"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Jehir observes.
"The fight at the Fusion Queen and the arrival of the Stewards was hardly a secret, and I'm sure Astral Extractions is aware we were involved. The loss of their cat's paw may or may not hurt them much, but they certainly would want to know how much Nadaz is able to implicate them. If they are angry about the exposure or the loss of their 'freelance muscle,' then this would be a perfect opportunity to do act on that anger."
"It would be very easy for them to fabricate evidence that we caused some kind of incident in their headquarters and say their own Security forces were needed to deal with us. This would not only put us at risk but also discredit the Stewards' investigation since they could then say that clearly we had some kind of animosity towards Astral that caused us to fabricate a case against them. In the mean time we have had to deal with whatever their security goons can throw at us, which could be quite a bit. It's easier for them to make that accusation stick if we are all dead."
Jehir shakes his head.
"In the mean time, our job requires us to be a neutral party in this dispute. In my mind any communication with either party represents a conflict of interest. It potentially damages our reputation and could be used by the other side to show that we have a bias that negates the value of our work."
"I would politely decline this offer. If they have any information that is of value we could ask them to forward it to the Ambassador. We know that they won't have any information about the ship or it's crew that we can't get elsewhere, since the ship was hired as an outside contractor, and has not communicated with anyone since it returned."
Jehir shrugs.
"It's possible the company wants to offer us a bribe. But the consequences of accepting it, considering how that fact could be used against us, might not be worth the money."
"I don't think they would take direct action against us in their own headquarters," Diedre says. "I think that, at most, they're going to attempt to subtly or not so subtly bribe us."
She looks off into the distance.
"If they're going to initiate anything against us, it'll be away from there and indirect. They're a corp. Corps never dirty their own hands. That's why they paid the gang to eliminate Kreel."
She looks back at Jehir and nods.
"The more I think about it the more I want to talk to these people. However much they actually offer us is an indication of how valuable they think this rock is."
After a few hours of shopping on their own, the Starfinders reconvene at the base of Bluerise Tower, an imposing structure of glass and steel. Passing through a lengthy security screening operated by private contractors, the group is whisked up an elevator to a level well above the Ring's transparent aluminum ceiling and arrive at the headquarters of Astral Extractions.
A sharply dressed clerk takes their names, and before long the Starfinders find themselves in a poshly-appointed conference room in front of Ms. Joss, a female lashunta armed with a constant smile and a slick holo-slide presentation.
"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice," Ms Joss begins, dimming the lights as the holo-slide warms up, "I'm sure you'll agree that it's in everyone's best interest for you to be fully informed in preparation for the arbitration. In that light, I would like to give you a better understanding of Astral Extractions as a company, what our corporate philosophy is, and how that guides our business practices."
The PR agent launches into her presentation, a slickly produced holo-slide clearly intended to influence potential investors and the public. Highlights include the expanse of Astral's operations, the pipeline of critical materials they import into the system, the opportunities they provide for hard-working miners, and the burdens the company takes on by supporting financially risky exploration and prospecting missions.
As the presentation ends and the lights come up, Ms. Joss continues talking. "Now that you have a better idea of where Astral Extractions is positioned, I would like to share with you some details from the contract between Astral and the crew of the Acreon, who were represented by the Hardscrabble Collective."
Picking up a datapad from a nearby table, she rambles a bit of legalese before reaching her point, "'The Acreon is hired to prospect for unclaimed, unexploited mineral resources on behalf of Astral Extractions, which will then hold all rights and claims to said discoveries.'"
Looking up at the group, she adopts a conciliatory tone. "Astral isn't trying to seize the property of others willy-nilly here - we're simply expecting the Hardscrabble Collective to hold up their end of the contract. This 'Drift Rock' is an unclaimed, unexploited mineral resource - discovered by the Acreon - as defined in the contract. By rights, it belongs to Astral Extractions. Here, read it for yourselves." The lashunta agent distributes a digital copy of the contract to anyone who wants one.
Entiren will simply sit quietly through the presentation and legalese. Once she finally gets to the point, he will wait to say anything, letting someone who could have more tact go first.
Diedre nods and smiles at all the appropriate places through the presentation.
Once it seems to be slowing to a halt, she raises her hand.
"Can I ask you a question Ms. Joss? Is it normal procedure for a surveying vessel like the Acreon to actually bring back mineral resources rather then just map and tag them for later exploitation?"
Lauren fidgets throughout the presentation, trying her best to maintain quiet as she not so subtly checks translations for various words she doesn't understand. Worried that Jehir may be correct in their assessment of the situation, she also nervously eyes the doors and occasionally checks to make sure her weapons are still there with a smaller tentacle.
