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You are summoned to the Lorespire Complex by Historia-7, leader of the Dataphiles faction of the Starfinder Society. She has asked for you to meet her at precisely 1800 hours, and is not known for tolerating early arrivals.
Given that it is ~1750 hours, you have a few minutes to introduce yourselves to one another before you enter for your mission briefing!
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Darkrunner sees that he's the first to arrive at the lobby at Lorespire. He might be just a little bit eager to hear about the mission given that it's coming from his faction leader. However, he's also interested to meet his new team members and see how aligned they are with the goals of the Dataphiles.
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A fierce looking vesk with horns circling the top of her head like a spiked crown stalks into the room. Her scales are a mix of mottled black that never reflects light and bright white that almost seems to glow. She is well muscled and just under seven feet tall. Clearly a warrior. Curiously, the only weapon she seems to bear is a small laser pistol. On her back is a simple backpack, and attached to her belt are a wide array of healing serums. A glowing orb of bright white light orbits her head, following her wherever she goes.
With a wide, reptilian smile, the vesk stalks forward. "Greetings companions! I am Julakesh Starfist, a LEGEND among Starfinders!" Her white scales seem to glow with pride. "The honour is yours!"
Seeing only an android as her companion, she claps him hard on the back. "You look at least half-competent! Wonderful! If you're a quarter as capable as I am we'll be a formidable team!"
Apparently she considers this a compliment.
"I hope this mission will provide us some honour! My last one great fun! Many things tried to kill me, but they could not!"
She lets out a deep belly laugh and places her hands on her hips. "A-HAH! A-HAH! I AM UNKILLABLE! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
"Tell me, have you many fierce battles to speak of? Surely you must have some tales to tell if you have been given the honour of joining my team!"
She waits with a wide smile, clearly waiting to hear some of the androids epic exploits...
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A fierce looking vesk with horns circling the top of her head like a spiked crown stalks into the room. Her scales are a mix of mottled black that never reflects light and bright white that almost seems to glow. She is well muscled and just under seven feet tall. Clearly a warrior. Curiously, the only weapon she seems to bear is a small laser pistol. On her back is a simple backpack, and attached to her belt are a wide array of healing serums. A glowing orb of bright white light orbits her head, following her wherever she goes.
The android is relieved to see another arrival that might help distract him from his anticipation of meeting Historia-7 for only the second time.
With a wide, reptilian smile, the vesk stalks forward. "Greetings companions! I am Julakesh Starfist, a LEGEND among Starfinders!" Her white scales seem to glow with pride. "The honour is yours!"
"Greetings! Yes... this honor is mine..." He trails off, thinking the expression is a little off of what the non-scaly humanoids tend to convey. "I am Darkrunner-42! And the honor is yours as well!" I don't think that's right either, but here we are!
Seeing only an android as her companion, she claps him hard on the back. "You look at least half-competent! Wonderful! If you're a quarter as capable as I am we'll be a formidable team!"
Apparently she considers this a compliment.
"Haha, well! Surely in time we'll demonstrate full or even greater competence to each other! My competencies lie in going unnoticed and subverting computer systems, when those things are desired. I find that when organizations have something to hide, that there tends to be interesting information to be gained. How about you?"
"I hope this mission will provide us some honour! My last one great fun! Many things tried to kill me, but they could not!"
She lets out a deep belly laugh and places her hands on her hips. "A-HAH! A-HAH! I AM UNKILLABLE! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
"Tell me, have you many fierce battles to speak of? Surely you must have some tales to tell if you have been given the honour of joining my team!"
She waits with a wide smile, clearly waiting to hear some of the androids epic exploits...
"Well, as I said I'm more of the sneaky type, but I have had to deal with strange creatures from time to time. I tend to use my skills to try to get them to... look the other way when it best accommodates me. I did have to help build a junkracer once. To be honest, I'm still fairly new to this. I think I have far more tales ahead of me than behind me."
It occurs to him that her persistence presence really does not relent.
"You're quite boisterous and enthusiastic! If I ever keep my distance, don't take it personally. Just assume I'm needing to be sneaky and quieter for the benefit of the group." Hmm, is that the right way to say that to a reptile without imposing offense?
