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You were rather hastily picked up from Absalom Station by , leader of the Exo-Guardians on board his personal ship. The trip through the Drift was surprisingly swift, but during it, you would have had time to introduce yourselves to each other.
Feel free to introduce yourselves in a way that would happen before the below "briefing" occurs!
~~~~~
Rainbow-colored lights dance around the glittering asteroid-temple known as Songbird Station, one of the premier performing-arts centers in the Pact Worlds. Zigvigix nearly presses their eyes against the starship’s viewscreen as they watch the station come closer, their antennae vibrating with a visible excitement. “Look! There it is!” Zigvigix’s telepathic voice exclaims with a high-pitched psychic punctuation that resembles a mental squeal. “I’m so happy that all of you were able to come! I know this was short notice and that everyone has been so very busy lately...” The last remark seems sincerely directed toward the other occupant, the android , leader of the Dataphiles. After a long moment, Historia-7 looks up and nods in acknowledgment of Zigvigix’s words.
“When my friends were trapped in the Scoured Stars, all I had left were these tickets to remind me of what I and the Starfinder Society lost,” the shirren continues, clasping their hands together to keep them from shaking. “It means so much to me that those seats didn’t stay empty. I can’t think of a better memorial for my loyal comrades than to attend this concert with new friends and new Starfinders, to show everyone what the Society has gained!
“...Wow! I hope that didn’t make everything awkward! Don’t worry, you haven’t replaced anyone!” Zigvigix reveals a set of palm-sized discs, which activate to create 3D images of a diverse group of Starfinder agents. “It’s the best I can do for them now, but we’ll all watch the concert together, just like we planned. Afterward, I’m going to take them to meet the band. Strawberry Machine Cake always sends holoavatars out to interview some of their fans after their concerts, and they post all of the most interesting pictures and stories on their band page! If I asked, I’m sure they’d offer a shout-out to my missing friends... and to the Starfinder Society as a whole, to let everyone know we’re still here!”
Even as they punctuate that proud statement with a swing of the arm, they look up the screen. “Oh! It looks like it’s our turn to dock. I should get back to the con.”
Zigvigix nods to each of you, then steps out of the compartment. Historia-7 waits just long enough for the door to slide shut behind the shirren before speaking.
“Starfinders,” she says, without preamble. “I understand most of you are here for the revelry of the concert, but I must confess that it was not my motive for joining you and Zigvigix. There is a person of interest on Songbird Station, a human man named Hira Lanzio, whom I believe to be connected to a conspiracy involving the Scoured Stars. I require a group of Starfinders to briefly detain Hira Lanzio so that I can conduct an interrogation on this matter. I hope that you might be amenable to helping me with this task.
"So long as this mission is carried out cleanly and with precision, I do not foresee this interfering with your presence at the actual concert. It would also be efficient if Zigvigix remains unaware of this secondary objective—there’s no reason to ruin their much-needed relaxation time.”
She looks to each of you in turn. "Before we dock, do you have any questions?"
The band recently installed a high-powered force shield to keep over-enthusiastic crowds off the stage, after the band’s manager was nearly trampled by fans attempting to reach the band during a station layover.
The band’s holoavatar projector is rumored to be one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology in both the Pact Worlds and Veskarium, routinely accomplishing feats that many would have considered impossible with current hologram technology. The band has a staggering amount of legal protections in place to keep anyone from accessing or studying their equipment, leaving their performance secrets a mystery.
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A fierce looking vesk with horns circling the top of her head like a spiked crown stalks into the room. Her scales are a mix of mottled black that never reflects light and bright white that almost seems to glow. She is well muscled and just under seven feet tall. Clearly a warrior! Curiously, the only weapon she seems to bear is a small laser pistol. On her back is a simple backpack, and attached to her belt are a wide array of healing serums. A glowing orb of bright white light orbits her head, following her wherever she goes.
With a wide, reptilian smile, the vesk stalks forward. "Greetings! I am Julakesh Starfist, a LEGEND among Starfinders!" Her white scales seem to glow with pride. "The honour is YOURS!"
She looks around at the other Starfinders, then places her hands on her hips. "You look at least half-competent! Good! If you're a quarter as capable as I am we'll be a formidable team!"
Apparently she considers this a compliment.
"I hope this mission will provide us some honour! My last one was great fun! Many things tried to kill me, but they could not!" She lets out a deep belly laugh and places her hands on her hips. "A-HAH! A-HAH! I AM UNKILLABLE! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
She looks at Jasper. "Of course it grew on you! Strawberry Machine Cake is LEGEND!"
