Starfinder: On Blade's Edge (Inactive)

Game Master RuneSeerFenzik

Just getting a post in here for the link.

posting so my character specific alias appears in the player list

Dot

Might as well make sure my character shows up on the list.

Putting my dot on here as well!

May as well get added to the list as well.

Several days have passed since your fledgeling crew left Absalom station and headed towards Triaxus. During that time you’ve all familiarized yourselves with the company ship, the Vagabond. The leather in the pilots seats is worn and cracked, some of the doors stick a bit…but overall, you’ve come to appreciate how sturdy the ship seems to be. As for getting familiar with each other as a crew, you’re all still in the process. While some of you work for Allied Alloys, you all come from different walks of life, meaning this crew is your first time really crossing paths with one another. Still, you know you need to rely on one another if you’re going to track down the Sekhmet. The company, and by extension your livelihoods, is counting on it.

All of you with stomachs feel them churn slightly as the ship slips back out of the Drift, Triaxus’s blue surface now taking up most of the view out of the cockpit. Nearby, one of the Drift Beacons hangs steadily in space, currently being attended by several small maintenance ships. One of those ships breaks away from the group and flies over to rendezvous with you. The sound of their hail echoes from the speakers throughout the ship, and the face of a heavily augmented human appears on your viewing screen.

“Crew of the Vagabond, this is Ornea Xarrod of the Triune Priesthood.” You see her eyes, one organic and one obviously cybernetic, flit quickly to observe the state of your ship. “You made good time, despite whatever it was that attacked you.” (Nothing attacked you, that’s just how your ship looks).

Settled into the pilot's seat, oblivious to the rough bits of cracked leather upholstery, sits Steel. His red optics rotate in alternating directions around his nearly cylinder shaped head, taking in the various readings from the Vagabond's monitors while his metallic hands work the controls...

(In the day or two it would have taken to reach Triaxus from Absalom station the other crew would have gotten the impression that this sentient robot was a very 'by the book' type, not overbearingly so, but he clearly valued order and organization.)

Steel's voice blares out from his speakers, the modulated voice bearing a no-nonsense deep authoritarian timbre as he responds to the nearby ship's hail.

"Allied Alloys, callsign Vagabond, responding to your hail, Priestess Xarrod. Correction. The Vagabond is currently undamaged and functioning at approximately 97% efficiency..."

Steel's optics switch from red to a bright solid blue and his voice suddenly changes to a much softer feminine lilt.

"... She just looks that way."

Steel flips back to red/masculine without missing a beat, as if this 'interruption' is perfectly normal for him.

"Query. Have you acquired any new data regarding the coordinates and status of the Sekhmet?"

Ornea frowns. "Unfortunately, we are only able to get an approximation of the ships location within the Drift, and getting the vessel's status would be impossible without physically going there to look. This is new technology gifted to us by Triune's great inspiration, not a set of schematics as the case was with Drift engines themselves. We are still...working out the kinks. That being said, I suggest you attempt to locate a trail to follow using your sensors once you've entered the gateway we open. Are you prepared?"

Steel pauses, his optics oscillating blue and red for a few seconds.

"Clarification. The Sekhmet is in drift space. We are entering drift space to reconnoiter. Query. Will your gateway remain open for the duration of the operation. If-not-then... what will be the Vagabond's extraction method?"

"It takes a great deal of power to keep the portal open. You'll have to utilize your own Drift engine and set course back to Absalom or a nearby Drift beacon once your business is concluded. Given the device is essentially following the randomized route of another ship and not a divine coordinate, reopening the portal for you after would likewise probably be inaccurate. If the Sekhmet is still intact, I suggest piloting it back in much the same way. If not...salvage what you can using your own vessel."

Nakotre leans back from the terminal he's hunched over, his own, personally-installed chair creaking. He found that most vessels with passengers like him needed modifications to accommodate, even if he was more used to cramped ship interiors than even other megalonyxas, and he knew darn well most companies wouldn't subsidize such modifications.

"You're expecting us to do that piloting, I assume?" he asks, his tone somehow gruff and affable at the same time. "If we find the Sekhmet's crew still alive, should we instead attempt to assist in repairs?"

