The Drift Crisis has ended, but not all is as it was. Mysterious paths through the Drift, termed "Drift lanes," have emerged, one near Triaxus. It is this Triaxian navigational anomaly that Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, tasks the Starfinders with exploring. Things are not so simple though, as a gang of pirates has already claimed the Drift lane as their own and fiercely defend their prize. The Starfinders must deal with this threat, as well as attempting peaceful negotiations with whoever happens to be on the other side of this strange new tunnel through the Drift.
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The female shirren looks aghast at the male one. "Pirates? You said this was going to be a relaxing cruise!"
The male shirren shrinks a little. "T..t..that is what the VC told me! After your last report."
He looks around the rest of the crew. "Ahh.. I'm Liftt... and um.." he gestures to the other shireen. "This is Jancrast."
Who then pipes up. "His Court Appointed Anger Management Councilor. Who wishes to register her extreme displeasure at this situation."
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Sleekly brown-furred with a streak of white between his ears and over his jowls, tight armor spotlessly clean approaches.
" Greetings, Ears, here. You must be the rest of my team. Engineering, tech. That's my thing. Oh, hey. You must be Lifft. I heard about your -- baggage. Good luck with that. Now, who's running this show? "
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"Oh, you fly too?" says Liftt, suddenly interested.
Jancrast glares at him. "Not on a cruise you're not. Not that this sounds like a cruise. " She directs her gaze toward Nikko. "I'm sure the society has many excellent negotiators on staff, and will hardly need my assistance. As opposed to Liftt, who most certainly does. Just last week he barged a station security cruiser over a... " she stops mid sentence.
"I think I'll need counseling if this keeps up."
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♫ Lane cruising... Drift cruising...
If you not on board you losing... ♫
Stop!
♫ Did we get get a flat? Are we stuck in space?
The ship doesn't budge when I shout engage
I'm not dropping no beat, just warp at my pace
I'm telling all of y'all it's sabotage ♫
---'Drift Cruising', feat Naughti Whiska's Cheesy-D, out in record stores now!
'Master of Stars', that sounds like a great name for a cruise, doesn't it? The massive starfinder vessel has the words, in bright lettering, written across its hull. It is currently in a docking bay, and looking a bit closer, we see our team ready to board the vessel to meet with the leader of the Wayfinders and captain of the Master of Stars, Fitch.
The docking bay is a hustle and bustle of engineers. Fitch seems to be somehow in control in the middle of a heap of tools. The ysoki is holding a datapad and is rummaging through what seems to be mostly useless junk. Hmm... he says Conversion spanner... pola-rod... plasma inverter... as he mostly just seems to reject stuff where's the spare capacitor array I ordered!
Just one moment, Starfinders! Fitch says, then beckons to one of her assistants. rpItzil Fitch says, making sure to clearly articulate the lowercase 'r' and capital 'I', tell the engineers that the pile of 16As needs a closer reinspection. I can’t put my finger on it, but you’re right, something’s off with this batch. Good catch—you, should enroll in those engineering classes I was telling you about.
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They had barely landed back from their last mission (and sadly the accompanying funerals) before Atu Vaeyo received the chirp of a new assignment from Fitch. Further traffic around the Arms delaying their shuttle all adds up to you seeing a spathinae colony enter the room buzzing louder and vibrating a lot fuzzier around their edges than normal.
Our apologies they offer. We hope our tardiness has not impacted anyone.
Looking around the room and seeing a very-recently familiar face, Atu gives a friendly nod to Nikko.
“Thanks for waiting,” Fitch says, stepping away from the tools. “Glad to see you’re all in one piece, but you’re about the only ones. Half of these ships still haven’t recovered from the Drift Crisis—the whole thing seems like it was designed to give me more work than I know what to do with. Some good has come out of it, though. Giving these folks something to do other than think about what they lost, for one thing, but also these new Drift lanes popping up all over the place, connecting distant places and getting agents like you there faster, safer, and more directly.” She tilts her head in appraisal.