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With a wide, reptilian smile, the vesk stalks forward. "Greetings companions! I am Julakesh Starfist, a LEGEND among Starfinders!" Her white scales seem to glow with pride. "The honour is yours!""Greetings! Yes... this honor is mine..." He trails off, thinking the expression is a little off of what the non-scaly humanoids tend to convey. "I am Darkrunner-42! And the honor is yours as well!" I don't think that's right either, but here we are!
Julakesh laughs loudly. "A-HAH! A-HAH! You are mighty in spirit, if not in form! I like you!"
"Haha, well! Surely in time we'll demonstrate full or even greater competence to each other! My competencies lie in going unnoticed and subverting computer systems, when those things are desired. I find that when organizations have something to hide, that there tends to be interesting information to be gained. How about you?"Seeing only an android as her companion, she claps him hard on the back. "You look at least half-competent! Wonderful! If you're a quarter as capable as I am we'll be a formidable team!"
Apparently she considers this a compliment.
Julakesh scrunches up her face in confusion for a moment, trying to keep up with her new android friend's big words. Finally, she smiles broadly. "YES! THIS IS THE WAY COWARDS FIGHT! I know this, though I don't do it myself! Often are there meek and cowardly Starfinders who join me in battle! I will draw the enemy's fire, and you will hide, until an easy and weak target can be taken down by your guns and little blades! Yes? This will work well!"
She thinks again for a moment, then smiles. "Ah, yes! Puters! I know these! When they make noises I don't like I punch them dead! Many of my fellows do not like this. They caress the puters instead, with fingers and some invisible force called coding. You are one of them, yes? A lover to puters?"
She smiles again, clearly happy to have figured Darkrunner out so quickly!
"I hope this mission will provide us some honour! My last one great fun! Many things tried to kill me, but they could not!"
She lets out a deep belly laugh and places her hands on her hips. "A-HAH! A-HAH! I AM UNKILLABLE! A-HAH! A-HAH!
"Tell me, have you many fierce battles to speak of? Surely you must have some tales to tell if you have been given the honour of joining my team!" she waits with a wide smile, clearly waiting to hear some of the androids epic exploits..."Well, as I said I'm more of the sneaky type, but I have had to deal with strange creatures from time to time. I tend to use my skills to try to get them to... look the other way when it best accommodates me. I did have to help build a junkracer once. To be honest, I'm still fairly new to this. I think I have far more tales ahead of me than behind me."
It occurs to him that her persistence presence really does not relent. :)
"You're quite boisterous and enthusiastic! If I ever keep my distance, don't take it personally. Just assume I'm needing to be sneaky and quieter for the benefit of the group." Hmm, is that the right way to say that to a reptile without imposing offense?
Julakesh smiles. "I have also waged war for the great junkraces! I like it when they explode! A-HAH!" Her scales glow brightly, and the orb orbiting her head picks up speed as she speaks about explosions.
"You are right, Darkrunner-42! You have much time left to earn honour! Unless you die tomorrow! Then you do not."
She smiles proudly, clearly happy to have imparted some great wisdom upon you.
"I can teach you to be a fierce warrior, if you want! You will be pummelled many times, and suffer great wounds. Maybe even have brain problems from me splitting open your head. But in the end you will be at least as great a warrior as a vesk whelp!"
Judging by her happy smile, she considers this a great honour to bestow upon you...
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Darkrunner seg-faults a bit on this assessment of his abilities.
"Well... I wouldn't call it cowardly. There are just different approaches to problems and they aren't all effective in all situations. Sometimes after smashing everything in front of you, you could discover that it might have been simpler to let some of those things, perhaps people, stick around if they can simply be made to not block or oppose you via a different tactic. They could even help you later."
He becomes self-conscious that his explanation is beginning to ramble and he's not sure if it's registering at all as the face in front of his maintains the same big, grinning stare with no discernible change. He backs out and segways, a bit nervously.
"Yes, certainly. I'll learn from you and any of our other teammates anything that I can. Perhaps I can show you how effective the ways of stealth can be, and what computers can do for us in milliseconds that would take a humanoid hours, days, or years. Sooooooooo, I wonder when the others are getting here."
