"We are the members of the Starfinder Society Gevalarsk Nor invited here." Adds to make it very clear. He contentedly soaks in the area and aesthetic not having had a huge amount of first hand experience with Eoxian decor. They might be evil and unnatural but they still had stories to tell.
Patches trails behind, eventually stowing his giant candy blob - now slightly smaller - back in his bag. As the group sets out for the embassy, he keeps his hood up and his cloak drawn tightly around his tiny frame, which is still a bit pudgy despite his best efforts to change that. His eyes and ears twitch this way and that, his whiskers quivering with anxiety at being in such an open, visible part of the station.
He defers to the rest of the group when it comes to talking, his attention firmly fixed on tweaking his custom rig.
The first bone guard gives a cursory glance over the invitations with empty eye sockets, noting the seals and the stationary used, and nods. ”All appears to be in order. Please proceed,” it says as the two guards step aside in unison to allow the group to pass through the courtyard. Leafless trees with gnarled branches twisted into narrow spires reach high towards the skydome above, surrounded by manicured lawns bordered in blackened stone.
Their footfalls echo on the marble steps as the Starfinders make their way to the building. Another pair of bone guards stand rigidly here, moving only to open the doors in almost perfect unison, revealing the expansive interior of the building. Presenting more like a mausoleum, the large foyer feels more enclosed than normal due to the use of black marble tiles along the walls, floor, and ceiling. A single gold and white crystal chandelier in the centre of the roof provides the majority of lighting in the room, assisted by wrought metal candelabras and upturned lights spaced along the walls. Rich, deep red curtains hang over the windows, and heavy wooden doors the colour of burned oak can be seen set in the walls, leading to other chambers of the embassy. In the corners of the room, four more boneguards stand in the shadows.
A semi-circular reception desk sits in the centre of the eerily quiet room, a skeletal form in a dark pinstripe suit seated behind it She is clearly elebrian, with an elongated skull and glowing points of blue-green light where her eyes would have been. As the Starfinders approach, the elebrian woman turns her head to face them, the bones of her spine cracking disconcertingly with the single movement. ”Hello, can I help you today?” she says, her voice light with an unearthly echo to it.
Krevlor soaks in all the architecture and aesthetics, it's all delightfully different than anywhere he's been before.
Krevlor inclines his head and gestures to his peers with his longsleeved upper left hand. "Gevalarsk Nor invited us to a meeting, we're from the Starfinder Society."
"We are that indeed. I hope during our collaboration we get to learn more about your amazing race."
The receptionist nods and swivels her head back towards the computer terminal. "Of course. Please, take a seat over there," she says, inclining her head toward a pair of black couches situated close to the corner, blending almost perfectly into the darkness of the rest of the foyer. "His Excellency will be with you shortly."
"Uh, thanks," Darshe says with a nod. It takes him a second to realize where the couches are, after which he hastily seats himself. He could not help but to stare at the skeleton performing mundane clerical duties.
"This is bizarre..." he murmurs to no one in particular, squirming in his seat slightly.
"Swanky place they got here." Patches whistles at the interior of the embassy, looking a little less nervous now that the group is out of the open. He walks over to one of the couches and plops himself down unceremoniously, fiddling with his rig as he waits.
{Indeed, it is a rather nice place.} Valorus takes his seat on one of the couches though he leans back in an attempt to look relaxed, but he actually looks a lot more nervous than even the rest of the group. His eyes are fixated on the chandeler above.
"It is true. They have very tasteful décor."
Krevlor seems contented to wait. "I find the people of Eox quite interesting. As a key member of the Pact Worlds the dynamics they bring to diplomacy and economic matters are quite interesting. Even the most longed lived living race will eventually die. An Eoxian however can continue to refine their abilities. Take ZO! for example, through skill and time he has become arguably the most influential media personality in the Pact Worlds. But conventional procreation is not an option."
He smiles "I heard of one Eoxian Starfinder who rarely did field work, avoided it like the plague. A great scholar but not a field agent. He reasoned, and rightly, if you take enough one in ten thousand chances that risk your life when you might live forever you will die. A small risk for most races but for him a promise of doom."
He inclines his head towards Artemis "I know your own people have no biomechanical limit on your age but as I understand it there are cultural traditions. The renewal seems fascinating."
