[YFF/SFS/DMK] 6-04 Secrets Long Submerged (Inactive)

Game Master Kludde

Will this do? Katrina asks while holding out a fresh 40c battery.

Big Jim is quick to point out that a high-capacity (40c) battery would not provide enough power, shock glands in the dead eel would. Gunnz shoves it over, and prods it into the tank.

The resulting power is enough to boot up the research computers, which remarkably enough function well underwater. After some tinkering, Jim gets access to a set of research notes.

The notes talk about “electrical aura output”, charting the output of a variety of mediums and sources, all cataloged by code numbers. The early numbers are low, unsteady, and short-lived, but output numbers from later sources are high and steady. It’s clear that this is a portion of the data once stored on these computers, and that a comprehensive set of data and analysis resides on the main server, which is no longer accessible on the network.

"Good thinking on the eel"

Jim transmits the data back to Big Jim One.

"Time to press on then"

Umbro-187 has already moved on to check the door to the big room to the south for traps.

"I wonder which creatures electrical aura they were checking..." comments Croaker looking at the data and heads towards the main door

A cryogenic tank (no longer functional) connects to a large tube composed of transparent steel that has become partially opaque with time. This tube exits through a 15-foot diameter hole in the floor, and it's not a stretch to conclude the tube ends in the tanks in the other room. On the north side of the room are two long tables bolted onto the floor.

Katrina notices a black glistening in the cryotubes, that seems to react to the sudden increase in temperature from the inflowing water and the presence of the starfinders. It looks like a particularly harmful mold, set to release deadly spores.

Life Science or Mysticism to disable

Umbro-187 returns to the room with the cryogenic tank when he hears over comms about what the team has found.

Does anyone have a life science bonus higher than +12? If not can I get some aid another rolls.

"Eww... gross... double check your seals everyone." sighs Gunnz.

"So Doug, one of my ex boyfriends. He was totally into conservation and was into eating molds and fungi as well as "higher" plants. Anyway, he was talking about which were safe to eat and.."

life science (aid): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Though I suspect Spike will have a good mysticism...

mysticism: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29

Gross :p

Buddy the Goblin, Jim's Workplace Health and Safety specialist heads over to inspect the job site too offer some thoughts.

Mysticism auto-assist

And that roll would work for a mysticism assist as well, but the dialogue would change.

As she seems Katrina checking etheral access points and chakra points, Gunnz grins.

"You'd like Kurt... he is another ex. Biggest issue with him was he was more interested in ley lines than my lines..."

"Sure, but this space-snot is a whole different mess altogether, and not a hot mess it seems" Jim chuckles at the banter.

Woah that's a lot to catch up on!

Krag, just quietly watching isn't much for chatter, though he knows the value of a tight squad.

Umbro-187 does the best he can to help, trusting that his armor's environmental protections will shield him from any mold mishaps.

Life Science + Aid Another: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 12 + 2 = 21

I dunno Gunnz Katrina sighs. I think I'm more into girls than guys. Dunno why ... it is just is ... but I .... haven't been .. erm ... active for a while. I guess being on the Starfinder Forum and all that I suppose. I even put my name down for the upcoming First Seeker election but didn't make the first cut.

It's ... just, I've been a Starfinder right from the start of Luwazi Elsebo's tenure as First Seeker, the goal, to get our families and other loved ones from behind the GodShield ... which we did ... and from then on, it's been one adventure after another. Sis says I should settle down, get a hobby or something, put myself out there on the socials. I used to be a marine ecological activist when I was younger, hence the mermaiding to show awareness but ... I dunno.

But yeah .. I'm not sure what's coming up, every mission I go on now is ... could this be the last one, is it time to retire? And I'm not sure I really want to end up being the crazy cat lady of Absalom Station. It's like I'm looking for something but I dunno what..

"Just couldn't get behind old Lolwut Elsebo, and not gonna lie, wasn't sad to see Ziggy get moved on out of the role - totally the wrong fit for the organisation and for a being that was supposed to be running the more militant of the Starfinders they weren't up to snuff, now Jadnura, there was the one who should have been leading the Exo G's"

"I didn't bother running for elections - didn't seem like something winnable by the rank and file and I'm not quite ready to be retired, I want to stay on the tools"

Yeah well, I thought, what the hell, gotta be in it to win it I suppose - and back then Luwazi was advocating what I wanted - and I had to admit, hadda bit of a crush on her back then too.