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A Shirren enters the room and seems pleased that some of her companions are already here. She speaks telepathically for most non-insect races find Shirren insectoid chittering to be quite incomprehensible.
Greetings, companions! I'm Ytchkn, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances. She is surprisingly charismatic for a bug.
Julakesh! What an honor it is to have such a powerful and noble warrior on our team. I look forward to aiding you in battle!
Darkrunner-42, regardless of our mission, I'm sure your covertness and knowledge will ensure our success. I look forward to working with you - or staying out of your way - whichever best suites the situation.
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After depositing his backpack with his gear into a personnel locker, Sigma Mu headed off to meet with Historia-7 and his fellow members that would be assigned to whatever task she had planned. Per the guidance of the "So What If I'm an Android, I Can Still Fit In" self help feed from the infosphere, Sigma was wearing his customary formal wear in hopes that it would aid in making a strong first impression on his new compatriots.
He knew his friend Ytchkn would likely be on assignment too as they had spoken yesterday and realized they had received the same summons. She has always done a fantastic job of covering for his inadequacies in social scenarios, specifically the ones that couldn't be readily found in "Zim-X5's Social Simulations" library. He had been working on something during his technomantic studies specifically for her.
He could hear the conversation from outside the room but waited for a natural pause in hopes of not interrupting so as not to be rude. Thanks, "XCLR8's Beginner's Guide to Making Friends." Stepping through the door when the time was suitable, he introduces himself to the Vesk and fellow Android.
"Greetings, I am Sigma Mu. It is pleasing to make your acquaintance," he says while doing his best to sound and look as genuine as he felt but still coming off as robotic and somewhat emotionless.
That all fades for a moment when he regards the shirren. Glad to see his friend, Ytchkn, he pulls a bit of technomantic energy and uses it to broadcast a signal directly to her. "I am happy to see you."
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"Yes, yes, the puters. Caress them to your hearts content, my friend!" Julakesh replies to Darkrunner.
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At the sight of a new companion, Julakesh smiles. Suddenly she stops and scrunches up her face in confusion. ...She gives her head a sudden shake, as if trying to dislodge something caught inside... And again!
Finally she looks at the shirren, smiles widely, and points.
"It is YOU in my head! A-HAH! A-HAH! That is much preferable to insanity!"
She claps Ytchkn hard on the back. "I have fought alongside bugs like you before, but rarely have they put their voice-sounds in my head! It feels as if you are licking my brain with your words! A-HAH!"
Suddenly remembering she was given a well-deserved compliment, Julakesh stands tall and proud. "Greetings, Yitch-chik-kik-in! The honour is yours!"
Julakesh places her hands on her hips and laughs loudly. "A-HAH! A-HAH! I have butchered your name like a whelp does his first kill! A-HAH! No wonder you use the mind-voice on me! Your name is a great challenge! But I WILL NOT BE BESTED!"
"Yichinchin! Yit-chink-kin! Ya-itch-chicken! Bit-chicken! A-HAH! THIS IS VERY HARD!" She laughs some more before finally announcing, "Yitch-kin! A-HAH! DID YOU HEAR? I HAVE TRIUMPHED!"
She pumps her fist in the air as the glowing orb picks up its pace. "VICTORY IS MINE!"
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At the sight of Sigma Mu, Julakesh smiles and moves to clap it on the back next.
"Greetings, I am Sigma Mu. It is pleasing to make your acquaintance,"
"YES! It is!" Julakesh agrees. She points at Sigma Mu, poking him in the chest, then looks at Darkrunner and Ytchkn, telling them: "This one is wise!"
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A young human in her early twenties with bright red hair also comes in for the briefing a bit early. Her flightsuit is unzipped to her waist with the arms tied there like a makeshift belt below her crop top. The suit, top, and her whole upper body are covered in little smudge marks here and there like she just got done working on an engine. She has her comm unit in one hand and is almost absentmindedly scrolling through the infosphere on it while she walks in.
Upon seeing the others "Oh hey there! I'm Kaylee! I love ships and vehicles and engines...and well ships most of all. I can build 'em, repair 'em, write code for 'em, or fly them too if you need me to!"