Just a few seconds after the hour passes midday on the Starfinders' comms devices, the solid double doors at the back of the foyer open up to reveal an elebrian male with bright green glowing points of light inside of his empty eye sockets. He wears a double-breasted burgundy frock coat with golden trim and a stiff high collar, a white cravat, and what appears to be a pair of burgundy trousers and black dress slippers. He floats a half foot off of the floor, and moves into the room with an unearthly grace in doing so, coasting smoothly around the receptionist's desk.
As the floating skeletal form enters the room, the receptionist stops what she is doing and stands momentarily, her head bowed deferentially. He, like the skeletal receptionist, has no trace of flesh anywhere on the bones that are visible.
The elebrian man nods in greeting to the Starfinders gathered on the couches. "I am Ambassador Gevalarsk Nor, head of the diplomatic delegation to the Pact Worlds," he says, hovering in front of the desk reception desk. "It is wonderful to meet you all. If you would please care to follow me." The Ambassador smoothly turns his form and floats towards one of the sets of double doors in the side of the room. He stops in front of them and waves his hands before them, causing them to open magically of their own accord. The open doorway reveals a hallway that turns off to the side, a plush hall runner the same colour as the curtains in the foyer trailing down the centre, and pieces of art are framed and hung along the walls. The walls and ceiling are still decorated in the black marble tiles, giving the hallway a cold feel despite the more plush surroundings
As the group enters the hallway and the doors are pulled closed, Ambassador Nor gently floats down to his feet and turns to the group. "I understand that my walking will be more comfortable for you all." Ambassador Nor strides towards a darkly painted door in the hallway and opens it, stepping inside.
This room is still decorated in the black marble walls, floor, and ceiling, with another smaller chandelier in the centre of the ceiling casting a soft glow of light around the dark interior. A large table made of a dark red wood trimmed in gold filigree embossed into it, and several large seats are tucked in underneath. On the long table is a silvered platter with a crystal carafe of water as well as a bottle of dark red liquid, and a selection of crystal tumblers and wine glasses are sat next to it.
The Ambassador takes a seat at the end of the table, his movements careful and moderated. "Please take a seat, and help yourself to water or wine as you would like," he says with a flourish toward the liquids.
Once the group of Starfinders has made themselves as comfortable as they would like, Ambassador Nor sits up straight and places his bony hands palm down on the tabletop.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, and I am sure that you are wondering what has brought you here. I’m certain you’re aware of the recent interest in the prospecting ship Acreon and the asteroid being referred to as the ‘Drift Rock,’ and I believe you’re also acquainted with the dispute between Astral Extractions and the Hardscrabble Collective over both the ship and the asteroid. Both parties are currently awaiting legal arbitration, but the wheels of justice on this station often turn quite slowly. As a result, I have offered my services as a mediator in hopes of finding a solution that is equitable to both factions.
“The first step in this, of course, is learning the specifics of the opposing claims. Reports of your recent endeavors in dealing with some of Absalom Station’s most notorious gangs have led me to believe that you might be useful in this undertaking as well. You’re new to the station, you seem to possess a wide range of skills and abilities, and you certainly appear capable. In short, you’re perfectly positioned as a neutral third party that could cut through much of the red tape surrounding this issue and get to the heart of the matter.
“I would like you to go to the Acreon, find out precisely what happened to its crew, and ascertain the value of its asteroid cargo, as well as determine whether this Drift Rock is truly as ‘mysterious’ as the media claims.”
Ambassador Nor sits back in his chair, awaiting the response from the Starfinders in front of him.
"Interesting, so you have stepped in to help resolve what appears to be a violent confrontation. That is quite commendable. As far as dealing with each organization goes, have both taken you up on your offer of arbitration? I would hate for us to gather information only to have it be of limited use. Likewise, I am assuming you will give us some sort of documentation showing that we are representing you as neutral investigators in this matter?"
Ambassador Nor nods and turns his baleful gaze towards Artemis. "Both organizations have agreed to undertake this method of resolution, yes. It is my hope that by undertaking mediation, further violence and bloodshed can be avoided on this issue and that it can be laid to rest. I believe enough blood has been spilled already, and I do not desire to see any more needless death and injury within the station."
His form is still as a statue as he continues. "As to how useful the information to be gathered will be, I suppose that will be up to the representatives from both Astral Extractions and the Hardscrabble Collective to determine. I do have means of ensuring the authenticity of this exploration of the Acreon, should you all agree to accept this proposal."
