Starfinder (317; Abadius 4th - 21st): Deep Sleep (D002)
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Tweak, Nixie, Zett, and Radash / [XP: 10]
Bevin didn’t play, Ruth is on hiatus, and Deb wasn’t feeling good.
Abadius 6th; 317AG
After a couple of days off, the PCs received a conference call invite from Mr. Stone at around 1:00 in the afternoon. “You guys ready to get back at it?”, he queried rhetorically. “Good, because I’ve got your next two jobs lined up for you. But let me actually start with your third job, though...”
“I try not to let crews get too ‘typecast’, but sometimes it happens; but it’s almost always short-term, and it’s usually because you impressed someone. Now I sent you guys out on a simple cops & robbers dispatch, and you wound up thwarting some whackadoodle terrorist attack; and that caught the attention of and made a good impression on a friend of mine in the Stewards, who I would emphasize is not easily impressed. So at least for now, you are the go-to guys for whackadoodle terrorists; and she’s got another one on Castrovel that she needs help with.”
“Instead of giving you all the details now just to have to repeat myself after it all comes dribbling back out of your ears, just call me from the starport when you get to Castrovel. I’m sending you all your flight information, including step-by-step directions on where you need to be. Your ship leaves at 10:00 tomorrow morning, but you need to be there by 08:00. And that leads me to your second job.”
“Cryo-stasis tubes have been around for who-knows-how-long; but ever since the Signal and the advent of Drift travel, there just hasn’t been a lot of demand. The Azlanti Star Empire, on the other hand, uses them extensively on their big troop transports to cut down on supply overhead; and their freezers are way ahead of ours.”
“Now like I said, most people couldn’t care less; but there’s an Aballonian starship manufacturer called Compiler Enterprise that specializes in colony ships and deep space exploration ships, and they’ve been working hard to get caught up. Now some of you are probably thinking, ‘Is he seriously sending us out to steal technological secrets from the Azlanti Star Empire?’ And the answer would be, ‘Hell no, that is way above your pay grade; plus another one of my crews already did that months ago.’ The job I have for you is way less complicated.”
“Compiler has made some breakthroughs and done testing on plenty of humans and a few lashuntas and shirrens, but they’re looking to broaden; and your impressive diversity score also makes you ideal candidates. All you have to do is take a little nap and then undergo a quick medical exam when you wake up. That’s it. I’m literally going to pay you… to sleep. You are welcome.”
Abadius 7th; 317AG
The next morning, each of the PCs made their way on time to one of Absalom Station’s smaller passenger ports. They didn’t need to go through the usual check-in and security processes, however; once they provided their credentials, they were each taken back into an employee-only area.
Their final destination was a little side-room off of a small loading dock. Waiting there were a pair of anacites; light, fragile-looking, floating, and sporting some scary-looking medical implements.
Also in the room were two separate cryo-freeze units, the first consisting of two medium-sized tubes; standing upright and back-to-back. The other consisted of eight smaller-sized tubes; horizontal and in two stacks of four each. Both units were attached by cables and hoses to the same large black box; probably a combination control unit, power regulator, and coolant supply.
One of the anacites cheerfully informed the PCs that Mr. Stone had already signed all of the necessary waivers; they just needed each of them to fill out a quick medical questionnaire. When it was time to get into the tubes, the PCs were told not to worry about their gear and just take it with them. One they were in and their lids were closed, they rapidly grew chilly and sleepy; and in less than 30 seconds, they were each out like a light.
Abadius 21st; 317AG
Zett and Tweak woke up groggy but functional; Nixie and Radash came to feeling noticeably disoriented. Their cryo-tubes were all open, and were now located in a room which was only about 20’ square with a 12’ high ceiling; well-lit with white metal walls, floor, and ceiling. Both of the freeze units were still connected to the same black box, which was now producing a soft buzzing alarm (a later check would reveal a message stating ‘Coolant Levels Critical; Initiating Emergency Defrost’).
There were two doors out of the room; one of which was clearly marked as an airlock door. Aside from the PCs and the stasis units, the only other thing in the room was an information kiosk with a large touch screen. Across the top of the screen were the words ‘Trendsetter Excursions’; while ‘Welcome Aboard the Emerald Empyrean’ crossed the bottom. In the middle was an animated logo of a golden rocket-ship blasting off from a glass of sparkling wine.
Zett checked the time on his PCU; initially puzzled that it was still indicating that it was early morning on the 7th, then realizing that the device had been in a state of complete stasis just like he had been. Finding a local wifi point to synch to, he refreshed his clock.
