Catsial looks at master Boojan, and has no idea how to behave and speak to them. He tries to lean to what he does remember about Kasatha etiquette
"I've been part of number of missions, some of them took me deeper into Absalom Station, some to another planets like Akiton, Verces. Now the mission brought me to Idari. I experienced revolutions, fighting for survival and epidemics."
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Sturmvanger decides that discretion is the better part of diplomacy. He sits quietly as the conversation goes on. He takes up a pose not unlike Master Boojan's and closes his eyes to simply listen.
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I've stayed on just the one timeline - I think answers Mizix. But I've seen plenty of this space though. Seen a new lifeform allowed to grow, though it meant a threat to those there before it.* Looked into the heart of a Drift Beacon.** Found the fates of explorers way out in the uncharted ice.*** I've even been aboard this ship before . And in all of those journeys, you see the bad crop up again and again, but the good try to help out there.
Oh, and gotten into a lot of vesk stuff.
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Seggas, seemingly a little more confident in this situation than with the friendly Alsuka gives a small smile as she answers, "By birth, darkness."
She then stops to ponder what, exactly, the mystic is asking for. Her experiences? "I've traveled the timeline I traveled, I don't have better words for it. Seen a planet full of singing ponies. Been involved in a mass hacking of Absalom station. And helped a Dreamer of Livara to stop a disaster."
So many interweaved timelines of cause and effect. The light forces create and destroy, the gravity forces destroy and create. Here we converge as the sum of our pasts, in a single point. Every such point is a reset, leading to infinite future possibilities. What timelines will you travel? Boojan asks ponderously, before dismissing the trio of acolytes.
Your friend Jadnura he says once the acolytes have left, found no solace in this place. He meditated here, but he was full of momentum and could not find his position in space. That's when his timeline crossed that of Kahir, captain of the void scholar, who reported on the imminent collision of a distant star with a black hole. I suggested to bring my acolytes, so they could witness the balance between light and gravity, but Jadnura requested time to view the event in seclusion, thus being able to re-center his position and form a new event horizon for himself. I saw the curvature in space-time he was feeling, so I granted his request.
The master gets up and walks to a control panel in the side of the room. He activates it, and after a short while manages to bring up a holographic kasathan aboard a ship bridge, who introduces himself as captain Kahir.
The resulting exchange of pleasantries is mercifully short in comparison with the various exchanges on the Idari. When the topic turns to Jadnura, the captain says Yes, Jadnura. I was just about to travel in his direction to check up on him. I can offer the space on my ship to travel there - meet me at the crucibles if you prefer to discuss further.
"Oh yes the momentum and position, classical Heisenberg case." throws without much sense.
He listens to captain Kahir
"We could head out, we can ask more questions to captain Kahir when we meet."
Yes, head out. The site at which Jadnura resides is a beautiful demonstration of the cycle. Boojan says.
All paths in spacetime eventually converge. Next time we meet we will not be as young as today. says Boojan as a goodbye greeting.
---
Heading out means retracing the path through the artificial desert that separates the monastary and the rest of the ship. The path leads to a set of ruins - a facsimile of ruins on the ancient Kasathan world, but in this instance not much more than painted plastics.
Just as the group passes by, a Kasathan steps out from behind the ruins. He holds the unmistakable weapon of a Solarian, and is quite easily recognised as the annoyed initiatite from earlier. This time, he is not annoyed so much as outright hostile: Stop, the lot of you! Your reign of terror ends here!
Before even allowing the group to question what that reign of terror may cover, he adds You, and your secret organisation! No longer will I allow you roam free. Today, I will avenge the death of parents and ensure your desctruction!
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...what? Mizix says, both confused and tired at this point. What 'secret'? We're Starfinders.
She contemplates saying more, but then recalls how all of her previous attempts to speak pleasantries on this ship have left her tongue-tied and tripping over weird kasathan customers, so decides to hold her tongue for the moment instead.
Catsial looks at the kasatha "You are the initiate in the temple. You took us to Master Boojan. Before we fight, would you mind explaining what is this about?"
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My parents were on that cursed mission of yours to the scoured stars. It is because of you lot that I am orphaned now.
My name is Kan-Zal. You killed my parents. the initiate explains, prepare to die!
