DM Salsa Presents: The Black Velvet Blues (Inactive)

Game Master AdamWarnock

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After the Omnicron 3 job, it had become apparent that the Sweet Doomed Angel was in need of some more hands, preferably hands that could hold guns. Save for a minor hiccup and picking up an extra passenger in the form of Valerie Hills, the pickup had gone as smoothly as could have been hoped for.

The drop off was another story. The client wasn't keen on paying the high price of your services, and the mafiosa was rather desperate for the crystals. How the three of you managed to escape with half your pay, much less your lives, isn't quite clear, though explosions and gorillas featured prominently in the adrenaline fueled blur of your escape.

So, whether for riches, knowledge, or just looking to lie low, four others joined the intrepid crew of the Sweet Doomed Angel, and Valerie, ever the Opportunist had managed to line up a rather cushy contract for a simple job.

===

"Thank you for meeting me today," the man in a sharp, black suit says as all of the crew of the Sweet Doomed Angel take their seats in the luxurious chairs and sofa arranged around the room. "My employer is most grateful for your help in this matter. As you may be aware, there has been a recent weapons import ban in this system. What has made my master upset is that this ban, along with a recent addition of Garaxian Ghost Chilies to the biological weapons list, has cut off the local supply of his favorite delicacy," the man explains before taking a sip of his tea.

"The job is simple, Fly to the Garaxia system, pick up a shipment of the chilies, and bring them to Alta Station here in Farx. Any questions?"

The palatial room grows silent except for the sonic sculpture in the far corner of the room and the subsonic hum of well-maintained ventilation equipment.

And we're live, finally! Sorry for the delay.

Sirus scoffs. His dusty boots are propped up on the table and his Going Out Hat's wide brim is pulled low.
Were not talking a simple job. That weapons ban means extra eyes. Especially on a scout like ours. I'll have to set up a self contained ventilation system too. Those little peppers pack a punch if they get into the scrubbers. Heard of that happening once. He ticks symptoms off on his fingers, Two went nose-blind almost instantly. One man was looking at the vent, poor sod. His eyes nearly melted. The rest of the crew was some mixture of uncontrollable crying, hives, and bloody snots for a month.

I remember experimenting with those before. Nearly blew someone's nose off. Dr Newgen looks like he's reminiscing on something. Good times. Gooooooood times.

"Nothing you can't throw together, Sirus," Val grins at the mechanic from her seat on the sofa. She doesn't so much sit on it as in it, lounging easily against the arm, one leg crossed over the other. "Those little hiccups aside, it sure sounds straight-forward. We have a contact there, or are we expected to just pick them up on the open market?"

Anton smiled as the two professionals somehow managed to still talk shop, while Valerie, as always, cut straight to the point. It's a good crew.
Still, there are more questions to be asked.

"Now that is a mighty fair soundin' deal, sir, if I do say so myself. Ain't that a fair deal guys? That do sound like a fair deal. There are just a few minor data-points what may need to be cleared up upon.
Firstly, like Val just said, there any special circumstances in Garaxia what we aughta know 'bout?
Second, an' most important, what's the security around Alta Station gonna look like? Let's not lose sight o' th' point that we will be haulin' contraband. Spicy, delicious contraband, but naughty stuff all th' same. Are we talkin' about a few sleepy local cops who'll let us by with a wink an' some important-looking papers, or we talking about a large population of highly-motivated -federal- units? Because if we are, well, that will mean money. More.

Lastly, so long as we're bringing in contraband, do want any actual weapons smuggled in? I mean, we do live to please the customer, and since we'd already be oot an' aboot...?"

Sometimes Anton wishes he were most subtle. And sometimes he doesn't.

Noreen casually leaned against a nearby wall, arms folded across her chest as they listened to the job proposal. "Garaxian Ghost Chilies?" she shuddered. "Once saw a guy try a little of the ground form in his soup on a dare. Trust me, if you think bloody snots for a month is bad, you don't wanna know what the other end looked like." She shakes her head. "What sort of payment are we looking at for doing this?"

The Doctor chimes in behind Noreen, Ooooh, money's good. We also take Rare commodities if you have any of those.

I have a list if you want it. Sirus adds.

