Grounded

Viridian File 062722: Stardate 16124.2123.03231751

Myrdin Basilica - Morriga System

(orm-gall-duh Vain-oth)
Senator Ormgalde Vanoth: "Well my friends, Consul Satesh tells me you have been busy these last few days. You have my thanks for all of your service to the people of Morriga Prime and it's neighbors.
Tell me friends, how may I address you?"
Zukrom: "We are Noctis Vigil."
Senator Ormgalde Vanoth: "Noctis Vigil. I believe that name suits you all well. To business then. I am sure this council is eager to hear all that you have witnessed, so let us begin there: what did you find on the mono of Dua?"
Zs notices that Vosaara's video is on a very subtle loop.
Vosaara: to Zukrom, "Do not mention the orb. Report that the sensor cell was recovered and is in this ship's hold. Leave array in tower room A113." Vosaara's screen goes back to a live feed.
Zukrom tells everyone present what all they encountered including the battle droids branded with Kronos' marks, the conversation with Shade Spinner, and the fact the party saw three vessels and stopped the base from blowing up.
Consul Satesh: "You see, Vanoth? This is far greater than border disputes. This deep into Federation Space and no one knew. The Senate can't keep ignoring this!"
Senator Vanoth: sighing and sitting back, "I understand your frustration, Consul. The forces of the Space Corps are spread pretty thin. You more than anyone know how much we lost in the war. The Federation is very hestiant to risk another conflict with our forces so scattered. However, if the System Lords are indeed attempting to reverse engineer our technologies and build ships in our own backyard, then we cannot sit back and be silent on this matter."
Vosaara: "Thanks to the efforts of Noctis Vigil, we have a prototype in our posession for further study. We will be piloting the starship to a secure hangar. Chief Stone and Chief Rivena will have those with the proper security clearance standing by to star processing the vessel. So far we don't see any form of cloaking device or other advanced systems. The Sensor Array will also be transported back to Raptora Technologies overnight."
Chief Kratar: "Noctis Vigil, you also encountered police cruisers when leaving the atmosphere. That would have been a squad from the Celta Sirrena force. What were you able to detect during that incident?"
Zs: "They were not alive, whatever was piloting it."
Chief Fargrim Stonetalon: "I am ashamed to admit that we had no idea our forces were also compromised. It warms my heart to see you all safe. It would be a great dishonor to my force if our failures led to your deaths."
Chief Kratar: "I think we should assume all of our forces have been compromised on some level. Based on Kar'jan's notes we have enough to identify some of the compromised agents. As for the undead, we are working with the Court of the Raven Mother, the Court of Selene, and the Promenade Solaris to begin investigations."
Senator Vanoth: "I will be taking this evidence to the Senate in a special hearing tomorrow morning. I cannot promise anything but I will at least make a case for a deployment of forces both to the corridor and the border with Kronos. I want him to know we will not ignore his trespass. Noctis Vigil, for the moment I would like to keep your involvement secret. This could allow us a bit more freedom of movement to see how deep this goes. How do you feel about that?
Zukrom: "I think we can agree that would be wise for the time being. We do have one question: What is going to happen to the warship?"
There are mixed reactions across the room. Warden Fyro is seething while Chief Githon of Celta Birrando lets out an indignant squawk. Chief Kratar, Consul Satesh, and Chief Rivena vary from smilles, amused laughs, and wry grins. Chief Stonetalon glances around at all of the reactions. AR-T1 glances around and leans towards the Consul and whispers something.
Senator Vanoth: "I cannot make any promises, but rest assured my friends, your contributions will not be unrewarded. I will see to it personally."
The meeting begins to wrap up and the party loses track of much of the conversation since it gets more political. Amelia stays in it the longest. As a native of the Federation, she knows from her parents how badly the war impacted the Space Corps. forces. Just before they dissapeared, her father joked that the Federation was so good at illusions, it could not only hide it's ships from view, it could bluff its way into making the rest of the quadrant believe there where Federation ships anywhere and everywhere, just waiting to strike.
After the meeting concluded, several members started exiting through side doors and the crew prepares to leave.
Chief Kratar: "Captain, a word." She and Amelia step aside. "I know I told you to get back out there, but you could have at least given it a few days before causing an international incident."
Amelia: "You know me!"
Chief Kratar with a playful smile, "That I do, but I blame him." pointing at Morph
Amelia: "Ok are you here to reprimand me or threaten my jellyfish?"
Chief Kratar: "It can be both. He knows what he did." and she turns and goes to walk away before saying over her shoulder, "Your parents would be proud."
Meanwhile, Chief Stonetalon approaches the rest of Noctis Vigil.
Chief Stonetalon: "Noctis Vigil, a moment if you will honor me with it. I feel I must apologize for my failure to you personally. Not only would we not know the extent of the danger, but we would have lost 4 of the greatest allies we have had in a long time. If you ever need a place to recover and relax, find me in Celta Sirenna and we will take care of you."
Zs approaches Consul Satesh as she is packing away papers, cleaning up, and chatting with AR-T1.
Zs: "Consul, a moment if you will spare it."
Consul Satesh: "Of course, Zs. What can I do for you?"
Zs: "I am concerned the Senator's promise will not do much good. We both know the System Lords well. I think you agree that a few small ships on the border will do very little to dissuade them from acting. We both know they should not be underestimated."
Consul Satesh: "I agree. I don't think it will solve our problems. But to do nothing would be worse. I have some plans and contingencies. I will be reaching out to an old friend... but we should prepare for the worst."
Zs: "Do you think this is serious enough the Senate will reach out to the Alliance or Republic?"
Consul Satesh: "It's easy for the Senate to be passive when they live safe and secure in Paradise. They will not reach out unless they feel a significant threat to the entire quadrant is at large. Perhaps this event will shock them into seeing that our technology gives us only so much of an advantage. We cannot maintain an air of superiority as the rest of the galaxy catches up and surpasses us."
Zs: "I hope so."
Consul Satesh: "I have known the Senator for a long time. He has a lot of influence in the Senate. If anyone can convince them to take action it is him. However, we are not in paradise. We are on the front lines. We have to be preapred for anything, but part of that is also knowing when to rest and recover. You and your squad have done so much the last few days. Take some time and breathe. I promise to keep you all informed of anything we uncover. I will need all of your help in the weeks to come.
One last thing, do not take the Senator's promise of your reward lightly." and with a wink she turns and leaves.

