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Chip's combat drone, Checker, was heavily damaged and nearly destroyed during his last mission.
Which to some extent was the point. The drone is there to take hits so that actual people don't.
Still, it clearly needed improved armor. And he had some ideas for increasing its combat routine after watching some more experienced warriors--enemies and allies--in battle.
He's more prepared now, and Checker much more so. Chip finishes reassembling Checker's upgraded chassis, anticipating a call.
It was a message on your personal comm unit that read Meet us for breakfast, Croizanarte. Z that brought you to this gourmet pastry shop in Drifter's End, not too far from the Lorespire complex. A large family of ysoki is teeming all over themselves as they wait to be seated by an extraordinarily patient uplifted bear. When it is the group's turn to be seated - it takes a while - the uplifted bear waiter (who somehow seems to want to avoid Chip's drone Checker - strange that) leads the group to a very private table. Welcome to Croizante, this is the chef's table. Enjoy your breakfast, the uplifted bear says, before hurrying off.
Effused with the smell of freshly baked pastries, this spacious table boasts room for occupants of all sizes. A shirren in a power chair sits on the far side from the entrance next to a large barathu collective swirling with color. “You’re just in time, Starfinders!” Zigvigix exclaims. “We ordered the sampler platter, and it should be here any minute!”
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Albrik has been keeping himself busy in the temple: whenever his duties or his personal studies in the library allow it, he tries to think about what he learned during his last summoning to the academy - something about the true difference between life and matter probably or about not letting himself get mauled by security bots - he's not sure yet, when the message reaches him.
At the pastry shop, he audibly sniffs the air
"the sampler sounds perfect - smells like we would have a hard time choosing"
Harmony of Many, the barathy next to Zigvigix, has numerous tendrils with which they reach to pull out chairs as their telepathic voice chimes in:
“And while you enjoy a hearty breakfast, we can detail a mission we would like you to undertake in an area of Absalom Station few have ever seen—the Ghost Levels. This region of the Spike is home to strange creatures, bizarre ecosystems, and possibly even undiscovered sapient residents. It is unknown what role these areas play in maintaining the delicate balance of Absalom Station’s equilibrium, but they are dangerous enough that almost all access points are cordoned off and travel there forbidden.”
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I am surrprrised that therre arre any places on this station that arre still unexplorred a middle-aged pahtra woman says as she strides up to the table. Carefully pulling out a chair [ooc]lifting, not dragging![/i] to grab a seat, she looks over the spread of deserts and plucks a croissant-looking one with a claw. As she nibbles, the pahtra adds:
Harrmony of Many: it is good to see you again. I would guess frrom yourr tone that that the Stewarrds arre giving us an exception to the 'forrbidden' trravel ban forr a parrticularr rreason?
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Tocti the pahtra says, a bit embarrassed that she forgot to introduce herself to the others when she arrived.
As she extends her hand to grab another bite of food, the keen-eyed of you can notice a faint bit of motion within her fur. Tocti scratches at it, then looks around eyes wide. Don't worrry! It's not fleas orr lice! Just some of my helperrs completely underr contrrol.
She chews and thinks to herself ...I probably should not have even mentioned fleas at the table at all.
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Afraid of robots? Or perhaps just afraid of robots brandishing doshko.
That was the issue with a drone like Checker. Since its weapon was kind of installed, the option was either ready to attack at any second or not ready at all.
Though Chip was quickly distracting by the far more exciting mention of a "sampler platter."
"I'm Chip," he says, "and this is Checker. I always like to make it clear, Checker here is a drone and not a particularly shy SRO. If it gets beaten up or destroyed, well. Half the reason I bring it along is to take hits so actual people don't have to."
Zigvigix picks up the briefing from their counterpart. “Ever since the Drift Crash, the station has been flooded with refugees. The Starfinder Society has been helping as many people as we can, but resources and space aren’t infinite. One of my fundraising contacts told me about some refugees who found their way into one of the uppermost Ghost Levels and set up their own volunteer-led community.” They give a pleasant nod to their barathu colleague. “We want you to travel to this new community in the Ghost Levels and meet the people in charge. See if there’s anything you can do to help them out! We’ll be sending you with some supplies to bring down there after breakfast.”
