Starfinder! You've been summoned to the recently re-established underwater Starfinder Society Lodge on the icy planet of Arniselle. As your submersible shuttle plunges through the ocean on the way to the new lodge, you have a chance to introduce yourself to your fellow agents.
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A small, gray-skinned humanoid clad in a form-fitting body suit with a tracery of glowing electrical circuits running across its surface, like a back-up nervous system, strides into the room.
Incongruously, its body seems to have been doused in glitter, and it wears a peppy Hawaiian Shirt that bares the catchphrase 'Team Sfartinders Go!'; however, its eyes are deep black voids, and tears of blood continuously leak from them.
They greet you telepathically.
Hello, fellow Starfinders. I have been contracted by the Society to provide legal representation on this particular venture. Rest assured, I will do my best to ensure that you - or your heirs - get every credit of reward - or compensation - that they are due.
Almost as an afterthought, they add:
I like to think of myself as being equipped to deal with most situations, but my particular skill-set is dealing with xenoarchaeology, so I have some skill with identifying - and dealing with - esoteric technology.
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A vaguely humanoid creature with a plantlike body and four long vines in place of arms enters the room. Its head is a mottled orange color and has no obvious features, so you have no idea if it may be looking at you at any given time. It walks slowly around the table, one appendage grazing the back of each chair until it finds an unoccupied one and has a seat.
You hear a voice in your heads. <Greetings. I am Kosigan. I believe I have been selected for my adaptable nature and ability to withstand harm - though I have to admit, I did not exemplify the latter in my most recent mission. It will please me to work with you all.>
Morlamaws, kalos, and wrikreechees swim busily around the Arniselle Lodge, while a few humans and vesks swim more slowly in armor, occasionally bumping into furniture.
A female kalo, herself clad in heavy armor but with the helm off, greets her new visitors: “Ah, good, you’ve arrived from the Lorespire Complex. Please, follow me into the meeting room.”
She effortlessly swims into a room off to the side of the main lodge and closes the door once everyone is inside.
“I’ll try to keep this briefing short and to the point. Director Ebaki of AbadarCorp has been looking into some financial oddities, and he found that a ysoki employee named Datch, who some of you may have met, recruited a group of morlamaws for a mining operation.”
“The morlamaws were apparently careful enough to stay away from any of the Society’s expeditions, we never saw them. The records show that the operation was a failure, but here’s the strange thing: the ship that was supposed to return the equipment to AbadarCorp instead brought back unlabeled minerals that somehow ended up ‘lost in inventory.’”
Suulhu-Huur tilts her head slightly; “Something strange is going on. We’ve identified the site of the AbadarCorp mining operation, and it’s in the middle of some big basalt formations. Which brings me to my next point. A recent Starfinder Society mission to the planet Wealdriad found carvings in the basalt formations there that looked like morlamaws. The carvings were primitive and very old, but morlamaws are pretty distinctive. None of our new Society members here have any idea why those carvings would be there. It’s just all adding up to something suspicious. I think there’s something weird about that basalt.”
“I asked Zigvigix from the Exo-Guardians to send a team of our top agents; that’d be you. Between AbadarCorp and something old and strange, I don’t want to take any chances. Most of our agents here are still pretty new. I’d like you to go investigate the site. Find out what they were mining and why. Find out if there’s some connection to the carvings on Wealdriad. Be careful. My gut tells me there’s something strange going on out there. Any questions?”
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"If Datch is involved, that I doubt it was anything good... Do we have permission from AbadarCorp to investigate the mine, or is this a strictly 'off-the-books' investigation? Has there been any luck tracking down the local miners that Datch hired?"
Loki taps into his extensive catalogue of comparative societies, and evolutionary development studies.
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"Ooooh, friend, I'm afraid you've been misinformed there. See, I'm the best pilot in the Society," an average sized vesk with green skin says as he swaggers into the briefing. While he's no larger than an ordinary vesk, his weapons seem oversized, with his dragonglaive and his x-gen gun cobbled together into some monstrosity that can be wielded together.
His heavy armor appears to have been decorated haphazardly at first and then you realize it simply has too many icons and logos. The Starfinder society insignia is the easiest for everyone to identify, followed by the Hellknights, specifically the order of the pike, but equally prominent is a burning sword insignia. It seems his loyalty is somewhat split.
"I can already tell you all worry too much. If you can't cut or shoot it, it's not a problem, and I've never run into anything I can't cut or shoot.
I'm Captain Chorizal fifth son of Clan Summersword, House Yashida, line of Kazsta, storm spawned! if you didn't already know."
Suulhu-Huur nods towards Loki. "Good question. Director Ebaki says that the mine was reported in AbadarCorp records as closed due to insufficient production. That means we don't need their permission to poke around. But, it’s not impossible that they could still have a presence there, since AbadarCorp still has outposts elsewhere on Arniselle. If there are still workers there, find out what you can, but don’t pick any fights.”
