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Once their ship is docked at Absalom Station, after the successful mission to Prelura to retrieve the Dreamer relics, the crew get on the train at the station. A few stops later, only Morvruul, Cha'mon, and Rilynn are still on the train but other passengers have joined them.
You may as well take this opportunity to introduce your characters to each other.
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As soon as the new team members board the train, Rilynn leaps from her seat to introduce herself. She realizes a moment too late that her enthusiasm could be taken the wrong way, and in reality she's trying to get a little separation from the relentless sparring match between Cha'mon Cha'mon and Morvuul.
"I'm Rilynn," the Lashunta says to the others. "Jill of all trades."
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A rather laconic looking damai sits next to Rilynn. He seems consumed in private thoughts at the moment as he stairs out the window of the train. As Rilyn stands up to introduce herself he says to her, "Just a few more stops before I can get off this train and away from Morvruul the so called merchant. I'm hungry, once we get to to the Lorespire Complex let's stop at the cafeteria and get something to eat before we report in.
I heard they've hired a new head chef from Castrovel. She's got to be better than the catering service they had a contract with before."
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On the other end of the train car from the gathered Starfinders sits a witchwyrd. He angrily whispers into a comm unit held in one hand as he gesticulates madly with his three others.
A few stops later, only Morvruul, Cha'mon, and Rilynn are still on the train but other passengers have joined them.
Among the newly-arrived passengers is a well-dressed goblin with slicked back hair and sun glasses.
"Drouf!" Morvruul shouts as he places one palm over the voice input on the comm link and waives the goblin over with his other two.
"You should have met with at the space dock! With transportation!" he sneers. "But, no matter. This train will do for my purposes."
"Now, how has the 'business' fared in my absence?" he inquires. "My business with the stone tablets was mostly a bust. Although there is a nightclub that I suspect will soon come up for sale, that I am considering placing a bid on. However, I nearly got killed by a dragon of all things."
"Everything is good, Boss," the goblin replies.
"Excellent!" Morvruul notes as he ends his comm link connection and steeples his remaining hands. "And the 'other thing'?"
The goblin nods. "All is ready."
"Fantastic!" Morvruul declares. Unable to retain his excitement, the witchwyrd rises to his feet. Then, noticing the other Starfinders, he whispers to the goblin, "You don't think the others suspect? Do you?" Morvruul's eyes dart toward Cha'mom Cha'mon.
"I doubt it, Boss. You're plan is going perfectly. All you need to do is show up at the Lorespire Complex on time." Drouf reports.
Morvruul checks the chronometer on his wrist. "Right on schedule," he declares with sinister glee. Then, unable to contain himself further, he releases a loud, continuous laugh.
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He's clearly insane, Rilynn replies telepathically to Cha'mon Cha'mon, but I believe his heart is in the right place, and he has shown himself to be fearless. Whether that's a strong personal trait or a reckless disregard for his life and those around him seems to vary by the situation. I know he gets on your nerves but strong personalities have been the norm lately on these missions. What counts is that we all work together to get the job done.
"Right!" she says aloud. "It's like the last kitchen didn't believe in seasoning. We definitely earned a good meal after that last drop. And drinks! Who do I need to flash my antennae at to get a stiff cock...tail?"
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The train abruptly jolts to a halt with a jarring screech. All electronic feeds and holoscreens flicker and shut off at once, as if controlled by a master switch. For a moment, a roaring silence replaces the city’s constant symphony. An insistent beeping pierces the air and the train stutters, rolls a few feet, then jerks into stillness once again. A palpable hum fills the train car as dozens of crimson lights blink in frantic, random patterns. The helpful machines patrolling the aisle or hovering near the ceiling twitch and spark erratically as the train suddenly lurches forward again, now accelerating at a frightening speed.
Any android or anacite PCs, please make a Will Save.
As computers, constructs, and machines stutter and malfunction around you the train itself accelerates dangerously out of control, threatening to detach from its track entirely.
The control panel for the autopilot is located 120ft away. Please act as if you were in combat rounds. What would you like to do?
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Was it a coincidence that the train shut down the moment Rilynn chose to say something flippant about it? No, obviously not, but maybe Morvuul was starting to infect her thinking.
"It was a joke," she replies to the universe.
When the train lurches forward again, this time at a deadly velocity, Rilynn springs forward in the direction of the controls.
Full run action, 120'.
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"What is the meaning of this?!" Morvruul demands of no one in particular. "A disruption could ruin everything!"
