You find yourself aboard a small shuttle, heading to the freighter Intersector. The freighter, located in Verces’ orbit, acts as a neutral location for a scheduled meeting with Ilia Tamm, a businessperson interested in hiring Starfinders to find her missing son. Radaszam sits on one of the shuttle’s benches, waiting for the freighter to dock.
|
Before you stands the most muscular Ysoki you have ever set your eyes on, though this may be accentuated by his skin tight body suit. Strung across his back is a large grappler, but he doesn't otherwise appear armed.
"I know, I know. I look familiar, right? That's because you have seen me on your screens as the former ultra-featherweight champion of the Absalom Station Wrestling Federation before that cheating grippli.... never mind about that. Water under the bridge. Rowdy Randy the Ravishing Rodent is the name and heroism is now my game. Pleased to meet you."
With a groan, the docking clamps of the large space freighter Intersector secure the shuttle, and a boarding ramp rattles up into position at the airlock. Radaszam looks around and claps his palm against the steely internal bulkhead. “Last stop, Starfinders. Everyone out!” The armored vesk eagerly dismounts the ramp into the freighter’s docking bay.
In front of the doors to the Intersector’s conference chamber Radaszam pauses to speak. “Remember, we’re meeting with Ilia Tamm, CEO of Arch Energy Consortium. She’s interested in hiring contractors, so making a good impression on her is paramount— especially given the Society’s history with the company.”
When he sees the majority of you with your eyes glazed over, he explains, "Three years ago, Starfinders infiltrated Arch Energy Consortium to steal corporate information for the Dataphiles. While the information proved vital to rebuilding the Society following the Scoured Stars, it was perhaps not our most glamorous moment. I don’t think Ilia has proof we staged the break-in, but she’s a smart person. Let’s not remind her of what she probably already suspects. I’m hoping whatever she has planned will let us to take steps towards amicability.”
The conference room features a desk of reflective metal, several chairs, and a panoramic view of space outside. Ilia Tamm regards you from over her spectacles. “Hello Starfinders. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m glad you agreed to entertain my proposition. Arch Energy has a—hmm.” Ilia pauses for a moment, “No. I have a request to make of your organization. I’ll cut right to business. My son, Envar, is missing. I want him found.”
"I am no expert here, which is why we're talking. What do you need to know to help find my son?"
"I confess that I haven't seen him in person in some time. He’s my son, and I had hoped he would inherit control of the business someday. However, his skillset lies elsewhere. Envar has a penchant for enjoying himself, and his tastes run to the extravagantly expensive. Ever since I was forced to impose restrictions to limit his impact on Arch Energy, he’s spent a lot of time growing his profile on the social media infosphere. He’s become quite the influencer. His last post was a week ago."
"A picture? You don't know him? Given his reputation as an influencer over the last few years, I figured you knew him. He produces several v-log programs and represents a number of fashion brands. He’s popular with the teen demographic, in particular. I’m rather proud of his success.... but just go online and you'll see.”
|
Being a Technomancer guarding sensitive information for the Azlanti Star Empire, Skorrch knows of her son very well. However, he does not let on just how much. "Good afternoon, Lady Tamm. Yes, I have heard Envar. His posts are… very interesting." says the gosclaw with reserved respect. ”We will certainly scour his online activities for any clues as to his whereabouts. One would wonder however, do you have any umm, ‘persons of interest’ that may want to cause you personally any harm?” Skorrch asks, inquisitively narrowing his eyes.
Her left eyebrow slowly lifts in time with the pace of Randy's speech, "Umm... wrestling? I don't..."
she breaks off the thought to answer Skorrch, Gods, no. He’s always been a charmer, more so now that he’s sober and excelling as a media producer. If anyone’s hurt him, it’s likely to get at me. I haven’t heard any ransom demands at this stage, but I fear that he may have been kidnapped, or worse.”
|
|
"Pardon me a moment." says Giovanni, as he pulls out his comm unit and starts looking up Envar, and quickly looking up his vlogs, checking out the headers on the last few to see what they are about. He also quickly scans through the comments sections, just to see if there is anything "interesting" in them.
|
"You mention two things that are threads like to pull if you don't mind. You mentioned his recent sobriety, his penchat for the lavish, and the potential harm to you via him. Is there are a prior life that could be catching up to him? Like debts owed due to his wants or history?"
