Chapter 2: The First Mandate

Three days after your initiation, you receive a message from Guidance.

Greetings Starfinders. Please make your way to the Lorespire Complex at 1400 for a meeting with First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo. Ensure that your equipment and clothing are in good condition. First impressions are important.

Luwazi Elsebo is the leader of the Starfinder Society, so you all realize that this is a very big deal. Luwazi Elsebo is a legend among the Starfinders, having held the group together after the disastrous Scoured Stars event.

Xiordin efficiently makes sure his teammates have received the same summons and then gears up. He gathers his Lashunta ringwear, snapping it into place, then strapping his longsword on his back.

Next he finds a noodle place and makes sure he's carb loaded up. Mostly, he's gauging the reaction of the patrons to his look, trying to see if he needs to up his game.

Sioux is at an amory wokshop, where she cleans and patches her second-skin armor. This was the last item on her long to-do list, as she expect to be leaving Absolon Station.
She has been over all her gear and now she is ready.

13:55 Sioux is standing ready at the Lorespire Complex.

When you arrive at the Lorespire Complex, you are led down several halls by a ysoki attendant who stops in front of a door, "Remember to be on your best behavior when speaking to the First Seeker!" she squeaks, tapping on a datapad, "This is a good chance for you to make a good impression. Don't waste it!" With that, she swipes her card at the door and presses her finger onto a biometric reader beside the door, which slides open.

The First Seeker’s meeting room is a lavish space with several lush couches and armchairs surrounding a wide, low table. First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo appears uncharacteristically extravagant compared to times you've seen her from afar, having exchanged her typical stationwear for a sleek, fashionable suit in a shade of copper that matches the Starfinder Society logo emblazoned on the table. Behind her stands the towering vesk leader of the Acquisitives faction, wearing a suit of ceremonial armor.

Luwazi smiles and gestures to the seats. "A pleasure to see you all and congratulations on your recent successful Commencement. I trust you’ve heard about tonight’s gala? We’re hosting it to thank those who’ve supported the Society in our recent time of trouble. I have a rather important announcement to make, so we’ve decided to use the opportunity to entertain and impress representatives of the various interests who have helped the Starfinder Society through our setbacks with the recent Scoured Stars incident."

"That’s where you come in. As some of the shining stars of the newest Starfinder Society agents, I’d like to have you mingle with the guests so they can see for themselves what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s nothing too fancy; I’d just like you all to be polite and talk about some of your experiences with the Society so far. We’re expecting some government dignitaries, investors, corporate interests, and the like, so be sure to stay on your best behavior. Also, don’t be afraid to brag a bit — it’s our goal to impress them. It’s also our goal to make sure that these dignitaries remain willing to support us, especially with my rather exciting announcement set to take the Pact Worlds by storm."

"But don’t be reckless," the armored vesk breaks in.

Luwazi Elsebo glances over her shoulder and grins. "Have you all met Radaszam? He’s certainly someone else you should be trying to impress."

Radaszam scowls. "Yeah, we’ve met. Now, events like this never go as planned. Luwazi’s contracted one of my merc outfits, the Obsidian Spiders, to provide security for the night. I want to make sure that if anything goes down, you’re working with my agents, rather than us all tripping over one another. Stay alert, but if anything happens, make sure you’re talking to me about it rather than jumping in blindly."

The First Seeker nods and picks up the datapad. "I’ve singled out five guests I would really like to make a good impression with. These folks should be your priority tonight, so I’ve compiled basic information about each of them here. Things will start up in about an hour in the Skyreach Room. Any questions before we go?"

She taps her datapad a few times and you each hear a chirp from your own comm unit. You see you've received a document detailing some of the high profile people that Luwazi wants you to impress: LINK

Xiordin takes in the surroundings, his surveillance part warrior, part lawyer. He taps his armor. "I better polish this. And find a cape."

He looks at his team and says, "On behalf of my colleagues, we thank you for this opportunity. We all want the Starfinders to flourish once more. If we need to parade, we'll parade like we were born to it." He is a grim sort but proud and more than willing to schmooze.

To Radaszam, he says, "Have your agents connect to our mesh network, and we'll provide any assistance they need. At your lead, of course."

"Yes, it is a great honor to represent the Starfinder Society, now more than ever. There is much for us to look forward to, in rebuilding and strengthening our organization, and I couldn't be prouder to be a part of that effort!"

Soryn looks to Radaszan and nods, "I certainly hope there won't be any trouble, but if we get a whiff of any, we'll find you quick, sir."