I'd highly recommend bolding spoken text in your posts. It makes it stand out from descriptions and stuff so it's easier to read! :)

The priestess scoffs slightly. "We were hired by Allied Alloys to help you track down your wayward ship. Honestly given the credits they offered, I'm surprised my superiors said yes. So sorry but, once we get you started, you're on your own. If you have reservations, now's the time to back up and consider a career change." She doesn't seem hostile, mainly annoyed. There's an edge of sympathy to her expression at the last bit as well.

"Hey, nothing personal! I thought you were running the show," Nakotre replies. "Just trying to get a clearer picture of the job, you know? Bein' prepared's the best way to make sure everything goes smoothly."

Swiping a finger through files on her datapad, Asla Tenaphi sits in the captain's seat feeling a tad out of place. Her blue eyes lay half-lidded as she reviews the notes and missives she had made and received from the company. She tips her hat back so as to veil less of her face as she looks on at the view screen.

"Indeed." She added, stowing her datapad in one of her coat pockets. Her voice, smooth though it is, is beset by her pahtra accent. "On the topic of a clearer picture, do we know when the Sekhmet was scheduled to leave with the shipment? I'm aware of the Drift's effect on the passage of time, but a time frame between then and estimated time of arrival would help rule out certain possibilities." Asla's eyes wandered between the group in the ship and the priestess' image on the screen, hoping someone would answer.

(I imagine a pahtra accent being somewhat similar to an Indian/Hindi accent)

One of Steel's optical arrays rotates around his head to focus on Asla.
After her question it spins back, focusing all optics on the viewscreen displaying their contact.

"Commentary. Miss Asla asks a pertinent question. Statement. We simply wish to obtain as much data as possible before exiting communication range."

"For a manifest of what goods were specifically in transit on the Sekhmet, you would have to refer either to your companies own files or those of Triaxus. The timeframe we're showing on the beacon for point of arrival was seven days ago, approximate departure was 6 days ago, just outside the span of time for standard travel back to Absalom. Distance and time are dilated, but the actual passage of time for Sekhmet's crew will still have been 6 days. I don't mean to sound pessimistic but, the chances of them being alive and well are slim. There's been no word of their arrival in Alluvion, and unless they crashed on Bullwark there aren't many friendly places in there."

"So sounds like best case scenario we roll up and end up having to put some holes in some spooks or pirates or the like and take the thing back, worst case scenario we find out the hard way that the thing got caught in a doldrum and wind up like the crew, that about right?" Lucia finally speaks up, her sharp, icy blue eyes glancing up at the screen now that she had settled herself from the prior jump, "Assuming the thing's even still in there that is."

"Hmm... Not much else ado about it, I suppose." The pahtra bargained, shrugging her shoulders. Her hand gripped her feline snout somewhat tightly, as she pulled her fingers past her whiskers and down her cheeks and neck in a makeshift facepalm. Displeased with herself more than anything, she cursed under her breath,

Those that interacted with her could see that the young Tenaphi was used to long hours for jobs like these, and loved throwing herself into her work. The time abroad in space travel didn't sit well with her however, as pahtra instincts had cursed her with a reliance on steady, unmoving ground without much fluctuating gravity. Sure she was nimble on her feet regardless, but her stomach still protested. She was determined to sit through it all though, not just for the paycheck, but out of concern for the crew of the Sekhmet.

Doing her best to recover a semblance of professionalism, she let loose her face from her hand. "So be it. Is everything prepared for another Drift jump on our side then?" she surveyed her crew.

Steel's metal hands quickly tap away at the Vagabond's controls. His primary optic pivots around to Asla.

"Confirmation. Thrusters are primed. Navigation is nominal."

His main robotic eye turns to regard the other 2 crew members.

"Recommendation. You should take your stations and secure your seat belts in case of dimensional turbulence upon passing through the drift portal."

His secondary optic ring tilts down to look at the priestess.

"Prompt. Awaiting portal opening. (the eye turns blue and the feminine voice briefly emerges) Thank you, priestess."

Ornea nods politely at you. "Very well. Triune's grace be with you, Vagabond. I hope you find what you're looking for."

A few moments later, you see space itself tear directly in front of the ship. You've witnessed this briefly in the past during Drift jumps, but this is the first time you are all getting to see the phenomenon at length. The portal waits to accept you.

