Minos recognizes the floppy hat instantly as a Hat of Disguise. Meanwhile, Talmrin comes down out of her pipe to look at Prosper the Gosclaw at all angles, and then runs one claw lightly on the edge of Prosper's fur. "Impressive, Prosper. Thou hath hidden talents. Under other circumstance, mayhap I wouldst have hired thee. Mayhap this is a sign, and thy group is the one I hoped would come."
"I thought to ask each of thee how thou came to this juncture... Across Azlant space, and knowing that a friend lies in that specific dread prison. This one was coy and less communicative than I prefer," Talmrin says, pointing to Pon. "But I am not one to look a gift Xaarb in the mouth. Do you believe in fate, Pact Worlders? I think she hath waved to us across the stars, and offered an opportunity here I dare not ignore."
Talmrin studies each of you in turn and then locks eyes with Dalinar. "Thou. Dal-i-nar. The little Xaursi spoke your name and looked to thee. Thou hath no air of subtlety, which worries me. Still there is a time to be subtle, and a time to be bold. Mayhap thy group will need both qualities to succeed. If I were to offer thee another rescue mission at Gulta, wouldst thou honor it as strongly as thy own?"
"Thou asked my boon, wrikichee." Talmrin says, turning so that she looks up at Rush. "There is a group of three prisoners in Gulta. Mayhap they are held somewhere near thy friend as they are all non-Azlanti. Thy friend is non-Azlanti, correct? The Azlanti like to sort us into neat little categories. I want them freed. If you all agree to care for their safety as you would your own friend, I will reward you and help you every way I may. Talmrin pays her debts, whether they be friendship or they be sleights."
Minos smiles wide. "The Inscrutable believes all things are connected. call it Fate or Luck or what have you. A lesser profit once said, My own strategy is to find a car, or the nearest equivalent, which looks as if it knows where it is going and follow it. I rarely end up where I was intending to go, but often I end up somewhere that I needed to be.. He was a wise many talented investigator as well."
He thoughtfully pets Lord Dracos. "Though to the immediate case at hand. Given what I have seen of the Empire, I suspect that more good would be had releasing everyone from their prisons, but that is a bigger task. Finding a handful more I doubt will pose too much of an additional problem."
"Sure, we'll rescue your friends too! Glad to be able to help.
Should we just rescue everybody? That is probably easiest."
Talmrin blinks, sniffing the air, listening to Minos, watching Rush's bone blades cut through the air, and the enthusiasm of the bouncy blue skittermander. "I believe. Very well, to business."
"I will pay thy group 1,000 credits for each of my prisoners returned alive, and will modify thy ship to travel safely through the realm of Azlant. Rescue others if you wish, so long as it does not impair the mission." Then Talmrin coils around, looking at Prosper, then at Pon. "Mayhap thou thinks to land on Gulta, and pretend to be a supply ship of some sort." Talmrin makes a face. "If so, let me also inform thee about a possible flaw in thy plans. A high-security Azlant prison is not like to let a ship dock simply because it claims to have supplies—such shipments are all tracked in prison computer systems." Talmrin pauses. "Wouldst thou like to hear my further suggestions here?"
Talmrin nods. "Do not just pretend to be an Azlant ship. Prevent a legitimate Azlant supply ship from reaching Gulta and take its place. As payment for my services, I will happily distribute some of those supplies to more worthy recipients. I hath no intention of personally crossing the Azlanti Star Empire to lure a starship to Outpost Zed, which means thy group needst to find and lure the ship on thy own."
"This be not as difficult as it sounds." Talmrin holds up a forbearing claw. “Supply ships are always coming and going; the moon prison needs many supplies. Thou shouldst ask other merchants or the glimmshar pirates—they payeth more attention to where ships are crossing. Azlanti ships cometh not to Outpost Zed unless they hast good reason, so thou shalt need to lure one in, then take the ship and the cargo. I suppose thou wanteth not the crew, but I can take them from you for a while, free of charge. Unless thy desire is to kill them for doing their jobs.”
"Once you arrive at Gulta, mayhap I hath something else that may be of use." Like a magician performing a trick, a key card appears in Talmrin's hand. "I hath long been working towards this moment. This is a stolen key card -- nay, do not ask how it came to my claws. This card provides access from one of Gulta's docking bays into the prison cell blocks."
Her eyes giltter. "Any other questions?"
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"Subtlety is not in my nature, no. Though I believe I may be able to pull it off if necessary. If I am mistaken however my friends can do it in my stead. I may honor your request for another jailbreak. Why are they in prison? Do not mistake my curiosity, I assume if they are in an Azlant prison they likely do not deserve it but I would like to hear you say so."
“There art three prisoners —a vesk named Mothkala, a shirren named Tseekchik, and a slivara whose name I'm not twistytongue 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.”
Talmrin cocks her head to look at Dalinar. "The Azlant believe them to be thieves. I see them as heroes, but thou couldst certainly disagree. What sayest thou?"
