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Welcome aboard. I expect there'll be a fair amount of back and forth regardless. It's probably a question of when we can turn things over to the professional diplomats with a reasonable assurance that they're on the right track. Doesn't hurt to ask what questions we can early on in the piece though.
Not exactly an enthusiastic response, but Retri would take it for the time being. "Good. We'll discuss the situation with our own people, and with the elves on the surface, and will be in touch." He thought this first meeting had about run its course, glancing to the others to see if they had anything to add before standing to leave.
"I think that's a question for the people you've wronged to answer," Retri responded, "But as a gesture of goodwill, I'd suggest recalling your drones and releasing any prisoners."
I'd stop short of 'let's nuke them and have done with it', but yeah, otherwise the line is pretty clear. Technically, a peaceful resolution could include the people in charge surrendering themselves to stand trial.
Retri was conscious that this was a partial answer. "I suppose the key question is whether, in principle, they would be amenable to us acting as honest brokers to try and negotiate a peaceful resolution with their kin on the surface. Whether they'll want anything to do with the 'dark ones' is an open question. I can't say I'll blame them if they don't." From the perspective of a potential settler, Retri wouldn't be at all happy with one set of neighbours routinely kidnapping and generally preying upon another. "Any negotiations aren't going to be a quick process, and there'd be a fair amount of fact-finding to be done in a spirit of truth and reconciliation."
"I think there are some important questions to be answered before we can broker a peace," Retri observed, "For instance, is their concern for genetic continuity, or are they looking to ensure their history and culture are passed on?" After all, the two elven cultures surely weren't that far removed genetically, but looked to have diverged in terms of culture and technology.
Retri took his seat, waiting to see what their hosts were going to do. He was yet to be convinced of their sincerity, but so far at least they weren't doing anything hostile.
"True. But I think the truth still serves - that we're newcomers to the world, looking to settle, but we're concerned about the hostile drones we've encountered."
"It does fit with their actions," Retri said, "I'm reluctant to throw the first punch, but I don't want to be swarmed by reinforcements either." "M, could you let them know we'd like to talk? We can see how they respond to that and go from there."
Retri gave a small wave to the others behind him to attract their attention. He wasn't terribly inclined to go off and talk to their hosts on his own under the circumstances.
Retri wasn't yet ready to speculate on what the contents of the rooms might indicate. There had been a distinct lack of people so far though. Rather than systematically working his way through all the doors, he opted to proceed further down the hallway, though he took care not to get too far from the group.
"This one says 'for diplomats only'," Retri said, "Which I think we qualify as." It might be a hopeful sign. Then again, they couldn't be entirely sure how the dark ones treated diplomats.
Retri took a look at the writing as well, frowning thoughtfully. Without some kind of touchstone, he was unlikely to be able to make much sense of it. "If we're following the right hand rule, that would decide which door to take," he observed.
"The path might pre-date the current situation," Retri observed, "It's not as if there's any vegetation to overgrow it out of the sunlight."
"I can help with that," Retri said, conjuring four lights into existence and setting them bobbing amongst the group. He did take a moment to inform the other team of their findings and their intention to investigate the caves.
"I think more information is called for," Retri said, "I suspect sooner or later, the missing drones will prompt a response, and if we can head it off, so much the better.I'd favour investigating the caves. We can always turn back if it looks like we're getting out of our depth."
"Is there anything we can learn about their programming?" Retri asked, in a question directed at the technically-minded. "Such as where they're controlled from and what route they would take to get home, perhaps." Given the damage they'd inflicted and the likely difficulties of deciphering the drones' programming, he wasn't terribly optimistic, but it was worth asking.
Weapon ready once more, Retri gave it a momentary check in case of any other surprises and took another crack at shooting the drone.
Retri was fairly sure that they were just having a run of bad luck, rather than probability being actively skewed against them. This was not much comfort to him as he retrieved his battery and made sure it was properly secured in place this time.
Retri's hesitance to start a fight by no means extended to 'kidnapping drones' as the other team had called them. Accordingly, he drew his own rifle and snapped off a shot at the closer of the two drones. With luck, they'd prevail handily and be able to get some information from the drones' wreckage.
Retri nodded firmly, "We're getting well ahead of ourselves talking about war," he said, "And it's not something to consider lightly. War on a massive scale is how this world wound up in its current state to begin with, and more war is unlikely to improve matters." Partners, as a rule, did not try to eat each other. Nevertheless, Retri was interested in an answer to Ravoleg's question. Their guide had struck him as remarkably sanguine about the situation.
"How comforting," Retri said with mild irony. "That doesn't exactly bode well for prospective colonists. Or put a positive spin on interactions with the rest of the elves."
Retri nodded, "What motivates the dark ones to try and capture people?" he asked, indicating to M to translate to their host, "Is it malice, or do they have a purpose to it?" Surely there was some purpose at play here.
