I apologize for being a little flaky this weekend. My mom is having surgery this Wednesday, and I've been trying to get as much done as I can while I have the time because most of my week is going to be spent driving back and forth to the hospital. I should be able to get a post for Zadie to get her caught up to everyone else's activity tomorrow, but I'm likely to be a little scarce this week, particularly after Tuesday.
Technically she's an advanced expert system with neural net capabilities and a subsidiary expert system for organic interaction. She's an AI."[/b] John added the last despite Barb having told him numerous times it wasn't technically true. "Not ensouled, but intelligent. She's one of the employees that lives inside the computer I carry, and part of my Corporate self."
"Fascinating. I'd be interested to see what one of the undead wants with us." John offers.
Action 4
"Fascinating. I'd be interested to see what one of the undead wants with us." John offers.
"The head of the world's delegation to the Pact Council wants to meet a group of nobodies like us? That's got trouble written all over it, with capital letters and with exclamation marks falling over the edge," Robert grunted. He was lounging on a chair, hands crossed over his chest, a thick optical interface cable running over one shoulder to his external computer unit, eyes closed as he immersed himself in the dataspace.
The days after the operation had been a learning experience, one that Robert had embraced with open arms. Finally, after years of planning, he had been able to afford his first set of augs. And they were all that he had ever hoped them to be. To be able to access the vast wealth of knowledge of the dataspace with thoughts alone... to extend his own self to the implanted processor and though it and the datajack interface into the more powerful computer he carried with him... memories on instant recall and indexed for ease of use. The ability to run complex, parallel calculations on one node while simultaneously querying the public scientific databases he had access to for information... how could he have lived without all this?
"Anway, this smells political to me. Shall we give our sponsor in the Society a call? I wouldn't want to get in the middle of something that'd mess our standing with the Starfinders."
I apologize for being a little flaky this weekend. My mom is having surgery this Wednesday, and I've been trying to get as much done as I can while I have the time because most of my week is going to be spent driving back and forth to the hospital. I should be able to get a post for Zadie to get her caught up to everyone else's activity tomorrow, but I'm likely to be a little scarce this week, particularly after Tuesday.
Thanks for letting us know.
Take care of your mom and we'll take care of Zadie.
Game on!
Action 1:
Kamiya shook her head, "Nope." Although at Oriana's comment she added, "I guess to be accurate it would be 'not that I know of', same as Oriana. That's the nice thing about being here on the Station - there's always a plethora of different foods to try and I'll try anything once."
Action 2:
“She's virtual. That's not a problem for you, is it?
She's interfaced with an engineering toolkit and a bunch of sensors. She's okay with small repairs, but the manipulator drones are pretty small - sometimes she needs me to lift and carry. Call me and I'll have Alice put you through to her.”
Kamiya was content with starting off small and learning what she could from Cass. "Sounds like a plan. I know you've given your number before but can you give it again? We'll have some downtime now so I'd like to call and have that meeting set up with Cass."
“Do you think we'll be sent off station much?”
Kamiya's eyes sparkled. Being sent off station meant being in a starship. "I certainly hope so."
Action 4:
Kamiya had no clue why the ambassador of Eox wished to speak with them. How in the world did he even find out about them? Curiosity definitely had taken hold of the lashunta. "This definitely has a political aspect to it. Not only is His Excellency Gevalarsk Nor an ambassador of Eox, he is the head of Eox's diplomatic delegation to the Pact Council. We can let Chiskisk know about the invitation but he sent the invitation directly to us, not through the Starfinder Society." She could barely contain her excitement at meeting such an important political figure. "We need to accept the invitation and find out how we landed on his radar."
Ok so you ll know a little more.
You have also heard rumors that the ambassador has offered to be a mediator in the current conflict involving the 'Drift Rock'.
Kamiya had no clue why the ambassador of Eox wished to speak with them. How in the world did he even find out about them? Curiosity definitely had taken hold of the lashunta. "This definitely has a political aspect to it. Not only is His Excellency Gevalarsk Nor an ambassador of Eox, he is the head of Eox's diplomatic delegation to the Pact Council. We can let Chiskisk know about the invitation but he sent the invitation directly to us, not through the Starfinder Society." She could barely contain her excitement at meeting such an important political figure. "We need to accept the invitation and find out how we landed on his radar."
Kamiya: your work may have put in contact with Eox's embassy before or their 'attache'.
Feel free to exploit that if you want.
"Do you think we'll be sent off station much?" John asked.
Oriana shrugged, "I hadn't really thought about it. I imagine we probably will. The Starfinders are mostly about exploration, aren't they? I mean, aren't we? Would you guys like that? To leave the station, that is?"
"Off-station?" Zadie goggled at the prospect. "That would be amazing! Even if we only got to go as far as the Armada. This station is so ... sterile, you know?" she concluded, a strange description for a container packed with rust, germs, vermin, and living beings of diverse origins floating in a lifeless vacuum.