Julakesh does not look like the kind of vesk who likes Strawberry Machine Cake...
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Julakesh paces the ship often on the journey, sighing in a forlorn fashion. A strange occurrence for the chipper vesk.
Finally, when the ship pulls in to Songbird Station she sighs again. "Who cares," she growls. "I am going to miss the..." Suddenly she jumps to her feet and grins. "Songbird Station? SONGBIRD STATION!?! TODAY??? But! Today is THE DAY!"
Julakesh lets out a very uncharacteristic squeal. "IT'S STRAWBERRY MACHINE CAKE'S CONCERT!!!" She places her hands on her hip and lets out a great booming laugh. "A-HAH! A-HAH! THIS IS MY FAVOURITE BAND! YES! WE WILL DANCE AND BASK IN THEIR SWEET SUGAR POP BEATS! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
She starts to dance in place in excitement while belting out the lyrics to the latest Strawberry Machine Cake hit. She stomps her feet and bangs her head around like she's listening to Eoxian death metal. ...While singing the girliest sugar pop song released in years. The sight is jarring, to say the least.
Julakesh looks thrilled!
She points at Zigvigix and Historia-7. "I am glad you enjoyed the greatest album ever made! I waged an epic war against the line up and conquered pop trivia in order to obtain it for you!" she grins widely, clearly proud of her past exploits. "Neither the line nor the pre-pubescent girls could best me! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
She grins at Zigvigix. "Don't you love that song: Pink Heart Explosion? It is AMAZING!" She starts to sing and dance again, head banging to the sugar-pop-beats!
When her good friend Zigvigix leaves and the boring Historia-7 gives her a real mission, Julakesh groans loudly. "I love the missions! The violent ones are best! But, this is Strawberry Machine Cake's CONCERT! It's... It's... BAH!" she crosses her arms and grumbles. "This mission must be done quickly! I do not want to miss the opening of the concert!"
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Out of the ship's medbay comes a tall slightly Tien looking android in a lab jacket. Wiping his hands on a nanni towel he quickly tosses the towel away and comes to meet you all.
"Afternoon? All. I am Dr. William Kuong. I believe that Zigvigix asked me to come along to make sure that the fans--and ourselves--don't get heat or adrenal stress from seeing Strawberry Machine Cake, and not for the horrendously high percentile of missions I have been on where I have to remove foreign parasites from their hosts."
"I am a medical doctor by profession...maybe even some of you have taken my CPR and first aid classes I teach at the Lorespire...then again maybe not. While I am a medical doctor first off, I am also a decent shot with an acid dart rifle of my own making. I am also pretty decent with a scalpel, even while in combat. If you have need of my services, please don't hesitate to ask."
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Listening patiently to Ziggy's childish like delight on seeing Strawberry Machine Cake, Dr. Kuong nods politely.
After Zigvigix leaves, and Historia-7 reveals the 'secondary' mission to them, Dr. Kuoung queries, "Historia-7, am I here to make sure your...interrogation doesn't push the detainee to far past his...expiration date? Or do you wish me to help assist in this?" His question does not sound disapproving, more a clinical detachment. "Additionally if I might ask, why do you think this Hira Lanzio character has any knowledge or any culpability in the Scoured Stars Incident? The more knowledge we know about him, his interests and possibly reasons he is a person of interest could help us complete this mission faster, and allow us all the time to go see the concert."
"Historia-7, you do not seem as interested in Strawberry Machine Cake as Zigvigix? I thought the music that was procured for you by him showed that you had an interest in the band."
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If "Mechanic Lolita" is a thing, Gear probably represents it well. She saunters in, her hair cropped short and covered in grease and spark burns, but somehow managing to make it look more like a makeup artist had slathered it on her rather than she had gotten by it naturally. Her android nature is on obvious display, with lightglow tats running down her arms and glowing a soft purple on her neck, her skin a porcelain, almost doll like sheen.
Standing next to her is a bot that looks a little like a personal bouncer, big, bulky droid with a view screen for a face.
YO! The Name's Gear! Gear 2.0 if ya wanna know! If it's broken, I can fix it, if it ain't, I can make it better! You might know me from Zo's latest show, LIVE! EXPLORATION! EXTREME!, and yes, I am just as cute in person!
She winks and leans into the bot who, oddly, puts a arm around her almost protectively. The vid screen shows a >:( Face on it.
