moxie sits down and listens to the briefing, carefully looking over her allies. "I've flown on a few Pegasus models in my time. Personally I kind of prefer the extra fire power that the Drakes have; but the Pegasus is a solid ship too. If that's what you're all most comfortable with flying, then I'm fine with it."
When Big Jim mentions his name, Moxie's eyebrows raise in interest.
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"Disabling the station? That might be a tall order, but if it is a threat, then by all means if you find the means, do avert it. But your primary mission is intel, not deconstruction." Ehu Hadif tells Desha.
"We need more information about these robots and the Data Scourge aligned with them: their origins, their purpose, their vulnerabilities. Look for anything that may help us rescue our missing agents or recover their remains. Any sabotage, reprogramming, or destruction of enemy assets are secondary but appreciated.”
He looks around. "So the Pegasus is it? "
Moxie's insiders have kept her up to pace with what has been happening recently.
The Data Scourge is a brand-new, omnipresent computer virus that compromised
countless technological devices in a coordinated attack throughout the Pact Worlds. Although the Scourge has compromised technological infrastructure across dozens of infospheres, its appearance directly coincided with an invasion of robots that attempted to capture the Lorespire Complex, the heart of the Starfinder Society’s operations.
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"The circus huh? That takes some discipline, heart, and a load of talent - can you get us some tickets? Would love to come see a show. Anyhow yeah Pegasus probably works for this."
***
"Well" Jim smiles, "If it isn't Moxie Moon of Too much Moxie!, in my opinion there was never enough and there should have been a few more seasons, but hey it is what it is in the 'biz amirite? So a collab effort, could be great for ratings - as you know, the handyperson DIY building and mechanical maintenance show that is Jim's Jams is a safety-conscious family-friendly show - with the exception of the odd special episode like Jim Jams it up the Jinsul, but anyhow nothing that would upset your... Abadarian sensitivities - former kid star on the show, great for the viewers who grew up watching Moxie, great for showing what a success you've become and the sort of top-shelf talent the Society works with. Your people can call my people"
***
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Big Jim does a little digging of his own and finds out that The Starfinder Society has encountered robots similar to those that attacked the Lorespire Complex before the Data Scourge started wreaking havoc across the Pact Worlds. Platoons of robots bearing old-fashioned components and mystical sigils overwhelmed colonists in the New Hope settlement on Siygess-4, massacred Starfinder agents investigating the deactivation of Drift Beacons in the area, and detonated the entire planet itself to cover their tracks. Zigvigix, the former leader of the Exo-Guardians faction, was reported missing following this event.
He also knows that across multiple battles with these robotic assailants, Starfinder agents have encountered an artificial intelligence that relentlessly criticizes the Society and accuses them of destructive incompetence. This digital personality is no stranger to combat, though its reasons for disparaging and targeting the Starfinder Society remain unknown.
Buddy chimes in that he has heard that the Data Scourge and the robotic attackers utilize code derived from the same basic source, which means experience with one allows insight into the programming seen in others.
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"Understood, sir--priority is intel and retrieval of missing personnel if the opportunity arises. The way things have been going around here, seems like this could be our next Jinsul-level threat." Desha visibly swallows at the thought, apparently repressing some experiences she does not want to relive at the moment.
"Well, then, I guess it's time for us to gear up and get ready for deployment. One last question does occur to me, though, sir: you mentioned that the signal is originating from this station in the Vast. Is the station in orbit around any particular celestial bodies? Maybe a planet or star that we might have previous records on? Or is it just floating in empty space?"
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Rani makes a note to find an archive copy of Jim Jams it up the Jinsul for viewing on the flight.
Yeah. I'll see what I can do about concession tickets. I'm also part of a small acrobatic/magic troupe subset that perform on stage. Hmmm .... maybe we can collaborate. You build my next trap and I'll escape from it
OK .... Pegasus it is. The Spitfire available? Scrappy little ship it is and I've got used to it's quirks.
She ponders a bit. Apart from details about the co-ordinates to where we're going I guess, I'm good to go sir
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You are provided co-ordinates and an access pass for a Pegasus and sent on your way.
Rani is very glad of her preparations, as the flight takes long days. The team is just about ready to climb the walls of the Pegasus by the time you come out of the drift and into orbit around a dead planetoid. Nearby there is a massive cylindrical space station.
Feel free for the science officer to give me a scan.
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Moxie chats eagerly with Big Jim, slipping in and out of Vesk as she talks. "I've been mostly been doing action films; B level stuff but I got my start in children's programming. I'd love to get my feet back into that world. Maybe a special episode about saying no to chems would be on brand with me. Or I'd love to be on one of the Jim Jams it up the Jinsul specials too. I'll have Murray give your people a call."
Moxie watches Rani's performance with interest. "Have you ever considered movies? I know some people who could get you an audition, if you're interested."
During the ship flight she straddles the captain's chair, hanging one leg over the arm rest as she casually scrolls through the input readings on the monitors. "I think I see something up ahead. Who's on the scanners?" she asks.
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Movies? I .. uh .. never considered that before ... but, it's a thought. The Perils of Rani perhaps? Or how about a remake of some the old aquatic classics? The Million Credit Mermaid for instance? Bordle's acting as my agent but she's ... um ... off system at the moment on assignment.
From the pilot's seat comes, Not me
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Daata goes to work, while you scan the station from afar. There are a number of interesting signatures that he can pick up, and the analysis does take a little time, however he discovers a lot.
There are two "ends" to the structure. One seems to be a type of "input" chute, while the other occasionally ejects a small pod. Small compared to the Pegagus, but plenty big enough to hold a lot of stuff.
Daata detects no atmosphere within the station itself, although there are gravitons, so he suspects a light amount of artificial gravity is likely present.
There are no emissions consistent with life sources within the station. He picks up to obvious weapons, although there is heavy shielding around the perimeter. Attempts to perform active probing are initially rebuffed by electronic counter measures, but Daata knows his stuff and manages to work out that the station seems to be componentized, with heavily encrypted communications between them. You can acquire a feed from the components to the Pegasus, but working out what they mean will take a lot of work.
Daata goes to work on it, and figures out a way to leave the Pegasus sifting for interesting information, and getting it piggybacked on the stations on signals to give you updates to your suits should you decide to enter the structure.
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There are two "ends" to the structure. One seems to be a type of "input" chute, while the other occasionally ejects a small pod.
"Eww gross! You're saying this is a giant space slug?" Jim twists up his face "If it has a mouth then it probably has teeth or at least a reception committee to mine whatever they're processing - so umm - reckon we can get up through the... other end? Any other means of entry?"
"Speaking of - that - can we keep an eye out for what exactly is going in and what those pods are going out? They just mashed resources or is this thing refining? Why would it produce a 'pod'?"
"Rani, looks like we might have a great use for your talents coming up. I'll get the shower ready for afterwards"
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The stuff going in appears out of the drift, and seems to be an odd collections of... rubbish. Odd bits of metal, mineral and even.. unidentified organics.
What comes out the other end it is a lot more organized. You have only seen one "pod" appear, maybe you got lucky.
A scan shows the heavy shielding around the station also covers the "Exit" - although presumably it must be dropped when a pod comes out. The only obvious way in is through the debris collection area.
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Daata replies to Big Jim without looking up from the screen as he works. "Using your slug metaphor, I think we'd face less resistance entering the facility where objects are permitted to enter than the end where things are expelled. I'd also worry about facing a completed, organized threat more than whatever is organizing the detritus at the entrance. I recommend we approach from the front."
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"To me it looks like it might be some kind of processing plant. Its taking in Drift junk, breaking it down and then turning it into those kids, right? So I think it'll be easy to get in, but we need to to make sure that we don't get munched up and turned in a pod once we're inside. But otherwise, the intake chute is probably the easiest way to get in."
Moxie gets out her arc pistol and sets it to "kill.". "Who wants to go first?"
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The teams suits up and joins the general flow of debris being slowly "swept" into the maw of the giant station. More than one starfinder perhaps feels a little nervous about the prospect of being "eaten" by the giant mechanical slug. And for good reason. As you are swept into it many arms, gears, filters and assorted mechancia try sorting you into useful pieces. Oh yes, that is going to hurt.
Luckily the Pegasus can beam you suggestions for where the machinery seems a little, (little), les dangerous.
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Moxie expertly dodges around the mincing blades, grabbing pieces of garbage off her debris costume and chucking them into gears and slicers in order to gunk up their works as much as possible.
"You know, a couple weeks ago I was inside the belly of a mecha Kaiju, so I'm getting pretty used to being inside gigantic mechanical life forms," she brags as she moves through the slugs mechanical guts.
"I never thought that this is something I'd start finding normal, though! What's my life coming too?"
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Somehow Rani kept getting tangled up in stuff so she had to avoid the blades and stuff while tied hand and foot.
Then there was the wash and dry cycle where the rubbish .... and Rani ... was dropped into a tank of water and basically stirred around underwater whle other mechanisms made sure anything coming to the surface was pushed under again. So she was forced to swim underwater for nearly three minutes, still bound, until reaching the other side where all the stuff was air dried. She looked rather fluffed up after getting through that.
And yes .... there had to be the buzz saw trap ..... she squirmed and struggled to get free before her head touched the blade. She succeeded and rolled off the conveyr belt - just in the nick of time.
I hope someone got that on film ... cause I'm NOT going back and doing another run though she commented.
((Rani is able to help someone else with their acrobatics))