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In keeping with the now “usual” turbulence of my real life, I’m now in the middle of packing my life and moving across country. I should be able to resume more regular posting as I will be unemployed upon arrival, and I should have plenty of time on hands until gainful employment is achieved.
Kip immediately recognizes the shuttle's controls have been released to manual. Several indicators and notifications flash on the panels indicating not all systems are online. Piloting or other spacecraft-y knowledge skill DC 10:
Fortunately, simple shuttles like this one have mostly analog or physically-based flight systems as their short range travel do not require complicated navigational programming. The systems which are still operational should be sufficient help prevent a head on collision with the asteroid's surface...assuming someone acts in time.
Jolene's voice states simple, "This asteroid is designated RKL-N 317 for navigational purposes. It's commonly called Reklan by the current residents."
When the colors of the world invert, the hologram of the AI called Jolene emits an "Erk!" then vanishes abruptly. Several lights begin blinking on the panel of instruments in front of the pilot chairs. "Trajectory and speed indicate collision is imminent," states a much more subdued verison of the AI's voice. "Course correction or deceleration is recommended." On the display above the instruments, the asteroid's indistinct rocky surface begins to become much more detailed.
As the feeling of chagrin at Kip's reaction causes her to hesitate in further telepathic contact, Klimma enters her search string into the asteroid base's local infosphere. A very small image of what looks like the female AI appears in the corner of Klimma's screen. It has a complete body instead of just being a bust, but the image is in a chibi style. She is holding a banner stating 'Loading. Thank you for your patience' and dances happily in place while smiling with twinkling eyes as a circle begins to slowly draw itself around her. She is almost completely encircled when a flurry of things happen all at once. A display suddenly lights up in the shuttle's pilot cabin showing a middle aged human(?)'s face. The race is questionable as much as half of the face is covered by cybernetic enhancements or replacements. "Jolene!" the face barks. "Waaaah!" yelps a blushing holographic projection of the female AI which suddenly bursts into existence in the seat next to the screaming Kip. "S-s-s-savant!" The image of the man's face suddenly blurs as if some type of interference with the image has occurred and his word's distort. "Drav...missile has dama...actor! The experi...Drift beac...is..." Whatever he was going to say is lost as his image and the display simply shuts off. The monitors displaying the asteroid base and the repair space station also blink out and vanish....but the displays remain active. Instead the actual locations have blinked out of existence... Every color in the shuttle seems to invert for several seconds. When everything returns to normal, the front monitor displays an imminent landing on the asteroid is approaching. But it might be less than a smooth one...
"Ship, are you piloting as well as running the systems?" For the first time, the female's smile slips slightly, and a slight twinge of rose creeps into the pale blue luminescence of her image. "Er, well...I am, but shhh! Please don't tell the Savant," she begs. Then she giggles and stage whispers conspiratorily, "I'm not supposed to be doing this without a biological pilot onboard as cover." "Wait a sec, You're not permitted to answer why they're attacking? So you know why, but don't have auth'rization t' tell us? Who's preventing you from tellin?" The image on the screen simply smiles and shrugs in response, but since Kip gets drawn into another conversation quickly after, he may not have noticed. "AI lady, let me inta the cockpit, we're gonna want someone in there if we gotta start dodgin lazers." "Oh! You want to be my bio-pilot façade?" the image claps her digital hands excitedly. "That would be perfect. Now he can't be cross with me!" A door in the bow end slides open, and two seats can be seen in front of several brightly lit panels and controls.
@Mahorfeus: No worries, mate!
The display returns to the image of the female humanoid smiling brightly, and she begins to answer Klimma's questions happily. "No, I am unable to recognize them as I have not seen the attackers before this moment." "I'm not permitted to answer that, tee hee!" "Further clarification required." "Please direct your attention to the display beside you." A report detailing the exports of the Reklan Mining Syndicate appears. Common exports indicate types of stones desirable for construction and art as well as alloys used for star craft construction particularly those capable of atmospheric entry and departure. DC 15 Knowledge/Profession (anything math-y):
Eyeballing the report, one notices a couple of incongruities but you just can't quite put your finger on it. If you only you had more time to study it... "I do not find anything particularly humorous. You must be referring to my bubbly personality! My creator always found himself lonely and depressed, so he programmed me to be cheerful and enthusiastic especially in times of high stress and anxiety." The image winks and gives a thumbs up. Klimma or DC 10 Piloting or Knowledge/Profession (any computer-y related): It occurs to you that this AI certainly seems far more advanced than one would find typically expect on a simple shuttle for such a remote location. In fact, these types of shuttles are usually piloted by a living being. You have not heard a peep from the shuttle cockpit this entire trip so far.
