Orlam nods, glad that the others have made the connections that he himself didn't see as clearly. "It sounds as though speaking to the Hardscrabble might be the best way to go forward for now. They will certainly know more about the Acreon. I wouldn't mind the chance to speak with Otal as well."
Mysterra sticks her arms out suddenly, palm up, towards Xera.
"May I examine Durovar's comm unit?" she asks, though it comes out more a statement than a question.
—=Xera=—
Though the ships of the Golarion system are mostly foreign to her, Xera knows at least a little from her time at the Skydock on Verces that ships like the Acreon are mining and excavation ships built to be able to take a beating on long haul flights.
—=Mysterra=—
Hacking into the comms unit is a simple task given the lack of protections on the device, and getting access to Duravor’s contact list takes only a moment once she is inside. Otal’s comms code is found in the list.
"Contacting Otal is easy." Mysterra states after a second. She keeps fiddling with the device for a while, looking for other information. Soon she returns the device to Xera, with Otal's information on screen. "Whether he answers is of more interest."
She clearly has no intention of making the call herself.
"Let me make the call. I knew Duravor if only for a short time, and Otal will probably want a sympathetic voice telling him what happened. I'll put his vox on speaker so you guys can hear both sides of the conversation. But first, is there anything specifically you want me to ask about, aside from the Acreon and why Astral would want to have him killed?"
"Tell him about Duravor and ask if we can meet in private. I don't think talking about this stuff over the comms is a good idea."
"Oh? Very well, this would allow us to follow up on any leads here at the station as well, if Otal has further information for us." Orlam is relieved that Valius is taking the lead in this, as the kasathas soldier has not had much experience in passing on bad news like this.
"Yes, a face-to-face meeting would be better."
"He is in hiding for his own safety. It would be illogical for him to agree to a face to face meeting after news of Durovar's death reaches him." Mysterra states flatly.
"It would be useful to know the contact information for some of the Hardscrabble Collective's other agents. Information regarding a non-violent introduction to the Level 21 Crew would be helpful, as well."
Valius nods and places the call, waiting and hoping that Otal will be the one picking up at the other end of the line. He has the directive to try for a dad to face meeting, but he doubts that he'll get such terms. Most likely he feels he could make contact with an intermediary through the Level 21s.
—=Valius=—
As Valius’ fingers hit the call button, he waits for the comms unit to connect. There is no dial tone however as the call immediately leaps to a pre-recorded message spoken in the gravely tones of someone who has inhaled far too much dust in his lifetime. “Pending arbitration and on the advice of our attorneys, we are not responding to any public inquiries at this time,” followed by a short beep before the recording repeats itself.
Mysterra checks to see if there's an alternate contact method for Otal. If not, she checks for other contacts who she believes might be Hardscrabble Collctive members.
Mysterra finds a couple more communicator codes for people she believes to be members of the Hardscrabble Collective, Attempting to contact each of them appears to yield the same result - a pre-recorded message advising that the Hardscrabble Collective are unavailable for comment due to ongoing arbitration.
"...Yeah, should have thought about that," Valius chuckles lightly to himself as he puts his personal comm away, before picking up Duravor's comm device instead and taking a moment to familiarize himself with its interface. "They might not pick up from one of our lines, but from Duravor's we might get a response here. We just have to be quick and hope they don't hang up immediately." He tries to comm Otal through Duravor's comm device, hoping that will get them to pick up from someone they know.
Trying Otal’s communicator code directly from Duravor’s unit yields the same response - an automatic divert to the same prerecorded message loop.
"Damn. Guess that's a dead end. Too easy I suppose," Valius frowns as he looks at the comm with disappointment. "Well, we've got one other possible way to get into touch with them. If they're still talking to the Level 21s, we should try and talk to them to see if they can put us into contact with the Collective. Sound like a plan?" He asks the group as he finishes off his beverage and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
"I say it's time to go check out the ship. I'll bet my right leg there's a Hardscrabble rep there anyway, it's their ship."
"Maybe we can look up an address for this Hardscrabble Collective? It is probably publicly listed."
A quick search of the infosphere directs Mysterra to a publically listed contact details for a booking agency known as C&I Bookings, which purports to handle several smaller freighter, exploration, transport, and courier companies.
