Seeing the creature approach Dirk with its teethy maw open for business, Sparks fires at it. A white hot projectile streaks at the monster.
(range 30 ft.)
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Sparks is torn. He wants to open fires as his worst fears seem to be coming true. But he knows that these creatures may not be hostile and with the whole thing being filmed for posterity, he does not want to make the Starfinders appear to be the kind to shoot first and ask questions if any sentience remains. He instead points his Ember pistol at the nearest moving creature, prepared to open fire at any hostile behavior.
Readied Action Rolls: (range 30 ft.)
If the group has any control over what the recorder drone looks at, Sparks directs it to record the dormant creatures without getting too close.
At the sight of the creatures, Sparks draws his ember pistol and switches the safety off. He moves slowly, trying to make as little hard contact with the floor panels as necessary, in case the creatures sensed vibrations. He worked his way to a position where he has a clear shot at the creatures and watches for signs of activity. His heart is racing.
Assuming that is possible. I'm hoping that if we get into a melee, he won't have to spend three rounds getting up to max level. If that's against the rules, then disregard that.
Sparks takes a moment to attune his solarian mote up to full energy mode. Then he gives a thumbs up that he is ready to head for the Acreon's open air lock, trying not to think of various moves about monsters on derelict spaceships.
Sparks stands an moves toward the shuttle's airlock. He makes sure his environmental protection features of his armor are operating and sealed for vacuum environments. He attaches a tether line to his belt at the back and checks that his weapons and other equipment is secured on his person. Then he nods ready to "get the party started," although he feels it might resemble a wake more than a party given the possibility of undead.
"Starships are a team effort and that calls for someone to lead," Sparks says, a bit annoyed at Zeph's response. "I'm not expecting salutes and 'Yes, sir!'. If you think of something better, let us all know." "Seems like we should suit up and see what's in that airlock area. Maybe re-pressurize the area and see if something left or entered that part of the ship before the end."
As the ship and rock come into clear view, Sparks watches intently, switching between the view presented on the view screen and a direct view out the bridge window. "Circle once around horizontally and once vertically. Science officer, do a scan of both the ship and the rock. Let's start with all the information we can get before we decide where to board."
"Ten-Four," Sparks says. "We read you five by five." He hopes that's meaningful, as he is just repeating what he's heard actors say in adventure videos. Then he settles back into the captain's chair on the bridge and begins to observe operations, calling attention to things as he spots issues. He is willing to relinquish the chair if someone wants it more, but as he is not qualified as a pilot, a science officer, or an engineer, he rises to his level of incompetence, which in this case is the captain's post.
Sparks listens to the sergeant and when she is finished he offers, "Let us know if there is anything we can do to make this go faster. Otherwise, we'll wait for someone to clear this up. As you may know, we do not own this ship and only just set foot in it less than an hour ago. We were just settling in to fly the ship out to the Acreon as authorized by the Eoxian ambassador. I suspect someone does not want us to succeed in our mission. We'll await the results of your investigation."
Having no significant knowledge of computers or engineering, Sparks tries to assist the effort to communicate the situation to the station flight control. "Mayday! Mayday! Major system malfunctions across the board! Please advise!"
The only thing Sparks does before getting to sleep in preparation for the start of the project to explore the Acreon is to purchase a radiation badge. He figures everyone should know if the drift rock was radioactive. He arrives at the dock, anxious to see what awaits.
Sparks speaks before silence gets awkward. "We are neutral investigators as far as the Acreon and Drift Rock are concerned. Our only job is to see what's inside the ship, figure out what we can about what happened to the crew, and determine what we can about the rock. Then tell you and Astral Extractions what we found. What happens next is out of our hands. As far as my own personal feelings go, I hope you get what you seek."
Sparks relaxes noticeably as the group exits the corporate giant and wends its way to the Armada. Once out in space again, he finds the side of the ship facing the sun and lets the natural sunlight revive his spirits. He takes a few moments to change out of the respectable clothes he wore to the meeting, the same one he had brought for interviews, and put on more comfortable and casual togs, which also relaxes him further. He puts his thoughts in order as the ship nears the appointed vessel, reminding himself to keep his mind open and alert for subterfuge or subtle indications of emotions or intentions that might belay surface appearance. While his sympathies lie with the miners, he tries to set that aside and observe with eyes that expect nothing in advance.
At the suggestion of concluding the meeting, Sparks stands, offers a polite thank you, and makes ready to leave.
