Firstday, Erastus 4, 317 AG

It’s been awhile since I’ve gone on an expedition with the professor. His funding has been drying up at the university. So when he called me with a proposal to join the Starfinder society I was game. Not like I had a lot on Verces worth sticking around for. In fact a trip off that particular planet was looking like a good idea.

I sent my information to the Starfinders and the response was almost immediate. They must be hurting for people. Even paid for the shuttle ticket to Absalom Station. The professor was on the shuttle as well and we spent a pleasant few days catching up. The shuttle was only about half full so we had room to stretch out. I’ve had years to get used to my cybernetic limbs, but damned if it still don’t feel good to stretch them. Logically that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s the truth. The doc and I had a lot to catch up on, like I said, been some time since we’ve gone on an expedition. Most folks on the shuttle kept to themselves, so I didn’t get to know any of the rest of the passengers. As it turned out I should’ve taken some time to do that though.

The documents I got from the Starfinders said we were to meet a fella named Duravor Kreel when we docked at Absalom Station. So when we were disembarking I had my eyes peeled. Been quite a few years since I’ve been on the Station but I remember it being a very busy place. I didn’t want to miss Mr Kreel in the crowds. The picture of him in the Starfinders documents was a good one though and I spotted him right off. Just as I started to point him out to the professor though a gorram firefight broke out. Sons of bitches just started firing at each other right there in the docking bay.

Looking back I probably should have just hunkered down and waited it out. But I saw Kreel get hit and shooting my friends just isn’t something I can abide. I think that’s one of the reasons the professor keeps me around actually. Now I didn’t know Kreel, but he was my contact and so I had him listed squarely in the “Friend” category.

Thanks to some fancy cybernetics that the doc helped me with I’m pretty good and analyzing a situation, and I could see which of them bastards had shot Kreel. Figuring them for the bad guys I pulled out my rifle and got into position to attack. Thought I had the situation all figured, until one of them piss-ants on the other side took a shot at me! I hadn’t even moved on him and he shot at me. Well now both sides of this firefight were on my shit list.

A few of the other people from the shuttle moved up to join the fight too. Seems I’m not the only one to shoot first and think later, heh. There was this one though, an android. She just ran straight out into the middle of the fight. Craziest damned thing I’ve ever seen. Ran right out and over to Kreel. Whoever built her either put in an extra dose of crazy, or some huge titanium cojones. Either way she moved over and looked like she was gonna administer aid to Kreel. It was too late though. He had taken a shot right through the neck.

Once we got to cover doc and I made our move. We started flanking around the group that had taken out Kreel. Made pretty quick work of them too. With one side wiped out the fight might have been over, but I have a strict policy shooting anyone trying to kill me. So I took aim at the bastard that had shot at me earlier. Him and his gang were making for the exit though and I missed my shot.

Grabbed a mostly fresh battery and a couple cred sticks off the guys we did drop before the authorities showed up. Once the questioning started I found out that a few of the other shuttle passengers were also joining up with the Starfinders and were meeting Kreel. Like I said, should have talked to them. If we had formed up as a unit might have been able to take out the three shooters that got away.

Anyway Station security identified the dead gang as part of the Downside Kings, and the ones that got away as the Level 21 Crew. Bunch of dead gang members wasn’t going to worry them much and since we were basically acting in self defense they let us go.

In all there were five of us from the shuttle there to join up with the Starfinders. Me, the professor (Squill), that crazy android (ALEXA), a tough looking human who is not part of the “shoot first, think later” club (JJ), and a fast talking ysoki (Patch).

Patch had grabbed a data tablet off of Kreel and it had a list of all our names and descriptions. Also listed another name, Chiskisk. Some research showed him to be a Starfinder elected to the Forum. Not having any better options we grouped up and headed over to the Lorespire Complex to meet this Chiskisk.

Now I’m starting to think JJ is a little slow and maybe that’s why he didn’t get involved in the shootout. Maybe he needs orders or something before he’ll actually act. I mean the guy said he was from Absalom Station and knew the way to Lorespire, but then headed in exactly the wrong direction. We got all the way to damn near the center of the Eye before we thought to look up directions. After that we got to Lorespire pretty quick.

Once there I think Patch laid down some BS to get us a meeting with Chiskisk. The receptionist didn’t seem to take a liking to him. Worked out though. After a short wait we were escorted up to Chiskisk’s office. We told our tale, just like we told Station security. Chiskisk seems like a pretty sharp shirren. Probably why he’s on the Forum. He looked at the facts and they didn’t quite add up to him. Assigned us to investigate Kreel’s death. Something we said made him think that maybe the whole shootout was actually a hit on Kreel.

Chiskisk didn’t have much in the way of leads, but did hand out a nice wad of credits to each of us as kind of a “welcome to the Starfinders” thing. Then they pointed us towards a decent hotel in the Eye, the Moons of Sleep, and showed us the door.

Now I didn’t join the Starfinders to be a Steward. I had some thinking to do. Needed to figure out if being a Starfinder was worth it. I’d follow the professor anywhere, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t join the Starfinders to investigate a murder either. I was pretty deep in thought the rest of the evening turning this over in my head. Kind of put myself on autopilot and followed the professor around. We ended up in the Moons of Sleep bar. The others did some talking, picking up the lay of the land and such. Even got some info on our boy Kreel and the gangs involved in the shootout.

Turns out Kreel was pretty vocal about miner’s rights. Had a cousin or something that belonged to the Hardscrabble Collective that got killed in an accident. More recently some sort of discovery one of the Hardscrabble ships had made while working for Astral Extractions stirred up a hornet's nest. The ship, the Acreon, had discovered something out in the Drift on their way back home. Then things went sideways. The whole crew disappeared, only leaving their ship and their find. News was calling the thing the “Driftrock”. Both Hardscrabble and Astral laid claim to the Driftrock, but neither could get to it since Station security had it in quarantine. Now the Hardcrabblers had hired the Level 21 Crew to protect their people against anything the Astral Extractions company might do. And rumor was that Astral Extractions had hired the Downside Kings to do some very bad things. Astral Extractions is one of those companies that I can believe those rumors about too. Some shady business going on there, I can tell you from personal experience. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Astral had the Downside Kings off Kreel, one of Harsdscrabble’s more vocal supporters.

Tomorrow we’ll probably head down to the Spike. Downside Kings are using a club called the Fusion Queen as a front, and the Level 21 Crew advertise their hangout right in their name. Hopefully we get this murder investigation wrapped up quick and can get a real Starfinder mission.