Mysterra shares the information about with booking agent with the others.
"Would you prefer to visit the Acreon, or C&I Bookings? I can think of no other method for contacting the Hardscrabble Collective."
Loram considers the question and finally answers, pushing aside any guilt he might have regarding the Level 21 gangers. "Getting aboard the Acreon is a good idea, but we'll need a way to get there. The Collective may have an idea about that, if we can find a way to meet with them. To do that, it sounds like C&I is the way to go."
"I can attempt to forge documents that could grant us access to information regarding the Hardscrabble Collective from C&I Bookings. I can also attempt to forge documents allowing us the authority to board the Acreon, although as the Acreon is a point of public interest at the moment, it is unlikely that our forgery will go unnoticed." She stops and thinks for a moment. "I believe we need more information before trying to lie our way to gaining access to the Acreon. I suggest we visit C&I Bookings first."
Mysterra uses her custom rig to forge a document that grants us the authority to access and obtain all information regarding the Hardscrabble Collective from, but not limited to, C&I Bookings.
Before we leave, Mysterra pulls up directions to C&I bookings, and shows them to the group, ensuring everyone knows where we're going. Then she finishes eating the tapas and drinking her delicious mystery beverage.
"Yes... since the ship is part of a dispute between agencies it is likely interdicted somehow, possibly by the Stewards."
"I could get there on my own... call it one of the 'gifts' of my calling. But I don't think I could carry the rest of you. We need a way to get over there, a small shuttle perhaps. And if we manage to get one of those, we still have to sneak past the sentries."
"It seems simpler to contact this C&I group. Besides, I'm fairly sure it wasn't the people on the Acreon that had Duravor killed. If we don't get anything at the broker, maybe we should check out the Downside Kings. A confession from one of them ties this whole thing up."
"Well if there isn't anything keeping us from doing so, we should go and deal with this booking agency now. Though I'd hold off on flashing documents until it becomes absolutely necessary. I'd the Collective knows we are part of the Starfinder Society, they'll probably be much more willing to work with us. Heck, they might even hire us out to look into the Acreon, which saves us a lot of trouble."
The directions to C&I are simple - their offices are located in Drifter's End, only a few blocks away from the Last Good Run. The group make their way to the address and find themselves in front of a building that consists of offices on the ground floor and apartments above it. The wood-clad facade is painted white, and a panelled directory listing has 'C&I Bookings' listed as the third office on the ground floor.
As the group enter the cramped office, they can see it is furnished only with a set of three desks each with a computer terminal on them, as well as a water cooler located next to a pair of mismatched waiting room chairs. A set of filing cabinets is set against the wall at the back of the room next to a closed door. Seated at the front-most desk is an ageing human woman with black hair peppered with white strands and wearing a mismatched business suit with a fuchsia cardigan. She smiles and lifts her index finger in acknowledgement of the group's arrival. "I'm sorry darl, but I'm going to have to go," she says as she turns around to reveal a wireless comms unit on her ear. "Customers just walked in. Mmmhmm, I love you too. I'll see you when you get back to the station. She giggles and makes a kissing noise into the earpiece before pressing it with a gaudily manicured finger.
"Sorry about that," she says as she turns to face the group. "Always tough when the grandkids are heading off-station. How can I help you fine folk today?"
Valius puts on his kindest smile as he steps forward to the front of the group, making a short bow to the woman. "I understand. It was the same with my parents anytime I left home, even for just a week. It's hard not to worry about family even when they're a comm call away." Having sympathized with her feelings, the solarion gets to the reasons for their visit.
"We're agents of the Starfinder Society. One of our own, Duravor Kreel, was also an investor in the Hardscrabble Collective. Unfortunately earlier today he was killed. It's been rather hard on a lot of people with his passing. We're trying to investigate his death, and in doing so are trying to get into communication with the Collective. The problem being that their public channels are all closed off because of their recent troubles. We know that this agency books jobs for the Collective, so we're hoping that you can help us to get into contact with them, or at least possibly pass on the message about Duravor. He had a constant contact with someone named Otal in the Collective if that can help. If there's anything else that you might be able to do for us, it would be greatly appreciated." Valius finishes with his plea, hoping that the woman is equally sympathetic to their needs.