Kamiya had no clue why the ambassador of Eox wished to speak with them. How in the world did he even find out about them? Curiosity definitely had taken hold of the lashunta. "This definitely has a political aspect to it. Not only is His Excellency Gevalarsk Nor an ambassador of Eox, he is the head of Eox's diplomatic delegation to the Pact Council. We can let Chiskisk know about the invitation but he sent the invitation directly to us, not through the Starfinder Society." She could barely contain her excitement at meeting such an important political figure. "We need to accept the invitation and find out how we landed on his radar."
"Chiskisk must have told him about us, right?" Zadie wondered. "I mean, how else would he even know us to send us an invitation? I know I said I'd love to go off-station, but I'm not sure I want to be sent to Eox."
This is what I have so far:
- let the SFS know about the invite;
- research proper protocol; and
- attend the meeting.
IF the boards are cooperating with me later today, I will recap with the above unless I hear otherwise.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 2:
Kamiya was relieved that Chiskisk had reminded them all that Eoxians were part of the Pact Worlds and not to be considered enemies. Her time as an intern had stressed the importance of acceptance of all those races and cultures belonging to the Pact Worlds. She assured Chiskisk that they would do as he asked.
Action 3:
Kamiya had actually been to the Eox Embassy before when she was an intern but had never made it passed the main lobby. She had been tasked with delivering sensitive documents to the Embassy. Even though she had been there before, she still shivered once inside. It was impressive to say the least but there was little in the way of warmth or texture in any of the rooms.
Action 4:
Kamiya returned the Ambassador's bow but made sure hers was lower to demonstrate her lower standing in comparison to him. "Your Excellency, thank you so much for your invitation. To be considered as being able to help you in your mediation is quite an honor. However, I must disclose that we are now part of the Starfinder Society. If this creates a conflict of interest and we can no longer be of help then we completely understand and you have our deepest apologies for taking your time away from more important matters." The lashunta paused briefly before continuing, "If there is no conflict of interest then how can we help?"
'We may have left sufficient crews with the Downside Kings to identify us... but I admit that logically it's likely he found out about us through the level 21 crew." John admitted.
"We will do so." John assured Chiskisk. "Are there any additional legal requirements affiliation imposes on us?"
"Huh. It certainly is... impressive" John admitted. "Don't you organics find these sort of furnishings intimidating though?"
John nodded politely "Very honoured" he echoed.
Action 1
Scolding herself for her attitude, she said, "Surely, the ambassador must have some connection to the Starfinders. Either that, or the Level 21 gang. How else would he know about us?
”He’s got money, and money is in the habit of getting questions answered,” Robert said, eyes closed to better concentrate on the icons floating in his virtual vision as he queried the Station’s cultural databases for proper forms of address for an Eoxian dignitary, storing the retrieved files in a memory node for instant recall. ”I worry less about how he found out than what he’s going to do with it.”
Action 3
"Huh. It certainly is... impressive" John admitted. "Don't you organics find these sort of furnishings intimidating though?"
”If you are big on religion, perhaps,” Robert grunted, unable to completely mask the venom he subconsciously put to the word. ”Me? Not overly troubled. You see similar architecture in many government buildings over the ages. It’s almost as if it were in the genetics… see high ceilings, arches and pillars and people’s knees start to bend automatically. Guess it comes from centuries of selective breeding; if you were too slow to bow and scrape before some feudal lord, you didn’t live long enough to have children of your own. And over time, some architect figured out he could put the reflex to use.”
@John: you were not required to leave weapons and armor behind.
I really want to recap but with all the downtime on the site I think I will wait another day.
However, here's something to be discussed in Actions 3? (before you meet the ambassador).
Your previous culture checks allow you to hear the rumor that the ambassador is actually a necrovite.
"Oookay," Zadie said slowly after Chiskisk had ended the connection. "So if we're not on Eox's radar due to the Starfinder Society, it has to be through the Collective, the Level 21 Gang, or the Downside Kings. And if the Downside Kings are working with Eox, I don't like the thought of just strolling into their embassy. Technically, we're out of the Station and under their jurisdiction when we're in there; diplomatic immunity covers a lot of stuff they can do to us."
”If you are big on religion, perhaps,” Robert grunted, unable to completely mask the venom he subconsciously put to the word.
Kamiya craned her neck as she took in the true vastness of their surroundings. At Robert's comment about religion she offered, "I'm not sure they're big on religion either, or at least the Ambassador. Ambassador Nor is a necrovite, an undead spellcaster."
"I'm not sure they're big on religion either, or at least the Ambassador. Ambassador Nor is a necrovite, an undead spellcaster."
