Altronus watches the walls of the jail with some dissatisfaction, not caring for the decor. He finds himself a little homesick for the simple and elegant architecture of the Idari.
When the Warden welcomes them, Altronus gives a small bow and responds to the telepathy, repeating himself out loud for the sake of his teammates.
"Thank you for your offer Warden. We are welcomed." He takes a milky beverage and cradles it in two of his hands, unwilling to lower his mask with so many relative strangers about. Despite this, he tries to be as polite with his tone as possible, to avoid any insult.
"As you have been informed, we are here to speak with the inmate known as Livewire. Our employer has been lead to believe that this inmate possesses knowledge about a large number of derelict spacecraft, and we are to extract this knowledge from them. It should take little time from you or your guards, and we are happy to conform with any security protocols needed for this interrogation."
"Is there anything we should be aware of regarding this prisoner? They are not dangerous, I hope?"
The Warden is not in the mood to hastily push through this civilized meeting with humanoids from off station. He relishes in the conversation and avoids answering specifics, he also seems purposefully intent in seeing how you all handle yourselves in what he assumes is an uncomfortable situation.
Though, once all have made a formal greeting and introduction, the Warden politely approaches Altronus' question head on and telepathically to each of you.
"Yes, I am aware of this intent of yours. It is quite in my personal repertoire too, as one of my constituents was an investigator in their previous existence. Sadly, visits with prisoners are strictly forbidden. You understand, I'm sure. If allowed the access they'd have on the outside, then why keep them in here at all? But now now, please tell me more about yourselves. Hmm? What are your proudest moments as investigators? We certainly do miss those days.. and love our old memories.."
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As the tray of refreshments passes her, Navasi takes one of the drinks and raises it in a salute to their host before taking a sip. "Warden, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. I'm sure running such an intensive operation as this facility is quite demanding, and your time is very valuable, and we appreciate that."
"But as you've asked for tales of our work, I presume you have time to listen," she adds with a smile as she launches into her story.
Navasi had been working within the Sixth Finger contracting firm, an ostensibly legit business but in reality little more than a thieves' guild. She and her partner - whose name she never reveals for security reasons - were onto the guild's plans for a major theft of medical supplies bound for refugees of a war-torn system. Unfortunately, the gang's technomancer uncovered the pair's plans to disrupt the caper and in the unsung firefight, her partner was killed while sacrificing herself to save Navasi. The heist was blown, but so was Navasi's cover, and she moved to other undercover jobs. But she'll never forget that sacrifice, and never forgive the Fingers.
As her story concludes with the heartwrenching death of her partner to save the lives of both her and the refugees, Navasi looks down wistfully into the drink she holds and lets the silence extend.....
-Posted with Wayfinder
Altronus looks anxious the moment the Warden seems to be interested in more than just immediately letting the group see Livewire. "Hm, well. We ah. There was the one time..." He rubs two of his hands against each other nervously at having to extemporize. The relief is palpable as Navasi takes the lead.
As he listens, he manages to relax. By the time she's done he seems much more comfortable. "I did not know Navasi. I am sorry to hear your loss. You partner sounded like a very reliable human."
For his part, Altronus begins the story he had roughly planned out while Navasi was speaking "My story is far less exciting than that told by Navasi. No thieves, well except for that one space goblin... or people sacrificing themselves, well now... hmmm."
Altronus launches into a tale about his investigation of a derelict kasathan transport, lost among the Diaspora. A ship that showed signs of having been recently occupied despite the logs saying it went missing years ago. He dramatically describes his exploration of the darkened passageways of the ship, lit only by the solar energy he carried with him. He mentions meeting space goblins, cutting the defunct security systems loose to re-purpose in their own ships.
It's a tale of foreboding darknesses and occasional firefights.