After checking the time again, Zett was both puzzled and alarmed that it was now reading 12:06 AM on Abadius 21st! The trip from Absalom Station to Castrovel should have taken no more than 6 days, and it had now been nearly 2 weeks since their departure.
The inner door was locked; but in addition to a keycard reader, it had an emergency call button. When pushed, it began flashing as a gentle pre-recorded voice said “Help is on the way”; and the PCs decided to give it a few minutes before they took more drastic steps to get out of the room.
Despite good efforts by Tweak and Nixie, the information kiosk was too well-insulated from the ship’s critical systems to get into them. Nevertheless, the publicly-accessible systems had some useful information…
According to the public flight log, the vessel was still in the Drift; and had not in fact left the Drift since its departure from Absalom Station fourteen days earlier. Its destination was still listed as ‘The Sun’ with a 24 hour stopover in the city of Qabarat on Castrovel.
The PCs also found a map of the Emerald Empyrean; and based on the dimensions of the room which they were in and the fact that it had an airlock door, they were able to ascertain that they were on the port side of the aft end of the upper deck. Zett proposed that their main goal (if help didn’t arrive) should be to get to the bridge, which was also on the upper deck but down at the fore end.
In the middle of the upper deck was a large observation dome, which they would need to pass through in order to reach the bridge. According to the information, the dome was equipped with four onyx pedestals which magically dampened the light in order to enhance the viewing experience.
‘Help’ finally arrived in the form of a trio of small, floating, Observer-class security robots; which appeared in the hallway when the inner door snapped open. “Warning”, one of the bots emitted in an electronic monotone. “All pets must be placed in approved carriers before boarding the Emerald Empyrean. Initiating containment protocols.”
The PCs had no time to get indignant or even suss out precisely whom the constructs were mistaking for ‘pets’, as they attacked almost immediately; first launching a sticky grenade into the room and then opening fire with nonlethal pulse-casters. Cramped conditions made fighting difficult, and Nixie and Radash both spent most of the battle entangled as well as fatigued; but the bots were trashed without anyone being seriously debilitated.
As the dust settled, a pleasant-but-clearly-electronic female voice came across the PA system. “Attention passengers, this is SARENA; your ship’s artificial intelligence. Scans indicate that a handful of pets have escaped their cages and are running loose. If you spot one of these errant animals, please contact the nearest porter robot. Thank you; that is all.”
In addition to the one which the PCs exited from, the aft upper hallway passed by two doors before reaching the observation dome. Not wanting to leave any potential hostiles behind themselves, the PCs decided to check both of them out.
One led to a cozy (and presently empty) game room with thin green carpeting, wood-panel walls, and subdued florescent lighting. It had a number of low-tech amenities including a pool table, a couple of dart boards, a chess set, and several decks of playing cards. It also had a couple of video game cabinets and a row of vending machines, one of which included highly-caffeinated beverages which allowed Radash and Nixie to shake their stasis fatigue.
The door on the opposite side of the hallway appeared to be jammed from the other side, but a little mechanical knowhow on Tweak’s part allowed him to get it open as Radash stood in the doorway. Before the vesk could even scan the room (which was the ship’s bar and restaurant), a laser bolt flashed within inches of his head; but despite his very imposing visage, he was able to quickly convince the shooter that he was there to help.
Smooth wooden flooring and paneled walls gave the chamber an air of elegance which was immediately countered
by the obvious mess and rank smell of body odor and other foulness. In the aft part of the room was a bar made from real mahogany; in front of it were several stools, and behind it was the nonfunctioning husk of a bartender robot. Half a dozen tables and accompanying chairs had been pushed against the forward wall to make room for a dozen makeshift cots now scattered across the floor.
Twelve individuals of a variety of ages and races cowered behind the bar. At the front of the bunch was a tall and lithe lashunta woman (Voryna Kopalli) with dark orange hair down to her shoulders and an azimuth laser pistol in her hands. A few of the passengers were armed with table knives and other improvised weapons.
Occupying one of the cots was an additional individual: a human male who appeared badly wounded and unconscious. He was wearing a crew uniform, and his nametag read ‘Locke Linler’. Though not able to get him back on his feet, Zett was able to get him out of danger and conscious; and the man shouted at the name ‘Alazea’ as he came to.
According to Locke, the ship had a crew of only three living beings; its systems having been highly automated and run by an AI called SARENA. She’d apparently run fine for several voyages; but on this one, something had gone wrong.