“I’m asking Starfinders who can handle themselves to go out, explore these Drift lanes, and see what’s on the other side. The latest one is near Triaxus. A group of students calling themselves the Drift Lab are investigating it from orbit, but we need to see what’s on the other side. That’s where you come in, my brave and bold Starfinders,” she says with a wry grin. “Check this Drift lane out, find who or what is on the other side, and see if you can make us a few new friends.”
“If I try to repeat the technical explanation of Drift Lanes I heard the other day, your head will hurt as much as mine did, but as far as I understand, they’re basically an express lane between parts of the galaxy that haven’t been connected before — a Wayfinders’ goldmine, if you ask me. It sounds like you're curious to know more, and the Drift Lab on Triaxus is your best bet for info. They’re students, but apparently, they’ve been theorizing that this kind of thing could happen for years, so they’re the closest thing we have to experts right now.”
Cruise ship? Fitch says, slightly confused, holding up three launch keys, labeled 'Spitfire', 'Thunderbolt' and 'Preference', No, I don't think any of these counts as a cruise ship. Were you expe.. Fitch says, and then looks at the clothes Jancrest is wearing I guess you were.
Making the best of the situation, Jancrest gather some rumours:
She's acutely aware that The Drift Crisis refers to the time period immediately following the Drift Crash, when the Drift failed. Many ships disappeared or were stranded, communications usually transmitted through the Drift went silent, and many Drift beacons shut down, disappeared, or exploded. Drift travel eventually came back online after the Crash, but it wasn’t fully restored until recently, when it returned in something close to its former form—though not completely unchanged.
Jancrest also figures out that several groups of pirates have already begun to take advantage of the chaos of the Drift Crisis and its aftermath. Among those groups that operate near Triaxus, the Drifters are notably persistent. Initially formed by those stranded far from home during the Drift Crisis, the Drifters have now begun using the Drift lanes as an easy place to prey on passing ships.
Thunderbolt it is Fitch says try not to bang her up too much this time.
One last thing Fitch adds I have no idea where this lane leads to, but wherever it goes, be on your best behavior. Get in, make connections, and report back in one piece.
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Softly, gently moving away from the Master of Stars, the Thunderbolt sets course for Triaxus. No sooner have they entered orbit than they receive an incoming hail. And another, and yet another. The first is a dragonkin, broadcasting Here for answers about the Drift lanes? Contact the Drift Lab for the latest., followed by a ryphorian Here for answers about the Drift lanes? Contact the Drift Lab for the latest, then finally a half-elf, who instead says Here for answers about the Drift lanes? Contact the Drift Lab for the latest.
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Ears only contribution to the ship debate is to mumble, "Was on a Drake that ran out of ammunition once. Not my favorite trip."
But he doesn't seem at all upset by the group's choice.
In orbit above Triaxus, Ears responds to the hails, "Drift Lab! Starfinder vessel Thunderbolt here. We're coming over."
"Hey, [pilot] , can you swing us a couple points toward the lane on our way to the lab. I'd like to get a quick scan of the lane before we talk to these kids. "
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Happy enough to be taking out a Drake-class ship, Atu enjoys the trip out towards Triaxus. Another mission, another unknown situation to investigate. At least this time it is in-system
Are there multiple labs the spathinae asks their colleagues confused as the welcome seems to be echoed. Or could this Lane be causing leakage between possibilities? I have experienced similar reality echoes before with Captain Beruta's Myrrium
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If a shirren could turn red, then it would be Liftt, followed rapidly by Jancrast. It is a somewhat frosty trip the two share aboard the Thunderbolt.
"I wonder if it is multiple people pretending to be Drift labs." suggests Jancrast. "We could always broadcast a request for directions to Drift Labs and see what they respond with."
“They returned our hail! I told you they’d respond immediately. No ferswigging fools here, I tell you!” says a young dragonkin on the audio-visual comm channel, shuffling several papers on an overloaded desk.
“Of course, they returned the hail,” responds a ryphorian with goggles on her head and a notebook in her hands. “It’s SOP to make contact in a timely fashion, IIRC.”
“Still,” chimes in a third voice from behind a research station, “there are a thousand, thousand ways to go adrift in the space betwitxt intention and decision, don’t you think?” He gasps and stands, head peeking out from over the top of the station, revealing himself to be a half-elf. “Perhaps we should call this the Adrift Lab!”
