Time is running short as the nefarious Order of Dawning Fate turns their experimental doomsday weapon upon a defenseless metropolis in the Vast! With millions of lives in danger, it’s up to the Starfinder Society to navigate the streets of the crumbling city, locate and destroy the doomsday weapon, and save the city from destruction! Yet, fate is not on the Society’s side as Kebzec, a founder of the Order of Dawning Fate, oversees the weapon’s deployment and defenses. Will the Starfinders emerge victorious, or will they meet their end at the hands of the Order of Dawning Fate?
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A drow woman, wearing an expensive formal corporate suit, only occasionally breaks away from her several phones at once, continually bursting with calls and texts.
From the snippets of words you understand that she is negotiating the promotion of various artists to various events, organizing filmed performances, looking for camera operators for a documentary about one of her clients, and so on. Also you understand that in addition to working in Starfinders, she remains a manager in the House Misraria from the planet Apostae. A quick search allows you to establish that this House specializes in the production of any kind of content with themes of eroticism and violence. Dozens of channels belonging to this house on the adult video hosting StarHab form an almost complete monopoly in this sector, the recently released virtual game "Succubus: Ascension" shows good sales, and regular streams with scenes of violence and murders from the operations of various elite units are especially popular among the youth of paramilitary cultures, like the Vesk Empire. Regarding the latter, your new companion is a producer for of several Starfinders, such as a black metal singer and a Nocticula soldier-priestess Yarameh or a Triaxian Battle Flower Sataya who broke away from her old troupe. Videos with combat scenes of these Starfinders can be found very easily on the web, and monetization through subscription may make this business profitable.
Eventually she turns off her phone and turns her attention to the other agents of the Society with her. Greetings. Shari Misraria of House Misraria. Here is my business card. The phone rings again. Oh, I need to answer, I've been waiting for this one. If any of you have talents and you want to be a star, let's chat about it later... Hello, yes... What do you mean by 'he mixed dwarven vodka with aucturn cocaine and refuses to go on stage?' AGAIN?...
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It turns out that Succubis: Ascension is one to Chrysalis's favourite games and she enters the room, wearing headphones and half bopping, half dancing to the sounds of Abysshead. She accepts Shari's business card and is about to say something when Shari turns to her phone. She frowns but then giggles a bit when she hears the dwarven vodka and aucturn cocaine comment.
It's a wonder he could find the stage. she comments. Now .... where are those shirren?
Chryssi is a tiefling with dark skin and bluish hair. Two tiny horn stubs peek out from that hair. She wears a black, formfitting ysoki refractor suit along with a utility belt holding a collection of spellgems, a red star plasma lash, a harmonic dirge pistol, and a swagger hand cannon. She carries all her other gear in her 'go' bag. Usually she wears a sour expression and has been known to have a hair trigger temper.
It is also heard that she is an accomplished dancer, specialising in pole, cage, and zero-gee as well as being a technomancer, pilot, computer hacker, and science/mystic geek.
She immediately goes for the coffee.
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The furry 11' mountain covered in sand-scoured armour and weapons chomps his cigar and rubs behind an ear as he looks at the small chairs designed for regular sized humans "I'll stand I reckon", he looks back at the small chairs, clearly working out how much weight they could 'bear'. A small slightly weathered-looking medical bot carrying a medkit accompanies the giant bear, it wanders over to plug itself into the wall and begins charging.
"Liftt was it?" he says pulling out an enormous thermos and some camping cups before pouring a strong black tea with odd leaves floating in it "You a pilot?"
"Nice to meet you Chryssi and Shari" he says, pouring out enough tea for everyone.
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"It's tea. And those are some extra leaves for flavour, they come from some of the hardy plant life of Akiton. Just adds some complexity, no other effects"
He raises one large eyebrow at the suggestion of arm wrestles.
"When it comes to ships, I can fly it and probably fix it too. Prefer to be out in the wilds though and exploring nature"
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Liftt nods to Blinky. "Served in the Shattered Star I did. Mostly doing medevac for front line folks. [/b" he says with surprising warmth.