On the morning of the 13th, when the ship had still not reached Castrovel, the crew had checked and discovered that they were way off course. Apparently, SARENA had decided that their intended destination was not relaxing enough; and had taken them deep into the Drift.
After quietly warning the passengers that the AI might be malfunctioning, the crew set about trying to regain control of the ship. While Kenjaro Chidi had attempted to unlock the control stations on the bridge, Locke Linler and Alazea Dawnt had gone down to engineering to try to shut SARENA down directly. Attacked in engineering by a patrol robot, they failed to reach the shutdown switch; and Alazea was killed while Locke was badly wounded and barely managed to escape. Kenjaro’s disposition was unknown.
When SARENA announced ‘a few unfortunate accidents involving the crew’, the passengers began to panic. Voryna, however, stepped in and took charge; convincing the others to disable the bartender bot, make a sortie to the cabins to fetch blankets and pillows, and then hunker down in the restaurant and wait for help. Locke turned up just before they jammed the door; slipping into unconsciousness soon thereafter.
Locke gave his keycard to the PCs, and explained to them exactly where SARENA’s shutdown switch was located in engineering. He also gave them a chilling warning about the observation dome, which they still needed to pass through.
“I think SARENA has for some reason increased the power to the light-absorbing pedestals”, he said. “It’s even more unnaturally dark than normal, and… there’s something alive in there. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a passenger or a crewmember.”
The observation dome was indeed magically dark; with light sources producing only weak light out 10 to 15 feet. Even those with darkvision were only able to see a little further.
Radash was the first to enter, and he quickly sensed some kind of very dark presence at the center of the chamber. Charging in thinking that it was a hostile being, he instead discovered that it was a whirling eddy of dark energy floating above the floor; and he quickly suspected that the unnatural darkness had ripped open a portal to the Shadow Plane!
His theory was quickly supported when the PCs came under attack from a number of shadow creepers: enormous, venomous, centipede-like creatures native to the Plane of Shadow. While Radash, Tweak, and Nixie set about exterminating them; Zett instead began moving amongst the onyx pedestals, using his mystic knowledge to deactivate them one by one.
After the first two pedestals were deactivated, the eddy disappeared; and room illuminated to a natural level of darkness. Once he deactivated the third, the very few surviving shadow creepers crumbled to dust.
Title Inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcpEIXrewE
Tweak, Nixie, Zett, and Radash / [XP: 10]
Bevin didn’t play, Ruth is on hiatus, and Deb wasn’t feeling good.
Abadius 6th; 317AG
After a couple of days off, the PCs received a conference call invite from Mr. Stone at around 1:00 in the afternoon. “You guys ready to get back at it?”, he queried rhetorically. “Good, because I’ve got your next two jobs lined up for you. But let me actually start with your third job, though...”
“I try not to let crews get too ‘typecast’, but sometimes it happens; but it’s almost always short-term, and it’s usually because you impressed someone. Now I sent you guys out on a simple cops & robbers dispatch, and you wound up thwarting some whackadoodle terrorist attack; and that caught the attention of and made a good impression on a friend of mine in the Stewards, who I would emphasize is not easily impressed. So at least for now, you are the go-to guys for whackadoodle terrorists; and she’s got another one on Castrovel that she needs help with.”
“Instead of giving you all the details now just to have to repeat myself after it all comes dribbling back out of your ears, just call me from the starport when you get to Castrovel. I’m sending you all your flight information, including step-by-step directions on where you need to be. Your ship leaves at 10:00 tomorrow morning, but you need to be there by 08:00. And that leads me to your second job.”
“Cryo-stasis tubes have been around for who-knows-how-long; but ever since the Signal and the advent of Drift travel, there just hasn’t been a lot of demand. The Azlanti Star Empire, on the other hand, uses them extensively on their big troop transports to cut down on supply overhead; and their freezers are way ahead of ours.”
“Now like I said, most people couldn’t care less; but there’s an Aballonian starship manufacturer called Compiler Enterprise that specializes in colony ships and deep space exploration ships, and they’ve been working hard to get caught up. Now some of you are probably thinking, ‘Is he seriously sending us out to steal technological secrets from the Azlanti Star Empire?’ And the answer would be, ‘Hell no, that is way above your pay grade; plus another one of my crews already did that months ago.’ The job I have for you is way less complicated.”
“Compiler has made some breakthroughs and done testing on plenty of humans and a few lashuntas and shirrens, but they’re looking to broaden; and your impressive diversity score also makes you ideal candidates. All you have to do is take a little nap and then undergo a quick medical exam when you wake up. That’s it. I’m literally going to pay you… to sleep. You are welcome.”
