You all responded to the… unusual call of the P.A. system, arriving in front of a plain door marked with a minimalistic “V.C. Arvin.” Pressing a button on the side of the door and a slightly distracted voice calls out, ”Oh, good, you’re here. Just a second.” As the man cuts the channel, the doors to the office slide open with a soft pneumatic hiss. Inside is a well-lit and blue-carpeted office. Venture-Captain Arvin, a handsome and determined-looking damaya lashunta, sits behind a desk, his eyes riveted on a glassy display. After a heartbeat, he glances towards the open door and motions everyone to enter.
“Apologies, please come in. Be seated if you like, although this shouldn’t take long.” Arvin taps a button on a console and murmurs to a digital assistant, “Croyd, put everything on hold for a few minutes. If anyone calls, please explain I’m in mission briefing and I’ll get right back to them.” He then darkens the display and takes a moment to rest his eyes before giving you his full attention.
“Right. I've read your profiles and know you are a more than competent group of field agents, so I believe you can handle this assignment I have for you. This one is a little a different from others you might have received.” He pauses before he explains,“This time, it’s an internal matter.”
“You’re probably aware that after the Scoured Stars incident many of our still present colleagues elected to leave the Society. I know for some of you that this is hard to understand and it’s certainly unfortunate, but not too surprising, given the circumstances. We hate to lose good field agents, but they aren’t conscripted and have that option. Normally we would wish them well and that’s that. However, in this case, the defector, former field agent Reynald Talbot, stole an artifact from the Lorespire Complex before departing. Theft is where the Society draws the line; I need you to get that artifact back. Hold on let me pull up some pictures for you.”
He turns the display on again and quickly open two tabs, one with a picture of the man as well as what must be a redacted version of his file, the other showing a stone of some sort.
Turning the display to face you he continues, “Unfortunately, Talbot left weeks ago and we only discovered the theft in the last 24 hours. We launched an immediate investigation to determine the identity of the thief and their last known whereabouts. It’s our bad luck that Talbot was smart enough to get off the station and head to Akiton, where there’s no central government or law enforcement to easily call upon. I need you to track him down and recover the artifact. It would be great if you could also bring Talbot back to face justice, but if you can’t, don’t worry, the artifact is the priority here. We know Talbot caught a shuttle to the Akitonian city of Maro, so that’s a great place to start. The Society will, of course, cover your travel expenses. Now, do you have any questions for me?”
You recall a class on the basics of the Pact Worlds, which covered Akiton as well:
It is smaller than the Golarion standard, with only one-third the gravity and a thin atmosphere. People who aren’t acclimated, such as people who have been living on Absalom Station, can jump three times as high and carry three times the normal weight, although they don’t move any faster. Likewise, unless one has some kind of environmental protections, such as the ones built into armor, it’s easy to become fatigued due to the low atmosphere levels.
You also recall a class that covered the basics of Akitonian history, such as how Akiton suffered an economic crash when the revelation of Drift technology rendered the numerous pre-Drift fuels mined on Akiton virtually worthless.
You recall the Akitionian History and Society 101 class you took before graduation:
Akiton is generally lawless, except for whatever laws a local authority might impose. Akiton survives on trade and commerce. Strangers find loyalty hard to come by, especially in the big cities. Newcomers are consequently likely to be observed and watched, especially if an organization believes it can take advantage of the strangers.
Thus if Talbot acted or did anything at all out of the ordinary, someone is likely to have noticed. To avoid being found, it is unlikely he stayed in Maro for more than a few days.
Not only do you remember your Akitonian History and Society 101, but you also took the 201 class that included information on how hard money to come by on Akitom and how unstable the markets can be.
If Talbot fled to the red planet, he did so for a reason. It’s likely the ex-Starfinder had a plan, and that plan involved gaining a large number of credits. Given Akiton’s unstable economy, such a surge should be identifiable for those who “follow the money.”
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Vahni openly gawks at the Lorespire Complex as they wander through the hallways on the way to the Venture Captain's office. When they reach it, they raise a hand to knock on the door, only to blush a little bit when it slides open on its own.
After standing awkwardly for a few moments, Vahni takes Arvin's invitation and flops down onto a chair, crossing their thickly muscled legs. Despite their obvious confusion and shock at all the new things coming at them all at once, Vahni wears a brilliantly goofy smile. Clothed in a simple pair of unironically faded jeans, a scuffed synthleather jacket, and a slightly tattered red scarf, it's seems that Vahni has been living on a budget for quite some time. They keep their impractically long, unruly black hair hanging free, and fiddle with it ever as they listen to Arvin's briefing.
Vahni's face falls as Arvin outlines their mission, and they sigh. When he asks for questions, they raise a hand, realize what they are doing, and sheepishly put it down before asking, "Nice to meet you, Arvin! So, um, I... have a few questions. Obviously." They chuckle nervously. "I literally arrived on Absalom station two hours ago, and I barely had enough time to drop my stuff off at the dorms - I think they're dorms, anyways, still really confused - before I was called to meet here. Look, I know you guys are short staffed and all, but... is this really a good mission for a complete rookie who hasn't even done their Commencement yet? So there's that. And assuming there hasn't been some sort of weird bureaucratic mix-up and I'm actually going on this mission, it might be helpful to know what exactly this thing does. After all, if we know what this Reynald guy could do with this artifact, we might have a lead on what he wants to do with it and where to go looking for him."
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Leo is restless with anticipation as he waits for the rest of his future crew to arrive. He doesn’t want to impose himself by entering early and alone, especially because he isn’t sure if the man who called them was too busy to have someone arrive early and interrupt them. ‘Anyone in the Lorespore Complex would certainly be a busy person, right?’ Leo figured as much.
Thus, Leo continues to change what foot he was putting most of his weight on, busily idling himself as he waits for the others to arrive. And shortly, they all do. And they enter as the doors automatically hiss open, as if they’d been watching and waiting for the whole crew to arrive.
Before Leo is Venture-Captain Arvin with his eyes busy with his computer screen. Before Leo has a chance to assume what Arvin may have been working on, the Venture-Captain quickly shifts gears and immediately starts the mission briefing, after a very succinct introduction and welcome. Leo rarely denies an invitation and takes a seat, his synthetic face brimming with concern.
‘This must be important for Arvin to be acting so urgently.’
And in fact, the mission was important: theft of a Society artifact by a former agent.
Leo is appalled. He never had considered that someone would voluntarily leave the society on such bad terms. It had never crossed his mind.
The first to respond is one Vahni Dahawan. Leo learns this from accessing public Society databases, while they speak. For now, their name is all he knows. Well, he also learns that Vahni is new to the society, having not undergone a formal Commencement and that they must be very talented to be on a mission before properly graduating. Their wise questions and concern seem to validate Leo’s assumption, and he feels optimistic that Vahni will be a valuable asset to the team. He also notes that Vahni’s outfit seems a little lived in, but maybe that’s just their style? Fashion was something Leo always had difficulty with.
In the meanwhile, Leo also checks his personal logs to recall any information about Akiton. He had never been there, but he had heard many stories from his former crew and had read some things about it, too. And moreover, he had taken some classes about Akiton during his time at the academy.
Through all this internal contemplation, his initial shock pervades. In fact, his surprise regarding Reynald Talbot is so much so that after Vahni speaks, Leo’s mouth asks a question without consulting his brain and mild social anxiety first.
“And, uhm, what about former field agent Reynard Talbot? Is there anything we should know about him, erm, perhaps like what branch of the society he served and in what capacity? Is he dangerous?”
Leo mentally slaps himself for being so direct and not letting the Venture-Captain respond to the first set of questions. He would have covered his mouth mid sentence if he could have, except he figured that doing so would’ve looked unprofessional and silly. He didn’t want to disappoint his crew mates nor the Venture-Captain so soon. For now, he made sure not to say anything else unless directly addressed.