Sorry to break your hearts, but I'm taken! This is my Companion, Boytoy!
The bot gives a Smiley face with a grin.
You know what they say, if you can't find a man who meets your standards, build one! Or they should say that even if they don't.
Somehow, the smiley face looks cheeky about this.
Madam, I believe you've forgotten to mention me.
A small hologram of a butler appears above her wrist.
Oh! Sorry! Everyone, this is the old man. Old man, everyone.
The Butler bows.
He's my personal research AI bot. If I need to know it and it's on the infosphere, he can find it.
Old man holds out a holographic dossier.
The information you requested Ma'am.
Thanks!
Gear smiles as she swipes the image in front of her, her eyes lighting up as she reads the info.
Not that I needed much additional info on Stawberry Machine Cake. I'm a HUGE fan! I also have one of the original albums! It was so exciting to get it! I'd love the chance to get my hands on their hologram generators though, their the best in the galaxy! Sadly, the protections they have around them are insane, I couldn't possible get close enough to REALLY inspect them.
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"A mission to watch a concert?" exclaims the burly half-orc, who, much like Julakesh has a mote of light behind his head. His orc heritage is subdued, but present in a pale green sheen to his skin, and a green tint to his Mohawk, though that may be tint instead of heritage.
"Oooohhhhhhh, YEAH!!!" He then realizes which band it will be, and his expression drops a bit. "Though a good biker metal band would have been better..."
Some may recognize Thorval the N+18 from his tri-vee gladiator bouts. You may have heard the story about his name as well... evidently his family has always named their sons "Thorval" as a way to immortalize the fathers... unfortunately with the Gap, they lost track of how many Thorvals there have been, so they just started the count with the two Thorvals alive when the Gap ended, and have just incremented the count since. Finding the real count may be the reason that many of the Thorval Thorvalsons have joined the Starfinder Society.
"If THORVAL could get access to that amazing holotech that the band has, then THORVAL could give ALL of his fans to meet their HERO! The Galactic Gladitorial Federation could make good use of it as well, I am sure. Who WOULDN'T want the holo-images of the fights so close to themselves that they could practically feel the holo-sweat coming off the bodies!"
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A human girl of no more than 15 years skips on into the room where everyone is gathered, beaming brightly when she sees all five other members of the team are already there. Her eyes widen with recognition as she spots Gear and she raises her arm to wave at the android.
"Oh wow! Hi Gear! This is zetta great that we get to team up together again! I heard you've been working really hard." She leans over and pats Boytoy on the chassis a few times as she talks. "You do remember me from Tasch, right?"
Realizing she's being a bit impolite, she spins around to face the rest of the group and bobs in place, throwing a peace sign. "Hi there everyone! I'm Lynn, starfinder and idol, all in one package! Nice to meet you all." As she twirls, her long violet ruffled dress, bedecked in purple ribbons both real and holographic, spins around her. Her long, straight, and strikingly turquoise hair is done up in a quartet of gravity-defying loops and affixed to the back of her head via a silvery clasp. The outfit looks dreadfully impractical for adventuring.
At Jasper's introduction she hops on over and shakes the lashunta's hand "Oh my gosh, I also had to pick up CDs for Ziggy!" She lowers her voice to a stage whisper "I think he gives that mission to literally EVERYONE." before giving him a cheeky grin.
She moves on the Julakesh, looking up at the towering vesk with hands on her hips. "Nice to meet you Julie! Is Julie okay? Julakesh might be a bit tough to say in the middle of LEGENDARY combat." She winks at the vesk. "And I might not look like it, but I can definitely hold my own. Though maybe like... a sixth as capable as you? That's what I'm guessing based on the stories I've heard."
Next, with the good Doctor, she reaches out to shake his hand vigorously in both of hers "Really nice to meet you! Starfinder missions have a way of needing a doctor's help, what with all the horrible laser injuries and alien xenomorphs. I'm really relieved to see you're joining us! I've never tried first aid before, but when we get back to the Lorespire I'll have to go to one of your classes."
And finally with Thorval, she just gives him two thumbs up and says "Cool mohawk!" before stepping back over to join Gear.
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Lynn leans in excitedly as Ziggy explains what the group will be doing. "Oh-my-gosh, this is their sold-out concert, right? I look up to Strawberry Machine Cake so much! This is going to be great!" She watches the rest of the group's (mostly) positive reactions to news that they'll be at the concert.