---

While the party is "grounded" they go about their own research tasks. Back at he tower, Zukrom first goes and gets his hand checked out since it has been glowing since an accident in the moon base and finds it is only surface level. The crew also asks about the mandrake root that was left and learn it was an ancient ritual meant to drive people mad and make them more receptive to certain ideas. It is entirely possible the individuals covering the tracks of the system lords were only doing so after this torture.
The crew then splits up for their vairous tasks: Kar'jan checks in with Elian Tarrack on his special order and recieves a brass spyglass that allows him to see up to 600ft and has a night vision mode. When Kar'jan asks how Tarrack got it, Tarrack weaves a tale of merchants and individuals who owed him favors either providing material or enchantments. kar'jan then tells Tarrack that he owes him one.
Zs seeks out AR-T1 and together with BUDDY, comb through the database on the System Lords and downloads as much info as possible into BUDDY's memory banks for use in the coming confrontations.
Zukrom goes in search
Amelia...
Party is grounded for the time being. The party has 4 days to do as they wish.
Chief Rivena: "Ah, Noctis Vigil. Thank you for coming. Based on the data recovered from the Na'Shiar base we now believe the myths and local legends of a tempe of the Ancients does indeed exist here on Morriga Prime. It appears that Kronos was interested and the logs recovered from the TTA show 1 vessel entering our airspace and traveling towards the Radinae Mountains.
Until now, no one has ever been able to find an entrance or trace of the temple, but based on the data Kronos' droids logged they did find an entrance but were unable to force it open before they risked detection. We want you to investigate this temple. You'll need to head to Celta Sirrena when you are ready."
Upon arriving in Celta Sirrena (Argos Mag-Rail station), Zs hears a familiar voice.
"Ah, so here you are. I am glad to see you took my advice." turning he sees the silver haired Eldari male.
"You may call me Varin."
"I wondered when they would send you to find the Twilight Temple. I saw the vessel and the droids poking around a few weeks ago. Perhaps we can help each other?"
"I can take you to the entrance of the Temple, and if your party is unable to find a means to enter I may have a way to pry the door open just enough for you to get through. All I ask in return is while you are inside to look for 2 things and bring them to me if you find them. First, any information on the decline of the Ancients. Second, a mythical relic rumored to exist in the temple. It will look like a small black box with silver stars all along it. Legends say it was a tool used by an ancient Vuleran Solarian to draw energy from the stars themselves to provide insight and understanding of languages. Some scholars believe it was a pun that the ancient word for pen and sword were so similar. I can provide 2000 Credits total for any information you can recover. If you manage to find the Sword of Stars, I will pay each of you 8000 credits. My grandmother used to tell me stories of my ancestors that lived here on this planet in days long forgotten. It would bring me great joy to have this relic in my family again."
"Well, the journey there is not exactly for the faint of heart. Luckily, I can arrange for some travel for us."
"These Hippogriffs are specially trained and adapted for this environment. There are some rather nasty creatures that call these mountains home. Put these on, it will help us blend in more."
In the mountains is a door with stars and constellations stands sealed shut in a small cave. A small alcove in the center of the door sits empty. A Solarian can attempt to meditate and open the door with an Astronomy check DC 22. Alternatively, an ancient key relic can unlock the door.
"I will stay out here with the mounts and make sure they do not get picked off by predators. Good luck in there, but be wary. If this temple was sealed there is no telling what other defenses may be lying in wait."
As they enter the antechamber, lights flicker on lighting a Frieze of a planet with several Vulerans and a large raven with outspread wings across the Frieze. Smaller blue lights begin to glow along the walls. On the other side are two more sealed doors with more stars and constellations.
A flickering and a hologram appears before the party: "Who disturbs the slumber of the Corvus Umbari?!"
"I am Objurus Ko'nan, First Knight of the Great Raven. I walk the line of life and death; of Light and Shadow."
"This is a Temple of the Ashtari. What are you doing here Child of Scarro? What service to the galaxy would justify your continued presence here?"
doctor
Objurus laughs a cold laugh, "A healer?! The Children of Scarro become twisted and corrupted by Elarion's star long ago. Sooner or later all they desire is to destroy."
"Even you would have felt the awakening. The chorus of stars has not faltered in eons until now. The Shadows are moving again, which can only mean something wicked has returned to the galaxy. If the chorus deems you worthy, then we must prepare for a new age. So be it. Come then Doctor, let us see if a Child of Scarro has what it takes to face the Raven."
The doors receed into the wall granting access to the inner chamber. Inside is a large dome covered in stars and constellations. A pillar of light rises from the central dias as an orb floats in space. Objurus re-appears beside the orb. As the party enters, the double doors re-seal behind them.
"To you who seek the secrets of this temple I offer you this trial.
Stride ye forth in darkest gloom where starlight fades and dangers loom.
Train your body and your mind. The chorus of stars ye shall find.
Walk the line of dark and light and summon forth stellar might.
A new era, the Galaxy sings. Carried beneath the Raven's wings."