"Although I am not opposed to this endeavor it does expose us to potential risk. Not merely the physical dangers Acreon and 'Drift Rock' but also potential political from an aggravated party. Unraveling the mysteries of this tale would bring some reward but you might have others in mind, or at least access to resources we could avail of to facilitate our investigation."
The ambassador nods and gives a low, unearthly chuckle. "Of course - I would not expect anyone to undertake this task only out of the goodness of their hearts. To that note, I am in a position to offer a sum of six-hundred credits to each of you for your efforts in this exploration, to be paid prior to your departure from Absalom Station."
"A not inconsiderable sum, that is quite generous. I do not believe any of us personally owns a vehicle. We may be able to acquire the use of a Pegasus or Drake Starship for the mission if we present it correctly."
Ambassador Nor shakes his head and waves his hand in a careful motion. "There will be no need to procure your own vehicle for this exploration - I have coordinated with both the Stewards and station security for permission to send a team to enter the quarantine field and explore the Acreon and the Drift Rock. Furthermore, station security have agreed to lend the use of one of their shuttles for this endeavour, which would be ready whenever you are."
The elebrian leans forward, almost conspiratorially. "Now, there is one additional detail that I would like to ask your assistance with," Nor says, steepling his bony fingers and turning his gaze to each of the six Starfinders in turn. "Amongst its other cargo, the Acreon was carrying a package destined for the embassy here. With the ship currently in quarantine, that package is undeliverable. I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival, and would consider it as a personal favour if you could locate the package and bring it to me when you return to the station. It is clearly marked, so I do not imagine it would be too difficult to find. You would, of course, be compensated for this also."
"I assume that there is nothing untoward or illegal in this package?"
"Or if removing it from the ship is even legal," Darshe adds, raising a brow slightly. Up until the topic of the package was brought up, the reason for Eox's involvement had not been entirely clear to him. "I mean, if we have the authority to breach quarantine like that, then I don't see why we couldn't grab your package. As long as it doesn't contain like, a bomb or something."
"I can assure you that the package contains no contraband or anything that would endanger the station in any way," the Eoxian ambassador states, turning to Artemis and Darshe in turn. "Nor are there any illegalities involved in its extraction. I simply am requesting that you retrieve my personal property from the Acreon while you are there, and I will pay a further five-hundred credits to each of you upon its delivery."
"The interested parties are aware of your personal stake I take it. A benefit of volunteering to moderate the matter. A perishable or time sensitive element to the package possibly."
"But of more note what is the size. Is this package small enough to put in a pocket, or backpack? Identifying markers? Unexpectedly discovering it is a piano size object mid investigation would be irksome."
Ambassador Nor shakes his head, interlocking his fingers together. "Neither party are aware at this present time, but as the exploration of the Acreon and the Drift Rock will be recorded by an observation drone that will follow you throughout - for the purpose of ensuring that both parties will adhere to the ruling of the mediation, mind you - then it is likely that both parties will discover this when they view the recording themselves."
"As for its size, I do not know the dimensions of the package that is to be delivered, but I am led to assume it is not insignificant. It will be addressed for the embassy and should also appear on the shipping manifest on the Acreon, provided accurate records were being kept."
"I doubt that moving the package will be an issue," Darshe says with a shrug, figuring that a ship that carries heavy cargo would have the means to move it on board. He hoped so, anyway. "But I guess I should ask now, before we're in the thick of it. Seeing as six armed Starfinders are being sent on this mission, is there any kind of trouble we should be expecting on the ship? Pirates? Mercs? Scavengers?"
"As far as I am aware," the ambassador says, turning his skeletal hands palm upwards in a humble gesture. "No-one has breached the quarantine field that the Stewards have placed around the Acreon and the Drift Rock. But as the crew are unaccounted for and no communications have been received since the ship exited the Drift a few days ago, it is better to be prepared for the possibility of trouble, if not the expectation of it."
"Very well, we shall hear testimony of the positions of the two factions then head to the Acreon and determine what is happening there, as well as retrieve your package."
"A prudent suggestion Artemis, I agree. Once anyone has made any further inquiries or request of the Ambassador I suggest we leave and set about our business. This matter is a curious yet secondary concern. I would not see you distracted overly long from your duties."
Nina simply remained on guard keeping close to Darshe. The way he moved told her that he was probably a soldier like she was. If s$+~ hit the fan she would need to provide protection for the rest of her new team. Keeping her hands at her side, the elf’s stature remained neutral and a little apprehensive.