And then seeing Julakesh! "JULAKESH!!" She seems like she's about to *literally* jump in the air but restrains herself (for about 5 seconds) as she adds
After that she just grins and gives the mighty vesk a big hug.
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Julakesh smiles broadly and returns Kaylee's hug. Then she places her hands on her hips and announces loudly in Vesk:
With her hands still on her hips, Julakesh lets out a few deep belly laughs. "A-HAH! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
The she exclaims to her fellows, "This is a good team! Our enemies will tremble before us!"
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Kima closes up the locker that she was assigned in Lorespire Complex after stowing the obviously looking gold and blue key emblazoned briefcase. The pale skinned lashunta finishes clipping on various belts, and devices, data pad, hardened protective vials, and the long professional jacket over top of it all before walking in to meet the others. Pushing the silver hair out of the way before slipping the com unit into one ear, that almost blends in with the light blue markings on her face.
She blinks a bit in surprise as she notices some familiar faces from previous trips. Her antennae pointing up in a slight bit of surprise as she tucks in the intricate gold key looking device into the pocket of one of the form fitting gloves.
"Being sent back to the races again?" Her dark purple lips smirk amused at the possibility.
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The efficient hum of machinery fills the Archive’s Cortex as the doors slide open - the time reading precisely 1800 hours. Projected images and text flit across multiple screens positioned around a raised swivel chair occupied by Historia-7, leader of the Dataphiles. Historia-7 swipes a finger to clear the feed and speaks without preamble.
“My sources indicate that you are the most efficient and capable team the Starfinder Society currently has for my mission. I sincerely hope you do not prove this claim erroneous. I recently detected a discrepancy in the Society’s data logs. As you may be aware, my primary objective has been decoding information regarding the Scoured Stars incident. Before the incident, my predecessor, Historia-6, and other Society members extensively investigated several corporations as well as the Scoured Stars system. Much of their knowledge was lost to us. A recent ally, a skilled hacker named Ceren, uncovered multiple data links from what remains of my predecessor’s research leading back to a corporation known as the Arch Energy Consortium."
"When I compared these findings to our records, I found no mention of this corporation, and all data related to Arch Energy Consortium was somehow deleted from our records. My worst-case scenario is being realized: our data has been tampered with.”
Historia-7 unhooks the neural cables from her neck and massages the attachment sites for a moment, letting that revelation sink in. “I require additional information about this corporation. Arch Energy’s CEO, Ilia Tamm, has enough security resources...and paranoia...at her disposal to make a direct infiltration inadvisable. The weak link in this proverbial firewall is her son, Envar Tamm. His proclivities make him very suggestible, and I hypothesize that resourceful individuals could convince him to provide the information I seek.
“Envar routinely attends gladiatorial fights on Arch Energy’s corporate space station, Brilliance. It will take you some time to reach Brilliance from here. During your journey, I want you to create false identities. Meanwhile, I’ll make sure that you’re entered into one of these gladiatorial matches as contestants. From there, you’ll need to get Envar to grant you access to his mother’s computer records. Acquire any data related to the corporation’s board of directors. Above all, this mission demands subtlety, as Envar has quite the media presence.”
The android types in a few commands to the terminal in front of her. "A Pegasus- or Drake-class starship will be made ready for you in less than 30 standard minutes with its registry information altered to aid in your cover story. I advise you to make all subsequent decisions prior to your arrival at Brilliance station carefully to avoid discovery. Before you are dismissed, I will answer any pertinent questions you may have."
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Julakesh strides into Historia's office with a proud smile.
"Greetings again, Historia-7! The honour is yours!"
As Historia talks, Julakesh scrunches up her face in confusion.
Erronoro-what? Disc-remp-ers-- Pretty Sesser? Ah, this Six must have been desirable! I understand! And yet the woman still talks.... Hmmm... Exten-corpers..?
Suddenly she smiles broadly. "A-HAH! CEREN! I KNOW THIS PERSON!" Julakesh leans over and looks at Darkrunner. "She is a lover to puters! You must know her, yes? Perhaps you can caress them together!"
As Historia keeps talking, Julakesh's face scrunches up in confusion again.
In-a-viser? Pruv-erb-yell? Pruck-liv... High pothers? BAH! I do not know this woman's words!
Suddenly she smiles brightly! The orb round her head picks up speed, zipping around its orbit in a blur.
"GLADIATORIAL! I KNOW THIS WORD!" she looks quite proud. "YES! I will be great at this! I enjoy killing things for fun and for glory!" She places her hands on her hips and laughs heartily. "A-HAH! A-HAH! Whatever you have just said, I ACCEPT! THIS MISSION WILL BE GREAT FUN!"
Apparently, Julakesh has no questions...
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Kaylee starts giggling the moment Julakesh greets Historia-7.
and then bursts into loud laughter uncontrollably when the vesk interjects about caressing "puters"!
She's able to contain herself after getting that out of her system especially when the briefing mentions something that excites her...ships!!
"Any recommendations on which ship might be better?"
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As Historia-7 describes the mission parameters Darkrunner's face lights up. He turns to Julakesh.
"Yes, this is my kind of mission. Julakesh, you will help us in crushing the things, and I'll... caress the puters. Rather I'll show you what it means to be sneaky."
He turns back to Historia-7. "Historia-7, it's an honor to be working for you again. How does an entry in the gladiatorial arena get us access to Envar? Does he fraternize with the fighters?"
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Historia-7 nods, possibly thankfully, to Darkrunner and Kima for being present at this briefing, while doing a very good job at keeping a straight face during Julakesh's exuberant replies.
To Kaylee: "Your verk team-mate is technically correct, so if you expect that you will need to 'shoot your way out' of the area, a Drake-class frame may be more suitable. A Pegasus-class frame is faster, more widely used by non-military personnel, and thus less likely to draw attention when you approach Mataras and Brilliance station."
To Darkrunner: “My research led me to discover that Envar has an addiction to transdimensional pesh, and while he’s impaired he may be highly suggestible. He is reportedly enamored of gladiators and likes to 'be seen' in their company, so arriving on-station and winning a gladiatorial bout should provide you with access to Envar. Additionally, Arch Energy PR constantly edits his info feed, suggesting he may already be prone to leaking sensitive information to the infosphere. This is an unenviable task, and I fully intend to ensure that Envar receives the help he needs...after we get our data.” (Was that a very slight, sly smile after that last?)
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Sigma Mu nods, listening to those in the room. He was perplexed by Kaylee's laughter. Was it at Julakesh? Historia-7? Was there a joke he had missed. He wasn't sure at all. What he did know was that Julakesh may need assistance with the common language as Vesk was probably her first. Perhaps he could assist her during their time on the ship. He had spent many days after his activation watching children's streams and programming as an introduction to proper social interactions. Aside from segments on sharing and being polite, there were always segments on new words. Absentmindedly, he began to search the infosphere for CSL (common as a second language) programs.
At the mention of the ship, he nods his agreement. "Seeing as we are not on an observatory mission, I like the notion of utilizing the Drake. We are presenting ourselves as gladiators which I imagine are a brash sort fond of weapons. If anything it should serve to make our charade all the more convincing."
As he finishes his statement, Sigma Mu quickly opens a notes entry in his comm device. Titling it "Potential Words of the Day for Julakesh," he enters in "charade."
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Kima listens intently to Historia-7’s information seemingly fading into the background in the more charasmic faction leader. ”It would seem the Drake would give the best ‘perception’ of fighter types. The challenge for those of us that are not the more physical types. There are many types of Gladatorial combat, so we have information on what types are common and gather the most attention on Brillance that we can make sure that we sign up for to gather the attention of our dilettante?”
”Are we aware of his specific proclivities other than his additions? Any specific races, genders or appearances that would catch his attention more than others?”
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Ytchkn nods in agreement with Kima. Yes, we should do our best to find a gladiatorial combat would fit our groups unique set of skills before we are signed up. Hopefully a group trial as opposed to individual... She says with a hint of uneasiness in her voice. While Ytchkn can certainly spar with words, physical combat is not her strength.
It also may be useful to find unedited screen-grabs of Envar's data feed. Perhaps there is insight to be gained in the information that was changed by Arch Energy PR.
Ytchkn appears to be thinking aloud at this point and doesn't pose any direct questions to Historia-7.
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"I agree Yitch-Kin. However I suspect some of us could pass off as "managers" or other representation of those who are more comfortable fighting. I'm guessing Julakesh wants to sit out of the battle and learn all about puters. She sounds really interested!"
After his pitiful giggling at his own, flat android joke subsides...
"It appears we're ready to head out and finish forming our identity plan on the trip! Historia-7, we won't let you down!"
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Julakesh suddenly turns on Darkrunner with a look of shock.
"I? WHAT?!" she sputters. "SIT OUT A BATTLE?? NEVER! I WOULD RATHER--"
As Darkrunner giggles, she scrunches up her face in confusion.
After a few moments she breaks out in a deep belly laugh.
"A-HAH! A-HAH! YOU ARE JOKING!" she exclaims. "I see! It is funny, because I would rather die than face the dishonour of sitting out a battle! You amuse me! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
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"I think we will be dependent on how Brilliance runs things, but indeed I cannot see people not having 'managers' it would also be an interesting cover that we need to set up. Do we know of other gladiatorial ships or outposts that we could be transferring over from? The competition got too soft so we need new challenges?"
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Historia-7 punches in a few commands on her console. "A Drake-class starship frame will be ready for your team in 30 minutes."
Then, in response to Kima: "Most fights broadcast to the infosphere pit teams of gladiators against exotic beasts. Akitonian-style gladiator-on-gladiator combat is virtually unheard of from Brilliance station's arena, perhaps so that employees do not get any untoward ideas towards their fellows...or employers. Insofar as transfer points, your registry information will have you departing from Absalom Station, as this is a regular stop-over point for vessels of all kinds from all over the Vast. I must now attend to further tracking activities. Please see to your ship and mission. Good hunting."
After the pleasant (yet curt) dismissal, you have a little bit of time to ask around or see if you recall anything about Envar Tamm.
Envar owes his position within the company entirely to nepotism, and while he has an elevated level of security clearance and a matching salary, his mother employs a host of assistants to limit his influence on the corporation—and her bank account. On Brilliance, however, Envar usually travels unsupervised. Ilia Tamm and her public-relations team try to cover up Envar’s addiction to transdimensional pesh, but leaked videos of Envar’s drug-fueled antics occasionally slip through the cracks. One of the more popular videos depicts Envar nearly crashing a solar yacht in an attempt to impress the shirren icon Magisterial Chef Ghornak Ryzcech during his visit to Brilliance.
Envar owes a substantial amount of credits to the ysoki gangster Razor, the leader of a crime organization funded largely by the drug trade. Razor is known for her brutal methods of extracting credits from those reluctant to pay. Razor often uses gladiatorial matches to recruit hired muscle, and your information confirms that she plans to attend the upcoming matches on Brilliance. She apparently intends to collect Envar’s debt after the fight.
(I will post the next part - the flight to Brilliance and your "gladiator identity crafting" tomorrow evening!)
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Julavar looks thoroughly confused by all the talk going on around her.
Finally she smiles. "Exotic beasts! YES! THIS WILL BE GREAT FUN!" The thumps her chest in excitement then strides off to prepare for the trip.
As she strides through the station she randomly points at smart looking strangers, and those who seem to be caressing their comm units with interest.
"You! Tell me what you know of Envar Tamm! I aim to befriend him!"
Surprisingly, everyone seems to respond well to Julakesh's pronouncements, and they share an absurd amount of information with her.
When they eventually rejoin the group, Julakesh tells everyone. "I have heard much of our foe who we are to befriend! You should fear not, for I am great at making friends! I am also great at killing things, so this will be easy!"
"They say he is an only child! His mother must be weak and sickly to only bare one whelp. He is famous, and uses his money and contacts to stay that way. He must have no talents to speak of!" She bursts out laughing, finding this quite funny. "He is stupid! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
When her laughter dies down, she continues. "He works at a company that makes solar batteries. It has is called the Arch Energy Konsorbyday, and he has a boring job which I cared not to remember."
"He is easily bored of his boring job. This is why se seeks to make exciting friends! He likes exotic beasts, famous people and fierce warriors! He will like me much, just as everyone does!" She thumps her chest in pride. "THIS WILL BE EASY!"
"He has a high security clearance, and is addicted to drugs. He is a fool! Sometimes you can see it on the puters! A lady with lots of makeup showed me a video on her puter, where he tried to kiss a space-gorilla. But he could not tell it's face from it's ass, and so he kissed it's bum! A-HAH! A-HAH! A-HAH! THIS IS FUNNY! A-HAH! A-HAH! A-HAH! HE IS STUPID! A-HAH!"
Eventually she stops laughing and wipes a tear from her eyes. "This man amuses me! He makes my eyes drip with joy-tears! A-HAH! Also, he nearly crashed a yacht into the sun trying to impress someone with a long and boring name, but that one was not so funny."
"I have also learned he owes lots of credits to a ysoki gang leader called Razor, who deals in these stupid drugs Envar enjoys so much. Razor is a fierce opponent, and is very violent in trying to get her credits back. She likes to hire gladiators to beat and hurt people for her. I would enjoy her company! A young boy told me that on the gossip sites it says that Razor will try to collect his debts after this next fight! This boy was very wise! Razor will try to break Envar's bones, and then I can break her bones instead! THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN!"
Julakesh bursts out laughing again.
"Come! Let us leave on the Drake! I desire to shoot something and return to my place in the stars!"
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I'm impressed, Julavar! I discovered much the same information you did. I believe we can certainly use this against him.
Addressing the rest of the team, Perhaps we can the Razor situation to gain an advantage over Envar. Offering temporary protection from the her could loosen his lips... especially if he's high.
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Darkrunner listens to Julakesh's report, mostly considering the facts thoughtfully and letting the humor fall away for now. He continues to build more points of planning on this new info.
"Good job, Julakesh. Perhaps we could offer to take care of the Razor problem for him in exchange for access to the desired information. Protection before, and help with treating his addiction after makes a nice "favor sandwich". In the middle, of course, is what we want."
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Sigma Mu hangs back, absorbing Julakesh's story. It is clear to him that while her grasp of the common language is tenuous, it certainly doesn't prevent her from getting the job done as evidenced by Ytchkn's validation of the information. Perhaps she wouldn't need much of his help after all.
Seeing how his companions were constructing a reasonable plan of attack, Sigma Mu took this time to begin reviewing the Drake's specifications. It had been some time since his last opportunity to pilot one had presented itself and he had hopes of doing it again.
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"This does then bring up the obvious question of what each of our identity's should be to gather the correct impressions. It seems with his money issues, we might be able to not just be gladiators but also others who can give things he wants, drugs perhaps not, and he may not want to be 'recovered' but fame and money are things that could be pointed in his direction at least temporarily." Kima notes.
"If perhaps our 'puter petters may be able to work on something in that angle. That they could either cause the appearance of credits, or even something that would be potentially seen as valuable in credits." Kima mentions trying not to giggle. "That of course would need access to a larger database than what is on Brilliance to be able to launch, which would then possibly open up the systems we need."
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Once on board your Drake-class ship, it will take you days to travel from Absalom Station to Brilliance Station in normal space (or 2 fewer days via the Drift), which is in a broad orbit around the Pact World system's sun.
Upon departure, a holorecording from Historia-7 reminds you to spend your transit time working on obscuring your identities.
Crafting false identities: You may each attempt ONE* of the following -
- A computers check using a base "gladiator profile" file Historia-7 has already placed on the ship's databank for you to start from.
- A disguise check to alter your appearance to match one of the slightly more complete "profiles" provided by Historia-7.
- * You can make this check for one of your teammates, but you take a cumulative -2 penalty for each check after the first.
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Julakesh laughs at the others.
"A real warrior needs only herself to triumph!"
Julakesh bares her arms, smears a bit of deep red makeup she discovered in Darkrunner's bags across her arms and face to make a fierce display. Then looks at herself in the mirror. "There! I am a gladiator! A-HAH! A-HAH! I HAVE TRIUMPHED! GLORY TO MY ANCESTORS!"
Unfortunately, she only looks moderately like any of the pictures in the database...