Nobele-44 shakes his head as if clearing his head of thoughts and starting again..
"If you haven't seen him in person, when was last you at least heard from him?"
Giovanni doesn't find anything that jumps out, but he's not surprised. The comments section on a vlog star are so all over the place that a baseline is hard to find.
"Noble-44 is it? He seemed to have paid his debts recently. The last I heard from him was maybe two months ago? And honestly, the only lead I have. Here is a copy of his most recent infosphere posts and the last messages he sent to me."
She pulls up her copy of Envar’s social media accounts, which are characterized by short, ad-ridden vids with frequent requests for his followers to like, comment, and subscribe. His recent vids were uploaded to multiple Pact Worlds infospheres and feature him scuba diving on an oceanic planet and ziplining over canyons on a rocky world. His messages to Ilia contain a selection of still shots featuring Envar posing atop a hill on a planet with a purple sky and blue plant life. A dim red dwarf shines overhead, accompanied by the silhouette of a huge, pockmarked moon.
“As you can see, his latest vids focused on travel.” Ilia states. “It’s been nearly two months without a comm or infosphere update now. I’m worried he may have stumbled into something dangerous. The business world can be underhanded, Starfinders, and doesn’t make for close friendships. I have many rivals and…”[b] She exhales and shakes her head as though dismissing a troublesome thought. [b]“Just find him, please.”
|
|
Skorrch examines the message with the unique background. Not many planets have a terrain quite like the posted vid. The white-faced gosclaw also notices Ilia's hesitation. Thinking that it may be more than sorrow, he tries to gain a bit more information and studies her face as he asks, "You seem to have remembered something... maybe painful? Is there anything else you can tell us? Any small bit of information that may seem to be insignificant will still be helpful." Skorrch cocks his head and smiles reassuredly.
Checks to recognize planet features:
Checks to be friendly and to observe reactions:
Giovanni and Skorrch recognize the first two planets as Near Space worlds Varturan and Vesk-4; the third planet is not immediately identifiable.
Giovanni analyzes the flora in the image. It indicates a high density of carbon on the planet. In addition, the moon bears visible signs of destruction probably caused by a large asteroid.
|
|
Suddenly a balding android, with dark glasses, grease on his trousers and a scowl on his face shows up.
"Is this the right place? I was told I'm supposed to come here and help find some missing kid. I've never been on a Starfinder mission before, but they said this is where I needed to go."
"What's his name? Let me check his SM account."
Magnok-704 quickly checks his wrist pad for any information he can find on Envar or on the third planet.
"The Intersector's databanks are available to you if you want to try and cross-reference your clues."
Magnok 704 traces the planet to Near Space’s Ecior system. Ecior supports six planets, two of which are life-sustaining. These two, Tio Major and Tio Minor, were once a single body, but split following an impact event millennia ago. They have similar ecosystems and share an orbit around the system’s red dwarf star.
Upon seeing the good work, Ilia urges you to depart at once, arranging credit transfers to both the Society and your personal accounts with Radaszam. Before you disembark, the Acquisitives leader provides a word of caution. “Starfinders,” he says, “we have no records of contact with sapient life on these planets. This could be a first contact situation, so tread carefully and remember your diplomatic training.” Radaszam arranges for the you to depart in a ship of your choice, likely an Azata, Drake, or Pegasus.
Before you leave, Kimikim helpfully provides you with:
|
|
"Not to worry. Rowdy Randy is great with new fans. And if someone is holding your son, I have two weapons that they won't want to meet!
He flexes his biceps, which are admittedly impressive for an Ysoki.
