[SFS-GM Skeemo] 1-34 Heart of the Foe (Inactive)

Game Master Christopher Wasko

Several comfortable chairs and sidetables stand outside the sliding door to one of the central conference rooms in the Lorespire Complex. A red ticker displays in automated text: "Please wait to enter."

You may introduce yourselves here.

Absalom's station most famous elven crime fighter walks into the hallway, followed by an android in a natty bow tie holding a camera, and a strange little creature that looks like a shark mated with an octopus to produce a... puppy?

"Hello Bat Friends!"

Bat Elf twirls around, showing off her cape, mask, tool belt and bat logo! "It's time for another exciting adventure where Bat Elf and her Starfinder friends are ready to go off-planet! We don't know yet what this mission holds. Will Bat Elf take the Batmobile to a location in the Pact Worlds, or to as yet uncharted location in the Vast? And who will be Bat Elf's fellow crime fighters this time? Stay tuned. Same Bat time, Same Bat channel!"

Then her theme song starts playing.

♫ Na nana na nana Bat Elf! ♫

"Oh, look, my bat senses detect our team approaching!" She gets excited as she throws her arms in the air. "Let's welcome them as they come in, shall we?" Bat Elf grins as she welcomes any newcomer who comes through. "Hello new Bat Friend! Are you ready to join me on another breathless adventure? I'm Bat Elf, and I fight crime!"

Bat Elf, like Big Jim and Ivok, is an icon. You recognize her instantly with context provided.

The android takes a moment to shake hands with newcomers. Speaking in a refined accent, he says, "So pleased to meet you. I'm Miss Apastron's camera man, butler and home hea--er, friend. I'm her friend."

"Woof, woof, wooof!" Bat Pup bounces around all the other octo-pups that might be coming along, and pants excitedly. Then he raises his head to be petted.

A decently tall and handsome half orc wearing armor--with odd accoutrements (are those severed and preserved limbs of a jinsul???) attached-- walks briskly into the waiting room.

Tsultro immediately gets assaulted by the--over the topness?--of Batelf. Realizing he probably should put the game face he used when dealing with Zo!, he smiles broadly.

"Hello there, Batelf. Nice to meet you, I am Tsultro Jik, though I usually go by Tsu." Shaking Alfred the Android's hand and patting...??Batpup?? on its head(?), he continues."I just got the notification that I should come ready for a mission. As I look around, I am guessing I got here a bit early."

"Hello Tsu!" Bat Elf's grin widens as she sees the severed and preserved limbs of a jinsul stuck to Tsu's armor. "Huh. I've fought a bunch of jinsuls of late myself! That's an interesting look that you've adopted. Are those real jinsul limbs, or cunning fakes to intimidate the enemy?"

No life science on Bat Elf... She has no idea if they are real or not.

"Better early than late, Tsu. What missions have you been on with the jinsul? Anything you can talk about?"

Then Alfred's communicator starts ringing. "Nice to meet you Tsu, if you'll excuse me a moment, I need to answer this." There's a pause, and then Alfred says, "Oh excellent! I'll pick it up right away!"

He turns to Bat Elf. "The Knights of Golarian have sent you a care package! I'm off to collect it now, but should be back shortly!"

Bat Pup bumps Tsu's hand, shamelessly seeking more petting. He also playfully grabs at Tsu's fingers with a couple tentacles.

I wish the art for this was posted somewhere, but you can see a picture of the Octopup on this first slide.

A petite kalo slinks into the room. She wears armor inside, as is typical for aquatic creatures, so it can be filled with water. Her D-Suit is white on the front and black on the black, with a fine pattern resembling dead kelp. Her helm is partially covered by a black net resembling a widow’s veil, and she peers out from behind it at each of you suspiciously in turn. What look like silver accents are, on closer examination, fish hooks.

”I’m HeeNee. Jinsuls are pretty nasty. We should probably all be prepared to die on this mission.”

She adjusts the two rifles strapped to her back to sit down.

Tsultro nods gravely."Pulled them off myself, and even preserved them during the time in that hellhole. I was one of the people that was with Jadnura when the Starfinders that weren't trapped in the Scoured Stars came for us. I think by the time we were rescured, most of us became a bit....off kilter shall we say--doing what we could to survive. I know...I know a lot of us didn't make it, but Jadnura kept us together, and the ones that didn't are always in our memory." With that he lightly touches a battered Starfinder badge, one that appears to be an 'extra' on his uniform.