"Yeah, yeah. Just try to keep us steady.", Lucia slumped back in her seat, fastening herself in before bracing for what was to come. No matter how used to it you got, you never really got over the physical jostling that came with going through these things, "Last thing I want is the big guy tipping over on me."

"Right, lets be off then." Asla declared, trying her best to fit the role of captain. After sitting back in her seat and fastening her seat belts, she steepled her fingers before beginning a prayer. "I pray for the crew of the Sekhmet, that Pharasma has not yet decided their final fates, that our minds are quick enough to pick up the trail they left and avoid whatever trappings befell them." As she prayed, she worked her hands, contorting and entangling them as though casting a spell. Though no magic sprung from her being, her fingers made gestures and symbols as she performed a pahtra tradition.

Steel's secondary optic ring pivots to face Lucia as he eases the Vagabond into motion with steady hands. The ship's old-but-sturdy thrusters rumble to life as the cockpit's windows slide to bring the (hopefully) stable portal into view.

"Complying with request. Addendum. You seem sturdy enough should Nakotre lose vestibular stability." The red light of his secondary eye blinks a few times before rotating back to the fore. Was the SRO winking or experiencing a glitch?

Given your path has been laid out before you by the priestess' device, no special effort need be made by Steel in order to pilot you all through the portal. The ship lurches forward, passing through, and the portal closes behind you immediately. Before you lies the near infinite, constantly expanding plane known as the Drift. Several large chunks of debris float harmlessly off the starboard side of the ship. A complicated web of multicolored nebula takes up the majority of the open space, though in the distance you can see other floating pieces of rock. The Vagabond's sensors pick up an unimaginably diverse array of chemical, electrical and spatial readings.

Let's have someone roll our first check to see if they can use active sensors to pick up a trail.

Steel keeps one optic on the monitors and another on the view before him as he steers the ship. A steady mechanical whirring hum buzzes from somewhere in the vicinity of his chest as he concentrates.

"Request. Mister Nakotre, would you be so kind as to scan for any sign of the Sekhmet while I avoid the flotsam?"

His secondary optic turns to look at Asla and Lucia in turn.

"Apology. Not trying to overstep. I do get a bit... zealous... once an objective is assigned."

"Yeah, yeah. Just try to keep us steady.", Lucia slumped back in her seat, fastening herself in before bracing for what was to come. No matter how used to it you got, you never really got over the physical jostling that came with going through these things, "Last thing I want is the big guy tipping over on me."

Steel's secondary optic ring pivots to face Lucia as he eases the Vagabond into motion with steady hands. The ship's old-but-sturdy thrusters rumble to life as the cockpit's windows slide to bring the (hopefully) stable portal into view.

"Complying with request. Addendum. You seem sturdy enough should Nakotre lose vestibular stability." The red light of his secondary eye blinks a few times before rotating back to the fore. Was the SRO winking or experiencing a glitch?

Nakotre gives a small "heh," and smirks a bit.

"Rest assured, Ms. Meyer, a megalonyxa is usually the last thing to tip over in turbulence. When your species evolved on a world where the gravity's so strong a simple fall can kill, you develop superior stability. I'd be more concerned about you tipping into me...and then bouncing off my back towards the ceiling!" he says, turning to Lucia with an exaggerated look of faux-concern on his face that quickly breaks into a cheeky grin. "Better make sure your seat-belt's buckled!"

Steel keeps one optic on the monitors and another on the view before him as he steers the ship. A steady mechanical whirring hum buzzes from somewhere in the vicinity of his chest as he concentrates.

"Request. Mister Nakotre, would you be so kind as to scan for any sign of the Sekhmet while I avoid the flotsam?"

His secondary optic turns to look at Asla and Lucia in turn.

"Apology. Not trying to overstep. I do get a bit... zealous... once an objective is assigned."

"On it," Nakotre replies.

Computers: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

"Nothin' wrong with being goal-oriented," he comments.

Asla waves her hand off at Steel non-nonchalantly. "Not a problem. I defer to the experts in this case." She leans in and waits to see what the scanners reveal to Nakotre.

In a few moments, Nakotre is able to cross reference the free floating particles and radiation in the nearby vicinity with what the Sekhmet would have likely left in its wake. Within a few moments, you all have a heading; one that leads directly towards what looks to be a maze of floating debris and rubble. Most of it is small enough to not threaten your ship beyond scratching the already sparse paint of the hull. However, inside this veil of smaller pieces, the ship detects larger asteroids floating through the drift, like sharp stones below the waves. It's a fairly large cluster, so it would take some time to fly around it if you choose the safe route.

Nakotre gives a small "heh," and smirks a bit.

"Rest assured, Ms. Meyer, a megalonyxa is usually the last thing to tip over in turbulence. When your species evolved on a world where the gravity's so strong a simple fall can kill, you develop superior stability. I'd be more concerned about you tipping into me...and then bouncing off my back towards the ceiling!" he says, turning to Lucia with an exaggerated look of faux-concern on his face that quickly breaks into a cheeky grin. "Better make sure your seat-belt's buckled!"

Lucia rolls her eyes a bit at the reply, "Comeback could use work, but I respect the hustle." With that she settles in and braces for the incoming turbulence... And frowns a bit at the immediacy of the portal closing once they were through, "Skinflints cutting it a bit close there... Coulda scraped the paint if it closed any sooner."

Steel keeps one optic on the monitors and another on the view before him as he steers the ship. A steady mechanical whirring hum buzzes from somewhere in the vicinity of his chest as he concentrates.

"Request. Mister Nakotre, would you be so kind as to scan for any sign of the Sekhmet while I avoid the flotsam?"

His secondary optic turns to look at Asla and Lucia in turn.

"Apology. Not trying to overstep. I do get a bit... zealous... once an objective is assigned."

"I'm just here for security, not giving orders or dealing with technical stuff. Just don't micromanage me too much when it gets time to shoot things and we'll be peachy." She gives a nod, crossing one leg over the other as she leans back in her seat, looking up at the ceiling, "Besides, the sooner we find that ship and get out the sooner I can get paid."

However, inside this veil of smaller pieces, the ship detects larger asteroids floating through the drift, like sharp stones below the waves. It's a fairly large cluster, so it would take some time to fly around it if you choose the safe route.

Steel leans forward to peer at the readouts Nakotre pulled up, then takes a look through the cockpit windows. After a moment he leans back, his optics rotating around his head to regard the other crew members.

"Conundrum. The Crew of the Sekhmet, if alive, may be in danger. If-then, time may be of the essence for them. Safe route around obstacles will take time. Direct route may require some... finesse.

Thank you IVA."

Tapping a finger on her chin, she contemplates briefly. "Hmm, that's not a bad idea, Steel. Kinda wish I could think as fast as you." Pondering the way before them, a lightbulb goes off on her head. Carefully, she twists her fingers and conjoins her hands in a peculiar way, knotting them together. "Finesse would help, but why not bolster it with some foresight?"

In a low voice, she begins rhythmically chanting an incantation. "Samay ke ghoonghat ke maadhyam se sahakarmee~" As she chants, she slowly pulls her hands from one another, letting her flexible fingers detangle themselves. Once separated, she then spreads her fingers before bringing her hands to her face, her eyes beginning to glow with arcane energy as she peers through her digits.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
Attempting to use Precognition

Her whiskers stand on edge as she intoned, "Ready when you are, take us in as slow as you need to. I'll try to keep sharp for any wayward rocks."

Love the use of Precognition here. Let's get a piloting check please, with a +2 circumstance bonus due to Asla's guidance.

Settling himself into position, Steel fires the thrusters and enters the debris field, following Nakotre's readings (hopefully) towards the trail of the Sekhmet...

Piloting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Lucia gives a nod and unfastens her seat harness and moves to take her station, "Roger that." She states, unable to hide a faint smirk at the irony of escaping a life of blowing up space rocks only to end up doing it anyway.

The Vagabond drifts forward. In an expert series of maneuvers, Steel weaves among the asteroids, following the Sekhmet's trail blinking idly on the ships displays. At one point, an asteroid begins to drift dangerously close to the ships blind spot, but a quick callout allows Steel to course correct and get out of the way.

This continues for close to half an hour before the ship finally breaks out into open space. The trail leads ahead into a half-disintegrated moon, the source of all the rubble. From this distance, you don't see any sign of the vessel, but a closer look might yield better results.

Amazed, Asla sits up in her chair as her tail curls about behind her. "As I think and reason..." she marveled. Such a sight as this, a whole moon in the Drift, stunned the pahtra. Her mind tried in vain to calculate why this much mass had made it into the Drift, unable to process it all. Instead her feline eyes dilated, pupils turning from black slices to wide disks as she stared speechless.