Aureum attends the meeting, wanting to observe if nothing else.
She frowns as the language of the contract goes somewhat over her head; the archaeologist has seen plenty of companies use confusing and vague legal jargon to take advantage of their workers, even been on the receiving end of it, and it always makes her skin crawl. She keeps her mouth shut for the moment though, waiting to see what the others make of it.
"Can I ask you a question Ms. Joss? Is it normal procedure for a surveying vessel like the Acreon to actually bring back mineral resources rather then just map and tag them for later exploitation?"
Ms. Joss's smile doesn't waver as she answers Diedre's question. "Every prospecting mission is different, but Astral Extractions generally discourages our contractors from retrieving physical samples, as we feel it puts the workers at an elevated risk exposure.
"Still, any samples are considered resources under our standard contract, and thus belong to Astral Extractions."
"The minerals of the sample would be potentially under the contract, got it," Diedre says, clarifying for herself and nodding. "Are you contracted with them for anything other than minerals?"
Miraj arrives at the Bluerise wearing the business suit he purchased prior to the meeting with the Ambassador of Eox.
He cooperates with whatever security measures they use and keeps his eyes open to learn what he can in the process.
He sits through the presentation, pretending to be interested and impressed.
Once presented with the document, he looks it over, reading it carefully.
After hearing what Joss says to Deidre's questions, Miraj clears his throat and, working hard to suppress his usual Triaxian accent, begins with, "Seems like an open and shut case. These ..." he pauses and his lip curls a little as if resisting making a disgusted expression, "rock hoppers accept your generous terms to locate valuable resources for you to exploit and then try to reneg when they find a tempting bauble small enough they can haul it with them. So tell me, if we talked to them ..., for the sake of argument if we wanted to hear their side of this story, what argument would they make to justify the ridiculous claim that your property is theirs?"
"I am curious why you are showing us the contract. After all it is the ambassador's opinion that matters, and it is his job to interpret the contract. We are merely assessing the state of the Acreon and its cargo."
Lauren bobs her bell along with Miraj's statement, clapping her tentacles slightly at the end for emphasis.
"The minerals of the sample would be potentially under the contract, got it," Diedre says, clarifying for herself and nodding. "Are you contracted with them for anything other than minerals?"
"The resources." Ms. Joss's smile doesn't shift. "Astral's standard contract gives us ownership of any resources identified on prospecting missions."
"Seems like an open and shut case. These ..." he pauses and his lip curls a little as if resisting making a disgusted expression, "rock hoppers accept your generous terms to locate valuable resources for you to exploit and then try to reneg when they find a tempting bauble small enough they can haul it with them. So tell me, if we talked to them ..., for the sake of argument if we wanted to hear their side of this story, what argument would they make to justify the ridiculous claim that your property is theirs?"
Ms. Joss spreads her arms in a look of sympathetic patience. "The Hardscrabble Collective disputes our interpretation of the contract. I believe that is the extent of their argument."
"I am curious why you are showing us the contract. After all it is the ambassador's opinion that matters, and it is his job to interpret the contract. We are merely assessing the state of the Acreon and its cargo."
"Our goal here today is just to provide you with any information you may need."
"Any other questions?"
Aureum takes a deep breath and looks Ms. Joss in the eyes. Her tone is clipped and professional, and she keeps her expression neutral;
"What exactly is Astral Extractions' interest in this 'Drift Rock'? Besides principle, of course, why go to the lengths you have to obtain it?"
Diedre's lips twitch as she works to keep a smile forming when Aureum breaks her self-imposed silence.
"Yes, Ms. Joss, what is so special about this particular rock?"
"What exactly is Astral Extractions' interest in this 'Drift Rock'? Besides principle, of course, why go to the lengths you have to obtain it?"
"Yes, Ms. Joss, what is so special about this particular rock?"
"Precident." Ms. Joss watches the Starfinders carefully as she navigates their ad hoc good-cop-bad-cop routine. "If Astral Extractions allows other parties to claim our property now, it will be difficult to prevent it from happening in the future.
"Losses now could very well lead to a slippery slope of future losses, endangering the company's ability to provide for its employees, shareholders, and contract workers."
Diedre nods in response. She then looks around at the others.
"Well then, unless you have any further information to pass along, we'll be on our way to continue our investigation," she says as she steps up to shake the woman's hand.
"Thank you for the invitation."
"Before we leave, may we ask about your corporation's relationship with Eox and their ambassador? Do you know of any reason other than those stated for the ambassador to get involved? Do you have any contracts with the Bone Sages?"
