Starfinder : From On High
Chronicles of a 1st-level campaign
Chronicles of a 1st-level campaign
The Story So Far : Chapter Two
Levels 3-4
It should have been an easy job. Rescue the doctor, bring her home, get the spoils. Instead, as the Teroshe Plague rages on, the crew of the Endeavour finds itself looking for a pharmafactory ship, the Ninazu, where the Coalition hoards a cache of medicine. They will only relinquish it to the Zaalans dying on Teroshe for an exorbitant price, but the crew intends to find and "liberate" the stash - if they can agree how.
Levels 3-4
It should have been an easy job. Rescue the doctor, bring her home, get the spoils. Instead, as the Teroshe Plague rages on, the crew of the Endeavour finds itself looking for a pharmafactory ship, the Ninazu, where the Coalition hoards a cache of medicine. They will only relinquish it to the Zaalans dying on Teroshe for an exorbitant price, but the crew intends to find and "liberate" the stash - if they can agree how.
Homecoming (1X08)
With the pending completion of the Starlyft contract, the crew can soon focus fully on the investigation of the HexoGeni ship Ninazu. Yet, on the bridge of the ship, she admits under pressure that she doesn't actually have many credits to offer - though, given their price, getting a sample of the drugs stored and produced aboard would probably still sell for enough credits to last a lifetime. Or at least a few months. This prompts anger from Kil Naykin, who has had suspicions the entire time. As a result, she writes up a contract on behalf of Captain Davi, making the Doctor a temporary if indentured (in all but name) member of the crew.
With confirmation that Bunasa has been taken into custody, and payment forthcoming from Starlyft for retrieving the Doctor, the crew wanders out of the ship for some much needed shore leave. They head to Cloud Nine, a seedy nightclub near Embassy Dockyards, and ordered drinks. Next to them is a the shadowy Zaalan operative, who unbeknownst to the crew, has been contacted by Dr Qalli to join up in anticipation of the drugs job.
The party somewhat splits. Contact doesn't go too well when Kil reacts poorly to a badly made drink and is sent with Dr Qalli to the Medbay. Meanwhile, the Captain and the Zaalan operative have a walk. Zamara turns out to be a Vanguard with a heavy baggage and a deep-seated grudge against the Coalition. Despite being less than impressed at the motley crew, she joins up.
Kil is brought onto the Endeavour and the crew readies to depart a few hours later, refueled and restocked. But there is one more matter : the status of the crew. Up until now, Kil and Khari were but passengers. Captain Davi proposes that they invest some of their newfound wealth in the ship's cargo, and get a cut out of all profits, thus becoming co-investors - a decidedly Hiderid practice, Kil notes. All of the crew agrees and pay up their share, and with finances sorted, the ship finally flies out towards Zindra, the expected location of the Ninazu....
- Zarama, to Captain Davi : You really are a marshmallow, Captain. It's everything I feared.
With the pending completion of the Starlyft contract, the crew can soon focus fully on the investigation of the HexoGeni ship Ninazu. Yet, on the bridge of the ship, she admits under pressure that she doesn't actually have many credits to offer - though, given their price, getting a sample of the drugs stored and produced aboard would probably still sell for enough credits to last a lifetime. Or at least a few months. This prompts anger from Kil Naykin, who has had suspicions the entire time. As a result, she writes up a contract on behalf of Captain Davi, making the Doctor a temporary if indentured (in all but name) member of the crew.
With confirmation that Bunasa has been taken into custody, and payment forthcoming from Starlyft for retrieving the Doctor, the crew wanders out of the ship for some much needed shore leave. They head to Cloud Nine, a seedy nightclub near Embassy Dockyards, and ordered drinks. Next to them is a the shadowy Zaalan operative, who unbeknownst to the crew, has been contacted by Dr Qalli to join up in anticipation of the drugs job.
The party somewhat splits. Contact doesn't go too well when Kil reacts poorly to a badly made drink and is sent with Dr Qalli to the Medbay. Meanwhile, the Captain and the Zaalan operative have a walk. Zamara turns out to be a Vanguard with a heavy baggage and a deep-seated grudge against the Coalition. Despite being less than impressed at the motley crew, she joins up.
Kil is brought onto the Endeavour and the crew readies to depart a few hours later, refueled and restocked. But there is one more matter : the status of the crew. Up until now, Kil and Khari were but passengers. Captain Davi proposes that they invest some of their newfound wealth in the ship's cargo, and get a cut out of all profits, thus becoming co-investors - a decidedly Hiderid practice, Kil notes. All of the crew agrees and pay up their share, and with finances sorted, the ship finally flies out towards Zindra, the expected location of the Ninazu....