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A disguise check to alter your appearance to match one of the slightly more complete "profiles" provided by Historia-7.
Game-mechanics-wise, you can choose to use either computers or disguise to create a false ID. I threw in "profiles" from Historia-7 as an in-game "base file" to work from ().
Things you post as part of the checks might provide modifiers (since I'm a big fan of RP influencing the dice as well as the rolls themselves). I hope that helps.
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Darkrunner accesses the infosphere and starts to research what licensing or credentials a gladiator's "manager" would typically have. Additionally, is there a common cultural aesthetic that they take on? ("Gold chains, a fedora!?? No, this can't be right...") Do they involve themselves in the matches in some flashy way? ("Clearly they're too dainty for this, seeing the costume.") Or are they all straight business and behind-the-scenes... ("Not quite it seems, but I suspect there will be some business to be on top of.")
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Your flight to Brilliance station is quite pleasant, and approaching, your ship is hailed and given authorization to dock with the station floating serenely in space.
Once docked, a female korasha lashunta customs officer takes a look at your identification upon arrival.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she hands your IDs back and gives you an almost sympathetic chuckle. "So, the team that was supposed fight ahead of you got held up with customs on Eox and haven't shown up yet, so your team is getting bumped up to fight next...in five minutes!"
She punches something into her console and another lashunta guard comes out from a locked door, smiling and waving to you. "Locker room's this way gang, follow me."
You are hurried through the underbelly of the arena-level of the station and allowed to quickly don your armor and ready your weapons, and then ushered into a gate.
The nearby sun blazes against a backdrop of inky space through the transparent ceiling of the arena. The glare obscures the faces of the roaring crowd crammed into bleachers towering above the floor. Overhead, six suspended holoscreens loop images of the arena. Four 30-foot tall metal pillars rise like jagged teeth from the bloodstained arena floor, and an announcer’s voice booms, “Are you ready for some carnage?” The crowd echoes the refrain as the silver metal door to the east grinds open.
The crowd roars with excitement as you enter, and from behind you your escort whispers, "They're having some trouble getting the cage set up at the other entrance. You've got a few seconds to work the crowd up a bit!"
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Julakesh roars with glee and throws her fist in the air.
"YES! SHOW ME WHOSE FACE TO SMASH AND I WILL CRUSH THEM!"
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As the announcer's voice booms over the loudspeakers, Julakesh flexes in the middle of the ring. "YES! BRING ON THE BEASTS AND I WILL BRING ON THE CARNAGE!"
Pounding her chest she bellows, "I am VESK!! I am PROUD!! I... AM... WARRIOR!!!"
Just kicks the bloody sand and bangs her fists against her chest. The orb around her head spins rapidly with excitement. "UPON THIS SAND I WILL RIP! I WILL TEAR! I WILL SPILL BLOOD FOR YOU! ARE YOU READY??"
After hearing the roar of the crowd, she yells it again, even louder. "ARE YOU READY??"
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Kaylee swiftly gets into her armor even as she sighs a little bit at herself for having such a vanilla color scheme on it. Once inside she gets pumped up herself by Julakesh and Ytchkn! She follows behind them and waves blowing kisses and trying to look as fabulous and hot as possible in her second skin!
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Sigma Mu stands awkwardly by, near motionless except for his awkward walk up to the line. He closes his eyes for a brief moment reaching out to the technomantic energy that thrums throughout the space station and his own body. He takes stock, orders, and compartmentalizes this resource. Slowly, yet decisively, he reaches down to his holster, unsnaps the strap, and draws his laser pistol, ready to do battle.
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Darkrunner suddenly gets a deer-in-the-headlights look that, instead of "running his clients" he's being thrust out into the arena. He quickly drops his gold chains, fedora, and stylish trench coat at the entrance to get more battle-ready.
He steps up between Kaylee and Yitch-Kin, draws his laser pistol in one hand, and readies his trusty datapad in the other.
He's mostly ignoring the fanfare, but then notices its affect within the team. He turns to Kaylee. "Wow, you're really getting into this. I'm pretty sure you're not going to be slacking off!" He smiles and turns his attention towards where an opponent will presumably surface.