Lauren makes a mental note to look up "slippery slope" later on the infosphere. After Miraj's question is answered, she'll offer her tentacle as Diedre showed her how to do earlier and say, "It was good times meeting you," before leaving.
Aureum listens attentively to Joss’ answer, appearing thoughtful.
She rises with the others, giving the woman a polite nod as they leave.
The Lashunta woman is clearly unsatisfied with the exchange that just occurred, a pensive look on her face as they exit the building. When the Starfinders are out of the vicinity of the tower, she speaks up.
”Why even invite us here if she was just going to dance around on every question we asked? All we really learned is that Astral Extractions is only concerned with profit, and we already knew that.”
She shakes her head. ”I think we should try to meet with the miners. I’d like to hear what they have to say.”
As they walk from the building, Lauren pulls out her comm unit and tinkers with it in a tentacle. After a moment, she says out of the blue, "Oh! Is logic breaking. 'Slippery Slope.' We call that, um.. 'Shifting Sands.' I think this is translation." It's hard for her to hide her excitement, as she feels as if she has learned more about her new home in the last day than the last weeks spent in the kalo quarter of Puddles.
She turns to Aureum after her comment and agrees, "Miners have better explaning of their position. We should contact them."
Diedre holds her head as the group exits the building.
"Does all that corp double-speak give anyone else a headache?" she says, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"No? Just me? Cool."
She shakes her head as if that will make the pain go away.
"Yeah, let's talk to the mining coalition. Then I'm going shopping. Maybe that'll stop my head from hurting."
She shakes her head. ”I think we should try to meet with the miners. I’d like to hear what they have to say.”
Jehir nods. "I agree that the corporation did not tell us anything useful. But if we are going to remain neutral, we have to give both sides a chance, so if Hardscrabble wishes to speak with us we should do so."
"Before we leave, may we ask about your corporation's relationship with Eox and their ambassador? Do you know of any reason other than those stated for the ambassador to get involved? Do you have any contracts with the Bone Sages?"
"Our relationship with the Ambassador is strictly limited to this arbitration - I'm not aware of any ongoing areements we have with the government of Eox. Ambassador Nor has a long history of mediating disagreements with an impartial hand, and Astral Extractions is committed to accepting the results of his mediation."
The PR agent walks the group to the elevator, leaving them with parting words. "All we ask is that you keep an open mind while investigating the Acreon and carefully consider Astral's claim. Have a nice day!"
A few minutes later, the Starfinders find themselves outside of Bluerise and in the filtered sunlight of the Ring.
As the Starfinders discuss their meeting with Astral, another message pings their comm units.
My name is Otal Serissi. I'm captain of the Dust Runner, and I suppose I'm the closest thing the Hardscrabble Collective has to a spokesperson. The Ambassador has informed us that Astral Extractions has already roped you into a meeting, so I figure it's in my best interest to yank on your other ear, if you'd oblige me.
If you're willing to meet, shoot me a message and I'll send a shuttle; we're stationed in the Armada.
Lauren looks at her phone with interest and says, "Speakings of miners. I think we all go, yes?" She then begins another infosphere search, trying to gather as much information as she can about Otal Serissi, the Dust Runner, and Hardscrabble.
"It is not surprising zey gave us no useful information." Miraj says, his accent returning. "Hopefully ve established zat ve are no fools. I expect zey just wanted to take our measure. But just in case zey planted some kind of bug on us, everyone do a thorough search of gear und clothing, and maybe run antivirus scans on all computers and comm units. Zey may have invited us there to plant spyware on us."
Miraj stops and empties his pockets, examines everything he has inside and out and helps others do the same with their gear.
"Ve are suddenly very popular!," Miraj mutters, reading the new post. "Zis meeting might give us actual information. Let's go."
Diedre looks at the new message coming in.
"They're certainly not letting grass grow," she mutters as she massages her temples.
"Damn it, I'm going shopping first! It'll take them a while to send a shuttle."
Shrugging slightly, Entiren will do as Miraj suggests. While he does not particularly believe that they would have been bugged or otherwise put under surveillance, he is not that familiar with this kind of situation. Looking at the message as it comes in, he looks around the group with a faint smile. "Looks like we will be getting to see some stars before the day is done! As for the shuttle, it won't take all that long to get here coming from the Armada. Also, it will only be able to dock with the station somewhere in the Arms. Being currently in the Ring, it will take a little time for us to get over there. I would not suggest that any diversions that any of us go take too long."
Lauren pats herself down and double-checks her comm unit as Miraj suggests.