Tacking into the Wind (1X09)
Some weeks have passed uneventfully as the crew slowly makes their way to Zindra, the ice planet the Ninazu typically orbits, and effectively the beginning of Coalition space. They have little idea in the way of an actual plan, but Dr Qalli reveals that there is a Bogwynne informant on the plant who would hold relevant and up-to-date information on the Ninazu's whereabouts, and that meeting this person is the only really realistic way to proceed. This is fine with the crew, who would rather have relevant intel and avoid recklessly going guns blazing.
As they arrive, however, they find no sign of the ship, with only light traffic bound for the quiet and unhospitable world itself. Dr Qalli points out an outpost in Gangos Glacier, the home of the reclusive informance codenamed "Bjorn". As a bit of positive reinforcement, that place is advertising being willing to trade the Endeavour's cargo, as well, which makes for a rare lucrative opportunity.
Captain Davi carefully orders the ship into low orbit. However, as they descend, ice storms start to form, which may force the Endeavour to abort their approach. Davi refuses, and instead speculates that flying into the crevasse that cracks open the giant glacier may help avoid the storms. It is a dangerous manoeuver, even with the help of instruments, as the ice reflects and often messes with sensors. Unwilling to further wait, confident in her abilities, and perhaps seeking to impress Zarama, the Captain orders the ship into the crevasse.
It is a bumpy and perillous ride. Several times, proximity sensors and stall warnings fill the bridge as the ship worms its way at high speed between giant icy cavernous walls. After several minutes, the ship has cleared the ice storms brilliantly, and emerges to the relative safety of the glacier itself the Captain laughing maniacally in victory. Trouble rises when ground control contacts the Endeavour and a sly Hiderid manager attempts to extort the ship out of their money. The crew unsuccessfully attempts to convince the officer to drop the fees and let them dock, until Phalari pretends to be a Hiderid captain that the officer carefully pointed was expected to land. With no visual feed and the help of the AI's audio modulator subroutines, the Captain fools ground control, and they secure a free docking slot.
Once at the glacier, Kil remains inside, in the event she needs to pretend to be a Hiderid captain. Dr Qalli stays behind, too, until confirmation that no bounty hunter is truly after her. the party finds a frozen outpost, carved into the walls of a cavern. This specific outpost is used by local geologists and miners, and is at the centre of a network of ice roads used when weather conditions forbid orbital drops. The storm has passed for now, but they learn little about the whereabouts of the Ninazu, or even where this Bjorn fellow is. As the Captain haggles with Kreeva, a local trader, Zarama and Khari look around hoping to find clues. They only notice the stench of raptodon droppings. They look over their shoulder as their ship prepares to be unloaded, and are about to give up and return inside, when they spot someone who could point them in the right direction...
- Ship's AI : We are descending into Gangos Glacier. Your orders?
- Captain Davi : Fly us through the crack.
- Ship's AI : This is a perillous path, but with your expert skills we should be able to clear the approach and the ice storms through the canyon.
- Captain Davi : Marshmallow Captain, go!
- Hiderid Control Agent : We're expecting Hiderid supply ships, not a makeshift Drow barge of the dead.
- Captain Davi : Ah, right, let me get the captain.
- *shuffle noises*
- Captain Davi, improvising her best Hiderid accent : You wouldn't drive away good trade from Captain Khlrrkxr, would you?
- Control Agent : C-Captain, that is you! my apologies! The docking fee is only 50 creds as you well know! But what are you doing in this vessel?
- Captain Davi : Helping some Hiderid word for working class people she learned at the bar last week with some... cargo."
- Captain Davi : C'mon., lets go find you a coat.
- Zarama : Uh, sure, just... don't expect girl talk.
Some weeks have passed uneventfully as the crew slowly makes their way to Zindra, the ice planet the Ninazu typically orbits, and effectively the beginning of Coalition space. They have little idea in the way of an actual plan, but Dr Qalli reveals that there is a Bogwynne informant on the plant who would hold relevant and up-to-date information on the Ninazu's whereabouts, and that meeting this person is the only really realistic way to proceed. This is fine with the crew, who would rather have relevant intel and avoid recklessly going guns blazing.