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Moktargarn follows the others into the office, casually glancing around the surroundings but finding little of immediate interest. He listens to the Venture-Captain, cocking his head to one side at the mention of the theft, and its perpetrator. The fact that one of their own turned traitor angers Moktargarn slightly, and he flexes his muscles causing his armour and scales to creak alarmingly. He quickly relaxes, but the anger simmers just below the surface.
He waits until the others ask their questions and receive answers before he speaks.
"I assume you want him alive, Venture-Captain?" Moktargarn hisses, cursing the ever-present lisp that comes from speaking Common.
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Fuskee stumbles his way through Absalom Station before arriving at the VC's door with the others, his red cybernetic eye analyzing each of them as his exocortex "Acid Burn" fed him information about whatever it could assess of their attributes while his other eye was half-lidded from the typical drunken stupor he was in. The small ysoki had taken a short break after his last eventful missions and was enjoying the fruits of his labor until those fruits ran dry, and he was once again relying on the Society to supply him with more missions to earn those delicious delicious credits.
He stood quietly at the back of the group while the others came up with good follow-up questions to ask the VC, the ysoki sneaking a few sips from his flask attempting to cure the awful hangover he woke up to merely minutes ago. His blue jacket was covered in wrinkles and he was far from being properly dressed for a formal meeting. "Akiton? I know a little Akitonian if we need to speak to the natives. Plus they're my kind of people." he chuckled to himself knowing about the lawless planet of ysoki.
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Vandor cockily saunters into Venture Captain Arvin's office behind the rest of the group. Even before Arvin offers the group a seat, he has already flopped into an empty chair and swung one leg over the arm. Anyone watching during the briefing would swear Vandor wasn't paying attention at all seeming to be more concerned with fiddling with something worn on a necklace around his neck (and occasionally sneaking longing glances at the flask in Fuskee's hand), Although he does seem to nod slightly, in apparent approval, at Arvin's mention of the lack of law-enforcement on Akiton.
After the others have asked their questions, Vandor chimes in: "I'd like to know why this Talbot wanted out of the Society in the first place, and if he's on the run why go to Akiton? I mean no law-enforcement, sure, sounds like a great place to visit, but if it were me I'd want to put a little more distance between me and the people I'd just stolen from. And if he's planning on selling that fancy rock he's hardly likely to find anyone with many credits on Akiton. I've heard things are so bad there it makes Downside look like the the Nyori Pallisades."
A slightly confused look appears in Arvin's eyes for a second before realization dawns on him. "Right, I had completely forgotten. Vahni thank-you for reminding me before I sent you off with out explaining anything."
Arvin stands up and moves out from behind the desk. He gestures for Vahni to stand up and join him, and starts speaking in a formal voice. "Vahni here has succesfully completed the correspondance course and should have all of the basic knowledge and skills she needds, but before they can graduate as a full fledged field agent, though, we need a confirmation of their abilities. Normally this would take the form of a battery of tests, but occcasionally the agent in question is sent on a mentorship, a mission with other agents that help judge the fledgling in the field. When I heard that Vahni has been living on Akiton, I requested that they be put on this assignment."
He pauses for a second giving everyone else in the party a good look. "As such, I need you to watch over them and make sure they are okay. Afterwards I would ask for an assesment of their abilities and a reccomendation if they should be allowed to graduate. I'll send you a datapack with the exact details later, but for now I hope this doesn't cause any problems. I'm sure Vahni here will prove to be an asset, they has a good understanding of the planet and it's people."
With that out of the way, he motions for Vahni to sit down, and moves back to his seat himself before answering your questions.
"As for what the artfact does, that's a good question, but the answer is complicated because it’s actually two questions: what the artifact doesand what Talbot thinks it does. We’re operating under the assumption that Talbot thinks he’s stolen an object from old Golarion called a philosopher’s stone. Legend has it that the stone could transmute matter, among other properties. What Talbot actually stole was recently re-cataloged as a charlatan’s stone. It does something similar, except the effect is a potent illusion and only temporary. We think ancient con artists used to make false gold. And that should tell you more than enough as to what he wants to do with it and where he's likely gone with it."
He turns to look at L.E.O., a small smile on his face from the look of concern. "Talbot was in the accquisitions department, but I can't say anything further about his work. He was a smart, capable, and a reasonable field agent, if a bit brash. Talbot is also self-entitled and ambitious."
His look then moves to include Vandor in it's field. "After the Scoured Stars, he expected to be promoted to venture-captain, but the Forum felt he needed more time. He got angry. We think this theft is in part a retaliation. He was a full fledged and experinced agent, so I wouldn't take hiim lightly. As for why he fled to Akiton, I don' presume to know his motivations, but it might have to do with the economic decline Akiton is in."
Looking at the large vesk he explains, "Don't worry aobut lugging him back here. He's not worth the headache and expenses of trying to prosecute, so handle him as you see fit. I probably don't need to warn you, Moktargan," He starts to look around at the assembled faces, settling on Fuskee's for a second longer than everyone else's. "But I should warn you all this doesn't give you the right to go on a killing spree. Don’t make the Society look bad. It might be tough to do on Akiton, but don’t take that as a challenge."
"Now, unless anyone as any other questions or concerns, you should probably get going. Your shuttle is waiting in Hanger Bay 215-D, and will be leaving in about 2 hours. The details of the flight and maps for those who don't know the hangers yet, as well as the details of the mentorship, the travel documents and the instructions on how to use the travel expense credstick are in this," he presses a spot on his display, and a few seconds later your personal communication devices goes off with their message notifications, "message. If you need to pack or prepare anything, I'd reccomend getting a move on."
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"He's not even a Venture Captain? Piece of cake." Fuskee leans against a wall as his exocortex records the VC's speech to be played back later, to remind him of any bits he happens to skip over during his morning haze. "Acid Burn" recites some of the main bits within his communicator but the ysoki just shakes his head a little and lets out a few quiet shushes, mentally turning down the volume on his own AI as the words echo in his head, making his headache worse.
"Get the stone, deal with Talbot, make the Society look good, got it. I'm driving." he takes another sip from his flask and starts to head out the door, "I've got a few things to check on, I'll see you all at Hangar Bay 215-D before our departure time."
As he's walking away you can hear him say quietly to himself, "Burn, set an alarm for 1 hour and 50 minutes from now." as Fuskee heads back to his quarters on Absalom Station for a quick 2 hour nap.
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Moktargarn nods at the Venture-Captain's words, although his eye ridges furrow as the Venture-Captain dismisses the idea of returning the traitor for processing.
"Leaving him on Akiton is as good as a death sentence," fixing the VC with a glare. "Assuming that he lives, I will have him returned to Absalom Station for appropriate punishment."
With that said, Moktargarn turns to the others and acknowledges them.
"I too shall meet you there, I have a workout to complete before we head for the stars," he states before stalking off towards the recreation zone.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"Perhaps leaving him on Akiton would be best then?" she replies flatly to Moktargarn with only the the slightest hitch in her voice mid-sentence.
Glitch turns and leaves with the others, after double checking that the message on her comm unit was indeed the one from the VC. She returns to her quarters to pack for the trip and collect her gear.
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Vahni gets out of their chair and stands beside Arvin, smiling bashfully and giving an awkward wave to the room. From their position beside Arvin, Vahni's imposing height is even more obvious, and it may have been intimidating if not for their general friendly demeanor. After Arvin gives his introduction, they sit down once again, giving Fuskee and his flask a furtive glance when Arvin gives the ysoki his own meaningful glare, shifting uncomfortably in their seat.
They nod at Moktargarn's words, and add, "Sir, believe me, I know Akiton. If anything, we should be more worried for his safety than anything else once that thing wears off. If Raynald sold the fake stuff to, well, anybody, the buyers will not hesitate to either take up their armaments of choice and go to blow his head off or put a bounty on him, which most folks on Akiton are desperate enough to go for. Especially if he seems like an easy target." Vahni sighs, shaking their head. "While he's on Akiton, he's living on borrowed time. Even if this Raynald guy didn't need to be put through due process, taking him offplanet is the best way to keep him safe. He may be kind of an a**%&%% and a criminal, but it doesn't sound like he deserves to die, especially if he's done all the good for the Society that you say that he has." They gulp at Glitch's rather trite response, but otherwise say nothing.
