The disappearance of Dr. Solstarni

After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 15:13

Having analyzed the language samples provided by the party, Professor Muhali identifies it as some sort of non-Elven language similar to other symbols found in association with the few known ancient elven sites on the wild continent of Ukulam to the west of Qabarat. She indicates that her friend and colleague Dr. Solstarni, an archaeastronomer who studies of how ancient cultures viewed the cosmos and expressed those observations in their architecture, artifacts, and writings, would be the most qualified to answer their questions.

She places several calls to Dr. Solstarni, including to her personal comm device, her office and her home, as well as to her emergency contact, but the Doctor is nowhere to be found. Muhali asks the party to investigate the Doctor's office on the fourth floor while she calls the police to report her possible disappearance. She gives them an electronic key that will allow them access to the Doctor's office.

Nict swipes the card, and the door unlocks. Inside, the office is a giant mess. Papers are thrown everywhere, and artifacts have been discarded. A small suitcase is on the desk, filled with clothes. Cabinets and a small closet complete the space. Yiris searches the Doctor's bag and finds a change of clothes, indicating she was in a hurry. Bratrizik finds a note inviting Dr. Solstarni to the Five Arches, a cantina located off the beaten path in the Gateway District of Qabarat, near the east end of the city. 

A quick search of the infosphere reveals it is a café dedicated to serving the discerning palattes of a dozen worlds. Reviews indicate that it's an eclectic dive with widldly variable food and drink quality combined with bizarre food pairings for the daily specials.

Continuing his search, Nict discovers a dent in one of the Doctor's cabinet, as well as her field suit which was hastily crumpled to the floor. The evidence suggests that someone assaulted Dr. Solstarni in her own office, there was a struggle, and the doctor was forcibly removed from the premises. Bratrizik asks Professor Muhali about Eyrub Paqual, but the lashunta doesn't know this person, and a quick search of Castrovel's infosphere reveals only that he has published six scholarly articles in academic journals of questionable reputation. Aside from these, there are no other biographic information available on Paqual.

Nict hacks Doctor Solstarni's computer and locates a letter signed by Professor Muhali granting the Doctor an earlier leave of absence than the one she requested, which was supposed to take place in two months. Dr. Solstarni was planning to go on a research sabbatical on the east coast of Ukulam. Professor Muhali states that she did not write this letter. Through agile computer skills, the shirren discovers that it is a fake and that is was created offsite and hacked into the university's computer system.

Doctor Soltarni's computer also contains a few scanned pages of Halukeem Zan's research, which she annotated. One of the documents indicate that Zan's research refers to what is now known as the Oatia culture, a poorly understood dynasty of elven immigrants to Ukulam. Nict downloads the information onto his personal communication device.

Yiris sends messages to the journals where Eyrub Paqual submitted articles to find if they have contact information on this individual. Over the next 24 hours all of them indicate they do not have any more information on Paqual as everything was submitted online.

Bratrizik asks campus security to roll the outside security footage. Around the same time as the inside footage two days ago, an unmarked van parks in a nearby parking lot, and three lashuntas exit it. They appear to break into the building at 21:33, after the custodians have cleaned the front lobby. The footage then shows them exiting the building at 22:19, carrying a large rucksack. By zooming on the vehicle, Bratrizik is able to retrieve identifying marks. Nict investigates the staircase and finds scuff marks heading up and down, corroborating that those who made them were carrying a heavy weight.

The Qabarat detectives arrive, and take statements from Professor Muhali and from the party. Bratrizik shows them the videos, and points out the vehicle's identification. The detectives consult their databases and retrieve the vehicle's owner. It is registered to Uilee, the proprietor of the Five Arches in the Gateway District. 