As they arrive, however, they find no sign of the ship, with only light traffic bound for the quiet and unhospitable world itself. Dr Qalli points out an outpost in Gangos Glacier, the home of the reclusive informance codenamed "Bjorn". As a bit of positive reinforcement, that place is advertising being willing to trade the Endeavour's cargo, as well, which makes for a rare lucrative opportunity.
Captain Davi carefully orders the ship into low orbit. However, as they descend, ice storms start to form, which may force the Endeavour to abort their approach. Davi refuses, and instead speculates that flying into the crevasse that cracks open the giant glacier may help avoid the storms. It is a dangerous manoeuver, even with the help of instruments, as the ice reflects and often messes with sensors. Unwilling to further wait, confident in her abilities, and perhaps seeking to impress Zarama, the Captain orders the ship into the crevasse.
It is a bumpy and perillous ride. Several times, proximity sensors and stall warnings fill the bridge as the ship worms its way at high speed between giant icy cavernous walls. After several minutes, the ship has cleared the ice storms brilliantly, and emerges to the relative safety of the glacier itself the Captain laughing maniacally in victory. Trouble rises when ground control contacts the Endeavour and a sly Hiderid manager attempts to extort the ship out of their money. The crew unsuccessfully attempts to convince the officer to drop the fees and let them dock, until Phalari pretends to be a Hiderid captain that the officer carefully pointed was expected to land. With no visual feed and the help of the AI's audio modulator subroutines, the Captain fools ground control, and they secure a free docking slot.
Once at the glacier, Kil remains inside, in the event she needs to pretend to be a Hiderid captain. Dr Qalli stays behind, too, until confirmation that no bounty hunter is truly after her. the party finds a frozen outpost, carved into the walls of a cavern. This specific outpost is used by local geologists and miners, and is at the centre of a network of ice roads used when weather conditions forbid orbital drops. The storm has passed for now, but they learn little about the whereabouts of the Ninazu, or even where this Bjorn fellow is. As the Captain haggles with Kreeva, a local trader, Zarama and Khari look around hoping to find clues. They only notice the stench of raptodon droppings. They look over their shoulder as their ship prepares to be unloaded, and are about to give up and return inside, when they spot someone who could point them in the right direction...
The Road Most Travelled (1X10/1X11)
The party comes to meet with Oshi Naeuri, a bonded Zaalan engineer who spends her day fixing the equipment at the Outpost. She greets them warmly with - what else - alcohol! Kil Naykin soon joins them and they start to inquire about what Oshi is working on. She says that it is a snowmobile, but that it has been beaten up in the last snowstorm and would require to be pulled, like a sled. Normally, some debt-bonded prisoners would take care of that, as the Outpost was a bit of a processing centre for bonded labour to and from the Ninazu. But the Ninazu has gone... and with it much of the snowy weather. The sky has been clearer than ever, she claims, though there still are isolated storms wandering about the planet, driving the weather system along with them. Khari frowns - she was trained in the lore of Mystics, and senses something awry. She asks why the outpost's defences are pointed towards the outside, but also elementally attuned to fire. The Zaalan half-drunkenly laughs, and handwaves it as mining equipment.
Oshi won't answer any further questions without alcohol, and Phalari has to try really hard to prevent Kil from drinking more root beer, fearing it might be a bad batch much like the one on Embassy. The party settles over warm drinks - since, given the cold outside, the warmth of alcohol and of the 3D-printing holoforge is deemed a better plan anyway. She is wary when the party inquires about "Bjorn", perhaps seeking to conceal his whereabouts. Zarama convinces Oshi that they are no threat, and they learn that this mysterious agent of the Bogwynne lives somewhere not overly far from the outpost, and that she does bimonthly deliveries to him.
The party seeks to go as storms form in the icy cheek. Khari, having trained somewhat in the ways of the Mystic, lingers for a while, fearing something is awry. She explains that she has noticed how every gun and every weapon that isn't energy-based has been tempered and attuned to the Fire element or otherwise been technologically altered so to cause superheated damage. She wonders if there is a connection with those non-sensical ice storms that roam the Zindran wastes.