It was clear from his expression the distinction didn’t win any prices from Robert, as the technomancer’s face was now marred by a fierce frown. Magic… religion… different cesspools, but one didn’t smell any nicer than the other.
Yes, I even think there was an errata on that somewhere. In any case, it should reduce the DC.
"For appropriate renumeration, certainly." John answered promptly, delighted at the idea of getting out into clean, quiet space. "We'll need what information you have, and depending on those answers possibly an advance on our fees in order to properly equip and hire transport to the Acreon. We'll also need to know how we are authorised to proceed in the case where we find Poisons, Disease, Pirates, Salvagers, Rogue AI and/or Alien Stowaways. Alternatively we'll need a dedicated communication channel back to someone with authorisation - probably yourself."
"What information we have is second had or public domain. A brief summary of the facts as you have managed to ascertain them would be helpful. I'm happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement if confidentiality is an issue."
Action 1
"We'll need what information you have, and depending on those answers possibly an advance on our fees in order to properly equip and hire transport to the Acreon. We'll also need to know how we are authorised to proceed in the case where we find Poisons, Disease, Pirates, Salvagers, Rogue AI and/or Alien Stowaways. Alternatively we'll need a dedicated communication channel back to someone with authorisation - probably yourself."
’Well, that about says it all, especially the part about remuneration,’ Robert thought, amused at the way the advocate cut to the chase. The offered task seemed to tie in nicely with what they had already began, and the embassy would have the resources to offer a rather nice monetary incentive for the task.
Action 1:
Kamiya kept her excitement of going on to the Acreon in check, not wanting to get ahead of herself. Cautiously she asked, "And you're sure that both the Collective and Astral and fine with us doing the investigating? And all findings would go directly to you?"
Action 2:
Kamiya bowed again towards the Ambassador, "Thank you for making arrangements for us, Ambassador. As my colleague has said, any information you can share with us would be most appreciated. Although I am curious as to why both parties are so intent on claiming ownership of the Drift Rock. What makes them both think that this particular asteroid is so valuable? Personally I'd be more concerned about what happened to the crew."
Turn 051 – Questions for the Ambassador
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
PS: Hopefully the site issues are behind us and we can some momentum going again.
Seriously creeped out by such close proximity with the undead, Zadie had kept quiet and let the others ask questions. At the ambassador's belated disclosure, however, she allowed her eyebrows to raise a little cynically. So that's why he's so eager to play peacemaker. There's something he wants on that ship, and he's not getting it until ownership is sorted and quarantine lifted. Thinking she had a handle on their employer's motives left her feeling a little less nervous about the job. She believed strongly that everyone wanted something, and knowing what it was gave a person the upper hand.
"Excellent. I am sure we can pilot the shuttle ourselves, assumign it has a standard interface. Examining the Acreon first sounds like a reasonable plan of action. Do you have the passcodes to the Acreon computer, or will we need to use countersecurity?" John asked.
John almost missed the comment about the package as he furiously tried to deduce if three thousand credits was reasonable. In the end he decided that it seemed reasonable and he had no basis on which to compare. 'Hopefully one of the others speaks up'
"Ambassador. It has been a pleasure."
Action 1:
Kamiya's heart began to beat faster as Ambassador Nor mentioned one of them piloting the shuttle. She looked at the others, did one of them know how to pilot?
"Excellent. I am sure we can pilot the shuttle ourselves, assumign it has a standard interface."
There was Kamiya's answer, John must know how to pilot the shuttle. She could learn from him. How different could it be from land vehicles, right?
Considering the Acreon was under quarantine, Kamiya asked, "Are there any vaccines that we need to get before setting foot on the Acreon? Do they suspect disease as being responsible for the disappearance of the crew? Will we have to wear space suits or hazmat suits while on board the Acreon or is its atmosphere normalized? Does the ship still have full power? Will the necessary supplies we need to investigate on the Acreon be provided or will we need to go shopping before tomorrow?"
Action 2:
And the truth of Ambassador Nor's interest and reason for helping became evident in the last moments. He may have said that he believed in the power of diplomacy and genuinely wanted to help but that all comes into question when he mentioned the package. Not wanting to insult the Ambassador, Kamiya mentioned nothing of her suspicions. Instead she asked, "Does this package require any special handling or have any specific requirements? And as much as it would be my pleasure to do you a favor, will bringing the package back for you violate any quarantine regulations put into place by the Station?"
Action 3:
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Nor dismissed the lashunta's concerns, "I suspect that the quarantine is in place just to keep people out. I'm sure it will be lifted as soon as you come back with a thorough investigation."
He added, "The package does not require any special beyond its safe return to me."
--------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL SUITS
All armor in the setting has environmental protection for 1 day per item level. I'm not sure how I feel about that for 'unpowered armor' but that is the official ruling. I will probably cut down on the amount of days it can be used for higher level items but we are not there yet.