At about the same time, Ailabiens 21:2 contacts the party and provides them with a summary of the notes he compiled on Halkueem Zan's research. Collectively, Halkueem Zan’s records provide a fragmented course that could be followed from the coastal outpost of Turhalu Point on the continent of Ukulam inland to the “accursed pyramid city of Loskialua,” which Zan claimed to have discovered. According to Ailabiens 21:2, these records, made up of both text and audiologs, contained several key warnings and landmarks described in Zan’s judgmental verbiage:

• On wildlife: “Castrovel crawls with vermin and beasts of all kinds. Thunder-bellied behemoths clear paths through the jungle while bellowing madly. More vexing, though, are what we’ve come to call stingbats—some hellish cross of monkey, bat, and scorpion that travel in troops and harass us regularly. I fought one off as it attacked a porter and shot another as it fled, and from then on they targeted me. It’s as though they can sense strength, yet resent it.”
• The Ruined Obelisk: “A dramatic spire barely rising above the tree line was the first of our great landmarks. Each side of it was once engraved with untold wisdom, but only the sheltered runes near the base have survived the ages. The plants here grow thicker, as if feeding upon some gifts left by the ancient elves—sacrifices of flesh and blood, no doubt.”
• The Plague Warden: “This massive stone figure is a reclining elven form covered in weathered boils. I suspect it is an effigy that served ritual purposes, such as absorbing the illness of some great king so he might live forever.”
• The Forsaken City: “The city in the foothills is a forest of small pyramids overgrown with vines. As with the funerary monuments of lost Osirion, it might be this was not a place of the living but a realm of the dead. Initial excavations uncovered multiple stone tiers of fine architecture—displaying skill truly more advanced than the builders’ primitive contemporaries.”
• The Stairs to Eternity: “From the Forsaken City rises a staggering, weathered staircase carved into the mountain beyond, evoking mystical contemplation in all who would climb it. Beyond stands a great temple whose haunted guardians feasted upon my comrades, forcing us to flee the savage sentinels.” 

After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 21:02

All of the information leading to Dr. Solstami points to the Five Arches. The party decide to follow up by visiting this location. They travel by cab to the Gateway District and quickly locates the Five Arches. Its facade features a large neon sign suggestive of the numerous portals in the district. A riot of different worlds' souvenirs plaster the interior's walls, and each table, booth, and bench bears the name of one of the Pact Worlds' planets or habitable moons. 

The place is frequented by a local clientele mostly interested in the various drinks concocted by Uilee. No one bats an eye when they enter the Five Arches. They take a table next to the entrance. A waiter robot comes over to take their orders. Several items are displayed on the robot's screen. Nict is thrilled by the exotic selection, and he picks the daily special of a strange avian cutlet smothered in a fig-like fruit compote and served alongside a mashed bitter tuber from Triaxus. Bratrizik orders the same, along with a Vesk cola, while Nict adds a low-grade alcohol drink to his order. Yiris orders a fortifying android drink. The robot waiter notifies them that their food will be ready in 7.4 minutes.

The robot waiter returns with their drinks. Yiris notices that the patrons at the next table briefly paid attention, but then went back to their business. Hoping to spur conversation, Nict, Bratrizik and Yiris talk among themselves about Ailabiens 21:2's speech and the fallout at the University, about the missing doctor, vague tidbits about the odd language. When Bratrizik mentions that they might need to travel to Ukulam, Yiris notices that they no have the attention of the men at the next table. She orders a round of drink for them, and their leader joins their table, and introduces himself as Twonas En.

The robot waiter brings their food. Bratrizik recognizes the avian cut as being mountain flying eel from the eastern mountains of Castrovel. While they eat, Twonas En informs them that he overhead their discussion of traveling to Ukulam. He tells them obtaining visas for this continent is extremely difficult, but for a fair price, he can arrange to smuggle both them and any equipment they require. When questioned, he offers as evidence a recent trip he organized for a large party. He reveals that this trip was led by someone named Eyrub Paqual, and he took fourteen people with him, along with a large quantity of weapons and heavy gear, including a rather large communication array. He tells them it would take him a day to organize transport, and it would cost them roughly 1,000 credits. Yiris tells Twonas En they will get back to him, and they exchange contact information.



