Hack-It shrugs. "I suppose this is what the creds are for. If it gets too dangerous though, there better be some hazard pay."
Booker chuckles. "That's why they gave us an advance." It feels good having creds in his pocket. He wouldn't mind more.
"Now I, for one, ain't about to pitch a battle with a corporate behemoth. But I could do to learn a little more," he concedes, lighting another smoke and lounging back in his chair. "There's a few details I'm still fuzzy on:
"Who ordered the hit?"
"What's the Starfinder Society plannin' to do about it?"
"What's got the Level 21 Crew involved? By the sounds of it, they're more thieves than murderers."
"Where's the Acreon at now?"
"What actually! is the Drift Rock and where in the Nine Hells' the crew?"
"Does the Starfinder Society have a claim to the Acreon itself?"
Booker sits idly and comfortably, happy to let others wade through the infoswamps of the net.
"I usually get paid for all this information gathering," Hack-It mutters, walking back to a terminal. He then scans through the the public network to find out some of the basics, namely:
- Where the Acreon is now
- Who owns the Acreon
- What is the Drift Rock and where is its crew
The rest Hack-It assumes won't be on public networks that he can search.
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You are getting paid for all this information gathering. You got 200 credits up front and the promise of further employment if we're successful.
Seems like the Acreon was a Hardscrabble Collective ship, and still may be, depending on how successful Astral Extraction's coercion has been. Seems like no one knows what the Drift Rock is or what has happened to the crew. Has the Collective or Astral Extraction sent out a boarding party to check things out? It's been a few days since the Acreon arrived. If the dispute over ownership has prevented that, it might be worth visiting the Collective to see if we might be of assistance in their dispute with Astral. Seems like Astral has their hands in a lot of dirty pockets.
I think it would still be prudent to pay the Downside Kings a visit and squeeze them for some more info. They can tell us who specifically hired them for the hit on Kreel.
Hack-It gets a lot of frustrating nothing:
The Acreon was operated by the Hardscrabble Collective, but financed by Astral Extractions. There is NO information on the status of the crew. Everything is either redacted or, unusually vague. It is currently orbiting the station in the Armada, quarantined and off limits. The Drift Rock appears to be literally that, an asteroid pulled from Drift Space, it's not a ship at all. It's still attached via tow cables to the Acreon
"A whole lot of not much," Hack-It says, sharing what he picked up. "And for the record, I usually get paid more than 200 credits. But fine, whatever. Let's just move on. Maybe I'll feel better when we shoot some Downside Kings thugs. Maybe."
Where to Starfinders? You've got some leads, but not much.
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"Since Kreel was our contact, I think it would be wise to investigate that part, taking from Dunkelzahn's suggestion. That might uncover some more information and provide the Society some possible reprieve. My trigger finger needs that itch scratched and maybe the Downside Kings can help with that."
In the meantime, R.1.G.5. will hook up the vidgame kit to a screen and start playing the newest shooter game around: Pact Worlds Invaders
About 5 minutes after starting...
"AHAHAHA GOTCHA SUCKERS!!1!11!!"
"A whole lot of not much," Hack-It says, sharing what he picked up. "And for the record, I usually get paid more than 200 credits. But fine, whatever. Let's just move on. Maybe I'll feel better when we shoot some Downside Kings thugs. Maybe."
"Excuse me, my friend. Mister It is it?" Without waiting for a reply, Gig continues to talk to Hackit. "I know the money is not what you were expecting, but look at some of this equipment that you can pick up along the way. I found three of these Azimuth laser blasters. Look at the mechanism on these babies. I know they probably don't have the warranty of a new blaster, but just look at them. They even came with batteries! I bet you could still get at least one tenth of their value at a local pawn shop around here. Do you want one of these? Just think of the fortune we could making selling these weapons!"
"I think it would still be prudent to pay the Downside Kings a visit and squeeze them for some more info. They can tell us who specifically hired them for the hit on Kreel."
"I quite agree, Sir. It would be nice to get to the bottom of this. Could you just not mention to any of them that I actually killed one of their gangsters."
"You want to take on an entire gang? Already? Heh. And we only just got here," Booker quips.
His smile vanishes instantly and he leans forward. "Now that's just dumb. I reckon I'm a better shot than any of you, but I didn't come here to kill folk and I sure as the Hells didn't come here to die. We do this smart or you get yourselves killed without me."
He leans back, settling back into his chair. "Maybe we go down to the lower levels, the Spike is it?, and maybe we have a looksee. Real casual like, mind you, real casual. I wouldn't mind talkin' to that Hardscrabble Collective either, see what they know."
His smile vanishes instantly and he leans forward. "Now that's just dumb. I reckon I'm a better shot than any of you, but I didn't come here to kill folk and I sure as the Hells didn't come here to die. We do this smart or you get yourselves killed without me."