The conversation between the three goes on for a while, without any regard for the actual content of the Starfinder response, and instead debating between themselves what the name of the lab should be. The dragon-kin seems to prefer newly-invented slang and swear words (ferwswiggling? artoonk? dunt? noofer?), the ryphorian, AFASIC, prefers to riddle her MOS with abbrevations. YMMV. The glorious half-elf, appears to be stuck between eloquence and clarity, brevity and harmony of expression, the elaborate and the elegant, but ultimately settles for the most tedious poetic expressions imaginable.
SOP - Standard Operating Procedure
IIRC - If I recall correctly
AFASIC - As far as she is concerned
MOS - Mode of speech
YMMV - Your mileage may vary
Three, NMNL the ryphorian responds, indeed, that number that signifies the fundamental rule of the universe the half-elf adds, while the dragon-kin as a curt For soofers!
Why don't you just GOH? the ryphorian asks.
They let the Thunderbolt dock, and the trip hurriedly usher the Starfinders into the lab, where they finally come to a sense of coherence. They introduce themselves as Hyyxzen, a umfooosh nonbinary Dragonkin, Ferra, a female AOTP ryphorian, and Vaalaris, master of words, descendant of both human and elf.
Ferra begins, “You see, we’ve hit a bit of a snag in our research— we’ve done about all we can from out here, but none of us AFAIK have the proper aptitude with starship piloting to do much, well, in there. There being the Drift lane.” She sighs and continues, “And that’s why we SHP-ed our missive. We need you to go into the Drift lane ASAP and collect the data we can’t. Of course, you’ll be compensated AML for performing these research tasks. Oh, but perhaps we should explain what a DL is.” Vaalaris chimes in immediately to explain with a flourish, “A thing of beauty, reaching across the sky! A new stitch in the fabric of the Drift. A coming together of threads that would have been otherwise unconnected.” Hyyxzen interrupts him, adding, “I don’t think they’re looking for klekkin poetry, Vaalaris.”
At that point, the conversation devolves into a debate on the merits of poetry in research science, and everybody in the room is a little dumber for it. Ferra finally sighs and turns to the Starfinders "YHBT, it seems. They'll be bickering ADAN if you let me go on like this. They never listen to me, but maybe you can be the AITR and get them to CAD?"
NMNL = No more, no less
GOH = Get over here
AFAIK = As far as I know
SHP - Standard Hyperwave Protocol, a broadcasting method
ASAP - As soon as possible
AML - At market level
DL - Drift lane
YHBT - You have been trolled
ADAN - All Day and All Night
AITR - Adults in the room
CAD - Cease and Desist
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Jancrast, who has had more than enough of bickering herself clears her throat.
"Gentlebeings." She stops and pauses for a moment.
"May I suggest your discussion on the merits of Poetry CAD while we agree on exactly what ML rates may apply for the use of our skills... and presumably our ship."
She glances toward the rest of the team. "Of course as pure researchers I am sure you are more interested in the DOK than such crass things as monetary returns. And we may be able to help you with that too."
ML: Market Level
DOK : Dissemination of knowledge
"Good thing we are here, we have great pilots and a robust, drift-capable ship. Can you tell us more about the data you're looking for?"
Despite the Starfinder's attempts at intervention, the bickering continues, for waaay too long.
Vaalaris eventually explains, “Basically, Drift lanes connect two or more places in the universe through a stable path that is faster and safer for travel than navigating the Drift alone.”
Hyyxzen adds, “When we’ve got these things all mapped, it’s gonna be towls amazing. You can help us by crossing from one side of the lane to the other, so you can measure how wide it is.”
Ferra then adds in “A fascinating area of study concerns exactly how the lanes work, and I believe the answer depends primarily on whether you are thinking from the inside out or outside in, so to speak. For those within them, Drift lanes chart a path that shifts through the planes, taking mere days each time.”
Vaalaris interrupts to add, “Like a dance across the fabric of the universe, always to the same beat.” Ferra, annoyed by the interruption, clears her throat and continues, “In fact, we do not know if it is the ‘same beat,’ as we have not measured the planar energy within a Drift lane. Yet.”