Vahni's smile quickly returns. "Anyways, well, um, it was a pleasure meeting you! All of you! Even the ones who aren't present currently. I'll just, uh, get my things, take care of some personal stuff, then head to the bay." With that, they get out of the chair and head for the temporary sleeping pod that they were assigned when they applied for quarters.
Once there, Vahni ducks inside and awkwardly retrieves their computer, pounding out a few messages:
Hey guys!
So, I finally made it to Absalom Station! Exciting, right? Funny thing is, though, is that I pretty much got immediately assigned to a mission back on Akiton. Ironic, right? Well, not so much since they needed what I know of the place, but still. Anyways, I'll be going off grid for a few days for reasons I can't really disclose, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys would shoot me a message if you see people looking unusually happy and not starving :P Also, this guy they attach a holo of Reynald, is pretty dang important too. Hopefully I'll be back in a few days, then we'll all celebrate my first successful mission with a twenty-four hour stream of Dawnseekers! Get hyped!
After posting that notice on all their social media, Vahni sighs and pulls up their planetary messaging service, earmarking a letter to be delivered to a few people on Verces.
Mom, Dad, Kahanni,
By the time you get this, I'll probably be back on Akiton, but I've arrived on Absalom Station for official registration with the Society. And things aren't really looking too good at the Lorespire Complex. Everything's in chaos, the administration is overwhelmed, they're heavily understaffed, and for the most part the Society is too busy dealing with internal affairs to put any resources towards figuring out what's up with the Godshield. Hell, they're so badly out of sorts that they needed to put me, a complete rookie with no actual Society certs, on a mission because I've been hanging on Akiton for a few years.
I just... I just wish I could go back to my old life, dumping all my money and allowance down the drain for relief efforts on my block that didn't really make that big of a difference, visiting you guys every month, sparring with Smokii. It's hard, and honestly I'm scared because I've never seen actual combat before and it sounds like they're expecting me to kill someone. But, you know, gotta keep my chin up, right? For Smokii.
Don't worry about me, though! G's has been working hard to make sure I don't bite a laser if I get into a scuffle. I'm fairly certain that I can bench press, like, seven schoolchildren now :P And holy crap, I can actually do stuff now! I have this really cool shield that I can summon and I can explode! Okay, that sounds bad, but trust me, it's useful.
Like I said, don't worry about me. All three of you all have people you need to be taking care of without spending a bunch of your time going crazy over whether I'm bleeding out in a gutter. Mom, say hello to Titch for me next time she shows up for her weekly treatment. Make a terrible rat pun on my behalf. Dad, feel absolutely free to brag that your child's a bona fide badass at work, and how they could probably kick all of the squad's asses if they weren't so nice. What? It's true. Mostly. Partially. Okay, I'd probably get absolutely destroyed by a squad of trained Stewards, but c'mon, I know that you won't be able to resist. And Kahanni, since I know you're going to be the one reading this first, go ahead and edit this if you don't think Mom and Dad can handle some parts. They're... they're not in the best place right now. You know that. Oh, come on, don't think I haven't noticed that you hid some kind of monstrous rig inside the washing machine on my visits. You're going to go places, sis. Just, uh, make sure you don't go criminal places with those talents because you'd be really dangerous if you did that.
Love,
Vahni
Sighing, Vahni climbs out of their pod and grabs their gear, strapping on their longsword, holstering their pulsecaster, and taking their computer and comms unit before heading for the hangar bay.
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Leo takes in all the information with quiet excitement, seemingly ecstatic to be on the job but equally terrified of being rude or disliked. He smiles with a sense of achievement as he walks out with the rest of the crew for having done what he sought to do: not talk unless spoken to. He had done well. Well, after excusing the first flub, of course.
As the crew parts ways for a time, Leo heads to his old dorm area, where he still lived in between missions. He had not had a chance to find a more permanent living solution, and the society hadn't kicked him out just yet. There, he hurriedly gets all of his equipment together, including the celebratory spellgems he got from Fitch after graduating. A part of him knew that all new graduates got some sort of gift, but even so, he liked to believed that Fitch had actually gone out of her way to give him his spellgems.
As Leo walks out of his dorm, he sends some simple paperwork to Fitch's office to update the Wayfinder database about his current mission. Leo was always very dutiful about these sort of things, and so far, he had yet to miss any undotted i's or uncrossed t's.
Soon, Leo finds himself Hangar Bay 215-D. As he walks out to the ship, he pulls up a clock. It has only be about 30 minutes, and the ship doesn't leave for another hour and a half.
"Just in time." He says to himself, content with his punctuality.
Leo approaches the hangar forcefield that separated the vacuum of space from the breathable habitat of Absalom Station. For a short time, he stands like a statue, staring at the stars and the black, entranced.
Then, as if invited and led further away, Leo simply steps through the hanger forcefield and begins to float in the vacuum. As he does, a subtle field surrounds Leo from his armor's environmental protection systems. Most would be terrified of being lost to space, but this wasn't Leo's first time out here.
Unafraid, Leo somehow manages to hover his way to a nearby slant in the station's architecture. He didn't really know how he did it, somehow being able to maneuver in space as if he had a jetpack; all he knows is that he could. At the slant, Leo sits down and makes sure all of his pockets are properly sealed. Then, he spends the rest of the 1 hour and 30 minutes watching the starships of the Armada fly by, or the distant stars glow, or the inky blackness breathe and call out to him with a peaceful serenity.
Yes, he was just in time.
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When the time to depart draws near, Leo makes his way from his quiet place, back through the hangar forcefield and joins his team for departure. He was ready for another mission and ready to get one step closer to fulfilling his many, many goals. Besides, he had never been to Akiton. Despite what others had told him, Leo had long convinced himself that it must be beautiful in its own way, and now, he's ready to prove it.
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As Moktargarn leaves, he turns to look at Glitch with one of his eyes. His glare is hard and uncompromising.
"I don't know if you've seen open warfare," he says, his voice quiet but easily carrying across the space between them, "I have. It isn't pretty. I didn't leave my family for refusing to kill enemies, only to start it here. We're Pathfinders, not mercenaries, or soldiers. We're better than that."
With his piece said, Moktargarn stalks off through the corridors. He spends an hour or so sparring some of the other Pathfinders he has come to know, and once finished spends a little more time in the sauna than he normally would.
Akiton. The word came unbidden, and hung in this thoughts. He knew little about the planet, but what he did know troubled him. It was a lawless rock, and that made his vow not to kill more difficult. He would need to be on his toes, and perhaps a little more aggressive than usual.
Eventually, the time came and Moktargarn readied his equipment before heading for Hangar Bay 215-D. Time to see what this mission would bring.
Arvin gives Fuskee a cold glance, "Just the fact he was being considered for a Venture-Captaincy should tell you his capabilities, try not to underestimate him."
He then turns to Moktargarn. "Personally I wouldn't wan to leave him there either, but the Forum and I don't really care what you do with him. kill him or not, bring him back or not, it makes no difference. However if you do bring him back we won't press charges as extradition laws will likely make it a waste of legal money."
"Now that seems like it will be all. Good luck with your mission and blessings of whoever you venerate, if anyone." With this turns back to his display, and while you leave the room you can hear him reopen the channel to his digital assistant. "Ok, Croyd, now many calls came in while I was..."
You all go your various ways to prepare for your mission.
Fuskee get back to his quarters and collapses, only to wake to the mental klaxon that is Acid Burn's alarm.
Moktargarn gets a good sparring in with some of the Society's other fitness enthusiasts before going back and packing his things.
Glitch confirms that the message does indeed come from the captain, but sadly one of her glitches prevents her from actually opening the message for a frustratingly long hour.
L.E.O. gets to the hangar bay with time to spare, but gets detained by the security guards before he can leave the force field and is forced to sit through a 20 minute long battery of tests to prove he's actually an android, safety presentations about the dangers of the void of space before signing out a sheet and getting harnessed with a safety line.