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(She and Sturm share the higher init)
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Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal
Initiate
Initiate
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Mizix
Altorin
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Catsial curses under his breath, this is what diplomacy brought him.
He extends his hands "Look there is no need for violence... If you will take another step we will attack", he reaches for his rotating pistol and fires at one of them
Catsial fools everyone but his shoot is off.
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Sturmvanger was about to remind the Kasathan youth that it was a bad idea to threaten a large descendent of dragons when he made it evident that he wasn't interested in talking.
"If your parents were Starfinders during the Scoured Stars incident, they were probably heroes and they'd want you to follow in their footsteps, not attack people with no provocation," he replies to the man.
But he's not going to just stand there and let himself or Seggas get hurt so he pulls out his tactical rail cannon and takes a shot.
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Seggas starts to give a hissing laugh as the initiate tries to intimidate the group and threatens to kill them. She glares at him directly. "Honey, ONE of my parents is already dead and the other you'd have to go to hell. And given how much of a deadbeat he is, I'd be glad you killed him! But you don't want to mess with me. I, by direct court order, cannot experiment on people without express, written, permission... or in self-defense. Threatening me would... make. my. day! Mu"
... *cough* *cough*"
She has a small coughing fit as she realizes her words were undercut. She instead pulls out her weapon as she moves to the north and causes the area around her to darken as she goes.
Catsial threatens to attack, and then attacks, shooting wide. Seggas profits from the quick reactions of Seggas, though the advantage is wasted when his shot goes wide. Seggas fights the Kasathan acolytes in their own style, turning the area around her darker.
Kan-zal steps into view, and holds out a bright long-blade, sheathed in a golden glow. An initatite rushes by, shrouded in an armor layer of pure darkness, while a second initiate steps up behind Kan-zal and fires a ray-gun at Sturm.
The cover of darkness is an ally, as the initiate only manages to damage the shadow of Sturm.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal
Initiate
Initiate
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Catsial takes out a blade from his sword cane and raises it to salute
"Come out and face us!" he says, again shooting using distraction of his etiquette
Catsial sends another shot at the wall
Castial burns a hold in the plastic ruins, which were clearly not made for firefights.
Altorin tries to connect with the mind of the kasathan, and finds him to be well-trained.
Mizix repositions, and becomes blurry in the process.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal (6)
Initiate
Initiate
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Seggas gives a wild, lilting, maniacal laugh as she raises a hand and a small syringe extends from her ring finger. With her other hand she pulls out a large biomass that slowly reforms into a bulging, pulsing, veiny approximation of a caustrolance. She injects her finger into a part of the gun and then takes a proper shooter stance with the butt of the gun against her shoulder. "Be a good girl Bii and peg that man with a good bolt of acid!"
Seggas blasts the hostile Kasatha, and cover the four-armed creature in acid. Sturms shot goes wide.
With a blast of light, the Kasatha rushes forward to body-check Sturmvanger, engulfing the dragonkin in fire
The two initiates shoot from behind the ruins, hitting Altorin and Catsial.
Kan-zal glows brighter, while the two initates emit an ever-deeper gravity hum.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal (11) (-2 AC) (photonx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
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Altorin slides along the ruins to the south to get between the two initiates hiding in the back, "Hey, let's not singe my fur with those toys." he says with a smile.
A creature hit by an entangle weapon becomes entangled until it escapes with an Acrobatics check (DC = 10 + weapon’s item level + the attacker’s Dexterity modifier) or a Strength check (DC = 15 + weapon’s item level + the attacker’s Dexterity modifier). An entangled creature can attempt such a check as a move action. Some weapons (such as stickybomb grenades) have a maximum duration for this effect. See page 275 for information about the entangled condition. Acrobatics DC 14, Break DC 19
Altorin covers the Solarian in a sticky goop of acid, making the Kasathans movements more sluggish. Mizix makes good use of the slowdown by landing a majestic hit.
You weren't the only one who lost someone close on a mission gone awry.
See? Lives mean nothing to the Starfinders, just tossed away for the sake of a mission.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal (40) [(basic inhibitor) -2 AC; (entangled) -2 AC, ATK, RFX, DEX] (photonx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
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"You don't get it pal, it is part of the job. Just like when traveling to Idari you can meet a Punk who decides to attack you."