Harmony of Many continues. “Indeed. Our drone, Major Sixth, is monitoring the assembly of these supplies now, and will inform us when they are ready. Your mission is also to explore the region surrounding this refugee community. While doing so you should maintain good records, document your findings, map your progress, communicate peacefully with any sapient species you encounter, and comport yourselves as responsible explorers. We intend to prove to the Syndicsguild that the upper reaches of the Ghost Levels can be safely settled, so long as they are explored with care by responsible groups knowledgeable in engineering, magic, and archaeology—groups like the Starfinder Society. We will provide you with tools to help you flag any mysterious sites for further exploration and to collect any relics of value, so long as doing so won’t harm local ecosystems.”
Zigvigix concludes the briefing just as overflowing plates of food arrive. “And of course, you should deal with anything dangerous you find down there in whatever manner you think best. Just please make sure you come back in the same number of pieces you left in! So, who’s hungry?”
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Responding to Tocti, Harmony of Many’s body goes through a few color changes while they ponder how best to answer. “Our information is limited in this area, since only occasional explorers slip past the barricades, and even fewer return. It is hard to tell which tales are believable. We have heard stories about forests with screaming fruit, secret space-pirate lairs, robotic dragons, mobile organic machinery, and immortal tentacle beasts. The only thing we know for certain is that the ambient magic of the region is entirely unpredictable.”
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Realizing that the meaty smell of food has distracted him enough, to skip his introductions, Albrik quickly adds:
"You can call me Albrik, by the way. I'm a novice at the temple of Sarenrae. Glad to see you again, Norbert - we had the pleasure recently - and glad to get to know you all. I don't know about you, but I could get used to being briefed here..."
After hearing about the mission:
"I'm always happy for the occasion to help those in need and to carry the light of Sarenrae to a place that is a bit too far away from the sun!"
"I'm always happy for the occasion to help those in need and to carry the light of Sarenrae to a place that is a bit too far away from the sun!"
Zigvigix nods and responds: “You'll be pleased to hear then The Advocates have been taking the lead in fundraising initiatives to assist worthy causes for the people affected by the drift crisis!”
The shirren wipes their mandibles with a napkin and replies, “There’s a small food bank operating near the Laughing Lady tavern in the Downlow neighborhood. My sources tell me that’s where you can find the right path to follow.
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"It's not any farther from the sun then we are now, it's just walled off," says Chip, perhaps too literally, "And we need those walls."
He takes something far too large with chocolate. And fruit. And cheese.
"They could use some of these, but having someone scout and secure the area is probably a higher priority. Understood."
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Albrik has been eating a meat pastry with as much attention to table manners as possible with a canine muzzle. On Chips comment, he radiates keenness to delve further into the topic
"You are right of course - and I have been thinking along the same lines for most of my life. But being close enough to the sun...being able to receive her lifegiving warmth... that's not just a matter of distance. It's a delicate balance between a lot of things...Hope plays a big part in this. And the fine machinery of wanting, success, failure, exultation and despair...anyway: I've never been to the Ghost Level. It's just my impression from what I heard, that it's a bit too much of a dark place..."
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Realizing that the meaty smell of food has distracted him enough, to skip his introductions, Albrik quickly adds:
"You can call me Albrik, by the way. I'm a novice at the temple of Sarenrae. Glad to see you again, Norbert - we had the pleasure recently - and glad to get to know you all. I don't know about you, but I could get used to being briefed here..."
Excellent! Zigvigix says when Zarzucket offers to present a paper, I'm sure it will be well read
The chef of the Croizanarte, Kevocad, a shirren wearing a chef's hat, comes up to the table, causing a whisper from Zigvigix He's the one paying for all this. , then louder Kevocad! It's time this group caught up with your reputation. Zigvigix talks to the group and says Kevocad here is a retired Starfinder. I'm sure you've read about the exploration he did on Castrovel, or the diplomatic missions to Vesk-5? Anyway, Kevocad has offered us this breakfast on the house, such a nice thing to do!
Thank you, Ziggy Kevocad, it's my please. I come bearing gifts! He places a gilded box on the table these contain six of my special pastries. You can give them to whoever you think would benefit from eating one, or you can taste them for yourselves, of course.