Pon nods approvingly, "Yeah, that sounds good. Well we got t-" Pon is cut off as he began to stand up and forgot the pipes surrounding him. With a loud and reverberating BONG! Pon collapses to the floor unconscious, a trickle of blood streaming down from his head.
"That be unfortunate..." Talmrin says, looking down. "Is thy friend often prone to accidents? Doth any of thy group have medical training? Is he like to recover?"
"A Vesk? A VESK!! I'm going to have to rescue a VESK? Who would have thought it? At least, he'll owe me! But, a VESK?"
Wint is uncharacteristically silent, although people may notice the gears whirring in his head :-)
"Report:Minor concussion. Quick stabilization in process..."
A few moments later, and a bandage on Pon's head...
Prosper gives a little shake of her fur and suddenly resumes her azlanti appearance. "Somehow this mission is seeming more and more dramatic the closer we get to tackling the moon, huh?" Her eyes shine with excitement, in no small part at the idea of sneaking into the prison like a crew out of some vid serial. "As for your friends, they can be both thieves and heroes at the same time, right? Uh, that's actually kinda a pretty popular mix."
She takes the floppy hat off her head and passes it to Rush. "Hey, if this magic hat can disguise you, maybe it'll help with our infiltration. What do you think LINGSTON?" She also runs a hand through her hair before asking "So we want to lure a supply ship to Outpost Zed. What do you think? Do we just like... broadcast a message that the donuts are half-price or something? Hmmm." Prosper steps back to do her best to think hard about what plan might work.
LINGSTON takes this moment to send a signal to Specs.
"Suggestion: It is time we work more cooperatively with these threats. I suggest you rendezvous with us, as we can program a new battle scope module onto your equipment. This will allow you to support and communicate with me in regards to tactical decisions that could change the outcome of a fight in a matter of moments. This module will take roughly an hour to install."
"Notification: Due to the capabilities of this module, I am afraid I can have only a single one installed at a time. Trying to run more would end up with some potential errors in my systems."
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"Oh dearie me!" Spec exclaims as he rushes off to see what horrific calamity has befallen the normally agile Pon.
[b]"I knew being tall came with risks, but this is just awful! Thank the Shadow that you are so hard headed... otherwise this could've been awful!" he mutters as he teams up with Rush to get Pon patched up as much as possible.
After the immediate crisis has been dealt with, the little professor's scholarly bent reasserts itself as he remembers the strange alien name Talmrin mentions, and he turns to Prosper to see if a bit of discussion can shake loose any information about these slivaras.
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Spec sends
"Wow Lingston, that is truly an honor coming from a Skyfire Centurion! I'd be happy to go over these tactics with you and 'Rush' as soon as we get a spare hour."
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"Umm .... I know I'm not the craftiest one here, but ... couldn't we fake a message from the marketplace manager or trading consortium that would maybe get one of those ships to "lawfully divert" to Zed?
Maybe the pirates have already planned something of the like?"
Minos nods with Spec. "I suspect someone around here knows a good number of the current routes. Or at the very least acquire them easily. So with a little be of subterfuge we could plant a false message that last minute goods, or VIP, needs to be picked up here. The more brute force option would be the ambush such ship in space, then damage them enough that they would come here to repair. I would prefer the first option, but the second may become necessary. "
Pon finally comes to after several minutes. The process is slow and involves him opening and closing his eyes many times as well as a decent amount of groaning.
After rubbing his impact spot and then regretting that action, Pon speaks up, though quietly, "So, what's the plan?"
"Evaluation: The strategy of luring them here with a lawful diversion may cause them to be ready for a fight as well, unless we craft our words carefully. I am not equipped for subterfuge, so best one of you tends to that. Transmitting the message can be done with ease afterwords."
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"Maybe we could throw a party and invite them? Do people party in space like that? If they don't, they should really start to!"
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"Insight: Considering our target are Azlanti, that would be unlikely. Admiration: Though I like your optimism."
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Pon goes to rub his head again and winces once more. After a couple moments, he nods to Wint approvingly, "Yeah, a party does sound nice."
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Prosper's eyes widen at the latest statement from Pon. "Uh, guys? I think Po- I mean, I think something's wrong with Freen. He might've hit his head a little too hard." She steps over and waves a hand in front of Pon's face. "Freen! Quick, how skilled is the rest of your team? Uh, tell me... how do you feel about having fun while on the job? Or uh, are fish friends, or food?"
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Pon goes to rub his head again and winces once more. After a couple moments, he nods to Wint approvingly, "Yeah, a party does sound nice."
"Excellent. We can have several teas, lots of scones and pastries. We should get some more wine, though, I think we're running low on the good stuff. And we definitely need to START with the good stuff, we can switch to slightly worse stuff later"
"Acceptance:: Well, it's more of a plan than I can program. Include alcohol in the message and perhaps they will bite."