Nodding to HeeNee as she walks in Tsultro introduces himself. "Tsultro Jik, Tsu to friends. Love your armor. I assume the coloration is so that you are less obvious underwater? I would guess if you were above them your white would blend with the light infused water, and if you were below the black would blend in with the deeps?"

”That is correct. So that I can,” she sighs dramatically, sending bubbles throughout her water-filled helmet, ”disappear.”

/dot

A rather brightly coloured vesk wearing armour (with various company endorsements) wanders up to the group along with a goblin wearing a red bandana and a pirate eye-patch (with a hole in it).

"Yeah this is the place, Ivok is here, and if he's here then this must be another special edition of 'Jims Jams' - hey that looks like BatElf, geez the creative team must have a wild episode in mind!"

"Howdy folks! Look forward to working with you for this collaborative special, my gus can call your guys and work out all that 'stuff', and we can focus on having a great time - anyone know what they have in mind this time? Crime fighting and bit of home renovation? Capturing some bad guys with a spot of mechanical repairs? I see Ivok so that means some good workout and exercise personal improvement angles too, jeez, that's going to make a great episode - hey why is that guy dressed up like a Jinsul and that guy dressed up like a shark - are we surfing with Jinsuls?"

Entering the room next is a vesk with largely green coloration with a few stripes of red. He is just a bit short of seven feet tall with well toned muscles under some light shirt with a faded Star Sugar Heartlove! logo and shorts. Riding on his shoulder is another shark-octopus-puppy hybrid riding on his shoulder skittering with excitement as the vesk carries a set of bags of equipment with himself.

"Hopefully I'm not running a bit late, just was taking Champ here for a jog around the park." He holds out a gloved claw as he introduces himself, "Ivok. I haven't worked with many of you, but I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we aren't going to need to fight any more jinsul, I've already had more than more immediate share of sparring matches with them." He stretches himself out to work out some of the tension just thinking about yet more claw rending fights.

Ivok ponders on Tsultro a moment before saying, "I'm glad you were able to make it out of there yourself. I know what you mean, people do a lot of ...", he has to pause for a moment as he ruminates on the word he is looking for before continuing with, they make a lot decisions to stay alive. Keep them in your memory and I'll fight alongside you to keep everyone else healthy and in the race."

Baragh nods at Ivok's mentioning on making it out."It was tough, but at least some of us got out."

He looks down as his com unit beeps. Reading the email he nods to everybody and grabs his backpack. "Apparently the higher ups say that my speciality is needed in another mission. The email also said that somebody else should be here to fill in the hole I am leaving in the team. I hope to meet you all again on another mission."

With that he nods once again to each of you and heads out the door.

"Wait!" Bat Elf wishes Tsu a farewell, and shoots him her comm link number. "Maybe we can do another show sometime! Good luck, Tsu!"

"Best of luck," Ivok raises a fist in a sign of solidarity while matching Bat Elf in messaging his link number, "Lets not wait until the next mission. I help run a lot of events; mostly marathons, league games, less lethal forms of exercise than we get on missions. Feel free to come along if you are interested. It has been a nice way for me to take a break myself. If you have any projects you want a hand with anything message me as well, I'm busy but I can always make a little time."

"Good luck. I hope your other mission isn't nearly certain death, but it probably will be."

Entering the room a short while later, Clastorg will arrive with his attention seemingly devoted to a small computer he is carrying in a three-clawed hand. A Wrikreechee, he resembles a mollusk-like humanoid creature, with hard shells covering the majority of his body, limbs, and head. The sides of his neck are covered in feathery gills that are currently tightly folded against his neck, which somewhat obscures a series of three small buttons along the front. His arms and legs both appear to be rather ungainly, but he moves with a high degree of precision.

He is dressed in a rather odd collection of clothes, with a reinforced leather jacket over a t-shirt (both short-sleeved), slacks under a set of reinforced pants, and thick gloves and boots. At his belt is a pair of small-arms and a survival knife.

