6pm seems to come all too quickly. It takes about an hour to get everyone cleared, situated on the ship, and outfitted if they need it.

Final ship preparation takes another hour.

The captain comes on the comms then.

"Liftoff in 5 minutes. Please make sure your seat belts are fastened. They probably won't be needed but it never hurts to be safe."

"All systems are green. We're a go for liftoff."

"5...4...3...2...1... and we are off!"

The ship lifts off smoothly and almost silently. Anyone who wants to can watch it on their comm screens. Only a slight vibration can be felt.

Travel away from the planet proceeds just as smoothly. It takes an hour to get to orbit.

The engines power down.

"Prepare for Drift," the Captain announces.

And of they go. Revonoss was excited but also a little sad. His daughter had protested at the absurdity of the endeavour but his sons had wished him safe travel and demanded he return home with a tale to tell their kids. He had his new gear with him and was looking it over curiously. This stuff was clearly over his paygrade but he hadn't complained when they handed him the fancy new armor and fine gear. When they where lifting off and it was relatively safe he activated his drone leaned back and send it out to explore his new home without interrupting the crew flying it.

Sol managed to find Berth 7 at the starport without any difficulty. Castrovel was one of those worlds that knew the value of organization. He'd been to some that seemed to operate on the 'random chaos' theory.

He was quite surprised, though, to discover the size of the docking bay. It wasn't so much disguised on the outside (but it would have been to most people, however unintentionally it might have been) as it was 'not advertised'. It clearly had been constructed in stages, remodeled, upgraded, expanded...

It certainly explained why the ship had been placed here. Or had it actually been built in here? If it had, he couldn't see any signs of that construction sill here.

He checked in, was sent to his berth, and prepared for the departure.

He had no immediate responsibilities on the ship. At some point, his Physical Science expertise might be called upon... especially in the Drift. Till then, it was just kick back and relax.

Once they entered the Drift, he decided to exit his room and check out the ship.

Sonaeu showed up just a bit on the late side, which was probably something of a miracle, given that someone probably had to clear her schedule.  She somehow found sufficient time to change her wardrobe into something less flashy, though the sunglasses remained in place.

She'd been a bit surprised how lightly she ended up packing, but the various outfit changes usually sucked up more space than might be expected.   She lugged a single carry-on but the rest of her luggage turned out to be for the more esoteric side of her (largely unknown) profession.

Part of being a good operative was being invisible, unless the occasion called for it.  And besides, who but a conspiracy nut would believe that she'd chosen such a high profile cover on purpose.  But there was something to be said about hiding in plain sight.

Once in her cabin, she takes the time to change.   Changing her wardrobe came with a mental transition to that of a weapons and explosives expert.  If it went "bang" or "boom", odds were really high that she was quite proficient.  She then took the time to ensure that her heavier gear (such as her weapon cases) were secured before turning the attention to less serious matters.

She's just gotten her makeup and hair done to perfection, when the captain came on the comm.  A look around gave her a shock frame to strap into, waiting patiently until they were in space-flight before unfastening herself from the frame.   Time to find out how the galley and bar were stocked.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Wed 06 Feb 2019.

Culhayin took most of the time he had before the departure in making certain he didn't leave any traces he didn't want to leave behind, and assuring that his termination of contract with the previous company he worked on had followed the proper procedures. Besides taking a coffee with some friend of a scholar inclination and saying goodbye to a few field agents at the city, he really hadn't the need to warn or prepare others for his departure - if his line of reasoning was right, the ones who really wanted to know what he was going to do already did, and in any circumstance, they were prepared for a situation in which he would need to leave without warning.

In his home, he managed to pack quite rapidly - which was expected, since he always had most of his stuff ready for a quick getaway, if necessary. He was a bit annoyed that he hadn't had the time to procure the chemicals and substances that would allow him to continue his research (and improvise anything, if the need arise) in such short time. He doubted he could get a decent amount of anything he would want once out of the system. But one thing Culhayn had learned is that worrying about it wouldn't solve any problem. When needed, he would figure something out.

And it was then that he found himself on the ship, getting out of the planet's orbit and, once into outer space, entering the Drift. This was going to be quite the experience, he decided.

Within about an hour, perhaps a little longer, everyone is introduced to each other. Duties are assigned, meal hours and watches are set, and otherwise a routine is established.

Captain Zenith makes the rounds, making sure he meets every crew member.

"Our first leg is to Balloran. It's always been an uninhabited system, but it does have a drift beacon," he explains to everyone.

"We'll see what we can find there, and look for another beacon. We have no way of knowing if these Sha'Kri used drift beacons or not, though, so that's why we'll spend a day or two searching the system. They might have had some other technology or magic."

"Anyone have any questions?"

In reply to Zenith (msg # 6):

So...what exactly are our assigned duties?   Other than looking pretty, that is?

"The ship isn't large enough to have specialist departments and staffing," the captain replies. "So, everyone pretty much fills all positions as needed. That's based on what skills you are known to have."

"If you don't have any piloting skill, we aren't going to put you in the pilot's seat... unless we're desperate."

"Because this is a long range and long term expedition, we have a few extra positions that might need to be filled. Science is broken up into Comms, Sensors and Medicine, though, obviously Medicine probably won't be needed for awhile and, hopefully, not very often."

"I'll have a schedule made by the end of the day."
This message was last updated by the player at 14:13, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

"That's good to hear." It is not clear if Culhayn is commenting on the main crew roles being filled, or that they weren't expected to have a frequent need for a physician. "Anyway," - he says, raising a hand - "I'm a bioengineer and I am skilled in patching people up if the need presents itself. Does the ship has a medical bay, or would we need to improvise if anything happens?"

"Also, although I'm not an expert in it, I tend to think of myself as adaptable enough to be able to learn in quick enough timeframe to help in other sections." There is no sense of false modesty on his voice.

Revonoss just nods ahead one 'eye' on the drone he is guiding through the ship with his mind. The fact everyone is going to fulfill any roles they are capable off making sense to him. On the other hand you'd expected a more specialised team for an expedition like this.

"I cover most tech and science fields. Dabble a little in medicine and know how to operate most kinds of vehicles. So i guess i can cover most ship roles and aid in repairs.

But do you expect us to run with the ship crew on aq regular basis or more as auxileries and we have other tasks set for us?"

"I suppose I can assist with science," Solsantharis says. "My expertise is mysticism, though, so I suppose I'm primarily an auxiliary... whose main usefulness would be on an exploration team."

"I can always sit in a chair and stare at a console, though, even if I don't know what to do when the red light flashes."

"I do believe that puts me into security and boarding party operations."   Sonaeu adds after thinking for a tick.  "Oh, and morale officer."

"You've got a point there, Soneau," one of the other crew members says. "I'm Corlene."

"At no point will all of the crew be leaving the ship at the same time, so there will be a need for an away team. It's composition will depend on what the task at hand is. Sometimes you'll lead, Soneau; sometimes I'll lead."

"Let me make one thing very clear: no one gets left behind. I've already talked to the captain about that, and he agrees. If the mission seems to be in jeopardy and it's the mission or a crewman, then the mission has already failed."

"Finding Golarion may be important; it might even be critical. But, what's the point of finding it if we lose our souls in the process?"

Revonoss one eye on the drone still exploring his new home nods at Corlene.

"Good people go first. A good way to operate. If you don't mind i'd like to go and get a nice look at all the tech stuff. To get a feel for it now it works in case it needs fixing later."

"Sure, go ahead. We're all free to go wherever we want on the ship," Corlene replies. "We'll be drifting for a few days. Might as well get used to your new 'home away from home'."

"I should probably check the armory, to see how we're equipped."   Sonaeu scratches behind an ear thoughtfully.  "And look into the various nooks and crannies to figure out the best defensive points."

Soneau needs to make a DC15 Stealth check to determine defensive points. For every point above 15, she'll be able to determine one such spot. For every 5 points, she'll be able to find a hiding spot. She quickly becomes aware that the ship was never designed for that sort of action, though. On the other hand, those spots will also work for the enemy.

The armory is fairly well stocked. There is at least two of every Level 1-4 melee, advanced melee, small arms and longarms. The exceptions are:

1 Azimuth laser pistol for every crewman plus 6 extras.
6 space axes
4 needlers
a couple of Level 5 small arms
4 semi-portables (heavy weapons)


Revenoss has a lot of equipment to look over. His biggest concerns are going to be the Drift beacons and the aiudara.

His question still went unanswered, so Culhayn insisted in it: "I'm still curious as to the presence of a medbay in this ship. Even an improvised one could truly be a life saver, should we need it." In case there is in fact one, he would like to inspect the facility and become familiar with it - otherwise, he would wander the ship in other to better acquaint himself with the place and its sensors, and would try to observe the best places to use as a makeshift operating room should the need show itself, as well as supplies for such an eventuality.

((OOC: Sorry. It's listed in the Ship's Data thread. I must have thought that posting it there would have answered your question. My bad.))


"Yes, there is a medical bay," Captain Zenith replies. "On a ship this size, it's almost mandatory. Generally, smaller ships don't survive damage that causes traumatic injury to its crew. We can make it as automated as possible, but if there's no medical personnel onboard, then who would run the equipment?"

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 17):

Finding the armory better stocked that she thought, Sonaeu double checks the current inventory against the loading manifest.  She makes note of any discrepancies, and selects one of the heavy weapons(a grenade launcher) for her use.  She then selects a plasma pistol (small arm) as well as an extra power cell, slinging the holster for it around her waist.

She also makes a mental note of the defensive points (and hiding spot) that she finds, rechecking later that day to ensure that she had them properly memorized.  Everything related to ship security taken care of for the moment, she then goes to check the galley.  She could use a snack.

OOC: Taking 10 on stealth check.

Once he has inventarised all the stuff he goes to see the chief engineer and ask if there is anything that can teach him more about the beacons and aiudara on board and if there is anything he can assist with while they travel to their first point of interest

"Good questions, Revonoss," the engineer replies.

"Unfortunately, there aren't really any good answers. We have a "few books in the library that mention the aiudara, but none of them detail how they are built. Several people have attempted to study them over the years, with no real results. We know what they do, just not how they do it."

"Attempting to take one apart is not permitted, of course, because we don't want to lose it if it can't be reassembled and reactivated. We've only got one on board because our quest was considered more important."

"As for the Drift beacons, we don't quite know how they work either, but we know how to build them, thanks to the Triune. We have schematics for them in the computer."

"The design is simple enough, and somehow rugged enough that we've never had one malfunction. Of course, they can be destroyed, but why would anyone want to do that?"

"Rhetorical question, right?" After getting himself acquainted with the equipment of the medbay, Culhayn had returned right in time to hear the interchange between Revonoss and Etheron. In fact, for those attentive, it seemed like a pattern that it for Culhayn it was almost second nature to just "be there" unnoticed until he decided to put present himself in a conversation. For a scholar, he truly as a lot more subtle than one would expect.

And he really could list a number of terrible reasons why one would want a drift beacon destroyed, though these answers weren't exactly pertinent to the discussion they were having.

Depending on your point of view, time either passed too slowly or too quickly, but before you knew it, the ship exited the Drift after an uneventful journey.

It was floating in space not far from a planet. It wasn't a well-traveled system, having only three planets, but it did have a Drift beacon. The planet below was in the books as Kazikan. It had some picked-over ruins on it, but was otherwise abandoned by whatever civilization once occupied it. Most of the planet was listed as 'dangerous' due to the strange monsters and mutated animals.

The Starhawk slipped into orbit and let its sensors probe the world beneath it.

Nothing new was revealed, although a detail somehow never mentioned before was discovered: the Drift beacon was inside what looked like an old temple sitting atop a mountain peak on the equator. It wasn't a very large peak, though, so climbing it wouldn't be too hard.

The other two planets in the system was a gas giant farther out given the odd name of Ubiquitous and a small hot planet closer in to the sun named Jack.

Revonoss was a little bummed that there was no real knowledge about the beacon or aiudara but understood that if the great minds were unable to get a grip on it he wouldn't either with his limited experience. Still he made sure to learn about them what there was to learn as they traveled so in case things went wrong or needed repairs he at least hade a basic knowledge of what he was working with.

When they arrive at the planets orbit he expects to be part of the away crew and loks at the scans as he asks of the captain.

"So whats the mission sir? Just take a look or go and look for something specific?"

Sol wasn't all that technically oriented, but he liked to know details about his surroundings, so he wandered about the ship and making a mental note of where the various areas were.

"So that's what engineering looks like," he muttered as he peeked into the engineering area. He hadn't been on any large ship before, so he hadn't known what to expect. Was it going to be gigantic in size? Or was it so compact that he wouldn't notice it?

As it turned out, it was more normal. A few things were large but the overall scope was fairly normal-looking.

That's when he noticed the pile of rags. He couldn't image any function that it served, other than be a pile of discards or else a source of rags if a lot of them were used in engineering to polish the equipment. Well, he wasn't an engineer, so it wasn't his concern.

And then the pile moved! His first thought was rats! He'd heard many tales of rat-infested ships. And the rags stood up!

It was clearly bigger than a rat... oh, it was an Ysoki!

What the heck was it doing on the ship?

"Hello, there," he called out. "I'm Solsantharis. If you don't mind my asking, what are doing here... on this ship?"

COMMS:"This is Captain Zenith. We'll be taking up a geosynchronous orbit over the temple. We'll send a shuttle down. We're hoping that there will be some sort of clue there."

"It looks like the shuttle will have to land at the base of the mountain, and you'll have to climb up to the temple."

"Also, we'll be testing the aiudara before we go down, just to see if it will work this far out."END COMMS

"Sounds interesting."

He mutters mostly to himself and then gets ready to go to the surface suiting up making sure all batteries are charged and his respirator works fine. Noting seems more horrible then choking on top of a mountain because you didn't prepare your gear. Onc he was ready he tries to join in on the Aiudara test just to see how it works.

Because Sonaeu had a cover identity to maintain, she spent at least part of her time doing recordings.  Her idol career was starting to look like a serious contender compared to her "real" career, which typically involved covert operations.

She'd just finished her latest concert recording, setting the whole of her messages and video to transmit once they'd hit upon the appropriate re-transmitter.  That accomplished, she goes down to see how the preparations were going.

The Ysoki stood, stretched and yawned.  After a quick shake of himself his eyes focused on the Solarian.  "I'm Socket.  Electrician 3rd Class."  He grabbed a badged off of his overalls and held it out for Solsantharis to see.  It had CONTRACTOR in bold across the photo.

"I'm here to make sure the fan in the head works.  It was reported glitchy and no one wants to deal with that nastiness.  Well, that model, the Phaque VII na1.7, is known for power surges and it was wired in wrong.  I had to trace it back and found it had a cross connection to the backup life support.  47nodules flowing through a Byzggs II fuse-l, cheap bastards should have sprung for the III which can handle the surge, and *BAM!* down goes the backup life support.  No one would even know it until the main life failed and the backup didn't kick in.  All because some Vesk had a big meal and flipped on the fan."

"We certainly don't want a repeat of the Frozen Coffin debacle.  Ok, I don't remember the real name of the ship, but that's what we techs called it after this very thing happened.  Crew froze to death before help arrive.  So essentially, I may have saved your life.  You're welcome."

"Now that I've fixed the problem, Contractor 2B-7 reports green light.  You are all clear for lift off."   He started to look around and gather his tools together now that the job was done.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:49, Sat 02 Mar 2019.

"I suppose that makes you, technically, a stow away, Socket," Sol responded, "as we lifted off 5 days ago. We've heading for orbit around Kazikan in the Balloran system."

"Are you trying to tell me you've been asleep down here for 5 days?"

*Blink* *Blink*

The Ysoki gave a short nervous laugh.  "Ha.  Good one.  You had me for a second there.  Who put you up for this?  Was it Notch?  He knows I get sleepy when I work long hours and don't eat right.  I've asked for the proper nourishment on a long job, but will the employer step up?  No!  I've got 9 mouths to feed, I can't afford to bring my own snacks in."  He smacked his lips a couple of times.  He was feeling rather parched.  Could it have been 5 days?

"Do you have anything to eat?"  He asked trying to change the subject.

Sonaeu entered into the room just as the mechanic named Socket began his dialogue with the Solarian.   She moved quietly behind the Ysoki, intending for the stowaway to become aware of her presence only when she choose so.

The sound of the capacitor on her Voltaic Anchor Pistol charging certainly seemed louder to her than she expected.   "Let's go back to the question of why you are here again.  I think we need to revisit that."  When the other turned around he'd have no problem seeing the pistol in her hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sun 03 Mar 2019.

Socket turned around at the sound and new voice and saw a weapon pointed at him.  His eyes went wide and he instinctively put his hands up and dropped down to his knees.  Oh crap! He had preferred talking to Solsantharis.

