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T'sorkel flips through the pages, trying not to look offended at John's assessment. You never know where knowledge might be hiding. Besides, even conspiracies tell you a lot about the people who wrote them. And any of our recent reports would be labeled conspiracies too.
T'sorkel is taken aback by the apartment. Not only the pictures of them, which worries the Shirren terribly. But then he sees the archaic books and nearly seems to forget any cause for concern. Look at all these! The student begins flipping through several, commenting on the descriptions of the aliens masterminds, secret facilities, and powerful energy lines accessible when the stars align.
T'sorkel continues to relay mental communication as they follow Lilly to the apartment. Please stay close, I can't reach you with my telepathy if you stray too far! The grad student looks around nervously as they approach the apartment. We don't know who might be there! They sounded like they mean business. What if it's a cabal of grays?
T'sorkel slurps at his noodles and opens the comm message. His antennae stop suddenly, frozen in place. A high pitched squeak comes from him before he drops his utensils, splashing sauce over the table. Did you also get this? The Shirren suddenly looks around quickly in a panic.
T'sorkel goes to speak to Fairwinds for a bit, offering his services as a translator during negotiations or disputes. He lists the languages he speaks as well as several cultures that he's studied and might be able to provide consultations on their mannerisms, rituals, and societal faux pas. He also brings his Tetred Certified Translator should there be anything outside his experience.
T'sorkel considers this for a moment. If one of these corporates would help us get sponsorship, perhaps they can help us with other things too? Maybe we can use their databases to understand if there is more gray activity here. John, do you know anything about these groups?
The school solution seems to be to get into good graces of one of those corporates. I'm surprised Abadarcorp isn't represented. I wonder what John these of these other enterprises.
T'sorkel looks panicked for a moment, thinking about the documentation they don't have. Um, ah. Yes, of course. Would you happen to have examples of what you need? Some of our documents are issued in a variety of places. It would be good to know what information is needed.
T'sorkel places a hand on John's arm. Apologies, my friend is a bit blunt. Would you be willing to help us? Is this the right place for applying for permits?
T'sorkel tries to manuever around and through the boxes, but he has to slow down to do it and pick his way through.
The Shirren clicks rapidly as he sees John and Rar'gul take off after the man. Where are they going? He rubs his hands together anxiously and then set off after them, just following in the Trox's wake.
T'sorkel is now anxious once again. What's happening? Are there clones of us everywhere? Or are they grays? The Shirren is looking around and being quite conspicuous about it.
T'sorkel is ahead of John's request. He begins a psychic conversation with the party. This is the grays again, isn't it? They made copies of us and have their people living lives here. Maybe it's training for further missions. Now it was beginning to feel right. The familiar panic settles on the Shirren.
T'sorkel tries to help. Ma'am, who are you and who is Mallo? I don't think my friend is who you think!
T'sorkel steps out to the station promenade and it all feels...normal. No one was shooting lasers at them, and no radiation alarms were going off. It was a safe and bustling environment with plenty of food and conveniences, where no shapeshifters were trying to do medical experiments on him. It was all so dull. As the Shirren is grappling with this feeling, the twins pipe up about being hungry. Yes, of course. We'll get food in a minute. I think we're shopping for some new clothes right now. And both of you are beginning to outgrow your vials. Let's see if we can find something more suitable. T'sorkel studies his choices from the vending machine after Lily is finished. He makes his choices and a green pinstripe flightsuit emerges. T'sorkel quickly changes. He holds up his armor. We should see if there's a place to wash. While John is shopping, T'sorkel looks for new containers for the twins. He briefly considers a double, wheeled version, but realizes that would be quite impractical on a ship. He settles on a backpack style case with more than double the capacity for each of the boys. It's like you have your own rooms now!
T'sorkel steps up behind the thug. How about you spread the word a bit. Next time someone tries to touch us, we might not hold back. He slowly looks down at the fallen thug, then back up at the other android. Also, I can kill you with my brain.
Halt! The simple command is borne right into the thug's mind.
Glad to have you back, Janosian! I'm glad things are fun-crazy again. I hope you are finding the support you needed.
As fighting breaks out, T'sorkel locks eyes with one of the thugs and memories of a grotesque alien clown from his childhood fills his mind. The clown turns to him with black dripping teeth. You'd better run!
Perhaps we should call for an Abadarcorp notary to witness the transaction? I'm sure we can summon one quickly enough for you. T'sorkel sends to the whole room. To his shipmates, he sends a much mess sure tone. We can't allow them to steal from us, right? Perhaps apprehending them will put us in good graces with the local security. They must have done this to others. He prepares to send a psychic shout at one of the androids to stun him. Readied Action:
The Shirren catches John's tone and sends him a psychic message. Go ahead. I'll relay to the others. Do you really want me to act as the Captain? T'sorkel considers the exorbitant cost of the docking fee and checks the memories of previous pilots who visited to see what the protocol might be.
Oh, Almost Chicken! I've heard they're meals are quite good! I wouldn't mind getting something fresh. The Shirren pauses. Do we have a plan? Or is this something where we just need to see what's going on and search out for information on what's been happening with the Stewards?
T'sorkel helps Rar'gul look through the files, helping him read the texts. Once they are finished, the Shirren retires for rest, passing Lilly in the hall. Tag, you're it. We were able to pull up some of the Reptoids' data. Have a look. He yawns and goes to feed the twins before passing out.
T'sorkel yawns as he looks over some of the data in the grey language. His multifacted eyes drift slightly and then unfocus. While the rest of the group chats about their desitnation, the Shirren is mentally flipping through thousands of memories like textbooks. He finally finds Akashic memories about the grey language: the hours of deciphering by a student, a young grey's psychic stumbling as she speaks with her older siblings, a technician's programming of a language interface, a learned grey's mastery of the language in a formal speech, and the intuitive discourse of a psychic translator. Barely a few seconds had passed when T'sorkel blinks again, having the memories at his disposal now. He sways a bit and reaches out to Rar'gul for stability. The touch of the Trox, however, links their minds for a few moments and in the mind link T'sorkel shares a large portion of the memories unintentionally. When he realizes what happened, T'sorkel exclaims, Rar'gul are you ok?! Sorry, I should have known I was too tired to control a deep dive into the Archive. I hope that wasn't overwhelming!
T'sorkel clicks. We should go to Upwell. It has thousands of ships coming and going; a massive space station that is the gateway and transport stop for Liviarra. We can blend in easily and figure out our next move. If we want to go to Roselight, we can get passports from the Barathu-run Office of Commercial Interests (OCI).
T'sorkel clicks with excitement. Oh, I have always wanted to pilgrimage to Nchak! He pauses and his antennae drop slightly. Though perhaps we won't have much time for such things. I agree that we should not go straight into the Roselight just yet. We need to assess how deep the infiltration of the Stewards has gone.
Happy Thanksgiving for those in the US!
The Shirren nods as Cidribvoot talks about his family and his many cousins and siblings. When he mentioned dropping out of University in Arkanen, T'sorkel makes some audible clicks. Well, school is not for everyone. But you would seem to be telling the truth. If we can help you get out of here, all the better. I am T'sorkel and these are my boys, T'regen and Darluk. He indicates two larval Shirren in vials on his side. T'sorkel boards ship with everyone else, giving one last glance out at the Station. Good riddance. He then goes to find a place to rest.
I think T'sorkel is done leveling up. He also took Reptoid for his language with a point of Culture. I took Enhanced Communalism for my feat choice. I like Helpful Telepath, but then I found the spell Empathic Support, which basically lets you do the same thing for the duration. Might still take Helpful Telepath later.