Here you can also help us. I have constructed a device that can measure planar energies, you just need to take it into the lane.
Hyyxzen picks up from there.
“Now, getting into a Drift lane is one of the sliffering easiest things to do. At least we think so. You just gotta be within the gravity well of a world, chart your course to a Drift lane, and fly your way in.”
Vaalaris adds, “From the musings others have drafted concerning other Drift lanes, I surmise the interior to be—” he clears his throat and begins reading from a handheld device, “—a tunnel cutting through the drift, its shifts too quick to trace, its walls a hazy shimmer in the endless dark of space. O, safe and steady forward path for those in your embrace… and well, that’s all I’ve got so far. Without a picture of what a Drift lane looks like from the inside, I’m having the hardest time finishing my ode.”
Vaalaris further explains: "while the Drift lane may cut across the Drift and change position frequently, for those inside of one, it will generally be a smooth ride. Each lane has a barrier that is solid enough to prevent ships leaving the Drift lane accidentally, but will not prevent a vessel from pushing through the side into the rest of the Drift if it does so purposefully. This barrier has also prevented me from getting a picture so far. I would have untold gratitude if you would help me obtain one.
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The trio provide the coordinates to the drift lane, which is just a short flight away. After a sixty-second countdown to engage the drift engines, a tunnel opens ahead, its walls hazy and translucent but thick enough to seem almost solid, clearly marking the transition between the Drift lane and the area outside. The Drift lane stretches forward, curving slightly in the distance, leading to the unknown like a passageway of purple clouds.
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Atu is taken aback by the sheer amount of...everything coming from the three researchers. Liftt seems to understands their jargon a bit, but the Spathinae finds keeping up with their energy tiring. We suppose we must be fresh experiences for them, on this ship alone for so long they think, charitably.
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Once inside the Drift Lane itself, the priest is more in their element. They move to a console next to Nikko to assist the pahtra with Ferra's device. Yes, that's good. Just flip the switch - this one? We think? Ferra's love of acronyms does make for some confusing labelling...
As far as the other scientists' requests Atu has an appreciation for composition. However it sounds like Vaalaris is looking for images more practical than artistic and so they consult their AI assistant to work to optimally align the ship's cameras.
That AI also earns its' wage by calculating lane distance in a non-standard dimensional metric.
While in the drift lane, Atu's Hireling manages to realign the photography equipment and get a number of very informative inside shots of the drift lane. Nikko has some trouble getting the planar measurement up and running, but Atu manages to help out, establishing a connection between the device and the planar energies surrounding it. When it comes to measuring the dimension of the drift lane, there is a lot of time dilation and length contraction that makes this surprisingly difficult, but Lifft still manages to get an estimate that is consistent with the laws of physics.
After a few hours, there is an incoming transmission riddles with static. The voices on the other end of the line are recognisable as the Drift Lab team, asking them to transmit results.
Another hour or so later, the analysis comes back. Ferra says AFAIK, the drift lane is entirely embedded in the drift, but it looks like you can't enter a drift lane from the drift, you'd have to enter from one of the ends.
Hyxxzen mentions It looks like the drift lane is several miles across. If you cross the boundary, you'll just be dumped at a klekkin random location in the drift.
Vaalaris adds It's a thing of beauty! To the beholder it seems as it the traveller just disappears, as if they never existed, no trace left, no memory to their presence. The flow is a symphony, and travel is fast. To be specific... he seems to be checking notes half a forthnight divided by your drift engine's rating.
On the second day of Drift travel, the Thunderbolt encounters a large starship with a frame and hull of dark brown wood grain under attack from a number of smaller starships. While the smaller ships appear to be working together, each looks as if it has been assembled from a scrapyard, and is sporting a variety of materials in various styles and states of wear.
As the Thunderbolt arrives, two of the smaller ships break off and move into the direction of the Starfinder ship, while the rest of the small starships continue to focus their attacks on the large starship. As the small starships approach an all-frequencies hail from the large starship cuts through the Drift lane. “I told you my backup was on its way!” says an unfamiliar voice. “Do you really think that a captain as renowned as Tosin Jaws of the Yonder would fly through Jatembe’s Jaunt without someone to help him fend off Drifter scum?” The speaker lets out a confident and easy laugh that echoes over the comms.
