Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.
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Jastrow is a short, brown-furred ysoki with twitchy whiskers and a big, green, cybernetic eye that looks like it was made out of leftover robot parts and scrap metal. He wears all sorts of tools and gadgets on his belts, and a survival knife strapped to his hip. All of his gear looks well-used, or recycled.
Jastrow skitters down the halls of the Lorespire Complex, stopping to pick up any trash, garbage, and lost things he finds and putting them into his huge, stuffed, overflowing pockets.
"Hmmm..." he wonders. "I wonder what the mission is today... I hope it's worth it! That ship they shuttled me here on was a gas-guzzler! Uh! Doesn't anyone speak for the trees around here?" He stops to pick up some litter and sticks in his pocket, then keeps walking.
When he sees the others he says, "Oh, I'm Jastrow, by the way. From Akiton."
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"Uh, ew... UH! WHAT'S THAT SMELL?" a tall, pale lashunta exclaims, pinching her nose. "This place stinks! How does anyone live in a place without proper fresh air?!"
She adjusts her green and yellow dress and hood and smiles at Jastrow. "Hello again, my friend."
She looks around at the people she doesn't know. "I'm Lilith Flowerblossom."
You arrive at Lorespire complex only to find that you've been booked for a trip on a luxury space-yacht, the Exemplarion. This seems a bit... out of the ordinary for Starfinder business... but hey! You take what you're given right? Your mission briefings included passage on a far more modest Starfinder starship which has been chartered to bring you to the Exemplarion which is currently stationed not to far from the moon known as Salvation's End.
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Oda boards the modest vessel gesturing with her head that the others should join her. She spends part of the flight out to the Exemplarion going through her briefing packet. Once she has quickly looked over her packet she pulls a comm unit from her belongings and opens her connection to interface with each of you. Once you sync you receive a message.
I am Oda Umox. I cannot speak. I may stomp and click a finger to get attention. My fists and my gun are yours for this mission.
When the time comes she clomps her way onto the Exemplarion and settles herself in whatever berth she is directed to.
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"Good to see you again, Lilith and Jastrow." Kai says with a smile and then greets the others. "My name is Kai Starchaser. I'm a field researcher but I've started to learn my way around a pistol. I'm a pretty good pilot. I'm looking forward to seeing what's inside Salvation's End! I read the reports from the freelancers we sent there before and they sounded interesting."
Your shuttle docks on the Exemplarion where you are met by a skeletal assistant who escorts you to what is marked as a production studio spanning decks 4 and 5.
The studio is a large, multi-tiered auditorium with an immense window that looks out over Salvation’s End. Dozens of professionals rush about the studio, adjusting lights, testing holographic displays, pulling clothes from wheeled wardrobes, cleaning the hundreds of tiered seats, and more. The elebrian media mogul Zo! sits on the stage with the Starfinder Society’s First Seeker, Luwazi Elsebo, animatedly telling a story while Luwazi marvels at the ongoing activity. The first seeker waves and motions for you to walk down the aisles and join them. Assistants immediately rush out with additional chairs to accommodate the new arrivals. The undead glow in Zo!'s eye sockets lights up as he sees you.
“Yes. Yes! You’re everything I was hoping for,” exclaims the undead showman while looking over the new arrivals. “Oh, Luwazi, you’ve truly outdone yourself. They’re so exciting, so energized, so—”
“—alive?” finishes a ghast woman wearing well-tailored clothing as she steps onto the stage. Zo! frowns at the blunt observation and tries to respond, but Luwazi intervenes. “Starfinders, no doubt this is all happening a little fast, so let me explain. After the Scoured Stars incident, the Society struggled to support new expeditions. I reached out to numerous people and organizations for grant money, and our host was eager to help. He financed more than a dozen missions, including the one to Salvation’s End. There was one big catch.” Zo! visibly bounces in his seat with excitement as Luwazi continues. “If we found anything especially exciting, we’d need to cease exploration long enough for him to get a film crew out there to document whatever we found next. Well, Salvation’s End may look like a moon, but our initial survey of it found there’s something built inside—the whole thing might be artificial. That qualifies as especially exciting, but that was also several months ago.”