The witchwyrd grabs the goblin with one of his arms as he heads toward the door of the rail car. "Drouf! Come! We must speak with the train operator immediately!"
Morvruul tries to make his way to the front of the train.
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Lexicor continues running cognitive diagnostics
Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Cleanup-Image /RevertPendingActions
Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded /HideSP
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test
====== boot sector failure. Reinitializing. Please wait.
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Rilynn gets to the front of the train and addresses the control panel. She's never driven a train, but the automation system must be standardized and she knew her way around the helm of a starship. With her companions joining her in the space she pulls the jack from her hacking kit to initiate a traceback on the autopilot subroutine, looking for the terminal node to restore manual control.
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Her antennae straining at the circuit board, with Cha'mon Cha'mon's guidance Rilynn cracks the procedural call to the autopilot. It's not as complex as say, the algorithm for guiding a light freighter to space dock out of the Absalom Station harbor, but it has its own inertial subroutine which breaks down at these unforeseen speeds.
"Almost got it," she says through gritted teeth as the g force threatens to tear her away from the work at hand.
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"Get this train moving again!" Morvruul cries in frustration as the goblin, Drouf, ducks behind a seat. The witchwyrd sticks his head out the window in an effort to ascertain his current position.
"There, that way!" he cries, pointing the fingers on three of his hands in the direction of an intersection a few blocks east of the AbadarCorp-sponsored Freemarkets even as he grabs ahold of the goblin with the fourth. "That way will get us to the Lorespire Complex. We have no time to waste!"
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Morvruul leads the exodus of the rather nervous passengers out of the train
The iconic landscape of Absalom Station’s byways, which range from the cramped metal corridors below to wide alleys and streets here at the surface level, has drastically shifted. Plumes of smoke curl into the manufactured air, billowing up from vehicular wrecks and the smashed remains of glitching machines. Residents gather in uneasy crowds, barely speaking to one another, all frantically checking their comm units to no avail. Lone figures shuffle down the streets in a state of panic or shock.
A deserted train station provides a haven from the surrounding chaos, sprawling beside the winding metal tracks. Abandoned benches and flickering vending machines are the area’s sole occupants. Here, a gentle breeze ruffles the leaves of the trees shading the square. This hidden place offers a brief glimpse of normalcy.
The sloping Eye of the Station rises in the distance. A metal blast shield stutters as it struggles to close over the glass dome, its erratic movements an obvious sign that it, too, is malfunctioning.
You need to succeed at an additional Profession (Tour Guide) or Survival check to chart the best path through the maze of neighborhoods and business districts to the Lorespire Complex. Alternatively, a success with a Computers or Engineering check can perform field repairs on a nearby kiosk to access a map of the area. If you were born and raised on Absalom Station you get a +2 to the Survival check. If you played an adventure that was set on Absalom Station you get a +1 bonus to the survival check.
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"No! No! No!" screams Morvruul. "With all this chaos, I won't make it to the Lorespire Complex on time. My plans will be ruined!"
Spying a malfunctioning map kiosk nearby, he puts his many fingers to work, attempting to reroute power and reboot programming to find the quickest route to his destination. "Say, I believe we are close to the market where I took that ambassador some time ago."
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Seeing Cha'mon competing with Morvuul to be the first to repair a kiosk is a poor substitute for real entertainment, so Rilynn, after first observing the grand scale of carnage, fixes her hair smartly and approaches Shyni's camera.
"This is Rilynn Rae, reporting from a train station among the byways of Absalom. If you're watching this, then you're probably not dead. Unless you're from Eox, in which case you definitely are."
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Morvruul gets the kiosk up and running. The projection flickers constantly but has enough information to give you a good idea of your current location.
There are two options - continue hubwards towards the Eye which would take you through the Free Market or use one of the nearby service vehicles, and use the Ring Road that would take you all the way to Drifter's End - assuming there are no obstacles in the way. To access a vehicle you'll need a Computers or Engineering check to get it into manual mode then piloting to drive.
Which option do you decide on?
But before you have a chance to act, three observer class security robots, followed by a patrol class security robot, come by and they appear to be hostile.
Initiatives:
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Morvruul fails to get the vehicle running.
Citizen. You are under arrest says the patrol class robot as it movers up and fires upon Vormatian
The red observer class robot also moves up
Do not move ... Obey, obey, OBEY!
before firing at Cha'mon
Round 1 - Bold is up
Morvruul
Cha'mon
Yellow
Red
Lexicor
Shyni
Green
Blue (-3)
Rilynn
Vormatian