"[b]You a veteran too?" he asks.
Then when Chyssi asks he turns pale, and it is not often you see a pale shirren. "Ahh, we had a bit of a, umm.. disagreement." he stammers.
A quick glance toward the door of the briefing room seems to reassure him that Jancrast has not yet made her appearance.
"I think she said something about trying to find a replacement..."
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"A few campaigns. Fought the Jinsul, stomped a few swarm, raided Sangoros Bulwark. I'm normally on the search and rescue tasks, background as an archaeologist amongst other things, they keep sending me out when they want to learn about a distant world but don't think the place is going to be safe. I was on the expedition that got ejected from the Drift and smashed into an unknown planet. Funny thing is that it was the second time I have been on a crashing ship and then had to keep the team alive with survival and fieldcraft skills"
"When I'm not doing that I spend my time on Akiton. There's a lot of history and hidden life on Akiton and I take various interested parties out in the sands for various research projects - people wanting to look at the various species of cacti, grasses and shrubs whose roots - to find aquifers and sources of water, and others wanting to look at some of the ancient wrecks or even prospect for easy thasteron deposits. A lot of ysoki like to get out there and see if they can strike it rich with a lucky find amongst the wrecks, or pull enough scrap to keep the family fed"
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Hm. Celly said that it seemed Jancrast was having a few issues on the last mission that you and Celly were on together so she asked me to bring some texts of meditation techniques and some Castrovalvian whale song tracks. It works for her anyway. She'll even take Jancrast on as a patient if necessary.
Chrysalis actually looks a bit worried.
Today, we find our adventurers in the Archives’ Cortex, the working place of Celita, leader of the Dataphiles faction.
Celita is sitting in a command cradle and working via holographic console, though she quickly pauses her work, clears her screens, and turns to greet the group with a nod.
“Thank you for coming. As I’m sure you know, the Starfinder Society is at odds with a criminal organization we’ve recently identified as the Order of Dawning Fate. The Order is led by Zhaneni, a powerful precog, who is in turn aided by her six fellow founders. Over the past year we’ve confronted many of these founders, with only three still at large: Kebzec, an engineer and inventor, and Evethriel, a mystic who specializes in infiltration and subterfuge—plus Zhaneni herself, of course.
“Zhaneni augments her powers of precognition with a rare starmetal called finitrium. It was long believed to have no practical applications, but Zhaneni discovered a way to refine f initrium, supposedly unlocking its divinatory properties. We’re not sure how she’s using it exactly, but we do know that her supply is running out.
“Enter Project Dawn. This top secret project was enacted by Zhaneni for the express purpose of obtaining a stable supply of finitrium. Project Dawn includes everything from planetary surveys to the acquisition and conquest of f initrium sources. At some point in the past few years, Zhaneni found a new finitrium source located beneath a metropolis in the Vast. After determining the city was unconquerable by traditional means, Zhaneni commissioned the creation of a weapon that would make the city uninhabitable, driving out the citizens without harming her own forces or the f initrium beneath the city. This weapon induces deadly natural disasters—earthquakes, I suspect— that are controllable, both in intensity and area affected. This weapon is already complete and is going to be deployed in the immediate future. If we can’t find the weapon and shut it down, millions of people will die.
“The Dataphiles have been working for months to narrow down the potential targets, but time is running out. Starfinders are being dispatched to over a dozen cities throughout the Vast.” With a swipe of her hand, an image of an idyllic planet appears on Celita’s holographic display. “Your assigned city is Izdria, a metropolis on the planet Relthune. A few days ago, we received an encrypted message that claimed Izdria was the Order’s target. While it’s possible the sender is an ally, you should assume it’s a trap. I’m providing you with a copy of the message. When you arrive, you’ll be close enough to trace the message’s origin. Start your investigation there. Determine if Izdria is the Order’s target and, if it is, find and disable the disaster weapon. Expect heavy resistance.”
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Liftt nods along as Blinky speaks. "Done a bit of S&R myself. Well, flying. I leave boots-on-the-ground to others as much as I can." he admits.