"Does he want more weapons? Is he going to eat those as well? Oh, if he likes eating biological hazards there's a lot of things we could get him!" Aurora pulls out her hand terminal and starts typing away. "I'll start making a list. It'll be really helpful! Oh, and I can make papers for wherever we're going."

"Let's wait 'til we have some answers before we go making any more arrangements, right, Ora?" Valerie says smoothly, trying to cut off the strange woman before she can get too carried away. "Don't go thinking we can sell him Zenfyrian cheese or anything. We're just talking chilies at this point." She shifts a little in her seat and adjusts her collar. Coming aboard the Angel with nothing more than the contents of her pockets and the clothes on her back (which had considerably more bullet holes now than when she'd purchased them) had required a certain amount of pilfering and improvised wardrobe alterations. In short, she'd pinched clothes from the Captain and tried to make them look semi-flattering. Some were easier than others.

"As for payment, how about we begin with the cost of a self-contained ventilation system and then start adding on the cost of fuel, our time, and the danger involved?" she suggests, counting off on her fingers. She leaves the fact that Sirus could probably set up said system with nothing more than three rolls of duct tape, some PVC pipe, and a pedestal fan out of the equation.

Yay, we have everybody.

The man looks as if someone had hit him between teh eyes with a spanner for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "No, no, no. We just need the chilies. My employer isn't about to start a revolt or anything so gauche as that. As for payment, it will be in cash, how does triple your normal fee sound, plus any out of pocket expenses, of course. We've made all the arrangements in Garaxia, so all you need to do is show up saying you are there to pick up a shipment for Mr. Anthur Zuckerman III and you should be directed to the pick up point. The containers will be hermetically sealed, so as long as you don't pop the seal, you should have nothing to worry about. Of course, there will be other foodstuffs loaded into the bay as well in similar containers, in case of an inspection. As for the security of Alta Station, they tend to be lax, and I'm sure that, ah, some palms can be greased with some credits, hmm? If there's nothing else, I would like to invite you all to dine with my employer before you depart. He would very much like to meet all of you. You, of course, have time to do a little shopping if you wish."

Okay, to sum up:
-The chilies are in airtight containers.
-You'll be transporting other foodstuffs, which the chili containers will be mixed in with.
-Your pick up at Garaxia has already been arranged.
-Alta Station's security is on the lax side and you can probably bribe them to ignore you.
-Your payment is three times you usual fee, plus expenses.
-You have been invited to dine with your employer for this job, one Anthur Zuckerman III. This is optional if you wish (Though personally, I hope you do take it. :D )

"Well, that all sounds pretty good..." Noreen begins, then quickly stops and shoots an embarrassed look at the others. "But it's down to what the others think, especially the Captain." She wasn't really much of a businesswoman - that's why they had Val along - but triple the usual pay with most of the other potential wrinkles already smoothed out? It seemed pretty good to her. Not to mention the offer of a (hopefully free) meal would spare her at least one evening of listening to the others grumble about her cooking.

Silas looks over to the Captain. It was his decision in the end.

Anton mused the deal. If everything was as the employer said it was (and that never happened) then it was a good call. A smooth pickup and a drop they should be able to handle. And three times the fare to boot! Of course, it was the offer of triple fare that made him wary. Why so much just to flavor his meat? So, he's probably using them for an -alternative- purpose...but he declined the weapons. (For truth, Anton had no idea who was selling weapons right now. That was just bait and he declined it. Well, -someone- was always selling weapons.)
In truth, he wanted to walk away. That much money for a job that looked this small smelled of a trap. There were hundreds of legit, dependable carriers that could pick up crates and drop them off, so why hire independent?
But they needed the work. And the money. So where does that leave us?

He shot Val a look. Normally he'd take her off the leash and let her up-sale the client. But it'd be hard to jack up three-times rate without something more concrete. And there were all the new people to think about. It wouldn't do to have a client walk away because they shot for four-times.

He skipped another beat in case Val wanted to jump in, and finally said, "Well, you've got an honest face. Normally there's be a standard three day delay for us to verify your data collation, but seein' as how our gracious employer is inviting us to a decent spread, I don't see any problem in just going on and waving that. We'll just have our usual arrangement of half now, half upon delivery and we'd be honored to join you and yours in breaking some honest bread."

He smiles and shakes the man's hand, hoping that he won't live to regret it.
Erm, ah, regret it, period. Just, with the living, and not the regretting.