Sparks makes a mental note that this is mostly a bid for a report that pleases the corporation. The quid pro quo is a cushy job in return for anything the group can report that supports their claim. He sees their job as basically being eyes and other sensory organs to satisfy curiosity about the drift rock. He is not inclined to be biased in favor of their claim, and he already has a job he prefers to anything a heartless business behemoth can offer. He nods politely but does not have any questions. This is exactly what he expected. He is much more interested in what the miners themselves have to say.
Seeing as Dirk is distracted by the revolving door, Sparks offers up the message the group all received to whatever the corporation has provided to be a gatekeeper for prospective visitors. "We are expected.'
Sparks is already distrustful of this corporation, since it seems likely they set in motion the death of Durovar. He keeps in mind that beneath all the gleam and glow could lie a dead and rotting heart.
Sparks points out that we can insist on recording any meeting conversations, so if there was any suspicion that we agreed to a quid pro quo with either group, we could present the evidence of what was said.
"So what's it going to be? Are we not going to either, are we going to both at the same time in two groups, or all visiting one and then the other? I'm in favor of going to both one way or another. There is nothing to lose and something possibly to gain."
"The corporate office is closer, so we could hit that and then get out to the Armada for the other. As long as we talk to both, I'm not sure what anyone can read into the order of visiting. For all they know, we flipped a transport token. But if you want to split up and do both at the same time, let me know which you want me to attend. I have no preference."
<If we are short of time, we may do that, but if possible, I'd rather have all eyes and ears at both meetings. Less chance we miss some subtle bit of body language that gives away a false motive.>
After receiving the messages, Sparks texts his colleagues: <We should meet with both entities and find out what they wish us to know, keeping in mind these things might not be true or the whole truth.>
Sparks uses his time before showing up for the adventure of exploring the derelict starship to get fitted for some better armor. He sells his second skin and picks up a set of freebooter armor (I). He feels a bit more secure with the armor's reinforced layers. He does a little weapon shopping but sticks with his assault hammer and his ember pistol. Although he has darkvision, he picks up some light sources to help in situations where his companions might need extra illumination, considering the spaceship they are visiting might have no power for interior lighting. He also picks up 100 feet of titanium cable.
Sparks nods, although he is silent on his questions about what the parcel contains and whether it should go through customs. Those questions can be answered if the item is found and the rest of the mission is a success.
"As long as they have some fish tacos, I'm in!"
Sparks nods with satisfaction. "I agree that diplomacy and negotiation are always preferable to force. You may or may not know that we've encountered violence in furtherance of one of the litigants interests. We will want to enter equipped for all possible situations, including violence and using whatever means necessary to gain access to locked compartments and encoded data. We should probably have a document defining in detail the expectations just so we know what is expected. Six hundred credits sounds fair to me. And I am excited at the chance to have the first view of this controversial space ship and this mysterious drift rock."
Sparks learned in Ambassador 101 that one should never let negative personal reactions show when in a culture with values one does not appreciate. One technique the class offered was to suggest imagining saying what one really felt and then letting that go unsaid, just to feel as if the reaction was given. Here he inwardly imagined himself saying to Ambassador Nor, "I LOVE what you've done with the place! It's so ... what's the word? ... ghastly!". What he really says is "Thank you for asking. It is an honor to be asked to assist in such a weighty matter. I can't imagine such a request would not come with suitable payment for taking risks, including compensation should any of us be seriously injured in the task. That can be worked out in due time. I would like to know, however, whether the other parties have agreed to allow someone to explore the ship they both have a claim to."
And now its voice swaps to another clearly synthetic voice, but a much less monotone one. "Actually I doubt it's anything so dramatic, but I do wonder--you got a mysterious invitation, too? What would the Eoxian embassy want with us?" "We only recently arrived and have spent our first days here investigating an incident which apparently concerns this derelict spaceship everyone is talking about and some rock that is supposed to be aboard it. We're also associated with the Starfinders and all attended the same academy. Would your invitation possibly be connected to the Starfinders or the academy? That's the Attelan Star Academy, by the way." He introduces himself and the others in the academy group. "What do we call you?"
His internal mental tricks work for now and he maintains a positive attitude.
Thanks.
Sparks greets the solarian robot (?) or animaldroid(?), unsure what to expect and a bit confused by the different voices. Sparks had time to do a bit of research on the embassy but did not feel it gave him much more than a sense of foreboding. Still, he doubted the embassy would stage any controversial actions when dealing with the influential Starfinders, so he tucked his misgivings away and tried to remember to not judge another until giving him/her/them/it a chance to demonstrate his/her/their/its values.