Yes, armor is premade with environment protection against vacuum and other environment/atmospheric hazards that would not also cause physical damage to the suit itself. If you are currently wearing it, the presumption is you would simply seal it, add your helmet, or what have you. The point was more to make sure anyone who was just casual has been warned to don their protection in case of emergency.
Instead of responding, the woman's face disappears, and the display flickers back to the rear view of the space station. An rather advanced but unrecognizable starship is firing weapons on the space station and the ships currently docked there. There is a meager defense, but it is clearly outmatched. In the midst of this space melee, the unknown ship also sends out several torpedoes which seem to flash towards the viewer. Another display suddenly lights up showing the mining facility and several explosions as the torpedos zip past the small shuttle and impact the surface of the asteroid and parts of the facility. The complete silence accompanying all the violence would be eerie to humanoids who are unaccustomed to the physics of the Void. Good thing there are only hardy spacefarers onboard this shuttle. "I hope that answers your question, Ms. Bertrude!" the female's voice says delightedly. "As you can see, we are between two points that have come under attack by an unidentified star ship. I have minimized the power output and deactivated the shuttles thrusters in an effort to mask our presence. The shuttle's current trajectory of motion should allow us to reach the Reklan Asteroid." Around the cabin, several indicator lights in the shape of a humanoid with a bubble around its head appear next to the unlit symbol for seatbelts. "Void environment protection recommended," the voice gushes enthusiastically. "If you are not currently wearing protection from vacuum conditions, please consider this strong advisement. If you choose not to do so, Reklan Mining Facility cannot be held liable for your personal choice for possible decompression." The giggle that follows this announcement is entirely unnecessary.
Quite suddenly, the lights and power in the shuttle go out. The artificial gravity ceases to function shortly after, and anything not strapped down begins to slowly float around the cabin...including any passengers. A single display flickers to life while some soft blue tube lighting along the floor and ceiling adds just enough illumination to the shuttle's interior to see. The same humanoid female's face as before appears on the screen. In a very soft yet irritatingly cheerful tone, she says, "I'm terribly sorry about all of this, tee hee, but we have a rather serious problem."
@Mahorfeus: Don't worry, your character does not need to be on the shuttle if you're not ready. My starting story makes it possible to insert you pretty much at any time. I'm going to move us into story mode here shortly unless you guys still have RP to do or questions to ask.
The monitors flicker at Klimma's rebuke, those near her simply power off while the one with itinerary returns back into the shuttle's ceiling. The display closer to Fiona switches briefly to Arielle & Bubbles before flickering again to a view of what can only be described as urban dystopia. A group of cybernetically enhanced dwarves, vesk, and one gnome scream raspily while producing some extremely jarring music as the camera cuts between shots of the band (surely Punk Exposure) and various scenes of anarchic civil disobedience. The production value of the camera work and costumes is impressive, and the imagery supports the barely comprehensible lyrics implying that revolution is needed on all worlds. Just before the music vid replaces it, Arielle is seen pointing at the night sky above whatever strange vista she and Bubbles currently traverse as an advanced starship exits the Drift near a small spacestation.
Sounds like a good time! My streamer friend WarWitch absolutely loves Ghost and goes to see them whenever they are in his city.
As if responding to Klimma's comment about the music, the image on the monitor switches from music to a popular feed following what appears to be a young human female, a feed called Arielle & Bubbles. Arielle & Bubbles:
The "show" consists entirely of the life of what everyone assumes is a child Icon named Arielle. She appears to be somewhere between 6-8 years of age with chestnut brown hair worn with cute bangs in front, and the back pulled up in a pony tail tied with a white ribbon in a bow. She wears an old-fashioned yellow dress with 1/4 sleeves that puff slightly at the shoulder. It, too, is tied with a ribbon around the waist, the bow in the back being of a prodigious size. The skirt is very modest and seems to have several petticoats underneath while what is seen of her legs is covered by white stockings. Fortunately, she seems to have very sensible shoes considering all the walking she is seen doing. The girl carries a worn and well-loved stuffed toy resembling the caricature of a bear, an animal said to have existed on lost Golarion. While history says the animals were much more formidable looking in life, this toy has been made so the shape of the beast has a much "cuter" appearance. Arielle refers to the toy as "Bubbles" often speaking directly to it though no one understands why she has chosen this name for the teddy bear.