"Most Excellent! Please meet me at the same place you arrived at for our meeting at, say 1900 local time. I'll be there to escort you to where we will dine," the man says as he claps his hands together. You are all escorted out of the room and left to your own devices for the next several hours. A fancy dinner likely requires fancy clothes, but fortunately, you are in the ritzier part of the Farxian Trade Center Installation 1-A. THere are several clothing shops about, it shouldn't be too hard to find some new fancy threads.

Okay, since Paizo doesn't have Fate Dice, we'll need to do a little fancy footwork. In fate, you roll four fate dice (d6's with two +'s, two -'s, and two blanks) and add the +'s and subtract the -'s to get your roll. Then you add the relevant skill to get your result.

So, to roll here on the Paizo boards, we'll be doing a little bit of trickery. Each Fate dice can be represented by rolling 1d3-2, to get 4 just roll 4d3-8, then add the relevant skill modifier. In this case you'll be rolling Resources. All skills default to +0 so if you don't have it in your pyramid, just roll 4d3-8. Your result is going to determine what you find, and how nice it is. I can describe it if you want, or you can. IF you get a +4 on the dice, for example, you found something really nice. If you get a -4, however, you find something way, way out of fashion.

Also, you don't have to use Resources. If you can justify using another skill to acquire a fancy outfit for dinner, you may use it instead. You can also use an aspect to gain a +2 on the roll if you can justify it as well. However, some of you might have a little trouble. :)

Sirus does a lot of grumbling when he discovers just how fancy this dinner will be. He wanders the shops and pays more attention to the structures than the clothes.
resources: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (1, 3, 3, 1) - 8 + 1 = 1
So would a 1 be something that is at least not offensive and fits well but won't turn heads?

4d3 - 8 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 3) - 8 = 2

@Anton: Yep. You certainly may.

@Sirus: Yes. Would you like to describe the outfit or would you prefer I did it?

Go for it. So I have a benchmark.

Resources: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 1) - 8 = -2 Is it possible to make a fashion statement in the complete opposite direction?

Noreen sighed to herself as they were dismissed, presumably to go round up proper dinner attire. "Don't see why our regular clothes won't do as long as we're all clean and presentable," she grumbled to herself as she absently picked through the different wares available. Unfortunately, fashion never had been one of her strong points; that realm belonged to her brother Allen, who had somehow been gifted with an uncanny understanding of cut and color and which ones would look the best on a person.

Wish you were here now, Al. I have no idea where to begin...

If that works, maybe Noreen will manage to avoid looking like a clown. If it doesn't, well...enjoy the clownsuit, my friends! :3

Teamwork: Every assisting participant who has at least an Average (+1) in the same skill adds a +1 to the person’s skill level. =)

Heh, this should be fun. Going to give the others a chance to post.

Investigate: 4d3 - 8 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 3) - 8 + 3 = 3

A dinner! That sounds very exciting! Aurora deletes her list of ‘Possible Edible Biological Weapons and replaces it with Note to self: Check food for biological hazards.

She follows the group out of the meeting but then splits off on her own. She needs better clothes; it’s a fancy party, plus people already find her clothes odd. That woman told her it looked “like someone vomited the rainbow on you”. Rude, and highly scientifically inaccurate. But comments like that mean she needs help dressing for tonight’s dinner. ”A neighborhood like this must have a business that helps clients with dress and appearance. It’s just a matter of tracking it down.”

Aurora searches through advertisements and reviews until she finds a likely shop. She bounds inside and turns herself over to the staff.

Valerie catches Anton's eye and shakes her head slightly. Triple rate was damn good, after all, and

Rapport: 4d3 - 8 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 3, 2) - 8 + 3 = 2

Seeing the others split off, Valerie does the same. Part of her wants to keep an eye on Aurora (the other woman's antics were always amusing to watch), but she seemed to be poring over advertisements and reviews. It would be a shame to see her change into something less colourful; it certainly added a splash of brightness to the days out in the Black.

Finding a women's boutique with a male attendant was a challenge, but after a quick adjustment of her hair, she struts in, looking around and feigning interest in the skirts. "Too short... too long... urgh, not with these hips..." she mutters, flipping a few locks of hair back over a shoulder in annoyance. She can feel the mark approaching with the doggedly polite air of any retail assistant, and smiles to herself. This will be too easy...