"I think Diedre have time to make shopping. Is stores in Arms on way."
Diedire looks back and forth between Entiren and Lauren.
"Nevermind, I'll shop afterwards," she says finally. "Let's go."
"Maybe they'll actually tell us something useful," Aureum says, skimming the message.
"I'm sure we'll have some time afterwards," she adds helpfully, glancing at Diedre. "I'll go too, uh, if you want."
"Let's go shopping after ve meet with ze miners," Miraj suggests. "I recommend ve pick up some medicinals like anti-toxins. Ve don't know what ve might find on ze ship or ze asteroid. Ze crew may have been killed by something toxic."
"I'm sure we'll have some time afterwards," she adds helpfully, glancing at Diedre. "I'll go too, uh, if you want."
"Sure, that would be fun," Diedre says, a smile returning to her face.
She leans closer to the taller woman.
"I should warn you though, I have no intention of shopping for anti-toxins," she says conspiratorially. She looks around as if checking for eavesdroppers.
"It's my hidden addiction; Whenever I'm feeling under the weather or depressed, I go clothes shopping."
Gods, she smells incredible.
Diedre pulls away, her ears burning red again.
"And hopefully that make this headache go away."
Before meeting with the miners, Miraj will replace his corporate dress with his more comfortable travel gear, including his rumpled overcoat and hat.
Lauren looks at her phone with interest and says, "Speakings of miners. I think we all go, yes?" She then begins another infosphere search, trying to gather as much information as she can about Otal Serissi, the Dust Runner, and Hardscrabble.
Lauren's search reveals that 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. She finds no relevant information on the Dust Runner, but Otal Serissi's name crops up in news articles and discussion forums pertaining to miner's rights; he seems to have a limited amount of public presence.
Lauren looks over the information on her comm unit and relays it to the group, "Serissi is not like Diedre. Has very small... I not know word, ဒစ်ဂျစ်တယ်ခြေရာ." She fiddles on her comm unit for a bit, looking for the translation and adds, "?Presence? Is close." She reads over the articles for a bit before adding, "He cares a lot about miner's rights. Could be used?"
In her heart, Lauren is truly excited by this entire operation and can't wait to get back into space. The zero-g and lack of boundaries reminds her the most of her home. Even if it is inside of a ship, at least you can look out the windows and see forever. As they make their way to the docking bay, at some point in an elevator or train, she changes out of her every day clothing and into a zero-g environmental suit.
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Diedre looks confused.
"Unlike me he has very small ... what?" she says, glancing down at her chest and then back at Lauren. "They're not that big. Heck, I think Aureum's are bigger then mine."
Her ears burn red again as she looks at Aureum.
"I mean ... It's not like I've been checking you out or ... or anything."
Aureum blushes, and suddenly seems very absorbed in her comm unit, composing a message back to Otal Serissi agreeing to meet with him.
Miraj asks if he can see the term Lauren is struggling with. He calls up the same source but using the source language commonly used on the Pact Web. "Digital Footprint. Zat means like zis," and Miraj finds garden patch and places his boot into the soft earth and points to the impression left. "Foot prints are common vays bipedals like us give evidence ve have been at a place. A digital footprint, zat would be evidence one is active on zee web. In that case, you are correct, Diedre has a sizable ... [ahem] ... digital footprint."
"Ah, so that's what we're talking about," Diedre says, understanding dawning on her.
"Ok, let's clear this up," she says, her voice turning professional and losing it's nervousness.
"So who here knows about my ... digital footprint?" she holds her hand in the air and looks at Miraj expectantly.
Don't look at her. Don't look at her.
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The Lashunta woman looks from Diedre, to Miraj, and back again. She is aware that the half-elf has a presence on the net, but the way it's just been referred to suggests something more than just pictures of herself and the occasional status update.
"What do you mean?" Aureum asks, genuinely curious. "Do you write really popular Star Voyage fanfiction or something?"
Diedre closes her eyes.
"Or something," she says in resignation.
Why couldn't she have already known about it?
Without looking at anyone, Diedre taps at her comm unit for a moment.
"There, let's get this all out in the open," she says as everyone else's units indicate a received message.
The message is a link to her personal promotion page. Within the page are summaries of all the various adult interactive and non-interaction VR fiction she's played a role in as well as links to various publisher sites where they can be purchased.
The majority of the appearances are as Lana Lash, but there are also various 'niche' features for various diverse tastes.
There's also a regular video blog and information on how to join the paid members section where it's indicated that more intimate information about Diedre can be read/viewed.