Retri shook his head, "There's no sense in going off to a dangerous meeting without checking back in," he said, "And at the least sharing the histories we've recorded." "We are going to have to find out about the dark ones if the colonists are going to be sharing a world with them. New arrivals might well disturb the peace."
There seemed little enough to do for the time being other than record the histories for later translation. Retri spent a bit of time in thought. They would have to consider just how they would square a settlement with the local population and their deliberate rejection of technology. There was one obvious path, but Retri didn't think it would be fair to ask the settlers to give up their own technology. It had significant benefits for a civilisation after all, even if things had gone horribly wrong here.
"Could we perhaps pause a moment and ask for a running translation?" Retri asked. It would take a little longer to translate through two languages, but they would only need to organise a translator later in any case.
No problems here.
Taking that as an invitation, Retri walked over and twirled one of the rings. No doubt it would speak in elven, but he was curious about the mechanism at play.
"Or there are gaps in his Aklo vocabulary," Retri pointed out, "I don't think we should jump to conclusions there." He was interested in the answer to Raloveg's question, so didn't add anything to be translated.
Retri nodded. Deliberately returning to the stone age would ensure that kind of devastation didn't happen again... For a while, at least. So long as the memory remained and the strictures against technological development held. One consequence was that, although the elves might be okay with neighbours, they probably wouldn't be okay with high-tech neighbours. "How long ago did that happen?" he asked simply. Given the talk of ancestors, it couldn't have been that recent. It might be possible to work out the answer based on radioactive decay, but it was so much simpler to ask.
"That sounds like a good plan," Retri said, nodding, "If we can get an audience with some of the elders or the historians, that would work out well." Retri was taking in the details around him, hoping to build up an idea of the culture. "If you can translate, M..." he turned to their guide, "It seems a very prosperous community. What can you tell us about life here?" Best, he felt, to start small,establish commonality of experience and work their way up to the bigger questions such as how they'd feel about having a bunch of new neighbours. No doubt their hosts would have questions for them in turn.
Retri stood back for the time being, letting M and Alyson do the talking. No sense in all of them crowding in, especially if they didn't speak a common language. For his part, he observed the elves, trying to get a sense of them. They seemed wary, perhaps, but not frightened. So they didn't equate a shipful of visitors with trouble. He could only find that reassuring. As he'd suggested, he was also taking in the world around him. Holos simply didn't do a planet justice. The light of a sun filtered through atmosphere, wild grass underfoot and breezes untamed by atmospheric processors or fans. A horizon was also a new experience, and the planet was quietly, steadily rotating it to obscure the sun. One way or another, exploration was probably on hold for the day.
The look Retri gave Alyson was envious, rather than judgemental. Having been appointed captain, he felt obliged to stick with the uniform. At least while on duty - there were limits. Retri made sure everyone was gathered before cycling the airlock. "Let's take a few moments to acclimate and drink it all in," he suggested, "There'll be plenty of time to get stuck into the mission." That first experience of a new world, he felt, was something to be shared and savoured.
"Sounds like a plan," Retri said, sharing his own details. With that done, he made his way to the airlock, pausing along the way to organise his gear. A bit of extra protection from a new and potentially hostile environment certainly wouldn't go amiss.
Retri pulled himself away from contemplating the sight of a whole world spread out in front of them. "More like alternate realities. Useful to get a sense of very short term probabilities, not so much over the longer term. I won't have all the answers." "It's early days yet, and I doubt Team A have much to add to our own briefing. I think a courtesy mail to let them know we've arrived is in order. If they have anything important to relay, I'm sure they will. Otherwise we can catch up and compare notes once we both know more." So saying, Retri tapped out a brief message to send to Team A's ship, glancing about to see if anyone had any objections before he hit send. Hello there, Team B checking in. We have arrived in orbit and are proceeding to investigate site B. Will stay in touch. Regards,
Retri, meanwhile, after a few moments' hesitation, had settled himself into the captain's chair. He was inwardly determined to make sure he proved worthy of that degree of trust. One thing was for sure, Alyson was definitely enthusiastic about her own role, and seemed to have the skills to back that enthusiasm up. He certainly wasn't going to ask her to dial it back - not without cause - but he did bring up his navigation display, ready to highlight any nearby ships for her attention if need be.
Never good when something like that happens on your doorstep.
As he had with the ship itself, Retri took the time to take a look around the bridge, familiarising himself with the layout so as to make sure he could reach a given station quickly if needed. He was curious where each person would gravitate to, whether as a result of preferences or training. He thought there were a couple of different places he could productively manage - it was a matter of whether he was better suited to it than the next person. "I could," he volunteered, "I'm not sure I'm the best pilot among us though - I've spent my hours in the simulator, rather than a real ship."