To avoid these, the party they propose heading back to the ship, but a short-tempered Mewei called Maenad steps in. She says that the ship will not be much use in low-lying storms and that they will not be able to land at Bjorn's place. Khari suspects that the storms are called by some arcane force attracted by technology or electric currents, so Kil asks if perhaps they ought to go on foot using the snowmobile. Maenad agrees, and brings out a couple of tamed snow raptodons to pull the engineless sled. As they ready to leave, Zarama and Phalari take the reigns of the sled. Kil uploads Bjorn's whereabouts on her PADD. They turn to Maenad and Oshi, who wish them luck, "for the Cause", causing Kil some strange discomfort. The party leaves, for they know they have friends in the outpost.
On the frigid Zindran wastes, halfway to Bjorn's coordinates, the beautiful and crisp weather suddenly takes a turn for the worst. A storm of frost and dark skies falls upon the small expedition, and elemental fissures start to appear. Phalari and Kil snipe what looks like ice sprites out of their way, but what Khari can only describe as a Lamia appears - but instead of fearing the cold, it is quite literally made of it! Kil attempts to parley with it, but to no avail - what they are facing is not a living creature, but an arcane manifestation of elemental ice. Khari conjectures that it is merely personified in the last sentient being it stole the life from, and she understands that the ice storms are really some elemental reaction to the Zindran dwellers by an unknown force. The Lamia-like elemental sends forth more ice sprites against the party, and they must now fight for their lives...
The battle rages on against the "Lamia", who drains aether energy from the ice shards to defend herself! Bravely, Zarama leaps into the fray, taking on damage for the sake of drawing attention away and protecting her weaker party. Thankfully, the Captain's and the Engineer's flamethrower bots work in tandem to melt the shielding shards that dance around fast on the battlefield. Stripping her energy shield, the crew manages to defeat the Lamia, restoring sunshine to the crisp landscape. They resume their march and end up on the side of a glacier, where from their vantage point, they can observe a dozen stormy spots in the distance, raging and scouring the land. They can only shrug and guess at the magical phenomenon, and hasten their march before they draw their attention again.
Finally, they arrive at Bjorn's bunker, a little cottage crawling with Bogwynne rebels, to receive navlogs on the Ninazu and be briefed on their best chance of success in the coming heist...
- Oshi Naeuri: "Yous' a fun one. Root beer? Synthogin? Pure Adlehyde? What'll yous be having?
- Kil Naykin : OOOH root beer.
- Captain Davi : NO root beer. She's banned.
- Kil Naykin : Why am I banned! The batch on Embassy was poison!
- Oshi Naeuri : Well, you see, the ice storms are weird on this planet. The less tech we take with us, the less you attract them?
- Khari Sare : Hmm. There's almost certainly some kind of snow generating monster that homes onto electrical signals. Any recommendations on what we could bring to tame the ire of the storms?
- Maenad : The storms have been around as long as we have, so short of flamethrowers? Just don't get eaten. Be lucky. Shoot at anything that moves. Feed the raptodons.
- Khari Sare : It's a Lamia - right out of Kalimshari tales! But then..if this is supposed to be a Kalimshari monster, why does it look like a Mewei? Does it take the form of the last thing it kills?
- Captain Davi : That's exactly right! To see one so far from home...
- Kil Naykin: Hello - we mean you no harm and are only trying to pass through. We are strangers here and we did not know what we were encountering. Could we try to be <Hiderid word for chums> about this?
- Khari Sare : I think it's not sentient at all...It's just the manifestation of an elemental force, perhaps this arcane world's idea of a defense system?
- Captain Davi : Watch out - It's been stirred up by something!
- Zarama : Let's get this over with.
- Lamia : THE LAND ... THE LAND ... !
- Captain Davi : Well, this wasn't so hard. I can see the bunker!
- Zarama, coughing up blood : When this is over, we are going to need a long talk.
The party comes to meet with Oshi Naeuri, a bonded Zaalan engineer who spends her day fixing the equipment at the Outpost. She greets them warmly with - what else - alcohol! Kil Naykin soon joins them and they start to inquire about what Oshi is working on. She says that it is a snowmobile, but that it has been beaten up in the last snowstorm and would require to be pulled, like a sled. Normally, some debt-bonded prisoners would take care of that, as the Outpost was a bit of a processing centre for bonded labour to and from the Ninazu. But the Ninazu has gone... and with it much of the snowy weather. The sky has been clearer than ever, she claims, though there still are isolated storms wandering about the planet, driving the weather system along with them. Khari frowns - she was trained in the lore of Mystics, and senses something awry. She asks why the outpost's defences are pointed towards the outside, but also elementally attuned to fire. The Zaalan half-drunkenly laughs, and handwaves it as mining equipment.
Oshi won't answer any further questions without alcohol, and Phalari has to try really hard to prevent Kil from drinking more root beer, fearing it might be a bad batch much like the one on Embassy. The party settles over warm drinks - since, given the cold outside, the warmth of alcohol and of the 3D-printing holoforge is deemed a better plan anyway. She is wary when the party inquires about "Bjorn", perhaps seeking to conceal his whereabouts. Zarama convinces Oshi that they are no threat, and they learn that this mysterious agent of the Bogwynne lives somewhere not overly far from the outpost, and that she does bimonthly deliveries to him.
The party seeks to go as storms form in the icy cheek. Khari, having trained somewhat in the ways of the Mystic, lingers for a while, fearing something is awry. She explains that she has noticed how every gun and every weapon that isn't energy-based has been tempered and attuned to the Fire element or otherwise been technologically altered so to cause superheated damage. She wonders if there is a connection with those non-sensical ice storms that roam the Zindran wastes.
To avoid these, the party they propose heading back to the ship, but a short-tempered Mewei called Maenad steps in. She says that the ship will not be much use in low-lying storms and that they will not be able to land at Bjorn's place. Khari suspects that the storms are called by some arcane force attracted by technology or electric currents, so Kil asks if perhaps they ought to go on foot using the snowmobile. Maenad agrees, and brings out a couple of tamed snow raptodons to pull the engineless sled. As they ready to leave, Zarama and Phalari take the reigns of the sled. Kil uploads Bjorn's whereabouts on her PADD. They turn to Maenad and Oshi, who wish them luck, "for the Cause", causing Kil some strange discomfort. The party leaves, for they know they have friends in the outpost.
On the frigid Zindran wastes, halfway to Bjorn's coordinates, the beautiful and crisp weather suddenly takes a turn for the worst. A storm of frost and dark skies falls upon the small expedition, and elemental fissures start to appear. Phalari and Kil snipe what looks like ice sprites out of their way, but what Khari can only describe as a Lamia appears - but instead of fearing the cold, it is quite literally made of it! Kil attempts to parley with it, but to no avail - what they are facing is not a living creature, but an arcane manifestation of elemental ice. Khari conjectures that it is merely personified in the last sentient being it stole the life from, and she understands that the ice storms are really some elemental reaction to the Zindran dwellers by an unknown force. The Lamia-like elemental sends forth more ice sprites against the party, and they must now fight for their lives...
The battle rages on against the "Lamia", who drains aether energy from the ice shards to defend herself! Bravely, Zarama leaps into the fray, taking on damage for the sake of drawing attention away and protecting her weaker party. Thankfully, the Captain's and the Engineer's flamethrower bots work in tandem to melt the shielding shards that dance around fast on the battlefield. Stripping her energy shield, the crew manages to defeat the Lamia, restoring sunshine to the crisp landscape. They resume their march and end up on the side of a glacier, where from their vantage point, they can observe a dozen stormy spots in the distance, raging and scouring the land. They can only shrug and guess at the magical phenomenon, and hasten their march before they draw their attention again.
Finally, they arrive at Bjorn's bunker, a little cottage crawling with Bogwynne rebels, to receive navlogs on the Ninazu and be briefed on their best chance of success in the coming heist...
Battlefront (1X12/1X13)
The party arrives at the Bunker, where they meet Bjorn and his ragtag band of Zaalan resistance fighters. Hidden in the far gorges and cracks of the ice planet, and under the pretense of charting anomalies for the Coalition government, they warily welcome the party into their home. Bjorn turns out to be a Mewei - a Dominion agent hunting for maltech, much like Chief Engineer Sare. Uneasy, Kil Naykin decides to stay outside, and then informs the party she will scout the way back to the outpost. Two of the agents at the bunker join her.
Zarama sulks - as usual - but the party assemble for their briefing. The Ninazu has gone missing from radars for a couple of weeks and something seems afoot. Isolating at the rim of the Zaalan system, it makes for a vulnerable target for a determined enough party. It is a somewhat large factory ship and the headquarters of HexoGeni, who have been using the freighter to claim dominance over the pharma market in the Coalition and beyond. An IFF data chip given by Bjorn should allow for access to the docking bay at least, though Bjorn claims to have little intel over the interior of the vessel. A vault on the lowest deck, she claims, contains all of the stockpiled drugs waiting for the Teroshe government to trade their independence against - or, if that fails, perhaps the Coalition seeks to use them as currency on an infected New Xionia. Bjorn offers the 50'000 credits for completion of the job, just as Dr Qalli had advertised.