Nakotre is an unmoving, metaphorical rock as the ship twists and maneuvers through the debris field. When the vessel rights itself at the end, he smiles at Steel.

"Good flyin' there," he says. When he takes a look at the readings from his console, he gives a "huh," and turns to the cockpit. "You seein' this..." he starts asking, but doesn't finish as the moon comes into view.

"Dang...that's...that's unusual, even for the Drift!" he says quietly. "Either it got yanked in here from some other plane or it was already here when the Drift was made...only things from the Material Plane in the Drift are the ships that fly in it."

Steel leans forward slightly as the demolished moon comes into view. He double checks the sensor display, then looks back to the moon. His optical rings pivot around, looking to the other crew members.

"Exclamation. That's at once impressive and unsettling! Observation. I've never seen anything like this in the drift. Statement. While a reasonable pilot, I'm no expert on planar cartography. Query. This isn't supposed to happen on this scale, is it?"

Nakotre ponders Steel's question, thinking on what he remembered about the technical specifics of Drift travel.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"Not unless something the same size as it came smashing through... Or Someone set off some planet cracker inside it." Lucia called back, pivoting the ship's turret as she kept an eye out for any stray debris the might cause trouble, "Really hope whatever caused that is long gone and didn't have anything to do with our missing ship."

"Only one way to find out..." Asla responds, glancing to Lucia. Trusting their soldier's instincts, she regards the two techies. "Bring us in for a closer look, but be ready to stop on a dime if Nakotre picks up anything on the scanners." She issues, leaning forward in her seat with a creak. Her eyes watch the moon again, this time with more caution. She runs her fingers deftly over the buttons of her hand-held scanner holstered to her side, idly fidgeting with them to center her mind. "Let's not be distracted by it. As strange & beautiful as it is, it might hide a clue of the Sekhmet's disappearance." the felid urged.

"Complied."

Steel urges the ship forward along the partial trail indicated by Nakotres's sensor readings. His steady mechanical hands lean gently against the controls as the ship glides through drift space.

To answer Nakotre, there's no way the Drift should have been able to slice reality in a big enough swath to capture a whole moon. This is new to you :)

The Vagabond follows the trail that sweeps along the perimeter of the broken moon. Your scanners show the broken planetoid is rich in multiple types of minerals: Silver, traces of Horacalcum, and...Siccatite? Not only is the moon veined through with the stuff, but you're also getting a significant reading of that metal on the moon's surface. As your ship crests the horizon, you see the elongated red frame of the Sekhmet. It apparently decided to land on the moon for a closer look.

"This is definitely new...there's no way conventional Drift engines could pull a chunk of reality big enough to fit a whole damn moon! Even the Drift thinning from a full armada travelling at once isn't on that scale..."

Nakotre takes a closer look at the scanners.

"Damn! This moon's the real mother lode!" he exclaims. "There's enough minerals on that rock to make AA a fortune...might even put them ahead of Astral Extractions or even AbadarCorp!"

When the Sekhmet comes into view, he nods.

"And it looks like the Sekhmet's crew thought the same thing. Want me to try hailing 'em first?"

"Might as well." she responds, "Would also be nice to know if they even have power."

Steel remains quiet as he brings the Vagabond closer to the Sekhmet. His mechanical eyes look over the hull, searching for signs of damage, or life.

A quick scan of the ship reveals that while there isn't any overt damage to the ships systems, it has been completely powered down. There's no distress signal, no anything. It is dead silent, latched to the side of the shattered moon.

"Man, I really don't like the look of that." Lucia frowned, looking down at the ship through her turret's camera, "Just screams 'infested with space monsters' or the like. You'd think they'd have flagged us down by now."

"I agree," Nakotre replies. "Feels like the opening segment of a horror trivid...or a news broadcast. Remember the reports on that Drift Rock incident by Absalom Station? I was doin' some work for the Hardscrabble Collective at the time. They sent a ship up to it and brought on a payload of noqual. Problem was they weren't aware one of the most common sources of noqual is akata cocoons. The akatas woke up from hibernation and slaughtered the crew. Took a crew of Starfinders to clear out, and I think the ship's STILL in legal limbo."

Dead Suns reference!