Vahni gets back to their quarters and sends a few messages. By the time vahni's message to their family has been sent they already have a couple messages from their fans.
All of you meet up in the spacious and austere Hangar Bay 215-D, a row of the same model of shuttles lines one side while on the other side is another of the same models with it's lights on and running throught it's preflight checks. Across the side is a bright pink advertisement for Strawberry Machine Cake's new album. In the blueish white glare of the station lights hovers a small delivery droid bearing the Starfinder symbol. It scans your face and hands out a small bag with the travel expense credstick, some foodstuffs for the journey, and a surprisingly cheerful note from Arvin, wishing you good luck. Joining another ten of so people of various races, you board the shuttle and settle in for an uneventful flight.
Outside the observation windows floats Akiton, a world the color of blood, rust, and red clay. A thick shell of white caps both poles. The shuttle descends toward the planet, and a barely perceptible shift in gravity occurs as the ship’s artificial gravity begins to lessen and the planet’s natural gravity begins to take hold.
From suborbital heights, a handful of small towns, large complexes, and industrial sites that spew noxious fumes into the thin atmosphere surround the trench city of Maro. A spidery web of dirt roads scratched into the rust-colored ground by regular traffic connects these sites to the metropolis. Maro, the so-called City of Lights itself, comes into view as the ship begins its final descent. The city occupies more of a vertical space than horizontal, built into a six-mile-long section of trench that is half as deep and a half mile wide.
Entire neighborhoods and business districts are built into the walls, accessed by patio entrances. Lights, neon signs, and holographic advertising bejewel either side of this urban canyon, while an active spaceport and industrial zones occupy the ground level. As the shuttle lands, it does so beneath the backdrop of an immense mural of brightly glowing neon-green graffiti that reads in Common: “Git Out! Planet’s Broke!”
Despite the other passengers, you are the only one's who disembark. As soon as you are clear of it, the shuttle immediately takes off again. clearly not wanting to stay here longer that it has to.
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Vandor steps off the shuttle puts his hands on his hips, leans back and takes a deep breath of Akitonian air... and then chokes nearly to death on the dust and fumes of the spaceport.
"Hack, cough, cough... Aw #^%*! Ugh. I love the smell of... whatever that stench is... what a beautiful planet." After a moment of recovering from his chocking he continues. Still, this does seem like my kinda town. A fella could get into a lot of trouble here... and probably get away with it too. But where would you go with a rock that can turn @$^* into gold? This isn't Old Golarion, nobody actually buys things with gold anymore. Thoughts?"
He looks at the group, then spots a neon sign not far away of two martini glasses cheersing each other and inches in that direction. "I know I always think better on a full stomach...of booze... and the Captain did say our expenses were covered.
We can ask around while were there!"
Maybe if were lucky someone in there has seen a mysterious red rock lately, I mean they don't call it the RED planet for nothing. yeesh"
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Leo is thankful for how much the station seems to care for his wellbeing, though he finds the 20 minute preparation process to go on his space walk a little irritating. But he would never voice such a distasteful thing to an authority because that'd be wrong. Right?
Anyways, as Leo enters the shuttle, he makes sure to snap a picture of the Strawberry Machine Cake advertisement that covered its side with his comm unit. It wasn't that he was the biggest Strawberry Machine Cake fan - in fact, Leo preferred the synthetically perfect Aballonian euphonics and Synahtrah-7's galactic-jazz to Strawberry Machine Cake's sugar-pop.
Leo took a picture because he had the slightest crush on one of the members and frequented a fansite that collected as much SMC-related media as possible. It was innocent, and his crush was based more on celebrity idolatry than actual infatuation. But a crush was a crush.
Once settled in his seat, which was by a window of course, Leo spends most of the journey staring out at the wonders of space. If his crewmates addressed him, he would partake in conversation. In fact, if struck with conversation, Leo's giddiness and anxiousness at the upcoming missions would make him rather talkative; for Leo wasn't unwilling to talk - his prior vow of silence to the Venture-Captain's briefing was only for the moment and as a form of discipline for himself. Instead, it was hard to strike up a conversation with someone when the vastness of space was already whispering in his ears.
If he could, Leo would write down observations of most astral bodies that he might have seen as they traveled. Just for personal cataloging.
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Upon arriving at Akiton, Leo feels weight gradually lift off of his shoulders. This was his first time in Akiton, and the low gravity was quickly apparent. In fact, it was pretty liberating. And with the shuttle gone, Leo felt incredibly autonomous in that moment. He was back on the field! How exciting!
With fresh fervor pouring in, Leo accesses his comm unit to review the information from before. While he does so, Vandor speaks, and Leo listens. Before they can move on, he decides to relay the information to his team.
"Wait! Oh, sorry! Sorry... I didn't mean to be mean," his mechanical throat makes weird cranking sounds as if it's hitting something. One can assume this was Leo's version of an awkward and nervous throat clear.
"Uhm... before we all do our investigations. I, erm, just wanted to go over some things about Akiton to give us all a better, well, y'know. Uhh... a better starting point," Leo continues on after a quick pause that wasn't there to give his mates time to listen and process but more because Leo suddenly felt weight come upon his recently unburdened shoulders, "So Akiton is supposedly a dying planet, in more ways than one y'know. Yeah. So... Not only are its deserts growing and atmosphere waning, but it's economy has also been slowing ever since the creation and popularization of Drift engines. This is, well... This is because Akiton's economy was centered around mining for fuels that were used in pre-Drift types of engines. Now, a lot of the old mines are emptied or, uhm, abandoned or maybe even taken over and used for something else?"
He pauses again, but he seems less nervous. As he goes on, he apparent social skill deficiencies seem to give way to his data rambles. Pouring out lots of information always had a way of quieting his insecurities for a moment; all it took was focusing on the knowledge and not the people listening. In this case, his eyes never unglued themselves from the holodoc that he had pulled up in front of him - old notes from his Akiton History and Society class. As long as he didn't make eye contact, he would be okay. Unfortunately, this made him a little blind to another's reactions and also garrulous.
"With a dying world comes dying governments, too, y'know. See, er, well... Akiton is not the pinnacle of law and order, and nearly all law enforcement is done in small, local areas by small, local authorities. And that makes the law here a little... well, a little lawless. Anyways, Akiton isn't all dead! It's still sustained by commerce and trade. That's good, right? I mean, who knows how much of it is 100% legal, but still, trade remains strong. You just have to be on your toes, is all. Because, uhm. Because... because most locals don't trust each other all that much, let alone strangers. So be careful because you're probably being watched, and if someone seems too trusting, I don't want to sound rude... but - and I apologize - if they seem too nice or trusting, it probably is a deception... And it also means Talbot probably got out of Maro as quick as he got in, if he wanted to stay safe, that is."
For a moment, Leo seems to have stopped, but the he scrolls down to a final section of his notes that he almost forgot to mention, "Oh! And if you haven't noticed gravity is a lot lighter here. About 1/3 of Absalom Station. That means you can do some thing you weren't able to back in the Lorespire Complex. Just be careful. I hear it can be pretty hard to get a hang of all the low-gravity stuff. I'd also suggest keeping your environmental protections on because the atmosphere is thinner here, too, which can make you weak and tired. And we need to stay alert!"
Leo smiles at his wealth of knowledge, proud he could somehow be useful. But as he finishes, he makes the mistake of looking up and making eye contact with the crew.
"Oh! Uhm... yeah. Back to work! Sorry!"
He apologizes out of a nervous habit, seem pretty uneasy, and quickly starts off deeper into the city of Maro as if trying to outpace his social intimidations. He heads towards the bar that Vandor had pointed out just because it was the first thing that Leo could think of heading to in the moment. He didn't really have a plan; he just needed to move.
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Moktargarn approaches the shuttle with a small backpack slung over his shoulder. Attached to his belt is a pulsecaster pistol and a taclash hangs from a small securing hook. He glances up at the band advert and grunts dismissively.