The skeletal mogul waves his hands. “Oh, but Luwazi, I couldn’t just send a single crew. No, the Starfinder Society’s greatest triumph deserves far more production value.” He hops up from his chair and gazes out at the moon as he paces and gesticulates. “Imagine: heroes from the Pact World, a mysterious planetoid, untold secrets, limitless adventure—all broadcast before a live audience in our greatest production yet!” He spins to look back at the group, his lipless mouth smiling gleefully. “Live Exploration Extreme!”
The ghast claps politely before interjecting. “To translate, you’re scheduled to explore part of Salvation’s End accompanied by a professional camera crew and production team. You will find exciting things and be thoroughly entertaining. Any questions?”
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Jastrow can't help but smile at the charismatic tv show host and his grand ideas. "Live exploration extreme?! This sounds amazing! I can't wait!" He jumps around a bit in excitement.
When the ghost lady talks to him he shakes his head. "Nope! No questions from me! I want to get out there and do some exploring!"
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Lilith types a message back to the Oda.
Hi. My name is Lilith. Do you want to be friends?
When she sees all the undead around, Lilith frowns. "Sounds like I'd rather watch this show than star in it." She sighs. "Let's try not to die on a tv show everyone." She looks at Zo! "Is there anything else we should know?"
Zo! reads Oda's message, than motions to the ghast next to him. "This is Wazasha Kevir, my associate producer. She'll accompany you during your jaunt to supervise the film crew and pace the event."
Wazasha's long tongue slithers back into her mouth, then adds, "I will ensure that the production is in compliance with Pact Worlds standards. I trust this won't be a problem? I was told you are professionals.
Answering Kai and Jastrow's queries, Luwazi explains, [b]“I hired a team to perform a surface survey, and it was they who discovered a hatch that led much deeper into its interior. We also know that a tribe of goblins calling themselves the Exhaust Drinkers live on the surface, and we’ve clashed with them in the past. Most recently, we undertook a concerted effort to clear the tribe out from our landing facility on the moon’s surface. The moon’s gravity will feel about normal, but we’ve detected that the gravity is artificially maintained and even seems to reorient itself in some areas.”
With that, Wazasha glances down at her wrist-mounted holoscrene and announces, "We're an hour away from starting. Please, come this way for costumes and make-up."
She ushers you out of the auditorium toward a dressing room, and begins an equipment check. "Seems as though you are well prepared. If you need any special equipment however, the starship is fully stocked."
Zo! takes Kai aside for a moment as you prepare for your on-screen debuts. "A few companies have sent some samples of their latest products to show off on the show. I prefer not to fill such an... immersive oeuvre with company logos, however these come from some close friends."
From the Verces-based company Clashwear:
From Scorched Earth products, "Why end a fight when you can end a planet?":
From various less important local distributors:
The rest of you are ushered into changing rooms where your armor is polished to a shine, makeup is generously applied to make sure you stand out well on camera, and hairstylists do their best to make sure your look will stand out, but hopefully not get in the way of your work. A few acting coaches are in and out as well, giving advice... for what it's worth.
"So... a word of advice. You're not just holovid stars; you're performing for a LIVE AUDIENCE of PASSIONATE fans. Obviously, avoid damaging the filming equipment, or - insurance premiums forbid - the crews, but make sure to put on a good show! Pander to the crowd! Show off! Voice your thoughts, fears, whatever you can do to make the crowd remember YOU!"
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Kai takes the special kukri, then takes a picture of the other gear and sends it to the team with a message: Anyone want one of these things? I can take one. He waits a bit for a response and then takes that piece of gear also.