After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 23:15

The party secures lodgings at the Soaring Eel, a four-star hotel downtown Qarabat. Yiris leaves a message for Professor Muhali about meeting first thing in the morning to discuss what they discovered during their trip to the Five Arches and what they need.



After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 9:00

Yiris receives a call from Professor Muhali, who agrees to meet with them at the hotel. After they discuss what they discovered and their conversation with Twonas En, they come to the conclusion that they will need to travel to Ukulam. Professor Muhali informs them she can secure visas for them authorizing them to travel to Ukulam. In order to follow Paqual and his crew, however, Professor Muhali agrees with Yiris that it would be better if they also used the services of Twonas En. She will contact the authorities in Turhalu Point to let them know of their arrival but to let them pass through so they can follow the first group.


Looking to get more information on that group, Professor Muhali places a call to Gate Controller Raiyiri at the Port Authority. Raiyiri invites them to meet her in her office in one hour, which will give her time to review the logs and security footage.


After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 10:17

Gate Controller Raiyiri informs the party what she discovered. After examining her sources, she found that a large party of 15 individuals smuggled into Turhalu Point two days ago. The group was composed of one kashata, one shirren, two humans, and eleven lashuntas. The equipment that they evidently carried through the gate cross-references to a off-world shipment received three weeks ago containing laboratory equipment, cryogenetically frozen organic compounds, and speciality foodstuff. All of it appears to have been ordered for the Qabarat University of Xenoarchaeolog and Xenoantrhopology, but there is no signature receiving the shipment. Interestingly enough, part of the organic compounds included fungal spores. Unlike Twonas En's claim, Raiyiri states that the equipment listed did not include weapons or a communication array.
Armed with this information, the party heads out to the market to get some gear before they transport to Turhalu Point ...

The Qabarat University of Xenoarchaeology and Xenoanthropology

After the Gap - February 27, 317 @ 02:45
 
With a space ship and newly acquired notoriety, Yiris, Bratrizik and Nict decide the most prudent thing to do is to transport the little gear they left at Duravor Kreel's apartment since their arrival on Absalom Station into the Sunrise Maiden. They manage to leave the admiring crowd behind, and head into Absalom Station's transportation system. Once at the apartment, they quickly pack. 

At nearly the same time, both Yiris and Nict receive incoming calls on their communication units. Yiris is contacted by Ambassador Nor of the Eoxian Embassy. The Ambassador had sent them on a fact-finding mission to explore the Drift Rock so he could mediate the dispute between Astral Extractions and the Hardscrabble Collective, and though he had a video feed of the events, he wanted a first hand report. Nict, meanwhile, is contacted by Chiskisk, their shirren contact with the Starfinder Society, who would also like to debrief their mission and ask them questions about what they encountered. After a quick discussion, the party agrees to meet Nor at 15:00, and Chiskisk at 17:00 at the Bugsolutley, a trendy shirren restaurant in one of the arms of station.

Abandoning the dwarf's apartment, they return to the Sunrise Maiden, they take turns catching a well deserved rest and repairing some of the ship's most-in-need of maintenance systems.


After the Gap - February 27, 317 @ 15:00
 
After securing the ship, Yiris, Bratrizik and Nict head to the Embassy. They are greeted by Ambassador Nor, who thanks them for successfully complete their mission, and also for bringing back his cargo unopened. Yiris warns him that it is possible that akatas might have infiltrated it, so he should be careful when he opens it. Nor tells the android not to worry, his crew carefully inspected the cargo before opening and and were able to retrieve its content undamaged. He provides them with credsticks worth 1,000 credits each as their promised reward. He then discusses the mission.

The Vesk mentions that he believes that the Drift Rock was at some point part of something larger. He observes that thought Nor does not react to the statement, he has in fact noticed this but chose not to talk about it. Bratrizik questions the Ambassador about the language. Nor replies that he's not familiar with it, but that it is possible the Starfinder Society might know more about it. Though Yiris at first doubts Nor's replies, she is soon convinced that he in fact tells the truth.