He pulls up the list of dignitaries and reviews it on his datapad, nodding at each one.

G..G..Galla? But I dont have a dress? There is a slight panic in Sioux'es voice

Scrap tilts her head. 'A gala sounds interesting! I do not go to many parties. People do not appreciate when I tinker with things there.'

She looks Xiordan as he comments on his breastplate and she looks down at her arm. Should she polish that? Should she polish bolts. Actually.. 'Is Bolts allowed to come? He is programmed to be on good behaviour when there is not trouble. But if trouble is expected he will be useful.'

Radaszam goes through connecting you to his security team so that you can be in quick contact in case anything goes wrong, "Great. Keep this up and you might make good agents someday," he says. This seems like it's probably a great compliment coming from the weathered vesk.

The First Seeker looks to Sioux, "If you need help finding a dress, I'm sure we can come up with something functional and stylish for you to wear."

She turns to Scrap, "Of course you can bring your droid. I'm sure the attendees would enjoy seeing him."

Soryn gets excited when Luwazi mentions Scrap bring her droid. "I have a number of slime molds I've been curating," he says, "they're really quite fascinating! My myxogastria is exceptionally healthy, vibrant, and stunning. I'm sure they would be of great interest to anyone there!"

Luwazi frowns slightly at this, "Perhaps its best not to bring mold of any sort to a place where we'll be serving food," she suggests gently.

Sioux quickly reads the personnel list, but all her mental energy is spent getting into a dress for the event.

"Ah well, you see, it's not that kind of..." Soryn sees the look he's getting and his excitement quickly backpedals. "Right. No mold." He offers a smile as his mind turns to more practical matters of what to wear to such an event.

Several hours later, a lift takes your party deeper into the Lorespire Complex. Radaszam and Luwazi have already gone ahead of you. The doors open into the Skyreach Room, a classy space made breathtaking by large windows set into the vaulted ceiling, providing a shining view of the Armada orbiting Absalom Station and the galaxy beyond. A low stage with black skirting and a sleek podium overlooks the room from the far end of the hall. A dozen or so guests, representing a surprising array of species, mingle in twos and threes, while servers in sharp vests bring around a variety of bizarre snacks and drinks. A curly-haired AV technician arranges the wiring along one side of the stage and Luwazi stands at the other side speaking with a damaya lashunta man.

Xiordin doesn't check his outfit, he doesn't need to, he's spent most of the last hour in front of a mirror, polishing spots (and admiring his new cape).

The Skyreach Room is awe inspiring, and for a moment he forgets while they were sent. He nearly attunes stellar mode, then decides to do so. Light dances across his surface.

Soryn readies himself, dressing in a dapper, white coat with green trim and black pants. He carries only minimal gear - his needler pistol neatly holstered and his microlab strapped to his belt, hidden mostly by his coat. Finally, he leaves to meet with the others, taking in the elaborate setup and wondering what the announcement will be about.

Scrap also spends time polishing both her arm and Bolts. She hasn't opted for a dress but instead has dug out her 'good set' pants and nice dress shirt, the one she's not allowed to do any engineering in. Its not quite a suit or a fancy dress, but is still far more dress up than the Ysoki usually is.

You know the following:

Iteration-177 is a relative newcomer to the Aspis Consortium. In addition to making waves by urging Consortium support of the Starfinders, they have an interest in religious artifacts and connections.

Naiaj is a bleachling gnome with a fierce protectiveness of the Starfinders who encourages—some say demands—competence and teamwork from Society agents. She’s a venture-captain who served long before the Scoured Stars incident.

The ysoki Royo has something of a rivalry with Historia-7 and the Dataphiles faction, and he tends to snub individuals who he perceives to rely overmuch on technology. He’s also an elected member of the Forum, the Starfinder Society’s governing council.

The alien symbiote Ykris represents CeriCore Labs. Business-wise, the corporation has very little to gain from the Starfinder Society’s endeavors, but it nevertheless made a substantial donation; rumors suggest the contribution was someone’s pet project.

Soryn approaches Naiaj, the Starfinder Venture Captain, and makes small talk with her. "So, I understand you've been with the Starfinder Society for some time," he begins, "How are you feeling about our efforts to reinforce the organization after everything that happened?"

Xiordin approaches Iteration-177. "My understanding is that you're interested in religious artefacts. One of the things I most look forward to on our away excursions is the chance to find the unique ways other countries find meaning."

