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A hologram strides into the room.
However, there is clearly something wrong with it. At various points, bits of its humanoid outline blur and decay into static, reforming into limbs that are never quite the same. Bits of it appear to be vesk, whilst others appear human enough. but none maintain their form for long.
Nevertheless, the plasma cannon held in its hands as definitely real enough, managing to look both futuristic, and weathered by time, all at once.
Its synthetic voices glitches occasionally.
"gReetings felLow seNtienTs. My dEsiGnatiOn is Ω-CloudChatI.Q.Prime. PLeasE leT me KnOw if We cOmE across any tEMPoral anomaLIes, or EviDenCe of the Swarm. bOTh are SUbjeCts thAt are NeaR and dEAr to my hEarT, and ViTaL to the fuTUre sAFetY of the Pact Worlds."
The hologram pauses for a moment, and then continues.
"Sorry. FOCusinG on This tiMEline is occAsionalLy diFficUlt. I wiLl trY to imProVe aS We go aloNg. Please, call me Omega."
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Entering just as Omega introduces themself, Anock gives them a skeptical once-over. "Hm. I'm Anock, everyone. ... Is your input as glitchy as your output?" She asks Omega. By her tone, one can guess that she means to be considerate, intending to do what is necessary to accommodate a teammate's disability, though her blunt question is certainly rude.
She looks around, then sighs with disappointment. "<sigh> I had hoped that the rest of the team would arrive *on time.*" Seeing as how there are still several minutes before the time stated on the summons, it's likely that her version of "on time" is "whenever *she's* ready".
A cheer erupts from a tightly packed group of gnolls and yetis huddled around a vidscreen airing a recording of a brutaris match. The abrupt noise settles into a persistent murmur of backseat coaching and boasting before being disrupted once more by the piercing sound of a voice over the loudspeaker: “Break’s over in ten! If you tell me what happened before I get to watch it, I’ll eject you into space.”
The amplified voice belongs to Venture-Captain Kunoris Vex, who flashes a playful smile as he switches off the loudspeaker microphone. He leaves the workers to their break and leads the way to his personal office, a compact but tidy room with walls covered in annotated paper maps of the false moon’s vault networks. “Welcome! Nice to see a new batch of explorers. It’s been a while since the vaults opened up, and I was starting to worry Ehu might forget about us.” Vex traces a line on one of the maps, starting at a box labeled “lodge” before going through a short tunnel network to a circle of blue ink outside an unmarked vault. “This is where a ceiling hatch unlocked a couple days ago. We haven’t tried getting inside yet, and the signals coming from the outer computer interface were corrupted. Not encrypted like the rest of the signals we’ve intercepted from this place’s guiding intelligence, mind you. Corrupted. I had to restart my computer when I tried to run diagnostics because it kept opening duplicate windows.”
“We’re no closer to figuring out why this intelligence does what it does. This latest vault opening might be a fluke or by design. Either way, it’s a shot at some new intel. My assistant, Kashtee, can take you to the unlocked hatch. Your job is to explore the vault, take data on its residents, and try to ascertain its purpose. Every vault that our agents have entered so far has been some sort of simulated social experiment, whether historical, speculative, or just plain weird. I have no reason to think this one will be any different. Keep your wits about you, and play nice with whatever’s in there until you can get a read on things. Feel free to hit up the commissary before you leave if you need anything. Any questions for me?”
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Greetings everyone! And Venture Captain Kunoris, that sounds wild. Any chance this might be an inside job?
The thyr turns to everyone else.
My name's Thyr. You'll see me healing and trying to mess with people mentally. I tend to push paper at the Lorespire Complex but every once in a while I do my thing where called.
Vex turns to Anock. “One had a bunch of dwarves reliving the Quest for Sky on Lost Golarion, albeit with more robots and space goblins than the histories describe. Another was filled with gnolls and yetis jockeying for control of a swamp biome; most of them work here now. One contained a fictional future of the Pact Worlds, but that simulation was attacked by another vault inhabitant that apparently went rogue. A more senior team dealt with those hostiles a couple months back, and Salvation’s End went quiet ever since. Until now, anyway.”
he then glances at Thesh. "We still have no idea who or what is running the vault, so anything is possible."
"It could be a Swarm attack, but that would not be consistent with what we have observed in the other vaults."