"I will take your word for it since you seem to know your way around a ship. Magnok. Let's hit the road!"
|
|
Skorrch agrees with Magnok-704's choice of starships as the Pegasus is the fastest of the three and time seems to be of the essence. Skorrch sees the android mechanic accessing the Intersector's databanks and switches his attention from Envar's infosphere posts to the computer. "Excellent work Magnok-704! Maybe I can help to narrow down the differences between the two Tios." Skorrch says with excitement. "Computer, given the data we have discovered and have entered into your databanks, is there more likelihood that our esteemed adventurer would be on the one planet as opposed to its twin?"
|
|
Skorrch laughs approvingly at Rowdy Randy. Hahaha! You have jogged an old memory my friend! I saw your match against that cheating Grippli. What a spectacle! You had him on 'on the ropes' until he spit in your face! I think that venue was at 'Frogtown' where you brought them Hell! Great job, you won that match in my eyes."
|
|
"I can do pretty much everything on the ship. We Vizzini's are space rats, if you know what I mean!" chuckle Giovanni. "A Pegasus would be fine by me. You want me to fly? That works for me! I'm better in engineering, by the way, but I love to fly as well."
Giovanni grabs a battery, just in case, though he rarely runs out.
"Oh, and everybody loves me. Really."
|
|
"I would be best used as a SCIENCE OFFICER or secondarily as a PILOT. My next best skills in order of ability are: ENGINEER, CHIEF MATE, or MAGIC OFFICER. However, this is my first mission, so if any senior adventurers want to take these, I will certainly not disagree."
"Okay, Skorrch, you do the science thing whatever that means, and I will take care of the engines and the systems. If I need help, I will let you know."
"That's ok. Rowdy Randy's best skill is flexing."
"I notice that, especially those little muscles he has on his arms. But what is this wrestling thing he keeps talking about? Does he actually run around in the tight underwear and try to squeeze the big folk?"
|
|
"It's true! The Grippli Grappler cheats the whole match long and I get kicked from the federation for ONE incident of biting below the belt. ONE! Anyway I can do whatever job involves using Athletics to help, and I did stay in school for Engineering like I always tell the kids to do. It was a correspondence course, but I did it."
|
|
Skorrch nods to the android mechanic then starts to study the schematics of the Pegasus. The gosclaw is excited to be the helmsman of the fastest ship in the fleet... and on his first mission! The improved sensors and huge array of support features make him giddy. Skorrch starts to 'Chekov' all the functions that he will be monitoring. "OK, let's see... shield quadrant balancing, scanning sensors, targeting systems..." He drones off talking to himself in apparent nerd-tech glee.
|
|
"Anyway I can do whatever job involves using Athletics to help, and I did stay in school for Engineering like I always tell the kids to do. It was a correspondence course, but I did it."
"You learned engineering through a correspondence course? Does that mean you missed the hands on application of engineering? Well, if the warp coils need wrestling. I will know who to ask."
Aboard the Pegasus the party sets in a course for the Ecior System. The trip takes Days, and it's a chance to get to know each other.
Twin planets hang in orbit, nearly identical broken halves separated by a gulf of space and shimmering debris. Tio Major’s irregular surface swirls with purples and blues. Patchy grasslands strive to cover jagged rocks and crevices jutting deep into the planet’s crust, as the world’s vibrant ecosystem fights to heal the wound from its ancient sundering.
Upon entering atmosphere, the ship’s scanners detect an object moving from Tio Minor to Tio Major. The object is roughly the size of your vessel and moves through space with an eerie languidness before vanishing into the upper atmosphere.
From orbital range, the ship’s sensors detect small structures that
initially appear to be ruins...
these settlements are part of larger subterranean structures that
cover much of the planet. No other signs of civilization, intelligent life, or vehicles are visible from their vantage point.
Ready, the party descends to the planet. You can make a short trek through a forested area to reach one of the structures. The trees possess leaves of dense carbonite crystal which make soft tinkling sounds in the breeze. Indigenous avian species chirp in the distance and motes of crystalline pollen float in the air. It’s a pleasant and surreal walk through an alien land....
...at first.