Looking up once he enters the room, he says in a soft and airy voice through his feathery mouthparts. "Greetings, everyone. It is nice to meet you all. My name is …" Trailing off for a moment, he taps the middle button on the side of his neck. "Excuse me. My name is Clastorg. I am looking forward to this time away from grading papers and teaching classes."

Jim looks at the new sea creature that has replaced the sea creature that just left "So... casting went for a different look huh?" he observes.

"Pleased to meet you there Clastorg, what sort of classes do you teach? I sort of teach classes, but pretty different to yours I imagine"

Stowing his computer in his backpack, Clastorg extends a hand to the large Vesk. "My specialty is xenobiology, which I have been able to put to good use over the past year here in the society. In fact, I've even been able to expand my knowledge quite substantially."

Running around the corner, you see a Kasathan male dressed in Steward Officer attire. He has the traditional scarf over his face and a few light weapons at his belt. He comes to a stop when he gets to you, discreetly checking the time on his comm unit.

“Sorry, just came off a shift doing some traffic duty, I haven’t had time to change.”

Nodding in their direction, he says “Big Jim, Buster, Ivok. Nice to see you again.”

Looking to the rest of you, he holds out his right upper hand to shake with and says “Greetings! I’m Zeyram. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

"Oh hey Zeyram too? I see they have re-assembled a bit of a MVP team here! I guess the guys down in production have a pretty good eye for talent"

"Yes, this should be an exciting show! Big Jim, did you know that I watched yours and Ivok's shows in the hospital where I was born? I learned all about tools and healthful exercise!"

The incongruity of a long-lived older elf having watched tool and exercise shows when she was born does not seem to occur to Bat Elf, but she talks knowledgeably about both Vesk's shows.

Zeyram gives Bat Elf a puzzled look at the comment about when she watched Big Jim’s and Ivok’s shows, but decides she is talkative enough that all will most likely be explained before the mission is over.

Looking to Ivok, he asks “Was any of the material we talked about about on Kasathan exercises useful to you, Ivok?”

"Great you see you again Zeyram!" Ivok returns the greeting with a boisterous call and a hearty offering of a hug before answering. "They are working out very well! There are still those that I can't get a handle on, but it let me get a much better idea of what training a kasatha needs to go through. I've been working through a few specialized routines, running them by some clients before I release them to the infosphere. If you have a chance after the mission I would love for you to give me your feedback on them."

Giving a laugh as he tries to maintain some sense of humility, Ivok responds to Bat Elf, "It is wonderful to meet a fan. I hope that it really helped you through your stay in the hospital." It does take Ivok a short moment to realize that Bat Elf actually declared she was born during his show's run. He takes another moment as he looks relatively confused, but he shoves off the feeling only adding, "Although, I must say, you look very ... mature for your age."

Rubbing all four of his hands together, Zeyram replies to Ivok “I would be happy to try it out and give some feedback.”

Turning to Clastorg and HeeNee he says “Pardon me, but this is my first time working with a Kalo.. Anything special I should know?”

"Well, it seems pretty dangerous out there for kalos. Many of us have been killed on missions. We breathe water, so I have to have my armor on all the time." She taps her helmet. "We have great hearing, though. I know where everything is even if I can't see it."

"Although, I must say, you look very ... mature for your age."

"Thank you, Bat Friend Ivok! I am about three years old, though this body is much older." Bat Elf takes out her identity card.

Bat Elf looks at the card a moment, then passes it to Ivok. "Sonarisa died of a broken heart, but it was her time. Then I was born. We all have destinies, that pull on us not just from birth, but throughout out our lives. Either you let destiny tear you apart, or you rise to meet it."

"I like to think that I was born as an answer to destiny's call. Someone needed to fight the crime in the Spike, so I came into being. I trained, made friends, took action." Bat Elf smiles at Hee Nee. "I joined the Starfinders, because they gave me the opportunity to take my crime fighting expertise beyond Absalom Station, and into the Vast. I met one of your fine warriors, Suulhuu Huur, on Arniselle. Although the rest of her team from the Manticore died, it was our honor to avenge them. Today, it will be my honor to have you as my teammate. I pledge my life to you and the rest of my team, and I will do everything to keep you safe."

HeeNee's face falls even further. "Yes. I was friends with the Manta Corps. They were truly the best of us. My AI is named Muncher in honor of them."