"Well, I wasn't trying to suggest we go in with our few laser blasters and take down an army. I was just thinking that we could do some snooping. You know, talk to a few of those thugs and see if they could give us a little more information. If they got a little jumpy maybe then we could defend ourselves, but I think it would be nice to find out a few weak spots and then sting them where it would really hurt!"
"I'll follow you wherever you think we should go. You look like you could handle yourself and if trouble comes, you could handle a lot of thugs too."
Booker gives Gig an eye. "One or two," he allows, with an air that suggests he thinks the number is well above that. "Have you ever talked to a gangster before? Were they particularly forthcoming with information to a stranger?" He blows a puff at Gig and stands.
"Snooping's fine. Let's just not be stupid. Lookin' at you, scaly." he thumbs at Dunklezahn on his way out the door.
Booker gives Gig an eye. "One or two," he allows, with an air that suggests he thinks the number is well above that. "Have you ever talked to a gangster before? Were they particularly forthcoming with information to a stranger?" He blows a puff at Gig and stands.
•COUGH•COUGH• "Well, no." Gig chokes out a reply. "I've never really talked to gangsters before. They always seemed liked bullies to me, but they never seemed very clever. You look like you were a popular kid back in school. Maybe they would talk to you and try to be cool like you. I mean . . . •COUGH•COUGH• . . . .they probably all like puffing away like you. Maybe you could offer them one of your ciggy smoke tubes."
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Booker turns in the doorway, considering the ysoki coolly. The culprit smoke tendrils wind lazily up from the smoldering roll between his fingers. "You want one?"
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"Snooping's fine. Let's just not be stupid. Lookin' at you, scaly." he thumbs at Dunklezahn on his way out the door.
Dunklezahn bristles at the comment from Booker.
You said you wanted to play things smart. You're off to a poor start. Mind your manners. Wouldn't want that mouth getting you in more trouble than you can handle.
Dunklezahn joins the group heading down to the Spike.
Now, now, everyone, Janzi says, keeping the peace as he joins them on the way to the Spike. Let's not fight. You're all pretty. I imagine everyone here can contribute to this in some way. We'll all get paid and then, if we want, we can go our separate ways.
Or just vote someone off the station, he says to Dunk, a little too loudly and with a smirk on his face.
"Hah! He told you, Mister Smokes!" Hack-It laughs harshly at Booker. To the Vesk he says, "You know, you're alright. Keep that up and I think we're going to get along just fine."
He follows close to Dunklezahn as they head to the Spike, no fool that the big merc is a physically intimidating presence.
Booker laughs. "Heh. 'Mind you manners,' he says. And here I thought your kind was thick-skinned, not just thick-skulled." He grins and winks. "I can admit to being wrong."
Janzi asks about the area as they move to the Spike.
Booker is attentive as the group moves visibly downward and disappears into the belly of the station. He nudges Torin in the direction of those rascals the old soldier thinks might be most forthcoming.
success
The party worms their way through the spire, picking up tidbits on the streets and in the bars. It proves to be fruitful as they learn not everything is widely available:
Turnover among the Downside Kings’ leadership is high, but the gang’s current boss is a barbarous human woman named Ferani Nadaz. Astral Extractions has recruited the Downside Kings to threaten the Hardscrabble Collective and pressure the miners into handing over the Acreon and the Drift Rock to the company without dispute. The Downside Kings are known to use a nightclub called Fusion Queen as a front for their illegal activities. Fearing that the Starfinders might be interested in the Drift Rock, Astral Extractions contracted the Downside Kings to kill Duravor Kreel in hopes of preventing any Starfinder interference.
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Dunklezahn will head over to the closest public terminal and do a quick search for Hardscrabble Collective HQ.
Take 20.
I think we should head to Hardscrabble Collective HQ and talk with them first. We don't have any hard evidence but it shouldn't be hard to convince them about the connections between the Kings and Astral Extractions. They might see our involvement as Starfinder representatives as a boon in their current troubles with the two and give us permission to investigate the Acreon ourselves. Of course, we'll still want to visit the Kings at Fusion Queen so they can answer for Kreel.
Dunk's quick search turns up a lot of information. He drops down into the grackeck hole for a bit, coming out with a lot of information.
The Hardscrabble Collective is a clan of stubborn asteroid miners that operates primarily among the scattered planetoids of the Diaspora. It has no offices or base of operations, but the clan members usually view the Armada—the ever-changing fleet of ships that orbit Absalom Station—as a central gathering place. Collective crews hire their ships out to a wide variety of business concerns, including Astral Extractions, which recently employed the Collective ship Acreon to scout for new mining prospects in the Vast. While the Hardscrabble Collective calls itself a clan, it is more of a cooperative business enterprise, a coalition of dozens of ships’ crews who have banded together for mutual benefit and safety. While some of the Collective’s members are related, most of them are individuals from a dozen different races: humans, dwarves, androids, ysoki, and more. Nevertheless, the Hardscrabble Collective is as tightly knit as many families, and members fiercely look after one another’s welfare. Following the arrival of the Acreon and Astral Extractions’ claim on the ship and the Drift Rock, the Hardscrabble Collective contracted with an Absalom Station street gang called the Level 21 Crew to protect its members and its interests on the station until the dispute can be resolved.