As he nears the conclusion he says "I unsealed the engine room's hatch with a yell, burst in, and found..." He folds his hands together and leans in conspiratorially towards the Warden. "A nest! Clustered around the remains of the generator, still leaking energy after having sustained such damage. I was not equipped to deal with such a thing, but I saw my goal beyond the sacs and fibers. The only working terminal in the ship... and the one I would need if I wanted to retrieve the ship's logs." He stretches all his limbs as he continues "I was quite injured by this point, but I couldn't let this nest consume the last of the generator's energy before I retrieved the data. It was then that I managed my greatest ever feat of acrobatics, navigating that chamber in zero G without disrupting even a single sleeping larva." He crosses his arms "Of course, the way out was a different story. But I am here now. And we got the data we needed."
His story is largely true, with a few details tweaked here or there to better match their cover as insurance investigators. The data had been more important than just a ship's logs. Security records of a Gray that had been captured alive on the ship for a few hours before it suffered what seemed to be an accident.
"Oh, I'm a new investigator," Quig says, "I'm here to learn from the, uh, masters here. I'm not showy or anything, I just, uh, y'know, a Ysoki from Akiton. No big story here."
"I am originally from Aballon," Iseph speaks. "It was there that I was formally brought into being per my own research. I was awakened with instructions and an operative direction, but I found the instructions to not be conducive to continued life as it were on Aballon and so I relocated myself to the Diaspora. There I found employment opportunities for someone such as myself with my skill set. I excel at operating vehicles of all shapes and sizes, and I have had a number of opportunities to demonstrate these skills satisfactorily for employers."
Iseph's circuitry fades for a moment before pulsing again.
"It was unfortunate that my former employer and I could not come to a logical conclusion with respect to the shared outcome of a joint programme, and so I left their employ. I had heard of further employment opportunities closer to the centre of the star system, and in doing so came across this very employment opportunity. I do not engage in investigations myself, for if I did, I would have no need to make use of the information gathered through various employers in order to discover more about my origin. That is a limitation of my system."
"Nevertheless, if you are interested in hearing of a specific encounter that tested the abilities of my former team, I can tell you of the garaggakal that we encountered orbiting the Diasporan mining collective Cluster-Theta." Iseph's head jerks to the side in an odd non-organic movement.
"Correction. I can tell you of the unclassified parts of that encounter."
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Keskodai listens to his team mates and waits this turn. Meanwhile he gladly accepts the offered refreshment and seems delighted by the new and imminent experience.
"I am afraid I'm not much of an investigator, I 'merely' provide medical assistance and first aid if needed."
Keskodai smiles "But I am sure my colleagues have some good stories to share as was already proven."
The Warden listens intently. By the end of Navasi's story you almost believe you feel a weeping sadness emanating from the telepathic being. As Altronus then continues into his tale of daring feats, the barathu cluster squeals with flamboyant telepathic delight at the most outrageous claims. To Quig, the Warden dismisses his rookie status politely, "Not a problem, we all start somewere." Then listens to Iseph and asks a few questions about the Diasporan garaggakal before dismissing Keskodai's lack of experience much like Quig's.
Telepathically the Warden sighs, stating, “As I said, visits with prisoners are forbidden, but you may still be able to convince me to arrange a meeting..” gesturing with one of their many tentacles, holding an empty credstick, and telepathically observing “..donations to our maintenance fund are greatly welcomed.”
Altronus blinks a couple of times, still somewhat caught up in all the storytelling. "Donations. Oh, donations, of course."
He reaches for his pack before realizing that he'd left it back on the ship. Instead he fishes about in a loose pocket and pulls out a credstick of his own. "We would be glad to. However, our budget is very tight, as you may have guessed from the nature of our employer. We can offer your maintenance fund 750 credits, if it would help you to reconsider."
We may need additional funds to convince Livewire to part with any details, or to continue haggling with the Warden here. Is 750 too low?
Altronus watches the Warden to judge his reaction.
