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Capt: KSS
Pilot: Cham
Gun 1: HK
Gun 2: Doc (Minor Crew Action - Science/Visual ID)
Gun 3: Twil
Chief: Astran
Sense Motive =
Cham - Pilot - gets TWO actions.
***
Doc dials in the particle beam further whilst continuing to study the enemy ship.
Minor crew action - Visual Identification
Engineering (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the tier of the starship being examined)
Attack
Particle Beam
Damage
Crit (if applic)
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Cha'mon Cha'mon sends the Thunderbolt zooming at the final raider while throwing it through some evasive maneuvers for good measure.
Then in a surprise move, he makes an aggressive vertical move designed to bring all the Drake's gun to bear on the raider while flying right through its flight path.
Cha'mon gets on the tail of the last raider. With the encouragement of KSS, the gunnery crew starts blasting away at the last bogey. The aft shields quickly buckles in a particle beam blast, which also damages the torpedo turret. After the next two hits, the enemy ship starts leaking radiation, as well as a linear trail of heavy black smoke.
Severely damaged, the drifter kicks on the afterburner and flees out of the drift channel.
Hey, dinner's on me! the starship's captain shouts as he manages to subdue his own assailants. That was a good show of teamwork, there. Why don't you head over here, so we can meet personally? The captain turns on docking lights, inviting the crew to dock the Thunderbolt and board the Yonder
The docking clamp attaches, and the group is free to enter the Yonder. Greeting the starfinders is captain Tosin Jaws ().
“Do you feel the power of the Yonder all around you, my friends?” Captain Jaws asks. He has an improvised bandage around his arm and winces slightly as he moves, but says nothing about it. “This ship is conrasu wood, from a grove not far from where I was born. A piece of home I take with me wherever I go. But what brings you to my home among the stars? It’s not often that I see anyone in Jatembe’s Jaunt other than Drifter vultures and their Angelfang captain, and I’d hate to think you have fallen in with that lot” He pats the sidearm on his belt, wincing again in the process.
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Diplomacy
"Pirates? Us? No - I'm DocMedevac™, reality star, medical professional, and creator of the DocJr™ range of customisable medical robots and seller of high-quality first-aid supplies. These are all my Starfinder friends"
"We're out here running scientific tests to learn more about these Drift Lanes, keen to know what you know, and also know more about your unique ship"
"We can get to that in a minute though, I think we should be doing something about your apparent injuries, happy to provide you with obligation and fee-free medical aid"
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Conrasu wood
Special organic building material made of wood grown in magical nurtured by music. Over two orders of magnitude higher tensile strength and load-bearing capacity than regular wood.
----Pact world encyclopedia
Good the captain says, that save me a trip to the airlock he adds jokingly, but whinces in pain again, ... ah yes, if you could help me here.
After DocMedevac performs his treatment, the captain gives the group some info First off, I'd recommend you use the local name for what you call the Drift Lane: you are in Jatembe's Jaunt, and it leads to the Nebula Union. Or away from it, depending on your perspective, he adds with a wink. The Nebula Union is a system-wide, multi-planetary alliance that has endured since the Gap. It contains four participating planets. Jatembe's Jaunt leads to Xibion, one of these worlds, which happens to be my home world.
There's quite a bit of debate in the Nebula Union about what to do with Jatembe's Jaunt. I suppose you would want to meet with the Union officials. You should use the passphrase "From many, one,", so the know you can be trusted.
Oh, and Mama Rae's he says, providing the coordinates to a restaurant on an as-of-yet unmapped planet is here in Uzodia, on the planet Xikion. I have to continue my mission to the other end, but do visit there. Just tell them Tosin Jaws sent you.
---
The remainder of the journey through what the group learned is Jatembe’s Jaunt is uneventful, with no sighting of the Drifters or any other starships.
Stars fill the sky again as the ship emerges from the Drift lane in front of a large blue and green planet surrounded by starships of all shapes and sizes. In response to this new arrival, four of the orbiting vessels immediately leave their current positions, surrounding the ship in a diamond formation. A hail cuts through the silence, “Identify yourself, friend!”
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All through the rest of the trip, Twila-5 is kicking herself for not thinking to ask what kinds of food Mama Rae serves. She tries not to bug her teammates by talking about it constantly, but every time she sits down to a standard-basic meal, she sighs inwardly (a quirk of Twila-4's) and looks forward to something much, much better.
When Cha'mon uses the passphrase, the speaker on the other side of the comms immediately reacts Our apologies for the inconvenience. You are most welcome on the Banyan as our honored guests. After a brief scan, there's a message [b]Please proceed to the Banyan for docking.
After boarding, the party is greeted by a female gnoll “Hi! Hello. Or should I say greetings, strangers! I’m Windleaf Leopard and this is the Banyan, the Nebula Union’s flagship orbital home-away-from-home. Consider yourself officially welcomed!”
She chuckles nervously Ah, being a greeter is so much better than being a clerk at the Memory. The Memory is the Xibian database on genealogy and history. History constantly changes! she complains there's new things happening every day, so we had to update the database every day. This job is much better. she chatters as she guides the group down the hall.