"I'm here to fix the fan in the head.  Work Order #22748-1443c.  In my pocket.  It was reported glitchy.  The Phaque VII na1.7, is known for power surges and it was wired in wrong.  I traced it back and found it had a cross connection to the backup life support.  47 nodules flowing through a Byzggs II fuse-l and down goes the backup life support.  No one would even know it until the main life failed and the backup didn't kick in.  All because of poor engineering."

"Oh Holy All mother.  Why did I have to be an over achiever?  I should have left it alone and these pirates got what was coming to them.  Please watch over little Pip, and Twitch and Boom-Boom, Dagy, Moxi, Zanz, and the triplets.  It's not fair they should suffer because some lazy supervisor authorized a launch without all the green lights."

"Someone call the Captain and find out what he wants done with our stowaway."   Sonaeu says calmly, still eyeing Socket.

"Technically, I suppose Socket could be considered a stowaway," Sol said, "but he also has a case for us kidnapping him."

He smiled at Soneau's directive for 'someone' to call the captain. Did she mean him? Or was she thinking Socket was going to do that?

"Yes, by all means, call the Captain, Soneau. He would be the one to decide what to do with Socket."

"If the aiudara works, the Captain might send him back."

The captain goes to the cargo bay that has the aiudara set up there. Etheron and Shaneel have been getting it prepped.

Thranel and Hallista are on the bridge.

It'll be Shaneel the Technomancer who will activate it.

It predates the arrival of the Triune and the Drift engines.

When Captain Zenith gives the signal, Shaneel activates it.


Everyone seemed to be holding their breath... and then the shimmer of the screen disappears and you can see a picture... it should mean that the portal is open. You can people on the other side... people back on Castrovel. They, in turn, can apparently see you!

Just to be sure that it is a portal, the Captain has a small box that he throws at the picture. It lands on the floor on the other side.

"I do believe we have a portal home," he proclaims.

"That doesn't mean it'll work the farther out we go."

"Also, it takes a lot of energy. We'll keep this open for only 5 minutes this time."

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 37):

Sonaeu mentally pokes the Captain in regards to the stowaway that she currently has under arrest(?).

Revonoss eyes the portal and smiles when it works. Then makes a mental note to see Shaneel about it later and see if they can devise a device that can do it on a shorter distance and ponder a way to boost its strength so it would work longer. His drone hovers around it scanning the whole deal as he himself looks at the small box tossed through soaking up anything perceivable by all his means. He was only a spectator here after all and tried not to get in the way to much.

When the whole endeavor with the aiudara was under way, Culhayn entered the room to observe the tests. His attention was clearly called to the portal - he didn't imagine it before the mission, but now that they were deeper into space and in a course that would take them farther and farther away from Castrovel, he realized how much he would miss it... and how much of his technical skills, as well as his more secretive skills, were reliant on the infrastructure of a complex social system. This first mission out of the ship would be an interesting test on how well he could fare without one.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 04 Mar 2019.

Socket helpfully chimed in.  "I'll do it.  I've got to report this kidnapping and being held at gun point, which violates the safe work zone policy of the Federation of Uninsured Contractors!  Good luck getting any quality Contract work done in port again."

He gave a short lived smile and thankful nod to the man who seemed to be a lot more understanding of his situation than this hair trigger psycho pointing the gun at the Ysoki.  Socket stood up hoping she wouldn't add cold blooded murder to her list of crimes.  He hoped he was safe while there was a witness.

He would slowly raise his leg and see if she would let him take a step or stop him.  If he made it that far, he slowly made to take a second step toward the door in some slow motion terrified for his life move.

"A good point there, Socket," Sol responds to the Ysoki.

"I was done here anyway, so let's all go see the captain. If you feel you must report this incident to the Federation, I'm afraid we'd have to also report you to the Federation as having been sleeping on the job and/or stowing away on this ship."

"This ship is crewed only by Lashuntas. That's makes you a rather odd-man-out."

"We're on a mission... a quest, actually, so I'm afraid it's out of the question to take you back. If we encounter another ship, we could attempt to foist you off on them and they might take you back. Or they might not."

"Other than that, you are free to leave the ship whenever we make planetfall."

"Oh! I know! As I sign of good faith that you weren't intentionally stowing away, you could accompany us down to the planet Kazikan to explore the old temple there!"

Sol will lead the way with Socket behind him and Soneau behind Socket, still pointing her weapon at him.

The S-Team (Solantharis, Socket and Sonaeu) find the captain in the cargo bay just as the test with the aiudara is completed. Everyone seems happy, so it must have been a success, especially since you see two new people in the cargo bay that you don't think were on the crew. The ship may be large, but the crew certainly wasn't.

The Captain studies Socket for a moment after Solsantharis's explanation, his frown turning to a somewhat grim smile when he's done.

"I believe the normal term is 'supercargo' for anyone who isn't crew... or a stowaway," Zenith says. "That term includes passengers, which would cover independent contractors. While my orders didn't inform me of any such contractors, they also don't say I can't employ them."

"So, Mr. Socket... if you are willing to venture down to the planet with the scouting team, I think that would qualify you to be an independent contractor. Of course, if you come back, we could probably negotiate adding you to the crew roster if that was what you wanted."

"How does that sound?"

Assuming Socket agrees, Sonaeu holsters her weapon then finds somewhere out of the way to watch the preparations.

Also part of the S-Team a young, and short, Lashunta woman shows up in the cargo bay along with most of the rest of the crew to see the test.  She wares what is clearly an armored uniform with a patch stuck to it that includes the name Saia.

Watching the test with a keen interest she does not bother engaging the other crew members, but does listen to the captain's commentary about the supercargo, only then seeming to even notice the presence of the Ysoki.

"Oh... well... nicely played.  So, maybe, we forget about this kidnapping and you forget about the whole fell asleep on the job... thingie."  Socket commented to Sol as they walked.

"All Lashuntas?  Really?  Huh."  He listened to the comment about a quest and statement to leave when he wanted.  Anything that wasn't about him being thrown out of an airlock was sweet music to his ears.  "Good intentions would be not pointing that gun in my direction."  He muttered with Sonaeu at his back.

The meeting with the Captain was above and beyond the pessimistic scenarios that ran through his mind.  A giant weight had left his shoulders and he seemed more relaxed and happy that his life wasn't on the line for a minor mistake.

"Yes sir!"  Was his enthusiastic reply.

In the next cargo bay, the shuttle is being prepped. It has 6 seats.

"Okay, then, everyone," Captain Zenith announces, "That's two steps on our journey completed. Time to take the third."

"I'm sending the shuttle down to the planet with an exploration team to find out what they can about the temple."

"This first team will consist of Culhayn, Revonoss, Saia, Socket, Solsantharis and Sonaeu. Revenoss will be the designated pilot for this trip."

"You can leave when you are ready."
This message was last updated by the player at 14:20, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

Revonoss nods tosses up a mock salute and then heads to the bay to take the shuttles pre flight checklist through.

The ysoki whispered to Solsantharis, "What kind of mission is this?  I see Ms. No-sense-of-humor over there is armed.  I'm not.  Do you expect trouble down there?"

No mock salute for her the one Saia executes is a thing of precision, and long practice, done almost without thinking when the Captain finishes his briefing.  Turning in the direction of the shuttle she does toss a comment to the Ysoki on her way by, part answer, part taunt.

”There are plenty of weapons to go around, that wont be a problem if you are any good with them.”

"In a situation like this, it is always wise to anticipate trouble," Sol answered Socket. "This is the unknown. We have no idea what is down there."

"While it does seem unlikely that there could be anyone down there, that doesn't eliminate any thing. Robots, automated defenses, something in magical stasis, traps... all that is possible."

"Or there may be nothing. We certainly don't need weapons against nothing--it's the other possibilities that we need to take precautions against."

"And we do know there are monsters and mutated critters in the planet, from previous reports. It may be that we do not encounter anything, but so far we have every reason to be wary, and none not to to prepared."

Culhayin verifies his equipment, checking the charge of the batteries and the general state of everything.

"Well, guess that's as ready as I'll be."

While the others are doing pre-flight for the ship, Sonaeu returns to the armory long enough to retrieve several small arms and the grenade launcher that she'd set aside for herself.   Feeling properly prepared, she returns to the shuttle to distribute sidearms to those who didn't have them and wanted one.  Any spares will get left in the shuttle.

The Ysoki mouthed some mimic of Saia's comment before heading to find a weapon.

Socket hesitantly accepted a pistol from Sonaeu and quickly retreated away from her before she changed her mind.  He found a seat in the back of the shuttle and wondered what kind of a mess he had gotten himself into.

As he waited in his seat, Socket lost track of time.  He know preflight checks and what-not and what-ever occurred.  An unknown number of things could come up to delay them moving out.  That was ok.  He had a new gun in hand and had a side panel off and was examining the mechanism and power of the design.  He wanted to make some tweeks and test it, but figured the others might not take kindly to weapons fire in the cabin.  It would have to wait until they arrived at the temple.

Once he reassembled it, he made some notes on his datapad.

At the last minute, Ashina joins the shuttle, making it a bit cramped as there are only 6 seats and she has to sit in a 'jumpseat' placed in the aisle.

Then the shuttle takes off. It appears to be a fairly normal planet... no wild weather or giant flying creatures or unexpected bursts of radiation... so Revonoss can Take 10 to fly the ship down and land it.

It'd be a different story if he tried to land on the side of the mountain. There'd be no guarantee that it wouldn't slide down the mountain and it'd be rather awkward to exit the shuttle while it was parked at such an extreme angle. So, he lands at the base of the mountain on reasonably level ground.

There's a path leading up to the temple on the top, though only about half of it is stone steps set into the path. The rest of the time it is just a ramp up with several switchbacks.

There was no indication of any storm fronts moving in on the way down, and the local temperature is cool. There's no snow on the mountain but probably will be in another month.

Revonos puts the shuttle down with the practised ease of someone having done it almost routinely. When the shuttle is set down and he is sure its steady he starts the power down to park it as the others get off sending his dronw through the hatch to get a first look.

"I think we should select one in charge of his mission just to avoid getting stuck in endless discussions if we run into something we do not agree on. We have anyone experience as exploring to take the lead here?"

Saia takes a few steps out of the shuttle and looks up the mountain side.  Answering the question without taking her gaze off of what may very well be her first mountain on an alien world, let alone one nearly untouched by civilization and its clutter.

”I can climb up the side of a cliff with a rope for the rest of you to climb, so I don't mind going first, but I am nobody's leader.”

The flight down was pretty boring.  Socket spent the time staring at whomever sat next to him and wondering what kind of equipment they had on them and the interesting smells coming off of the person.

The landing was routine.  That was good.  Then the pilot got a drone out and that peeked his interest.  The ysoki walked around to where he could view what would be a hand controller if that is what Revonoss used.

Then the Lashunta started talking of a leader.  Socket stood up a little straighter and was humbled by the speech.  He hadn't even met the pilot and already he was nominating Socket to lead!  Obviously no one else here had as much experience crawling through access tunnels on ships or the bowels of the space station exploring.  Rather than being obnoxious about it, he waited for the formal announcement of the group.

"That's good to know, Saia," Sol responded, "but on the flight down, it looked like the path and stairs were intact all the way to the top."

"I believe the orbital scans tagged the mountain at just over 6,000 feet, but we're probably only going to be able to move at half speed... with several stops to rest. So, maybe an hour to reach the top? Two hours, tops."

He noticed Socket's change in stature... just short of him raising his hand and saying 'Pick me! Pick me!'

He didn't know anything about the newcomer that had come through the aiudara, other than what he could observe, but she didn't look particularly like a leader any more than he did.

"My expertise lies up in space, so if were up there exploring, I'd be willing to accept the leadership role. Down here, I think maybe the Ysoka would be better suited. Of course, it all depends on what we find inside."

"How about it, Socket? You willing to lead this ragtag group up the mountain?"

There was no controler for the drone but Revonosses eyes had the gleam of on retina projection.

"If you want i can drop a few people off near the top but the shuttle needs to land here and somehow i think traveling together on a strange world is the smartest move."

He chuckles when the stowaway stands attention when he suggests picking a leader but doesn't say anything as Solsan was already putting him forward and slowly he started to wonder if anyone here was a skilled ruins explorer.

Culhayn shrugged. He couldn't really say he had experience working under a leader when on the field, let alone being one, so he didn't imagine his opinion on the matter could help a lot. And, as far as he could tell, a leader chosen like that and without preparation probably wouldn't be able to really direct a team in a tense moment.

Observing the scouting drone getting out, he decided to occupy himself with what he could plan.
"Anyway... any interesting information on the planet's atmosphere at ground level, Revonoss? Breathable? Toxic?"

Perhaps to everyone's surprise, Sonaeu actually managed to catch a nap on the way down.   Having a hectic schedule meant that she'd long ago acquired the ability to catch a nap just about anywhere.   She wakes up just about the time the shuttle touches down, unstrapping herself then snagging her grenade launcher before heading to the door.

"What does the drone say?"   She asks, hopefully catching Saia before she  could open the pressure door and expose the craft to the outside atmosphere.   She'd live long enough to get the hatch closed again if something outside didn't agree with them.

The drone registers a somewhat standard atmosphere, a little bit low on pressure, but that's a bit consistent with the altitude.

There's nothing toxic in the atmosphere.

Having accompanied the drone out through the shuttle's airlock Saia clearly trusted her armor's environmental seal more than she wanted to stay in the tiny box.

”If you want to send someone up the mountain first it will be me, someone who is officially part of the mission will need to function as leader, and preferably not also be in the front.”

Solsantharis was definitely a great judge of character.  They hadn't known each other long, but he saw the inherent greatness of Socket.  The others were a little slower.

While he was ready to accept and give some grand speech about venturing into the unknown, the conversation went to mundane survival and then Saia pretty much vetoed the idea.  His face fell and he snorted.  Getting his own crack team to take over the universe would have to wait for another day.  His whiskers twitched.

The Ysoki couldn't believe he was going to toss this out, but this group needed to come together and get moving.  "She's bossy enough.  She should be the leader."  He pointed to Sonaeu and then crossed his arms and pouted.

Culhayn couldn't help but look amazed at the comment of the Ysoki.


"Well, I believe the reason a leader role was suggested was so that we shouldn't lose precious time debating endlessly when an impasse arrives, yet it is quickly turning itself in said impasse. Let's get this over and move on, shall we? The longer we linger here, the more time we give for problems to find us."

Revonoss relays the drones readings and also exits the shuttle and makes sure he is the last one cycling the locks and making sure only their team got access to it and then sends the drone ahead and also starts to head for the trail.

"I suggested we pick a leader based on relevant skills and indeed avoid a situation like this. Seems none have the exploration skills so the point is indeed moot. Lets go up and see what this temple has in store for us."

As he starts to follow the path the drone hovering overhead to keep an eye on the direct area he turns to Socket.

"So the rest of us sort of introduced ourselves and our skills. What do you bring to the away party?"

Sonaeu nods to Saia, placing herself right in front of Revonoss.   She slots Socket into the middle of the group, letting everyone else pick where they want to walk between the Ysoki and the point woman.   The grenade launcher might have been overkill, but then again....maybe not.

"Don't worry about it, Socket," Sol says to the Ysoki, patting him on the shoulder. "Really good generals lead from the rear, since if you lead from the front, you're usually the first one to get shot."

"Also, there's no reason you can't be the leader when it comes to making decisions. Saia is just filling the scout role."

Not expecting there to be any attacks from the back while going up the hill, Sol will bring up the rear.

Said throws one more comment over her shoulder before she starts climbing up the mountain path with the sort of familiarity one expects to find in natives to this kind of terrain, seemingly unhindered by the weight of her armor

”My role is better described as Vanguard than as Scout.”

Usually, Culhayn would have tried to position himself towards the back of everyone, but that was when he was working alone among the kind of danger he imagined he probably wouldn't be facing in this journey. This was a time to change tactics and be more adaptable - a bit of trust was in need, and he found his curiosity pulling him towards the front. He chose to be close to the Vanguard.

The ysoki chuckled as the group was getting themselves together.  "What do I bring?  Socket, Ysoki electrician 3rd class.  I was working a request on the ship and got a little side tracked.  I think the captain didn't want me on the ship and sent me here to get rid of me.  So, I bring talented edgy handsome rebel to the away party."

He took what Solsantharis mentioned and nodded at the thought.  He ended up near Sol and followed the others up the mountain.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Fri 15 Mar 2019.

It takes about an hour to climb to the top of the mountain, and once you reach the top, you realize that the temple isn't quite as large as you thought. Perched atop the mountain, it appeared huge in comparison to the peak.

One of the reasons it stood out is that it is white. It appears to be about 50 feet tall, but is probably only one story.

The front has a type of veranda accessed through 3 high pointed-arched openings. Across the veranda, the outside wall has three doors that are meant to match the arches. No windows are visible.