Minos smiles. "Well a party it is! Might want mention something else to entice them as well. Maybe make a reward or prize. Maybe enough to think that the captain can retire from boring supply runs."
Talmrin looks dubiously at all of you. "Parties? Have you all lost your collective minds, then?" The gosclaw throws up two arms and then looks to Wint. "Thou and thine hath come this far, so I'll not question thy methods... but this better work. I'll be working on thy ship. Before thou sends out the engraved invites though, mayhap thou shouldst have a wee chat with the pirates and know what traffic is coming and when..."
Minos smiles. "But maybe tea and cake later. Better to make is simple with some type of distress call. Something like need to get special last minute or critical supplies and a it has all been arranged here."
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Spec pipes up. "Umm, not to rain on the party parade, but doesn't that seem a rather premature solution at this juncture? Might it not prove more prudent to investigate who the captain of any passing vessel might be and what motivations might entice them most effectively?
While a wild freighter captain and a refined noble might each be persuaded to attend a party, the character of such a party would differ greatly.
Also, if we can ascertain the presence of an ally/acquaintance to a captain on this station, might we not simply "ask" them to kindly prevail upon the captain for a visit of some importance?"
"Uh, right. I mean, most people like coming to parties and other events with free food. But its not a definite thing. Even if there's free cake." Prosper runs a hand through her hair. "So investigating first what brings other Azlanti supply captains over here in the first place is probably a good idea."
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"The azlanti don't seem the type to skip out on a job to attend a party to me. I have doubts they would take a detour at all, for fear of reprisal. Seems to me it would be easier to go somewhere one of these ships do stop than to try to get one to come here. Either that or find one in space and make it stop."
"So, no party?" Wint says in an obviously dejected voice
[dice=Culture; what would cause an Azlanti supply ship to normally stop at Outpost Zed?]16+6
Prosper realizes that there could be a number of reasons why an Azlanti ship might stop at Outpost Zed. One might be if the Azlantis themselves were a little crooked and needed to offload some dangerous cargo -- or looking for something to be done under the noses of their empire. Or, it is possible that they might have a relationship with a specific merchant at Zed who's done a few favors for them, and asks them to come in for a special pickup.
Prosper thinks that the distress signal could work as well -- if the Teapot could successfully pretend to be someone that an Azlanti ship might rescue. The issue is that the team needs more data on the ships that come through... Either by checking back with some of the merchants they've met, or by looking into those pirates to whom Talmrin alluded.
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Prosper taps at her chin. "So, uh, maybe if the Azlanti are doing some trading on the side they might come here. Or if they really like to trade with one of the merchants here. I bet Red's pretty popular in the Azlanti circles, she might be able to lure them over."
"But really, shouldn't we ask someone around here about which, um, hijack-able ships come through? I bet any pirates around would know, but they wouldn't tell us for free. And we've already traded a bit with the merchants."
Prosper waves goodbye to Talmrin. "See you again!" And as the gosclaw is almost out of sight she adds "Oh, and can you add seat warmers to the turret?"
You come out of the pipes, back at the Furnace Marketplace. Half-Red flashes happily to see you again. Did you find Talmrin?
Pon nods dumbly. He then slowly stops nodding and begins staring at the wall. He seems to zone out quite often lately.
Minos heads up to Half-red and chats some more "Yes, your directions were helpful. Though we are need of some more information. Do you know of any of the supply runners to Gulta that from time to time may stop by here. We are looking to...Well barrow them for a bit"
Minos cautiously explains the plan to lure a legitimate merchant ship and use it to get us to the prison planet to save our friend and even make life a little more difficult for the Azlanti. "We have no desire to harm any of the crew and will attempt to return the ship back in good condition."
"Xaarb, tell me if you deal with any azlanti supply ships." Dalinar decides to forgo questions and just to demand answers. Seems the way to deal with the Xaarb.
The Xaarb nods and jumps up and down.
The xaarb makes a spherical symbol with their fingers and circles it around their head, then makes a bowing motion. They hold their hand and fingers straight up, forcibly drag their palm downward in the air three times, then smack the edge of their hand against their other palm and hunch over.
"Do you know of any of the supply runners to Gulta that from time to time may stop by here. We are looking to...Well barrow them for a bit"
Minos cautiously explains the plan to lure a legitimate merchant ship and use it to get us to the prison planet to save our friend and even make life a little more difficult for the Azlanti. "We have no desire to harm any of the crew and will attempt to return the ship back in good condition."
Borrow? Half-Red flashes a dozen different colors. I might know of a supply ship named the The Relic that comes through here from time to time, and might be interested in doing a bit of business if I were to call them. But they are terribly important people, with terribly important schedules. They might not take well to be being borrowed, especially if they think that I have something to do with it. Half-Red's scales resolve into the image of a fish tank, with a dead cuttlefish floating on its back. None of us are as important as Azlanti, of course. What assurances do I have that you will take precautions when doing your borrowing?