Once the agents are ready, Vex’s assistant Kashtee, a female gnolla loads them into a hovercraft and whisks them down a tunnel of interlocking metal pipes, wires, and screens. She stops at a dead end where a foot-wide screen flashes and repeatedly runs the same processing code. She reaches up to a ceiling cover fitted with a twist-open handle, and cranks it until it swings open, revealing a narrow vent with a metal ladder set into the side. The Starfinders can climb the ladder until they reach a six-way intersection with two accessible portals: the one they climbed through and a maintenance corridor with its door stuck open. The open corridor ends in short stairway that leads up to a hatch emitting muffled music from the other side. The team opens the hatch and enters the vault.
A three-bulb brass chandelier illuminates the room beyond the hatch, its light amplifying the tint of the yellow checkered wallpaper covering the walls. The room features several pieces of faux wood furniture: bookcases haphazardly packed with comic compilations, board games, and sports almanacs; a desk strewn with sketches of roof shingle designs and an incomplete jigsaw puzzle; a workbench displaying action figures surrounded by painting and craft supplies. The sound of an a cappella choir singing a retro, up-tempo tune emanates from a corridor opposite the entrance. Everything about this room aligns with modern Pact Worlds level technological amenities
Shortly after the agents enter, a human wearing a short-sleeved collared shirt, pastel shorts, and white socks with sandals enters the room from the opposite entryway, sipping a mug of tea. They startle when they spot the Starfinders, spilling their tea in surprise, but then enthusiastically greet their visitors.
“Well hey, strangers! I wasn’t expecting company in the basement today. I’m guessing you’re here to sell me something? Since you came in through the cellar door, am I right?” The human cracks a wide smile, then calls over their shoulder. “Hey, roomie! We got visitors in the basement, came up from the hallway past the hatch! They must be a new batch. Bring some more tea, would ya? I’m guessing they’re all thirs-tea! You can call me Roofer Joro. So, what are you selling? For that matter, what are you? No offense, but none of you look anything like my friends.”
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Upon entering the yellow room, Anock stands back to assess the location. Well, this is...'quaint'. ... Messy, but there doesn't *seem* to be a health hazard present. At least the inhabitant seems non-violent and friendly.
At least Roofer Joro seems non-violent and friendly. She muses.
She's rather surprised that Mizzrym' is ready with a sales pitch that's actually real, but decides not to write him up for using a Society mission to enrich himself if it ends up actually helping them achieve their mission. However, she simply cannot let Omega's harping about the Swarm slide. It's borderline personal for her. "Omega, enough with the Swarm references. You're getting stuck on a red herring that *you made up*!"
It doesn't even occur to her to ask questions about "the new batch" or the other people who pop into their basement to sell things. She's too busy "assessing" her crew.
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Omega shudders.
"i EsCaPed FroM a tImelInE WheRe tHe sWaRm hAd OveRRuN tHe pAcT WorLdS. i SaW tHe IdARi GutTeD. CasTroVeL TurNed iNtO a DesErT. ThE LiGhTs of veRCeS ExTiNgUiShEd. aBsAlOm StATiOn SlOWlY bEinG cOnSumEd. I Do nOt WaNt tO SeE tHat FuTuRe cOMe to PasS, aGaIn.
hoWeVeR, I WiLl Be SiLeNt HEncEfORtH."
True to their word, they then turn off their speakers.
"Swarm? No swarm here. But I will take a look at those novels. Got a sample chapter I could read? or maybe some blurbs? Are there more creatures like you in it? Because I'd book it to read a story about aliens! If it's maybe a bit more optimistic than the hologram's story. Prefer to keep doom out of my room, you know."
As he talks, Roofer Joro's roommate arrives with a tray of assorted mugs steeping various healthy teas along with some homemade, high-nutrition pretzels fresh out of the oven. "Tasty twisties, anyone?" they say cheerfully. "I'm Baker Joro, so you know they'll be good." The newcomer is a human who appears identical to Roofer Joro, except wearing a light blue blouse spotted with yellow flowers and sleek, khaki pants.
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"Well, if they taste as good as they smell, I'm sure they will be. Thank you." Anock graciously accepts a tasty twisty and a mug of energizing tea. Odd that they call themselves 'roomies' when they're clearly identical twins. There must be some personal issues at play there.
Curious about their apparent-profession-related nicknames, as well as what else is beyond the doors of this so-called basement, she introduces herself with a bit of humor. "My name is Anock, by the way. It has no relation to my occupation. What sort of job would that be, anyway?"
"Brothers?" Baker Joro muses. "Not exactly. We're clones."
"Not that I'd mind having Baker Joro as a brother," Roofer Joro adds. Turning back to the shirren, he continues, "Anock, a knock? Sounds like you might knock on doors, or maybe knock things down. There's no Joro for either of those jobs, but we really don't need them that much in the vault. But I'm sure you'll find your place."
