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Daramak winces as Zigvigix begins communicating through telepathy, but it doesn't seem to bother him as much as last time. "Thank you, sir," he says, responding to the praise, "We'll bring you your album posthaste."
"Good idea, Eli. I'll see if the Infosphere might contain an access point to their database or some indication as to where one might be found." Daramak's eyes glaze over as he uses his cranially implanted custom-rig to access the Infosphere.
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Daramak searches the Infosphere, and once he looks it up, he finds countless blog posts, online discussions and news about Strawberry Machine Cake's latest publicity stunt, to release their latest album in physical form. He stumbles upon a live streaming site, which shows a long, looooooooooooooong line outside the warehouse which had been requisitioned for this purpose, inching ever slowly forward.
After bidding farewell to Ziggy, when you arrive, the line doesn't seem to have moved at all. Large contingents of security personnel are on standby, dashing hopes of attempts to bypass the line, and you settle down for a long wait.
...
Hour 1: A long, loooong wait.
...
Hour 2: Still waiting...
...
Hour 3: Is that it? Sigh, no, just going round the corner of the warehouse.
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Hour 4: Hmm, there are a total of 4266 tiles on this side of the warehouse.
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Hour 5: Almost there...
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Hour 6:
...
Finally! The queue channels into the warehouse, and the crowd around you starts getting excited as you near the counter. Each copy of the album, titled Star Sugar Heartlove!!!, is 50 credits, and Ziggy has given you sufficient credits to purchase one for Historia-7.
The energy level of the people around you ramps up quite drastically as you reach a few feet from the counter. People start screaming in ecstasy, and some even faint outright. Elbows and knees start flying as the impatient ones start pushing their way to the front, as if the few seconds saved her would make up for the 6 hours they have waited in queue so far.
Bruised and battered, you finally push your way out, with your prize in hand, guarding it carefully from others who are still in line and might be tempted to shortcut the process...
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"Long runs are fine. Space battles with dangerous pirates are fine. Being attacked by agressive pillows and corporate muscle is fine. But standing in a line just gets to you, doesn't it?", she complains during the wait.
Tired after finally reaching the goods, Eli gets to the front of the line. She shells out 100 credits for 2 copies, and tucks both into the interior of her uniform before heading outside, dodging the fanbase.
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vs DC 12 = Abject Failure!
Antares looks like a fighter that has gone five too many rounds in a cage match by the time they reach the front of the long line. She gazes listlessly at the album they are purchasing for... Who was it that sent them here, anyway? Wait... weren't they going to a warehouse to deal with some sort of dangerous creature? No, no... they'd already done that...
Suddenly, the crowd seems to go into a feeding frenzy, and the android tries to avoid being knocked around or even trampled by the screaming, clawing fans of Strawberry Milkshake. Wait, no... that's not right. Raspberry Cheesecake?
vs DC 11 = Failure!
The android is smacked hard in the chin with the top of someone's head as they frantically bend down to snag a fallen album, stumbling backward she slams her hip hard into a glass case, likely causing a deep bruise that she's going to feel for a solid week or so. As a final memento, one rabid fan, a human of only fourteen years or so, elbows her in the right eye, causing a severe bruise that will likely have other Starfinders wondering what kind of action the android was involved in that resulted in a fistfight.
Dazedly, and without any real reason other than it's what everyone else is doing, Antares shells out 50 credits for the album, thinking perhaps that all of the abuse she's taken shouldn't see her leave this hellish place empty-handed. Or maybe she's just terribly confused. Or perhaps both.
Stumbling out into the street clutching the album like a shield, she gazes around in confusion. "Where we go, now?" Her companions note that her circuits that usually have a peaceful purple glow are flashing a bit hectically, and have taken on a more magenta hue.
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Daramak doesn't mind waiting in line, having spent much longer stretches aboard the Amphisbaena with even less to do. He talks to the others about his time as a mechanic in the Veskarium, and about the pros and cons of various makes of fuses (completely oblivious to how much more tedious this likely makes the wait for the others).
As the group approaches the warehouse, Daramak deftly dodges the crowds until the party reaches the albums. "Yes, one pastry-mechanism, please? Here are your credits." Giving his thanks, he leaves with the others.
"Well, this ought to make Zigvigix happy. And Historia-7, by extension. Let's go report our success, shall we?"
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Asier handles the long wait really well, mentally disappearing into the massive database in his exocortex. He occasionally spouts out surprising and, for him, fun facts about random things he finds.