In the next room he tells the makeup artist not to put on more makeup than are needed to show his natural features under the camera lights.
To the coach, he nods and says "I'll try to whip out a few phrases here and there. I've never done this before but it should be fun."
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Lilith curls up her nose at the artificial makeup and fancy hairdos. "I don't need any of that, thank you, I'm already styled to perfection."
Upon realizing there would also be a live audience watching through the camera feeds, Lilith does not look happy. She listens to the acting coaches, but you're not sure if she's going to take their advice.
Soon, she is ready to go.
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As the make-up artist sits and stares at Oda she just chuckles.
What will I do with this massive scar? I cannot hide it, but does one enhance such a thing with make-up?
In the end the artist settles for some light lipstick and a dusting of powder to take off the shine of the half-orc's skin.
Oda also insists, in capital letters and exclamation points on her comm unit, on a single tight braid down her back for her hair style. The hair stylist does a very nice job, getting it all just a little more orderly than Oda does herself, every morning.
The undead attending to Lilith does her best to put her at ease. "Oh don't worry Lilith, this is not a reflection on your style, but a fact of photography. If you wish to look on camera as you look to me in person, we'll need to add a little makeup to accentuate some of your features and keep the shadows from obscuring you."
In the other dressing room, an undead makeup artist works with Oda. "Ah yeah, we should make the scar stand out. It will give everyone the first impression that you've seen some serious action and you should play to that. As for your voice... I understand that you are unable to speak, but can you make any growls or battlecries? Perhaps play up your ferocity for the audience?"
Jastro finds himself well groomed and applied with an oil to make his fur glisten. The makeup artists spend more time adding some accent stripes to his gadgets than to his person.
Kai is cleaned up to look like the pretty-boy of the group and emerges from his dressing room with hair slicked back then gelled into a stiff position. He comes out with a new weapon carried in a rather large scabbard complete with with a bright company logo.
Zo! bounces up and down with excitement while Luwazi bites her tongue. "You look FANTASTIC! Your shuttle is ready to go! It's a 15 minute voyage to the moon's surface. Camera crew is on-board, and Wazasha will accompany you. Break a leg!"
A few Starfinders meet up with you as you arrive at the starship dock . "Infosphere password is Zo!sLiveExplorationExtreme. You should be able to check out what the audience is saying about you during breaks. Stardock is in pretty good shape, and it's all camera crew and Starfinders here. No need to worry about anything you leave on board. With luck, this may even be a lodge if this whole thing pans out.
From one of the other shuttles comes the camera crew and Washaza. [b]"This way to the tunnels..." She guides you to a heavy hatch, but as you reach to open it, she holds up her hand to wait.
"Lights?"
One of the undead gives a thumbs up.
"Cameras?
Each crewman holding a camera gives a thumbs up as well.
"Action!"
One last crewman holding a wood rectangle bearing the words 'Live Exploration Extreme! Episode 1 Scene 1' raises it, then lifts a small armature on the top and clacks it back down before getting out of the way. Wazasha motions for Oda to lift off the hatch and proceed into the tunnels.
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As the hatch gets opened, Jastrow says dramatically, "I wonder what's down there.... Could be dangerous, team. Be ready for anything!"
As Oda opens the hatch and Lilith calls down into it, Jastrow pulls out a glow stick, cracks it, and drops it down into the hatch. He leans over, watching it fall....
A network of service tunnels crisscrosses this outermost subsurface layer. As you push forward, Oda keeps a vanguard position with Jastrow right behind.
The ysoki keeps a keen eye out for traps or potential natural hazards, but the path seems clear. As you progress deeper, you find several broken and incomplete robots and drones of unknown design at irregular intervals along the worn steel hallways. Almost every light fixture is broken or malfunctioning, leaving the 15-ft tall tunnels dark but for the occasional haunting flicker of light from the distance. In the few places where it seems signage once hung, someone has purposefully defaced or removed the analog signs and torn out any digital displays.
The camera crew pull in close and Wazasha takes the opportunity to get a few good close-ups. With Lilith in the rear, she motions for one of the undead cameramen to come closer. With a few clicks of a remote, a hexopodal robot plants itself on the ground, providing a nice two-panel screen with a neutral backdrop. A noise cancelling bubble deadens the sound of the rest of the party as she holds a mic out.
"You seem to be content to let Oda lead the way, but according to your dossier, you've never worked with her before. What makes you confident in her abilities?"
Wazasha seems a bit disappointed with the curt response.
Up ahead, the tunnel opens up into some sort of a filthy garbage heap.
Wazasha motions for her crew to move forward. They wait a minute or so as the party investigates, then pushes a mic in front of Jastrow. "So... what have you found?"
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Jastrow gasps at the sight of the garbage heap. "What?! Look at all this wasted material! This could be re-used! Ai-yai-yai!" She grabs some choice bits of garbage and sticks it in his pockets and backpack.
In response to Wazasha, Jastrow says, "The trash here is mostly low-value scraps that likely were once a part of something more valuable. But, low-value, doesn't mean NO VALUE, and I'm a firm believer that our worlds need to reduce, re-use, and recycle everything we can to keep them green and alive. This is not very eco-responsible waste disposal. Of course, that's not all that surprising. See this gunk over here? Goblin poop! Now, I appreciate that goblins are master's of re-using trash, but I think they're overlooking something still of value here..."
As Lilith raises her hand to pinch her nose, one of the cameramen grins and motions for her to hold the gesture as he approaches for a good shot. He raises his hand and silently counts '3... 2... 1...' and motions for her to release.
Wazasha nods to one of the crewmen, and the robot folds up the backdrop to allow Jastrow to continue forward, although mere moments after that happens a loud explosion shakes the walls and echoes from ahead. The undead quickly fan out with their cameras to capture your reactions, then begin looking at each other and Wazasha nervously.
The camera crew shines a bright light on Oda as she aims her cannon, then approaches for a close-up shot before panning back out for a wide shot of the whole party.
Dust wafts into the room from down one of the passageways deeper into the moon. Nothing else comes, but it sounds like there has been some sort of a collapse very nearby.
The camera crew follows close behind as Oda leads the group forward. Just around the corner, you see the source of the sound. A pair of goblins are rummaging around in some rubble that seems to have been caused by an explosive charge. A hole in the ceiling has dust, sand, and small chunks of rock still sliding out of it onto the ground below. Accompanying the goblins is a large six-legged creature resembling an armadillo with compound eyes, irridescent banded armor plates, heavy digging claws, and a pair of rasping tongues. One of the goblins points your way and slaps the creature hard with the flat of it's dogslicer. "Kill 'em! Our stash! Kill 'em all!"
The camera crew point floodlights into the room, and do their best to keep a few cameras trained on the newcomers along with the party.
The goblins come rushing out, and begin firing their lasers wildly.
Even caught off guard, Oda's well equipped for random laser fire from grade F goblin weapons.
Round 1:
Red Goblin
Green Goblin
Kai
Beastie
Oda
Jastrow
Lilith
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As she does it, Lilith gives the camera A LOOK, clearly letting the audience know what she thinks of this gross place.
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Lilith backs up and holds her arms in the air, green magic glows around them, as she stands ready to cast some sort of spell....
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Lilith attempts to communicate with the creature, "Easy, young one. We do not seek to do you harm..." She promises it its favourite food and fun stuff if it joins her or doesn't fight.
Prodded forward by the goblins, the Spicodranth (as Lilith knows it) rushes forward. Lilith is pretty certain that it COULD be calmed down, were it not for the goblins spurring it forward. The bright lights from the camera crew shine off of it's hide, making it difficult to look it.
Round 1:
Red Goblin
Green Goblin
Spicodranth
Oda (-9)
Jastrow
Lilith
Kai (Delay)