"This is one of their special concerts, right? With all the super advanced holograms and force-fields? I heard they had trouble with fans trying to swarm onto the stage, so their concerts these days have force fields blocking people from getting there. That's kinda crazy! They're really popular."
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Upon hearing Historia's secondary objective, Lynn becomes slightly more subdued. "That sounds really serious." She crosses her arms and draws a finger up to her cheek. "What kind of conspiracy are we talking about? And this Hira guy, is he a dangerous sorta person?" and then after a bit more time to think she adds "There's gotta be like, a million people here for the concert! How are we going to find him? Did you do some kind of cool info gathering before this Historia? So we know exactly where he's going to be?"
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Gear hi-fives Lynn.
Heeeeey girl! I'm not quite the mouse I use to be! I don't have your followers by a long shot, but working with ZO! has made me infosphere famous!
Boytoy looks at Lynn and :)
[Appreciative]It is good to see you again Lynn! I am glad that you remember me.[/appreciative]
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After hearing the secondary objective, Gear taps her fingers for a moment.
If this conspiracy is as strong as you say it is, it'll be touch and go... but if he has a scrap of digital data, I'll get it for you.
She winks at Lynn.
I'll let the more... persuasive of us figure out about making Hira talk.
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Julakesh bursts out laughing at Lynn. She points at the girl. "A-HAH! A-HAH! THIS ONE CANNOT EVEN SAY MY NAME! A-HAH! A-HAH! JULIE IS NOT RIGHT AT ALL! A-HAH! A-HAH!" She points and laughs at Lynn some more. "If you cannot even get someone's name right you are much too dumb to be a Starfinder! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
She shakes her head at the whelp's foolishness.
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Seeing Gear yammer on about her robot boyfriend Julakesh scrunches up her face in confusion. Suddenly she grins. "AH! You are a 'PUTER-CARESSER!' Yes! This I know well! My good friend Darkrunner is a puter-caresser too!" She nods in understanding.
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As the others talk about conspiracies and other confusing topics with big words, Julakesh scrunches up her face in thought. Hollow-rams? Up-reach-tiv? Con-spear-a-sea? She seems very confused. Finally she places her hands on her hips. "Yes! You soft and meek ones plan with your words. When we find this Hira I will punch him until he talks! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
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Before leaving the compartment, when Julakesh mentions Pink Heart Explosion, Ziggy practically bounces up and down on the deck, antennae twitching in a definitive mental "squee!" - "Oh yes, that's one of my absolute favorites!! If you like that one, you'll also...oh, right, I should get to the bridge so we're not forced to circle around to the back of the docking order!"
Once Zigvigix has departed, Historia-7 holds up a finger to her lips when Julakesh mentions the word "missions" so loudly! "Agent Starfist...please. It would be most beneficial if Zigvigix were not aware that a mission was underway, and while the bulkheads of this craft are insulated for sound between decks, I do not know the threshold for sound transmission down the short hallway between here and the flight controls."
Assuming Julakesh calms down, she will turn to William next.
“Ever since the events of the Scoured Stars, I have researched several information anomalies that I believe to be connected to a conspiracy surrounding the event. Specifically, an unknown person or organization withheld crucial data involving the Scoured Stars and later destroyed information related to the event. The Dataphiles were fortuitous enough to gain access to restricted documents from several corporations that confirmed my suspicions. The Starfinder Society was able to infiltrate one such organization and retrieve further information."
She nods to those of you who took part of those missions either during your Commencement or during a Solar Sortie.
"As I suspected, the company is a front, existing solely to offer a pretense for secretive meetings of unknown purpose. My conclusion is that the people attending these meetings are part of a conspiracy, and their conspiracy has somehow involved tampering not only with our database but possibly with all Starfinder operations. The data provided to me has allowed me to identify only one attendee of these meetings: Hira Lanzio. Mr. Lanzio is commonly surrounded by multiple high-class security details, but since he would be unable to buy enough tickets for all of his bodyguards, this concert will be a rare opportunity to reach Mr. Lanzio with a minimal security force.”
Looking next to Thorval, she continues. "Unfortunately, the information available to the Dataphiles has been incomplete to the point that all we have is his name and the fact that he is a human who is apparently a business professional involved with private security firms. I am also unaware of his exact location on Songbird Station. You will likely have to discover that information by consulting with other people and any other means of investigating that you deem appropriate.”
As an afterthought, she adds, "Please refrain from instigating an investigation into Strawberry Machine Cake's performance technology until after our societal goals have been met."
