Sometime in the past day, you discovered a posting on the infosphere seeking test crews to fly a prototype starship.
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A female Damaya Lashunta enters, wearing the purple and silver raiment of a priestess of Desna. A tiny ball of blue light appears over her right shoulder, shedding a gentle glow. She smiles at the others who have gathered.
”Greetings”, she says warmly. ”I am Morela. A pleasure to meet you all. Here’s to a successful test!”
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Pervir, a middle-aged woman wearing a white sun hat atop her head that is matched with her periwinkle pink summer dress and blood-red high heels, joins the group standing uprightly with grace and finesse. She adjusts the brim of her hat before she introduces herself. "Greetings! I am Pervir Eir." she tells them while flashing a bright smile. "So, when do we start? I heard about testing this prototype ship posted on the infosphere. I am interested." she continues while mistaking Morela to be the one who will introduce them to the prototype ship.
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Pervir, a middle-aged woman wearing a white sun hat atop her head that is matched with her periwinkle pink summer dress and blood-red high heels, joins the group standing uprightly with grace and finesse. She adjusts the brim of her hat before she introduces herself. "Greetings! I am Pervir Eir." she tells them while flashing a bright smile. "So, when do we start? I heard about testing this prototype ship posted on the infosphere. I am interested." she continues while mistaking Morela to be the one who will introduce them to the prototype ship.
”As are we all”, Morela replies with a grin. ”It’s exciting, isn’t it?”
Following the instructions on the posting, you had arrived at the indicated location where a polite receptionist took your preliminary information for, what they assured you, is only for a routine background check. Until the results cleared, you were directed to wait in the reception area of United Interfaith Engineering’s offices on Absalom Station, surrounded by artistic renderings of countless deities worshipped in the Pact Worlds.
Now, having made a few introductions and exchanged pleasantries, the receptionist leads you to meet the project manager, J’scib. Arriving at the designated location, you find J’scib’s office to be a picture of chaos.
Three different computer desks set at slightly differing heights have been pushed together to support four keyboards, seven holo-monitors, and no less than nine data ports. A mosaic of coffee stains covers the desktops’ surfaces. A chair that would look more at home in a vid-gamer’s den sits behind this haphazard workstation, while the opposite side hosts a retro velvet-cushioned recliner chair, a vinyl loveseat that has seen far better days, and a plush sofa that converts into a bed. Stacks of datapads and tech manuals cover almost every free bit of floor space. By contrast, a window at the back of the office looks out into a stark white room where engineers are carefully assembling a sensor array.
The office’s sole occupant is a host shirren wearing a wrinkled suit and a colorful bowtie.
The shirren's picture is now posted on Slides.
The shirren’s antennae quiver with excitement as they introduce themselves telepathically.
{{Please come in! My speech-name is J’scib, and I’m the lead engineer for the Grimshaw. Can I offer you some Randblaz?}}
The shirren holds out an open bag of candy. {{Each candy is visually indistinguishable but has fruit flavor profiles from dozens of worlds. Every bite is a surprise! The lime ones are my favorite!}}
J’scib hands out sweets while continuing. {{We here at UIE want to bring an affordable starship to market that can handle the rigors of system exploration while still defending its crew and looking sleek in the process. As such, we’d like you to take our new prototype on a preprogrammed course to Liavara. Put the ship through its paces and test out as many systems as you can on the way. When you get there, transmit your flight records to our data relay station on one of the moons, then come back. The space lane you’re taking is regularly patrolled by Stewards law-enforcement ships, so the whole trip should be nice and safe. Come, let’s head to the hangar!}}
J’scib leads you all to an elevator. Checking their datapad during the trip, the shirren pauses for a moment before turning towards the Urog in the party, {{Your name is Jax Kraven 2? Am I correct that one of your parents was named Jax Kraven 1?}}
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Jax looks over at J'scrib Yes, but Jax Kraven is my adopted father's elven name. My real parents were drafted to fight a war in RavenLoft, yes that realm. I hope they come back alive, that realm is hard to get out of. Nobody wanted to adopt a Urog, so my parents thought maybe if they put me in a pet store, someone would buy me thinking I was a pet. Jax Kraven was surprised when he found out I was a sentient pet the day he bought me. He named me after him. My real father is Max John.