"Shall we get this over and done with?" he rumbles, as he boards the shuttle. He spends most of the journey in a restful meditative state, after adjusting the position of his pistol and taclash.
Once they land, Moktargarn listens to the others speak. His shoulders shrug as they discuss options.
"I was never really good at the... investigative stuff," he states, looking around to see if anyone has noticed their arrival, "I will leave that to you lot."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Fuskee wakes up the loud alarm in his head as he reaches next to his cot for his flask, bringing it to his mouth for a quick post-nap sip as he gets up to meet with the others at the shuttle. On his way he does a few quick stretches to limber himself up for the adventure before turning on his synaptic accelerators and switching his exocortex to overclocking mode. Fully awake and wired now, he meets up with the others at the shuttle bay. "All aboard, let's go, you guys listen to the new Strawberry Machine Cake album yet, I've got it here, I'll put it on for us, it's real good, the first song is all baba babababa ba! but the second one is like, babababa ba ba ba BA, but my favorite is the third cause it goes like BABA BABA BABA BA BA, you guys will love it." he takes another sip from his flask and boards the shuttle for Akiton.
Upon arriving Fuskee hops off the shuttle and stretches his legs out by darting around and looking down the various alleys for any sort of shady establishments where an ex-crook like him would get information. "Should we split up and ask around? It might be quicker if we spread out and see if anyone has any info about our thief. I might do better alone since we ysoki tend to share more information when it's just us."
A few of you go to the bar that Vandor pointed out. It proves to be up a few levels of the cavern walls. The inside is decorated in a style that was popular about a hundred years ago when this place was probably last renovated. The well worn seats and carpets speak of the long years of use, but the dim lights and seedy atmosphere helps to hide some of it's flaws. Inside are a few people, a couple of single drinkers and one or two groups of two or three. The bartender, whose skin is the ruddy red of the native Akitonian humans, stops cleaning a glass and gives you a quick judging glance that soon turns disinterested when he sees you aren't a threat. He goes back to cleaning the glass.
Meanwhile, a much more energetic Fuskee has almost no trouble finding a group of ysoki, as they almost seem to be thriving here. He starts asking around and almost everyone seems to know someone who'd seen that guy, but they in turn heard it from this other guy. After a few hours of hunting around he doesn't seem to have any answers. Whether this is because he's from off-world or just because the gossip lines are long, Fuskee can't quite tell.
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Vahni spends the trip back to Akiton alternating between responding to a sudden flurry of fanmail and getting to know the rest of their party. Well, trying, at least. They end up spending most of the flight sitting next to Leo, making idle conversation on a variety of topics, wandering between their life on Akiton, the merits of eyebite rock versus greenskin punk, and nerding out over the newest build of Dawnseekers.
Yeah, that’s actually where I’m heading! If I can catch a break, I’ll try and meet up with you for a chat.
When the group disembarks, they smile sympathetically and pat Vandor’s back when he has his coughing fit, saying, ”Don’t worry, you’ll adjust to the constant feeling of smoke and grit coating your lungs in a few days. Hopefully.” Vahni nods along at Leo’s explanation of the socioeconomic troubles of Akiton, sighing. ”Yeah, Akiton… isn’t the best place. Most of the people with enough sense and creds have already packed their bags and left. And then there’s idiots like me who stick around and try to make things better.” Vahni grin turns into something more self-deprecating. ”C’mon, we’ve got a job to do.”
Vahni nods at Vandor’s suggestion. ”Good place as any. But please, I think we need both of you sober for this,” they say, giving a meaningful look at Vandor and Fuskee. They take a few moments to tap out an address to a fan that wanted to meet, then catch up with the rest of the party. They quickly ingratiate themself into a group of dubiously legal transport workers, idly chatting and generally keeping the conversation away from any specific line of questioning, instead letting them open up about any suspicious activity on their own.
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Glitch's brow twitches upward at Moktargarn's reaction to her... "WHATever." she walks away and into the bar when they arrive. Once in the bar, she curses under her breath... I need access... Maybe I could trace his activities if he's been active.. making calls, transferring funds, or using a credstick..
Instead she tries assisting Vahni with talking to the locals.
Vandor bellies up to the bar, orders a drink and attempts to get some info from the bartender, making sure to speak loud enough that the other patrons hear his questions too.
After softening the bartender up with some of his trademark wit and charm "So my friend Raynald says to me, "Vandor, come find me in Maro, we'll make a ton of credits together" but when I show up he's nowhere to be found! Just like him eh, one of his get rich quick schemes finally pays off and he dissapears! And he just got a brand new comm unit too! I don't even have his new comm number! Yeesh, if Desna didn't grant me bad luck I'd have no luck at all. Am I right pal? Hey, you haven't heard of any off-worlders coming through here lately, or anyone suddenly coming into a ton of credits? Once I find Raynald all my financial woes will be over..." he stops, looks around the bar, with mock approval "And you know what, this is a lovely bar you have here... yeah, I could see myself spending a LOT of credits here in the future. A lot. Once I find Raynald, of course."
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As soon as Leo enters the bar, he immediately regrets it. Everyone here seems unsavory, and he can feel the weight of their eyes on him. After only a few minutes of standing around awkwardly, he finally leaves the bar for some fresh air, or whatever someone might describe the dry, dirty air of Akiton to be.
Outside, Leo decides to find some sort of library or info database to see if news on the Philsopher’s Stone existed. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a computer with him, and his comm unit could only do so much, which is why he’d have to find a public computer to check out the planet’s infosphere in depth.
Maro was a wasteland ridden with neon and vertical alleys and abandonment... and that wasn’t helpful for his search.
If Leo would be able to find an accessible computer though, he would use it to see if there was any news or online gossip circulating about a Philosopher’s Stone or of Talbot.
Moktargarn tries to apply his wilderness survival skills to the urban expanses of Maro, but he quickly decides it's a bad idea, as he finds hundreds of different shoe prints and traces of people's passage, but he doesn't have a clue which, if any, belong to Talbot.
Vahni, despite their apprehensions, ends up joining everyone in the bar. Forgoing a drink, they instead find a small group of off-duty dock workers drinking in their free time, and goes over to see if they know anything. The process doesn't go well, as Vahni a complete stranger and, despite the Akitionian accent Vahni has, they are traveling with an obvious group of off-worlders.
Things improve, though once Glitch joins the table and asks if Vahni wants a drink on the Society's tab. One of the men looks at the two for a moment before asking, "Wait, you're Vahni, as in the vidgamer streamer that's joined the Starfinders, Vahni? My daughter loves your stream! She's constantly begging me for more allowance so she can be a platinum subscriber. But I hear you somehow made it off of Akiton and joined The Starfinders! How is it? It must be nice to leave this dusty place behind..."
From there the conversation starts flowing and Vahni is able to slowly direct the flow of the conversation to Talbot. The dock workers mull it over for a bit, but once you show them a picture, their eyes light up. "Oh, him! He was skulking around the docks a few weeks ago. He got a ride out of town, I think. Hey, frank where do you remember where this guy went?" On of the other dock workers at the table, who'd definitely been hitting the alcohol too hard, pops upright from the slumped over position he'd been in with a "Wha-?". The first man asks him again, and Frank takes a moment to focus on the picture before going, "Oh yea, tha' creepy fella! Headed ou'ta Tasch. 'hough wha' he'd find 'here, I don' kna'" the man the shortly slumps over, passed out again.
Vador quickly approaches the bar and tries to ply his charm and wit™. The bartender, however, proves a tough nut to crack and Vandor has to break out the Society credstick and buy a few drinks for everyone in the group before the man even starts using more than three syllables to answer Vandor's questions. But in the end the man listens intently to the story the envoy gives him.