Paused once again while she waits for the others to catch up as she has been doing the whole way up the mountain Saia stands just outside the center of the three entrances looking up at it.  As the others approach she asks them what is probably a question that has been on her mind for a while.

”Did they want everyone to think they were that big, or do we know if they actually are?”

The ysoki slowly dragged himself over the summit and collapsed in a heap breathing heavily.  "Sheesh..."  He wasn't in shape for a hour long climb up steps.

He raised a single finger and wanted to comment to Saia's question but was too busy trying to recover from the climb.  He gave up and simply waved off the opportunity.  He should have taken that opportunity to be dropped off at the top, he could have napped for the last hour instead of... exercised.

"Probably neither," Sol answers Saia's question, "but I wouldn't put it past them either."

"People tend to build big to impress other people. Cathedrals and galleries, for instance, are never meant to accommodate people 30 feet tall yet often have ceilings that high or higher."

"It's more about the aesthetics of the people who built it."

He studies the outside of the temple in more detail now that he's close enough to do so. Considering there didn't appear to be anyone living on this planet, that kind of meant that this temple was a destination unto itself, even if it was only a relay to the next destination.

Sonaeu doesn't respond when they reach the top but pauses long enough to pat Socket reassuringly on the shoulder before taking the opportunity to walk the perimeter.   Not only to get a feel for the place but to see how the terrain was.

OOC:  14:56, Today: Sonaeu rolled 30 using 1d20+11.  Stealth check.  14:56, Today: Sonaeu rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  Perception check.

Revonoss wasn't to tired from the climb though he noticed he was more used to the low gravity on board of a ship. As some of the others take a breather he sends the drone around the temple to see if there is any opening small enough for it to take a peek inside. He maybe should get manipulater arms for it so it could do more then look and repair stuff. But it was to late for that now.

Revonoss's drone doesn't find any openings, which makes sense. Not only would even a small opening let in animals or insects, it would also let in the weather. The interior may not be airtight, but it probably is watertight.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 81):

Anything of interest from Sonaeu's perimeter check?

Sonaeu didn't see anything different from the drone's scans. The climb to the top was long enough for everyone to acclimatize themselves to the slightly thinner atmosphere due to altitude.

Sonaeu could feel the warm southern wind that blew across the mountain top, which helped explain the presence of the sparse vegetation on the mountain. It's about midday, so there's no thermals going on at the moment. In a couple of hours, though, a strong downdraft will come off the mountains as the cold upper air rushes down to fill the void left by the hotter rising air of the ground below.

She's also able to realize that the top of the mountain had probably been leveled off to provide a flat area to build the temple on.

Other than that, she can't see anything of significant. There are no writings on the outside of the temple... not even any decorative carvings. All the decoration is the architecture.

Revonoss decides to just try the door.

"Well nothing to see on the outside. Lets see if this is as easy as i hope."

Taking one other opinion about the lack of value in waiting outside Saia steps up to the big central door and gives it a hefty shove or tug depending on which way the hinges go, or how they appear designed to open.

”Only one way to find out.”

The doors appear to be solid and heavy and there are no hinges visible which probably means the doors are meant to swing inward away from you. Also, there are no handles visible.

However, there does appear to be a keyhole set into the door.

When Saia pushes on the doors, they don't budge. Even though they don't open, her effort does tell her that the doors aren't unlocked and that the locking mechanism anchors them at the sill and lintel. There's also a small possibility that the doors are barred from the inside; this doesn't seem likely unless whoever put the bar in place had another way out, such as magic. Or else died in there. Also, there probably would have been a bit of give to the doors if there was just a bar.

Again, this all makes sense since exposed hinges would be subject to the weather, and something has to secure the doors from blowing inward with a strong wind.

"So far for the easy way. Lets see if i can convince it to let us in."

And with that he kneels in front of the key hole and takes out his tools to see if its compliant to him forcing it open.

ooc: Engi and computer are the same. So open sesame? Bad roll though. :-(

12:17, Today: Revonoss rolled 17 using 1d20+12.  Open lock.

Revonoss could also have used Engineering to determine the difficulty of the lock, which he could also use if he'd failed the initial effort, but, as it turns out, the difficulty was only 15, so he manages to disengage the lock. Although the lock itself was not electronic, there does seem to be some sort of electromechanical component to the mechanism within the door for he can clearly hear the bolts disengaging.

Just as clearly, the lock was never meant to keep a skilled or intelligent person out of the temple.

Once the bolts are disengaged, the doors swing open easily, obviously well-balanced to facilitate an ordinary person being able to open them, although how an ordinary person would have ever gotten here is debatable.

As the doors swing open, you all can see that the interior appears to be one large room. It is well lit, which he realize is because of a dozen or so 'deck prisms' set into the ceiling along the edge.

There is a single bench set crosswise in the middle of the room; otherwise, it appears to be empty. However, the walls are carved with vertical script... that is, letters/words/symbols that are intended to be read in columns. The two side walls and the back wall have writing on them, but the front walls do not. Not that there was much room for it anyway what with the three sets of double doors.

Offering Revonoss a nod of her helmet Saia pushes the doors wide open and strides on into the big mostly empty room.

Rather than focus on the writing she first looks around for other doors that may lead into deeper chambers, then failing that attempts to move the off bench into a closer alignment to the walls of the room.

Upon hearing the door unlock and begin to open, the ysoki sighed in relief.  After all, the steps weren't the most comfortable thing to sit on.  As he moseyed into the temple, he glanced at the door and the mechanism and assumed he could have figured it out.  He did have to break into the bathroom that one time Pip had locked herself in due to some existential teen drama.  This couldn't have been any harder.

While Saia and any others wandered the room searching for dust bunnies or whatnot, Socket parked his furry little arse on the bench and took in the grandeur of the room.  This must have been some final point of relaxation and meditation.  He didn't want to dishonor the builders by not doing that.

When the big oaf came over to try and move the bench, he complained "Hey!  I'm sitting here.  You're disturbing the cosmic peace and harmony."  He stubbornly refused to get off the bench if she persisted.

As everyone was focusing on different things about the interior of the temple, Culhayn took his time to observe the writings on the wall. He doubt it, but maybe there was a chance he could divine something out of it. He had heard stories of different and unrelated cultures having by a matter of chance or whim of the gods the use of some identical symbol or another, and there are theories that say that the discovery/gift of the drift beacons were bestowed by the deities to more than one star system at the same time.

If evolution could, by different means, get to the same solutions, maybe linguistics could also - specially when the will of deities was on the line.

He had a tendency to take the long view of things, so rushing into a new experience wasn't something he was prone to do.

One of the reasons he traveled with others was his own shortcomings, which is why he left it to the others to get the doors open.

Now, as he brought up the rear, he was instantly fascinated by the interior of the temple and immediately began assessing its culture significance. At the same time, he was evaluating all the physical properties. His attention was first grabbed by the light source. The dozen equally-spaced crystals around the edge of the ceiling provided plenty of light for the interior and yet kept out any of the harmful rays of the  sun.

On the other hand, they'd be pretty useless at night... unless they somehow amplified moonlight and starlight.

Likewise, he wondered if there was some significance to the position of the bench, other than a convenient place to sit while one read the writing on the walls.

12:34, Today: Solsantharis rolled 17 using 1d20+7 ((10)). Perception check for the prisms specifically but also in general for the whole interior.

Revonoss gestures the others inside with a small smile and enters last making a recording of the text on the wall with his drone just in case it might be important later and to make a scan of the room to see if there are any hidden areas and if the interior size matches the exterior.

There do not appear to be any other doors out of the room other than the three main double doors at the front.

Saia doesn't really see any significant misalignment of the bench; in fact, she suspects that the bench (and possibly the room itself) were built to exact specifications such that there is precisely the same distance between the bench and the walls regardless of where you sat on the bench.

Both Saia and Culhayn have no trouble reading the writing on the walls. The left-hand wall is religious doctrine for Epoch. The back wall is religious doctrine for Casandalee and the right-hand wall is the same for Brigh.


Solsantharis can't really see anything about the prisms that would indicate they have special abilities, but, as he's looking up at them, he realizes that the ceiling of the room is black. It's 20 feet above and the light from the prisms tends to obscure viewing the ceiling, but he can see that the ceiling also seems to have dozens, perhaps hundreds, of little pinpoints of light set into it.


Revonoss's drone records all the writings on the wall, and confirms that the interior dimensions are consistent with the outside dimensions, allowing for very thick walls (confirmed simply by examining the door frame).

The drone, using its equivalent of lidar, detects a secret compartment on the back wall. While the walls appear to be made of marble (or at least the inside walls are covered in it), it was built in large blocks. At the back, however, one of the blocks has a much deeper outline. From the floor to a height of about 3 feet and 7 feet long, that block has deeper crevasses along all four edges.

Although there does not appear to be any machinery in the place, this could be some sort of access panel to that machinery. At the very least, there might be life support to the place... particularly temperature regulators.

"I might got something here."

He says as he taps the wall part he scanned out and expecting it to hold the rooms machinery looks for a way to access it.

"What is it, Revonoss?" Culhayn approach the mechanic.


OOC: In what language(s) are the writings on the wall written?

The text on the wall has been written in Akitonian, as far as Culhayn can tell.


On the back wall, there are 10 columns of text, each about 3 feet wide. The compartment is centered across the 4 center columns.

He also notices that the last word in the fourth column is Epoch, the last word in the sixth column is Casandalee, and the last word in the seventh column is Brigh.

When the stern woman who had drawn on him sat down on the bench, Socket figured it was time to find something else of interest and moved over to the panel that was attracting attention.

"Need a screw driver?"  He helpfully offered as he poked his head around to see what they were looking at.

He leaned back on the 5th column and crossed his arms. "Wow, 12 feet wide?  They certainly didn't build small did they?  Did you figure out how to open it?"

As Socket decides to levitate his behind from the bench and try to be useful Revonoss looks at him and shakes his head.

"Not yet. Just found this area is not solid like the rest. Looking for a way to access it now but if you feel like making yourself useful for a change don't let us keep you from it."

There's no big red button, but the fact that each wall was dedicated to one of the component gods of the Triune, mention of all their names at the bottom of the columns over the compartment seems highly suspicious. There might be some sort of code or sequence to them, but simply touching the symbols in the order presented causes the compartment to start sliding open.

It slides out about 4 feet. At first, it looks like a coffin that has just slid out, but both Revonoss and Socket readily identify the 'coffin' as a 'medical' stasis unit.

There is clearly a body inside it.

Mere coincidence?  Of course not.  Socket looked triumphantly at Revonoss.  Obviously it was his effort of leaning against the wall while others poked around that opened the compartment.

His look of victory changed to confusion as the treasure he was hoping to find proved to be just a body.  "Well that's disappointing.  Does this thing even work?  Is that guy dead?"

He leaned in and poked the body on the cheek to check for a reaction.

Culhayn had let the two mechanics to their own devices, and it seems like they had found the way to open up the compartment. He saw the "coffin" - which wouldn't exactly be something all that strange in a temple, but the names of the deities on the wall hinted at a different story. If there was a body into it, it could well be a...

And the Ysoki just decided to put his hands on it!

"Don't! Oh, damn, be curious, but be careful as well. It could be trapped, or a plague bearer!" Culhayn doubted these assumptions, but even then, he would prefer if Socket bear the possibilities of danger in mind than not. He approached to have a better look and to try to assess the situation. "There are means to ascertain life statues without getting all touchy, you know?"

22:32, Today: Culhayn rolled 15 using 1d20+11.  Medicine Check to assess the "corpse" situation.

”Touching it shouldn't be a problem, unless you expect some kind of contagion that can penetrate the seal on your suit, in which case we are probably already dead and physical contact shouldn't matter.”

Saia doesn't touch the thing herself, but then again she doesn't come within arms reach of it either, staying out of the way of those more suited to investigation, instead keeping her attention on a wider scope of the room.

As Culhayn investigates the body Revonoss as surprised by a body in stasis as any other inspects the corpse maintaining machinery. If there where any readings or any information on their new charge. Why he was there and if they could thaw him out. Not that he was going to now.

"Did these wall say anything about a frozen relic? Not that i expect this will be some ancient criminal who destroys worlds for a living but well you know."

"Plague?"  Socket almost jumped at the comment as he obviously hadn't thought that possible.  He nonchalantly wiped his hand on Culhayn's suit to get any infection off.

He then circled around to the other side of the coffin away from the scholar and busied himself with seeing if he could get into the space the coffin had vacated inside the wall.  If the guy had been rich, he'd have to leave some sort of wealth for when he woke up.

After having completed her walk around of the temple's perimeter, Sonaeu posts herself at the entrance.  She does so not only to cover their back trail but also to keep anyone from sneaking up on the group unawares.

Socket couldn't touch the body because it was inside the sealed stasis unit. The glassteel cover kept him from reaching in that far.

As near as Culhayn can tell, the body is perfectly preserved. It looks like the woman just went to sleep.


There is no way for Socket to get into the space where the stasis unit was being kept because the mechanisms that let it move outward, somewhat like drawer slides, cover all four sides. There is probably additional mechanisms hidden inside that area... power source, etc.


Whether it was Socket touching the unit or part of the automated process, the unit begins the sequence that will revive the occupant. It only takes a few minutes.

And then the lid retracts and the person inside sits up.

The young human woman sat up and opened her eyes, revealing one blue eye and one green eye as she looked at her hands, then looked at those gathered around her. Her long blonde hair splayed out behind her. "...I'm awake?" Came her accented common.

"Where am I?" She asked, looking towards everyone before she put her hands in her lap. "Who, are you?" She was moderately attractive, for a human.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:01, Mon 01 Apr 2019.

Sol had continued to look around, and he kept staring up at the ceiling. Unlike the walls, which clearly held a message, the ceiling seemed rather plain. It was hard to see any details, though, because of the light coming in through the door. It essentially cast the ceiling in shadow.

When the others found the secret compartment, he also kept an eye on that to see what happened. After they identified it as a stasis unit with someone inside, he moved over where he could view it. And then the person got revived!

He couldn't help wondering how long she'd been in there waiting for someone to wake her up again. Of course, it could have only been a few weeks, but the apparent age of this place made him think it might be more like years, perhaps even centuries!

"Greetings, Miss," Sol replied as he stepped forward. "I am Solsantharis. We are the crew of the Starhawk and you are on a planet known as Balloran, in a temple presumably dedicated to Triune."

"What is your name? How did you get here?"

He wasn't quite sure how well stasis chambers preserved memory or cognitive ability but felt that bombarding her with too many questions all at once was probably not a good idea.

Poking around wasn't generating a way into the machinery.  He was confounded how they maintained it if there was no access, but whatever, aliens....  Then the lid seemed to open on it's own.  "I didn't do it."  He muttered and stared at the occupant.

The ugly hairless female was alive and spoke!

"You are on some desolate planet.  Doc here says you have the plague.  So get back in your bubble before you kill everyone."  The ysoki helpfully informed the young lady as he quickly backed out of reach and headed towards the door.  Once the others started dropping dead on their feet, he was ready to run from the temple.

Revonoss pondered if he should tell the stoweaway that his ship suit was environmentally sealed but the blind panic in the presumed technician was to funny and as he seemed to bring anything else to the table comic relief had to do for it. When Solsantharis interacts with the thawed out persone Revonoss plugs himself into the machinery to get a full readout of it. Maybe it would provide the information of how long this person was here and why.

"As Sol here said, we are just a reconnaissance team from the Starhawk ship, on an exploratory mission. I'm Culhayn, by the way, who the rather excitable Ysoki - he goes by Socket - called Doc. And, for the record, so far there's no indication you may have any sort of disease." Culhayn tells the recently awakened woman, in a playful and carefree tone. "Are you feeling well?"

Sol, too, was amused at Socket's antics, considering he was still wearing the environment suit.

At an indication from Revonoss, it finally sunk in that he could use his drone to see what was up on the ceiling.

"Hey, Revonoss," he called out. "There's probably nothing to it, but could you send your drone up to the ceiling to see what's up there. It's probably just a bunch of little lights for decoration."

"My...name? How...I got here?" She asked, as if trying to remember. At least she remembered speech, and what words meant.

She seemed in thought right up until the Ysoki spoke. "...p-plague? ME?!" That caused a reaction from her as she started to back away from them. She obviously knew that word was not good.

When Culhayn spoke she did calm down a bit and stopped moving but not before her hand landed on one of the small terminal's along the inside. When it did her eyes glossed and she arched her back. The computer that was a part of the stasis pod suddenly coming to life. "...Triune." Her voice seemed, soft, distant, almost a whisper.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Tue 02 Apr 2019.

"Well make up your mind!  Scare the crap out of me with talk of a plague, but a pair of eye lashes flutter in your direction and suddenly everything is fine."  He mocked Culhayn.