Abadius 7th; 317AG
The next morning, each of the PCs made their way on time to one of Absalom Station’s smaller passenger ports. They didn’t need to go through the usual check-in and security processes, however; once they provided their credentials, they were each taken back into an employee-only area.
Their final destination was a little side-room off of a small loading dock. Waiting there were a pair of anacites; light, fragile-looking, floating, and sporting some scary-looking medical implements.
Also in the room were two separate cryo-freeze units, the first consisting of two medium-sized tubes; standing upright and back-to-back. The other consisted of eight smaller-sized tubes; horizontal and in two stacks of four each. Both units were attached by cables and hoses to the same large black box; probably a combination control unit, power regulator, and coolant supply.
One of the anacites cheerfully informed the PCs that Mr. Stone had already signed all of the necessary waivers; they just needed each of them to fill out a quick medical questionnaire. When it was time to get into the tubes, the PCs were told not to worry about their gear and just take it with them. One they were in and their lids were closed, they rapidly grew chilly and sleepy; and in less than 30 seconds, they were each out like a light.
Abadius 21st; 317AG
Zett and Tweak woke up groggy but functional; Nixie and Radash came to feeling noticeably disoriented. Their cryo-tubes were all open, and were now located in a room which was only about 20’ square with a 12’ high ceiling; well-lit with white metal walls, floor, and ceiling. Both of the freeze units were still connected to the same black box, which was now producing a soft buzzing alarm (a later check would reveal a message stating ‘Coolant Levels Critical; Initiating Emergency Defrost’).
There were two doors out of the room; one of which was clearly marked as an airlock door. Aside from the PCs and the stasis units, the only other thing in the room was an information kiosk with a large touch screen. Across the top of the screen were the words ‘Trendsetter Excursions’; while ‘Welcome Aboard the Emerald Empyrean’ crossed the bottom. In the middle was an animated logo of a golden rocket-ship blasting off from a glass of sparkling wine.
Zett checked the time on his PCU; initially puzzled that it was still indicating that it was early morning on the 7th, then realizing that the device had been in a state of complete stasis just like he had been. Finding a local wifi point to synch to, he refreshed his clock.
After checking the time again, Zett was both puzzled and alarmed that it was now reading 12:06 AM on Abadius 21st! The trip from Absalom Station to Castrovel should have taken no more than 6 days, and it had now been nearly 2 weeks since their departure.
The inner door was locked; but in addition to a keycard reader, it had an emergency call button. When pushed, it began flashing as a gentle pre-recorded voice said “Help is on the way”; and the PCs decided to give it a few minutes before they took more drastic steps to get out of the room.
Despite good efforts by Tweak and Nixie, the information kiosk was too well-insulated from the ship’s critical systems to get into them. Nevertheless, the publicly-accessible systems had some useful information…
According to the public flight log, the vessel was still in the Drift; and had not in fact left the Drift since its departure from Absalom Station fourteen days earlier. Its destination was still listed as ‘The Sun’ with a 24 hour stopover in the city of Qabarat on Castrovel.
The PCs also found a map of the Emerald Empyrean; and based on the dimensions of the room which they were in and the fact that it had an airlock door, they were able to ascertain that they were on the port side of the aft end of the upper deck. Zett proposed that their main goal (if help didn’t arrive) should be to get to the bridge, which was also on the upper deck but down at the fore end.
In the middle of the upper deck was a large observation dome, which they would need to pass through in order to reach the bridge. According to the information, the dome was equipped with four onyx pedestals which magically dampened the light in order to enhance the viewing experience.
‘Help’ finally arrived in the form of a trio of small, floating, Observer-class security robots; which appeared in the hallway when the inner door snapped open. “Warning”, one of the bots emitted in an electronic monotone. “All pets must be placed in approved carriers before boarding the Emerald Empyrean. Initiating containment protocols.”
The PCs had no time to get indignant or even suss out precisely whom the constructs were mistaking for ‘pets’, as they attacked almost immediately; first launching a sticky grenade into the room and then opening fire with nonlethal pulse-casters. Cramped conditions made fighting difficult, and Nixie and Radash both spent most of the battle entangled as well as fatigued; but the bots were trashed without anyone being seriously debilitated.
As the dust settled, a pleasant-but-clearly-electronic female voice came across the PA system. “Attention passengers, this is SARENA; your ship’s artificial intelligence. Scans indicate that a handful of pets have escaped their cages and are running loose. If you spot one of these errant animals, please contact the nearest porter robot. Thank you; that is all.”