We've had some bad news at home that's making it a bit of a struggle to get in the right frame of mind to post. (Our 12 year old tom cat has cancer; he's not suffering bad effects yet, but we don't want to put him through chemotherapy or surgery, so we're going to give him a steroid that may help slow the progression and make the most of the time we have left with him.) So if you need to 'bot me, go ahead. Combat and other trait dicebots are under spoilers on the profile page.
Sparks joins the conversation holding the invitation from the Exoian Embassy, his face pensive. Hearing the enthusiasm for Elysium Holdings new resort announcement, he says, "I don't know why but when I read about that, I had a bad feeling. Not sure why. What about this invitation to the Exoian Embassy? Mysterious but that just makes me curious."
Has anyone looked at the SF 2E material? I've created a few SFS characters but haven't looked at the solarian closely yet. So far, I like what I see. It has eliminated the dual armor class of Kinetic and energy, which makes things simpler. So far, no starship battle material. Sounds like they intend to reduce starship battles to something much simpler, more like the concept of a chase.
After the meeting, Sparks explores the shops and parks around the complex and visits the temple again before returning and checking his in-box for messages from Solar Dawn Foundries. Until something specific suggests itself, he will continue to explore the station and spend a little of his share of the credits on some improved gear.
All reasonable responses. Thanks.
We started this game over a year ago and we are just now getting through the first section of the AP book. I fear if we don't pick up the pace, we will not even complete the first book before the inevitable player or GM attrition begins to show. I'm not judging anyone as being unnecessarily slow to post, but if we could do what we can to post every day and if the GM could move things along to the next action point, with less time for side quests and flavorful role play, it might help. If we were a group that met in person or on line and played for four hours once a week we could afford to take things slow and still make good progress. But PBP is inherently slow. I've played this AP book before and I know there is a lot of fun stuff to come. I find spending a week or two on what we do with our time off to be frustrating when I want to get to the good stuff. I hope this doesn't offend anyone. I know RL can make it hard to post every day but even then, a quick post to inform others when you cannot post can allow the GM or one of the players to 'bot the one who can't post and things can move more quickly. I also know from experience that when people are slow to post, I tend to be check for progress less often because there is so often nothing new to act on. If everyone is posting every day, however, I am better at doing the same because I don't want to be the one holding things up.
Sparks thanks Chiskisk and waits to see if anyone else wishes to talk to the official. He's ready to go exploring the station or maybe checking with his new employer to see if they have any assignments for him.
Repeat of the above request for income summary. Also, I will be away from home for the weekend, so 'bot me if needed. I have access to hotel WiFi but I've tended to have trouble logging into the Paizo site to try to post with a tablet or phone.
"Thank you," Sparks offers on behalf of the group. "I suspect I speak for everyone when I say, 'What's next?'"
Sparks does nothing to hide the childlike awe in which he holds the area. He takes his time soaking in the ambiance and contemplating how fortunate he is to be alive when he can be at the center of the exploration of the Vast, not to mention to begin to take part in that exploration, albeit as a lowly functionary.
"I plan to be pretty busy with my new job. I'm not really an entrepreneur," Sparks says.
Once breakfast is done with, Sparks suggests a trip to the Lorespire Complex to give a report on the murder of Durevor Kreel. Sparks has cleaned himself up after the events of the previous night, wearing the suit he packed specifically interviews and other official meetings. He wears a nicely tailored suit, brown fabric embellished with embroidery along edges of a kind of knotwork patterns with blue thread interspersed for a flowing water motif with silver fish emblems set with mother of pearl inlay. His shirt is white with obsidian studs and cuff links to match. He has modest jewelry, a bolo tie, sunburst belt buckle, and a holy symbol of Saranrae pin on his lapel. A little cologne completes the process. "Let's go!" he calls to the others once he emerges from his room to head out.
"Let's set up some ways to keep in touch since our different jobs will soon be taking us in many different directions. We should continue building the friendships we have established."
Sparks is grateful for a good night's sleep, knowing the fledgling group has worked well together and accomplished something important not only for the group but for the larger actors of the station. At breakfast, he breaks the news that he has been offered and has accepted an opportunity to become a product representative for Solar Dawn Foundries.
Can we get a summary of income after all the wheeling and dealing is done? Once I know what amount of credits Sparks has to work with, I'll consider some purchases to begin to fill out his equipment to be better ready for future encounters. Thanks to the other players for working out the details. I read the discussion on Discord but would appreciate a post here as it will make the information easier to find.
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