She turns. "Yes, Kosigan is it? The mine is pretty far from any of the trench cities, and there are a lot of dangerous animals in the open ocean. You’ll have a submersible vehicle, so drive straight there and avoid being out in the ocean any longer than necessary to get in.”
A grin reaches her face: "And I guess we can let Rattus and Chorizal work out who's the Society's best pilot for the submersible."
10+: Morlamaws are extremely distinctive-looking mammalian creatures, with colorful, stout bodies, and four long tusks that they decorate with carvings. They are amphibious but live in the water, building cities into deep trenches that cross the ocean floor. Most morlamaws have learned at least a little Common with all the visitors coming to the planet.
15+: Morlamaw society has been thrown into chaos with the initial contact by the Starfinder Society and the new awareness of how much life exists in the universe. Some morlamaws have embraced this contact, even going as far as to join the Starfinder Society, while others are resentful.
20+: The Starfinder Society and AbadarCorp are two of the first external groups to establish outposts on Arniselle, both drawn in by the planet’s natural resources. Both work closely with local societies and have many morlamaw employees.
25+: Some morlamaws have reacted to the knowledge of life on other planets by digging more deeply into their species’ history. Others have become interested in building Drift-capable starships.
30+: A group of morlamaws have learned about something called the Eternal Source, and have said that they have proof that Arniselle and morlamaws have always been important on a galactic scale.
10+: The open oceans surrounding the trench cities are full of dangerous animals. There are established routes between the trench cities that travelers keep to, and wandering far from these routes is risky.
15+: The most common predators are sea snakes and serpents, but there are also aggressive fish and crustaceans that are defensive of their territory. Camouflaged appearances are common, and animals can come seemingly out of nowhere.
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Loki shares what he knows.
"Morlamaws are extremely distinctive-looking mammalian creatures, with colorful, stout bodies, and four long tusks that they decorate with carvings. They are amphibious but live in the water, building cities into deep trenches that cross the ocean floor. Most morlamaws have learned at least a little Common with all the visitors coming to the planet.
Morlamaw society was thrown into chaos with the initial contact by the Starfinder Society and the new awareness of how much life exists in the universe. Some morlamaws embraced this contact, even going as far as to join the Starfinder Society, while others were resentful.
Despite that, the Starfinder Society and AbadarCorp are two of the first external groups to establish outposts on Arniselle, both drawn in by the planet’s natural resources. Both work closely with local societies and have many morlamaw employees.
Aside from that, some morlamaws have reacted to the knowledge of life on other planets by digging more deeply into their species’ history. Others have become interested in building Drift-capable starships.
Intriguingly, a group of morlamaws have learned about something called the Eternal Source, and have said that they have proof that Arniselle and morlamaws have always been important on a galactic scale. If true, it certainly is worth looking into..."
Almost as an afterthought, he adds:
"The open oceans surrounding the trench cities are full of dangerous animals. There are established routes between the trench cities that travelers keep to, and wandering far from these routes is risky. The most common predators are sea snakes and serpents, but there are also aggressive fish and crustaceans that are defensive of their territory. Camouflaged appearances are common, and animals can come seemingly out of nowhere."
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"Proof that Arniselle and morlamaws have always been important on a galactic scale? Who do they think they are? Vesk?"
He nods to Rattus. "Deal. I'll call it."
He waits until the coin is spinning in the air. "Heads."
"Ah well, I guess you can't win them all. But if you crash and kill us all, I'm going to say 'told you so.'"
He lets a couple minutes pass. "Also...shotgun!"
Suulu-Huur starts walking to a different section of the Lodge. "I'll show you how you'll be travelling. Feel free to ask any other questions along the way." She passes a newly-installed heavy steel door. "In there is the Lodge's armory. We can supply you underwater versions of a variety of standard Starfinder equipment, but I'm afraid a mandate has come down from above that I have to charge full price."
She continues walking until she reaches a small hangar bay. A small, deep ocean exploration vessel is tethered there. "And here's the submersible. Brand new. Bring it back in one piece--please!"
The journey in the submersible in uneventful, passing by the Starfinder Society's new mining operation and travelling along a dozen miles or so before reaching the former AbadarCorp mining operation. The mine is set down in one of the deep trenches that crisscross the sea floors of Arniselle. There's no way, even with Rattus' excellent piloting, that the submersible can fit into the trench itself without getting stuck, so it looks like you'll have to get out and swim the rest of the way!
As the submersible is underway, it turns out there's a kasathan stowaway!
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As the submersible passes the Starfinder Society mining operation another submersible rises up from it and begins to approach the Starfinders.
The submersible hails the Starfinders with a simple message. "Prepare for docking procedures and to be boarded."
The other submersible pulls alongside and engages it's docking clamp. For a brief moment the ships are connected together, but as soon as the other submersible transfers its cargo it quickly undocks. "Good luck Starfinders," it signals as it turns back toward the Starfinder mining operation.