"That is so kind of you." With a a few gentle flaps of tenticles, the barathu cluster positions itself to receive the credstick. "We are kindred spirits I believe, a part of me will forever be walking the beat I feel. I will allow you to engage in your desired conversation, in part for my own pleasure to observe it but also for my respect in the strong character of the profession.. Please, do not prove me a fool after such a delightful visit."
With the transfer of the creds, the barathu begin to move. Leaving the office after departing pleasantries are said, the stink in the common area is almost unbearable. Several half-naked, sweat-drenched workers of various species crowd around here. The barathu guards combine to form one larger, menacing amalgam creature, ensuring the PCs remain safe from confrontation.
After several minutes traversing through this sweat-slicked region, the barathu guard amalgam stops at a table where a ysoki sits. The ratfolk constantly licks her paws uncomfortably while grooming her drenched and matted pelt. With the guard’s arrival, she looks up and acknowledges an unspoken communication between herself and the barathu collective. In an instant, the barathu collective splits into its separate entities and floats off in independent paths throughout the complex, leaving you alone with the sweat-soaked ysoki who looks up with cautious interest amid a timid introduction.
“Hiya, the name’s Livewire. What can we do for each other?”
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Navasi gives the little ysoki a nod and a smile, and takes a seat at the table. She gestures for Quiq to take a seat also, hoping that having another ysoki on their team might help put Livewire at ease.
"Hello, Livewire, I'm Navasi, and this is Quig," she continues as she gestures to him. "We and the rest of our team are with an insurance company looking into recent incidents at and near Salvation's End."
She pauses to gauge any reaction their interviewee might have.
"We understand you were recently there and are hoping you can provide us with some insight on what's going on out there."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Iseph silently engages his internal cooling system so as to combat some of the environmental issues.
Livewire adjusts her position at the table, reevaluating you all. "Oy, I was. A shame too, reluctant to take the job. Hated the man runnin' it, Borgor. A cruel and selfish bloke, he'd remove a hand over something small just to prove he could, statin all the while you could just get a better one anyhow.. Only reason I took the mission was as a favor to the second mate, Bago, a like hearted fellow to me. With the mission’s loot, I was going to help Bago free himself from Borgor’s crew. Then the two of us were planning to start a more honest living." he trails off in reverie for a moment. "There was Snips too, a cutthroat human woman, and Xalak-don. All brawn and little brains.. The pair was planning a mutiny after, Bago and I were going to use this confusion to bail, slip away forever." Livewire runs a little clawed hand through her sweaty fur. "After the four of them went down to the surface there, I never saw any of them again. Shitty part of being the pilot, strange part of surviving too I guess. That's the part you really came for, huh. The very end, not my tale. There are still logs from my ship, the Archer. Those will give you more details on it all."
"Oh that is quite the terrible tale. I am sorry for your friend, and the others that were not so much friends. Salvation's End sounds dangerous indeed!" Altronus ponders for a moment, one hand tracing circles around his solar mote. "Hm. A rough and tumble group of adventurers, heading to a down to a mysterious place to..." Altronus seems to come to a realization "What did you say your crew went down there to obtain? Something about some 'loot'?"
"It is very likely that we will be investigating in person. Insurance duties and all that. What did you see from the ship while you were piloting? Anything to worry about in space nearby?"
After anyone else adds their own questions, Altronus follows with "This Bago, if we find any sign of him, we will send word to you through the Warden here. Whether he still exists there in some form or if he has joined the eternal cycle, it is best to know, yes?"
"I thought so," the ysoki forces a smile. "I'm sure your firm will have no problem helping me help you then. I need some creature comforts, ya know? Shampoos, perfumes, soaps, lotions, a brush ughhhh a freaking brush! I'll trade for you everything I know for a break from this smelly pit." She looks around at you all nervously, "Deal?"
Iseph remains silent.
Others are better at diplomatic issues. This ysoki seems pathetic and compliant.
A shiver goes through the pilot.
She is in a bad place. Best not to say anything, though. Empathy is not always equally returned.