When Dunk tries to drop them a message, he's met with an autoreply, "“Pending arbitration and on the advice of our attorneys, we are not responding to any public inquiries.”
Astral Extractions is dirtier than a set of Ysoki bedclothes, Janzi muses, before looking over at Gig and Hack. No offense.
"Oh, sure, yeah none taken...Ant-Man." Hack-It says to Jorin.
He seems unwilling to give Jorin the satisfaction, but he can't help but agree with the mystic. "Fine, let's deal with Hardscrabble first."
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Hardscrabble may be amenable to reparations of some kind for Kreel's death. If nothing else, they may be more open to helping us. Sounds like Level 21 was there as a response to the King's presence at the dock. They might not have known it was a hit on Kreel. If we can get them on our side, we may have more options for dealing with Astral. They might welcome the help themselves.
"Makes sense," Booker grunts. "They seemed like a less murderous crowd, too, if the 'nets are to be believed." He almost snorts at the idea.
He does his best to flash an inviting smile to whoever the group first encounters in Level 21, and even offers up a smoke.
Janzi does some asking about in an attempt to find an associate of the Hardscrabble Collective. He makes it plain that they have no affiliation with Astral Extractions, and cautiously indicates that the Starfinder Society has interest due to Kreel finding himself perished.
Hack-It does what he can to ask around with the others. He's not a people person though, and it shows.
Gig tries to help out Torin with his diplomacy. He is almost more of a nuisance, but somehow manages to be a little helpful.
The party follows the threads all the way down to the actual Level 21. The Level 21 Crew may be a criminal gang, but they have a reputation in their territory (and neighboring levels) for promoting community empowerment, and many neighborhood residents tolerate or tacitly endorse their activities. The gang has also been known to hire itself out to defend marginalized and threatened groups or factions. A grizzled ysoki called Jabaxa currently leads the Level 21 Crew. Fearing retribution from powerful corporate interests, the Hardscrabble Collective has recently hired the Level 21 Crew for protection. Those who want to get in touch with the Level 21 Crew can leave word at a bodega called Mama Fats’, which the gang uses as a message drop.
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Dunklezahn makes his way to Mama Fat's bodega. He grabs a blue milk and orders whatever sandwich the bodega specializes in. As he's paying, he'll mention to Mama Fat(?) that he's looking to talk with Jabaxa about what happened at Docking Bay 94. Just to talk and see if there's a way they can help each other.
Dunk makes his way down to the bodega.
Some of the graffiti on the walls bears a secret message. They're gang signs, and it indicates that this Bodega is protected by the Level 21 gang.
Dunk gets his milk, and is reasonably confident that he screwed something up.... until he reads his coaster:
Tomorrow. Midday. Here. Everyone in your party order the synthetic gach.
Janzi carefully points out the gang signs to the group, being particularly cautious about not pointing to them, but merely describing where they are on the walls.
He looks at the coaster Dunk received with interest. Ugh, I hate gach, especially synthetic. The lashunta frowns a bit as he finishes his meal, then meets back up with the group at the Moons that evening. What do y'all think?
Booker smirks. "Still plenty left in the day! Such as they call it a day, on a place like this."
He scratches at the stubble on his chin, whether thoughtfully or just out of habit is hard to tell. "Got nothin' else to do, 'sides. Wouldn't mind poking around in Kings territory a bit more, might learn something. Bargaining chip at Mama's, even, maybe. And I'm not doubtin' that the bug at the Lorespire wouldn't mind an update."
Reading the coaster, Gig thanks the Vesk, "You've clearly done somethings right to get us a meeting with their Ysoki boss, but what is this synthetic gach that we have to order? I hope I don't regret this meeting. I do have a very sensitive digestive system."
The party gives Chiskisk an update. The shirren seems pleased. "It appears the disagreement over this rock from the drift is the fulcrum to the tension that led to Kreel's death. Keep up the good work agents.
"Alright, I'm headin' out," Booker says within ten seconds of sitting down. "Gonna skulk around the Kings territory a bit. If I don't come back, I'm dead." He flashes a grin and strolls out the door, packing hanging loosely off his shoulder.
Down in the Spike, he sticks mostly to looking lost and asking innocent questions, peeking around corners when he thinks its safe to do so. He makes a mental note of anything he spots of interest.
I'm calling it for the day. Hazard pay does not equal overtime pay," Hack-It says, making his way back to the hotel. "As for food, I can't believe you're so fussy, Gig. Can't say I've had gach before, but I'm sure it ain't half bad."
-Posted with Wayfinder