Soon after, Major Sixth, Harmony of Many's drone with a mk 1 null-space chamber that is filled with supplies for the refugees. The drone also gives the group a Enhanced Camera Scanner and a pair of Cartographer Boots.
The Downlow neighbourhood is located, somewhat counter-intuitively, in the spike of Absalom station. It's a poor and crowded area of the station, and currently overflowing with refugees.
Groups of refugees are bunched together near ventilation vents for warmth, some are sleeping on the sidewalks, and there's the occasional busker singing a popular tune.
They opened an amusement park called 'Wasteland'
Whose main attraction was a pile of quicksand
The average review was one out of five
And that's only from those that came back alive
Orgoth and Uben
Don't know what they're doing
Orgoth and Uben
Are both a little out their minds
Don't give them a dime
They'll burn through your cash
Like they burned through mine...
The food bank Zigvigix mentioned, called 'Food for thought' is just up the alley. There's an elderly lashunta clerk overseeing a moderate stack of supplied. Hello there, she greets the group with a warm smile what can I do for you?
Ah, shucks, you just missed them, a group of them just left. If you're quick you can still catch up with them. the elderly lashunta responds, they look like me she says, cheerfully pointing to the tell-tale lashunta antennae on her head but younger!
Indeed, it's not long after that the group find the lashuntas in question, and not a minute too late. They're stuck in a back alley lit by a solitary
holographic streetlight, and beset by group of four thugs wearing 'Bulkhead Bruisers' leather jackets.
Please, please, we don't have anything of value, let us go! The refugees plead, but the bruisers look like they're very insistent on wringing out every last bit of value out of these poor people...
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Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug
Thug
Thug
Thug
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Zarzucket 3
Tocti
Albrik
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"Really!? Seriously!?" shouts Chip, hoping to deflect the thugs' attention on the Starfinders and away from the refugees, "This is what you want to do, at a time like this? Checker, go!"
Well. At least it's straightforward?
The drone lumbers forward to confront one of the bullies as the halfling draws his own weapon.
Chip guides the drone forward and draws his weapon, while Pinkiee asserts his displeasure with the situation... sternly. Norbert moves in as well
The thugs seems to hesitate for a moment, and see what the stance of the new group is.
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Zarzucket 3 (can still intimidate)
Tocti
Albrik
Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug
Thug
Thug
Thug
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As Albrik realizes what's happening, he narrows his eyes and growls brandishing his spear: "you really want to attack these people? Don't you think, they have enough problems without you?
If you were hoping for easy targets, now is the best time to turn your tail and get lost!"
Obviously the effect is rather comical...
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Tocti steps towards the hooligans, shaking her head from side to side and wiggling her arms. From out of her fur white-silver flecks emerge, floating in the air for a moment before strangly shifting towards each other.
As they have said, therre is nothing prrofitable forr you herre. the pahtra purrs in a low tone. The flecks continuing merging, assembling into a long rifle the feline clutchs tightly as she speaks. Go away. Forr yourr own safety if not out of charrity.
It looks like the thugs are a bit rattled, but nowhere near intimidated enough to let off. Go away,[/]b the leader shouts, [b]this is our turf!
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Zarzucket 3 (can still intimidate)
Tocti
Albrik
Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug
Thug
Thug
Thug
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Tocti takes a shot at one of the thug. The blue beam hits the ruffian, who lets out a scream of agony.
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Zarzucket 3
Tocti
Albrik
Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug (red, 3)
Thug
Thug
Thug
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Norbert manages to shoot a thug in the leg, scorching some of the fabric of his pants.
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Zarzucket 3
Tocti
Albrik
Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug (red, 3)
Thug (blue, 1)
Thug
Thug
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Chip is not having any of this street thuggery, and sends checker out to fight crime. The drone promptly downs a thug with a solid knock to the head. Chip adjust his aim and shoots at the next thug. Pinkiee closes in, but notices the thug is already down.
The other three thugs are turning this into a regular old-fashioned shoot-out, and turn their laser of the team.
Bullets fly and ricochet off bulkheads, except for a single bullet that lodges itself into Pinkiee's fin.
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Zarzucket 3
Tocti
Albrik
Chip
Pinkiee
Norbert
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Thug (red, 7)
Thug (blue, down and out)
Thug
Thug
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