When Chyssi mentions Castrovalvian whale songs, Liftt's hands start to shake a little. "Please just tell me there is no aromatherapy components. I can't believe Jancrast wanted me to let her waft that stuff around to help calm me down. I Don't Need Calming."... his voice starts to rise rapidly in pitch and volume as the discussion turns to aspects of therapy. His eyes glance yet again toward the door.
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"Boots on the ground has its challenges"
"Expect heavy resistance? If we come across heavy resistance we will know we are in the right place"
"What does the device look like? How big do we think it will be? Will you have specialists n stand-by fo de-fuse or are we to work on it ourselves?"
"Do you suspect any of the founders to be in location? What other forces can we expect?"
"Do we have maps of the location? Any likely key terrain? What about local contacts who might help us?"
"What are we flying, are we on foot when we get there or are you providing mobility options?"
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Chrysalis rubs her hands together in glee. Find the bad guys and punish them. Yeahhhhh! So we know that there is finitrium under Izdria?
She starts entering commands into her datpad.
And how are we getting there? You name it, I'll fly it
She then glares over at Lifft. It's Not For You!!! And no. Although I am partial to lavender
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Chrysalis rubs her hands together in glee. Find the bad guys and punish them. Yeahhhhh! So we know that there is finitrium under Izdria?
She starts entering commands into her datapad.
And how are we getting there? You name it, I'll fly it
She then glares over at Lifft. It's Not For You!!! And no. Although I am partial to lavender
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A very old android's model, its frame more robotic than humanoid marking it as several centuries old, joins the group just before Celita's briefing.
Neutral: HK42-5, protocol droid. it says with a robotic voice.
After listening to the Dataphile's leader he says.
Satisfactory: At last we will be able to clash directly with the Organization.
Interogative: Îs the weapon in space or on the ground.
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A barathu clad in armour that pumps out rousing marching music, whilst projecting excerpts from several shows run by Zo!!! media, floats into the room.
This one is ready to put boots on the ground... figuratively at least. This one is eager to show the minions of the Order that this one's heat sinks are never over capacity.
It then waves a tentacle in greeting to the others.
Greetings. This one is known as Blasto, a mercenary contracted to work for the Society, and sometime participant on Zo!!!'s shows. This one looks forward to working with you all.
“Relthune is one of six loosely affiliated planets in a single-sun solar system. It’s a densely populated world of rolling hills, verdant forests, and pristine seas. It has several continents, breathable atmosphere, and standard gravity. Relthune’s primary defining feature is its plentiful ancient ruins, which have been meticulously tended and restored. Many of the planet’s settlements are built around these ruins, making each city an eclectic mix of ancient past and modern innovation. Relthune is known for its advancements in archaeology and architectural restoration, and for its historic and academic tourism. Izdria is one of Relthune’s most popular tourist destinations, prized for its picturesque mountainside views of the surrounding ocean, and its plentiful pre-Gap ruins, which comprise most of the city’s skyline. It’s a multicultural metropolis with a population of around 3.5 million people, so you won’t stand out.”
“To disguise the disaster weapon’s effects as a natural occurrence, it needs to be located within the city limits—somewhere centrally located. In addition, the weapon requires a significant amount of power to function, so you can expect it to be hooked up to the city’s power grid. It will probably be hidden inside a building that the Order is occupying, as near to ground level as possible.”
“I recommend you act with discretion. We don’t know that this city is the Order’s target. If it’s not, you’ll cause unnecessary panic that is likely to result in loss of life.”“I recommend you act with discretion. We don’t know that this city is the Order’s target. If it’s not, you’ll cause unnecessary panic that is likely to result in loss of life.”
For transport, you can pick any of the usual styles of vessel we have. We currently have the Hurricane available, which has a Pegasys layout, the Thunderbolt, a Drake and the Preference, an Azata
We have no information on Founders. We are relying on an anonymous top-off here. Three days ago, I received an encrypted message from an unknown sender. I cracked the encryption easily enough, discovering the
message’s contents and the sender’s signature. The message read, ‘The Order’s target is Izdria. You’re running out of time.’ The sender’s signature was an apple.”
