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Avery heads out into the station to blend in with the teeming masses of people and see what they can learn about the local gangs. A newcomer to the station, and a lover of diverse cultures, Avery is captivated by the throngs of visitors from across the galaxy. As they mingle with aliens, workers, socialites, and seedy types, they chat up the people around them to see if anyone knows anything about the strange gang activity going on of late.
"Thank you for meeting with us, and let me say again how sorry we are to have to bring you this tragic news. We had just disembarked from our transport in the docking bay and no sooner than we had spotted Duravor through the crowd, we noticed what looked like armed gang members taking cover for a firefight, about to attack one another across the crowded bay. I shouted a warning, but..." they sigh, looking at their hands. "He took a laser blast in the first volley and fell. We tried to hold off the gangsters in an attempt to get to his body, but we were too late. He was dead when we got to him."
Avery tries to give some context to Lolo's exclamation. "I'm really sorry that we have to be the bearers of this news. We got caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout and the Starfinder we were supposed to meet, Duravor Kreel, was shot dead. Please make sure Chiskisk hears about this. We really do need to speak with them."
Avery wastes no time flagging down someone who looks both friendly and local to the station. "Hello, friend! I'm new on the station, can you show me how to get to the Lorespire Complex? I'm looking for the Starfinders." Their genuine smile tends to win over all but the most stubborn hearts.
"Wait a second... Chiskisk. That name sounds familiar... I got it!" exclaims Avery. "They're one of the leaders of the Starfinder Society! Probably Duravor's boss. And... yep, this address is for the Lorespire Complex - Society headquarters. Let's head over there and let them know the bad news."
Avery sighs. "I guess we should. Maybe Chiskisk was a prospective member of the Society just like us. I wonder why they didn't make it here?"
Holstering their pistol, Avery rushes to the fallen dwarf's side. They look around as well to see if any other civilians have taken fire. Glancing at their wrist comm, they rouse the artificial personality inside with a quick tap. "Sidhea, contact station security. I'm sure you can look up their emergency number on the infosphere. If they don't already know about this, they should be aware that there was a gang shootout in..." They glance around, looking for a sign. "...bay 94, I guess." They bend down to examine the dwarf, checking to see if he's alright.
The elemental dissipates into stardust, and Avery assesses the battlefield. Turning their attention to the gangster next to the elemental that just vanished , they fire off another laser blast, but the beam scorches the box in front of their target instead.
I'm gonna be gone this weekend again, fair warning.
As their spell began, Avery's eyes turned black, a deep void of nothingness. As they continued to cast, stars appeared in the inky orbs, brighter and brighter, until with a flash of light their magic was complete. A tiny starfighter, comprised of hundreds of miniscule stars, burst from a momentary portal by the northwestern corner of the docking bay. It strafed the gangster near it, fiery bolts flashing across the few inches to strike him from behind.
The spell concluded, Avery's eyes returned to their normal green. Drawing their sidearm, the priest took aim at the gangster due north of them and fired a beam of brilliant violet laser fire.
"No!" Avery cries, seeing the dwarf take a hit. Seeing no way to get to the fallen Starfinder without wading into the middle of a killing zone, they rush to take cover behind a stack of crates and crouch down, beginning to focus on their magic.
Avery spots the possibly-armed groups setting up on opposite sides of the packed docking bay, and a sudden fear grips them. All those people are in danger! They're gonna get caught in the crossfire! they think. "EVERYBODY! GET DOWN!" shouts the half-elf in concern, despite knowing how futile their warning shout will be in such a crowded area. Avery's eyes change color as the Weydanite begins casting a spell, the glassy orbs changing to a dark void punctuated with a myriad of glowing stars.
Ready to forge ahead when you are! I'm excited for this game.
Avery doesn't seem upset in the slightest. "I really don't!" they reply, nonplussed. "It's the official stance of the church, though, which grants it some weight in my book. He was a remarkable man, famous for the advancements he brought to AP technology through his journeys to study other cultures. He always helped those in need on the thousands of worlds he visited." Avery has clearly heard a lot about this man. "After he died, the Church formally declared him an Avatar. I imagine divination was used to confirm their suspicions in the end." They shrug. "Out of respect we don't try to deduce if someone's an Avatar while they're alive. It could distract them from their important work."