The Eoxians were polar opposite of her people, who worshiped life and not death. But then again, she couldn't blame the undead civilization for doing what they had to in order to survive. To each their own.
The soldier says nothing, allowing those on her team who seem more comfortable with the surroundings to speak. The elf wasn’t showing any sort of weakness, but seemed rather attentive to her surroundings.
Unlike the rest of her people, she never wore a mask to hide her features. She was Forlorn now, a class of elves who wandered away from their world of Castrovel. But she had Weydan to guide her.
"But I guess I should ask now, before we're in the thick of it. Seeing as six armed Starfinders are being sent on this mission, is there any kind of trouble we should be expecting on the ship? Pirates? Mercs? Scavengers?"
“Probably would assume that if the Aecron is towing something from the Drift that there might be more than just those types of people about. Plus, with the ship and rock in the quarantine zone, I would image nothing goes in or out of there. Unless of course you have permission from a Diplomat using it as a tool for arbitration while having another motive behind it.” Nina replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Although I don’t like the idea of us sneaking around mystery cargo back to the station, I’ll defer the decision to the team.”
Nina's attempt to scour the room finds nothing of concern or out of place with the surroundings. The room does not appear to have any recording devices or other surveillance equipment in it. The elf's attempts to discern anything suspicious with the Eoxian ambassador's motivations or mannerisms likewise comes up with nothing untoward.
Ambassador Nor nods at Artemis and Krevlor, laying his skeletal hands palm down on the table. "Of course - once you are done here, I will notify both the Hardscrabble Collective and Astral Extractions of whom I have hired, as per my agreement with them. I will, however, keep the knowledge of your affiliation with the Starfinder Society to myself, for you to divulge as you desire."
He pushes his seat backwards slightly in preparations to stand. "Vauressa will have your contract ready for you to view and sign before you leave, and I will make the final preparations to have your transportation ready for you to leave tomorrow morning unless you feel you require more time to prepare."
"Very well, I'll consult with the others. Tomorrow morning should be most reasonable."
"Agreed. I look forward to working with you!" as he stands, he offers the ambassador his hand.
The ambassador stands and stretches out a skeletal hand towards Artemis and shakes it, giving a bow of his head to the android before stretching out to anyone else who wishes to do the same. "Thank you all once again for agreeing to undertake this exploration of the Acreon and the Drift Rock. I am in the highest of hopes that this will help to bring an end to this dispute so that no further blood is spilled over it. Make sure to see Vauressa at the reception desk in the foyer to sign your contract, and I will meet you tomorrow morning at Docking Bay Seventeen to ensure your safe departure."
With a measured flourish, Ambassador Nor gestures towards the door and opens it from where he stands at the end of the table, allowing the Starfinders to depart the room before him. He watches from the hallway as the group make their way back to the foyer, the oppressive darkness of the room made apparent once again.
At the reception desk, the elebrian woman in the pinstripe suit has placed two sheets of voidblack paper onto the low hutch, the silver writing again appearing to almost float off of the surface. A silver pen sits in a small dry well next to the paper. "Please look over your contract before signing it to ensure it is to your satisfaction," Vauressa states matter-of-factly, gesturing to the black paper. "One of these is your copy, while the other will be kept here at the Embassy."
Once both copies of the contract are signed, Vauressa opens a drawer and retrieves a number of credsticks and hands over one to each of the Starfinders. Upon inspection, each of the credsticks holds six-hundred credits within it as promised by the ambassador.
Not knowing any better, Artemis signs the contract after reading it and then collects his copy.
After the disaster that was his last contract, Darshe has the good sense to read the thing thoroughly before signing it.
"Well, it doesn't look like they're trying to screw us," he remarks to the others with a shrug. "It's a pretty reasonable arrangement, all things considered."
"This appears reasonable." Nods not having spotted anything untowards.
The adventure assumes your just going to loot the personal gear of the dead crew but that seems a bit of an odd assumption for me. Perhaps there's some clause we haven't spotted where we get to keep it... or we end up under geared for the next part of the adventure. Short term it's easy to justify picking up and using gear to ensure the mission's success.
The elf watched as the Ambassador seemed rather pleased with everything. It made her a little uncomfortable, but there wasn’t much of anything she could do about it.
The rest of the team seemed gunho to get Nor’s personal favor completed. Maybe the fact that Nor was undead that made Nina distrust him, being an elf certainly would raise that flag with any Eoxian she’d met up with.