Ivok looks at the card for a long moment before nodding with understanding. "I can't argue with you on destiny. I came to the Pact with the goal of strengthening bonds and muscles against the Swarm or any other threat that found our corner of the galaxy. The Society has had surprises for me though and I've had to do my best to push my way through them." He passes back the card with a forced grin, "Some more easily than others."

"You carry a big burden HeeNee. I'm certain they would have pride knowing that they continue giving you strength even now."

The automated sliding door opens with a hiss, and the ticker changes to read "Please enter."

Inside the conference room, nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo uploads a holographic map of a sparse region of the Vast. First Seeker Jadnura stares out a window at the opposite side of the room, his four arms folded behind his back as he gazes into the blackness of space surrounding Absalom Station. “Thank you for joining us,” Luwazi says as she finishes positioning the map above the table. “We know there have been some hiccups in getting everyone on the same page now that the agents trapped in the Scoured Stars have returned. To keep any unnecessary schisms from forming, Jadnura and I decided to cooperate as joint First Seekers for the time being and focus on missions the entire Society can get behind. And nothing unites disparate factions like a common enemy.” She brings up a flickering holograph of an alien with numerous eyes covering an ovoid body atop six chitinous legs. “These aliens call themselves jinsuls, and you may have already met them. A fleet of their starships ambushed us once we returned to the Scoured Stars, and we were lucky to make it out alive. They’ve interfered with our missions more than once now, but we can’t mount effective counterattacks because no one knows a damn thing about them.”

Jadnura glares at the jinsul holograph. “The only common thread between their attacks is the Scoured Stars,” he grumbles. “The jinsuls used everything they had to drive us away from the Scoured Stars, and the other civilizations they’ve sought out in the Vast all seem to have some ancestral connection to the worlds within that system. Luckily, we still have two helpful artifacts; they’re known as Tears, which emerged from the Scoured Stars and sought out its former inhabitants. I probed the energies within the Tears again, and whatever force is powering them revealed coordinates to a new region in the Vast. Our scouts have confirmed jinsul starships occasionally visit one planet within the area. It’s not much, but we need to start somewhere.”

“We suspect the jinsuls inhabited this planet before relocating to the Scoured Stars,” Luwazi adds, “which means it may hold troves of information about their technology, leadership, culture, you name it. We’re planning to travel there, scan the planet from orbit, and send a few ground teams—including you—to conduct reconnaissance on sites of interest. With any luck we’ll get in, learn what we can, and get out before the jinsul commanders ever know we’re there. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask.”

“How can we scan the planet without being detected? I would expect orbital defenses to be a problem, especially given how isolationist the Jinsul appear to be.”

—

“Do you have the data that Historia-7 and Radaszam collected on the Jinsul? Is this in the same area of the vast where they were gathering a fleet?”

For context, Zeyram has completed Return to Sender.
—

“How will you select sites for reconnaissance? Knowing what you are selecting for may allow us to better equip ourselves before we leave.”

Jadnura responds. "We'll be taking my personal flagship, the Perfect Silence. She has the finest long-range sensors available, allowing us to sweep for jinsul starships or orbital defenses from afar, hopefully without being noticed. From there we can scan the planet's surface for the best locations to investigate. Our scouts' preliminary scans indicate the planet is barely habitable; its atmosphere is breathable but polluted, and its surface is mostly barren. The climate is prone to harsh winters, and there’s a constant danger of lightning storms, so prepare for difficult overland travel. Most signs of life are clustered in a few discrete sites, so we’ll likely be searching those first."

“Do you have the data that Historia-7 and Radaszam collected on the Jinsul? Is this in the same area of the vast where they were gathering a fleet?”

Luwazi scowls. "You mean the intelligence they 'stumbled upon' during an unsanctioned excursion into jinsul space? Yes, we have their data, with the caveat that the Forum does not encourage off-the-books moonlighting into hostile territory. Radaszam and Historia-7 should have known better, and you're lucky you weren't killed. In any case, this planet is quite far from the Scoured Stars where the other jinsul military bases are stationed. My best guess is that this is the planet the jinsuls adopted when they fled the Scoured Stars long ago, much like the izalguuns and the Kreiholm Freehold. But to be honest, I don't know for sure. That's why this mission is so pivotal to our understanding of the enemy."