She turns back to William. "Information is our goal, so your monitoring of his health once 'acquired' would be most welcome, Dr. Kuong. Given the attendance of this concert, it is also possible that I will be unable to join you to question Mr. Lanzio. If this occurs, learn what information you can about his activities and about any other members that are involved in his secretive meetings. If possible, search for any evidence you can find of a connection to the Scoured Stars incident. If you find enough evidence, or find a means to detain and interrogate him, I will be able to investigate further into the conspiracy surrounding the Starfinder Society.”
"...and to answer your other question. My opinions on specific variants of visual-auditory media is not relevant to this briefing."
~~~~~
There is a slight shift in the vibration of the ship as you pass through the force field protecting one of the larger docking bays of Songbird Station - landing is imminent!
Unless you have any followup questions for Historia-7, you may now slot any boons you wish to access for this adventure.
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She nods to those of you who took part of those missions either during your Commencement or during a Solar Sortie.
Julakesh places her hands on her hips and laughs. "Yes, I am amazing! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
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When the ship nears Songbird Station Julakesh's eyes widen, and the glowing light orbiting her head picks up its pace. "A-HAH!" she runs to the nearest viewport and watches their approach with great enthusiasm.
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One of the things left behind in the cargo bay begins to stir and then floats it's way up into the mission briefing.
This one is sorry for the late interruption to the briefing. This one received poor directions from Starfinder Host Gear 2.0. This one should have realized that "Sleep in the bay" was some sort of idiom. This one would like to apologize to Commune Starfinders.
Shaped more like a floating plated seashell of armor with pink tentacles hanging down from it, the thing floats over to the space Gear would have occupied.
This one is addressed in common tongue as "Balloonboy". It was this one's codename during military service. Please do not allow this one to interrupt the briefing.
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Lynn leans in close to Historia, all covert-like. "Hmm, sounds really tricky! Do we know which private security groups was Mr. Lanzio working with? That way at least we can drop the right names." She chews on a lip in an overacted bit of brainstorming, before shrugging and saying "There's a lot of people here... but if that's what we've gotta do, we'll do it! Historia, you can count on me!" Lynn pumps her fist lightly in the air in front of her.
When Balloonboy floats in, Lynn's eyes go wide and she hops on over. "Whoa! Hi! Nice to meet you Balloonboy! I'm Lynn." She reaches out and grabs a hold of a pink tentacle and gives it a shake.
"Can I call you BB? It can be like... a second-level codename!" She winks at the newcomer.
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Historia-7 nods when Balloonboy arrives, just as your ship settles to its landing pad and the engines begin their cooldown cycle.
A vast sea of pink and red fills the docking bay of Songbird Station as fans of all shapes, sizes, and species loudly cheer and wave handmade and holographic signs above their heads. Bright-pink spotlights illuminate the gigantic posters of the band members that plaster the walls, and upbeat music blasts from speakers on the ceiling.
Tsuchi-ko: A cobra-headed girl wearing an extraordinarily frilly pink-and-red lolita-fashion dress, as well as a red ribbon on her head. Tsuchi-ko plays a bright-red electric bass guitar.
Mimimetal: A small human woman with dark skin who wears a black haori over her pink-and-black knee-length glam-rock dress and has her black frizzy hair pulled into a pair of pompoms on top of her head. Mimimetal energetically plays a rose-pink electric guitar.
Bone: An enormous white-scaled vesk with black skull-like patterns on her face who wears an extremely elegant white kimono. Bone plays a black electric koto that is covered in wicked looking spikes, and she occasionally offers deep bass rumbles or heavy metal roars for the band’s more experimental sugar-pop numbers.
CAPTAIN✶CARMINE: A petite human woman of Tien ancestry who wears a flamboyant red pirate coat over a red-and-black knee-length "visual kei" dress. CAPTAIN✶CARMINE is both the lead singer and percussionist, dancing out the beat on top of a set of hoverdrums.
You exit the docking bay into the back of a massive singing crowd alongside Zigvigix. The Exo-Guardians leader cheerfully sings along to the music with their telepathic voice.
In a pause between songs Ziggy remarks, "Wow, this crowd is intense! It's going to take over an hour to get to the main theater entrance at this rate! I can hold our tickets in line for you if you want to go off and mingle, though! Wander around and have some fun - I'll bet you've never been to a temple of Shelyn like this before!"
