Well this is something... Navasi says with an undercooled tone that betrays amazement.
That's a deal that suits me Navasi says to Therseus, we'll report back when we have found something or when we are done with an area.
Tower sounds good, I like me a good view.
All seven should be explored, actually. It's just some that have been partially explored already.
no one notices anything unusual.
Things you found out in your conversations with the team:
Modern Copaxi Society: The team is proud of modern copaxi society, especially their rapid development of new technologies and unified civilization. Bryanisis, the biologist, admits that the planet has suffered “a bit” due to the rapid industrialization, but they state that sustainability and conservation are top priorities for current research efforts.
The Floating Cities: Copaxis only recently developed technology that would allow them to explore the gravitationally unstable cities, and Tabantria is the only one they have discovered that is intact and upright enough to visit. Copaxis believe the ancient magic that lifted the cities from the surface was the same magic that led to the downfall of the divergent copaxis; they were punished by divine intervention for becoming over-reliant on magic.
The Petition: Every member of the team is eager to see copaxis spread to the stars, but they are reluctant to discuss the petition in detail. They explain they are under orders to let the Starfinders make their own determination, without interference.
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The Petition: Every member of the team is eager to see copaxis spread to the stars, but they are reluctant to discuss the petition in detail. They explain they are under orders to let the Starfinders make their own determination, without interference.
Hey! Watch and learn. I bet some of you will be coming back to base with us! I see some Starfinders here!
Navasi gives a nod to Drek I know I will, she says eagerly, let's see what this tower has in store for us.
You make your way to the tower, which the researchers have not been able to investigate due to armed squatters,
A small cluster of ruined buildings stands within a few hundred feet of the city’s edge. The only building with walls high enough to provide protection from the icy wind stands adjacent to a precarious stone tower some forty feet tall. The building has no roof, and much of its walls have collapsed, revealing signs of a makeshift camp within.
Several rough-looking copaxi yell to you to go away. They seem prepared to use force to back up their orders.
They stop and listen to you. "We live off the grid. If you're wanting to look around here, you'll have to make it worth our while. Give us enough and we'll throw in what we've found here."
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Off the grid, Tables barely manages to hide his disgust that's a pity, I would have had two million credits in AdabarCorp gift cards. All for just a small upfront fee. Guess you won't be taking that offer.
Deal, we'll look around here, and we'll make it worth your while. We give you enough and you'll throw in what you've found here. That's my kind of deal.
"200 credits to look around, 100 more for the stuff we've found..."
Look, we've got a powerful spaceship in orbit that can nuke this place when I snap my fingers. Now tell me, do you want me to snap my fingers or do you want to make a reasonable deal?
It's obvious they aren't fooled by the bluff, so Drek tries the convincing way.
Drek, with help from everyone, is able to convince the squatters to accept the 100 gold. They are fed up with the widening gap between rich and poor on Tabrid Minor. They believe their people’s rapid industrialization has done more harm than good and are eager to earn enough credits to buy passage to other worlds.
They give you a journal, preserved in a sealed container. You may use culture to try to read it, since you have translation software.
Well, that was certainly worth it. Let's see what this booklet is all about...
The “scientists” stationed here were servants of Tabantria’s magical aristocracy; they observed the planet to learn how best to manipulate and exploit its natural and magical resources, especially copi. Most of the notes concern the process of cultivating copi to make objects—and even cities—float high above the planet’s surface. In the journal’s final pages, the PCs learn that several of the scholars stationed here, and many others across Tabrid Minor, received the revelation of Drift travel. Instead of being celebrated, they were shunned and eventually executed after a failed coup attempt. The unidentified author of the journal supported this decision and outed several colleagues to the government; they justified this action by predicting that the spread of Drift technology would cause rapid, irreversible, and damaging industrialization, violently disrupting the status quo. The final page of the journal states the author’s fears that further conflict seems inevitable, as the Signal could not possibly be passed off as insanity—a “Message of Madness”—forever.
A careful search turns up nothing more.
Therseus contacts you over your com units, asking how your investigations are going.
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Drek responds into the comms.
We went to the tower first! It was unfortunately blocked by a group of armed squatters. The researchers had not been able to investigate. They seemed to have camped out in ruins next to the tower. Eventually we paid them off to let us by, and they also handed over a journal...
He relays the summary of it to Therseus and then offers the comms to his teammates in case they want to add anything.
Navasi nods, indicating to Drek that he has struck the right balance between disclosure and necessary detail.
Therseus is clearly impressed by how you have dealt with the squatters and your discoveries.
((now at 2 influence points))
The research team discovered a gaping hole excavated in a
otherwise mundane residential neighborhood. They detected the presence of dangerous creatures within the tunnels and have yet to explore further. It is a simple matter to travel to this district and locate the tunnel. The tunnel leads beneath the surface to a long-abandoned mining operation.
Carts, tools, and digging machines lie dormant in this massive cavern,
the walls of which are covered in impressive coral-like organisms. Several of the carts are partly filled with decaying chunks of coral.
You notice that the digging equipment and rusted machines are of a technology level far surpassing that found throughout the city. While still centuries behind Pact Worlds’ technology, the machines are an anachronism in this ancient place.
A pile of rusted metal and debris lies outside an out-of-the-way tunnel. That tunnel leads north from the mining operation to a small room. You notice that the metal debris had been hastily welded to the entrance to this tunnel, but something ripped it off with brute force. Stone-carved stairs rise to a room further north.
You find a precisely carved room. From where you are, you cannot see anyone in the room.
A large crab like creature glares at all of you. In particular, he focuses attention on Drek.
Drek finds himself hit with a wave of hurting gravity.
Drek, I need a fortitude save. If you don't make it (DC 11) you are paralyzed for one round.
The party is up now.
Drek, don't just stand there. Shoot it! Navasi encourages Drek to... well... shoot the crab.
Navasi retrieves her gun, and gets ready to aim.