The man gives a small snort at the preposterous tale, though. "I don't know why you're making up a stupid story like that. Look, I like you, not many off-worlders can handle a Shobhad-Knuckle Buster, but you even ordered a second. But, word of advice, don't go lying about my establishment, I know it's in s#%%ty condition and pretty words ain't going to make me think otherwise. But I do remember your 'friend' from a few weeks back. The man ended up on the floor screaming something about 'deserving that promotion' and 'showing them,' after only a couple of light Ysoki Whiskers. I think he mentioned something about Tasch when I was tossing him out. The man was an ass, I hope you can cut him down a few pegs!"
Finally L.E.O. deciding the bar was not his place, quickly hunts down a public access computer bar. Getting a free hoalf hour at the terminal, the android tries to hunt down information about the Philosopher's stone, but almost all of the information on it has apparently been lost in the Gap or is classified by the Society. He does, however, find an interesting article on the homepage of the terminal done by one of the local Akitonian reporters. It talks about how a large AbadarCorp fleet is two days overdue for departure. It goes on to talk about how the fleet was picking up a huge shipment of Drift fuel that they had purchased from the small town of Tasch, following the extraordinary discovery of fuel deposits a two weeks ago. The author concludes it the article with the speculation that something might have gone wrong with the purchase, if the ships are still here.
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Vahni blushes at the man's compliments, rubbing the back of their head. "That's great to hear! Do you think she'd want a holograph? I'd be happy to give one." Even once they get the information they need, Vahni stays and continues chatting with the dockworkers, waiting for the anonymous fan to show up while the others continue to gather information.
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Fuskee meets up with the others at the bar after some unsuccessful chattering with his fellow ysoki on the planet and orders a quick drink to refill his little flask before they move onward. "I got nothin', I hope you all were a bit more successful." He had run into some fine ysoki hookers but they ended up just lying to him about knowing information on Talbot and wasting his time to try and earn a payday from the ace pilot who looked wealthy from the way he wore his clothes and jewelry. Once they found out he was unwilling to part with his credits and didn't have the time to stick around for any fun, he got a slap across the face from each of them and sent him on his way back to his companions with nothing but shame and embarrassment that he refused to share with them. "Burn, you better delete any record of that from your system or I'll wipe your hard drive clean and dump you in a river." to which the AI replied "Don't worry, it was hard enough watching that the first time, captain."
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Leo waits outside the bar, idling himself. The knowledge he gathered was not anything he thought would pertain to their mission right now, but unfortunately, it's all he really had. And with only 30 credits to his name, he also doesn't really have any spending money right now. And he still doesn't feel comfortable entering the bar again.
So Leo waits, watching as strangers pass by and hoping his allies had something better than what he had. Because all he had was unrelated information about AbadarCorp Drift fuel transportation problems.
'Wait,' Leo considers as he stands with his hands clasped together looking uncomfortable, 'The article said that the oil was found only weeks ago... and Talbot left weeks ago... perhaps he's using the stone for more than just creating gold?'
Leo contemplates this notion for a time but decides it's probably unlikely. He didn't know Talbot, but he doubts Talbot would stay on Akiton for long with a stolen Society artifact. He'd be safest on the run.
Still, it was an interesting thought. If it was true, the implications were considerable. Was Talbot trying to somehow revive Maro's economy? Or was he just hoping to dupe the desperate mine owners and miners? If Talbot was somehow involved with the fuel in Tasch, Leo would have a lot of questions.
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Vandor, fully feeling the effects of the Akitonian liquor, gets the info he needed from his new bartender BFF. "Okay, you got me, haha. No offense intended friend, but I'm actually relieved you didn't believe me, because you're right. This place IS a hole."
He points up over the bartender's shoulder into one of the ceiling's corners. "I'm actually pretty sure that's some sort of black mold up there... you see that? I'm not even sure it's safe to be in here. I mean, I'm probably okay, but if you work here every day I'd be concerned. That is... not okay. Especially considering how dry the atmosphere is on this planet, for mold to ACTUALLY be able to flourish in this environment is... impressive." Vandor begins to notice the bartender's face darkening with each word that comes out of his mouth.
Luckily, at this moment he notices Fuskee entering the bar and jumps on the opportunity to change the subject. Fusk!! You old dog!..err, I mean rat..., um, I mean..., comrade. Come on over here! Our good friend Captain Arvin wants to buy us a round of these..." He turns to the bartender. "What did you call them?... So-Bad-Buckle-Rusters?? Anyway, they taste awful, but they knock you right on your A$$. Have one! By the way, Teynald Ralbot was here, said he was going someplace called Tasch hic. We should get the others, see what they found."
Then he leans in to whisper "Also, I'm not sure why, but I don't think the barkeep likes me very much...".
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Fuskee's ears perk up at the offer of free drinks and goes to sit with Vandor as they wait for the others to arrive. "I'm not one to turn down hospitality!" he takes one of the drinks and downs it with a shudder as the aftertaste makes his face twist into a grimace before it subsides. "Not bad! And you found out where Talbot went? NICE. This is going to be an easy payday. I ran into a few of my contacts as well but they didn't have any information worth sharing..." the ysoki pulled up his flask and chased the drink with some of his own personal whiskey as they waited to depart for Tasch with the others.
Vahni hangs out with the group of men a good thirty minutes longer until the bar door bursts open and an extremely excited young girl bursts in. Bedecked in what seems to be an ecclectic mix of what must have been her best clothes, the twelve year old scans the room before her eyes settle on Vahni and she makes a bee line for the vidgamer.
At the table, one of the men stands up and hollers out, "Susan, what are you doing here? You know it:s dangerous to go out on your own." She stops short for a second as she realizes her idol was surrounded by other people. She cocks her head as she realizes what is going on.
"Papa, what are you doing here? And why are you drinking with Vahni Dahawan? I got a message from them and HAD to come meet them!" With her eyes sparkling she rushes up even faster than before, givingher father a big hug before turning to Vahni and introducing herself. "I'm Susan and I'm a uge fan of yours. I saw your XenoCrypt playthrough a few years ago and LOVED how you empathized with the Monxia'lanian struggles. Since then you've become a huge rolemodel to me! I want to be just like you someday! Can I get a signature...." She continues on like this for a while, asking about minutia and even asking about how to become a solarion.
Fuskee, his fur luckily hiding the buning red paw prints on his cheeks, wanders up to the bar as Vandor starts talking about the mold in the corner. The bartender just smiles as the man rambles on about it, before retorting at the end, "But that's not mold it's my black scrubber, or a slime mold from Castrovel that has a bit of sentience." With this he gives a whistle and the black spot in the corner gives a shake and extends hundreds of tiny little appendages and surries down the wall to come at the bartender's feet. "See these little guys are great at cleaning mold and bacteria from the air and surfaces. They also love alcohol; this little one will rush right over and drink up any spills."
To prove his point, he reaches down and pick up the creature, and sets it on the bar. He spills a small amount of whiskey on he bar near the creature and it slides right over the alcohol and gives a shiver and almost purr of pleasure. The bartender then picks up the scrubber and sets it back on the floor and give it a pat to send it surrying elsewhere while Vandor orders Fuskee a Knuckle Buster. "Yup, that's a Shobhad Knuckle-Buster alright. If it doesn't taste like a knuckle sandwich to the mouth, it ain't made right."
Back at the tables with an unhappy but unable to extract herself from, the converstaion Glitch and Vahni, Frank, at his daughter's insistance, offers the solarion and thir friends the use of his grandfather's junker buggy. Gathering Fuskee and Vandor from the bar, L.E.O. from the door and Moktargan from the main thoroughfair, the two lead them to their home. They ivite the group to dine and spend the night, but the majority decide the group should probably push on.
With Fuskee driving the buggy that probably predates the war with Veskarium, but surprisingly has almost no rust, the group makes good time, making the two hour long trip in only an hour. The ysoki parks the buggy outside of town as everyone tries getting over the aftereffects of the ride.
With the setting sun at your backs, the group heads down the single long dusty road, lined with single-story dwellings, that runs through the center of Tasch. To the left a few powered vehicles rest chained to their owner’s homes. On the right a small general store stands near the center of town, illuminated by flickering white lights. Another building, full of locals, hosts a signpost that reads “Digger’s Dive” —clearly the town bar. Although the sun beats down on this desert town, its citizens meander around the bar in good cheer. Most are ysoki and humans, with the occasional lumbering fourarmed shobhad mingling among them. They greet you cheerfully, a very different reception from Maro, and talk amicably among themselves.
