Saar and Rani both remember an interesting bit of lore: the arrival of the Kasathan mothership the Idari to the pact worlds. It sounds like Braerton was founded (and forgotten) several year before the Idari ever arrived. Curious.
Rani doesn't notice anything off otherwise.
When asked about the defense system, Mayor Aliorno smiles. “Oh, I can’t take credit for building that. Smarter minds than I saw to its construction! After we were abandoned by the Pact Worlds, our citizens thought it was important to protect Kortus IV from threats like space pirates. I believe the materials for it came from the original colony ship. It’s come in handy on a few occasions.
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”Sorry .... I think we broke it”
Memories of molten slag and uncontrolled drones play through Saar’s mind. He looks pained.
“Now that we know you’re here, the Starfinders can help protect the colony… and probably rebuild the drone system.”
Switching to more comfortable topics, Saar points to the statue of the woman.
“Who is this?”
After finding out more about the statue, he turns to Zatteh.
“When did you arrive here, Zatteh? You part of the first settlers? The ones from the Pact Worlds?”
”Sorry .... I think we broke it”
“Now that we know you’re here, the Starfinders can help protect the colony… and probably rebuild the drone system.”
“How thoughtful! We don’t need much, but we’ll happily accept your gifts and help. Such offerings don’t need to be a regular occurrence, however.” Mayor Aliorno glances at Zatteh, who adds, “Let’s see… You can bring food to the general store, medicine to the hospital, and tools and other materials to the construction site down the road. Anything else you can bring to the town hall at Founder’s Square. I’ll see its sent where its most needed.”
Switching to more comfortable topics, Saar points to the statue of the woman.
“Who is this?”
“That was Berrla Tonhue, the settlement’s founder. She led the expedition here from the Pact Worlds. She died fending off an animal attack about twenty years after the founding of the settlement. Some vicious local creatures we call rock bears.”
“Animal attacks used to be common. The animals on this planet are aggressive, especially the rock bears. They’ve learned to steer clear of the settlement, but it’s still dangerous for anyone who goes out into the wilderness to hunt.”
After finding out more about the statue, he turns to Zatteh.
“When did you arrive here, Zatteh? You part of the first settlers? The ones from the Pact Worlds?”
Zatteh seems to be a little offended by the question, and tilts her head: “My parents were wanderers. As soon as they could afford a Drift engine, they left the Pact Worlds. They passed away quite some time ago, but not before making us a home here. I was born in Braerton.”
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Do you have further questions? If not, I would encourage you to look around in our town. Feel free to wander around any of the public space, as long as you do not trespass on private property. As said, the wilderness is a dangerous place, so I would not head there.
Founder’s Square is a small public park centered on a lacquered statue of Berrla Tonhue. The streets surrounding the park host several important buildings, including the church, general store, hospital, and town hall. Audible in the distance to the west of Founder’s Square is a construction site.
The statue is made from wood with many layers of lacquer to protect it from the elements. A small plaque beneath it reads “Berrla Tonhue, Braerton founder and hero,” along with the dates of her birth and death (192 AG–255 AG).
The date of death on the plaque was changed from 235 AG to 255 AG after the statue was made.
Braerton Sanctuary is the local church, which caters to numerous religions. The Sanctuary is pristine, with rows of wooden pews in the main worship space, facing a raised stage with a few dozen different religious symbols and statues, and two smaller side rooms for gatherings
Welcome to this humble temple a human priest says as the group enters, I am Nikeela Phuvo. I serve the deity Abadar, but I can perform any religious services that you might need, in the name of any deity. For a fee, of course.
Rani notices the modification to the statue, and when in the temple, she, Saar and Nimh almost simultaneously notice a holy symbol of Talavet in the church’s collection. As kasathas hadn’t arrived in the Pact Worlds on the Idari when Braerton was founded, it’s unlikely that there would’ve been any followers of Talavet present among the colonists.
at the temple. Nice to meet you Nikeela as Data extends his hand. Say there are dozens of deities, and Abadar is a good choice, what made you pick Abadar of all the dozens of deities you could have chose?[dice=mysticism]1d20+16
Abadar represent civilization itself, and the structure and order requires for it to function properly. Where would we be without the guarantees that a stable currency system provides us? It is the very frabric of society.
I see you have an interest in our collection of holy symbols. We have many of these religious focus artifacts, to enable ceremonies in the name of any deity
The holy symbol of Talavet? That one was here before I started my mission here. I never get any followers of Talavet here who want services, so I’m spending more on storage and upkeep than I can recover in fees. I'd let you have it for 5 credits, you’d be taking a liability off my hands.
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”The holy symbol of Talavet? That one was here before I started my mission here. I never get any followers of Talavet here who want services, so I’m spending more on storage and upkeep than I can recover in fees. I'd let you have it for 5 credits, you’d be taking a liability off my hands.”
Saar blinks and tries to hide his confusion.
This just keeps getting weirder. A kasatha who arrived at the settlement before the kasatha ship reached the Pact Worlds… a changed death date on the founder's statue… and then the kasatha — whose entire culture focuses around stories — doesn’t worship their normal deity in the local temple? What the hell??
“Nikeela, when did you start your mission here?”
My tenure here started ten years ago, I have been overseeing this sanctuary ever since.
The holy symbol, which is not particularly heavy, seems to function as a sonic dampener, and bears the inscription “Good luck with your new job, Paoro”. It is dated to thirty years ago (292 AG).
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Just outside the sanctuary, a rather muscular vesk draws the eye, dragging a large mammal behind him. He also seems to spot the starfinders as they emerge from the sanctuary, and speaks Well, well. Look who we have here, what a suprise! Newcomers? He puts down the mammal carcass and says The name is Redozoko, and I'm a hunter here. It's a dangerous job, he says, pointing to the dead beast, this is one of the less dangerous creatures out there. As I tell everyone here, don't go out in the wilderness if you value your life. He bears a row of glistening teeth as he smiles.