When the group gets close enough to the counters, Asier started to dodge the crowds of people, barely avoid quite a few punches, clawing hands and what even looked like a drop kick. When he gets to the counter he gladly presses his cred stick into the charge machine and takes his copy of the music. If the Historia was going to listen to it, so would he!
_____________
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Hakrinag listens attentively to Daramak's stories with the Veskarium. "Sounds like quite the time. I chose to strive for glory through monster hunting, as my ancestors before me. Perhaps one day one of my offspring shall follow the route you have taken." Before he knows it, six hours passes and he finds himself in the warehouse.
As the crowd loses their collective mind, there is a strange aura of calm around the vesk. Did I miss something? What happened? Maybe it is don't f- with me glare, or perhaps the reaction cannon strapped to his back. Either way, he makes it unscathed to the front and purchases a copy for his leader. Hopefully this marks the end of the grunt work for me. More monsters!
________
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The long wait drained the energies of Eli and Antares-1, the latter who already affected by the radiation earlier, is on the verge of collapse from total exhaustion. To add insult to injury, not only did Madrigal get elbowed in her gut in the ensuing mini-riot, Antares-1 gets badly battered. When the Starfinders eventually emerge, she looks like having just gone through a warzone. Perhaps she has.
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The Starfinders, in varying states of disrepair, first make their way back to the Lorespire Complex to look for Historia-7, whilst discussing how to split the cost of the extra copy for Ziggy. She looks surprise to see you again. When you hand her the album and explain that it was a gift from Ziggu, she gives you a long, unreadable stare. Then, calmly stating she will enter it into the archives, she turns and leaves with the album without anything further.
Perplexed at her reaction, your make your way back to warehouse, where Ziggy is rather animatedly directing the clearing and setting up of the new Exo-Guardians headquarters. However, he appears rather distractedly, constantly on the lookout. As soon as he spots you approaching, he drops everything he is doing and races over.
He looks like he is about the say something then quickly changes him mind. Shoving a bundle of items in to your hands, he stutters, "Here, we found more gear while clearing the warehouse. You deserve to keep it. And a little something from me by way of thanks." Specifically, he handed over a basic iridishell armor and a pair of incendiary grenades I. He also quietly shoves into your hand a cred stick containing 400 credits.
There is then a pregnant pause, as he clearly wishes to say more. finally, he blurts it out. "Umm, so you uh... gave it to her? I hope she liked it?"
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From the beginning of the interaction with Historia-7, Hakrinag is visibly uncomfortable. This is awkward. Emotional and social complexities have never been my strong suit. This is too much for me. He stands there awkwardly, hoping someone better suited to managing the feelings of others takes the lead.
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"Sounds like quite the time. I chose to strive for glory through monster hunting, as my ancestors before me. Perhaps one day one of my offspring shall follow the route you have taken."
"I had often considered leaving for mercenary work, or perhaps to hunt as you do. As a mechanic, though, it always made more sense to stay aboard the capital ship where I was stationed; I can be much more effective in combat by keeping a ship in the air than I could ever be with a gun. One day, a swarm boarding party breached our hull and I was nearly killed. The medics didn't repair my body so much as rebuild it. After that, I left the Amphisbaena and came here, trying to find and research other threats to the Veskarium. I heard about the Scoured Stars incident, and joined with the Starfinders to investigate." Daramak continues talking with Hakrinag, glad to have someone from back home to talk to.
Daramak is quiet during the exchange with Historia-7, content to have another objective complete. We just need to report back to Zigvigix now, and we'll have completed our mission!
"Yes sir," Daramak replies to Zigvigix's inquiry. "I'm sure she appreciates the gesture."
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Ziggy looks bug-eyed at each of you, his heart sinking and rising from moment to moment as each of the Starfinders attempt to explain how Historia-7 reacted to the gift, looking more and more confused.
They does perk up visibly when Eli hand over the extra album. "You got one for me, too! I ... I don't know what to say!" He squeals in delight and from his backpack, whips out a cloak. "Here, I don't have much but you can have my charge cloak. Wow! My very own Star Sugar Heartlove!!! album." He turns away, holding the precious datapad in his hands, Historia-7 forgotten for now.
About an hour later, the Society intelligence summons the Starfinders back to the Lorespire Complex. It seems that all that all the four faction leaders have reported your successes. The intelligence once again presents itself in a holographic form—this time taking on the appearance of a wizened male korasha lashunta. "Congratulations on your successful completion of the missions," the image speaks in a stately voice. "In the aftermath of the Scoured Stars incident, the Society needs skilled agents more than ever. We see potential in you from your work today, even if some of the tasks appear trivial. We welcome you formally into our fold, as you start your new careers as Starfinder field agents."