"Entirely my fault. I arrived late for the introductions." Retri took Raloveg's hand, smiling warmly, "It's good to see you. I've been doing well. Immersed myself in study to prepare and, well, here I am. What about you? Gotten up to any mischief?" It was a familiar question which Retri would ask whenever they caught up. Not because he expected an answer of 'yes' so much as to encourage Raloveg to step outside his routine every so often. Come to think of it, joining an expeditionary crew would be a departure from almost anybody's routine (if not an act of mischief).
"No time like the present," Retri agreed, nodding respectfully to the commander and giving the ground crew an appreciative wave before heading up the boarding ramp with a distinct spring in his step. He spent a bit of time on a brief tour of the ship, familiarising himself with the layout, stowing his gear and picking out a bunk for himself before making his way to the bridge in preparation for the launch.
"Or well maintained and cared for. We'll have to make sure to keep her that way." Retri took a few moments to appreciate the sight of the Niven, walking back and forth to take the ship in from different angles. He was less able than others might be to judge the ship's capabilities by its exterior components, but was confident that between them they'd be able to get a handle on them soon enough.
Retri had a folded-down rifle stowed in his own pack. It had seemed prudent to bring along a weapon he'd already trained with. A sidearm might be better in many situations though - rifles could be a bit obtrusive. He had packed away a few personal items, but hadn't gone so far as to bring cooking supplies - difficult to tell what might have already been laid in.
"I think we can chalk that up to being overeager to defend us from potential violence, rather than a desire to start any, Raloveg," Retri said, doing his best to reassure his friend. Thankfully, the big android had proven similarly reassuring. At the end of the day, Retri's feelings on violence aligned well with Raloveg's. He wasn't looking to start any fights, though he was aware they might come to him regardless.
Retri had found his own spot near the projection, studiously avoiding trying to settle his coat more comfortably. That was probably a lost cause for the time being, and he'd just end up looking fidgety. "It seems like very early days yet, with a lot of information for us to gather," he said, "I'm keen to begin, but are there any parameters or concerns we should be aware of?" He would be interested to know how the elves had come here in the first place, but it would probably be a while before they knew that. He'd have to look up in past mission reports how common it was to encounter familiar species along their journey.
I'm in the future. In the sense that I'm in a GMT +12 time zone, so my posting may not align terribly well with group activity at times. Pickpocket might actually be an appropriate term. For a while, pockets were pouches hung from belts or otherwise attached to clothing (often under the outer layer to discourage pickpocketing), rather than being sewn into the clothing itself, so I think the main obstacle to pockets surviving the demise of clothing might be people remembering they used to be separate from it.
"Er, yes, sorry, that would be me," a young human spoke up from the doorway, smiling apologetically, "Terrible difficulty convincing the family that I really did need to get out the door." Although he'd had a relatively low-key going away do the previous evening, he'd still had to run the gauntlet of well-meaning relatives just wanting to pass on some good wishes, and in hindsight he hadn't allotted enough time. He was of middling height and build, with dark, blue-streaked hair and henna patterning on the left side of his chest and arm. He looked a bit less puffed than Alyson had, but he was definitely catching his breath after a bit of a jog to arrive... Oh dear, he was late. This was not a good start at all. "Retri Valnik," he introduced himself, stepping over to pick up the remaining coat and settling it in place after a false start or two (haste wasn't helping), "I do hope I haven't held you up." He felt distinctly self-conscious about the coat, but he'd probably acclimatise over time.
I feel that Clarke ought to be the name of a completely different generation ship, sent out on its own voyage. I could get behind Niven as a name.
Sounds good. I think we're good to go with the ship then. I think the extra +1 from having a specialist lab is pretty negligible, the important point to me is having a lab so that we can do some basic research on site, rather than having to haul a bunch of samples home. There remains, of course, the small matter of a name. In keeping with the theme, I suggest we name the ship for a sci-fi author. I'm partial to Cherryh - as I've said, the fold gates put me in mind of the gates in the Chronicles of Morgaine (and perusing the reading list in the rulebook, I'm sure that's deliberate).
Checking up on it, it looks like the Starfinder errata did up the cost of coilguns and some of the heavy weapons, so the Archives of Nethys cost will be the right one. Unfortunately the errata page itself is down at the moment, so I can't see what other important changes there may have been to the rules in the book. It does sound like the difficulty calculations for crew actions were changed so that they're more achievable at higher levels.
I'd lean towards Alyson's 200 PCU version of the ship - it gives us the option of long-range firepower, and we can add expansion bays later. I've done some minor tweaking to Retri's sheet so that piloting is an option. Plus it's an easier Encourage check to apply those +2 bonuses. Aldrakan has not participated in any online campaigns. |