Mysterra stands outside the building, examining it with a blank expression. Realizing she's still outside when the others have already entered the building, Mysterra finally steps inside in time to hear the end of Valius' appeal to the secretary.
She opens her mouth to help, but shuts it instead. She'll only make it worse.
Instead of watching the woman she examines the office.
Xera looks around the office to get a feel for the place while letting Valius do the talking.
--=Xera and Mysterra=--
The office is unremarkable, and the only security camera in the premises appears to be only for show - that, or the power hadn't been connected correctly to the unit.
--==--
The booking agent gasps at the mention of Duravor's death and her eyes well up with tears. "Oh no, that poor dwarf. He was good folk, much like most of the people in the Collective," she says as she reaches into her sleeve to pull out a small pink handkerchief and dabs at her eyes.
"I'd like to help you contact Otal or anyone else from his crews," she says, sniffling for a moment. "But they're not accepting any work at the moment, and I doubt I could contact them even if they were." The woman looks up at Valius and the rest of the group before her eyes widen, and she nods determinedly.
"Here's what I can do though. Otal left me instructions that if anyone were to poke around here looking for him or anyone else on the station connected to the Hardscrabble Collective, I was to connect with this comm code," she says, opening one of the drawers of the desk and retrieving a crumpled slip of paper. She reaches across her desk to give it to Valius. "He said that the people on the other end would be able to help, but he didn't say how. Only to ask for someone named Jabaxa, and to say it was regarding help with a rocky relationship - whatever that means."
Valius recalls that name, and takes a look at the offered comm code, memorizing it as he inputs it into his personal comm. He also hands it off to the rest of the group for now as he takes on the task of being the front man for the party. Which only bothered him because he wasn't sure that he was up to the task of actually leading anything. He'd quarantine that thought and check on it later when they had a real chance to go over things and figure out their way of working together.
"Thank you very much. This is very helpful, miss. Hopefully we'll be able to fulfill Duravor's will in his absence," He states to her as he steps outside of the office to make the call. He was pretty sure that this was probably connected to if not Jabaxa then to someone close to them. As soon as he hears the comm pick up at the other end of the line, he speaks.
"I need to speak with Jabaxa regarding help with a rocky relationship." He spoke clearly, figuring that was probably a code phrase that would prevent him from getting hung up on.
While Valius is on the phone, Xera checks Duravor's personal comm unit to see if the number the agent gave us is in his comm unit as well.
The dial tone is quick and sharp, and rings only twice before being answered. "Yes?" a male voice answers the phone, gravelly and rough. On being given the phrase, the person on the other end of the phone grunts in ascent. "This is Jabaxa - what seems to be the problem?"
--=Xera=--
Filtering through Duravor's contact list, there does not appear to be any comm code that matches the one given to the group by the booking agent.
Valius was thinking that he probably should have consulted the others before putting the call through. Now he had the man on the other end of the line and he only had one chance to make a first impression to possibly get them a face to face meeting. The pressure to not screw this up was immense, so he put out a silent prayer to the Dawnflower for guidance as he opened his mouth and began to speak.
"My name is Valius Hunt and I work for the Starfinder Society. I'm sure that a person of your stature must have already heard of the tragedy that our society endured earlier today with the loss of one of our own, Duravor Kreel. It was unfortunate that your men tasked with protecting him couldn't do so. I'm sure that might damaging to your reputation, especially towards the Hardscrabble Collective that put it on your club to keep him safe. I can sympathize with your position, sir."
He shifts his posture, clenching a fist and trying to not feel anxious about all of this. There is a sinking feeling in his gut that he's going to say the wrong thing and screw up their best lead so far. "Our positions are currently aligned. We want to find justice for our fallen comrade, as I'm sure that you also want the same as well. I'm hoping that we can work together on this and see to it that the Downside Kings are held responsible for their actions. Do you think that we can meet to discuss a strategy?"
The voice on the other end chuckles with a gravelly timbre, the electronic warping from the comms making it come across as almost sinister. "Well, Mister Hunt, I wouldn't say that justice for our fallen is something we are looking for,"[b] Jabaxa says. [b]"But the idea of retribution is not an unwelcome one, shall we say."