Deciding to try canvasing the bar for information, the group heads that way. Tossing open the doors you find yourselve in a room where faint electric lights dangle from the ceiling, while the open sky is visible from cracks between the planks that serve as a roof. The floor is solid wood, a rarity here from what you've seen. The interior walls and ceiling supports are mud brick, the latter being carved in a the bar's single attempt at ornamentation. The tavern is divided in two halves by an energy field with an opening on the northern end. The bar lining the southern wall is open to either side, with a wall of half-empty bottles behind it. The tables are wooden and makeshift, but solid. The east end has square wooden platform about a foot above the floor. Two sets of double doors are built into the northern and southern walls on the west end, both ajar. A single closed door provides an exit behind the west end of the bar.
The happy atmosphere extends into the bar, as it's quite packed and the men and women well and truly on the way to being drunk. Quite afew of them seem to be miners, but alot of spouses are present as well as more than a couple of kids scapering around the place. At the bar is about the only dark spot in the happy tableau, a female ysoki wearing badge saying, 'Hi, My name is: Podswald' on it. Attached to the badge is a small piece of paper tht reads 'And if you make fun of it I will punch your lights out'.
Taking a look around the room, L.E.O., Vahni, and Glitch catch sight of only other dark spot: a shirren and two vesk bodyguards sitting in the corner watching the revelers with a disinterest. they are all decked out in dark armor outlined in silver with a small mark upon their chests.
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“Uhm... I read that an AbadarCorp fleet was here to, well, to pick up recently found Drift fuel. Like, well, like very recently discovered—only a few weeks. Er, something has been keeping them here. They were... were meant to depart two days ago; people think it’s trouble with the purchase.” informs Leo somewhat quietly to his teammates, in answer to Glitch’s question. He sounded equally knowledgeable and insecure.
“A part of me wonders if it’s all somehow related to Talbot...”
He did his best not to make any eye contact because he didn’t want to be suspicious. So he stared at the ground instead. Somehow that’d probably still look suspicious to some people.
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Vahni laughs good-naturedly. "Woah, there! Slow down for a bit, kiddo. It's nice to meet you and all, and I'm glad that you like my work, but seriously?" They sigh. "You really should've asked your folks to bring you here. Maro isn't exactly the safest place, and I wouldn't want you getting hurt on my account, okay? If somebody was impersonating me when I messaged you, you could've gotten into real trouble. Tell you what, I'll let you know the next time I stop by here, but only if you promise that you'll have your folks' permission to hang out with me, and they come too." Vahni's lecture over, they happily answer Susan's questions (even summoning their shield for a demonstration), and spend a few minutes trying to turn down the offer of the buggy until Glitch forcibly interrupts them and accepts. Vahni profusely apologizes to Susan's father while the group gathers, giving him a whole year's worth of platinum subscriptions so that his daughter's hobbies don't drain the budget, and promising to offer free self-defense classes next time they stop by.
On the trip to Tasch, Vahni remains their usual chatty self and continues to make idle conversation with the rest of the crew, but as soon as they arrive in Tasch they stop, stunned. "Wow..." they whisper, whistling. "The stone's definitely been here. The miners got hit worst once the economy collapsed, they were the first ones who were out of a job when the Drift was introduced. They don't really have any business being this happy unless somebody pulled a miracle - or a rock - out of nowhere." They furrow their brow. "The thing is, though, even a huge economic splash from an off-worlder coming here and chucking a fat credit account at anybody who had something to sell wouldn't be enough to revitalize this place... something else is going on here."
In the bar, Vahni nods at Leo's deduction. "I think things are starting to line up. I'll see if I can get some more info." They meld into the crowd, making small talk, gossiping, and trying to subtly steer the conversation towards the sudden economic boom, AbadarCorp, and Talbot.
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Moktargarn remains quiet through much of the proceedings, having little to add. He surveys the room in an almost disinterested fashion, although he keeps an eye out for any possible problems.
He is surprised by the generally happy attitude of the miners. From what the others had told him, he certainly expected them to be a bit more... resigned.
In the inn, he stands in the group keeping a watchful eye out for trouble.
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Fuskee keeps to himself, not being much of a smooth talker as he lets Vahni handle getting information while he keeps his red mechanical eye on the folks from AbadarCorp, his exocortex making note and sizing them up in case they turn out to be chasing after the same guy. He takes a sip from his flask but keeps his left hand ready to pull his laser rifle in case trouble pops its ugly head up as he walks over to the bar and has a seat with a good view of the AbadarCorp representatives. "One shot of whiskey." he says in Ysoki to Podswald.
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Vandor is grateful for the loan of the buggy, and that he can sleep off some of those Knuckle Busters while Fuskee drives. Wait? Should Fuskee be driving right now? Does this thing have a breathalyzer... ah well, we're not likely to get pulled over on Akiton I suppose.
Jarred awake by the buggy's clunky stop in front of Digger's, Vandor looks around and takes stock of the small town, noting the smiling faces and the fact that the group's destination seems to be the local bar. "Oh gods... not another bar, even I have my limits." he grumbles. But he follows along, resigned to the fact that Digger's seems the obvious place to find info on Talbot.
As he enters near the back of the group, Vandor is astonished at the bustle of activity and the cheerful atmosphere within. So caught up at staring at the revelry he almost misses it when Glitch points out the party from AbadarCorp. He listens and nods with L.E.O.'s assessment that the AbadarCorp fleet's failure to depart and Talbot are most likely connected.
"I don't like this, if Talbot has drawn the attention of A-Corp things may be about to get complicated. If they are looking for him, we had better find him first."
Vandor makes his way to the bar with Fuskee and also orders a whiskey, but this time just sips at it casually. If anyone asks why I'm not drinking much, I'll tell them that I'm staying alert in case there's trouble, and not that my head is still pounding from the last time we were in a bar. As he "drinks" he engages the other patrons around the bar, specifically wondering if anyone knows who the "suits in the corner are".
The unusual atmosphere of the bar and town, while off putting, does make it easy to find out information about 'the stupendous' Talbot and his 'revitalizing transmutation process.' Often times just extending a question in neutral terms about the man or shy they are happy is enough to get them talking.
Glitch, after realizing that the dour men in the corner are AbadarCorp men, gets blindsided by a group of tipsy miners and an offer of playing poker for a few credits. "Hey there, you look like you could hold your own in poker! We're short a player and no one here is willing to play with us since Sarnial lost fifty credits over a game."
L.E.O. passes on his information about the 'Corp and their connection with Tasch before trying to make himself look less threatening. Apparently he does this too well as a small kid ends up wandering in front of the android and openly staring. "Hey, Mister, Why do you look so different?"
Vahni decides to plunge head long into the crowd and start talking with people. They soon find themselves in a group of miners, getting clapped heartily on the back and hearing all of the wonderful virtues of working for Talbot, the details of the transmutation process and even getting detailed, if slurred, directions to where the mine that the hard-working Talbot is probably still working hard at helping revive the economy of Tasch and hopefully Akiton!
Moktargarn just stays by the wall watching the proceedings but finding nothing out of place, he does have a few of the more burly miners challenge the vesk to an arm-wrestling competition.
Fuskee makes his way to the bar and places his order for a glas of whiskey. However, before he can even pull out his credstick, one of the particularly drunk patrons at the bar calls out in common, "Hey did the little ysoki order a drink? He looks like he's still too sober to be paying, I'll take his tab," before slumping over again. Podswald gives Fuskee a look and comments in ysoki, "Gods, it great to see someone who still seems sane ever since that Talbot man showed up in town. The credits are nice, but these men keep drinking me out of all my best alcohols. That an this revelry is just creepy; I liked it when everyone in town was more morose, and it wasn't this crazy." She quickly mixes up a whiskey and hands it off, before having to go off and deal with seven different orders.