In addition to the one which the PCs exited from, the aft upper hallway passed by two doors before reaching the observation dome. Not wanting to leave any potential hostiles behind themselves, the PCs decided to check both of them out.
One led to a cozy (and presently empty) game room with thin green carpeting, wood-panel walls, and subdued florescent lighting. It had a number of low-tech amenities including a pool table, a couple of dart boards, a chess set, and several decks of playing cards. It also had a couple of video game cabinets and a row of vending machines, one of which included highly-caffeinated beverages which allowed Radash and Nixie to shake their stasis fatigue.
The door on the opposite side of the hallway appeared to be jammed from the other side, but a little mechanical knowhow on Tweak’s part allowed him to get it open as Radash stood in the doorway. Before the vesk could even scan the room (which was the ship’s bar and restaurant), a laser bolt flashed within inches of his head; but despite his very imposing visage, he was able to quickly convince the shooter that he was there to help.
Smooth wooden flooring and paneled walls gave the chamber an air of elegance which was immediately countered
by the obvious mess and rank smell of body odor and other foulness. In the aft part of the room was a bar made from real mahogany; in front of it were several stools, and behind it was the nonfunctioning husk of a bartender robot. Half a dozen tables and accompanying chairs had been pushed against the forward wall to make room for a dozen makeshift cots now scattered across the floor.
Twelve individuals of a variety of ages and races cowered behind the bar. At the front of the bunch was a tall and lithe lashunta woman (Voryna Kopalli) with dark orange hair down to her shoulders and an azimuth laser pistol in her hands. A few of the passengers were armed with table knives and other improvised weapons.
Occupying one of the cots was an additional individual: a human male who appeared badly wounded and unconscious. He was wearing a crew uniform, and his nametag read ‘Locke Linler’. Though not able to get him back on his feet, Zett was able to get him out of danger and conscious; and the man shouted at the name ‘Alazea’ as he came to.
According to Locke, the ship had a crew of only three living beings; its systems having been highly automated and run by an AI called SARENA. She’d apparently run fine for several voyages; but on this one, something had gone wrong.
On the morning of the 13th, when the ship had still not reached Castrovel, the crew had checked and discovered that they were way off course. Apparently, SARENA had decided that their intended destination was not relaxing enough; and had taken them deep into the Drift.
After quietly warning the passengers that the AI might be malfunctioning, the crew set about trying to regain control of the ship. While Kenjaro Chidi had attempted to unlock the control stations on the bridge, Locke Linler and Alazea Dawnt had gone down to engineering to try to shut SARENA down directly. Attacked in engineering by a patrol robot, they failed to reach the shutdown switch; and Alazea was killed while Locke was badly wounded and barely managed to escape. Kenjaro’s disposition was unknown.
When SARENA announced ‘a few unfortunate accidents involving the crew’, the passengers began to panic. Voryna, however, stepped in and took charge; convincing the others to disable the bartender bot, make a sortie to the cabins to fetch blankets and pillows, and then hunker down in the restaurant and wait for help. Locke turned up just before they jammed the door; slipping into unconsciousness soon thereafter.
Locke gave his keycard to the PCs, and explained to them exactly where SARENA’s shutdown switch was located in engineering. He also gave them a chilling warning about the observation dome, which they still needed to pass through.
“I think SARENA has for some reason increased the power to the light-absorbing pedestals”, he said. “It’s even more unnaturally dark than normal, and… there’s something alive in there. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a passenger or a crewmember.”
The observation dome was indeed magically dark; with light sources producing only weak light out 10 to 15 feet. Even those with darkvision were only able to see a little further.
Radash was the first to enter, and he quickly sensed some kind of very dark presence at the center of the chamber. Charging in thinking that it was a hostile being, he instead discovered that it was a whirling eddy of dark energy floating above the floor; and he quickly suspected that the unnatural darkness had ripped open a portal to the Shadow Plane!
His theory was quickly supported when the PCs came under attack from a number of shadow creepers: enormous, venomous, centipede-like creatures native to the Plane of Shadow. While Radash, Tweak, and Nixie set about exterminating them; Zett instead began moving amongst the onyx pedestals, using his mystic knowledge to deactivate them one by one.
After the first two pedestals were deactivated, the eddy disappeared; and room illuminated to a natural level of darkness. Once he deactivated the third, the very few surviving shadow creepers crumbled to dust.
Title Inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcpEIXrewE