A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st- through 4th-level characters.
Written by: Jenny Jarzabski
The deep rumble of the train as it skims along its metal track creates a pleasant bass line for the sounds of the cityscape. The car’s glass and metal walls shield the interior from the roar of traffic outside, but the faint howl of sirens and cab horns occasionally pierces this sanctum. Cradled safely inside the car, passengers murmur in private conversation or play muted vidfeeds on their comm units and datapads. The familiar click and whir of assistant machines fills the aisles.
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Ona sits uncomfortably in his seat. Even though it is the correct size, he finds it too small for his frame. The nuar's form constantly shifts as the nanocytes that he shares space with adjust and undulate.
He alternates between looking at the city speed by and watching his fellow passengers.
"It feels weird for me to be returning to the Lorespire. It is both where I died and where I was reborn."
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An attractive Damaya Lashunta woman sits in the train, calmly observing the passing sights and chatting with nearby passengers if they are talkative. She has dark hair with glints of light flickering like a distant starfield. Her eyes are ice blue and her antennae are powder blue.
Her Zeizerer diffractor armor glistens similarly to her hair, with patches identifying her as a physician and an emergency medical technician. Her pack has emblems that indicate there is a medkit inside.
She has a sword on her belt and a pistol at her side, but her peaceful manner suggests these are for self defense only.
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A jingling sound accompanies every rumble of the train as it vibrates. One of the passengers, a ysoki, is wearing clothes from which dangle hooks, carabiners, and straps holding up what can only be thought of as . . . well . . . junk! Broken bits of spring, an old rusty hovercar gearshift, half a toilet seat lid, and much more clack and jingle together as the ysoki moves. He seems to be using a small prybar to work free the bolts securing one of the handrails.
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A golden-furred brenneri dressed in deep blue and purple holds onto a pole in the train car, swaying with the car’s motion over the tracks. He smiles despite himself at Poko’s boundless enthusiasm.
“It’s impossible to be depressed around a skittermander. Thank you for brightening my day, Poko. I’m Kai. Nice to meet you and Ona both.”
Kai turns to Ona. “It sounds like you have a unique relationship with the Lorespire. Would you share? I don’t mean to pry or be too forward... it’s the peril of being brenneri.”
The train abruptly jolts to a halt with a jarring screech. All electronic feeds and holoscreens flicker and shut off at once, as if controlled by a master switch. For a moment, a roaring silence replaces the city’s constant symphony.
An insistent beeping pierces the air and the train stutters, rolls a few feet, then jerks into stillness once again.
A palpable hum fills the train car as dozens of crimson lights blink in frantic, random patterns. The helpful machines patrolling the aisle or hovering near the ceiling twitch and spark erratically as the train suddenly lurches forward again, now accelerating at a frightening speed.
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As the train goes haywire, Nixxer looks at the prybar in his hands and the bolts he was stealing adjusting, thinking Did I do that? Nah! He rolls to his feet. "Don't stress folks! Be outta this jam in a snap!" he announces. [b]"Just gotta get to the control room and have a chat with the conductor!
The ysoki races forward to the control room.
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“I understand, Ona. You and the others head to the controls. I’ll try to keep the crowd calm and safe. Good luck to us all.”
Kai makes room for the others to rush toward the front of the train, then he puts that brenneri softness back into his voice and begins speaking. His voice fills the car with a calming presence.
“Please everyone, stay calm. The Starfinders are investigating and working to keep you safe. Stay seated and out of the aisles so help can get through.”
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Luanna jumps to her feet and follows the others, but before she gets out of the car, she calls out as loudly as she can, "Is anyone injured? I'm a doctor!"
She will get out a spotlight to illumine the path for the others seeking the controls. She has other lights she can leave behind if others need them.
It’s daytime on the station and some sunlight is leaking in through the windows. However, the artificial light is erratic and there are patches of dark shadow, so the stable light provided by Luanna is welcome. Nobody is injured. Yet.
Kai’s perception is limited to his immediate surroundings, which includes a lot of scared and bewildered faces. The combination of his reassuring words and the sight of people springing into action is enough to calm the people within earshot.
As the train hurtles down the track, Poko catches glimpses of chaos on the surrounding station. Advertising screens show the same garbled image as the screens on the train. A window washing bot sprays water in random directions. A self-driving taxi veers off the road and into a shop window.
Round 2
The door to the control room is unlocked, but there is nobody inside. Through the front window, you see the train blast by a station that it was supposed to stop at. Below the window is a sturdy console with a glitching screen that occasionally reads AUTOPILOT ENGAGED.
There's no emergency brake, but Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits finds a datajack port and what may be an access panel - but it is very securely closed with no keyhole or other obvious way to open it.
Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits tries to tug at the panel, but can't get a good grip on its smooth surface.
When Luanna attempts to call the Emergency Services, she mostly hears static. In the occasional moments when it clears, she hears an automated message. "All of our ope-zzz-ors are busy. Please ho-zzz."
Poko maintains perfect balance as she advances down the aisle.
There's a boom in the air outside the train as it plunges through a short tunnel significantly faster than the signposted speed, but Kai still manages to maintain calm.
Although still glitching, the control panel in the front cab has stabilized a little. It seems to be a standard touch screen, but there is also the datajack port that Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits found.
Round 3
Nixxer manages to trigger the panel's release mechanism, and then, having noticed that the brake relays were burnt out, easily switches over to the backup relays.
However, Ona's instincts are correct - you still need to access the train's computer to engage the brakes. Ona almost manages to gain access, but a screen glitch at the last second throws him back to square one.
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Luanna advances to the door of the car with the control panel, sees progress being made on activating emergency controls, and then turns to address the passengers.
"Starfinders are working on stopping the train safely. But you should prepare for a possible crash! Get between seats, protect your head and torso, and brace yourself!"
She repeats this message and asks those in the back to relay it to the car behind.
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”Starfinders are working on stopping the train safely. But you should prepare for a possible crash! Get between seats, protect your head and torso, and brace yourself!”
Kai frowns as he hears Luanna’s warning come down the train. Sounds like repairs aren’t going well… time to change tactics.
He begins retracing his steps toward the back of the train, spreading Luanna’s instructions in a calm, yet urgent tone.
“Brace yourselves for safety. Get down between the seats. Protect your head and torso! Help those around you. Protect the children.”
Panic increases throughout the train at the suggestion of a crash, but all of passengers follow Luanna's and Kai's directions.
Round 3
In the view through the front window, nearby objects whip past. A short distance ahead, you see a tight bend in the track and warning signs that advise low speed.
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Instantly you're flung forward as the emergency brakes engage and a deafening sound of metal grinding against metal fills the train.
The screeching continues as you round the corner, and you feel the carriage tilt as the wheels on the right-hand side lift slightly off the track, before slamming back down.
When the train eventually comes to a stop, it's only a short distance away from a station.
Having braced themselves, all of the passengers are unharmed. A vesk passenger was hit on the head by a handrail that had come loose, but the only injury is a small bump.
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Luanna escorts passengers off the train and toward the station, watching for anyone with injuries or disabilities that might require assistance. When it appears no serious injuries or problems, she advances to the station to see what the others have found there.
Using telepathy so as not to alarm the other passengers, she says, "That might be sabotage. Did it look as if the program had been tampered with or was it some kind of power surge or maybe an EMP?"
She checks her comm unit again to see if it is still glitching.
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As the brakes slam on, Kai uses his momentum to slide down the aisle, grab one of the standing poles in the center of the car, and gracefully release the energy by spinning around the pole a few times.
“Aaaaaand we stopped! C’mon, everyone — let’s get you off the train and into the station. Anyone hurt? Everyone okay? Keep moving this way… that’s it…”
Kai hears Luanna’s question. He mentally replies, “I don’t know. Whatever it was, it seems bigger than we thought. I saw snarled traffic out the windows while we were still moving.”
After helping the passengers, Kai rejoins the group of Starfinders.
“Where to now? Should we see if there are others to help here or report directly back to the Lorespire?”
He checks his comm unit.
The vesk is obviously in a bad mood and heads towards the station without saying a word. But a nearby gnome claps along enthusiastically to Poko's song.
Luanna and Kai hear a garbled message over their comm units. “... society … report to Lorespi … unknown technical … help who you can en route.”
The message is followed by a high-pitched continuous tone, and then silence.