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My place? Anock gives Roofer Joro a quizzical look. "Clones, huh? And you're each named for your profession? Is there only one of you for each job? What happens when one of you is incapacitated? Is there no one else who knows how to do your job?" Sounds like a bureaucracy full of people who care more about their own job security than a job well done.
"Well, yes, we're indoors, but everyone has their own place to live, and those places have roofs. You can go upstairs and take a look if you want. And we all have our specialties, but it's not like roofing is the only thing I can do, and I'm the only one who can do roofing - I just get called first when there's roofing to be done."
"I certainly wouldn't want to cook for everyone all the time. I'd have no time to eat myself!"
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"Thank you for the offer. We'd love a tour."
Topside, she gazes around at the township. "Well, it seems to be one of the cleanest urban areas I've seen in a long time. You Joros seem to take good care of your surroundings." She remarks approvingly, deliberately refraining from stating any opinion about the, uh, *Joro-ness* of it all. "So, do you know how long ago the original Joro was first cloned?"
Roofer Joro speaks up first. "History's not really my thing. There's probably a couple of thousand of us here. Many of them say I am the best at keeping a roof over their heads, but I like to keep a lid on that."
Baker Joro continues. "We'd love to show you around, but duty calls. Here's some suggestions for where to check out, though." They pull out a datapad and request a connection to yours. Surprisingly, your tech is fully compatible, and you each get a list of important locations.
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Omega is utterly unsurprised by the fact that everyone in this vault appears to be the same; after all, when created, all of the Hologram sub-minds of the CloudChatI.Q.Prime mainframe are the same, too.
They tap out a suggestion on their datapad, and show it to the others.
We might as well visit every place; how about starting at the top, and working our way down (except in the case of the place that does not open until the evening)?
"Good luck folks," Roofer Joro says as you make plans to leave.
"And stop by later," Baker Joro adds. "I'm making salted caramel pumpkin cakes. It'll stick to the roof of your mouth."
"Or mine, at least!" Roofer Joro chuckles.
The Starfinders depart from the flurry of puns and head for the library. The reason it is called 'Board Meeting' becomes clear as soon as you enter - the shelves are full not with books, but games of all types. A central area has a number of tables, many of which are occupied by Joros, but the aisles where one might browse the board game, card game and puzzle offerings are fairly quiet. Someone familiar with architecture may notice structures designed to baffle noise coming from the games in progress.
Many of the Joros are discussing the strategies of the games they are currently playing, but you often overhear comments about the upcoming imperial conquest match between Gamemaster Joro and Assistant Editor Joro that will decide if the latter can dethrone the former and earn the title of Gamemaster.
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"He had me at pumpkin cakes, but lost me on the whole 'stick to the roof of your mouth' thing." Anock mutters to her nearest ally as they depart from the first two Joros and head to the Board Meeting.
When they arrive, her first reaction is dismay. "There's a library without *books*?! Where do they keep their records? Please don't tell me they don't have any!" She puffs in exasperation.
When she overhears the gossip about Gamemaster Joro vs. Assistant Editor Joro, she quips: "So, what, they'll trade names? Won't that make it confusing if you're talking about one of them?" And I feel bad for anyone with the name 'Assistant Editor'. What a mouthful of dust!
"Alright, team. Spread out and engage the locals. Learn what you can before we move on to the next location on the list." With that, she marches up to a random Joro and introduces herself.
"Hello. You can call me Anock, which has nothing to do with my profession. And you are?" She pauses to let him introduce himself and get the apparently requisite initial puns out of the way. "I hear talk of an imperial conquest match coming up. What can you tell me about it? What role does a Gamemaster and an Assistant Editor have in your community? Do you think one of them would be better at either job than the other? Since you're all clones, are there some things that none of you are good at and some things that all of you are good at?" She barely gives this poor Joro a chance to answer one question before pelting him with the next.
Omega and Mizzrym search the library. Everything looks normal. There are no games that Omega recognizes, which is unsurprising from a sealed vault, but what technology is evident is the same level as the Pact Worlds.
Anock approaches the players in the main room. They introduce themselves as Programmer Joro, Sanitizer Joro and Chandler Joro. The latter answers, "'Anock' might not be your job, but you have a job, right? Say, a nurse. If you then decided to become a chef, would you still call yourself a nurse?"
Programmer Joro replies, "We're all clones, but that's just a starting point, you know? We all learn things when we're yo... yeah, our experiences make us who we are."
"I don't know how good an assistant editor Gamemaster Joro would make,"[b] Sanitizer Joro comments, [b]"but Assistant Editor Joro will make a good gamemaster."