Yiris takes the occasion to ask why they were attacked by two necrogliders and whether anyone from Eox would wish them ill. Nor answers that unfortunately necrogliders are some of the best-selling fighters due to their bare-bones systems and as a result are cheap enough for most space forces and pirates unconcerned with life-support systems to purchase and use. He seriously doubts that the presence of a necroglider was due to some grand conspiracy and that it most likely was nothing more than an attempt to smear his good names by making it look like his people were involved. He tells them that because of this unprovoked attack on his delegates he will rule in favor of the Hardscrabble Collective and will inform both them and Astral Extractions of the result of his mediation.

To thank them again for a job well done, Nor provides with with an Eoxian badge, an item he states may hold sway with those who have honor among the dead.



After the Gap - February 27, 317 @ 17:00
 
Following their meeting with Nor, the party travels to Bugsolutely. They informe the head shirren maitre d' of their appointment with CHiskisk. The waiter brings them to Chiskisk's private table in an isolated corner of the otherwise busy restaurant. As they look at the menu, Chiskisk makes several recommendations. Yiris orders some nanite lattice hard candies, while Nict is thrilled to eat some home delicacies. Bratrizik is nonplused by the eclectic style of foods, but manage to find something pleasing to his palate.

During dinner,Chiskisk asks the party about their mission, which they watched on the holovid feed like most of Absalom Station. Nict and Yiris do most of the talking, discussing many aspects of the mission in details. Bratrizik mentions to Chiskisk his theory that the Drift Rock is part of a larger device. Chiskisk is genuinely surprised but immediately assesses the potential knowledge and ramifications that such a discovery could reveal. Yiris questions the shirren as to whether they recognized the exotic language that was displayed in what appeared to be a control room. Chiskisk replies that they are not familiar with it, but a computer analysis of the Starfinder Society's linguistic database indicates that it seems similar to a language once found on a series of ruins on the Castrovel continent of Ukulam. Unfortunately, the database is incomplete, but Chiskisk believes that Nict, Yiris and Bratrizik would find more information if they were to talk to the experts at the Qabarat University of Xenoarchaeology and Xenoanthropology on Castrovel. Chiskisk gives them the contact information to Whaloss, male damaya lashunta doctoral student and a Starfinder Society member. He will orient the party upon their arrival to Castrovel and should be able to connect them with the proper academic professors to help them solve the mystery of the Drift Rock's unknown language.  
Yiris tells Chiskisk about DT43 and that Ambassador Nor will rule in favor of the Hardscrabble Collective. Chiskisk is not surprised at Nor's conclusions.

Bratrizik then asks Chiskisk what else they should know. They reply that the information is potentially compromised, for it was documented by a very unreliable individual, Halkueem Zan, a daredevil explorer with a very healthy ego who reportedly discovered and documented the temple of the Twelve and its surrounding areas, including its strange language about 300 years ago.. Following his exploration of Ukulam, a series of scandals forced the explorer to depart Castrovel in a hurry. The party agrees to pursue this investigation on behalf of the Starfinder Society.


After the Gap - February 27, 317 @ 20:34
 
Preparing the Sunrise Maiden for their trip to Castrovel, Bratrizik downloads a copy of the video of their exploration of the Drift Rock. He also purchases a copy of Halkueem Zan's Pyramid People of Ukulam, a tawdry travelogue that lauds Zan's bravery as much as it describes the culture that built thes sites using ample nonacademic language such as "exotic", "savages," and "time immemorial."

Yiris secures supplies two weeks' worth of food and other general adventuring gear for 700 credits.  Nict goes shopping and purchases a shock grenade II and five smoke grenades for a total of 690 credits.

Taking off from Absalom Station, Nict sets up the autopilot. During the trip Nict and Yiris set up security cameras throughout the ship that can connect to the infosphere and communicate directly with their compads.