"Did you say, 'lightning'?" Bat Elf asks. "Perhaps we should consider purchasing electrostatic fields from the Lorespire."

Bat Elf is amused by Luwazi's commentary on the unsanctioned excursion into Jinsul space. "During that 'unsanctioned excursion' I picked up some of jinsul tongue. Unfortunately, on previous missions, we've been so busy killing the jinsuls we've had little time to speak with them. Do you wish us to talk to any of the natives if we get the opportunity, or just spy on them from afar? If it's spying you're after, I'm not much of a sneak. I'm more the direct type."

Luwazi replies. "If you can find a jinsul who's actually willing to talk with you, that could be a huge breakthrough in our mission. But don't get your hopes up; every jinsul we've encountered thus far has been violent and fanatical. Don't let your guard down without cause, and keep your wits about you. You'll be deep in enemy territory."

Ivok flexes his muscles and bares his fangs a bit at Jadnura's confidence, almost surprising himself a bit before responding in a soldier-like stoicism forcing down his unconscious stress. "Do you think that this is the best course of action. Last time you followed a lead from one of these Tears you had almost all the leadership pinned down for months and sent the entire Society struggling to build up their strength again. What is to say that this whole thing isn't leading into another trap? Is it worth the risk to have both of the First Seekers lost again?"

That thin layer of professionalism cracks a bit on Luwazi's condemnation of the off the books mission, "If I may Seeker, we may have been lucky, but we knew the danger going in. Besides there are far more damaging missions the Society has thrown muscle for far fewer gains whether or not..." He pauses for a moment clearly changing the flow of what he was saying into, "Whether or not you approve of their actions.

Returning to a more calm demeanor Ivok reviews the holographic display asking, "Do you have a plan for how long this mission will be once we on the ground running? How will we get on and off planet? Were you able to tell if the clustered lifesigns were jinsul or someone else?"

"Righto, so we're looking for old settlements and just looking for anything of interest? Scrap and salvage, tech, that sort of thing?"

"If we're going overland, are you supplying wheels or should I bring the "Jims Jams vehicle to get us about? I can normally just ride fast on Buster, but everyone else walking is slow going on a hostile surface"

There is an awkward pause after Ivok calls out Jadnura, the visible portion of the First Seeker's face paling in either anger or shame, possibly both. "I am careful to learn from my past mistakes. We are taking every precaution this time. Long-range scanners, improved Drift engines in the event we need to stage a quick getaway, contingency plans in place with Society leadership in case we stay too long, the works. Luwazi and I will oversee the mission from this ship, which has several gunboats among its shuttles that we can use to cover you if things go south. We'll be in constant communication, but if you should lose contact with us, just keep following your primary objectives; we’ll fix communications from orbit and adjust the plan as needed."

Luwazi is visibly less enthused by the vesk's outburst. Her face hardens with resolution and authority. "Seeing as you were all too eager to jump into an active jinsul munitions base with no Forum support and no contingency plan, I question the authenticity of your concern about how Jadnura and I prioritize the safety of our agents. You should know how important the recovery of our Society is to me, and I'm not about to let all we've done to rebuild get torn down by these bloodthirsty monsters. Yes, this mission is dangerous, easily comparable to your extracurricular activities with Radaszam and Historia-7. But as of now it's our only lead on actually understanding the jinsul threat, which is doubtlessly growing by the hour back in the Scoured Stars. So are you ready to face the challenge, or should I find an agent who is?"

Jadnura places a hand on Luwazi's shoulder. "Infighting helps no one. The agent is right to be cautious." He replies to Jim next. "We're looking for clues that may reveal the jinsuls’ motives and capabilities: who commands them, what they want, where they came from, what their society is like, anything that might give us an edge in future encounters. Learn what you can about their leadership and social hierarchies, so we know how to incapacitate their military command when we cross blades with them again. Any breakdowns of their technology would certainly be helpful. I imagine we'll be landing nearby a location of interest, so a private vehicle shouldn't be necessary, but if you suspect it will help you may feel free to bring it along. The Perfect Silence has plenty of room." Turning back to Ivok. "The longer we stay on this planet, the less safe you and the other Starfinders become. I'd prefer to find whatever we can and escape before drawing too much attention to ourselves. Hopefully we are there no longer than 24 hours. You'll reach the planet via shuttle, my ship has one for each ground team. Our scouts did not get close enough to determine what exactly the active life forms were. I suspect jinsuls, but perhaps monsters or pets or something else. I don't know."