From the hatch of your ship, behind you, Historia-7 catches your attention as she looks to each of you in turn before giving a silent nod. She then adds, "I will remain here for a short time to finalize a report. You all have my comm channel if you require contact...or when it is nearly our turn to enter to find our seats."
Unless you have anything to say to Zigvigix or Historia-7 (either now or just before docking), you look around and find that a few other groups of people are doing similar things, branching out to corridors to the left or right of the main auditorium entrance that wrap around the circumference of the station.
To the Left: Gift shops, food vendors, business center.
To the Right: Shuttle-ferry bay (for ships too large to enter the station itself), gift shops, "lost & found" security office.
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Having a slightly amused smile on his face, Dr. Kuong follows the rest of the group. His obvious weaponry (i.e. the acid dart rifle) is stored in a duffle type bag. While enjoying the music, he is more interested in what he sees around him.
"Left or Right? I would be more interested in looking at the gift shops near the Shuttle-ferry bay, so I guess that is to the right...but I would be fine with either"
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Julakesh points at the posters and explains to the less educated members of her group who each member of the band is. She goes on about some random gossip about each member. "They are AMAZING!" Then she happily sings along with the crowd at the top of her lungs.
"RAAARRRRR! MY PINK HEART SPARKLES AS IT BEEEEEEATS!!!"
"A-HAH! THIS WILL BE THE SICKEST CONCERT IN HISTORY! A-HAH! A-HAH!
She gives Historia a scowl when she's reminded of her mission, but then she waves goodbye to Zigvigix and looks around.
"These people are my soul-kin!" She exclaims proudly. As they walk she greets EVERY SINGLE PERSON she passes, with a nod, a high five, or by singing a snippet of music at them and pointing!
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"Julakesh, unless you have had your heart augmented cybernetically or biotechnologically, I doubt your heart is pink. Except for a few unusual--usually non-carbon--lifeforms, most heart analogs are not pink. Now if you are saying your heart is full of all the wonderful music, and is elated for that...that is completely different."
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Lynn peers both ways before offering "Hmm, if we go right, maybe we can go to the Lost and Found and put in a 'lost child' request. Say we lost our son Hira and would appreciate anyone who sees him to let us know? Oh, and we can say he has a rare genetic disorder that makes him look like a grown person!"
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Gear, who never left, i don't know what your talking about, Looks at the information as well. She seems excited by Lynn's plan.
Oh! And I can hack into the system, and create a fake ID to prove it!
She start tapping away on her datapad, intrigued by the challenge. Boytoy shakes his head at her.
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Julakesh looks at the doctor as if he were an idiot. "I know exactly what a real heart looks like! I've torn many out with my bare hands! A-HAH! A-HAH!" She claps the doctor on the shoulder. "It is lyrics for one of the most epic, amazing, and great songs in the galaxy! Come, Kuong! Sing with me! It will make you much cooler!"
Julakesh attempts to teach Dr. Kuong the lyrics to some hit Strawberry Machine Cake tunes.
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As you head down the corridor to the right of the main theater entrance, Julakesh's comment about "her people" almost seem prophetic...sort of.
Emerging from the shuttle bay just as you approach is a crowd of 50 hot-pink skittermanders! They are accompanied by a pair of teenage vesk wearing mostly black outfits with silver spikes and studs. The vesk are clearly embarrassed to be here and they loudly proclaim that Strawberry Machine Cake is overrated and that they hate having to chaperone the skittermanders!
The skittermanders swarm all around your group and everyone else walking by at the moment, a cacophony of teensy voices asking if anyone needs help or anything fixed. That second question is not answered quickly enough by a nearby human couple when skittermanders notice that the man's shoe is untied...the resulting furry pink nufriends who try to simultaneously retie it "in-situ" cause the pair to trip and fall! Thankfully, skittermanders leapt in to "help" and caught them before anybody got hurt!
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"Julakesh...I do know all the lyrics of Strawberry Machine Cake. I have them all stored in my Exocortex. I just am trying to be more situationally aware of my surroundings. I know that Ziggy wants us to have fun, but Historia is wanting us to do that...project...for her. Once we get that done, I will likely sit down and truly enjoy this evenings concert. Until then, I want to make sure that our side mission gets completed to everybodies satisfaction.
"Those vesks....why would you want to spend all the credits to come here for a concert you don't like...that just doesn't make sense."
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Julakesh looks shocked!
The she narrows her eyes and growls a bit. "I demand you have fun."
