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A rather nervous girl, dressed in what looks like a yellow 'battle bikini' is first to arrive at the meeting. She fiddles with her comm unit and records a message.
Hi. Zoey. Hope you're not busy. Yeah ... just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be off station for a while. Oh, I heard Momo is on a mission with Soarin, a Sarcasian sniper and engineer I think. Met him while I was doing a zero-gee dance outside the station, just for practice. I think he was doing EVA repairs to the AE-38 unit nearby. Gave me a bit of a fright at first but we chatted for a bit. Anyway, seemed a nice guy so your sis should be fine. Dunno where I'm off to yet but good luck with where ever you're off to. Anyway, Go Team Knockout. Bye
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Amy also has a sunset shimmer staff propped up next to her that it seems she uses as a walking aid. It is topped with a lump of shimmerstone. Her holy symbol of Desna is also enhanced with shimmerstone, taken from Vesk-8.
She has long blue hair and has the physic of a swimmer/dancer. Once she has finished recording and sending her message, she resumes reading the latest issue of Cosmology on her datapad. Assuming she can reply using Oridak's telepathy, she just identifies herself as Amy
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A dwarf, a middle-aged woman with graying hair and neatly-trimmed beard in a hoverchair which has a Starfinder Society sticker pasted over a mining conglomerate's logo, enters the room next. "Hello, everyone," she says cheerfully, "my name is K.I.N.A.A.." You can see that she is missing most of her right leg, and that her body is muscular even compared to other dwarves. "I decided on a career change, and exploring pre-Gap ruins and fighting jinsul seemed safer than what I was doing before. Oh, and I guess I can serve as team medic if things don't go our way, but you all look highly competent, so I don't expect to have to do much."
Near Space. Not a frontier, but still an interesting place to make a voyage through. We find our crew flying about in the Drake, just in between missions. So far, not a speck of dust on the horizon....
The silence could only last so long...
A ping sounds from the ship’s comm unit and its screen blinks on, displaying Radaszam sitting at a desk. “Hello, Starfinders,” the vesk says. “According to our data, your ship is currently in Near Space, so you’re well-placed to take on the request I’ve just received. Some of you may recall we’ve worked with Ilia Tamm, CEO of the Arch Energy Consortium, in the past. Her son Envar hasn’t been responding to her communications, and she wants him found. A team previously managed to track him to an unexplored planet, but he was gone by the time they arrived. Now, Ilia’s got new information: a set of data tags tied to some v-log show of his, marking where he’s been.” Radaszam shifts in his chair. “Tracking down an errant influencer might not be the most earth-shaking of missions, but we’d like to keep on Ilia’s good side—and she’s paying well. I’m forwarding you the data tag coordinates. Investigate them in whatever order you like; they aren’t time- stamped, so we don’t know when Envar’s been where. Find him and bring him back for a family reunion if possible, or at least verify his safety.
Ilia wants those tags collected too, to track what he’s been up to. Should be straightforward, though I understand his travel destinations can be… eclectic. Good luck. Radaszam out.”
The connection is closed before anyone can ask questions, forcing the group to rely on their own knowledge and skills.
Her familiarity with Envar allows Amy to recount the most basic knowledge about the Tamm scion: Envar Tamm is a social media influencer and the host of Envar’s Expeditions, an “extreme travel v-log.” His show is popular as much for his boisterous, irreverent antics as for the destinations showcased.
Envar has been out of contact with his mother for over a year, and she previously engaged a team of Starfinders to find him. While they tracked Envar to the planet of Tio Major and resolved the problems he carelessly caused with the locals, he was gone by the time they arrived.
Rodkin manages to find a bit of extra information in the Starfinder archives: The Starfinder Society’s first contact with Envar and Ilia Tamm was years ago, when Starfinder agents used Envar to infiltrate the Arch Energy Consortium’s headquarters to obtain confidential data. The Starfinders have kept this hushed up, although Ilia suspects (but couldn’t prove) they were the culprits. Since then, she’s seemed willing to let bygones be bygones, particularly given their proffered assistance in finding Envar.
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Three of these planets are largely water, so I suggest we start with the odd one, Daimalko.
From what I could dig up, our relationship with Ilia Tamm goes back to a mission years ago when a Starfinder team used Envar to access some sensitive data. I hear she suspects we were behind the data theft, but she seems OK with employing us. I hope that doesn't mean she'll send us someplace particularly hostile for revenge.
As Amy runs activates the throttle, the engines makes a charging sound before whalloping everybody to the back of their seats. This baby may be slow to turn, but it still carries a good acceleration punch.
The rocky, barren landscape of Daimalko comes into view, looking like a cracked, mossy pebble from the void of space. The coordinates provided by Radaszam point to a location that roughly corresponds to the only building of note in the area, some kind of compound. Having gotten a better feel for the acceleration of the Drake, Amy softly lands the vessel.
A blocky complex juts from the earth, encircled by a military- grade fence. Outside it, the withered landscape bears the scars of a great battle—blasted tree stumps, debris, and churned earth. Several trucks are parked on the grounds, emblazoned with insignia of a doshko striking against an enormous claw. A chattering group of eager tourists dressed in safari gear heads for one of the trucks, led by a grizzled vesk. A holographic display posted outside the main building’s entrance shows ticket prices for guided safari tours.
Outside greeters tout tours of the nearby wasteland, including a twice-daily safari. Inside the building, there's visitor's center with schedules, brochures of the tours, and a gallery of impressive-looking pictures of tourists posing with the massive colossus creatures that roam the land. Thrilling!