With the data chip and the coordinates to the Ninazu, the party rests up then returns to their vessel. The weather has become more unstable, and shadowy guards are on high alert. Returning the sled and the raptodons to Oshi, Captain Davi then enters the Endeavour, only to discover that Kil Naykin has gone. A voicemail left on Phalari's desk explains, in cryptic terms, that the mercenary "had to deal with something" and "will be back once it's all over."
The party takes off, having fully stocked up. Their destination is the Ninazu - but Zarama is not sure of the odds. She proposes three options : to either barge in and blow their way to the vault, to find and capture an HexoGeni operative onboard the ship to do their bidding, or to recruit mercenaries to create a distraction and hopefully provide a bigger fighting force. Captain Davi refuses to let more people into their secret mission, but Chief Engineer Sare thinks that perhaps sending a drone to fake an accident or a raid on the other side of the ship might do the trick. Meanwhile, Dr Qalli finds an HexoGeni employee badge in Kil's belongings - a "parting gift".
Discussion is cut short when the ship arrives in range of the Ninazu. The party gathers on the bridge, ready to survey their odds and decide on a course of action...
- Bjorn : I cannot overstate just how important this IFF chip is. If you lose it, you can't get close to the Ninazu's defence perimeter. And... we can't exactly get replacements for it too easily. I put our hopes on you.
- Bjorn : Thankfully, the Hiderid companies responsible for security in this sector have been very happy to take pot shots at each other over tenders and contracts and corporate espionage. Besides, I am an ambassador to the Mewei Dominion after all, and only here to study the arcane phenomena you have no doubt seen on the planet's surface. But really I hunt maltech before it snuffs the life out of everything. And hopefully hurt the Coalition doing so."
- Kil Naykin (Recording) : I'm sorry for slipping away....Something has come up. I will be on the homeland. I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over.
- Captain Davi : Naykin is gone! She was the nicest Hiderid I've ever met...
The party arrives at the Bunker, where they meet Bjorn and his ragtag band of Zaalan resistance fighters. Hidden in the far gorges and cracks of the ice planet, and under the pretense of charting anomalies for the Coalition government, they warily welcome the party into their home. Bjorn turns out to be a Mewei - a Dominion agent hunting for maltech, much like Chief Engineer Sare. Uneasy, Kil Naykin decides to stay outside, and then informs the party she will scout the way back to the outpost. Two of the agents at the bunker join her.
Zarama sulks - as usual - but the party assemble for their briefing. The Ninazu has gone missing from radars for a couple of weeks and something seems afoot. Isolating at the rim of the Zaalan system, it makes for a vulnerable target for a determined enough party. It is a somewhat large factory ship and the headquarters of HexoGeni, who have been using the freighter to claim dominance over the pharma market in the Coalition and beyond. An IFF data chip given by Bjorn should allow for access to the docking bay at least, though Bjorn claims to have little intel over the interior of the vessel. A vault on the lowest deck, she claims, contains all of the stockpiled drugs waiting for the Teroshe government to trade their independence against - or, if that fails, perhaps the Coalition seeks to use them as currency on an infected New Xionia. Bjorn offers the 50'000 credits for completion of the job, just as Dr Qalli had advertised.
With the data chip and the coordinates to the Ninazu, the party rests up then returns to their vessel. The weather has become more unstable, and shadowy guards are on high alert. Returning the sled and the raptodons to Oshi, Captain Davi then enters the Endeavour, only to discover that Kil Naykin has gone. A voicemail left on Phalari's desk explains, in cryptic terms, that the mercenary "had to deal with something" and "will be back once it's all over."
The party takes off, having fully stocked up. Their destination is the Ninazu - but Zarama is not sure of the odds. She proposes three options : to either barge in and blow their way to the vault, to find and capture an HexoGeni operative onboard the ship to do their bidding, or to recruit mercenaries to create a distraction and hopefully provide a bigger fighting force. Captain Davi refuses to let more people into their secret mission, but Chief Engineer Sare thinks that perhaps sending a drone to fake an accident or a raid on the other side of the ship might do the trick. Meanwhile, Dr Qalli finds an HexoGeni employee badge in Kil's belongings - a "parting gift".
Discussion is cut short when the ship arrives in range of the Ninazu. The party gathers on the bridge, ready to survey their odds and decide on a course of action...