He does kind of feel that way, although his main interest comes from a place of war. Culture is on the list, just not at the top.

For a moment Scrap eyes the other Ysoki, but he wasn't a fan of technology. How boring. Zo! seemed interesting and she didn't really know much about them, but Sioux is floating near them. The should probably divide and conquer right? And with Soryn and Xiordian also moving to talk to others, that left boring rat and the business symbiote.

Symbiotes were interesting... in the end she scampers over to him and present her hand.

'Hi!. I'm Scrap. This is Bolts! You're from CeriCore right? What exactly do they do?

Bolts also presents a metallic paw to shake.

Naiaj is staring at a datapad as Soryn approaches and barely even looks up, "Yes. I'm one of the most senior venture-captains in the wake of the incident," she says, tapping out a series of words on her pad as she talks to several different people at once, then she hesitates and looks up at Soryn before responding, a look of pain peeking out through her stoic mask, "I suppose it's something. What's been done to recover. But it doesn't feel like enough.

Soryn gets the feeling that she is suffering from a bit of guilt over what happened to the Society."And there I was, hosting Live at the Splatterdome! when this little tiny contemplative child floated over and asked me for an autograph! Can you believe it?" Zo! asks the trio of ysoki he's speaking to, "Where even were its parents?"Iteration-177's eyes lock onto Xiordin as he approaches, listening politely to his introduction, "Indeed, I find many things to be quite fascinating. Religious artifacts among them. The history that could be learned from such things and the insights into the cultures that made them," he says, then holds out a hand to shake, "I am Iteration-177, though I'm sure you're already aware, Xiordin of the Starfinder Society."Ykris has an interesting appearance, with its iridescent and insectile body having many spiny legs piercing the base of its hosts skull and down his back. The host opens its mouth and speaks, "CeriCore labs deals mostly in medicines and biological augmentation technology," it says, then looks down at Bolts, "I see you are in quite the opposite field, yes?"Gala Worksheet

Xiordin plays nice and examines the decorations beside Iteration-177. "The law is all about stories really. Tell a good enough one and the judge, arbitrator, or jury will grant your client license."

He continues, "Take the Case of the Sentient Sandwich."

He starts telling of the case, describing the vesk judge, the protector and the defendant.

"—and I swear on Cayden Cailean’s half-empty bottle, the judge looked this sandwich dead in the lettuce and said, 'You are hereby declared condimentally sentient.'

No, I’m not joking. This all happened right there in Courtroom 7B. I was assisting the defense that week—don’t laugh, some of us have civic responsibilities even in orbit—and it was the strangest damn trial I’ve ever seen. And I’ve sat through a Kasathan inheritance duel involving six mime witnesses and a memory crystal that kept erasing itself out of spite.

So here’s the story: this sandwich—Reuben Prime was his name—jumps off a plate at Glorb’s Deli, slaps a customer with a pickle spear, and screams about mustard genocide. Apparently, he’d achieved self-awareness somewhere between the brisket and the aioli. Wrote haikus. Ran a book club for snack cakes. Claimed the vending machines were prisons. You know, standard radical sandwich rhetoric.

The prosecution? Literal slime. Assistant Attorney Glip-Glorp. Dripped through three briefcases and accidentally digested the evidence once. Defense was a lashunta named Jheera who drank eight espressos during cross-examination and threatened to telepathically project sandwich guilt into the jury.

The whole thing felt like a fever dream, except real—and with legal precedent!

Anyway, the jury—an amphibian, two androids, a sentient potted plant, and a holographic badger who wouldn't stop humming sea shanties — found him guilty of "Improper Utensil Conduct," but agreed he was a person. Sort of.

Now he’s doing community service helping emotionally unstable energy bars find their identity. And last I heard, he’s up for a minor literary award. You ever read Meat Me Halfway: Crumbs of Consciousness? Surprisingly tender."

Xiordin takes a sip of his drink, then leans in conspiratorially.

"I kept the pickle. Still glows under ultraviolet. Don’t ask why."

Soryn shakes his head. "No, I suppose you're right. It can never be enough. It is a blessing and a curse that people with experience and history with the Starfinders are here - present to guide us toward rebuilding from such great losses, but forced to remain and remember what once was. I've run simulations with what little data we have, and I...I don't know if there's anything that could have been helped. Too many variables and unknowns. I hope, with time, we can gather more information and figure out what went wrong, if for no other reason than to keep it from ever happening again."