Resources: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (2, 2, 3, 3) - 8 = 2+1=3

Back in his university days Dr. Newgen was no stranger to meetings with the dean where he must look his best, tenure doesn't earn itself of course. He goes through the old routine of combing his messy hair, whitening his teeth, etc before putting on his tuxedo he keeps for just these occasions. After getting it cleaned he goes and buys his secret weapon, a concotion of peppermint and pheromones from the Grendulien Fly Trap that smelled utterly divine even on Dr. Newgen's workaholic form. It's not a cheap cologne, but for triple the pay the good Docter decided he had to look and smell his best.

Sirus stays near the others, but strikes out on his own for the shopping part. He obtains a nice suit that would do, if only barely. It happened to be made of a heat resistant poly-alloy that would do nicely to repair the leaking thermal duct in the aft ventral thermal exchange assembly, but that was pure coincidence. The suit was black and silver with a matte finish that kept the sparkle down. Everything would be great as long as he managed to keep his grease stained and scarred hands from scrutiny.

Clothes shopping: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 3) - 8 = 1

Tavid is surprised his tailored suit doesn’t fit as well as it did years ago before prison. Has it really been that long since I wore it? No, I wore it for that interview. That job I didn’t get. Still the suit wasn’t as tight then as it is now.

Before leaving the ship, he starts the computer plotting a main route for the journey, with an alternate route. Just in case.

He searches the smaller stores, finding a jacket that resembled the storm clouds of a local gas giant. He bought that and a pair of black pants that were specially woven to reflect less light than normal fabrics. Finally he decided to get a haircut.

All of you manage to find an appropriate outfit to wear for the fancy dinner you've been invited to.

Some of you manage to find a couple of other things as well.

Both Anton and Val got some call codes from the help at the shops they visited. You both get a free invoke of the Hey! Baby! I was just think about you... aspect to get some minor help while on this station. (Anyone have any names?)

Shortly before seven in the evening, local time, all of you are gathered in the appointed place and escorted in by the man you met earlier in the day. You are all seated at a rather luxurious table glittering with gold, silver and crystal. At the head of the table is a young man in his earlier twenties.

"Welcome, friends," he says graciously as he stands and throws his arms wide, "Please, be seated! I am so happy that you accepted my invitation to dine with me this evening. May I interest you in anything before we begin the meal? Wine? Drinks? Appetizers?"

So, anyone partaking of anything alcoholic?

Dr. Newgen nods in welcome, sits down and then takes a sip of something sparkly. There will be a lot more "sipping" in the future of this conversation.

Sirus let's the captain talk. He sits and takes a water. He stopped drinking years ago.

(Anyone have any names?)

((Her name is Jennifer. She only got this job after her boyfriend of two years left her for someone new and kicked her out of his lavish apartment. She's been there six months, but it's so boring she's considering going back to school. She actually has a masters in business, but nobody will hire her as a supervisor because she lacks any employment experience. She's waffling between getting an accounting certificate and just sticking it out in retail until she can move up a ladder. Any ladder.))

Anton adjusts his cuff-links . He puts on the hi-beams of his number 1 smile and approaches him, right hand outstretched for the shaking. "Mighty fine shack ya got here Mr. Zuckerman, or can I call ya Anthur? Why, yes, if'n we're gonna do this proper, we should start with some adult beverages, what with us bein' such good friends an' all." Anton sits and leans back, his posture relaxed. "Now, if you could russle up a cold Abraxian ale, I'd be eternally obliged. But if that's outside o' yer board's range, a spiced rum toddy would do just fine."

Fun fact: Hot rum toddies are a mix of rum, honey, and some kind of citrus, long believed to have medicinal properties.

I meant for the station, but that works too!

"Alcohol? I'll have one of those" Aurora pipes up. She's sitting in the corner, tracing the embroidery on her fancy new dress with her finger. This is the first party she's been to but she's read about them; alcohol is one of the key elements. True, she's never had it before but the whole point of being out in the world is trying new things!

As the group settled in, Noreen eyed both the Captain and Aurora somewhat nervously as they accepted their host's offer of alcohol. The Captain was pretty good about holding his liquor, but Aurora, well...