Vador's order also gets picked up by another patron of the bar before he can even reach for his credstick. His line of questioning seems to meet more resistance, though more from a complete lack of knowledge than any unwillingness to talk. He finally finds someone who gives the comment a few seconds of thought. "We did just sell them a huge amount of transmuted thasteron, maybe there back to negotiate a second shipment. But I don't know. Maybe you could go ask 'em yourself?"
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"Hello, youngling!" Leo says with a surprised crescendo, "Uhm... it's because, well, you see, I'm an android. I look different, er, well, because I am, y'know, different. My body, well, was manufactured by, uhm, special machines, instead of being born."
He tries his best to politely smile, even as the young boy stares at him with beady, adorable daggers. Leo found them equally innocent and utterly terrifying. Considering Leo and his crew were on a mission, he'd need to somehow get the boy and his young, dagger-eyes away, both for the boy's safety (in case some sort of combat broke out) and so Leo could focus on assisting his allies with anything.
"Youngling, shouldn't you be with... well, with your parents? Are they, y'know, nearby? Or do you, erm, need help?"
Leo crouches down a bit and extends a gentle, open palm to the boy in a sign of offering assistance. While doing so, he made sure to stare at the boy's nose and not his cute and intimidating stare. Leo had learned this trick back when he was a corporate slave, when he was forced to make eye contact with a superior and he didn't want to. Leo had learned that as long as you stare at their nose, you can ignore their eyes, and they won't notice a thing... usually.
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Vahni expertly weaves through the crowd, cheering and reveling with everyone else, although their eyes grow increasingly conflicted as they slowly make their way to the corporate reps in the corner. "Hey there!" they say, displaying their brilliant signature smile. "What're you folks doing here? I mean, I can't blame the 'corp for wanting in on a piece of the action, but why do you look so down? It's a a new era for Akiton!"
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Fuskee nods to the man buying his drink and raises it up to him before taking a big swig. He leans over to Vandor, "Well there's on doubt about it, Talbot isn't doing a good job of keeping quiet about his little business he's got going here. We better get down there before he cheats anymore people out of their hard earned creds." he finishes his drink and nudges Vandor so they can gather the others once Vahni is done talking to the AbadarCorp reps and head to the mines. "The people working for him will definitely want to keep him safe but they aren't bad people so let's make sure we take a non-violent approach to any miners that might get in our way."
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Moktargarn looks down at the miners who ask him for a contest by arm-wrestling and shrugs.
"Your loss," he responds with a toothy smile. Gripping the edge of a nearby table, he holds his arm in the regular position and awaits his first competitor.
After the brief distraction, he rejoins the party as they look over at the AbadarCorp representatives. Listening to the others, he quickly chimes in.
"I suggest we make for where Talbot is holed up," he intones so that only the party can hear him, "Before our friends get too interested."
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Vandor listens as the other bar patron tells him about Abadar buying a shipment of "transmuted thasteron" from Tasch. He grimaces, "Something tells me they're not here for second helpings". He turns to the rest of the group, "I'm with 'Garn. We'd better find Talbot quick before those A-Corp goons do, looks like they are definitely the competition..." at this point he notices that Vahni has already gone ahead and broken the ice with the AbadarCorp reps. "...only one problem, Vahni is already over there talking to them. We better find out what they are up to."
Vandor grabs his whiskey off the bar and saunters casually accross the bar. Not wanting to interfere, or step on their toes, in case Vahni is working on some plan, he settles on finding a spot close enough he can hear their conversation and be ready to jump in if needed.
The men and women trying to get Glitch nito a game of darts sigh as she turns them away. "Oh, well, we wouldn't mind the cheating if it wasn't blatant. I mean almost everyone here cheated before Talbot came. But if you insist..." They head back into the throng to leave the android alone.
The other android in the group, gets caught up in the attentions of the small boy, whose eyes go wide at the mention of being made not born. "Wow! What was that like? Did it hurt? Was it fun? did you start small and grow?" When his questions are cut short by asking where his parents are, he points out a pair of adults standing nearby watching the exchange with some interest, a bit of pride, and a little apprehension. "They're over there. And why is it dangerous? and why would I need help? and why...." His line of questioning continues on, but the parents catching a flash of worry from L.E.O.'s face hurry over and gather the young boy in their arms. "There, there , Gamin. Why don't we leave the nice man alone?" One of them gives L.E.O. a thankful look. "Thanks for keeping Gamin company, he's never met an android before and can be pretty inquisitive."
Moktargarn gladly sets up shop on a table and starts pedaling out pride wounding defeats left and right until a few of the larger miners step up to the table.
vs.
vs.
vs.
He beats them all without breaking a sweat, and the men in awe offer the man a few credits and a drink each.
As everyone but Vahni and Vandor prepare to head out to the mine, the solarion and envoy instead move closer to the shirren and his bodyguard.
The shirren gives what might pass for a smile as Vahni wanders up to the table. In a voice that resonates in your head rather than your ears, he starts talking, "Oh, good you did stop by my table!" With this he glances to the vesk standing near the table, and then out towards the door. A few seconds later the vesk stand up giving his seat away, while the second one, who had moved to the door while everyone was distracted, gathers a few other chairs and brings them to the shirren's table.
The shirren refocuses his attention on Vahni and telepathically sends. "You do have a distinctive accent that marks you as being a local, though given the group you came in with, I don't think you're here for the 'new era for Akiton.' So, why don't you take a seat and call your friends so we can talk business with me having to tax my lobes?" He also sends a message to everyone else in the group, with a polite, if slightly unsettling, message to join their friend at the table in the corner.
Once everyone is gathered, the shirren gestures at the gathered chairs and wait for everyone to take up or turn down the offer. After a moment he starts to send to everyone again. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet everyone here. I'm Philit and I'm here representing AbadarCorp interests in a certain man called Talbot. The man sold us some new type of drift fuel that looked promising, but it reverted to basic thasteron. We purchased it in good faith and AbadarCorp does not tolerate outright fraud. However, given what I overheard of your conversations, it would seem you also have an interest in Talbot. Might I inquire as to why?"
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Fuskee takes a seat near the exit and just keeps an eye on the AbadarCorp folks and Vahni, making sure none of them decide to leave while we're all still in the bar, acting as a sort of lookout and bodyguard while the others talk and discuss matters. He continues to enjoy his free whiskey while he posts guard near the door.
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After having a surprisingly pleasant experience with the child and his parents, Leo is telepathically called to the table of the AbadarCorp Shirren and where Vahni and Vandor already were.
Not wanting to abandon his teammates nor seem rude to people who may be victims of Talbot, Leo obliges with characteristic obedience.
At the table, he does his good, old nose-staring trick and nods every now and then to show he is listening. There was no way he was going to pipe up, unless something made him blurt out. Instead, Leo hopes one of the more charming and better socially skilled allies of his crew would lead the way. At the least, Leo figures active listening and polite civility would bode well with the ever-lawful patrons of Abadar.
Maybe it would even help his friends in conversation. Leo always wished someone would just attentively listen to him without minimal judgement; surely the Shirren would, too.
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Vandor takes a seat at table and gives Philit his most disarming smile, the one he usually reserved for nosy customs agents back in his smuggling days. ( ).
"Fell for the old "I can turn thasteron into cheap drift drive fuel" trick, eh? You guys must be so embarrassed." Realizing that insulting the guy with the super huge and scary Vesk bodyguards might not be a good way to start Vandor quickly changes tack. "Could happen to anyone though really. Listen, we're looking for Talbot so that we can stop him from causing anymore trouble than he already has. He's a former associate of our organization, and, to avoid any unpleasant PR situations, we would like to clean this up quickly and quietly, before it gets out of hand." Looking around at the jubilation going on within the bar Vandor realizes it may have already gotten out of hand.
"You say your employer has no tolerance for fraud, I'd like to know what are your intentions for Talbot are if you get your hands on him.?"
Vandor awaits Philits response paying careful attention for any signs of deception.