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SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
You might wonder for a moment if Gear has broken, but she looks at the skittermanders with absolute glee.
THEY'RE SO CUTE! I HAVE TO HUG ONE!
She runs up and does exactly that, squeezing the skittermander tight and twisting back and forth.
YOU ARE SO ADORABLE I JUST WANT TO HUG YOU AND SQUEEZE YOU AND LOVE YOU AND HOLD YOU...
She keeps going on like this, and shows no sign of stopping. Boytoy Emoji's a exasperated face.
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Approximately of the hot-pink skittermanders rush over to Gear to "help" her get the best hugging experience possible!
The two Vesk teens seem positively shocked as well - their amazement appears to be that Julakesh is speaking to them! They stammer a bit and quietly whisper back to Julakesh in their native tongue...
The rest of you are still surrounded by the remaining skittermanders, who come over to see if you need help at a rate of precisely per minute.
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Julakesh laughs aloud and places her hands on her hips. "A-HAH! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
She bellows something in Vesk to the other two Vesk.
She laughs again. "A-HAH! A-HAH!"
"Rejoice, my blood-kin! This is a great day!"
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Lynn just giggles at the two vesk and Julie's overly enthusiastic approach to them. She adds in Vesk
Switching to common, she crouches down to skittermander level. She amps up the energy in her voice to match her audience and asks "Hey nufriends!? We're looking for someone, think you could help us find them??? They're called Hira Lanzio! A human? See him? Hear his name anywhere?" She grins "I think he's zetta lost! It'd be really bad if the poor guy stayed lost, wouldn't it be?"
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Putting on what he thinks is a gentle smile--but in reality is probably one that he uses when telling people they are infected with Ksarik larvae and either is going to die, or must have an emergency surgery to remove them.
"Yes..yes. I hear that that the skittermanders as a race love to help people. And I bet they are also good at helping people find each other. Do you think you can help us locate him?"
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Thorval sees the onrush of skittermanders, and is ready to repel attackers. He attunes to the photonic forces, ready to fight. As the team apparently sees no threat to the little "helpers", he calms down, and then realizes they could be helpful.
"Yes, little helpers, you can help THORVAL and his friends find a nufriend that they are missing!" he proclaims. "Find Hira Lanzio for us, and I shall reward you with being in the presence of my GREATNESS!!! OHHHH YEAHHHHHHHH!" Thorval poses for the skitters, flexing every muscle he has.
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After talking to Julakesh and Lynn, the two teenage vesk seem to lighten up a lot, even making a detoir to a shop to get bright pink-and-red Strawberry Machine Cake t-shirts - vesk-sized shirts being the only ones not already sold out!
When Lynn; helped by Thorval, Jasper, and William talk to the skittermanders, of them gather close with baited breath since the magic words "help us" were uttered! When your request is made, they all grin really big and scatter in directions while shouting "Helping! Helping! Helping! We're helping!" in their high-pitched voices!
The two vesk return from the gift shop and look left and right, but see no skittermanders in sight. They shrug, "They'll find us when it's time for the show...besides, we were told we just need to make sure at least two-thirds of them make it back with us, right?" With a laugh, the two wave goodbye to you, and head off towards the main theater entrance!
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Continuing down the corridor you've chosen, in front of a sold-out and closed "Rare and Vintage Strawberry Machine Cake Memorabilia" shop, is a korasha lashunta woman whose engraved SMC Fan Club namebadge labels as "BurgundyBear" is camped out, pleading with anyone and everyone who walks by...
"Do you own the physical album? Oh, do you own the album? Please! I'll trade so much of my stuff for it...I had emergency surgery that day and couldn't make it to Absalom Station to get the album... please...it's literally the only thing of theirs I don't have...please...anybody?!"
You can now engage her in conversation however you'd like.
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"Well, sending skittermanders out to help did one of three things, probably in this order of likelihood. One, do nothing but make them all lost. Two, alert Hira somebody is looking for him. Or three, actually find him. I put my money on just having all the skittermanders being lost, though alerting Hira would be just our luck."
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Julakesh puts her hands on her hips and laughs. "A-HAH! A-HAH! Of COURSE I own the album! What mega-fan does NOT?!" she laughs for a long time. "Tell me! What would you give me in trade?" At BurgundyBear's offer, Julakesh crosses her arms and scrunches up her face in thought...
"Hmmm... "
Finally she nods. "Yes! I will trade for the holoskin! Then even as I break bones and tear the heads from my enemies they will know that Strawberry Machine Cake is my jam! A-HAH! A-HAH!"