"Don't go thinking I'm a big shot just because I've met my deity in the flesh," Avery interjects. "Weydan is everywhere. Sometimes they don't even know they're an avatar. Just good people who know they're in this life to journey and help those in need." They smile broadly. "That's why Weydanites are so friendly! Anybody we meet could be Weydan!" Avery chuckles at the idea, though it's clear they don't mean it in jest.
"Thanks... Lolo," Sidhea said with a smile as she received the Ysoki's name from the friend request confirmation. "I'm actually a gift from Weydan. Avery met one of his Avatars when they were little who happened to be a personality crafter, and he created me for their comm unit!"
The holographic fairy looked at Aaron as he spoke, and turned to Avery, who responded with a nod. "You can add these three as friends, Sidhea," they said, prompting a 'thumbs-up' gesture from the blue woman. The artificial personality turned to look at Aaron again. "Avery thought they looked cool when they were designing my avatar. Pretty neat, huh?" she replied to the android with a smirk, flourishing her wings. "You guys are on Avery's friends list now so I can chat with you. I handle their itinerary and answer most of their mail." "You should all see a handshake notification popping up on your devices, by the way. Add Avery if you want to stay in touch!" The other three prospective Starfinders' communicators all show a notification from Avery's device including their digital contact address so they can stay in touch across Absalom's stationwide infosphere.
You could create a GM alias specifically for this game and include links in your header?
Avery is out of their seat as soon as the ship comes to a halt, bouncing up and down on their heels excitedly as they wait for the doors to open. "Yippee, let's go, gang!" the energetic half breed calls out, hopping off the disembarking ramp with a flourish. They look at their wrist communicator quizzically. "Hey Sidhea, where were we supposed to meet this guy again?" they ask the device. A shimmer of holographic light cacades upwards from the device before coalescing into the shape of a tiny blue woman with dragonfly wings and round antennae. The computer's artificial personality speaks. "Accessing itinerary files now, Avery," she says with a smile as bits of data stream past, represented by sparkling pixie dust drifting from the fairy-avatar's wings.
"No hard feelings!" chimes Avery, nonplussed. "What sort of priest? There's so much you can learn from people in this life. I'd love to hear about what you believe."
"Oh, I'm a priest!" chimes the youthful half-elf. "My connection to Weydan lets me use a bit of magic and I'm a pretty good pilot too." Leaning forward in the chair, they spin the folding seat around to better face everyone. "Don't worry though, Weydanites don't really preach. We try to be an example by helping people wherever we wander, and just let people live their lives otherwise."
Captain is a very unimportant role. Shouldn't need anyone to play it. Gunner, Pilot, Engineer, Science Officer is fine. And we can switch roles each turn to rotate responsibilities if needed, like if we suddenly have a need for extra gunners for a round, or if we have nothing for a science officer to do and we could use someone to stand in as captain to provide a bonus. By the way, what roles are we each going to fill? Avery would actually make a good pilot, since Star Shamans get their Channel Skill bonus to Piloting. If OGGM doesn't mind, I'd swap my ability scores around to give me a 16 in Dex and a 16 in Wis, and I'd swap out Mobility for Skill Synergy. I'd have a bonus of +7 at level 1 (jumping up to +9 at level 2). Not as high as a focused operative but there's not a lot else Mystics are good at in starship combat. I don't get Computers or Engineering, and my low BAB doesn't make me a great gunner.
The final passenger, previously hunched over their wrist-mounted communicator, leans backwards in the folding seat until they can see the others in the cargo hold upside-down. The holographic display on the device shows an electronic game of some kind, now apparently paused. "You guys are looking to join up with the Starfinders?" asks the chair's occupant from their awkward position, an androgynous half-elf with a messy shock of brown hair streaked with various colors. "Small galaxy, I guess! That's where I'm headed too!" They grin as the chair tilts back alarmingly far. "I guess taking the same shuttle probably isn't enough to call it destiny, but you never know!" "I'm Avery by the way. I guess we might be coworkers if everything goes well in there!"
Crunch is pretty much done. :) Finally! Gonna do a post now. |