Alright, Starfinder peeps, help your Shirren memory-mage pick his new feat! All three of these could be fun and are generally in the vibe of T'sorkel. Let me know what you think or if you have experience with them. *Cosmic Truth: Fun with memory horrors, but requires me to dump a huge investment into Bluff (currently 1 Rank)
T'sorkel nods. I've read about Dirindi, but never met one before. However, their ability to generate and withstand electrical impulses is well documented. He steps closer and peers at Cidribvoot as if he's trying to divine something around him. Please, tell me about your family growing up. Did you grow up on Arkanen? Who was around and influenced you? Cidribvoot, Sense Motive DC11:
T'sorkel keeps his sonic pistol out, though it wavers as he points it at Cidribvoot. Are you a Reptoid too? What were you doing back there? The Shirren is clearly tired, not even able to muster up much anger in his voice though he's clearly wary of the newcomer.
T'sorkel sees a figure dart out from under the Voidcrier and rush towards where Lilly is. He's slightly confused by the laser fire, but figured they must have just missed the Doctor. Not Cidribvoot: Look out! There's someone else here! Lilly, they're behind you!
T'sorkel tries to drive the last reptoid back away from his friends.
T'sorkel shrieks in pain and steps back to shoot the reptoid.
Ahhh! T'sorkel yells as the reptoid rounds the corner on him. The shirren panics and scrambles back as he hurls a piece of the crate at him telekinetically.
T'sorkel hurries to the crates. He sees some laser blasts under the Voidcrier, but doesn't know where they're coming from. As he runs, he fires at Pike, trying to distract him from John and Rar'gul.
I'm with you, Lilly! T'sorkel rushes after the Doctor towards one of the reptoids. He points his antennae towards the creature and psychically screams at him to try and startle him.
T'sorkel forces himself to move up to the threshold and fires at the reptoid to try and keep his head down.
T'sorkel steadies himself, nodding at John. I...Sorry about that. I panicked. You're right. One problem at a time. Just as he finished sending that, the doors open and the sound of gunfire erupts. The shirren ducks his head instinctively.
Oh no! T'sorkel's antennae droop as he reads the claims against them. Terrorists?! Real Stewards will be hunting us! They may even be looking for our families! T'sorkel clutches the twins' vials strapped to his body. He suddenly sounds much more like the graduate student who boarded the Chimera than someone who has survived grays and reptoids.
T'sorkel passes the spell gem of Hold Portal to Lilly, while taking the one of Reflecting Armor. I'll take one of those high capacity batteries if no one else need it. I'm stuck with the biopistol for the time being.
T'sorkel pats John on the head. You'll be fine, just a bit woozy. The reptoids have started to drop all pretenses of being Stewards, but we still should be careful. He helps John to his feet.
Thanks for all the positive comments! I do enjoy considering how T'sorkel can do all his abilities as an offshoot of his access to the Akashic Record. And the synergy with the theme of fake memories and deception is eerie. What if T'sorkel implants false memories? Mwhahaha! I second that Dr. Flint-Bridge's post was awesome too. I think that's how we would all feel at this point.
While Rar'gul and Lilly prep to move through another door, T'sorkel takes John's head in his hands and burns the last of his effort to reach the Archive, this time through John himself. He's instantly flooded with John's memories, flipping through them at an accelerated pace like pages in a book. He doesn't bother looking through them; he's not here to intrude in John's privacy. He knows what he wants is at the end -- John's memory of himself just a few minutes earlier. The body's sense of itself is often overlooked. It's an internal sense, not external. It's how you know where your arms and legs are without looking. T'sorkel burrowed into that sense and the memory it created in John's body. The body remembers trauma and works to protect itself. It was a simple matter of finding the memory before this most recent trauma. Now was the hard part -- forcing John's mind and body to accept the old memory. The Shirren carefully lifts the memory to the surface and overlays it to John's mind. A moment of panic ensues -- John's body knows this isn't his current state. But T'sorkel begins to weave the memory into John's current tapestry, using the threads of the Akashic Record, and slowly John's memory recognizes the foreign intrusion isn't so foreign. It's his own memory. Still, it takes time and patience, determination and mental fortitude. And once the mind knows it isn't hurt, the body begins to follow.
T'sorkel rushes up to help John. I can help him, but it'll take a a bit. We can't rush it. He looks up at the others. Do we have the time?
T'sorkel can use Healing Touch on John, but it takes 10 minutes. He would gain 30 hitpoints.
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