"She doesn't even know her own name.  She's a mess.  Probably the perfect match for you on some dating prog...  Ohhh, what's that?"  At her touch he became interested in the computer and moved over to see what it was doing totally ignoring the woman in the pod.

Culhayn couldn't help by smile at the Ysoki's remarks. He shrugs. "You know, call me crazy, but I'm starting to like your company, Socket. I'd advise you to be more careful or attentive, but maybe that could get in the way of your grace and charm, so take my words as you desire."

"And, well, I didn't said she was definitely fine or certainly a danger, but I did raise up the possibilities. And I haven't yet discarded them either. We shall see what we shall see."

Trying to get any information from the device that contained Culhayn he nods at Sol and the drone zooms up to take a look there the camera sending a live feed to his wristscreen.

As it quickly becomes apparent none of the events inside the building need her attention Saia steps back outside to take a wider look at the area, first searching around the far side of the building to see if there is any indication that things inside have changed, then if that fails she climbs up to the roof to check for signs of activity.

At Phelan's touch, the computer comes alive and starts displaying all the vital statistics for Phelan... including her name and age.

Not surprisingly, it doesn't give a homeworld or date of birth.

The vital statistics all read as 'within normal parameters' as it compares apparently numbers from when she went under and what they are now. There are a few minor differences but nothing that seems significant.


Revonoss's drone flies up above the light into the shadow. The drone shows that there are hundreds of tiny lights glowing on the ceiling... some brighter than others. All the lights are white; there is no color discernible.

After a few seconds of observing it, Revonoss thinks it's supposed to represent the night sky.


Saia has no difficulty climbing up onto the roof of the building. There is nothing visible in the surroundings other than the terrain. She does notice clouds off to the west... probably storm clouds which seem to be moving in the temple's direction. A rough estimates they'll reach the temple in an hour or so.

Then she realizes that there is no sign of the deck prisms in the roof. After a careful search, she comes to the conclusion that the deck prisms aren't dispersing sunlight into the temple... unless it's some sort of convoluted channel penetrating through an opening that she can't find. That probably means the light source shining through the prisms is artificial.
This message was last updated by the GM at 23:15, Wed 03 Apr 2019.

"...I am Phelar Morilla. I am...eighteen." Phelar said, her eyes still a bit glazed over. It was obvious that she was not even looking at the screen. After a few moments, she looked towards the others again. "...I did that?"

Sockets whiskers twitched.  "If you insist."  He replied to the Damaya and went back to the computer.

Name... age... blood pressure... blah... blah... blah  The ysoki stared at the readout.  "Boring."  He muttered to himself.

"So you guys got enough for your report?  Giant temple on hill.  Alien writing on wall.  Drugged up chick in box.  Nice bench.  Does that about sum it up?  Let's go home and collect our reward."

He tapped away on the computer looking for the initiate sleep cycle option or hit the big button labeled start.  Better to leave the temple as they had found it than risk breaking some alien protocol.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:41, Fri 05 Apr 2019.

Phelar looked at the Ysoki, hearing him tapping on the computer as she was sitting up. She heard what he had said and instantly thought that it might not be good. Soon her thoughts could be heard in his mind. ~What are you doing? Drugged? Stop that please!~

He wondered what the others were doing?  They seemed content as he poked around the stasis controls to see what options came up, his nose suddenly twitched and his eyes went wide.

"AAHHHH!  SHE'S IN MY MIND!"  He screamed as he was thrown back from the controls and landed on the ground contorting in pain.  His hands went to his head trying to shield himself from the alien.

"So, there's a night sky depicted on the ceiling?" Sol says. "I saw something like that in a theater once. Are there any moons visible? Any clouds?"

"I suppose that gives you something to look at if you laid down on the bench. Though... if you were tired enough to lay down, you probably weren't going to keep your eyes open for very long."

"Anyone found any clues yet? Is there anything in the wall writings?"

"Oh, knock it off, Socket! The rest of us are Lashunta--we can communicate with each other telepathically."

"If there's a computer in that stasis unit, maybe the clue we're looking for is in there. Can you find it, Socket?"

"Or, how about you, Miss Phelar--do you know where we're supposed to go next?"

Dropping down off the roof Saia comes back in through the front door and takes a quick look at the clear sky on the ceiling before she gives her report.
”The image on the ceiling isn't up to date, we have a big storm headed this way, in about an hour it is going to be a lot harder to fly out of here for however long it lasts.”

Sonaeu gives Saia an inquiring look as the other passes her on the way back into the structure but neither moves to interfere or otherwise hinder her.

Socket rolled his eyes.  No one appreciated a great rendition of a classic.  He thought he had nailed it too, with the right amount of drama and pain.  Oh well... he stood up and straightened everything back out.

"Computer says she's healthy.  I annoyed her, so she is responding like a normal person.  We haven't found anything else of glaring interest we can't study from vids and a storm is moving in.  Either we hunker down and stay here until it passes, or we take her and high tail it out of here.  Do a status update on the ship.  Am I missing anything?"

"Yes barring this interesting specimen there has been little worth of note. The roof armature is simply a  solar system i'll have my drone map out  so we can process it digitally.  That and the text might reveal something of note but the machinery down here isn't divulging any information and that storm sounds not something we should be in indeed. I am uncertain if we should bring the specimen though. Maybe get the captains permission for that first. I can descend quickly with my jump jets and get permission. Then i'll fly up to pick you up so we have ample of time to clear the planet."

"Seems like the best course of action." Culhayn agrees, thinking on the time they took going up the mountain and the time they have before the storm hit them. "We are not sure how the weather behaves in this planet, so even our best simulations on the duration and severity of the storm will not be all that accurate, reliable and reassuring."

He looks at Phelar: "And although I believe taking her in or not is the captain prerogative, I also think there is plenty of reasons we should really make our case for it: the potential of crucial information being one of them, but the most pressing one being a respect for another complex life and its dignity. This place is too barren, too dangerous and too unknown to just leave someone here."

He does his best to transmit a telepathic message to all that are close and participating in the current conversation (Solsantharis, Saia, Revonoss and Socket), excluding the recently awakened Phelar: "I know there is an inherent danger in taking in someone we just met under suspicious circumstances, but let's at least treat her like a person while we talk in her presence, shall we? She seem as confused as us, and there's a reason these simulations had chosen us and not a bunch of military or corporal goons for this mission." After a quick glance at Socket, he telepathically adds: "That is, those of us that were selected, of course."

Phelar looked at everyone a moment as they spoke then finally looked at Sol, the one that had addressed her directly. "...where to go next." She said the words aloud, considered then she looked up towards the ceiling a moment. "Shut the door's. Your answer, is up there. I'll show you, after I shut off the lights." She said as she started to try and climb out of the stasis pod.

When out, assuming with a bit of assistance, she will place her hand on the computer again and begin accessing it directly. It's obvious....she can access computers with her mind as the screen starts changing and shifting again without her touching any keys on the keyboard. When the doors are shut, she will shut off the lights.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Thu 11 Apr 2019.

This message was deleted by the player at 05:41, Wed 10 Apr 2019.

Now it was Sol's turn to be skeptical as he looked at Phelar.

"Partial amnesia isn't out of the question," he comments. "Head trauma and certain drugs can cause it, and I suppose certain spells might do it."

"It just occurred to me that Phelar here might be one of the clues. If someone came here and didn't discover her, then they'd never find Golarion because the trail would dead end without her."

"Let's face it. This whole temple is an oddity to begin with."

"How detailed was your drone's image of the ceiling, Revonoss? Might these lights... or even daylight itself... obscure some detail?"

He was wondering why the room needed to be dark. If the computer shut off the lights, how would anyone have turned the lights off if they didn't discover the stasis unit with the computer?

On the other hand, if a storm was coming, that'd be a good reason to close the doors. That'd cut out the sunlight.

"Having woken up Phelar, we can't very well leave her behind. It's within our discretion to bring her back with us, but you are probably right, Revonoss, to ask the captain's permission to bring her aboard."

"Can you leave your drone behind to examine the ceiling with the lights out... while you head back to the shuttle?"

Without a word Saia reacts quickly as the unsteady woman starts to step out of the pod, or more so fall, she reaches out to catch her, not so much helping her out as picking her up and setting her down on her own feet next to the terminal she was reaching for all along.

As the lights go out she stays still, not wanting to bump into anyone, least of all the already unsteady woman.

Revonoss nods to the question if he can leave the drone behind and when Phelar suddenly starts to remember things he frowns a second but then shrugs it off for now he put it on the stasis not ill intent.

"Wait a second!"

Was all he said as he heads for the door when Phelar says she is going to close the door and on his way out looks at sol.

"As long as im in range i will have the drone record everything. Once im out of range i'll give it the order to record everything you look at."

Once outside he takes a look at the sky to see where the storm is comming from and then starts a jump jet assisted quick descent towards the shuttle.

"Golarion?  THAT'S what you guys are here for?  Why didn't you say so!"  He shook his head and twitched his whiskers.  Everyone knew the story of the missing planet.

"So we find it and I'll be famous right?  What do you need!  I can pilot the drone until I get my own built.

Miss Morilla?  Do you need some water or something?  I'm sure we have something in our supplies.  Is Eighteen old or young for your race?  I can't tell, you all look alike."  The ysoki was suddenly the epitome of helpfulness.

She accepted Saia's assistance with a small nod. "Thank you." She said softly as she steadied herself with assistance while she began to use her obvious ability on the computer.

"I do not wish to go back to sleep." She said flatly, she seemed very aware of the conversation around her even though she was mentally tied to the computer. "If I can help you find this, Golarion, I will do so."

"Water is fine please." She said offer Socket a small smile. "...and I do not know if eighteen is young for my race."

She waits for everyone to get into whatever positions they wanted, or out the doors and close them, and then she will power down the lights. "...seems I am not just telepathic like...what did you say you were, Lashunta?"

"Yes, Lashunta. Most of us here are Lashuntas from the planet Castrovel, in the region we call the Pact Worlds Systems. Socket here is an Ysoki. So far, you seems to be a human, and I can confirm eighteen years would be considered young on the scale of human lifespan." Culhayn says, directed both at Phelar and Socket.

Revonoss jets down the mountain to the shuttle, has no problem contacting the captain, explains the situation and he replies that, of course, they won't leave the woman behind. He even agrees that she may be one of the clues or links to finding Golarion.


Meanwhile, back in the temple, the doors are closed, Phelar is able to turn the deck prism lighting off, and the inside of the temples is in total darkness. Except for the lights on the ceiling.

It does appear as if it was meant to give the appearance of a night sky. There are at least a thousand points of light, and clearly some are brighter than others. There are no planets showing, no moon, no clouds. There is one particular light that is brighter than the others. It might mean that is supposed to be one of the planets in the system... possible the next planet closer to the sun.

"Castrovel in the Pact Worlds Systems." She said in Castrovelian. Wait, she knew their language.

"I remember small bits. Languages. A small bit of what I am capable of doing. This...with computers, I don't remember." She said in common, with a small nod. "It's kinda neat though...if a bit confusing." She continued, as she manipulated the computer. "...anyway, I am young then."

"There. That is your next destination, I wager." Phelar said, as she pointed at the brightest point on the ceiling. "I think it is a planet in that system."

"This is... to be expected, in a sense." Culhayn says, taking a closer look at the human when she describes what she can remembers. "Declarative memory blocked, but otherwise no indicative of loss of procedural memory. A common symptom of diverse forms of amnesia, when not paired with other degenerative illness. It may be just an effect of the suspended animation, or, as Sol had said before, effect of trauma, or even the result of drug administration or magical procedure. If you are not against it, I'd suggest a throughout examination once we are back on the ship"

Culhayn perceives he suddenly started talking a lot like a physician, as if the need for a cover was just too natural for him to go too long without it. Yet, his focus was on the other thing Phelar had said, about their next destination.

He points to the star map in the ceiling. "Seems like it."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Sun 14 Apr 2019.

"I wouldn't say it was 'obvious', but that would be a logical option," Sol says. "It would explain the purpose of this temple."

"However, if that bright star on the ceiling is one of the other planets in this system, I don't think that's the next destination. I suspect that it is a pointer."

"since the ceiling image doesn't move, it's probably depicting a particular section of the sky, and the planet would indicate where in that section to go. I mean, just that section of space is HUGE. We could search there for centuries and not find what we are looking for."

"So, when the planet is in that position again in relation to this planet, the temple and the other planet should provide a line of travel."

"There could be something else in play that we're just not seeing yet, but I'm pretty sure the computer on the ship can determine that alignment without us having to wait for the planet to move into position."

Phelar cocked her head to the side for a moment at something Sol had said, as if it had jogged something. "You are right about the pointer. When you said that, it made me....remember maybe?" She said looking back up at the ceiling again. "That's this system. The bright spot is a pointer to show which way we are to go." She said nodding.

Phelar looks in the computer for something thats not been turned on yet in the ceiling.

In the Temple the drone just zooms about and makes sure to get the entire star map recorded and digitized to overlay on any star maps that the ship had while Revonoss talked to the captain. Once he had the permission to take Phelar on board he revs up the shuttles engines and takes off to shorten the trek for the rest by taking the ship to hover near the entrance and radios the team.

++The captain gave permission to take the human on board. Unless there is more you like to do here i'll be hovering at the entrance to fly you people out before that storm hits.++

"So it's a scavenger hunt!  That's kind of sick.  Stick some young member of a race in stasis for billions of years just to provide a clue if anyone wants to find some missing planet?  She never had the chance to grow up.  She's probably older than all of us put together.  Don't worry, Uncle Socket is here.  First we'll figure out how to grow your fur back so you don't look so cold."

"Mr Crazy, let's get out of here.  To the ship!"  He pointed out the door in response to the radio contact.

"There's no guarantee that the ceiling depicts a star pattern visible from this planet, but that's the only clue we've got," Sol said.

" Socket... or Phelar... close up that compartment and let's get to the ship."

He heads to the door, hesitates a moment before opening it in case anyone has any other suggestions, then pulls the door open.

He sees the ship hovering not too far away.

"If that's not the clue, we can always come back. Or else Phelar is the clue."

Sonaeu continued to keep an eye on Phelar. Even though she didn't look like a threat, the circumstances of her being here were just too strange and far-fetched to take at face value.

"Since Phelar can't remember anything, then there's no reason to think she's been in the stasis chamber that long," she says as she hurries to the door.

"She could have been placed in there yesterday for all we know."

"It doesn't seem likely that she's the clue... certainly not the only clue. What if we don't find Golarion? This temple and this clue would seem to indicate that whoever moved Golarion was expecting someone to come looking for it someday. So, if we don't find it, how would the next seekers find it if we've removed the only clue?"

"*sigh* There may be more going on here than we yet know."

"If clue it is." Culhayn wasn't exactly the optimist kind, and there was few things that could really point to there being a clue at all, except for their need and hope for one. There could be a lot of reasons why this planet had a drift beacon that had nothing to do with lost Golarion, but they had to put their faith in something - be it the simulations or the divinations that chose their group.

Anyway, there had been enough time in this barren place, and a storm was coming. He prepared to embark the ship once again.

All it takes to close the compartment back up again is to push it that way and it slides silently and effortlessly back into its slot. As soon as it is back in place, the lights come back on.

Sol opens the doors with no problem, as the lock hadn't been re-engaged.

As everyone steps out onto the platform in front of the temple, you can feel the winds starting to pick up already.

No one has any trouble boarding the shuttle, and soon Revonoss is heading back to the ship. The ride gets a bit rough as the shuttle hits the turbulence from the outer edge of the storm, which, as you climb above it, you can see is over 100 miles long and wide. Lightning flashes are big and bright and frequent at the leading edge.

You are soon back aboard the Starhawk.

"Any good clue, or prophecy, or what have you needs the right catalyst to come along to warrant it's finding, and use." Phelar said in an almost prophetic state. "What those that find and use the clue do with the information they gleam, is what's important. Do they document it so others can follow it later, follow it themselves, or both in case they fail but hope someone else can continue."

Then as they closed in on the ship she would look out a view port. "That's your ship?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Sat 20 Apr 2019.

Staying nearby to help Phelar if things get tricky, or dangerous Saia manages to not over help her into the ship, but makes sure the retraining straps are attached correctly before settling herself in the adjacent seat for the mostly uneventful trip back up to the ship.

Without bothering to look out the view port she answers the question simply but effectively. ”Ours is the only ship here.”

Revonoss does the post flight once the shuttle set down and has the drone upload its findings into the ships main computer and radios to the captain.

++Sir you want to see us now to greet the new guest?++

Once he has his answer he joins the others disembarking.

"Well i guess we should overlay the star map with ours. Mostly to see if we can date back how long ago the map was made and then see if we can plot a route."

"The...only ship? What if something happens?" She asked more curiously then anything.