”I’ll bring the truck then, has enough room to transport us all and any salvage required. When you said prepare for difficult overland travel I had visions of us hacking to Hogg it all over the place, did that before, was no fun at all”

Zeyram watches the reaction of Jadnura closely when Ivok mentions the Tear. I have had the very same thoughts. He still seems overconfident about his ship’s capabilities.

“Do we know what the Tears are yet? I know one was used to open passage into the Scoured Stars, but what are they and who made them?”

"Ah, yes, this does sound very dangerous. Well, death waits for us all. As long as our sacrifice is not in vain and we recover useful intelligence first."

Jadnura lowers his head. "We're still not entirely sure what the Tears are. Our best understanding is that they are divine relics sent by some ultra-powerful force—likely a god—from the heart of the Scoured Stars. They flew on routes following the eight races that escaped the Scoured Stars ages ago, including the jinsuls. I have received visions by probing their energies in spiritual rituals, but they are fuzzy and fragmented, especially following the collapse of the Godshield. These visions led us to this new planet, but we were much more careful with our scouting efforts than we were with our initial excursion to the Scoured Stars. We wouldn't have greenlit this mission if we had not reasonably controlled for as many variables as possible."

Ivok doesn't fight back against the berating and doesn't make any attempt to break into either leader's response. Only once they are done and carefully wracked muscles for a response does he say, "I think you misunderstand First Seeker, I am more than willing to put my life on the line. I've done it before and I will do it again here. I have half a dozen episodes prerecorded and my manager has a list of replacements to take my place." He doesn't turn his attention away as he places a hand on the small creature on his shoulders; petting in an attempt to keep it calm. "But you, both of you, are the heads of this organization and losing both of you again in the same way may ruin the work putting into toning and restrengthening the Society that has gone through over the last few years. Despite the preparations you have done, I'm certain there are actions only you both can perform. While I like to imagine a test like the Scoured Stars will never happen again, I'm more worried for those that we leave behind than anyone here."

He reaffirms his dutiful stance as he concludes, "If you are taking all the necessary precautions to protect the chain of command, I won't question your word any further."

Luwazi's face softens, and she sighs. "I understand your concerns, and please know we both deeply respect the risks you take on our organization's behalf. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have such a dense concentration of leadership on one mission; but, under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have two First Seekers in the first place. Our role in this mission goes beyond merely overseeing the operation: it's a demonstration of Jadnura's and my joint commitment to neutralizing this threat and serving the Society together. We need to show the rest of our forces that we both take the jinsuls seriously, and that we can collaborate as equals; otherwise, split loyalties within our faction may descend into infighting, mistrust, and partitioning. Does that make sense?"

EDIT: looks like Bat Elf's post disappeared. Jadnura simply wraps up the discussion then.

Jadnura interjects. "As I mentioned, if comms fail, stick to your original mission objective. We have a crack team of tech support onboard, we'll figure out a way to reestablish contact and adapt from there. Any further questions?"

If you haven't done so yet, please make sure you slot your boons in Discussion. Also note any purchases you need to make before departure.

Yes, I realized that you answered Bat Elf's question already.

"So our mission. Drop down with other Starfinder Teams. Perform reconnaissance, gather data, survive and get out?" Bat Elf nods. "We have an excellent team, and though the risks are high, that's what we agreed to do when we signed up to be Starfinders. Plus, I get to ride in Big Jim's truck, which has been a life long goal of mine! Are we ready to do this, Bat Friends?"

At this point, Alfred rushes up with the parcel from the Knights of Golarian. "Here it is, Miss Apastron! Your loaned armor!"

"Thank you, Alfred." Bat Elf opens the parcel eagerly, and then stares at the leafy, flowery armor in confusion. "They sent me Preserver's Mantle II? Are you sure this is the right armor?"

Alfred raises an eyebrow. "What's the issue, Miss Apastron? Is it not excellent armor?"