The door to the submersible's bridge slides open and the ship's speaker system automatically reproduces the sound of a bosun's whistle. Then the ship's computer announces, "Space Admiral on the bridge."
Space Admiral J'Shun Kay, first Son of Clan Summersword, House Davion, line of Atsu, born in fire! strides confidently through the threshold and moves towards the captain's chair.
"Stand at attention, you have all been reassigned to the 101st special operations group, Kay's Kommandos. and I am here to take command of this expedition."
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J'Shun puts a hand on Chorizal's shoulder and says,
"Captain Chorizal, it will be a pleasure to work with you again. Once more into the breach we go, dare I say."
J'Shun rarely shows emotion, but his respect for the vesk soldier is palatable. Everyone can see that the pair have been knee deep in muck together numerous times and on countless alien worlds and have always survived to tell the story.
"Lieutenant Commander Kosigan your reputation proceeds you; I've only heard good things. I expect the absolute best from you."
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"That breach ain't going to know what hit it," Chorizal responds.
He then cracks open a crate that he carried onto the sub. He grins and rubs his hands in glee before sifting through the contents.
"Well, these will be useful," he says. "That Suulhu-Huur is a woman after my own heart."
He pulls out a pike and a medium machine gun, examining them both before he breaks down his dragon glaive and X-Gen gun. He uses some of the brackets and fasteners from his own gear to link the loaner weapons together into a single weapon, the pike acting like a giant bayonet on the machine gun.
"Anybody want to use these toys? They're too tiny for me," he says, offering an underwater ultrathin dagger, an underwater elite semi-auto pistol.
"Just be careful with them. They're on loan from Suulhu-Huur."
The submersible drifts slowly through the deep ocean currents. Ahead: potential danger, and the thrill of exploration!
As you leave the submersible behind and swim under your own pillar into the trench, you can see that pillars of black stone rise from the depths, creating a forest of spires that rise up to roughly fifteen feet off the trench floor. A deeper tear extends into darkness along the northern end of the area. A carved cavern past the deep gash has a multitude of hazard symbols, indicating the presence of dangerous chemicals and heavy equipment beyond.
But before you can get close enough to investigate, two large rocky-looking crustaceans emerge from the fissure to the north and move to attack!
Initiative (Round 1)
Loki
J'Shun
Kosigan
Crabs
Rattus
Chorizal
Bold should go!
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J'Shun turns away from Chorizal addresses the rest of the team.
"Kommandos, I only have one rule. Everyone fights, no one quits. If you don't do your job I'll shoot you myself. YOU GET ME!"
With that J'shun heads for the airlock.
J'Shun's hydrojet propels his through the water as he says over the tactical comm channel.
"Full frontal assault Kommandos, follow me!"
The light projector attached to his shield illuminates the crabs ahead of him as he bores straight in on red. His hydrojet leaves a trail of bubbles behind him as he manipulates entropy to empower his longsword, Sun Crusher, with entropic force and swings it in a wide arc at the crab.
Loki's kalo-modified laser pistol blasts into the giant crab, penetrating deeply into its armored shell seconds before J'Shun's empowered blade leaves a deep gash in its underbelly.
Used to fighting together, the giant crabs focus on a target right between them--Kosigan! The khizar manages to dodge one of their pincers, but not a second, and finds themself being held in place and crushed!
Initiative (Round 1)
Loki
J'Shun
Kosigan (grappled)
Crabs (Red FF)
Rattus
Chorizal
Bold should go!
The supercooled gas from Chorizal's cryopike shatters some of the giant crab's shell!
Initiative (Round 2)
Loki
J'Shun
Kosigan (grappled*)
Crabs
Rattus
Chorizal
Bold should go!
You can’t use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling you, even if a special ability allows you to hide when you normally couldn’t. If you become invisible, through a Spell or other ability, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your check to escape being grappled, but you receive no other benefit.
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J'Shun begins building up entropy in this body like a battery in preparation to use it agains the crabs.
Time seems to stand still as he strikes again with Sun Crusher.
Entropic force wraps itself around the Kasathan's ancient sword and the water around it boils as he strikes down on the crab with it.
Loki's modified laser pistol has no trouble operating underwater, and scores a direct right in the giant crab's leg joint! It reels in visible agony and is obviously badly wounded! But although its writhing movement throws off J'shun's strike, Kosigan's perfectly timed hammer blow puts a massive crack in the crab's exoskeleton!
Unwounded, one of the giant crabs brings its massive pincers to bear on the grabbed Kosigan!
An instant later, instinctively releasing Kosigan, the bleeding and disoriented giant crab tries to swim away!
Initiative (Round 2)
Loki
J'Shun AoO vs Red
Kosigan AoO vs Red
Crabs (Red FF & Bleed1d6)
Rattus
Chorizal +AoO vs Red
Bold should go!