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"Didn't Datch used to eat apples a lot?" asks Liftt, casting another worried glance toward the doorway.
"You know, normally I'd suggest the Drake. It's a solid, reliable ship. But if speed is of the essence... then perhaps we should take the Hurricane?" he muses.
Turning toward Celita he asks "Do we have any allies or agents already on the ground?"
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"You mean people fly something other than a Drake?" Blinky feigns looking shocked.
"Contacts on the ground would be handy, and at the moment we're looking for a needle in a haystack - in a building, in a city, on any of the continents anywhere on the planet. It wouldn't be pulling much energy in stand-by or off, so hard to even go looking for unusual energy spikes"
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"Well, I've never flown an Azata. And if we are going to be looking for information... the extra sensors and computers onboard the Preference may help us find our target sooner.." he opines.
Even as he mentions finding the target, his eyes twitch toward the door another time. "Of course if time is of the essence, we should really be heading off sooner rather than later. Can't rush the Drift."
“An apple with a bite, indeed. You're suspecting it could be Datch? Yes, that is possible. Last year the Order of Dawning Fate orchestrated a prison break within the Adamantine Bastille, which served as a cover for them to assassinate several inmates and free the criminal Datch. As you may know, Datch is a character assassin and covert influencer who worships Lau Shu Po and uses an apple as her calling card. She’s skilled at leveraging the masses to unknowingly do her bidding. A few years ago, Datch launched a smear campaign against the Starfinder Society and attempted to seize control of AbadarCorp. Though her actions led to numerous deaths, she is not a trained combatant.”[/b] Celita leans back in her chair and sighs. “Datch is not our ally. However, I’m not convinced she’s the Order’s ally, either. It’s possible she’s working for them willingly, perhaps swayed by Zhaneni’s silver tongue and a promising future, but it’s also possible that Datch wasn’t freed by the Order, but abducted, and has simply moved from one prison to another. There remains the possibility that the apple is unrelated to Datch, or else a purposeful misdirection by the Order, with Datch’s rescue from the Bastille serving as a red herring. You’re experienced agents, and I trust you to discern the truth.”
Let's not waste any time here Celita says as she hands the group the coordinates of Relthune and a copy of the encrypted message.
The voyage to Relthune takes a few weeks of Drift travel, but passes without incident. Dropping out of the Drift near Relthune, the ship can make its descent to the city of Izdria.
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It is only once the Preference enters the drift, that it becomes evident that the Azata has an additional passenger. As Liftt checks into his cabin, he finds it already occupied... by another Shirren.
Jancrast!, the psychic wail can be clearly heard throughout the ship.
Come now... You didn't think you could escape quite so easily? And I'm sure the whole ship doesn't want to be listening in on our conversation.
An hour or so later the second shirren arrives on the bridge of the Preference. she is dressed in a formal business suit and offers a friendly wave to Chyssi. "Hi there. Really, I don't know why he he even tries to hide from me." she leans closer to the dancer "Actually, I think he's almost accepting now. Progress, albeit slow."
She introduces herself to the rest of the crew "I'm Jancrast, a... companion.. of Liftt. I think it is only fair to let you know, if he has not already, that Liftt suffers from PTSD after his time in the Scoured Stars, and stressful situations can trigger... unfortunate... behavior in him. I'm here to try and help him through such situations in order to minimise danger to other people."
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Chryssi waves back to Jancrast and says quietly Yeah. I know. Celestia sometimes acts as my AMC and I was a really angry tiefling when we first met, but, she helped me mellow out and ..... well .... anyway .... how are you doing? Following Liftt around means you're getting into the stressful situations too. Celestia asked me to give you these meditation texts and the whale song in the hopes it'll help relieve your stress. She says it works for her after a bad mission. Me. I just turn Abysshead up to 11 and dance - when I'm not having ....... aaaahhhhh .... never mind.
And sure enough, on the way out, the sounds of Abysshead can be heard emanating from Chryssi's cabin when she's not on watch. She is only playing it at six though, in order to be courteous.