"How long has this world been missing?" She asked, looking towards the one that spoke. "I mean...honestly...if not to long then the chart really wouldn't change all to much. In theory. Another thing to think about, is what world that starchart is in relation to. Which the likely answer would be...the creators. Right?" Even as she spoke she was looking around the inside of the ship.

"I...had a dream about this...place...but when?" She uttered to herself.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:20, Mon 22 Apr 2019.

Socket rolled his eyes at Phelar's comments.  "I had wanted to put her back in stasis.  You guys field this stuff."

"Is there a decontamination protocol or something?  Or can I get to work?"  He waited until cleared by the Captain before he wandered off to get some tinkering done.

The captain does, indeed, want to meet with everyone, including Socket.


"First of all, welcome to my ship, Phelar," Zenith says.

"As you may have already determined, this ship is a Lashunta ship, with the exception of Socket here, who seems to have been an unwitting stowaway."

"To the best of my knowledge, there was never any absolute mandate that only Lashuntas would crew it, but that was the way it was being set up due to circumstances."

"I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through, Phelar, but the greater mystery is how and why you are even here on this planet... in that temple."

"Still, without your memory, that may be hard to unravel. It does seem, though, that you were placed here for a reason and probably the same reason your memory was... erased? Suppressed? Altered? All of the above? In any case, it boggles the mind to think that you may have been in stasis for hundreds of years. I suppose one of the reasons your memory was erased was so that you wouldn't miss any friend and family and loved ones that were being left behind. It does make me wonder, though, if this was something you volunteered for and whether the full ramifications were explained to you. Definitely more impressive if they were."

"There is nothing under these circumstances, however, that would make me abort the mission... yet. So, welcome aboard, but I'm afraid you are with us for the duration."

"Revonoss had made a very good point about the potential for stellar drift. While it has been a thousand years or so since Golarion disappeared... my understanding is that it takes much longer than that for significant stellar drift to occur."

"On the other hand, at the distances we're dealing with, even one one-hundredth of a second of arc is significant. So, is this something you can do, Revonoss? Make the necessary adjustments?"

Revonoss shrugs.

"Not sure sir. Will probably just need time at the computer."

"I...thank you Captain. I am Phelar Morilla." Phelar would listen to what he says, nodding now and then.

"That is a good mystery, yes. There are other mysteries tied to it as well. Such as...who is Triune? Where am I from? And how did I know what to do to show the details on the Star Map? Amongst others..." She said with a simple nod. It's obvious she had a lot of questions.

She considered more of his words for a moment, taking in what he said with some thought. "Maybe, as we arrive at each point in your quest my memories will return bit by bit. Perhaps then, maybe we can answer some of those questions." Then she nodded when he said she was with them for the duration. "Considering the circumstances, I would rather join you anyway."

"I can help him. If you wish." She offered.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:18, Sun 28 Apr 2019.

Socket stared at Phelar with his mouth hanging open.  "Are you for real?  You just find out your parents, friends, family, spouse, CHILDREN, if you had any, anyone you ever loved are long gone dead and your response is 'that's a mystery'.  I've programmed drones with more feeling than that."

He looked at Sonaeu.  "That's just weird.  That sounds like a double agent or some alien clone or something.  Why don't you aim your gun at her?"  He commented still a little sore about how he had been treated at their first meeting.

"Although if she was brainwashed and left for dead simply to be a pointer to the missing planet, she might be of help plotting the course."  He shrugged at the dilemna.

Culhayn was about to correct Socket on the real possibilities that nonchalant acceptance of one's fate could be either a symptom of coping with great trauma, a sign of an specific cultural upbringing that deals differently than Ysoki or Humans on the matters of finitude, or even a strong reserve of faith in something, but the way the small mechanic kept talking - and moreover, what exactly he decided to talk about - seemed to make the "Doc" to change his course of action. His lips turn into an amused grin, and he just comments: "Word to the wise, Socket; never precede an act of pointing a gun to an agent or spy by announcing it. Clinical data says this tends to really lowers one's life expectancy."

Socket wondered who was the additional wise person Culhayn was speaking to.  Hopefully they took note as it didn't really apply to him.  He just shrugged to Dr. Crazy, "I'll take your word for it.  I've never tried it."

Phelar looked at Socket with a solumn look in her eyes. "...your Captain said I 'could have been' there for hundreds of years, not that I was. Still...with that in mind...I have no memories of any family. If I were to feel sadness, and shed tears, who would I shed them for?" She asked him, then asked them all. "...myself. That's the only answer. I would not be crying because I have not lost all of my friends and family do to time, but because I cannot remember all of the memories I had with them. Ever." She explained, quietly, solemnly, as a single tear ran down her cheek. "...so before you think ill of me for showing no emotion, understand, I have no one in my mind right now to even show emotion for except myself. I would not wish this on anyone...  If I did this on purpose, with knowledge of this, like your Captain also said could be one of many possibilities...  I'd of had to of had a damn good reason. A good reason to give up everything, to be in that spot. So I choose....for now....to drive my emotion towards that idea, and to finding out what that reason was. My guess, is it's tied to your missing world. Somehow." Wisdom, and Intelligence. Scary.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Wed 01 May 2019.

"Selective memory on that scale is beyond our knowledge, magic and technology at the moment," Sol suggests, "but then so is moving a planet."

"On the other hand, traumatic amnesia often affects the more personal aspects of memory but leaves cognitive memory intact. It's why you can remember how to dance, for instance, but can't remember your name."

"We still don't know why that happens. So, if some agency did alter your memories, they simply may have learned the secret of selective memory."

"I'm not convinced she's been in there for centuries, though. Unfortunately, the alternative is far more disturbing."

Now that you are back up in space on the ship, Revonoss, with Phelar's help, is able to use the ship's computer to map the star pattern and identify the area of space that matches the image on the ceiling of the temple.

There is no star in that sector that matches the bright star, but the fourth planet from the sun would fit the bill.

Stellar drift doesn't come into play because of the scale of the distances involved; a few hundred years just doesn't register that much.

On the other hand, planetary drift is significant. This close in, the change in the planet's orbital speed and distance would be affected by the other nearby planets. While not significant for planetary distances, as a marker for heading out into the deep of space, as much as an inch variance in the planet could send the ship a hundred parsecs off course, even more the farther out you go.

As near as Revonoss can determine, the image on the ceiling... specifically, the position of the planet, represents a time about 670 years ago. There's a margin of error, though.

It still gives a heading for the ship.

The real issue is distance. Turns out there is no known Drift beacon out in that direction--you'll be shifting into the Drift blind.

Revonoss checks the data and then runs it again a few times till the margin of error is minimal working closely with their new 'recruit' Once they got a heading he isn't surprised they find a path without beacons there was a reason they where taking some with them after all. He looks at his companion.

"Well lets work out two routes. One with short jumps and another with longer jumps and then take both routes to the captain. Your blocked mind has any fresh info we might use to make the trip easier?"

Socket looked at Phelar and her 'emotional' response.  Not bad.  Solemn look, even a tear.  He had to give her props.  Still something just didn't feel right with that theory.  "Pfftt.  Nice, but B.O.R.I.N.G.  I'm going alien construct.  Looks human.  Leads seekers into a trap so the aliens can eat your brains.  I bet that machine back there has even created a new body of her by now for the next batch of suc.... err... intrepid adventurers."

He looked at the map and location.  No drift beacon.  Makes sense why no one has found the planet yet.  Hide it outside of where people travel.

"Good luck with those calculations.  I'll just go prepare in case I'm right.  Permission to leave the bridge El Capi tan?"

Socket is dismissed and Revonoss presents his calculations to the captain.

"Excellent work, Revonoss," Captain Zenith responds.

"I was considering both those options myself. While the short route would be the safest one, I don't think that Golarion would be that close. It would have been detected long before now if it was."

"So, we'll try your long course."

"We're going to cruise outward a bit before we enter The Drift... just to double check our readings."

"So, you've all got about 10 hours before anything happens."

"...what do I know?" Phelar said softly, considering his question a moment before she lost herself for a moment. "...distance is 111 parsecs...Bolida...Thread the needle...Vesk are coming..." Then she would look back towards the others once more as her eyes focus returned to normal. "I...um...sorry..."

Revonoss hmmp's and looks at Phelar as she unfoccuses and as she spews forth the name Bolida he queries the known planets and stars index to see if there is a hit on their projected route. And just to be sure also looks for star formations that might resemble a needle. As the query runs he looks at the rest of the team.

"What do you make of that? Could be a point of origin as the distance is far enough."

Saia remains quiet through most of the discussion, until the next stage of prophetic information arrives.

”Sounds like we have our answer, set our first Drift target for 111 parsecs and prepare for a Vesk assault that will catch up to us if we don't act quickly.”

"This is a pretty interesting, if unnerving, gift that you are displaying, Phelar."

Culhayin observes the others working on the computers and making their calculations. 10 hours before they go into the Drift...

"Would you object for a more throughout bio and gene examination, Phelar? We have a fully equipped medbay here in the ship, and maybe there is more to learn about you if we could analyze your biochemistry makeup and the sequencing of your genetic code."

Revonoss easily pulls up Bolida on his computer. They are a centipede-like race of natural miners. While they primarily live underground, they can dwell on the surface but have a propensity for digging tunnels, even down deep enough to be close to a planet's molten core.

There is no known world along your projected path that is a Bolida home or colony, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. Part of the reason for that may be that there's no known Drift beacon out that way.


If the Needle is a constellation, it's not obvious from here, not even projecting the star pattern out to 111 parsecs. On the other hand, any alignment of stars could be called that. As a constellation, it would be designated as such by the locals.

"Good suggestion, Culhayn," Sonaeu responded. "Not sure it will make a difference, but it might answer a few questions or at least eliminate a few things."

"While it might be some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion... or even some sort of genetic memory... it's beginning to sound like each step is triggering more memories."

"That doesn't quite explain the Vesk reference. Unless she was from the future, no 'memory' could predict them showing up."

Phelar looked at the others with that one blue and one green eye as they spoke, about her of all things. "...um." She said, softly, as if to let them know she was still there before she spoke.

"...seems I....have a lot of gifts." She continued, softly. "...I don't really understand what happened... He asked me if I knew anything, then as I tried to remember...I started to see things...the things I said..." She continued.

Then at Culhayn's suggestion of a more thorough examination she considered for a moment. "If you...and your Captain...feel it would help me out in any way, I'll do it." Then she looked towards Sonaeu. "Like you said...if it does not give answers, it might at least rule out some things."

"We'd better tell the captain about the distance," Sol suggests after hearing Phelar's 'memories'.

"He'll need to adjust his calculations. Also, if she's accurate and the Vesk are coming, maybe we shouldn't wait that 10 hours."

Finally!  All that talk was making his head hurt.  Socket was now free to explore the ship.  He poked his nose into any unoccupied room.  Boring... and Interesting… were some of the thoughts that crossed his mind as he wandered.

If anyone spotted him, he slunk away.  If he heard someone coming, he hid.  Ooooo!  An Arcus Ultra 150PCU! and Mk2 Duonode produced satisfactory nods of approval.

Finally he ended up in a corner of the Tech Workshop with some loose supplies that had just been laying around.  He grabbed some tools and started tinkering to keep him busy and out of trouble.

After the captain is informed about the distance and the approaching(?) Vesk, he recalculates a course heading and asks Revonoss to confirm it.

Once that's done, he shuts down the engines for the necessary time (1 minute) before activating the Drift engine that will shunt the ship into The Drift.

Just as the ship shifts into The Drift, the sensors pick up another ship exiting The Drift. It appears to be a Vesk ship, but the sensor readings are so brief that it can't be confirmed. The size puts it in the Norikama Dropship category, but it's probably a scout-raider version rather than a troop transport.

Once in The Drift, the ship sits there for one minute while the Drift engine is deactivated. It doesn't really take a full minute and as far as anybody knows, it doesn't matter, but it's become habit to wait a full minute before activating the main engines again.

It's not like the ship is in a panic at this point, since the Vesk ship (if that's what it was) has to do the same thing as well as plot a location and then calculate a new course. And that's assuming it can figure out where the Starhawk is going. It certainly seems as if it has the ability to do that.

Because you are heading into the vastly unexplored Vast, travel time is uncertain and unknown, no matter how good your Pilot is. So, all you know is that it will take between 5 and 30 days... probably somewhere around 16 days would be the average.


Once the ship's normal drive engines are activated, the heading is confirmed, and there are no obstacles detected, the Starhawk begins its journey through the Vast.


After about an hour, with no signs of pursuit or trouble, Phelar is asked to report to the medical bay on the ship for her examination. It's mostly going to be routine: blood analysis, genetic testing and brain scans.

She does not hesitate. Standing up she nods once to Revonoss. "I'll, um, be back shortly I guess." Then she offered him another small nod and left, heading for Medical as requested.

She will make her way down the corridor to the Medical Bay. Looking around for a moment before announcing herself. "Um...Phelar Morilla reporting for my examination...?"

Running the calculations confirming them and having Phelar see his trajectory he then passes it off to the captain. We was more then a little startled that the Vesk ship appeared when it did and figured threading the needle was actually them leaving on time. He nods goodbye as PHelar is called to the medical bay.

"I can show you where it is not that its hard to find. I think i like a drink myself. That ship showing up when we left was a little to close for comfort."

If Phelar takes his offer to escort her or not after that he goes to get himself a drink in the ships mess/bar

"Alright. Thank you." She said with a nod, accepting his help. "...me, knowing it was coming was...weird too..." She said, looking at the floor as they walk.

"When I am done, I might join you." She said with a simple nod.

Culhayn had, for the most part, felt a little bit idle during the journey, which was a sense he hadn't really had a chance to get used to while in Castrovel. He could keep his studies, but he lacked materials. He was particularly interested in what the tests on Phelar would reveal - specially, her genetic signature -, yet he would need to wait for the examination to be done.

He decided his time would best be spent in knowing his new colleagues and relaxing a bit, and he had seem the mechanic heading to the mess hall. He followed suit.

The first two days pass eventfully, although no one has quite fallen into what you might call a 'routine'.

Early on Day 3, however, the ship's sensors pick up a planet dead ahead!

It takes a few more hours before the sensors are able to resolve the readings into a coherent visual image.

Once that happens, it becomes rather obvious what probably happened.

The 'planet' is a giant slab of earth and stone, most likely shifted from the elemental plane of earth. It's around 6,000 miles long, 1,000 miles wide, and 700 miles thick. It is roughly oval but the edges are all rough and jagged. The 'top' seems to be fairly smooth and level, but the underside has jagged protruding rocks that are really low mountains.

It isn't until the ship is about an hour away that it picks up a faint distress signal.

It's coming from a ship--oddly, it's in the computer: the Dawnwind, a 100-year old Gnomish explorer/miner. It's sitting somewhat in the middle of the flat side of the rock. It does not appear to have crashed.

During those 2 days Vorbar will see with Phelar how her power over computers work by having the drone fly around with a machine to interface with. Testing obstructions, line of effect and even if security measures assist. Both to get a feel for her power but also to figure out any counter measures. Not only in case she turns out to be an enemy but also to protect against others with that kind of powers.

As the planetoid is discovered he joins the scanning team to see what readings they get from the planet and because he is already expecting to be assigned on the away team to pilot the shuttle to investigate.

Drawn to the observation section of the bridge to watch something, really anything, happen after the two days of empty space Saia doesn't interrupt the crew until they have a fairly clear picture of the situation.

”Looks like they got caught in some kind of trap, we should keep the ship well away from there until we scout it out.”

Culhayn spent his days studying the medical data collected in Phelar's exam. He knew quite a lot about human physiology, but most of all, his specialty was bio-engineering - if there were any signs of implants or alteration to the basic human makeup, he would most probably noticed something. And he was quite convinced there must have been something.

Anyway, when the planetoid was observed and then properly scanned, Culhayn had almost welcomed the intrusion to routine. Voyages through space - and specially the Drift - were also an exercise in averting monotony and boredom, and he had discovered himself not well suited for this particular experience.

"Agreed. We should send a versatile team to assess the situation and - if that really is what it seem to be - prepare a rescue mission."

Phelar during the two days Phelar would be spending time with either Revenoss or Culhayn to learn more about her abilities, or her medical stuff.

When the issue with the planetoid came up she would go to one of the viewports and look out towards it. Examining the planetoid for a moment, considering it. "What a weird shaped world." She said idly.

"I would like to go on the mission, if I may. I beleave I could help in a rescue." She said softly, looking to those gathered.

Upon receiving the distress beacon, the captain attempts to contact the Gnomish ship.

He's well aware that a distress beacon can emit a signal for a very long time... far longer than the life support of such a ship would last.