The feed has become a phenomenon for many reasons, but the chief among them: no one knows from where it comes. The show simply becomes available on many Pact World infospheres simultaneously showing the girl whom everyone calls Arielle wandering around in different environments seemingly alone with nothing but her stuffed bear friend. Arielle never acknowledges the camera, and no one has ever seen the face of the creature or robot (many suspect it's some kind of drone) which films her. The source of the feeds is always unidentifiable. So far no trace using magic or technology has successfully identified where they originate or how they become uploaded into the infospheres. Another source of consternation is why everyone calls the girl Arielle as her name has never been uttered anywhere on the feeds.
When Klimma complains about the view, a display nearby suddenly activates showing both a view of the shuttle's current destination, the asteroid with the sprawling mining station of Recklan, and a rear view showing the hovering spaceport where a couple of starships have docked for repairs and deliveries. The front view shows a structure which has clearly evolved as the dark brown, grainy rock has been carved out, the subsequent holes filled and pressurized to make livable spaces for both work and residence. In the rear view, the shuttle is still close enough to make out the tiny specks of void-suited workers and engineering drones working between the craft. As Kip comments on the possibilities of larger ships docking at the station for passage, a display lowers from the ceiling displaying the itinerary for all ships scheduled to drop by the space station for the next week. As Fiona mutters with concern, a display near her suddenly lights up displaying the structural design specifications of the shuttle with an in-depth comparison with the requirements recommended by the Diaspora Protectorate. The article appears to endeavor to address Fiona's fears by displaying the shuttle is well within code for protection from the Void.
The Diaspora. Remnants of two planets lost in a forgotten cataclysmic event predating even The Gap. Their bones strewn through the void in an orbit between those of Verces and Eox. Despite the ancient apocalypse, life still clings to asteroids and hunks of rock which drift endlessly through space. The former inhabitants of these planets have adapted even to this inhospitable environment. With wings of golden energy, these beings fly between the broken pieces of their ancestors' homeworlds. However, this is not how most creatures traverse the space between these places. On one such remnant, a small spacestation hovers above a mining colony, a place for star craft to dock to receive payloads brought from the facility honeycombing the asteroid's surface and even deeper. The station does not have facilities beyond loading and ship repair; lodging and other typical residential services are maintained at the mining facility embedded in the rock. The shuttle from the station seems to barely be moving. The current occupants suddenly roused when a cheerful humanoid woman's image appears on the monitor nearby. "The shuttle will be arriving at Reklan Mining Facility in approximately 25 minutes. Please enjoy." The computerized image switches to some videos of some currently popular Icons singing and playing music. Some may consider music. Others...perhaps not. The shuttle's passenger area contains some rather unusual individuals who all seem surprised to find themselves here...on the way to wherever they are going.
Regarding connections: As mentioned before the characters do not have to know each other. My goal is to encourage collaboration of why in all of the known systems, your characters happen to be aware of each other or seeking one another out or...well, know each other. If you all want to have personal relationships with each other starting out, that's fine of course. I just wanted to ease back on the forced origins there since we're no longer talking a world with traditional methods of slower travel, and different characters' birthplaces could be millions of miles apart. So I'm just shooting for awareness/synergetic reasons to encounter one another.
Regarding the complication, I'm looking more for something that has an immediate effect, an event which immediately triggers a response in either others or your character. An allergy to synthetic cats, recognized by fans/trolls for being well-known, always thinking with your stomach. Just something which doesn't require a lot of story set up or preplanning and could introduce both (but not necessarily at the same time) humorous and temporary negative consequences. A good example is a fear of arachnid-shaped things. A humorous response to a spider drone robot or actual spiders in the cargo hold would be harmless, but if that spider drone was there to save the PC's life as they dangled from a cliff or the spiders in the cargo hold are actually Medium sized Spirit Widows capable of sucking out a humanoid's essence, the fear would have a tangible effect on combat...but nothing too serious. I'm not looking to have the effect remove a player from an encounter, just complicate it. Just in case anyone was not quite sure what I was thinking on it.
PMs have received responses for those from whom I have received them. Let me know how you feel about those. Anyone else ready?
Hello, everyone! Character creation guidelines will be placed in the Campaign Info tab here in the near future. For now, here's our place to get some ideas posted for our upcoming Starfinder campaign. |