Ziggy ... Exo-Guardians, yeah ... I sort of agree. But, remember that Jadnura was also trapped behind the God Shield at the time. I guess Ziggy was the best choice at the time. Still that copaxi, Ixthia, is in charge now and Ziggy is now running a faction that best suits him I think - the Advocates. I dunno exactly what happened to him out there during the Data Scourge but I heard it was really really bad. I actually sometimes visit just to see how he is. Plus he's also in the fantasy roleplaying group I just joined.

She smiles over to Big Jim. Can't see you not swinging a hammer for quite some time anyway.

Yeah, one point I thought of getting my own little starship and just go out there, maybe find Silvermane's home world or something.

after going through some stories of Gunnz' exes, the group does manages to neutralize the spores.

With the immediate threat out of the way, and a closer looks at the room, this looks like a medical laboratory, that was used both to conduct surgery and to cryogenically freeze subjects.

a deeper excavation would take a bit more time (Something that you can also still do in A5, I might add)

"Oh... politics. I mean like... why..." shrugs Gunnz.

"I let those who are interested in that do it. I suspect most folk would think that a pole dancer shouldn't lead even a faction within the Starfinders, let alone the organisation as a whole. And quite frankly... I'm all for that. On the plus side, I bet I'd get offered heaps of tickets to SMC."

She pauses for a moment to consider some of the baubles of office.
"Did I tell you the time I got to dance on stage with them?"

Thoughts flit across her mind quickly.

"And I bet I could get some research done on a faster ship, something that would put even the Pegasus to shame.."

Croaker looks at the spores and freezes for a moment, just to realize that the others have already handled the situation.

"As a professional I do wonder, how you connected spores, your ex's and then leaders of factions."

He looks around "Let us try and gather some more information, shall we?" My vote for excavation

"Yeah, we can excavate further - who knows where the conversation might go next?"

"After 4th beer my fellow buddies from mercs were dicussing joining new plannets to Pact World, just to toss some ideas"

Further investigation yields surgical tools, syringes, medicine, coolant, and a variety of other medical supplies, quite a bit of it still in decent shape. There's also a computer laying on the slanted ground, covered in plants and half-buried in silt, and the battered state of this device leaves is out of commision. When Jim has a look at it, it's clear to him that this device was built to be highly secure in construction, and designed to be resistant to impacts, electrical discharges, a variety of weather, and other forms of physical sabotage. Warranty void if subjected to hard impact, though, such as beign part of a city that plummets from the sky.

The medicine supplies contain four doses of tier 3 sedative and two mk 3 healing serums

In the previous room, the group discovers a door that’s slightly ajar behind one of the recessed spots where a security robot was previously stationed.

This leads to an area further down. There's also one more location on this floor to explore

"We should thoroughly clear this floor before we move on," Umbro-187 says matter of factly.

He'll move to the next unexplored room and check the door for traps before entering.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

Did we thoroughly check room A3?

"That thing is dead dead. Let's make sure we have cleared out this whole floor to our satisfaction before moving elsewhere"

Just checking - have we cleared out this floor? If not move on to the next area, if so do a final walk through of this floor to make sure we haven't missed anything then head down :)

Makes sense to me

"Maybe others can get something off that computer. It sounds like it was built to survive all bar a nuclear explosion, and just because we don't have the tools to get it going out here.." mutters Gunnz.

"Lets try behind that last door."

Not here no. I'd probably have to completely rebuild it. Lemme grab the storage units and I'll look into it. I got a similar watertight unit at home.

She bags some components then follows Gunnz.

Another big feat of engineering later, and the last heavy opens up to reveal a narrow (by giant standards) room. The room has two tables built into the east wall. A variety of materials are piled in the corner haphazardly—clearly the result of Talgradur’s crash. A bony hand sticks out from under this debris. One of the workbenches has a touchscreen built into its top. While the screen is cracked and its internal hard drives have been damaged, it’s not entirely useless

The computers and engineering checks are a bit tougher this time, so let's see the rolls first

Croaker moves closer and investigates the hand sticking out

Medicine: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

But he can't seem to see any clues, so he heads towards the computer and tries to be useful

Engineering aid another: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

"So, while we were discussing useless ex-boyfriends... that terminal reminds me of another of mine. Actually, now I think of it Bob was really good with his hands... he'd been able to fix that broken terminal. Said something about making sure the exposed wires... hmm didn't touch I think."

Computers and engineering auto aiding. Normally with +15 I'd roll, but with this party.... I'll just aid.

"What sort of hand do you think that belongs to Croaker?"
life science: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Computers 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 21 + 2 = 41
Engineering 1d20 + 21 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 21 + 2 + 2 = 28

Jim gets into the computer system, then starts working with Croaker and Gunnz apparently forgetting what he is doing for a moment.