Nah, last time was just a fluke. It'll be fine.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Zuckerman," she says politely, offering her hand for a shake. "Just water for me right now, but uh...I wouldn't mind a deviled egg or two if you have any," she asks hopefully. She'd always had a taste for deviled eggs of every sort, but they weren't always easy to find. It really depended on what sort of egg you wanted.

Valerie feels much better in her new duds - black slacks and waistcoat, paired with a red blouse. The effect is only somewhat ruined by her old boots, which, to their credit, have been given a rather nice shine. She makes sure to sit next to Anton - she has no doubt she's better at reading people than he is, and a good swift kick to the ankle will be easy enough if he's about to put his foot in it.

"Just wine will do," she says calmly, catching Noreen's eye before flicking her own to Aurora, the unspoken message clear - Oh, dear.

Suggestion for station name: The station's official desgination was the rather sterile SHR-2ZD. No one really remembers who came up with the current 'Nom ge gare', but many believe that during a planning meeting by the designers of the commercial district, it was remarked upon that one of the first merchants had a rather long, but bold motto for his storefront. The store itself wasn't really a success, but the philosophy of the store was so brash and eclectic that the name eventually just stuck as the name for the whole station. The long motto was: "There is no thing which is under the sun which can not be had for the right price or offered exchange of services in this place known as

Shadizar."

Located at the Jovian L1 :)

The drinks are brought out soon after they are requested. Mr. Zuckerman enjoys a single malt whiskey as he strikes up a conversation with the crew of the Sweet Doomed Angel. The first course is brought out and dinner truly begins with the salad, then the soup course.

Aurora, meanwhile, is getting tipsy, very tipsy, as a pleasant warming sensation spreads through her body. Actually it's getting a little too warm.

Aurora, please begin your embarrassing incident. :)

Noting that Aurora is certainly enjoying her beverages, Anton flags down a passing server and politely asks, "Hey mac, when that lady over there ordered an 'iced tea,' what kind did--"

"Yes sir," the server answers. "She was brought a very nice Long Island Iced Tea. Made from the finest ingredients."

"Oh boy."

Long Island Iced Tea: A popular version mixes equal parts vodka, gin, tequila, rum, and triple sec. =)

Sirus doesn't mention that he has been known to use that exact concoction to prime the primary ignition coils...

Sorry for the delay in posting. Happy New Year!

Tavid accepts a glass of water and samples one of each appetizer. He sits down, nodding in appreciation at the room’s decorations. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zuckerman. I’m Tavid Rappertone, the navigator.”

As the first course begins, Tavid notices Aurora is getting tipsy. After taking a bite of his food, he says, ”MmmmmMMMM. My compliments to the chef. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you hear about us? A past satisfied customer or our legitimate advertising?” He wafts the aroma from the plate to his nose.

As they enjoy dinner and conversation with their employer, Noreen listens with interest but otherwise stays quiet. It always seemed to unnerve the more extroverted people she met, but she'd never been one to do a large amount of talking during bigger gatherings. Most of the time, just enjoying the company of others was enough. Of course it was also easier to pick up on things that others might overlook, which sometimes came in handy.

However she can't help but find her gaze drawn in Aurora's direction once again. The telltale flush on her cheeks was proof enough that the drinks were having quiet the effect.

Well she's enjoying her drinks, that's for sure. But still, so far so good...

Anthur Zuckerman's face lights up when Tavid asks how he heard abotu the crew.

"Well, it was the lovely Valerie here," he says as he flashes an almost too perfect smile. "She heard about my plight and mentioned that she worked with a crew of accomplished smugglers. Why she said on your last job..."

Valerie, please tell us the yarn you spun for Mr. Zuckerman. He's recounting it all.
The rest of you, roll +Will to keep a straight face at the fantastic tale. You're rolling to get a 0 or higher. Aurora, takes -2 on this roll.

will: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 1) - 8 + 1 = -1

Sirus has to turn a couple snickers into polite coughs...

Will: 4d3 - 8 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 2) - 8 + 2 - 2 = -1

Aurora's feeling good. Really good. She flags down the waiter and orders another drink. Step one, acquire alcohol, complete. Step two is...is...uh... oh, conversation! Yes. Work is a good topic. Valerie is telling him about our work. I can help!

As Valerie shares her version of the last job Aurora stares at her with a perplexed look on her face. I, wait. I don't remember this? Did I miss...oh, maybe she forgot? I'll fix it for her

Aurora's waiting to jump into the conversation