PILOTING
The skill allows you to pilot land vehicles and starships
Something tells me that you ought to start to become famliar with starship combat.
Just a hunch. :)
Which also means that you ought to start discussing who will take on the different roles in a starship.
I'd like to move this along today if the others post...
Just taking my first look at the starship combat. Here's my initial thoughts on roles:
Pilot - Kamiya
Engineer - Zadie
Science officer - John
Captain - Oriana
Gunner - RobertNot trying to tell anybody what they ought to do, it's just what seemed to fit for me. Initially I had me and Robert's roles reversed, but then I wasn't sure about putting a sociopath in the captian's chair. ;)
Thoughts?
I have never seen that show but it looks good. Unfortunately, there are about a 100 shows that look good that I will never get to see. The same thing happens with games, there are lots that I want to play but never will.
Too much good stuff to do but never too much time. How kids get 'bored' now a days is literally beyond me. :)
OK, back to the game, I'm excited about starship combat and am prepping up for it with starmaps, little icons, etc.
I'm not quite sure where the break in the combat sequence but think it would be best after both starships have moved. We'll see how that goes.
Questions?
Game on!
I think it is the Sentenced to Prism model. Basically in a world where people routinely live in hostile environments where a single hull breach could be lethal, enviro suits ended up in everything.
Once that happened how long something could sustain an environment started to become a selling point.
I have to admit that after a week it sounds a bit much.
My biggest issue is the power supply. I get that you could build something pretty efficient to just scrub the carbon out of air, and heating or cooling (within reason) is something we can do now. But both of those things are power expensive. Food and water can be... recycled, but I don't think the suit actually supplies though (presumably it would have ports so people didn't have a choice between breathing and eating.
If the suits used a charge an hour, I could believe it. The # days is then the amount of time before you have to clean the carbon filters.
Of course as an android John can survive just fine in vaccum anyway.
Its worth noting that all armour IS powered, and in fact has a built in computer. I'm looking at eventually upgrading mine and buying another personality.
Zadie would be good as any of the 5. Therefore natural choice for captain. Only lack in diplomacy.
Action 2
"The Astral wants to talk to us?" Robert felt the need to wonder out aloud. "That could not possibly end badly for us. I say we forgot we get back to them... oh, say after the system's sun goes nova?"
Action 3
"My, aren't we popular of late," Robert mused. "Guess our involvemenet in the Acreon matter didn't stay underwraps for long. At least this dinner is more likely to be a survivable experience than the Astral venture."
"This ship seems adequate." John announced. "I like that it has a weapon should worse come to worse."
"I'm inclined to send a message back stating that as we are now acting for a neutral arbitrator we need to avoid even the perception of impropriety. We are more than happy to have conversations, but will feel the need to submit transcripts to the Ambassador." John smiled - a shark's grin.
"We are going to have to treat him exactly as we treated Astral. Anything else runs the risk of a suit." John warned.
Action 1:
Kamiya's eyes sparkled with excitement as she poured over the specs. "It's small but that gives it great maneuverability. I bet it's fast too. I have always wanted to pilot a starship." Turning to John she asked, "Is it very different from piloting larger land vehicles? You sounded like you had some experience piloting starships when you answered the Ambassador."
Action 2:
Kamiya was conflicted when John announced the invitation from Astral. "That doesn't sound like a meeting I'd like to take but I sure am curious as to what they have to talk to us about. Maybe if it was on neutral territory it would be better. I just don't feel good about going to their headquarters. Although it's not like they can make us disappear or anything."
"I'm inclined to send a message back stating that as we are now acting for a neutral arbitrator we need to avoid even the perception of impropriety. We are more than happy to have conversations, but will feel the need to submit transcripts to the Ambassador." John smiled - a shark's grin.
Kamiya nodded, "That sounds like a reasonable response if we don't meet with them. They obviously know of our involvement so claiming neutrality and possible impropriety if we meet with them will not insult them."
Action 3:
Kamiya's stomach rumbled at the mention of a dinner invitation. Not only that but it would be aboard a ship. She looked disappointed and said, "I guess we can't accept the dinner invitation if we turn down Astral."
But the lashunta wanted to hear what both sides had to say so she suggested, "Maybe we should do both and let the other parties know that we're meeting with each other. That way someone else knows where we are and it'll show that we want to hear both sides. It could prove to be interesting."
"Primarily simulated, I am afraid. Steering to Absalom was complicated by the fact I needed to rotate the ship so the solar cells could charge, then rotate it back to apply thrust in the correct direction." John looked at the ship again "This looks much more comfortable. It appears to have working showers and atmosphere."
"I believe we should - at a minimum - keep the Ambassador in the loop. He is our client. If we keep him happy we're likely to get a recommendation. If he feels we are working behind his back then we are likely to have serious issues finding new clients in the future." John suggested.