After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 5:43

The Sunrise Maiden emerges out of the Drift in range of Castrovel. They are soon contacted by Qabarat's aviation authorities requesting identification. Bratrizik provides them with the Sunrise Maiden's immatriculation as well as their personal information and advises them they are here to meet Whaloss. They are told to land at the city's spaceport, Ship's End, at docking bay 9. 

Following their landing, they are met by a customs official and a guard. After questioning and inspection they are given travel papers allowing them to remain in Qarabat for up to one month. Once cleared of customs, Nict calls Whaloss. The doctoral student just woke up, but he tells the shirren that he will be there in roughly thirty minutes.


After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 6:13

Ponctual, Whaloss shows up at the Spaceport and heartily greets them and welcomes them to Qarabat. The lashunta is happy to show them around the city. Whaloss' old hovercraft is uncomfortable but can fit them all as tour the old lashunta city of Qarabat. They stop for a quick breakfast, then finally  drive to the University. They find parking nearby, then walk to the Department of Xenoanthropology. 

 
After the Gap - March 5, 317 @ 9:46

A crowd of journalists is camped by the department's reception desk, clamoring the attention of the evidently overwhelmed receptionist. The journalists are interested in obtaining a statement from the University regarding a provocative statement made by one of their professors. Seeing the crowd, Whaloss mentions that they might want to come back later. Bratrizik steps in the journalists' midst, and mentions the Drift Rock recently in the news at Absalom Station. A few of the journalists make the connection between the Vesk and the recent broadcast, and begin questioning him about his recent exploits, attracting the attention of the remaining journalists.

With the journalists now distracted, Whaloss is able to secure an appointment with Professor Muhali, a female damaya lashunta and dean of the department.

Meeting Professor Muhali in her spacious office on the 6th floor, the party introduce themselves as adventurers with the Starfinder Society looking for assistance in decyphering an advanced alien language. Muhali confirms she could help them, but now is not a good time as she is dealing with a crisis that could undermine her entire department. Bratrizik inquires whether they can help her with her problem. Muhali confesses that one of her colleagues, Professor Ailabiens 21:2, presented a public lecture last night where he seemed to be advocating that had the entire formian species that occupies one of Castrovel's continent been eliminated during a particularly violent war a thousand years ago, the planet's development would have proceeded quicker and less resources overall would have been wasted. These conclusions, delivered under the argument of pure logic, have been portrayed by some as once again fomenting hate crimes against formians. The University is now being questioned for employing such an incendiary individual. Muhali needs Ailabiens 21:2 to publicly denies he advocates for current genocide and issue an apology for the poor conclusions drawn by his presentation. In the meantime, he's been placed on academic leave and his access to university resources has been restricted.

The party takes the elevator down to the 5th floor, and quickly locate Professor Ailabiens 21:2's messy office. After some highly logical argumentation back and forth between the Professor and Yiris, he agrees that issuing a public apology is better than being deprived of his access to the University's resources, and he agrees to do so provided that Professor Muhali agrees in return to cancelling his suspension, restoring his access, and erase the whole incident from his tenure review file so it will not be held against him. If they are able to obtain these concessions from Muhali, Ailabiens 21:2 will be more than happy to help the party with identifying their alien language.

Returning to Muhali's office, Nict summarizes their encounter with the contemplative and offer his requirements for issuing an apology. After much discussion, Muhali agrees to Ailabiens 21:2's demands.

With his access restored, Ailabiens 21:2 gives Yiris his apology vid. He thanks them for helping him navigate over-emotional behaviors, and agrees to compile information about Zan. He will begin right away, and will have answers for them in eight hours.

They trek once more to the 7th floor, where they deliver the professor's apologies. Professor Muhali thanks them for helping her solve a major public relations problem. She will distribute Ailabiens 21:2's apologies to the journalists still waiting for a statement from the University. Pleased at the results of the party's intervention, she gives them a mk 1 ring of resistance that was intended for an expedition Ailabeans 21:2 was to lead.

With these two issues resolved, the party is now waiting for Ailabeans 21:2's research.