Upon arrival, she decides to orbit the planet a couple of times while scanning as well as hacking into their infosphere for clues.
Not having much luck, she thumps the panel in frustration.
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"Ohh... whale music! I love Whale music." gushes Jancrast.
"Liftt is just sulking a bit, it normally takes him an hour or to to come to terms with me being on a mission. "
She nods her head at Chyssi. "Life has certainly been... exciting.. since I took on Liftt. Did you know he dragged me over to an actual part of Hell? I mean, I almost lost my professional detachment.."
With a scan of the surface, Chryssi finds frequent tectonic activity in the city and surrounding region. When Blinky fine-tunes on it, he determines that the quakes are frequent, have been going on for weeks, and are steadily building in intensity.
As the Preference descend, there are several alert and emergency broadcast, sent directly and displayed on billboard Warning, earthquake hazard.
The space leads to a plaza that once must have been quite picturesque, paved with colorful mosaic tiles which are now marred by jagged cracks, and surrounded by recently toppled stone archways.
Beyond, the city’s skyline is a mixture of sleek skyscrapers and ancient monuments. Images on the plaza’s vid screens show several collapsed buildings and ruins, and numerous quake warnings, noting that within the past week the quakes around the city have gotten increasingly stronger and all citizens should evacuate the city as quickly as possible.
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Earlier ...
Yeah. Celestia usually listens to whalesong while meditating underwater. She got gill implants you see. As for Hell .... you have GOT to tell me about that.
Now ...
Chryssi is scanning for the epicenter of each earthquake. In case they're not coming from the same point, she'll plot each epicentre along with the time and the magnitude, hoping to find a pattern.
Pronk. Looks like this could be ground-zero. I'm gonna send a coded status update back to Celita - just in case.
The group has some basic maps of the city, enough to not get lost. All quakes seem to have epicenters in the city and the surrounding region, but that's about as accurately as they can be pinpointed.
The first thing that is immediately apparent to Blinky's well-trained archaeologist's eye is that Izdria is an ancient city that’s endured since long before the Gap, with subsequent generations building upon the ruins of those that came before. Today, Izdria is a fusion of carefully preserved ancient architecture and modern amenities. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, with numerous attractions, museums, and historical sites, as well as impressive views of the surrounding sea.
Relthune is known for its advancements in archaeology and architectural restoration, and for its historic and academic tourism. Izdria is one of Relthune’s most popular tourist destinations, but it’s also a research hub. Izdria University is the planet’s premiere destination for anyone who wants to study archeology or architecture.
RelWIN stands for the Relthune World Information Network, one of the planet’s most popular news, media, and infosphere networks. Last year, RelWIN’s Izdrian office closed due to lapsed payments and the building was seized, sparking speculation about the network’s financial well-being. RelWIN’s CEO claims the closure was due to an accounting error and the subsequent property seizure was falsely executed. The case is pending trial, which has left Izdria’s RelWIN office abandoned— save for the rare city inspector or maintenance crew—for nearly a year.
The group suspects the RelWIN building, and starts working on the encrypted message. While this is a difficult task that should normally takes well over an hour, the encryption is stripped in a matter of minutes - almost as if the encryption was intended to lead the receivers to its source.
The streets are utter chaos. Only a few steps away from the main plaza, a troupe of soldiers can be seen, trying to help evacuees Stand.. eh.. back. Please? The lot seems utterly unprepared for the task they're facing.
Blasto straightens up the troops and give them a crash course in crowd control. One block further down, priests of Weydan have opened the doors of their large temple to shelter and care for the injured during the quakes, but a fresh fissure creeping under the building’s side makes it clear that the building is unstable and at risk of collapse.
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Seeing the floor of patients into the overcrowded temple Liftt's antennae quiver in frustration.
Half way down the line waiting to get in, he stop and helps to address a child's wounds. Then two people further down he wraps the burns of a young mother, pouring fresh cold water over the makeshift bandage.
"I know we need to hurry, but we can help at least a few of these people as we go.."
Jancrast looks on with what might almost be a proud expression on her face.