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“I think we’re making progress, Sijasi.”
Deliberately speaking in a softer rumble than usual, Zaradanth points out that the leader blinks one or both left eyes when his tone is gentler. He suggests the Starfinders try to emulate that behavior, and does his best to demonstrate.
Thistlecore gives the new behavior a try.
This much blinking is harder than I thought!
As he rubs his eyes, he turns his head toward Xeno. “It looks like you and your gear caught their attention. Please see what you can do.”
Thistlecore's help and reassurance seems to win the leader over. He visibly relaxes, and waves the others closer. The two guards stow their own weapons.
With tensions relaxed, the Starfinders and khyyrents are eventually able to manage some crude communication through pantomime and drawings.
Something seems to click for the leader, and he beckons the Starfinder team to follow them back to the round room in the center of the complex. After a few moments searching, the khyyrents are able to locate and open a hatch in the floor under the ruined counter, and haul out an old and battered machine. They turn it on and it hums. They flip a few switches, and it begins playing out loud--the same message that had accidentally piggybacked onto the Starfinder communique! The khyyrent leader doesn’t let the group take the device, but the they can record the transmission (which is much clearer than the version they heard earlier) for future analysis. The team can then return to their starship, satisfied that they have accomplished their mission objectives.
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Thistlecore interacts with the group of khyyrents as much as possible, observing and learning from them. He happily helps record the beacon’s message.
He cocks his head a moment, thinking through questions before they leave.
Using gestures and friendly blinking as much as possible, Thistlecore tries to ask the visitors what the recorded message means and why they came down here.
With a series of pantomimes, rough drawings, and embarrassing mouth noises, the locals manage to convey the idea of "rumbling." It seems there as a recent natural disaster (seismic activity?) in this area, and that this group has been surviving in the ruins.
It's a bit of a large-scale problem for the squad to solve, but bringing that information to the Society is a good first step in sending help. If any of the Starfinders brought any snacks they're willing to share, these are gratefully accepted.
With their mission concluded, the team sets a return course for Absalom Station. The journey takes , and nothing of consequence happens while they are in the Drift. The Wanderstar is given clearance to dock at the station’s Arms, where Society agents wait to ensure unreasonable damage hasn’t occurred to the vessel and to download information from its scanners. The team receives a request to head directly to the Lorespire Complex for a debriefing with Guidance.
They’re met by the same holographic image, which asks them to recount everything they saw and did while on the unknown planet.
During the debriefing, Guidance patiently asks leading questions to ensure the Starfinders tell the whole story but doesn’t otherwise interrupt or offer judgement until everyone has spoken.
The AI encourages each person to detail any of their actions they believe were particularly successful.
"I'm checking your ship's records now. That can tell you a lot if you know what to look for, but even so that doesn't help me learn any details of what you encountered away from the ship.
"With this recording, we should be able to more fully translate the message. Of course, now that we know it came from a defunct tourist attraction, the recording itself may not be very interesting--but these little details about a culture can be the most difficult to learn, and in any case it was the breadcrumb that led to the rest of your discoveries. You managed peaceful first contact with an unexpected species, and we can move from there.
"You were also able to gather information about the site, so you can consider your final exam a success. I would like to offer each of you a Society subdermal graft as evidence that you have proven your worth. You are also invited to a festive graduation ceremony to be held later in the evening, where you can mingle with other new agents as well as a handful of venture-captains."
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Zaradanth is in good spirits from the team's successful mission, and gladly accepts the subdermal graft from Guidance. But as proud as he is of his own accomplishments, he's even more proud of his partner Sijasi. He congratulates each of his other teammates as well, with sincere wishes that they will work together again in the future.
Like Kalhoun, he is wearing military-style clothing at the graduation ceremony, though his is not nearly so formal as the Steward's. However, it's clear that he and Sijasi have spent some time making sure their scales and horns are well burnished and looking their best.
Some time later, the members of the team get updated with the complete translation of the transmission. It is a notice that the waystation has been closed indefinitely due to seismic activity rendering the caverns unsafe for visitors, warning people to stay away.