"Of course." She replicates it as many times as are needed for her companions to get the gist. "I spent some time pursuing bounty's in the tunnels of Akiton. The signal is bad down there, and so some of the ysoki use codes, echoes in the earth when technology fails. It's not too different from that."
"I don't have any idea where the right place might be to call out the gosclaw," Hasshachir says. "If you're not in a hurry, you probably could try all the nooks and crannies on the station. You might try to see if Half-Red knows anything. He can't speak in the audible sense, but he's fairly sharp and comes from deeper in the core of the system so might know something useful. If you can figure out what he's trying to communicate."
Hasshachir leads you to another stall. Here, a tiny, pink squid-like creature floats in a large orb of water next to an upended mine cart, upon which various merchant wares have been arranged. The creature points at these goods with liquid tentacles that extrude from the globe of water. The goods' prices are presented as holographic images that hover over discs set before each item.
"She understands Azlanti," the wrikreechee informs you.
One of you asks the cephalopod about Talmrin.
Half-Red creates a crude map of the promenade by telekinetically manipulating the water bubble in which she swims. She then zips through the tunnels, ending in a nondescript chamber. She then turns a bronze color and then taps out a rapid pattern on her mine cart with a tendril before returning to her mottled red and white color and returning her water to a spherical shape.
Steve tappity taps on the glass. "She is communicating by shifting her colors. See that?" His eyes gloss over as he looks at the map in wonder. "I bet she cheats at Charades too." He wonders what it all means, looking to his crew for answers.
"I got this. I'll be able to find the chamber in question. As for the color thing, that's not my thrusterhouse."
Lors carefully studies the map, committing it to memory despite its complexity.
"Thank you for your aid," she replies in very careful Azlanti.
"Lead the way!" Steve allows Antendor to lead the way to his chamber. He follows above on Oonopidae as he skitters and clings quietly to the ceiling above.
Antenor gives a flourishing bow and heads forth.
Half-Red's water orb extends a tendril to point to a scanner for your credit stick as you indicate your desire to purchase one of the ability crystals. The powerful upgrade in hand, you follow Antenor and Lors back into the gambling den to the location where they believe the signal should be tapped to summon Talmrin.
The sounds of the rhythmic tapping echo from one pipe to another, reverberating in a soft chorus with each other until they finally die out. A minute passes without response, then two, then three. Patience eventually pays off, as the soft sound of nails clicking against metal heralds the arrival of a creature in response. A pair of huge, shimmering eyes appear in the darkness of a large bronze pipe--the same color that Half-Red had changed into when he answered your question about Talmrin--twenty feet above the ground, then blink in curiosity as they regard the creatures down below. “Foreign critters in Azlant space?” the being asks, craning her long neck to get a better view of the people who summoned her. “What dost thou seek here?”
The being speaks an odd dialect of Pact Worlds Common but it is understandable enough.
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Haro bows, having heard some of this archaic dialect before.
"Greetings, fair creature. Thou hast the pleasure of meeting Haro Phane, bounty hunter and explorer of legend. Thine instincts have proven correct, inasmuch as we are indeed, foreigners in a strange Azlant space. We seek to determine what thou knowest of Gulta, and also of Zolan Ulivestra. Wouldst thou have information regarding this that thou mightest be willing to share with us?"
A being with a head resembling a cross between a white-furred cat and a weasel emerges from the pipe on the end of a very long, furred neck. Her large ears are pert with interest. "Gulta, you ask?" she says. "I can help you. Yes, I can. But I need to know a few things first: how did you infiltrate Azlanti space without being reduced to frag on sight so far and what is your plan for Gulta?"
Lors sighs at the flowery language and makes her pitch as plainly as she knows how."We're charming. Very charming."
"And we want to get onto Gulta to get someone else off of it."
"My big friend is correct. We're charming, fast, and rather skilled at skullduggery. Incidentally, why do you ask? Are you hoping for an answer? I smell a favor about to be asked."
"Who is doing a favor for whom depends upon how fast and skilled you are," Talmrin says. There is a nails-down-a-chalk board noise from within the pipes and then large claws fit for burrowing wrap around the edge of the pipe in which the gosclaw hides. "You want my information. I want to know what you will do with my information. Not a terrible price, is it, now?"
Steve listens, watching the pipe gremlin crawl around. "My crew seems intent on rescuing her. What kind of Captain would I be if we didn't try." He beams a smile from the ceiling, looking down into the pipe.
The gosclaw's ears flick about momentarily before she says, "I would like to know how you infiltrated Azlanti space so far, and--now that you mention your purpose--how you know your friend is on Gulta?"
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Haro smirks. "We made it pretty far into space because we have a great ship and we're pretty slippery. We've had a close call or two, but they don't seem to realize we're here."
Pausing to consider how they know about Gulta, he says "We intercepted some communication that pointed us toward Gulta. Azlanti stuff."
"Do you believe in fate?" Talmrin asks rhetorically. "There are three prisoners held on Gulta. They will most likely be held near your friend since they're all non-Azlanti. I'll pay you 1,000 credits for each prison you bring back to me alive. That sound lucrative?"
Lors isn't quite as offhand as she hopes to be when she asks, "Why did the Azlanti imprison them?"
"I can get behind that. Give us the specifics. Like Haro said, we're slick and our ship is fast."
Steve steeples his fingers. "This is sounding more and more promising. As long as they are nearby and we get to break their things then I am good." Steve looks about. "My crew seems to be on board as well."
“There art three—a vesk named Mothkala, a shirren named Tseekchik, and a slivara whose name I’m not twisty-tongue enough for speaking. They were past-diggers, archaeologists. They smuggled things off Azlanti sites that once belonged to us Azlanti aliens, and gave them back to the people who were supposed to own them. I smuggled for them for a long time, but one day they picked up something powerful the Azlanti wanted, so the Azlanti went and picked them up. I saw the Azlant ships moving in and flew off, never came in for the rendezvous. They probably think I’ve abandoned them, but I haven’t forgotten. I am just a coward.” Talmrin ducks her head and looks a bit embarrassed.
"Courage comes in many forms. If you had stayed then, you could not help us save them now. Will they trust that we are from you?"
"So, how do we get in Coward?" Steve's eyes still gleam at the prospect of breaking in and doesn't care much for the pleasantries or hurt feelings as his goal has been set.
"Thou art clearly not Azlanti, and they art already in prison. They art wise enough to recognize a rescue," Talmrin says. "Now then, a high-security Azlanti prison is not likely to let any ship dock simply because it claims to have supplies—such shipments art all tracked in the prison’s computer systems. I suggest that thou prevent an Azlanti supply ship from reaching Gulta and take its place. Bring any supplies it bears back to me once thou hast completed the rescue."
The gosclaw removes a keycard from her silver-white vest. "This will allow thou to pass from the docking bay to the prison ward."
Antenor gives a big smile, "You'll not be disappointed!" "Looks like we're ready, and headed for a rendez-vous with another ship!"
Dibs on a second ship!" Steve raises his hand. "Now we just have to track down a supply ship."
"Then I shall leave the rest in thou capable hands," Talmrin says. She waits until you leave--in case you have any more questions--before climbing back into the pipes.
Antenor suggests trying to Gather some information on supply lanes and lines, maybe there's a typical schedule, or better yet a one of charter.
Lors isn't much help in the questioning...
Steve is completely ignored as he wanders around talking, mainly to himself. Though he doesn't really notice as most people do ignore him.