The smaller ships don’t pause or slow down their attack, returning the hail with one of their own, “the Drifters recognize only one captain—Metzari Angelfang! Surrender now or we’ll take you both down!”
Ha! The other captain shouts, have it your way, then. Allies, let's give them a taste of our unstoppable two-ship maneuver, Jatembe's Javelin! Remember, dinner at Mama Rae's on Xibion is on me if we squash these drifter gnats!
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[Status report]
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(round 1)
Engineering:
Helm: [Please roll a piloting check, move first if you don't beat 29]
Gunnery:
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(round 2):
Engineering:
Helm: [Pilot can also roll for round 2]
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Pilot: ?
Gun 1: ?
Gun 2: ?
Gun 3: ?
Mago: ?
Capt: ?
Engi: ?
Sci: ?
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Damage report: No damage
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Enemy report:
Bogey 1: No hits
Bogey 2: No hits
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"Umm.. that is... battle stations everyone. Bogies incoming..."
Liftt, showing a surprising degree of calm, puts the drake through a graceful turn, doing his best to avoid the inevitable onslaught of enemy laser and missile fire.
Meanwhile Janrcrast wonders who the two parties are.
"Do we even know which of these groups is in the right?" she asks.
"I mean... that big ship may have stolen something, or have slaves aboard, or... who knows what?"
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When they come across the in-progress conflict between the other ships Atu is at first confused - especially by Tosin Yaws' cheerful comments about them. Are any of your familiar with that man? they ask around the bridge.
But pirates are pirates, and well-deserving of being fought. So as Liftt calls for the crew to get prepared Atu closes all of their many sets of eyes and focuses through the Drift, pulling up the enemy craft in their mind's eye.
The two enemy vessel close the gap, but Lifft gets a chance to outmaneuver them
Atu scries on the incoming ships, and finds that they're light ships with a forward laser and a turret-mounted torpedo launcher.
Blasto doesn't live up to his name ()
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[Status report]
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(round 1)
Engineering:
Helm: [Please roll a piloting check, move first if you don't beat 29]
Gunnery:
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(round 2):
Engineering:
Helm: Starfinder won initiative
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Pilot: Lifft
Gun 1: ?
Gun 2: ?
Gun 3: ?
MagO: Atu (scry)
Capt: ?
Engi: ?
Sci: ?
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Damage report: No damage
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Enemy report:
Bogey 1: No hits
Bogey 2: No hits
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Lift gets a surprising boost of speed out of the Drake as he tries to get out of the front facing area of the two smaller ships. The Drake however is too slow and he can only get out of the arc of one.
"Firing solutions for front weapons available... And please, everyone fasten your seatbelts. There may be turbulence."
Orpheox gets a target lock on the enemy weapons system, and Nikko promptly converts that to a damaging hit with a torpedos, which eats through shield and hull alike. Blasto's particle beam hit causes further deep lacerations on the hull.
The hit takes out the weapons systems of the fighter, blast through the power core and the life support system
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[Status report]
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(round 1)
Engineering:
Helm: [Please roll a piloting check, move first if you don't beat 29]
Gunnery:
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(round 2):
Engineering:
Helm: Starfinder won initiative
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Pilot: Lifft
Gun 1: Blasto
Gun 2: Nikko
Gun 3: ?
MagO: Atu (scry)
Capt: ?
Engi: Orpheox
Sci: ?
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Damage report: No damage
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Enemy report:
Bogey 1: P down; 42 Damage; Power core M; Weapons G; Life S G;
Bogey 2: No hits
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Atu
Lifft
Orpheox
Nikko
Blasto
Ears
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"NOBODY PANIC!" Ears scrambles onto a chair and starts reviewing engine and powerplant settings.
"Orpheox, power coming to sensors! Lifft, let me know if you need more engines!"
I believe Orpheox is acting as Science Officer. He targeted the adversary's weapons last round.
Ears will jump in as engineer. Since they go first , let's just take his roll as beginning round 2.