You see this,[/b she says as she taps on the bulkhead [b]Conrasu wood! The whole ship is contructed out of it. Clearly a lot of work went into the construction, with carvings along the line of the corridor and the occasional inlaid tiny gears or glowing lights that make them seem to come alive.
Oh, I really hope I don't mess this up, she says to herself, If I do, I'm sure my next job will either be slogging through massive eracha ant tunnels or endlessly reshelving books at one of Uzodia’s many libraries. Are you comfortable? Not moving too fast?
This ship is marvellous, isn't it? It's the first ship built by the Nebula Union, and all four worlds contributed to it!
I'm from Xibion. Do you know about the Magaambya school, where our scholars research Lost Golarion? Xibion contributed conrasu wood from their groves and the help of students and teachers from their many schools to help design the ship.
Treolisk, a planet of mostly water populated by aquatic uulians, contributed pillars of water with bioluminescent properties that help to light the ship.
The baraggahs of the desert planet Ptomeray used their talents with sandstone carving to design the carvings on the ship, and the living clockwork elorains of the worldship Astrolabe I installed much of the ship’s magical and hybrid systems.
This ship is a big symbol to remind everyone that they do better things when they work together instead of fighting. That's why the councilors are meeting here instead of on Astrolabe.
Ah Windleaf talks, it's quite clear that you are passing by the docking gate again. I just wanted to show you some of the views of Xibion. You can see them from space. There's the towers of capital city Uzodia in Enkuro’s Gorge, over there, you see the many crisscrossing Toko-Zeba bridges, and out there there's the shipbuilding facilities at Starheart Station.
She becomes increasingly flustered as she point out the landmarks.
She's completely lost the way...
Not long after, a three-armed baraggah with brown and white striped fur in a long robe and matching cap, approaches Windleaf. Why haven't you brought the group to the council yet? You're late, and the council is waiting.
Ah, Lasiel, good to see you Windleaf responds, well, the thing is, our guests requested an in-depth tour of the ship before heading to Unity Hall
Lasiel looks at the group, as if expecting some form of confirmation.
Well Lasiel says, I see you are taking good care of our guests. Beyond the call of duty and all that... but the council is waiting. If you can please wrap up now, and escort our guests to unity hall, hmm?
Lasiel moves away, leaving Windleaf with a semblance of job security, but the gnoll doesn't look too comfortable. Oh, she says, I better just admit it... I don't know where Unity Hall is from here. She looks around when she spots a terminal Ah! I'm sure I can get info there!
She dashes off to the terminal, types in some stuff, but she must be some kind of capability black hole, because she can't bring up any useful info.
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Twila-5 sidles up beside Windleaf and speaks softly. "I have some experience with various ships that serve similar purposes. They all tend to put their official gathering spaces in this general area." She points to the map on the display, which helpfully shows the locations of multiple areas, but not Unity Hall.
The group initially looks a bit lost, until DocMedevac(tm) bring his proprietary cultural knowledge to bear, and points out the pictogram for 'Unity Hall'. It's one of the rarer pictograms, but still a unversally recognised one.
Windleaf is still with the group, following now more than guiding as Astran, K'ssatak-Sul and DocMedevac(tm) take the lead in following the various signs on the ship.
As windhall comes closer, raised voices are audible from inside. They're the councilors Windleaf explains.
Zallia Heron is a dwarven female, and the representative of Xibion. She can be a bit arrogant. RKY7 () is a male elorain, who prepresents the citizens of Astrolabe I. He has a very greedy mindset.
Treolisk is represented by a nonbinary uulian called Sirrellim, who is very fearful. Tkerik, a nonbinary baraggah soldier, represents Ptolemy and can be very agressive.
I've heard this kind of argument many times before, and these four are unlikely to agree... she says as she opens the doors and takes her. She arguments inside unity hall becomes clearer as the starfinders enter.
“The mere fact that Jatembe’s Jaunt exists proves my point!” shouts a middle-aged dwarf of medium-brown complexion. “The universe has brought us the ability to share our message of peace, if only you lot would stop arguing long enough to do it.”
A slender creature, sprouting large pieces of blue and green kelp from its back, swims in a frantic circle within a towering pillar of water, causing words to echo from within. “All the universe has truly brought us is trouble, Zallia. Already these Drifter pirates have attacked the few ships using it, bloodying our tranquil waters. And they may yet try to change our way of life. We must focus on protecting ourselves, not lecturing the galaxy.”
“Your courage is inspiring, Sirrellim,” responds a furry, mammalian creature, their words dripping with sarcasm as they raise themselves up on their back legs and gesticulate with all three of their arms, “But you miss the opportunity the Drifters present. Treat them as partners instead of a threat and our might only increases. Once we’re ready for them, of course."
A large clockwork construct shakes his head, gears within spinning wildly, then speaks. “As you would also wait to move through Jatembe’s Jaunt in your quest to build your star army, Tkerik, I am not sure how much more courageous you are than Sirrellim. Like Zallia, I see no reason to attempt to block off Jatembe’s Jaunt, though as you know, I care more for magic and commerce than conversation. But we are no longer alone—perhaps these visitors have a better understanding of what Jatembe’s Jaunt may hold for us and put an end to this stalemate.”