COMMS: "This is Captain Zenith of the Starhawk. Please state the nature of your emergency." :END COMMS

"H,"<pop>, "o? This is Gerbo Nack"<grrr>, "of mining operation 7 zeta 1" <weeee> "Thank the Eldest you have," <whine> "Power is low, your assistance would be" <crackle> "preciated. The entry ramp is ready, but you may have to f" <breeep> "the door."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:23, Wed 22 May 2019.

Revonoss looks at the captain. As much as it might be a trap decency meant they had to attempt a rescue. He was just waiting for the captain to give the order to the 'away' team as he had started to look at their lot who had no real role on the ship.

"Force the door?" Phelar said quietly looking towards Revonoss. That didn't make sense to her. If they were a mining operation the door should be in tip top, one would think. Since it'd be used a lot.

Then she considered something for a moment. "Sir, something does not seem right. May I have access to the computer, and Revonoss' assistance, to try something?"

"Well, that was unhelpful," the captain says after the comms are ended.

"I see the sensors indicate there's an atmosphere down there. Therefore, we can land 40 yards away from this ship."

"Saia... you can take an away team over to the Gnome ship, establish contact with the crew, and find out what their problem is. Decide who you'll take."

"If we have to, we can take them with us, but I'd prefer not to. I'd rather we fix their ship, if that's the problem."

"Let them know, however, that we are not going back."

"Sir, I have an idea to get more meaningful com's. So we are not entering blindly." Phelar said, moving over to one of the computer terminals. "If I may?"

If he agrees Phelar will place her hands on the terminal. "Revonoss I'll need your help." She said with a nod.

"Triune." She said softly, then began to access the ships computer to then begin to force access the other ships computers. Her goal, access the other ships internal sensors.

[OOC: Going with the idea we discussed in Private Message if the Captain allows.]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:54, Sun 26 May 2019.

REvonoss more then curious about what the human was planning nods and gets ready to join her making sure he gets as many readings on what she was doing as possible.

"I agree we should invastigate the situation before simply opening that ship. But also that we must provide aid whenever possible. Its the only right thing to do."

"I believe Phelar and Revonoss could work Phelar's plan while the rest of us prepare the shuttle for departure - we won't need four additional hands in doing so, and they probably won't take that long. We won't lose time, and also won't go there blind, which is a win-win in my book."

Culhayn had his backpack ready, and seemed interested in learning how his colleagues would deal with the situation.

Following the captains instructions Saia pulls up a list of crew members on her armor's augmented reality view and picks a few names off the list, sending an update to the captain with the list.

”I am sure the shuttles are ready for immediate departure.  Run more scans from here, we will be leaving in a few minutes.”


With the list making done she walks out of the room at a brisk pace, clearly headed in the direction of the shuttle bay.

About the time she reaches the shuttle bay, Saia realizes that the entire ship is landing.

After checking the view screen and the sensors, she sees that the Starhawk has landed within walking distance of the Gnome mining ship and that there is an atmosphere that is breathable.

For her away team, the meeting location is still valid since she can dispense any extra equipment there and exit from the shuttle bay.

((OOC: The away team can continue in the new thread.))

The captain lets Phelar use the ship's computer, though, technically, she's now a member of the crew and has access to it whenever she wants.

With the ship landed 60 yards away... a little bit farther than the 40 yards the captain mentioned... Phelar has no problem connecting with the Gnomish ship's communications system and then springboarding into the other ship's computer.

Normal/ordinary tasks don't require a skill check, but sometimes you might want to roll just to see how successful you are.

Communications are designed to talk to each other, and because the Gnomish ship isn't that radical of a design, it's routine. Ditto connecting to the computer since it's also linked to perform translations if necessary.

From here on, though, Phelar and Revonoss need to make skill checks for anything they are doing.
This message was last updated by the GM at 21:10, Fri 31 May 2019.

"This is a weird feeling, I feel both here, and there." She said almost absently as she then used the Gnomish computer to access their in ship sensors to locate member's of their crew.

16:56, Today: Phelar Morilla rolled 25 using 1d20+7 ((18)).

If she indeed finds the crew using their sensors, she will report how many crew she has found to the away team. Then she will contact one of the minds, using the new location of her mind. ---I am Phelar Morilla of the StarHawk. Your communication came to us somewhat disjointed and garbled so I am attempting communication this way. Please...do not be alarmed. What is the nature of your emergency? And what is wrong with your door so that we know what we would need to use to force it?---

"Revonoss, since my mind is in both places, kinda, do you think we can play the communication over the speaker so the Captain can hear?" That was a big drop at what she was trying, and the data that Revonoss had to be seeing as she was doing all of this had to be....something. The girl was overlapping one of her abilities with another to make contact with the other crew. Maybe not to helpful in combat, but for this?

(25 for the Computer roll. :) Not bad. :) )

Revonoss monitors the signal and tries to interface Phelars mind signal with the audio output so it  gets seen as a regular signal by both ships whle also riding Phelars signal to see if they can get more readings from the ship.

"On it. Lets turn you into a natural signal for both ships."

ooc: Nat 20 on the roll. Lets get rolling ;-)
16:00, Today: Revonoss rolled 32 using 1d20+12.  Puter/engineering.

Not one for micro management Saia lets the people the captain sent to join the boarding party suit up however they wish, not needing or wanting any additional gear herself she simply heads over to the less commonly used airlock in the shuttle bay's exterior facing side (likely down) and begins its cycling process, waiting outside to help others load any large or bulky items the decide to bring.

"Who. . Who is this?" The voice is apprehensive. "Is that the ship out there? We ran out of supplies and our power is extremely low. I've, well we've routed power to only essential systems. Thus, the door has to be opened manually."
This message was last updated by the GM at 13:13, Sun 02 June 2019.

Culhayn prepared his equipment and, as he saw Saia go towards the airlock and then the exterior, followed suit. If anyone needed any help, he would be glad to provide, but otherwise would concern himself with the observation of this strange environment and potential dangers it might conceal.

--Yes. I am on the ship that landed near yours. We are here to rescue you.-- Phelar said through the telepathy. --We are sending people over now to help. Is anyone hurt or sick? How is everyone holding up?--

"Captain, we should send a small bit of rations with the away team. Just something to hold the crew of that ship over during rescue." She explained. "Captain, is there anything I should ask or say?"

OOC: I figure I'll use the -- -- for telepathy, and the standard " " for regular speech. Especially since it's likely Phelar will have to do all the talking between ships, even though everyone can now hear the pair talking in her mind.

"Nope, nope, nope... no one hurt, no one sick," comes the reply thought to Phelar. Clearly the Gnome on the other end is speaking out loud, but she just hears his thoughts.

"Our supply ship is overdue. I don't suppose you could find it for us?"



Meanwhile, Captain Zenith authorizes the away team to take some rations over. It's not a big stretch since they not only have the Beacon Portal but it's a lot easier to get back to Absalom Station because the Starstone.

Thranel has already thrown together two backpacks full of rations and hands them to away team members as they head out the airlock.



It takes only a few minutes to cross the distance to the other ship. It appears even stranger as you see it up close. Somewhere under all the protrusions and additions, you are pretty sure there's a familiar-looking ship, but it's hard to see it.

You get to the airlock only to discover that it appears to have been welded shut, plus there's a translinear interferometer fastened to the ship over top of it.

After a moment's thought, someone points underneath the ship... the most logical place for a working hatch for a mining ship.

You have to crouch down to move under it since the landing gear was only meant to accommodate Gnomes, but you find the piles of ore scattered around a central hatch in the middle of the underside of the ship.

You have no trouble cycling it manually, and it drops down on pistons and steps slide out and down from it.

When the gnome says there is a suply ship sopposedly inbound Revonoss starts a broad spectrum scan to see if the ships sensors can detect anything while also still trying to interface Phelars antics though the ships communication system. This mingle of organic interfacing and machinery was intriguing to say the least.

Phelar has the ability of Machine Telepathy--that is, she can communicate telepathically with a computer, as if the computer had an actual mind.

In this instant, she's pushed that telepathy by interfacing the ship's computer with the communications system... not a big stretch as the two are usually linked anyway. She was then able to project her telepathy to the Gnome ship's computer via the communication link, and was able to do a sort of reverse Machine Telepathy with the Gnomes... or at least one of them.

However, she wasn't able to use her computer link to use the internal scanners to find out how many Gnomes were on board... because the sensors were turned off.

Communications didn't require as much power as the sensors, so they've probably been shut off to conserve power.

===================================================================================

On board the Starhawk, Revonoss begins scanning for the missing Gnome supply ship. He doesn't find any sign of it at first... not out to the range of the ship's sensors.

Sensors detect energy. If they detect any mass, it's because of the energy the mass inherently has, such as being a source of gravity. Typical sensors scan for radio waves first, as that is what communications use. Then they scan for other types of energy... gravity, light, neutrinos, etc. In general, sensors fall into two types: passive and active. Passive sensors just sit there and register any energy that impacts them. Thus, in a silent running scenario, they still register any energy that's out there.

Active sensors actually send out an energy of their own. Sonar, radar and lidar are typical active sensors, emitting sound, radio and laser/light energy respectively, and then registering anything that bounces back.

Naturally, some forms of sensors have a greater range than others. Sonar, of course, only works in an atmosphere or underwater.

So, Revonoss runs through the gamut of the Starhawk's sensors, passive and active, and finds nothing showing up out to the maximum range. This isn't surprising, when he thinks about it... if the supply ship didn't show up, there can be two probable reasons for that: it got lost (meaning it can't find the mining ship--not all that surprising in the Drift) or it's damaged and can't get here.

Technically, of course, there could be a few other reasons, such as it was never coming in the first place, but those reasons aren't anything the Starhawk can do anything about... or even determine.

Thus, if the ship is lost in the Drift, it's far enough away that Revonoss can't find it with the sensors. That means the ship would have to fly around in the Drift in a typical search pattern and hope it finds the supply ship.

Also, sensors can Detect Magic, but since magic doesn't work in the Drift, those sensors are useless as well.

After putting the primary sensors through their paces, Revonoss comes up empty. The supply ship isn't anywhere within range. Well, that is, a functioning supply ship isn't within range.

He has to tweak the sensors a bit to start looking for a damaged ship. If it's really damaged, it'd probably be useless as a supply ship any more, meaning that it can't get to the mining ship on its own any more.

It's only when he adjusts the sensors for that possibility that he picks up... something--a weak neutrino (fancy word for a type of energy) emission. There is no known plane outside the Prime Material Plane that has natural neutrino emissions. That includes the Drift. Since the 'stuff' in the Drift comes from other planes, there would be no naturally occurring source of neutrinos, because there are only two known sources of neutrino emissions: stars and power cores. It's the primary way you detect another ship, other than visually.

After taking several readings and making adjustments, Revonoss determines that the neutrino emission is coming from within the 'planet' (the slab of rock that they are landed on). After thinking about that, and doing a bit more tweaking of the sensors, he revises his analysis: not within the planet, but on the other side of the planet--in that mountainous terrain.

No stars in the Drift, so that should mean it's a power core of a ship that's emitting the neutrinos. There's always the possibility (absurd as it might be) that it's some sort of aberrational creature of the Drift that's emitting them.

When he does his find he checks it once more and then relays his find to the captain.

"Sir look at this. There is a signal on the other side of the planet. It might be the missing supply ship for i got no idea what else we should expect here."

When Phelar relays she cant use her ability to scan the ship using its own sensors he aims the Starhawks full array on the Gnomish vessel. to give it a full scan and also sends his drone out to take a peek at the ships exterior.

ooc: Would the signal on the other side keep my drone within a mile or is this rock a lot bigger then i am imagining?

30 to scan the Gnome vessel.

17:23, Today: Revonoss rolled 30 using 1d20+12.  Gnome Scan.

--We are looking for your supply ship with our scanners now.-- Phelar said to the concerned Gnome. --Also we are sending help, they have some food with them as well. How many of you are there?-- She continued to try and keep him calm, and reassure him that help is here.

"That would be nice. I am Gerbo, head engineer at this site," now that you've heard him twice now, his voice is. . . . flat (?). He seems neither excited nor worried and it's different from the first voice that came over which had a bit more animation to it.

"Well," the voice responds, "there's only two of us if you don't count the various rock animals that have made homes around here."

"I think I hear them now. I'll send Boddynock to greet them."

No, the 'asteroid' is far larger than that. It's about the size of Nebraska and even flatter.

It's several miles thick, particularly since the other side had mountains on it.

Further consideration, with your current orientation, it's almost like the underside is the ceiling of a cavern with stalactites hanging down. Except for the scale.

The Starhawk's sensors determine that the Gnome ship is running on emergency power and that most systems have been shut down. Only those systems that don't require much power are still active.

The sensors register 7 life signs, all showing as Gnome.

Revonoss shows Phelar his readings without a word pointing out the 7 life signs as the Gnome tells there are only two. He tries to pinpoint their location and tries to get a fix on the crew as he radios them.

++Advance slowly and stay together. Something is not right here.++

ooc: Do i need to make another roll to get their general locations or is that visible from the  scans?

Not relaying the information in the other thread as it might not be received

"By the noise, I think he's found them." The voice sounds a mix of relief and annoyance.

If sensors register the presence of some type of energy, they usually can determine the source. Certainly direction if not always the range.

Life signs aren't actively emitting energy, so an active sensor is used to scan a location for life signs.

Two of the Gnomes are on the bridge; the other five are amidship, though you don't have a clue what part of the ship that would be.

He adresses PHelar and the captain.

"Right at this point its clear our neighbour isn't telling the truth. There are 5 more life signs on the ship and our away team is going in blind. Then there is a signal on the other side of this rock that might be the missing supply ship but still needs investigation. But most improtantly i think we need to recall the away team and join them and enter that ship under the assumption that it might be hostile.

What are your thoughts?"

"Captain, I must say I agree. Something about this does not seem right, however I must also say that whatever trap that their is is already in motion and sprung by now." She considered for a moment. "We may wish to consider launching a drone, or going ourselves to investigate the other signal. If it is the other ship, and this is a trap, it could be possible the 'Gnome's' stashed it there."

--Rock animal's? Please elaborate?-- She asked the Gnome, to keep him talking, but still not apprise him that they suspect him yet. --Good, I'm glad that they have arrived safely.--

"Oh yes," a tinge of interest enters his voice, "this rock must have come from the elemental planes for there are small animal life from there. Nothing to large, mostly rock cats, rock mice, and a few others. They are interesting creatures and a pet project of mine. I'm writing, well I was righting, a paper on them."

"Oh, we sent out a large portion of our crew to try and forage anything that might be useful an hour or so ago. With our low power, comms have been limited to the distress beacon. Hopefully they'll return soon, but if you can find them, then they could return."

"I think you are a bit too suspicious," Captain Zenith says to Revonoss. "Not that a healthy dose isn't warranted under all circumstances."

"It sounds like the scavenging team came back aboard and just haven't let Gerbo know they are back."

"It also sounds like the supply ship may have crashed on the other side of this planetoid. That would explain why it is late."

"We'll need to investigate that... once the our away team is back aboard. I don't want to risk abandoning them here to investigate that signal. Not even to take the shuttle."

"If you say so captain. Do i understand correctly that you want to take the ship instead of the shuttle to investigate? Isn't it wiser to have the ship stay here and offer aid to the Gnomes while we go and inspect whats there with the shuttle?"
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 01:29, Thu 27 June 2019.

"So far, the only thing the Gnomes need that we know of it fuel, and we don't have any," Captain Zenith responds.

"So how else can we help them?"

"If we take the shuttle to investigate the other side and something happens to it, then what? Do we just write it off along with the crew that went? Or do we go and investigate with the ship? How is that any different from just taking the ship?"

"For that matter, what if it is the crashed supply ship? If it has any fuel left, how would the shuttle bring it back? Once again, we' have to take the ship over there."

"Anyway, Phelar, we are in The Drift. Nothing is ever right here. Just remember, magic dosn't work here in The Drift, so, right away, that's not normal."

--Our sensors indicate several more Gnome's are at your ship. It is likely that they have just returned just before or after our arrival. They show 5 additional one's, is that the foraging crew?-- She asked Gerbo.

"Captain, what about some form of ground transport? And flight or hover gear? Myself and Revonoss could go on ground to the edge, then use the flight or hover gear to flip to the other side and move to the prospective crash sight. When close, we use his drone to scout it in more detail." She said, offering. "That leaves both the ship and shuttle here, and uses minimal crew to look into it."

OOC: Hoverskates for the win! :)

"I admire your enthusiasm and spirit, Phelar, but I think your proposal is rather impractical," the Captain says.

"This slab is over 400 miles long, 200 miles wide and about 10 miles thick."

"It would take you days to just reach the edge and then you'd have to negotiate over the edge. I'm guessing that the gravity on the opposite side is the reverse of here, but I wouldn't swear to that."