Altronus nods, turns to the barathu guards nearby, then asks "What would we need to provide in order for this prisoner here to get a few small cleansing tools? Perhaps a donation would be acceptable?"
Altronus fishes out the cred sticks again and offers another 200 creds.
"We will secure the sanitary implements you desire Livewire. Now what information can you share?"
The guard makes a weird feeling telepathically, then says 'As you wish.' Livewire then interupts, "Hey hey, make it a cool thousand. Stuff is stupid expensive here."
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Navasi tries to get a feeling for whether Livewire is trying to pull a fast one. Not that she'd blame the little ysoki; she'd certainly do the same thing in her place.
"Sure thing, honey. Let's help get you cleaned up."
It's not like it's our money anyway.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Altronus provides the 1000 creds without hesitation. He leans back and listens to the story, crossing all of his arms as he does so.
Space goblins and a tractor beam? Is that all? I suspect our employer was hoping for a far more exotic cause for all the disturbances around that place.
"Thank you Livewire. Please enjoy the cleanliness in your near future." He turns to the others. "Do we have any other questions? From the story it seems that many of the derelict ships were simply pulled down by the tractor beam. If we disable it, recovery and salvage may be possible, though the space goblins will also likely have to be driven away."
"Simple enough." Altronus is visibly disappointed with the seemingly mundane answer for the mysterious moon.
Iseph perks up for the first time in awhile, aborting the hard drive defragmentation on his tactical hard drive that he had begun.
"A powerful tractor beam to outrun that somehow has aligned itself with space goblins? That is curious. And a heretofore undescribed spaceship of no known model or make to troubleshoot? Altronus, I must disagree with your initial assessment."
Iseph focuses on the ysoki known as Livewire. "Did you receive any energy read-outs from the tractor beam or the signal from the planetoids that matched those of the goblin junkers before you crashed? It would be good to know if it were goblin in origin as well, or something different."
Blinking a few times at Iseph, Livewire is unsure how to respond. "I, well. I guess I assumed it was a goblin beam. I mean, who works with goblins anyhow...?"
As you leave she stops Altronus and asks meekly, “No matter what, please let me know what happened to Bago. If the old lunk’s still alive, tell him I miss my ‘Hairless Monkey.’ If you find it in your hearts after exploring that damnable false moon, please put in a good word for me with the authorities. I’m not sure I can last here for my entire term.” She then watches you all go in some new found rumination, questioning details of her past she hadn't thought to see herself.
As you board your ship once again, Luwazi hails you on a private channel. "Did you learn anything in there? Was Livewire as solid a lead as we expected?"
Altronus bows to Livewire, arms out "If we find your hairless monkey, I will be sure to pass your message. And if we can find some way to bring him and the others back, I will be certain to try. No creature deserves to be captive to goblins." He doesn't mention anything about putting a 'word in with the authorities', knowing that the barathu guards are most likely listening in.
Once the party returns to the ship, Altronus reports "Plenty, insurance manager Luwazi. It appears that Salvation's End is an old spaceship wreck with a still functioning tractor beam. It has been infested by a group of space goblins that have managed to use the beam to bring down ships that came too close. I believe it is not too unlikely an assumption that they are raiding said ships for parts and supplies to sustain their existence on the hulk. It would certainly explain the disappearances."
"We will, of course, investigate, as per our agreement." He nods sagely. "While the goblins interest me very little, perhaps the origins of the tractor beam and the wreck itself may have some link to the aliens I have been studying."
"Yeah, I learned if I ever get sent to that place, gotta smuggle in some soap and a towel. Its flappin' barbaric in there." the ysoki says, compulsively cleaning his hands and ears.
"Hmm, well not as juicy on the outside as I had hoped. Very well, good work. Go into a drift jump immediately for Salvation's End and continue this investigation." Luwazi's link chirps out.
Once everyone is in position and the ship has pulled from dock, the ship's Drift engine is activated and you all enter an extraplanar void of kaleidoscopic colors. After days, you emurge safely on the other side close to the moon.