Lol might need to reroll!

"What sort of hand do you think that belongs to Croaker?"

"I think ... it is a right hand." responds Croaker who completely cannot figure it out

Big Jim manages to get a bit of life back into the computer, and discovers a few schematics that can still be viewed and downloaded. The schematics were an effort to reengineer storm engines by someone who didn’t know how they were constructed. While many of these schematics would’ve failed to function, some likely would have worked. These later versions include two different power sources, one magical and one technological. Some notes on these schematics include notes in giant that read “creating a steady electrical aura at the necessary power output remains an issue; biotech and organic sources likely a worthwhile avenue of experimentation.”

The hand belong to a dead giant, whose bones are stuck under the table. Further excavation yields many parts, a lot of which made of rubber, a sturdy tool belt and a white force field module.

"Geez this is some amateur hour stuff, some of it looks like it could go but other ideas...not so much. They seem to like using living things to power their tech though, not the nicest bunch"

Once Jim transmits data back to Big Jim One he's ready to push on

Katrina was a bit of a white hat hacker in her more .... rebellious years
computers: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (18) + 22 = 40

I should build one of these - make a great flight sim

Umbro-187 keeps watch over the others as they take care of clearing the room and then prepares to lead the way to the next floor when everyone is ready.

The group wraps up their meticulkous excavation, and is ready to move deeper into the wreckage, to a room deeper underwater.

This large rectangular room is accessed by a set of stairs in the northern wall. Four massive hexagonal servers rise to the ceiling, surrounding a central platform with a huge desk and chair. Two long cooling grates line the east and west walls, flush with the floor. A large crack splits the ceiling, letting in distant dim light. Scattered throughout the room are dozens of crumpled sacks made of a heavy blue leather-like material. A clear, thick fluid coats most of the exposed surfaces and floats through the water in clumps.

Map on the slides

"Do we need to transport the dead giant too?" asks Gunnz.

"I mean... rspectful treatment of artefacts and remains... wasn't that in the contract fine print?"

Umbro-187 will take a closer look at the thick fluid.

Life Science + Xenobiologist's Field Kit: 1d20 + 12 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 12 + 4 = 23

"We've just been tagging the locations of bodies and I have been taking notes on what we know about them, the Giants can determine how they want the dead dealt with and we wont get in trouble" Jim offers helpfully.

"Good idea Umbro, lets check a small sample from a position of safety rather than find out this is some sort of toxic sludge"

"Now is not the time for a pool party," the always serious android says. Yes, Umbro-187 is certainly not jumping in with the sludge, but taking a sample from a safe distance.

Yeah ... I'm not sure I want to breathe that stuff.

She continues taking pictures of the areas - even the bodies in situ

Just in case, she seals up and switches to her suit's internal oxygenated water supply

Umbro sees the liquid and immediately recognises it for what it is: a byproduct from a fish laying eggs in the area. From the ubiquitousness of the liquid, this is a popular spawning area. Judging by the amount of fluid coating the area, this is either utilized by a large number of fish or by a very large fish.

"We probably should be careful, I don't look forward to meeting gigantic shark form this planet" comments Croaker looking at the odd fluid

"I mean... I'm kinda interested in meeting a gigantic shark from this planet."

No jumping for me.

"Well, more sea creatures I suppose"

Jim wades forward, knowing there is about to be a shark attack...

The group steps forward into the inevitable, subconsciously thinking of that great Domakayo song...

♫ when you're diving at night, and your feet feel the bite, that's a moray
when your hand's in the cave, suddenly you'll need saved, that's a moray
when you blubber and scream, but you have a bad dream, that's a moray
when he hits all your fingers, with teeth that are stingers, a moray... ♫

... and sure enough, four pholskar serpents - juvenile ones - hiss forward to defend their spawning ground.

Bold can move!

---
Umbro
Jim
Krag
Croaker
---
Serpent
Serpent
Serpent
Serpent
----
Katrina
Gunnz

"Those are only juveniles," Umbro-187 says before activating the called fusion on his combat rifle. With his weapon in his hands, he uses his heavy bipod as a forward grip to steady his aim, and then fires on the one approaching Jim.

Combat Rifle - Deadly Aim vs. Blue KAC: 1d20 + 16 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 16 - 2 = 20
Piercing + Deadly Aim Damage: 3d8 + 11 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 6) + 11 + 4 = 25

My intent is to go hit blue, but going to wait on it to be all flat-footed/nerfed by the Operatives etc first :)

GM here's one I haven't come across - What effect do smoke grenades have underwater, does it still create a cloud effect?