"Now I hope this doesn't cause ... anyone ... to ... " she rolls her eyes. "Can we all just be adult about this?"
Miraj locks eyes with Deidre but says nothing and keeps his hands at his side. He has his own secrets and has no interest in revealing anyone else's. But anything that is known to anyone through the Pact Web is not really secret.
"Now I hope this doesn't cause ... anyone ... to ... " she rolls her eyes. "Can we all just be adult about this?"
"So you are an actress. Nothing wrong with zat. Zat is an asset for our verk. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, ve have a shuttle to meet. Shall ve go?"
He instructs his comm unit to send a number of files to Lauren that the group uncovered already, plus a link to his evidence board showing relationships between various entities.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
Link 6
Link 7
Link 8
Link 9
Link 10
Link 11
Link 12
Link 13
Lauren looks a lot confused by the conversation. "Did I say somethings wrong?" She then fiddles about on her comm unit for a bit to show the others what she means. "When Chiskisk told me who I am working with, I simply did search on your names. Diedre's had most numbers of responses. Otal's has few numbers of responses. Is there somethings wrong with this? I mean no offense nor try to... um, ခိုးနားထောငျရနျ"
"Now I hope this doesn't cause ... anyone ... to ... " she rolls her eyes. "Can we all just be adult about this?"
”Oh,” Aureum’s cheeks color as she scrolls through the half-elf’s promotional site, and she quickly closes the page.
”Of course. Nothing wrong with that. Yes, let’s go,” she says, perhaps a bit too quickly.
”Of course. Nothing wrong with that. Yes, let’s go,” she says, perhaps a bit too quickly.
"Yeah," Diedre says with a trace of defeat in her voice.
And now it's weird.
"No, Lauren, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm not ashamed of what I do. But in many societies, people are uncomfortable with the subject of sex so I don't advertise it to everyone I meet."
She glances at Aureum.
"It just makes things awkward sometimes."
Get over it, Didi. You didn't have a shot anyway.
"Enough standing around. Let's go find that shuttle."
The Starfinders quickly find their way to a small shuttlebay tucked in the Arms fairly close to their location, where Captain Serissi indicated their ride would be waiting. Sure enough, a small, battered craft with Dust Runner: Shuttle 02 emblazoned on the weathered hull sits on one of the pads, a tough-looking female halfling leaning on the door.
Seeing your approach, she calls out, "VIP shuttle to the Dust Runner, all aboard!" before adjusting her eyepatch and plopping into the pilot's chair.
The journey to the Dust Runner is short but thrill-inducing, as the tiny shuttle and its monocular pilot duck and weave between larger ships and cut across lanes of traffic with impunity, a combination of unpadded benches and glitching artificial gravity rattling the Starfinders like marbles in a tin can. Thankfully, the Dust Runner quickly comes into view, a battered tramp freighter temporarily networked to a small collection of other mining vessels with a series of airlock bridges, power couplings, and break-away struts.
As the Starfinders board the Dust Runner, they are greeted by Captain Serissi himself, a human with dark red skin, signalling his Akitonian heritage. He takes the group on a brief tour of his vessel, which is as much home for him and his crew as it is their workplace.
Afterwards, they sit down in the ship's galley, which has just enough seats for the seven of them, and the Captain gets down to business over a pot of black coffee.
"It may be hard fer an outsider t' understand why the fate of the Acreon is so important to us. You need t' know that we ain't rich - none of us - and that a contract like the one the Acreon took from Astral represents a big payday - one that can keep kids fed and ships flyin' for a while.
"On the flip side, we value our independence even more than credits in the bank. What's the point in havin' your own ship if you can't choose where to fly it? It's as clear as day - to me, at least - that the Acreon staked their own claim on the Drift Rock, and that their contract allowed them to do so.
"I'm terribly suspicious of the fact that Astral is placing an umbrella claim over the entire ship and the rock when there isn't a crew left to disagree. Astral may have a "financial interest" is what's on that ship, but we lost brothers and sisters. We need to know what happened t' them. And if that rock is worth somethin'? Well, those miners had families with mouths t' feed. They could stand to get some good news."
Diedre seems distracted as they careen their way towards the Dust Runner and simply holds on tight while lost in thought.
"Yes, having your own ship must be nice," Diedre finally says, looking down into her untouched cup of coffee. "Go where you want ... "
She catches herself and pulls herself back to the current conversation
"I can tell you that we will be as impartial as we know how," she says as she meets the Captain's eyes. "While still taking into account the needs of those that depend on these sorts of agreements for their daily survival."
She takes a large swallow from her mug.
Cold. Did I just sound like a complete waste?