Catsial says moving to the other side and shooting again
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See? Lives mean nothing to the Starfinders, just tossed away for the sake of a mission.
We don't toss them aside, but we're used to the loss. Mizix barks back. The pain stays. Fuels us. If your Cycle can't find any point to a death that doesn't have you flip out maybe you're not as zen as you think.
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Sturmvanger takes the full brunt of the kasatha's solar power but the thin layer of scales over his thicker scales burns away and immediately begins to grow back.
He pops out a long, heavy blade made of bone from his forearm. But, he doesn't want to prove these people's points by being bloodthirsty so he turns it at an awkward angle to not harm his attacker...too much.
Mizix discusses the finer points of philosophy, while Catsial manages to land a sneaky hit on the Solarian. Sturmvanger knocks the Solarian over the head, which hurts him, but not too much.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal (59) [(basic inhibitor) -2 AC; (entangled) -2 AC, ATK, RFX, DEX] (photonx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
Initiate (gravx2)
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Seggas takes aim at the man very clearly ready to explode and fires another bolt of acid at him, this time loading a different ring finger's worth of liquid into the rifle.
"YOU WILL BE MY TEST SUBJECT!" She then wait to see if the man grows the 2 feet worth of antlers that that genetic compound should produce in a humanoid.
Seggas unloads a spray of good in the direction of the Kasatha, but only hits the armor of the Solarian.
And still you claim you value life? Kan-zal says,
One of the initiates in the back is engulfed in a dark wave of gravity, for a moment nearly absorbing all the light in the area. Seggas and Catsial feel the immense pull of the initiate, as if gravity itself is turned sideways.
The other initiate shoots at Altoring with his ray-gun
Kan-zal explodes in a blinding flash of light, unleashing the power of a dying sun.
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Mizix
Altorin
Seggas
Sturm
Catsial
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Kan-Zal (59) [(basic inhibitor) -2 AC; (entangled) -2 AC, ATK, RFX, DEX] (photonx0)
Blue Initiate (gravx0)
Black Initiate (gravx3)
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Not today. Mizix says as Kan-zel erupts into flame. The air around the gnome shimmers and she seems to glow as the flame's intensity dims slightly.
Now stop exploding and just go to sleep. she yells over the dying roar of the gout of flame and lashes out at him, pulling her still frizzing fist just a bit to try and avoid killing the jerk.
for
Now stop exploding and just go to sleep.
Amazingly, Kan-zal complies, albeit only after being knocked over the head. This is enough to make the other two initiates flee, leaving only an unconscious Kan-zal to deal with.
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"Well, he could have went to sleep a bit sooner. Is everyone in good shape? If so let us at least put some manacles on him for the time being. Grief is painful thing, talking to him might save us from having to turn him in. Perhaps we can even bring him to an understanding?" Altorin says checking over everyone before helping secure Kan-zal.
It's a straightforward thing to either alert the local constables, or to return this lost sheep to master Boojan.
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The journey to the crucibles proceeds without further indident.
A kasatha with dark skin outstretches his arms as he walks down a ramp exiting the starship designated as the Void Scholar.
“Hello! I am Kahir, and this is my beautiful ship, the Void Scholar. You must be the Starfinders I spoke with earlier. You look a bit dusty—I guess monastery life isn’t for everyone.”
Chuckling, he continues, “I suppose we should be on our way to find Jadnura. I was planning on heading back to that old temple where I left him anyway. He’s been there for several weeks now. Since you’re here and my last cargo shipment has been sold, I suppose we should get you all on board and get underway!”
Our destination is a rare sight, a black hole in the process of gulping up a star. We'll be landing on a small asteroid, which contains the ruins of an ancient temple. There's no atmosphere and only minimal gravity, so make sure you have the right equipment.
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days
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The ship slightly rocks as it comes close to a weird double-system. A large, bright star is distorted by a huge protrusion, spiraling down to a bright disk of gas, with a pinpoint hole in the middle like the eye of a storm. Venting from the axis of the disk, at both sides, are huge jets of swirling matter and hard light. The whole spectacles unfold in silent slow-motion.