He actually doesn't look surprised at all, almost as if he was intentionally trying to meet the group.
It’s strange for a vesk to be in Braerton, as the Veskarium was at war with the Pact Worlds when the settlement was founded.
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Saar returns the greeting in vesk and, as is becoming a habit, tries to not look surprised. A vesk in a Pact Worlds settlement that was founded when we were at war with the Veskarium!? What is going on here?? Maybe we’ll find a unicorn, too…
“Well met, Redozoko. I’m Saar. Your hunting prowess shows.” He gestures to indicate the beast. “What is this? And this is one of the ‘less dangerous’ ones out there… what else is there?”
The beast looks like it has been killed with the rifle that Redozoko has on his back. At least that part seems genuine.
This is quite a formidable beast. Is it the apex predator around here?
No, that would be the rock bears Rodozoko responds. The mammal looks to be a herbivore of some sort, but one with pointy enough horns that would wouldn't want to encounter the business end of them.
“Do animals bother the farm or the mine workers?”
Not as long as I keep them safe, huh? Rodozoko says, then continues well, It's been great talking to you, but I have to go now. Remember, wilderness, dangerous. He then heads into town.
Braerton’s town hall features a grand entry with detailed decorative tiling, a large hall lined with simple chairs for community meetings, and signs pointing to the town archives, and the offices of Mayor Aliorno, Zatteh, and Sheriff Jana Rin.
The latter (a nonbinary human) greets the starfinders as they enter the town hall Howdy there. I heard we're having new visitors in town. I'm the town sheriff, you see anything suspicious, you come to me. they say as they tap the sheriff's star on their uniform. You are welcome here, so long as you behave yourself. It's a quiet day, and I want to keep it that way.
The archives contain Brearton’s physical records, including birth, death, and marriage certificates, harvest and property records, and population counts. The records are handwritten, stored in filing cabinets, and poorly sorted, with no index.
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———
”Rock bears, well, I guess nobody likes good music anymore.”
Saar gives Data a mock grimace. “Awful and wonderful. Good joke. You’re quick.”
”I’m sensing a coverup.”
Saar gives the barest of nods in agreement. “A lot of this feels wrong. Details don’t fit.”
”I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“You aren’t alone, Nimh.”
Saar subconsciously reaches back to the plasma array in its custom mount, feeling the twin power cells in place and checking the latch that swings the gun into firing position.
He gently exhales, but his eyes keep moving, just like he learned in the tunnel expeditions. Conflicting emotions push the words into his mind from early memories. ”Always be looking… ABL. You’re ABL, aren’t ya boy?” Yup, dad. And I’ll never stop.[/I]
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In the archives, Saar looks for settlement records relating to Mayor Aliorno, Zatteh, Redozoko, and Berrla Tonhue.
He stands in front of the “files” and cracks his knuckles. “Time to dig.”
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Rani decides to talk to the sheriff, maybe as a distraction, as well as sharing some Poshkettle tea with him.
So, if I'm wanting to put on an acrobatic show ... how would I go about it? I'm an aerial acrobat and escape artist with Cirque d'Absalom, although my agent is still negotiating a spot in a children's show.
Nimh has a look at the size of the archive, and that would be consistent with the settlement's size as seen from orbits, about 2500 people. It's immediately quite clear form the archives that records for more recent inhabitants are not stored here for some reason, though older residents (for example, Berrla Tonhue) could be found with a search.
Saar manages to dig up a death certificate for Berrla Tonhue, dated 20 years before the date listed on the statue. The cause of death: a gunshot wound to the chest, and not an animal attack.
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Saar hits his comms.
“Found the death certificate for Berrla, the statue lady. The death date matches the original date Rani saw on the statue, the hidden date. And a rock bear didn’t kill her, unless it figured out how to shoot a gun. She died from a gunshot to the chest. More deceptions.”
He thinks for a moment, then dives back into the archives. Let’s see what you can tell me about that mine…
\
Saar investigates the mine, rounding off what has been three hours of research in the archives now. There's quite a few recors on the mine's output, and both in volume and value it seems it's quite a bit more than what the town would ever need, and the logistic, labour and infrastructure needs seem very elaborate (if not overwhelming) for a town this size. It's also completely unclear what exactly is being mined here, and the records are quite incomplete. It looks like the mine was opened a few years after the colony was founded, and is still in operation today.
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Saar reports his findings about the mysterious mine to the group.
“Can’t trust anything here. S’all hiding something.”
He stops to think for a moment, then nods to himself.
“How about going to the hospital? We got medicine on board… good cover for the seeing what hurts people here. Learn a lot from injuries and sickness.”
After what is nearly five hours of research in total in total, Saar and Nimh manage to dig up some info on Paoro. There is a single piece of paper under this name with a date from thirty years ago labeled “arrived” and another dated ten years later labeled “reassigned.”
The local hospital is well-maintained, but rather small and it looks somewhat outdated. There's a few citizens waiting with minor ailments, small wounds from household accidents and the occasional sniffling ysoki.
After a short wait, the group is escorted to the head doctor, a female android sitting behind desk, with a nameplate that reads 'Dr. Ellemie-2'
I'm afraid I'm going to have to be quick she says in a friendly-but-don't-waste-my-time manner, I was told you are here to bring supplies?
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“Thanks for seeing us. Very busy today? Waiting room looked pretty empty.”
He gets on with directly answering her question about supplies. “Yes, doctor, we do. General load, I’m afraid. Hope they can meet your needs. What d’ya mostly treat here? We can bring a better load next time.”
Wonder why this has to be quick?