Get your tickets here! Just your luck, the next tour is led by Wertnabe himself the cheerful, outdoorsy-looking worlanisi behind the counter exclaims, pointing to a picture of a male Vesk, labelled 'First Hunter Wertnabe', Guaranteed sighting of a colossus on every trip!
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Sorry guys. The simulator doesn't do that Amy meekly apologies.
After landing, even though the gravity is station normal, she comes out in her hoverchair, dressed in casual clothing. She drives the hoverchair into the visitors centre to look at the brochures. The shimmerstaff is clipped to the side of the chair.
Amy browses through the brochures, which promise great thrilling adventures with colossus sighting in bright four-color print. The group package is 100 credits.
Oridak peruses the gift shop that takes up a corner of the building, which, among other things (colossus soap! colossus keychains! colossus battery packs!) sells colossus umbrellas and colossus sunglasses. The half-orc has just about enough time when a Final call for tickets for this afternoon's safari! is announced
Amy holds up a picture of Envar, and while she does so she spots a picture on the wall, among pictures of Wertnabe posing with celebrities. This particular one shows Envar with an exxagerated grim and Wertnabe, the first hunter, with a gruff smile.
The group is gathered up for the safari. Along with a few other tourists, there is a pathra called Mevhar, who seems to be carrying a list of locations that is just oddly specific and quiet familiar to the Starfinder. He seems to be carrying a list that is near-identical to the data tag location the group has been provided. Oh, I just love travelling Mevhar explains And Envar's Expeditions is just the prime channel where I get my travel information. I do hope to meet him in person, he is such an inspiration to the travel community. You know, he recommended the broth on Eviel-VI, and pointed out the restaurants that were far superior to other place. The view from Azata's rock... ordinary travellers would not find such places.
Follow his tours? No... Mevhar says, switching to a whisper I intend to go off the trail once this safari starts, and have a look for Envar myself. I'm sure he's here, he must be!
After a few minutes, First Hunter Wertnabe, the gruff Vesk from the pictures appears on the screen. Ah, look at you, hey. Ready for a bit of adventure? We'll be driving off into the wilderness, and I've been tipped off we got some mighty creature sighting ready for me. We all want a piece of that spectacle, huh? Wertnabe adjusts his hat to make him look even more experienced as a wildlife guide.
Now, before we start, a few safety precuations. Our vehicle is safe, you won't need to have any fear is any of the colossi approach you. Now should one approach us... and this is very important... DON'T LOOK EM IN THE EYE. That makes em mad, and you don't want em mad. Also, keep you hands indoors, you don't want any of them of them to be chomped or, or I'm gonna have to call you stompy. Water's in the vehicle, and if the weak-bladdered of you please want to make sure full emptying before we leave, we can all hop on board!
The tour bus leaves the compound with the tourists on board (including a space for the hoverchair that is indeed 95% of the width it should be), and quite quickly Rodkin manages to pick up the signal of the data tag, which is not far away, but doesn't seem to be on the direct route of the vehicle.
Since there's only one space for a hoverchair - and the party has two hoverchairs - Amy leaves it for K.I.N.A.A., grabs her gear, and heads over to the bus.
Ah, no. They've got these cumbersome convertible seats with some seatbelt arrangement. It is definitely possible to get two hoverchairs on.
The vehicle makes one of many stops, and Mehvar tries to sneak of at the first stop, hiding behind a large rock. Go Envies! the pahtra whispers. It seems a bit early if they were looking for the data tag.
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Even though there is room for her hoverchair Amy decides to leave it behind. As long as she doesn't have to stand in full gravity for more than six hours at a time, she'll be fine. She does take her Shimmerstaff with her though, just in case as it makes for a great walking stick if needed.
On the trip, she's concentrating on her camera, looking through it to spot a colossus as well as looking at the scenery. She is also tracking the data tag.
Do you think we need to keep an eye on that pathra? she whispers to her fellow star shaman mystic.
Are you serious? Mehvar when Rodkin tries to stop him. Over there are the best sites, Envar told me so himself!
No sign of a colossus just yet
Oo.. okay... yes mister. The pahtra says, clearly swayed from any plan to deviate from the group.
The tour bus halts at a watering hole, when Wertnabe announces that the next part of the tour will be eastwards, which just happens to be directly away from the beacon signal. This stop is a good opportunity to move away from the group on foot and get closer to the signal...
In fact, leaving the touring group without Mehvar noticing is an easy as waiting for the pahtra to go to the AbadarCorp MobileHole (tm). Nobody else in the touring seems to even remotely care.
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This is AbadarCorp, announcing our newest product, the MobileHole. Having the comfort of all species in mind, our MobileHole cabins feature an extradimensional space large enough to fit a Shobhad, and a miniature black hole* capable of absorbing near infinite amounts of detritus. MobileHole, what a relief!
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*AbadarCorp is not responsible for any time dilation effects
The group follows the signal of the data tag into an open plain. The ground quakes as a crevasse splits open across the plain.
A massive serpentine creature, large as a starship, bursts from the crack in the earth, undulating wildly. Amid its coils, the faint glow of a hologram is visible on the ground.
Oh wow. So that's a colossus?
The colossus doesn't even seem to register the Starfinder, but it is restless and thrashing about. Retrieving that data tag from under it, is no doubt going to be hazardous.
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Amy
Rodkin
K.I.N.A.A.
Chrysanthemum
Oridak
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Colossus
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Amy was actually a bit disappointed that she didn't get to go for an 'impromptu' swim. Still, the other three planets are all water worlds so, hopefully, she'll be able to swim in the waters of at least one of them. The Brennari home world seemed the best bet at this stage.
Still, when she saw the colossus, she couldn't help a Meep! from coming out.
She starts by activating her Starlight form to gain 20% concealment.