The captain receives a telepathic communication from Soneau:

~~There is nothing mechanically or electronically wrong with the ship, Captain. It's just out of fuel.~~

Phelar deflated at his answer and simply remained silent. She then looked over to Ravenoss as if for him to say something.

As Revonoss was debunked for being to cautious and the captain having already decided to take the entire ship to the other reading just shrughs at Phelar. All they could do now was wait for the away crew to return and then get ready to go to the other side. He just hoped the captain was right and his caution that came from living among hostile megafauna was unfunded.

"Well i guess we'll await the return of the away team then and prepare for liftoff as soon as they are back?"

Gerbo says over the coms, "I'm going to head down to your away team and send one of my crew with you, with your permission of course, to help with the search. This will also avoid the supply ship thinking you're just some brigands. Thank you for all you are doing and are going to do."

"Seems we'll have a guest on board while we check out the signal." Phelar said to the Captain, and Ravenoss.

"Is there anything you'd like me to relay to Gerbo in reply Captain?" She said, looking towards him. When given any message to relay to the Gnome captain, she will do so.

Phelar picks up some odd noises and then Gerbo yelling how crew. Seems like he's sending someone without actually getting full permission.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:31, Sat 13 July 2019.

"I see the Away Team is returning," the Captain answers Phelar. "That's good thinking on his part."

"Tell him we'll leave a cache of additional supplies outside the ship."

Phelar nods to the Captain then relays his message. "I am not sure I like being telepathically linked to a Gnome. I am unsure which is more exhausting, using the ship to do it so everyone can hear, or the act of being tied to a Gnome itself."

Gerbo in his mind hear's. --Gerbo, before we leave to see if the signal we are reading is your supply ship we are going to leave you a cache of additional supplies outside of the ship to get you by.--
This message was last edited by the player at 21:30, Mon 15 July 2019.

The Away Team gets back to the ship along with their guest without any problems.

As they settle in, the Captain has the ship lift off.

It'll take a few hours to reach the other side, so the Away Team can get some rest before they may be needed again.


Once the ship transits to the other side, it's like a whole new world. What was originally perceived as 'mountains' now look like the stalactites of a giant cave! The scale is huge, though, and while there may not be much of a distinction between them and mountains, there is one big difference: mountains usually have places to land. Here, not so much that anyone can see.


Suddenly, just about the time that the sensors detect it, the Starhawk is fired upon by another ship! The other ship was hiding among the stalagmites (as they now appear when flying over them).

"What the frack?!!" the captain exclaims at the helm even as he takes evasive action.

The other ship has cover from the jagged peaks while the Starhawk is a sitting duck!

"Need an even playing field... if the bogey won't come out and play tag, guess we'll have to go in and play hide-and-seek!"

A half-barrel roll changes the ship's vector and lets Zenith dive down amid the peaks before another half-barrel roll turns the ship right side up again.

"Sensors! Got any data on the bogey? What are we fighting? Is it the Gnomish supply ship? Hell, for that matter, is it moving?"

The designated gunners are Revonoss and Socket, as they have the best abilities to operate the ship's weapons.

Revonoss is operating the forward heavy laser cannon, while Socket is manning the dorsal missile launcher.


The Starhawk took minimal damage from that first shot, which struck the forward dorsal area, doing only two points of damage to the hull. Of course, shields weren't up.

Being redirected from the sensors to the forward laser Revonoss grumbles something under his breath that might sound like a parody of the captain telling him he was to paranoid. As he drops into his seat he calls at Phelar.

"Paint me a target missy!"

"Linking with Starhawk sensors now. Determining target. One moment." She says in general, over the speakers of the bridge. Her own lips not moving anymore. It seems she was getting used to this power.

OOC: Performing Scan Science Officer Action.

17:17, Today: Phelar Morilla rolled 10 using 1d20+7.  Computers.

Well unless it's a low tier starship, with low or no defensive countermeasures, yeah.

As soon as the ship is hit, shields went up automatically.

While the captain maneuvers the ship out of the line of fire, Ashina mans the sensors while Revonoss takes over the gunnery function.

Ashina soon identifies the other ship as a Veskarium Starfury (Tier 4), about equivalent to an Idaran Vanserai.

Phelan fails to get a sensor lock on the ship due to the captain's maneuvering behind another mountain.

He'd been 'hiding' in Engineering, mostly keeping out of sight of security, and also tinkering with a wide assortment of gadgets and systems not only because that was what he liked to do but to justify his presence on the ship.

And then the ship was being attacked!

"What the frackin-grackin crappin is going on?!" he muttered as he made a mad dash for the guns. He'd been assigned to the ventral missile launcher--ha! Like he knew what he was doing!--so dropped into the gunner's station with zeal and excitement and a frown.

"Okay, now... push the big red button, flip the blue lever... spin the black dials... and FIRE!"

15:52, Today: Socket rolled 21 using 1d20+10 ((11)).

Ooo! That may have hit!

EDIT: In case it hits, I rolled damage--

16:15, Today: Socket rolled 18 using 4d8 ((4,6,1,7)).
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Mon 29 July 2019.

As the ship weaves and dodges and the enmy hides behind a mountain Revonoss waits and the moment it shows itself again adjusts aim and squeezes the trigger sending the deadly beam of light at the enemy.

"Target in sight. Opening fire!"

ooc: Pew pew. Sorry it took a bit misplaced the book. I think i did the right math.
AC 26 for 15 damage.

17:16, Today: Revonoss rolled 15 using 4d8.  Damage.
17:15, Today: Revonoss rolled 26 using 1d20+7.  Lasorzz!! +3 ranks pilot +2 dex +2 computer.

Both shots hit the other ship!

It suddenly shoots up out of the mountains and away from the 'asteroid'. As it goes, sensors detect that it's taken damage... more than just from those two hits.

It's apparently had enough.

"Captain we pursue or you demand its surrender?"

He was getting ready to target its engines to bring it to a halt if they wouldn't give up voluntarily.

"No, let it go," Zenith replies.

"Our first priority is to the downed transport ship, so no pursuit."

"As for it surrendering, what would we do then? We aren't in any position to keep Vesk prisoners on our ship."

"Just keep an eye out for it. It might try to circle around us and attack again. Considering the damage it took, it probably won't. It's surprise attack on us didn't do what they were hoping it would do."

He now piloted the ship toward the downed (crashed?) Gnome transport ship.

"Scan the wreckage for survivors. See if we can determine how much fuel is left and whatever other supplies might still be intact."

"Scanning now captain." Came her voice over the speakers once more, as she unconsciencely began to make the computer scan the downed Gnome ship for life signs, fuel, and supplies. She will also scan for damage, and any other details that would prove beneficial.

OOC:
18:26, Today: Phelar Morilla rolled 26 using 1d20+7 ((19)).

Not a bad roll at all! I'll take it! :)

"Aye captain. Did anyone else notice it got more damage then we inflicted?"

He keeps his laser pointed at the enemy ship till it was well out of reach.

"I'm not so versed in starships that I could say for certain," Sol replies, "but, yeah, it did look like it had a tad more damage than we inflicted."

"It may have gotten the better of the Gnome supply ship, but it may be that the Gnomes got in a few licks of their own."

"Or the damage may be older. Who knows how long the Veskan raider has been prowling the Vast."

>>>>> BEFORE THE SHIP LIFTED OFF <<<<<

When Zenith was informed of the newest hitchhiker, he had him brought to the bridge to meet him.

"In case no one has explained things to you, Mr. Phetumn," the captain said after being introduced, "we're on a long-term mission. It may be years before we return to the Pact Worlds."

"While I have no intention of spacing you or dumping you on the first inhabited world we run across, if it turns out that you are getting in the way or otherwise being disruptive, I will do just that."

"To help avoid that situation, it would be helpful if you gave me some idea of what you are capable of. That would fall into two categories: operating the ship and exploring planets, cities and ruins that we encounter."

He wasn't about to tell this unknown newcomer about the aiudara yet. Besides, it wasn't a guarantee that it would continue working as the distance increased. As it was, it wasn't working her in The Drift anyway.


>>>>> APPROACHING THE GNOME SUPPLY SHIP <<<<<

The captain kept one eye on the sensors, one eye on the viewport/viewscreen, and one eye on the crew. It was a trick that captains had to learn--develop a 'third eye' so you always knew what was going on in and around your ship.

Sensors were good at 'seeing' things that the naked eye couldn't, but there were times when the naked eye saw things that the sensors never could.

The sensors had picked up the distress beacon, which, at the time, had made him smile at the incongruity of the situation. The mining ship had expected resupply from the supply ship which had been overdue and had activated their own beacon. Stuck on the rock the way they were, they couldn't pick up the signal themselves--it wasn't penetrating the rock. That was probably a good indication of why the Gnomes were mining it... dense metals and who-knew-what-else!

He gazed out at the image of the supply ship. It looked like a worm trying to crawl over the jagged surface of the rock. Bent in two places to give that impression, he was amazed that the ship was still 'intact'... though that was a nebulous term at this point. Any other ship that he knew of would have been broken in half... thirds.

"Well, that's never going to fly again. At least not without a full spacedock to repair it. And, unfortunately, we didn't bring one with us."

"It does look like a bloody mess doesn't it."

"May i suggest we get as close as a mile from it and send my drone out first to access the situation or you want to send a salvage team straight away?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:35, Sat 10 Aug 2019.

In reply to Zenith (msg # 243):

He gives a shrug looking to the others.  "I promise not to burden you long." Oraeus explains to the crew he is a researcher compiling data about different alien creatures he finds and how to best fight or coexist with them. "I am also a fair hand in combat if you are in need of more on the ground team. I have some scientific training that would help as well."

Phelar's sensor scan of the ship doesn't reveal any surprises that weren't already obvious. It does show that the hull of the ship had broken in two places, which is what made it look like a segmented worm, but there were so many additional and extraneous devices and modifications to it that the internal integrity was still intact.

The sensors further showed that there were 12 life signs--5 in the forward section and 7 in the mid section. The tail section had significant damage due to several hits on the engines. Even if the rest of the ship had been intact, the half-destroyed engines would never have flown again.

Somewhat oddly, the two cargo holds are also intact. One registers as fuel tanks, the other as standard supplies, plus some mining equipment.

"It'd be foolish to think that we won't need any combat skills," Zenith replies to Oraeus, "even if that's what we'd prefer."

"As for your drone, Revonoss... that's a good idea. It's probably better suited to find a way in for the salvage team as well as a way out for the survivors."

"Phelar, can you attempt to contact the survivors? Maybe comms are working normal, but let's try your way first."

Revonoss nods and gives his drone the instructions to start navigating out of the airlock once the ship is in range and couples its live video feed to one of the ships screens.

"Sir its best someone else takes my gunner seat. The drone can do some light stuff on its own but i think its better i take direct control once we inspect it up close."

The young human standing at the science station nodded, even as her voice came from the speakers within the bridge. "Yes Captain." Then a pause. "Attempting to link both ships computers via mental computer control. Attempting telepathy with one of the Gnomes now." A normally short or medium ranged communication, even for Lashunta, this had to be a sight for Oraeus to see a human do.

If she is able to make contact with one of the Gnomes. ~This is Phelar Morilla of the Lashunta Ship the Starkawk. We are here to render assistance to you and your crew.~

OOC: If needed to make the link. 21:24,

Today: Phelar Morilla rolled 14 using 1d20+7 ((7)).

Having returned to her quarters as soon as she was able to pass off responsibility for the Gnomes onto the Captain Saia isn't seen again until after the ship secures from battle stations, not having any battle station in a space combat, even then she waits outside the bridge, out of the way, to see when the ground crew will be needed next.

"WHAT? WHO? HOW? Oh, damn! Lashuntas," comes the reply to Phelar.

"Damn Lashunta trick!"

"We were ambushed by a fraggin' Vesk raider! Don't know how he found us out here in The Drift. Musta just got lucky. We're a supply ship supplyin' one of our mining ships on the other side of this earth slab. Veskies were smart enough to target our engines so as to steal our supplies. Didn't count on us crashin' on this damn rock!"

"We was hopin' the mining ship'd hear our beacon. Didn't figure anyone else would be out here."

~Actually sir, I am not a Lashunta myself, I am a human. I just have abilities like theirs, and more.~ She explained. ~We found your mining ship on the other side, but we feel that because of whatever this piece of earth is made from they could not hear your beacon. It seems you were not able to hear theirs as well. Honestly, the only reason we knew you were here was a nascent energy signature that we chose to investigate.~ She continued to explain. ~We lack the means to repair your ship, but we might be able to at least get you and your supplies to the mining ship so that you can get transported home, and they can restart their mission. Let me pass this information on to my Captain.~ Since the new link has not been placed on the speakers yet, Phelar will pass everything that the Gnome she is in contact with on the other ship off to the Captain.

"Also sir, he seemed a bit surprised at my contact. Of course I suppose most would be, even I am surprised this worked. Though I might need a nap after. It, as I said before, is a weird feeling splitting my mind like this." Then she thought for a moment, and looked around for a moment. "Captain, might I suggest possible having the Doctor monitor me this time while I am doing this so as to see, well, .... anything? We're in uncharted waters with how I am doing this, so anything we learn could be enlightening."

OOC: Like before putting telepathic talk in ~ ~ since it's only between the two, and verbal talk in " " since those in the room can hear that.

"So, do we do now?" Mundy asks.

"You got any rescue equipment? Might need some to get us out of here."

"Don't now how safe the ship is in this condition. Can you salvage the fuel? The cargo?"

Revonoss has his drone circle the gnome ship and try to have it answer all the questions Mundy was putting forward and to see how safe it was to go over with a resque team and the shuttle.

~We work out a way to rescue you and your crew. That is our priority.~ Phelar said into the Gnome's mind compassionately. ~We will evaluate the situation and determine the equipment needed. I am sure we can come up with something. Can you provide more information on the situation with your ship?~ She is not sure if she can answer his other question. ~We will have to see about the fuel and cargo. Perhaps when you are over here, your people and ours can work on that together.~

Revonoss's drone can fly around the ship and assess the damage.

It easily confirms that the ship isn't going to fly again without a major drydock.

The fuel is solid not liquid, so there isn't any leak. The three sections of the ship, although damaged, seem to be internally intact.

There's atmosphere, so it's no problem getting crew, cargo, and fuel off the ship. It's moving it to the Starhawk that will be a bit tricky and tedious.

The engines of the ship were totally destroyed from a Vesk hit, which is why the ship crashed.

He's a bit disconcerted to be talking to the ceiling, but he plays the game.

"Okay. I think that'll work," Munday replies to Phelar.

"There's air outside, so no special environmental protection is needed, but we're stuck down here in this... sort of ravine. How are you gonna get us out of here?"

"Revonoss, is there a way for the crew of that ship to get out?" the captain asks. "Side airlocks intact? Any ventral hatches they can use? How about a dorsal hatch? Once on top of the ship, they'd have to climb down."

"I suppose we could pick them up from the top of the ship. I was thinking there might be a path they could take that would get them out to a different area, somewhere large enough and flat enough to land the ship at."

"Looking at the area i would suggest you find a stable place to hover and work with the shuttle. Not sure if they got one but that would double our capacity. Any level landing ground a ship our size we will have to make by blowing stuff up."

He points out a few weak points his drone picked out.

"Their vessel is beyond repair. If we got atmosphere and time we could maybe construct something that let you land on top of it  by salvaging parts but that will probably take as long as hauling stuff by shuttle."

"We may not have time to build anything, but I wager we'll have time to transfer them and supplies." Phelar said gauging the situation. "Revonoss idea with the shuttle has the best chance of success. Add to that, with there being air out there it will make working easier and faster in case the Vesk return with others."

~Mundy we are working out details here, do you have a way to easily get on the top of your ship along with the supplies?~ She thought to the Gnome she had been talking to mentally.

"Yeah, we can get out through the top via the dorsal escape hatches," Mundy replies. "How is that going to get the supplies and fuel out?"

~Fuel can be gotten out by running a hose from your ship to ours. We might have to fashion some form of tanks on our end, unless the ship has some. Like you I was picked up along the way. As to the supplies, a humanoid chain can get them to the top of your ship, and then a shuttle can get you and them to our ship. After all of this is done, we take you to your friends on the other side of the rock.~ There was a small pause. ~Let me see what my Captain thinks of this idea.~

"Captain they confirmed that they can get to the top of their vessel via the dorsal escape hatches. That means via a lengthy humanoid chain we could get most of the supplies to the top of their ship for retrieval via shuttle. That leaves the fuel. We have two options I see, convert a shuttle into a tanker and land on the wreckage. Have the gnomes run a line to it and we put as much fuel on it as it will carry. The other option is, we fashion tanks in one of the cargo bays and again, run a line to it from thier ship and take on the fuel directly. The latter option might be faster and allow us to get all the fuel, but it has a danger element. The first option can be combined with the fuel tanks in the cargo hold option, but it will take longer but is safer." Phelar said giving her assessment of the situation, and a faster way to accomplish their task.