“Weydan guide me….” She whispered softly to herself, taking a look at the contract.
"If the Starfinders wish us to undertake this task, then there are no roads too dark for us to walk into." The elf signs it, takes a copy and leaves the original behind.
Valorus looks over the contract and says only to his fellow members, {Oh...what's this?} He rereads it again to make sure. {Yes, I am certain now. If we do not find the package, it looks like that this contract won't bind us to giving it to him. An oversight perhaps? or a sign of good faith? To be more precise, there's no mention of his task in this at all.}
Darshe waits until they have departed from the embassy before commenting on the terms of the contract. Not that there was any guarantee that the Eoxians wouldn't hear them anyway.
"Huh, how about that," Darshe says, having missed that glaring detail completely. "I guess he wants to keep that bit of business under the table. Though, now that I think about it... could this package be the reason they got involved in the first place?"
"It seems highly likely however we can mention it to the interested parties so no blame comes back on us. At the least I want to speak to the Hardscrabble Collective, they might have an idea of the floorplan or another detail that could increase our chances of success."
"We should either talk to both groups or neither one. We don't want to appear partial to one group over the other, after all."
"Reasonable. I don't want to go near Astral Extractions unarmed currently so both will have to live with that condition."
Vauressa nods in farewell as the group leave the foyer of the Embassy, taking the Ambassador's copy of the contract for processing. The group make their way out of the Parkside district of the Eye and towards the Freemarkets - the neighbourhood of the station where anything and everything can be bought, sold, and traded.
Whilst the group begin to prepare for their expedition to the Acreon, their communicators all beep simultaneously to indicate that a message has been sent to each of them.
I trust this message finds you well. Ambassador Nor has advised us of your contact details, so my apologies for interrupting your preparations.
I would like to invite you to Bluerise Tower to attend a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss your scheduled investigation.
Please respond with a time that you are able to meet.
Warm regards,
Jessamine Joss
Public Relations Supervisor
Astral Extractions
"The invitation seems agreeable, we should afford the Hardscrabble Collective the same opportunity. I severely doubt under other circumstances we would be given such warm regards."
"Since we are representing someone else, and your group clearly has a history with the Hardscrabble Collective, perhaps I can do the talking when we are there? I have no history with them, thus would have no pre-disposed malice towards them. I would be more than happy to allow one of you to take the lead in the questioning here."
"That'd probably be for the best," Darshe admits, clearly disgruntled by the invitation. "My history with them makes me more than a little, uh, biased."
He folds his arms over his chest and huffs. "Still, I suppose we'd better see what they want."
“Staying neutral through the whole ordeal probably our best bet.” The elf replied, agreeing with Artemis. “Plus the last thing we want is to make enemies here at Absalom Station.” They had a lot to do with so little time to do it. “Plus now that we have this contract with Nor, it makes things a lot more complicated.”
“I’ll gladly help as well dealing with this next phase of our mission.” Nina replied to Artemis and the rest of the team. “I don’t blame anyone if they don’t want to deal with Astral Extractions.”
"I think mentioning the package to both parties is fair, we were not informed to keep it discrete and if everything Nor told us is true then there should be no issue. It covers us however if it becomes complicated, I don't think either side wants to antagonize their arbitrator so I wouldn't expect any giving out about it til after." Krevlor walked confidently down the corridors of the space station. "If they later try to object having mentioned it will thoroughly undermine their argument."
After sending the response back to Ms. Joss to confirm that they will meet her at the Bluerise Tower, the group of Starfinders makes their way to the large steel and glass tower that shoots several hundred feet towards the ceiling of the Ring. Climbing the few stairs towards the tower's entrance, the group notes the presence of several security guards, wearing black suits of reinforced tensile cloth and carrying shotguns, standing stoically within the building's foyer and dotted around the mezzanine.
Instead of a traditional reception desk, self-service terminals sit in front of a set of four elevator doors in the middle of the foyer. The terminal lists a number of corporations that reside in the tower, and asks a series of questions to determine the purpose of the group's visit in a polite masculine voice, offering buttons that light up on the terminal's touch screen for inputting responses.
After a short amount of time trying to put the correct responses in, the group receives a response requesting they sit in the foyer and advising that their contact in the building will be with them shortly. White leather couches dot the foyer, many of them flanked by tall white pots with flat-leaved plants flowing from them, the foliage spilling pleasantly over the top.