Jax looks over at J'scrib Yes, but Jax Kraven is my adopted father's elven name. My real parents were drafted to fight a war in RavenLoft, yes that realm. I hope they come back alive, that realm is hard to get out of. Nobody wanted to adopt a Urog, so my parents thought maybe if they put me in a pet store, someone would buy me thinking I was a pet. Jax Kraven was surprised when he found out I was a sentient pet the day he bought me. He named me after him. My real father is Max John.
J'scib tries to cut Jax Kraven off. {{Shhh! Cease moving your mouth parts! I was just asking as a joke, a method of gaging common sense. Be glad that I am not some data peddler. Nobody should ever give out that kind of information or else they could get hacked!}} The shirren warns telepathically.
{{Now, I am about to give you the password necessary to operate a prototype starship for the duration of its trial flight. Do be very, very careful with it.}} The shirren looks both ways with suspicion, then sends a brief, telepathic whisper. {{It's "midge".}}
With a nod, J'scrib begins broadcasting in a more conventional, telepathic tone. {{That password will expirely shortly after your scheduled return date or, immediately, in the event that you stray too far from your appointed route,}} explains the shirren. {{This is a security measure meant to prevent theft. I ask that you not share the password or details of the starship with anyone outside of UIE, until such time as the starship’s marketing campaign begins.}}
The elevator begins to slow down, indicating that it will soon come to a complete stop. {{Anymore questions? Otherwise, I believe we are almost at the hangar.}}
"Is there anything you would like us to be testing for?
"Why, yes, of course!" J'scib replies. "UIE’s goal in handing over the metaphorical keys to their brand-new starship is to collect data on how well it performs in the hands of adventurers. As such, the flight to Liavara is precisely when you should give the ship a proper shakedown. We have a few possible ways in mind that you could test the efficiency of certain systems, but I am sure that adventurers like you will easily come up with dozens of new ways of testing that we not yet seen."
[b]"By having different crews test the Grimshaw," the shirren continues, [b]"we can obtain a robust data set regarding its performance before it goes to the production line, not to mention the potential for word-of-mouth advertising! You’re going to be the first to fly it now that our test-pilots ensured it was safe."
”What about the weapon systems?”, she asks. ”Will there be targets along the route?”
"You can test the state-of-the-art force weapon system by firing at passing asteroids, or through pinpoint-targeting of space-debris launched out of an airlock," J'Scib suggests.
Entering the hangar, J’scib proudly introduces the Grimshaw, gushing about the vessel’s scientific components, which can be customized during assembly and are kept in the “thorax” section of the craft. They get extremely excited while talking about the wings, which can be configured to act as solar panels, solar sails, or vectored to generate lift during atmospheric flight.
Onboard, J’scib activates the Grimshaw’s automated navigation system and data recorder before leaving the you to start your pre-flight checklist adn to familiarize yourselves with the ship/
Stats for the Grimshaw are now on the Slides (Handout #1).
Departing Absalom Station, your can finally stretch your proverbial wings. Because the prototype’s Drift engine won’t be installed until next week, the route takes 6 days of travel along the ecliptic plane of the Pact Worlds system to Liavara. The vessel automatically handles primary astrogation for the trip.
Once free of the Station and the surrounding Armada, you are free to commence your testing.
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Lego trundles around with a smiley plastered on their screen as they push many many buttons in the Engineering Bay, making gleeful computer noises as they do. It's both adorable and disturbing at the same time.
Afterwards, they move into the Science officer's arena and calibrate the sensors to make scanning a breeze.
Morela tours the craft, reaching out with her mystical senses. She notes the arrangement of various features in relation to each other, and gauges the ship’s feng shui.
Now that he has warmed up and successfully did it, he is ready to take on a hard task
Lego trundles around with a smiley plastered on their screen as they push many many buttons in the Engineering Bay, making gleeful computer noises as they do. It's both adorable and disturbing at the same time.
Afterwards, they move into the Science officer's arena and calibrate the sensors to make scanning a breeze.
Pervir manually overrides the system of the prototype ship to see if she can manage to control it in certain conditions.
She attempts one more time, this time with harder parameters.
After all the tests have been concluded, the remainder of the voyage is
uneventful and you all arrive safely at S-413, one of Liavara’s smallest shepherd moons, where you can begin to transmit your data to an unmanned UIE relay.
Before the flight records finish uploading, the ship’s sensors alert you to a pair of approaching contacts. The contacts are emitting powerful electromagnetic interference that is disrupting the relay's comm-link.
The ship's scanners and database identify the contacts as a pair of adolescent voraijas, creatures that usually travel as part of a larger pod.
Picture of voraija is now on Slides.
The Grimshaw’s sensors and database indicate these two voraijas have been separated from their pod. There carnivorous creatures are lost, hungry, and apparently interpret the organic shape of the ship to mean that it’s edible! To avoid becoming devoured in a grim case of mistaken identity, you must devise some sort of a stratagem.
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After seeing the voraijas through their prototype ship's scanner, it confirms what Pervir just recently heard. "I heard a recent news report that pods of voraijas have been spotted in Liavara’s upper atmosphere. Many tourist ships skim Liavara’s orbit hoping for a rare glimpse of the creatures feeding or giving birth, all carefully monitored by the Xenowardens organization. These may be some of them and perhaps gone astray. We must find their larger pod and lead them there and get out of it!" she hastily suggests to them.
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"Awww, they're so CUTE!" LEGO gushes over the comms. "I wish I knew what they were. I'd rather not become lunch, so maybe we can lead them to actual food? Or make something that would make them follow us..."
Their voice trails off as LEGO heads for the galley to make some voraija snacks. Mineral oil, algae flakes, a dash of steel powder. Just what a growing space creature needs.
THAR BE SPACE WHALES! (OR FLY FISHING) - Round One
Jax Kraven 2
Lego
Morela
Pervir Eir
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Pervir volunteers to maneuver the ship around the voraijas to drive them towards Liavara. "Let me handle the wheel" she tells Morela. "Let's indeed bring them to their right place."
”Nicely done!”, Morela declares.
She fires off a burst from a laser cannon to keep scaring them, but being careful not to hit them or anything else of consequence.
The crew of the Grimshaw manages to coax one of the voraija to head towards Liavara.
THAR BE SPACE WHALES! (OR FLY FISHING) - Round Two
Jax Kraven 2
Lego
Morela
Pervir Eir
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Pervir continues to maneuver the prototype ship close to the another voraija so that it takes notice of them too, but keeping the distance, lest they would be devoured by the titanic creature!
"I'll stay close so that they won't lose sight of us as we lure but still keeping their distance. Let's bring them back to their home!" she tells the others.
Between Jax and Pervir, the Grimshaw easily catch the attention of the second voraija, but it is not quite intrigued enough to follow the fly-like craft.
THAR BE SPACE WHALES! (OR FLY FISHING) - Round Two Cont'd
Jax Kraven 2
Lego
Morela
Pervir Eir
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Lego switches over to the computer systems, boosting their output to keep up with the changing parameters.
Lego manages to automate the "luring" patterns of the transmission and both of the young voraijas begin following the ship.
”…so a confluence of ether and water, under the sign of The Mother, with Liavara ascending…”
Morela's prognostications are a bit off, due, perhaps, to the current angle based upon your shifted axis of interplanetary travel placing Liavara in descent.
The Grimshaw arrives at a portion of Liavara’s upper atmosphere with the two juvenile space creatures in tow. Scanner immediately pick up a lone, sizeable contact approaching, but when it hails your ship, it is clear that the contact is not a voraija.
"Attention! This is the Xenowarden vessel, Tide Swell," declares the message broadcast from the contact, which is accompanied by a ship verification code confirming the vessel's identity. "Please note that your ship has ventured within close proximity to a pair of juvenile voraijas. Their species is under our protection and monitoring. There is a concern that your presence could disturb the creatures and disrupt their natural activities. It could also pose a potential danger to you as your ship--particularly with its unusual design--could be mistaken by the voraija as a prey item. We request that you depart Liavara's atmosphere immediately."
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”…so a confluence of ether and water, under the sign of The Mother, with Liavara ascending…”Morela's prognostications are a bit off, due, perhaps, to the current angle based upon your shifted axis of interplanetary travel placing Liavara in descent.
The Grimshaw arrives at a portion of Liavara’s upper atmosphere with the two juvenile space creatures in tow. Scanner immediately pick up a lone, sizeable contact approaching, but when it hails your ship, it is clear that the contact is not a voraija.
"Attention! This is the Xenowarden vessel, Tide Swell," declares the message broadcast from the contact, which is accompanied by a ship verification code confirming the vessel's identity. "Please note that your ship has ventured within close proximity to a pair of juvenile voraijas. Their species is under our protection and monitoring. There is a concern that your presence could disturb the creatures and disrupt their natural activities. It could also pose a potential danger to you as your ship--particularly with its unusual design--could be mistaken by the voraija as a prey item. We request that you depart Liavara's atmosphere immediately."
Morela nods at Pervir with a smile, and gets on the horn.
”Greetings, Tide Swell. This is the Grimshaw, out of Absalom Station”, she replies. ”We found these youngsters at S-413, and traced their pod back here. We were just bringing them home. If there’s nothing else, we’ll depart presently”
There is a brief pause from the Tide Swell as sounds of relief can be heard over the channel. Then the Xenowarden captain speaks once, more.
"You have done a great service, Grimshaw, for those of us concerned about the voraijas and for these juveniles themselves. I am sorry if my inquiry came across as too forceful before, but when we received reports that the pair had become separated from their pod and then missing...well, I hope you will forgive us.""I wasn't exaggerated though, when I said these two could pose a danger to your ship," continues the captain. "Please stand by and we wil broadcast a signal that should cause the voraijas to disengage.
[b]"You have honored the spirit of the Pact Worlds conservation laws protecting voraijas," praises the captain. "Now, that you've returned the lost pair they will be able to rejoin and frolic with their pod."
The captain's word is good. When the signal is sent, the two voraijas disengage. Within moments, a formation of new contacts appear on your sensors. It does not take long to confirm that these are a pod of voraijas, welcoming the pair back into their company.
The sensors also register that they have continued gathering valuable performance data during the rescue, providing more useful information for your employer to review.
Your return to Absalom Station with this data collection in tow, is uneventful.
J’scib is delighted as they meet you ack in the hangar. The host shirren\ sends a limited-edition holographic screen-saver of the Grimshaw to each of your personal comm units as a memento, and informs you that someone from accounts payable will be in touch once all the flight data has been compiled. He notes that you will be paid 200 credits each for your.
"The flight-test was a resounding success!" cheers J'scib. "The amount of data obtained by the four you would be impressive even for the efforts of a larger crew!"
"You have made my job so much easier, that I'd like to offer you each a personal gift of gratitude from me." says the shirren, handing you each a sizeable box, each of which contains a mk 1 mindlink circlet along with a grappler. "Unfortunately, neither will help you much should you ever again encounter a pair of voraijas, but then, you've already proved that you are more than capable of handling that sort of situation!"
"Thank you all again," bows J'scib as they turn to depart. "I look forward to seeing you again out among the stars!"