There is a long pause from the other side of the conversation, silent to the point that it sounds like a drop-out in communications before Jabaxa continues. "Your proposition intrigues me, Mister Hunt. Very well - come to Mama Fatt's, on level 21 of the Spike, and I will hear what you have to say."
"Thank you. I'll be there shortly. I'll be the blond human in Freebooter attire," Valius tells him on the other end of the line, waiting to see if he gets a description himself of Jabaxa before terminating the call. He sighs in relief, leaning back against the wall and feeling nervous still. He took the initiative - now it was time to let the others know what had happened.
"Jabaxa's agreed to meet with me. While I hardly think that he's untrustworthy, I can't say I know what goes on in the mind of a gang leader. He's going to meet me at a place called Mama Fatt's on Level 21, if any of you know the place. My initial thought is that I'd like it if Eye, Mysty and Xera head in there first - since you're all androids it's not suspicious to see you all together in a group. You can case the place and make sure I'm not walking into my own execution. Orlam can come in with me, since I doubt that he expects me to come alone without protection. Anyone think we should play this out a different way?" He asks the group.
When Valius reports the conversation, the kasathas slaps the human on the shoulder. "Well done. Still, we must be wary. If this is the Level 21 gang, we are at least partly responsible for the deaths of three of their men. I would suggest we avoid mentioning our part in the firefight except as bystanders. It is possible they will know of our part if there were witnesses they spoke with, but if we can avoid that sort of complication we should do so. If it turns out they know of our actions, we can then admit our part and tell them truthfully we were only protecting ourselves as well as the nearby civilians."
"Orlam makes a good point. Maybe I should be the one to go in as your protection Valius. Neither of us were involved in the firefight, maybe it won't come up at all if we can honestly claim innocence."
"I don't think that Duravor knew this Jabaxa. Jabaxa's number isn't in his comm unit. Not sure if that makes a difference."
"Perhaps there is some way to disguise ourselves a bit? Some new clothing perhaps?"
Orlam nods at Xera's comment. "That fits with what we know, or suspect anyway. Duravor declined protection, but it seems as though the Collective, or maybe Otal in particular, arranged for it anyway." When disguises are suggested, the kasathas shrugs. "I'm not sure it would do much good, especially if we show up armed. And though this Level 21 group might be the 'good guys' in this particular situation, they are still a dangerous gang, so I suggest we have our weapons at hand."
"...Okay, then. So. Uh, if it's likely that Jabaxa already knows about you guys that way, it seems likely that going there trying to cover up what happened isn't going to get us any points. We should probably just try and honest about what happened when it comes to it. I mean, it's not like you all fired only on his men and let the Kings get away without a scratch," Valius shrugs as he checks the information network to try and plot a course to Mama Fat's on Level 21.
"Come on, sooner we get there, sooner we can put the anxiety of this meeting behind us, right? Unless you want to make a detour for a shopping trip?"
Checking the infosphere on his comms unit, Valius finds that the easiest ways to level 21 are the public access elevators that take people from the Arms and the Ring down into the Spike's upper levels. From there the group would have to navigate stairwells and other elevators to reach level 21.
Xera shrugs.
"I doubt they would know it was us. All three of their people died in the fight."
"But I think it's more complicated than that. The Level 21 gangers were more than just a 'security detail.' When we saw Duravor at the platform, it didn't seem like the Downside kings attacked and then the Level 21 Crew responded. The whole place erupted in gunfire in an instant. As if the whole thing was an ambush, but the Level 21 crew knew the ambush was coming and were trying to ambush the ambushers. Everyone was ready... except Duravor."
"I think we should just not mention that detail, and lay the whole thing on the Downside Kings. And if it comes up, we just explain that we were under fire by them and didn't know who they were."
"As regrettable as it must be for you to learn that you were partly to blame for killing Duravor's protectors, I have to say that I agree with Xera here. If that's the case, we definitely shouldn't try to hide or be sneaky with Jabaxa, at least not so openly. Let's prep and hit the markets on the Ring and then we'll head down the Spike and meet him."
Valius takes a step or two before pausing and looking back at the group sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Uh. This is kind of awkward, but I don't suppose anyone has a spare sidearm? I sort of assumed that I'd have the time to requisition one from the Society, but that didn't happen, so..."