"Hose? What are you babbling about, woman?" Mundy replies. "Are you talking about the fuel? It's solid! Not liquid!"

"And we're talking about pallets and cargo containers of supplies. If we dismantle all that, it'll take days to hand it all up to the top of the ship!"

"Well, if we must. It's not we're going anywhere otherwise."

"You wouldn't happen to have any cargo-handling robots, would you?"

~I apologize...  ...before the crew of this ship found me, I was in a stasis pod for an unknown amount of time.~ Was all that she said about 'what she was babbling' in his head about. ~I will pass your other queries to the Captain to see if we do.~ Phelar then looked towards the Captain to see if they did.

Evacuating the crew of the supply ship is the easy part.

Unloading all the supplies and the fuel isn't hard, just inconvenient and time consuming. It takes nearly a day for it all to get unloaded from the supply ship and then loaded onto the Starhawk.

Getting back to the mining ship and unloading the cargo and crew takes another day, though in this case, it's more about making room for it all by getting rid of some of the extraneous widgets and dealing with the incessant arguments about which of the widgets is necessary and which isn't even when they don't do anything.


Once the mining ship is refueled and everything is tested and operational again, Zenith lets the Gnomes decide what they will do next.

After making sure all the Gnomes are off the Starhawk, he then resumes course through The Drift.

Once they were back underway again, Phelar would find a chair in the corner of the mess and just sit down for a moment. A small bit of culture shock finally sitting in, especially after the Gnome Mundy's comment about 'fuel hose' and 'solid fuel'. Then she just sighed softly, finally asking herself in a whisper. "...how long was I in that chamber?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Thu 24 Oct 2019.

Revonoss still has nightmares of the technical atrocities those Gnomes where putting their ships through, he even had to debug his drone that was tossing various errors at him. Still they helped people in need and that was a good thing. When they where on the drift again he made his way to the mess hall for a stiff drink and seeing Phelar he smiles at her and joins here with his drink.

"Well that was interesting to say the least. And we where thinking we where leaving busy space."

"...huh? ...oh, yea. Crazy..." She seemed more distant then usual, something obviously drawing at her. She wasn't as distant as that time she foretold of the Vesk ship coming, but it was still odd for her. Like something was bothering her, to the point that she was actually taking in her surroundings more, and shaking a bit.

Being one of the few who worked most closely with the enigma that was the human computer interface he looks a little worried when he notices and reaches out to take her hand.

"You okay darling? The interfacing with machines taking its toll on you?"

After all the poor kid had been doing that quite a lot lately and they still didn't understand what she did.

She lets him take her hand, looking at his for a moment and cocking her head to the side. It wasn't clear what she was thinking, or if she had a clear idea of the meaning of the gesture. "...I don't know." She said in reply to his first question. "...other then making me a little tired, because of my mind being two places so far apart, I think I am fine with it." She continued in reply to his second, but it seemed that something was still on her mind. After an awkward pause she finally spoke again. "Something that Gnome...Mundy I think it was said...bothered me. It was when I mentioned we could run a fuel hose to get the ship fuel. What made me think it was liquid?" By holding her hand he could definitely feel her tremors. Was she finally succumbing to her situation?

Revonoss smiles.

"Maybe your people used liquid fuels? Enough ground based vehicles still use some form of combustion engines. Liquid Hydrogen or even fossil fuels are all liquid. There are as many types of fuel as there are races. I don't think its something you should worry about unless you where a space ship technician in your previous life."

"I think it's probably still a common misperception that fuel equals liquid," Sol offers. "I thought the same thing."

"As Revonoss said, a starship technician would know that a starship's fuel was solid, but anyone else? Well, NOW we know!"

"Still not clear what it is. Pellets? Bricks? Is it like coal? Does it need shoveled into the... furnace? Reactor... whatever."

"Or maybe it's a beryllium sphere."

"Hmmm. What about anti-matter? Would that be considered a liquid or a solid or a gas or... something else entirely?"

"Anyway, we're back on track."

"Hard to imagine what The Drift was like before Drift engines were invented. A kind of nothingness like real space? Each activation of the engines, every shift into The Drift, more stuff is brought into it from some other space. Clearly, this island was pulled in from the elemental plane of earth. We could encounter something else before we leave."

"I find it a bit disturbing that no one seems to mention the possibility of exploring The Drift. And, yet, clearly, the Gnomes have no problem mining it."

"Say! Did we ever find out what they were mining? Precious metals? Rare earths? Stone? I mean, what would a slab of Drift granite cost? Is there anything significant about it other than its origin?"

"Just wondering."

"I assume a slab like that will have plenty of rare metals. Exotic granite will not be worth risking two ships on a mission this deep into the Drift. But then i am an engineer not a market man. Who knows what elemental slabs are worth."

"My people? I'm human...  Granted, the only one here it seems, but human still. Aren't there human's from where you are?" She asked, looking between Revonoss, and Sol who hand just joined them.

"It's not just that..." Phelar said to them both. "As I dive into your systems, I catch and feel glimpses of things. You know... Like...I just feel out of place. I hate not remembering...but I almost feel like I don't want to because what if what I remember, tells me I'm from like...a hundred....or even a thousand years ago?" She trembled a bit again, not even noticing the discusion about the floating slab of earth they just left.

Oraeus had been quietly reading, since after helping unload the gnome ship he hadn't been asked to do anything else. For some reason he still wore his helmet, having never taken it off. The crew of this ship were an interesting lot it seemed and he finally put his book away looking to the human. "Before drift engines we couldn't enter the drift. Could be anything ma'am. I wouldn't worry about the past you have a future to worry about that is more important."

"...it's already shown, where they found me, that my past, might lead to thier future." She said, looking at her hands. While Oraeus was not there when they found her, it might remind the others that it was her that pointed out how to to work the ceiling.

"I wasn't saying it wasn't important just that you shouldn't worry. Focus on the next step. Oraeus shrugs. "Every thing will happen when it happens and not a second sooner. When the universe decides to let you remember you'll remember. Until then do not fret." he finishes with nod.

Although he was curious as to what the Gnomes would do, he had a more important objective to pursue. At least, it seemed so to him.

Stopping to help the Gnomes was a slightly higher importance than finding Golarion, though at some point it might turn out to be otherwise.

"I recall the lyrics of an old song... 'some people drink to forget, some drink to remember'," he offers to Phelar.

"I don't know, of course, what it feels like not to remember my past. It could always be something bad that you don't want to remember. On the other hand, maybe you have no past. Maybe you were 'born'... 'created' without a past."

"In the former case, if you don't know if it was bad or good, then assume it was good. There could be any number of reasons to have forgotten--injury, drugs, magic, trauma."

"In the latter case, it means you are free to make up whatever background you want to have. There's no one to say whatever you come up with is wrong."

"Personally, I'm thinking you are an angel sent to help us find Golarion. You've certainly proven helpful so far!"

"And if you came from the time Golarion was still with us some power there made the netire universe forget it was there. We have a gap in our collective memory for a couple hundred of years. If you would originate in that time you might never remember your past for nobody was able to."

"What if I came from...before what you all call the Gap?" She asked looking at everyone there.

"Well that makes you really old and looking quite good for your age. But still means you been around when divine powers wiped all the minds in the universe. So beyond carbon dating one of your bone samples there is no true way to do it. And even that might not give the desired results. We could try something like that though if you like. Not 100% sure that will work but we use it to determine the age on our planet. Just got to check if there is a discrepancy on every planet and then find a median."

He offers with a smile. He doubted it would help her in a significant way but maybe it was like orphans who have the urde to know as much as they can about their parents.

"...lets try it." She said with a small nod, starting to calm down as everyone continued to talk to her. "Thanks everyone. Sorry about that!"

He smiles comfortingly at her.

"Well i can't say i know how it feels to have forgotten who you ware. But i am certain its disconcerting. Lets finish up here and go to the lab. Its not like there is that much to do beyond that for the moment."

Revonoss and Phelar head to the lab and run the suggested test on Phelar.

After about an hour of prep and retesting and retesting, the result still comes up negative.

There's a lower limit to getting a reading from radiocarbon dating, so the test indicates that she's less than 200 years old... clearly not from before the Gap.

On the other hand, it isn't clear by what process she was in 'stasis', so it's possible that the radiocarbon decay was somehow halted while she 'slept'.



The rest of the trip through The Drift passes uneventfully, though there were a few glimpses of other dimensions that had gotten sucked into The Drift. Dancing fire, flashing lightning, pulsing darkness, collapsing stars, spinning waterspouts, and some colossal mechanism full of turning gears whose function was unclear. The parts moved but the object did not seem to be going anywhere.

Since there did not appear to be any connection to Golarion... no distress signals... and possibly a pursuing Vesk ship... the Captain chose not to investigate or explore any of these phenomena. It was enough for him to note their presence... and continue onward.


About one  hour before the time to exit The Drift arrived, the main engines were throttled back until one minute before, and then they were cut out for the exit.

And then you were out of The Drift and back into normal space. Sort of. The word 'normal' didn't seem to quite apply.

Sensors said you were in a star system, but that didn't tell you the whole story. It's a binary star system, with 22 planets. And then there are the 'tunnels in the sky'. All the planets appear to be connected to each other through a vast system of tubes. At first, the tubes appear to be rigid, but you then realize that they have to be flexible in order to keep from being pulled apart by the motion of the planets. Even that, though, is mind-boggling.

Phelar just looks at the tubes muttering things of pure disbelief for a few long moments and then starts to do a full scan not only to determine what those things where but to see if there where any ships, radio signals or any weapons pointed at them.

"I'd say that would be impossible. But clearly thats not correct. What an unimaginable feat of engineering."

"This is intriguing." Oraeus adds standing beside Phelar and the others. "I've never heard of such a thing nor a civilization that could do this." the soldier adjusts his mask and begins mumbling information he's noticed about the system into his com so he can compile it later.

"No, I've never heard of any species that could or would do this," agreed Sol.

"Didn't someone say this was the home of the Bolida or something like that? Some sort of burrowing species, right? If they couldn't fly to the other planets, then it kind of makes sense that they would create these... what? Tunnels in the sky?"

"Unless they are very long-lived, I wonder how they travel through the tunnels. Magnetic induction, maybe?"

"Considering how long these tunnels are... millions and millions of miles... they must have consumed entire planets to build them."

"So, Phelar... any idea where in this maze of a mess we should be going?" the Captain asks.

"How about sensors? Are we picking up any signs of life? Any indication that these tunnels are still being used? Is one of these planets maybe the capitol?"

"Also, I think we need to assume that the Vesk ship is still pursuing us, so we should waste too much time deciding where to go."

Revonoss disturbed from the pure awe by the captains questions starts to check his screens where he had given the scan commands and was expecting back the results at any moment.

"One moment captain. Expecting results at any moment,"

ooc: computers 19 for the scanning for life signs ect.
Engineering 17. How impossible is this?
Physical science for the rest of the questions.

Dice roller is giving me some hate here.

21:49, Today: Revonoss rolled 19,17,26 using d20+12,d20+12,d20+10.  Computers, Engineering, Physical science.

This message was deleted by the player at 12:51, Thu 05 Dec 2019.

Phelar walked up to the view-screen, and cocked her head to one side. Then she fell into a familiar trance like when she predicted the Vesk were coming. She would lift her head up as if tracing something. "A pattern familiar." She reaches out, touching the view-screen and by default the computer. "Triune." In a corner of it the star system is overlaid with the same pattern she had spotted in the ceiling of the temple she was found in. "A planet found." Once it was all matched up, she would use what she found to highlight the planet on the view-screen. Then she fell out of her trances, looking back towards the others. "That is where we need to go Captain." The screen then returns to normal, showing what it showed before save for the fact that one planet was readily identified as their destination.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Sun 08 Dec 2019.

The captain seems to accept Phelar's information as a good sign, and sets course for the indicated planet.

It takes awhile to reach it, about 3 days, but nothing else happens during the trip, nothing else shows up on the sensors.

The general belief is that no ship can drop out of The Vast without being detected, as the transition waves are propagated faster than the speed of light. Well, that's one theory. The other is that it's like a bubble that the disruption affects all at once.

That's not to say that the Vesk ship hasn't developed some sort of dampening device. Planets, governments, species and people have been trying to do that for centuries. The biggest drawback is that it's theoretically impossible. Until someone comes up with a workable theory, there's not real avenue to explore.

"It does not appear as if our ship could fit inside one of these interplanetary tubes even if we could figure out how to enter one," Solsantharis comments.

"I suspect that transit from one planet to another using the tubes is a lot faster than just normal ship travel. While the nature of these creatures is strange, to say the least, I just can't see them spending days crawling through the tubes to reach another planet."

"Then again, perhaps their life cycle is short and one or two generations pass during transit."

"Very strange, indeed."

Once they reach the planet Phelar indicated, he waits for the sensors to tell him what is really there, but visually examines it as they approach.

Whether his faith in his ship was justified or not, he wasn't quite as worried as he could have been. Into the unknown was one thing; Vesk in pursuit... that was another.

He had no doubts that the Vesk would show up again, that they had the ability to track the Starhawk. Till then, the mission continued.

"Attention all crew!" he announced over the ship's comm. "Prepare to activate the aiudara. We'll see if it can connect to this system."

"We want to send out such an energy spike before we get any reaction from who lives here? If there even lives anyone. I mean i still havent picked up much local signals."

There have been no signals detected from the planet ahead, nor from anywhere else in the system. While it does not appear to be a dead world, there are none of the usual signs of life.

When the sensor data and subsequent analysis comes back on the space tunnels, the composition of them registers as organic. Thus, the race that lives (or lived) here just may not be technological in nature.

As the ship hovers over the planet while the aiudara is activated, visual scans of the planet reveal some odd structures that may be cities. If you think of them as organic in nature and made by a burrowing species, then they make a bit more sense.

The oddest feature, though, is THE STRUCTURE. It's definitely the only such building on the planet. And... it looks identical to the building back on the planet you left--some sort of shrine or temple or landmark. You were never quite sure what it was supposed to have been; it may have been all three plus several more.

"There." Phelar said as she pointed to the structure in one of the visual scans. She didn't even look at the scan, almost as if she knew it was there.

Revonoss was baffled by it all to say the least. He'd love to investigate this place but it looked like that was the work of a life time and they had another mission already. So for now he gave Phelar an appreciative nod.

"Aye i think we should get down there indeed. Captain think we should prepare an away team that spot might give us another hint."

Once the scans are done he joins the team in cargo hold 3 to see how the aiudara operation goes.

Saia shows up on the bridge shortly after the ship wide announcement, dressed in her armor and full kit, everything recently cleaned and polished.  Clearly expecting some kind of emergency that warrants an alert she seems almost disappointed by the display of super science on the screens.

"Of course, we're sending a team down to check out that temple," the Captain responds to Revonoss.

"It's too much of a coincidence for there to be another one here, since, clearly, these Bolida would never have built it."

"Same team as before, since you have experience with it now. If nothing else, you should be able to spot any discrepancies, but you should also know what to look for."

"I was just assessing the data on this system. Sometimes, you can't see the forest for the trees. In this case, I was just making sure that it was the forest I was seeing. These 'tunnels in the sky' are the strangest thing I've ever seen. And, while it flies in the face of any technology or magic that I'm familiar with, it does seem somehow consistent for the Bolida."

"So, it's like one of those 'connect the dots' children's puzzles. Although I suppose you could also consider it a trail of bread crumbs. Or a treasure hunt, where one clue leads to another."

He then makes the announcement about the away team so that everyone else will meet in the hangar.

Phelar looked from the Captain, to those starting off for the away party, then back again. She was not sure if she should go with them or not, since she was found in the last temple, and not technically part of the last party. "...should I go with them Captain?"

Revonoss nods seeing wisdom in the capains words and then stops as Phelar isn't coming along and chuckles.

"Child you are the trophy from that first temple. Come lets see is there is family down there."

He then goes to his cabin to get into his exploration gear.

"Unless you do not wish to be part of the designated 'Away Team'," Captain Zenith replies to Phelar, "you should definitely go with them."

"Trophy...?" Was that all she was seen as. It started her thinking. "And I'm older then you, kinda!"

"I will depart immediettely sir." She said to Captain Zenith.

As Revonoss scans the surrounding area, he's a bit surprised that he detects no sign of technology. There are no energy readings, no metals detected. He does, however, pick up a trace of magic, which he is able to refine to show that the planet has ley lines, both overhead and through the ground.

In fact, the temple sits at the convergence of two overhead lines and two ground lines.

He also picks up a network of underground tunnels in the area.

Meanwhile, Phelar notices that there are symbols carved into both the steps and the risers of the step pyramid. She doesn't speak the language, but she recognizes it as Terran.