In the distance, a great metallic structure breaks the bleak monotony of space. Massive in size, the grandeur of this planetoid is hard to take in all at once. Before the scale of the moon sets in, a shrill song pierces through the ship’s communications system. As the first notes of the song shriek out, a trio of vessels blink on the sensor screens, followed swiftly by a warning alarm klaxon.
"Goblins shoot and goblins fly,
Goblins kill and rule the sky,
Stew the crew and steal the ships,
Goblins turn you both to strips!"
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Navasi's not exactly surprised by the goblins attack, but she didn't expect 3 ships. Speaking from the Captain's station, she first rallies her crew. "Everyone to their stations! As we expected, those nasty goblins are already on us!"
Then she flips the external comm switch to broadcast a taunt at the goblins' gunners.
"Yeah, yeah, everybody knows goblins can't fly unless you throw them off a building, and they definitely can't shoot."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"They were very quick to spot us. I suppose an engagement with them is inevitable." Altronus' voice speaks out over comms. "Captain Navasi, I am in position. We will not allow these goblins to turn us or our ship into strips of any kind!"
Altronus braces himself in place in the ship's gun turret, waiting for the goblin ships to come into range.
Iseph feels a jolt of anticipation, and the blue light pulsing under th surface of his skin pulses brightly.
"Currently rerouting power to the weapon banks. Everyone doesn't mind holding their breath while the life support readjusts, right?"
To Navasi's remark a goblin can be heard squealing as they cut out their radio a little too late. Keskodai begins attempting to peer into the cluttered machines that the Goblins are calling spacecraft, but their unorthodox nature stalls the Shirren enough to keep them off their trail. Quig successfully pushes the Pegasus into high combat efficiency as thrusters on both sides of the battle space begin to flare up.
Iseph punches in a few buttons to maneuver the ship in a skilful fashion.
I'm on my mobile phone as I'm away for work. When I click on the GM Bugman link above, I get no map. I get explanations of the phases of ship combat and a few other documents, but I see no map.
I'll be back home in 2 days. If you need to bot me, go ahead.
Interesting, Iseph considers as he pilots the ship to the port side of the right-most goblin junk-heap.
"Junkers in range. I will be firing at will until I receive orders otherwise, Captain Navasi."
Altronus toggles the gunnery controls into manual, taking a few seconds to line up both the turret and the port weapons on the nearest goblin ship. Two of his hands cross their fingers while he settles the targeting reticles with his others.
Both shots from your ship miss as the third goblin ship swings in on your starboard side. One hits and scoars the hull of the brand new Pegasus. There is then a jolting thud as your spaceship appears to become under something else's control as the Pegasus is pulled towards the surface of the moon!
"Jam your sensors, you be blind,
All our targets we will find.
Sitting duck depleted shield,
You go BOOM in our starfield!" Chants a fourth vessel that enters the space a tad late.
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"Cotton blimey! I'm diverting power to our shields, captain. No one use the instant coffee maker for a few seconds!"
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"Nice job, Quig. Keskodai, is there anything you can do about that tractor beam?" Navasi asks, before switching back to the external comms.
In her best bored, monotone voice, she mimics the goblins and tries to again get under the skin of their gunners.
"Chanting, singing, blah, blah, blah
You shoot like my blind gran-mama"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Iseph cocks his head at the friction on the engines from the traction beam.
”I might be able to break free from their attempt at anchoring us if your scans could tell us something about it, Keskodai,” the android suggests.
I might be able to break the entrapment even if your scanners cannot tell us anything.
Iseph engages the complex mathematical operation to evade the tractor beam and activates the thrusters with alacrity.
"Aghhh SO! Rhymes are our job!" The goblin shouts back over the voice com.
"Full evasive manoeuvres, captain," Iseph replies from the helm.
This is my element; I know the sky, I own the sky.