That's the black hole right there Kahir says, pointing to the little speck in the middle of the disk. Doesn't look big, right? Well, size deceives, that little speck will eventually eat that entire star. It will be another while though.
Well, we're not getting to close, this asteroid is close enough. If we go in any further, our time will get distorted by that black hole too much, and the universe will age in the blink of an eye. My grandkids wouldn't like that. Captain Kahir looks way too young for grandkids.
We'll land on the asteroid, about an hour away from the temple. The terrain is too rough closer by, so that's the closest I can put it down. From there, you'll reach a canyon in about thirty minutes, which gives you access to the temple.
You guys ready?
Catsial observes the black hole mesmerized by that sight.
"That is not something that one see every day." he simply states as. Then he prepares to head out
"If there is not the atmosphere, how Jadnura was planning on surviving here?" he asked.
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Sturmvanger is just enthralled by the black hole as the rest of the group for a bit. But then he deliberately looks away.
He turns on the environmental seals on his armor and heads for the airlock.
"Perhaps there is atmosphere in the temple?" he suggests in response to Catsial's question.
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"Well, damn. I don't think I have ever seen a star expiring in this way. It is a blessing of a sight even if it is bittersweet. One day my life is going to leak away too. Enjoy it while ya got it!" Altorin remarks at the view. He then shakes his head ready to go.
"Jadnura is resourceful. I know my suit will keep me going for a good bit. If we are down there for longer than 5 days something is already wrong. Everyone else have their gear in check? Movement is going to be tough." Altorin offers to check everyone's gear out.
"If there is not the atmosphere, how Jadnura was planning on surviving here?"
That reminds me Kahir says, Jadnura borrowed some oxygen tanks from me, so he could extend his stay. I suppose in a state of mediation, those last a long time. Time passes slightly slower here anyway - you don't notice it here, but for someone far away, less time seems to have passed. I can never wrap my head around that. For this shorter excursion, your spacesuit should be just fine. I'll make sure to wait here and guard the ship.
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Kahir's direction were spot on, and only half an hour walking in, the group comes upon the predicted canyon. There's almost no sound, only the little scrapes that resonate through the space suit - own steps, own breathing, but nothing else. Movement is easy in the low gravity.
It's only just after entering the canyon that it turn out the group is not alone. A bright glow ball of energy, like a miniature star, hovers just up ahead. Just as the group spots it, its surface becomes more agitated. It looks like the black hole isn't the only thing that is dangerous around here.
(She and Sturm share the higher init)
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Catsial
Altorin
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Miniature Sun
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Seggas
Sturm
Mizix
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Catsial moves south reaches for his backpack and taking out his sniper rifle
He aims and sends a beam of laser right into its core
Catsial ignores everything he's ever learned about not observing the sun directly through a 'scope, aims his sniper rifle and sends a laser beam directly through the core of the sun.
There's the distinct light flash of hydrogen atoms fusing into helium, but otherwise no effect. It's a good experimental demonstration that suns are, indeed, immune to fire.
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Catsial
Altorin
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Miniature Sun
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Seggas
Sturm
Mizix
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Altorin identifies the creature as a Solar Wisp, fortunately quite a small specimen. 'Miniature Sun' is actually quite efficient, though exactly how this creature manages to keep fusion reactions going despite its small mass is still up for debate. Like any sun, it is impervious to radiation and fire. It is not bound to any particular orbit, but able to fly at will at roughly Catsial-walking-speed. Its vulnerable to black holes (obviously) and cold. It has a tendency to just engulf whatever it crosses. Sunscreen is advised.
The glowing ball moves right up to Altorin. It is indeed, very, very hot.
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Seggas
Sturm
Mizix
Catsial
Altorin
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Miniature Sun
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Ah, suns are strange things. Mizix hits the ball with acid, and where its usually the 'Hydro' part of hydrochloric doing all the action, this time its the 'chloric' thats being the star of the show, disrupting the fusion process.
Altoring quite effectively entangles the blob. Talk about harnessing the power of the sun.
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Seggas
Sturm
Mizix
Catsial
Altorin
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Miniature Sun (35, entangled -2 AC, ATK, RFX, DEX)
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