All eyes now seem to be turned to the group...
"It seems we've arrived just in time. We are Starfinders and we are here to settle your dispute. What we say goes, no questions asked. Do you understand."
The Union is destined to be the dominant power in the universe Tkerik starts we are self-reliant.
The strength of the Nebula Union is undeniable, councelor Zallia Heron of Xibion adds, and we see further strength in collaboration through new diplomatic bonds. I see an offer of help, and an opportunity to strengthen our Union. Tell us of your experiences within Jatembe's Jaunt?
Yes, Sirrellim asks What of the dangers in the lane? Did you have to sail your ship past those despicable pirates? I hear their ships are made from the bones of those they’ve killed in the Drift.”
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Intimidate
"Bones of their enemies? I cannot confirm or deny this rumour. What I do know, though, is that despite their superior numbers they were crushed under the superior firepower and technology of the Drake we were flying, and that is only a single moderate ship within the vast navy the Starfinders field - let alone the might the Pact Worlds could bring to bear"
"Opening the lanes to travel and forming a relationship with Pact forces will cement your safety. You could always go it alone and try your luck against those Drifters, if you've your own armada to commit to the task and can tolerate the loss of life of your people."
The drifters are a danger that we must protect ourselves against Sirrelim reacts with a degree of awe for the prowess of the starfinders.
Zallia chimes in I'm sure the Drifters are only a threat because they’re out there on their own and have not yet been embraced and made part of a community. It would be selfish of the Nebula Union not to share our teachings about bringing different species and interests together.
She spreads her arms in a dramatic gesture and orates Despite this petty bickering, we would never turn arms on each other. Don’t you think the rest of the galaxy could use a bit more of that spirit of cooperation?”
XO Sirrelim
OO Zallia
OO Tkerik
OO RKY7
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This is true. Cooperation. Submission. Enlightened authoritarianism led by a caring ruler. This is what the universe needs. Look at me. I am a Hellknight. Many people think that this means submitting to Hell. But that means subjugating Hell. At least some part of it. Choose the most disciplined place in the universe as a model and surpass it... Is this not the goal? And that's what we do best. We could exchange knowledge and bring even more order to the universe. That would be reasonable. It is difficult to listen to K'ssatak-Sul because of his unnatural manner of pronouncing sounds, but at the same time his speech seems to hypnotize, subordinates, fills the brain with dark truths...
Listen to this particular perspectice, a whole order dedicated to keeping the peace, to bring structure, order and harmony. What's not to like?
Dreams! Tkerik chimes in the wider galaxy is full of dangers, and we would be wise to bide our time before we expose ourselves to these threats. Not until we are ready to withstand them should we move out, and that won't be for another few years. That's the earliest time we can allowmore outsiders to show up at the Nebula Union’s doorstep.
What do we have now at our disposal? The Banyan? A pretty ship, but nothing to worry about. We will not need to fear the universe when we can give the universe a reason to fear us.
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Engineering
"A couple of years? That significantly understates the time, effort, and sheer resources you would require to come up with these systems on your own - let alone have them battle-tested. The Pact Worlds had the benefit of the Silent War with the vesk that saw decades of advancement. This battle was ceased to repel the arrival of the Swarm, and then the crushing of the Jinsul threat. Even if you spent the next century trying to build your might, you'd simply emerge as a bush-league fighting force at least a century behind the Pact - and the Free Captains - Pirates - don't bother with old tech, they are up to date"
"Your best move is to open the lanes and take advantage of the opportunities afforded to you by the welcoming groups we represent, the alternative os to stay in your hermit-kingdom and pray to the gods you don't get found by a serious adversary"
Hear hear! EKY7 chimes in Opportunities abound. What can you tell of the need of the drifters. Is there a market there? Are any tariffs being charged on any current Drift lanes? I see great opportunities for profit here.
The elorain looks stern “Please, don’t spin any tales for me. I would prefer you stick to the facts.”
RKY7 is looking to make a side deal with the Drifters to turn a profit, you can call him out on that
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HK's protocols activates and it says
I'm a professionnal Bounty Hunter. Having all the galaxy to extend my business is great. It gaves you opportunities.
You don't play on a small scale, but in an expanded area. One planet is not enough, on galaxy neither. The drift lane give you several galaxies where your unique ability could find a use.
Profits.
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"Cooperation is the difference between life and death. We were facing off against a trio of bogies. It felt like a dozen though the way they were swarming. Flying the battle was mostly trust in the training. People LIKE to think they'll rise to the occasion, but in reality, they sink to the level of their training. Thankfully we had good training."
I had come around the port of one of the ships we had lightly damaged. I thought I had a clean shot, but turns out the science officer had a better idea. One of the enemy had tried to back up their ship. Sci caught it and immediately shouted at me to do a split S with an extra half roll. It allowed us to come abroad sides. I never saw the ship, it was just absolute trust in the team. BAM! I pulled it off and then the gunner lit them up. The hit was devastating enough to make them bug out."[/b]
"Teamwork makes the dream work."