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Dr. Kuong thinks for a minute, and then walks over to BurgundyBear. "While I am a fan of Strawberry Machine Cake, I prefer the music digitially vs. the physical album. I actually haven't even listened to the physical album, as I felt it was more important to keep in the shrink wrap. I am certain that this album would be more loved in your hands."
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Lynn waves goodbye to the skittermander group and theatrically crosses her fingers. "Lets hope they have some good luck! And Doctor, if they alert Hira that someone is looking for him, maybe we can make that work somehow? Bring him right into our super secret trap!" She shines an impish grin at William.
With the lashunta super-fan, Lynn stays back and peeks at the holoskins being passed around. "Oh, they look really fancy!"
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She has just enough holoskins for each of you, and proceeds to go into great detail about how these are almost the perfect number of albus that she can put as the centerpiece of her Strawberry Machine Cake "shrines" (plural)! She begs you for your email addresses so she can send you a thank you once she gets home from the concert, and promises that she will be your "Heart Friend Forever" !
In response to Jasper's genuine inquiry, she beams, "Oh yes, I have. Thank you for asking! After missing the flash-sale of these albums, I told my doctors and my employer that nothing short of actually being dead would stop me from getting to this concert...and then I looked into some Eoxian intellectual insurance programs just in case I needed a fallback strategy!"
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As you leave BurgundyBear, all of the lights on the station suddenly go out, leading to murmuring and a few mild startled screams from the fans. The lights come back on after a few seconds, and the crowd slowly regains its fervor, however.
Continuing down the corridor, you spot an ramp to the main auditorium labeled "press entrance" that looks like it's bee converted into a small (and otherwise unmarked to prevent massive crowds) general admission entrance. Standing in front of it is a beleaguered human Songbird Station security officer whose name tag identifies him as Officer Wilson, also wearing a satchel slung over his chest and hanging on his side. He is currently attempting to check everyone’s weapons for the concert before they proceed to the ticket-taking robots that stand behind him.
As you approach, you can see a pair of obviously armed lashunta jokingly tell Officer Wilson that their weapons are props that shoot strawberry-colored lights. The officer then waves the lashunta through without a fuss.
Officer Wilson then turns in your direction, as your group is the next closest. "Welcome to Songbird Station. Do you have any weapons to declare?" He sounds like he's been repeating those words (and little else) dozens of times in the last few hours.
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Gear's eyes grow wide as can be and she shoves the disk into BurgandyBear's hands faster than light as she brings the doll's close to her chest.
Oh... oh my... they're... they're perfect... oh my Triune be praised they are.... Oh they are the cutest thing ever!!!!!
She then proceeds to hug BurgandyBear perhaps harder than she should as she holds up the dolls and Boytoy snaps a photo of them.
For memories! I've ALWAYS wanted these... they're just so adorable, you have no idea how happy this makes me!
She hugs them again and smiles. Your amazing, and I know how big of a trade this is, I promise I'll take care of them with my life!
Gear looks at the officer and then at the people leaving.
She listens as Old Man tells her something, then nods before going up to the officer and clearing her throat.
Um... I have some weaponry that I would declare?
She holds out her pistols and smiles.
Full respect should be given to the law, no matter where you go.
You see that boytoy has his fingers crossed behind his back for her. An odd gesture, you wonder if it's related to the blatant lie Gear just told.
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Dr. Kuong smiles at BurgundyBear, and hands her one of his business cards. "Thank you my dear. Please, if you ever need another surgeon, please call on myself. I would be happy to help you at a special "Fans of Strawberry Machine Cake" rate."
Dr. Kuong looks around in mild contemplation. "Weird that Songbird Station would have issues with power....I would have sworn the power system they have would handle all this. Possibly something we should at least keep an eye on."
Dr. Kuong murmurs to the group quietly. "They don't have the authority to search your person, but I bet any obvious weaponry will need to be explained away. Additionally there is a magical field surrounding the station to prevent lethal damage...though I wonder if it is tied into the power system...that could prove...problematic...."
Dr. Kuong--knowing that his duffel bag he is carrying DOES have all his medical items in it...and his broken down tactical rifle....knows that saying medical supplies isn't a lie--walked up to the guard, pulling aside his coat to show a pistol."I carry this for protection, though you would think a Doctor wouldn't need one. The duffel bag has my medical supplies. I can show my certification on being a professional doctor if necessary."