Diwata thanks Rei profusely for the added mobility. The robot spits out a credstick before rocketing away!
***
You are almost at the entrance to the residential area. However, a particularly catchy song has turned the large swath of the crowd ahead into an impromptu dance mob!
Skrivix breaks out his best moonwalk to try to shimmy through the crowd but encounters more resistance than he hoped to. Recognizing his difficulties he attempted to bust out some sick jump moves by using his jump jets to get extra air to wow the crowd, then warning the people beneath his targeted landing area telepathically to make way for his best stomping finish to his aerial acrobatics.
"Bug out bros!"
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"Wait, what? No. This is my jet pack. Why don't you give them yours?!" Talc protests, but relents and hands over the pack so Rei can do her thing.
"Oh, SNAP!" Talc shouts.
When the crowd breaks out into an impromptu dance, Talc can't help but show off his moves. He jumps in line with the others and shouts "Rock! Rock! Watch this! Get me on the cam!"
Throwing his hips and arms around he does his best to "break it down".
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Talc calls out and Harrac turns to record him, "duuude, the Squad is going to love that! Check out the Talcster bustin' a move! Next up he's going to try for a Funky Cold Reidina!" Harrac is jostled out of the way by the swarm dancing with Talc. Finding himself in the center of the room with Skrivixx, he bops up and down for a moment to get in the groove and then drops to the floor, kicking his legs out, "this is called a Flare, Squad!" He spins faster, scissoring his legs up and down until he rotates them straight up and balances on his hands. Taking advantage of the brief astonishment of the crowd, he lifts one hand and points toward the door, "I need to go that way!", before crumpling to the ground.
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Rei wants absolutely nothing to do with the crowd, and attempts to follow Harrac through, unfortunately additionally following him to the center of a dance floor.
"This is the last place I want to be. Please Harrac, let me go."
Harrac busts back "No way Rei. Its time to get your groove on! Come on, EVERYONE is waiting and watching!" Rei looks at Harrac the way she looks at everyone else: -_-
Hrm... This may work...
She then attempts to divert attention away from her.
Pointing at her temporary companion - a tiny human elflike creature, she says "Now dance"
The azata takes to the sky and dances in circles around Talc, Harrac, and anyone else who even attempted to enter the center of the crowd. It uses its golden bow as a prop enhancing its magestic movements. The powerful dance however was short lived, as the creature only stayed around for about half a minute, it was half a minute of time for Rei to sneak away.
The crowd goes wild as you show off your dance moves, cheering especially loudly for Talc and the summoned azata. Each of you is handed an official Strawberry Machine Cake T-shirt from the excited crowd.
Some more enthusiastic members of the crowd throw several random assortments of currency from various non–Pact Worlds planets and extrasolar nations. These currencies can be exchanged at an appropriate broker for 750 credits.
***
Once you finally emerge from the crowd again, you have no trouble finding the housing unit where Hira Lanzio currently resides. The door is locked, and there is no response to any knocking or calls.
"Harrac, break it down!" Skrivix steps back to make room for Harrac.
Talc kicks the door down, triggering an audible alarm! Hira Lanzio’s current domicile is a crisp, clean resort room that overlooks one of Songbird Station’s carefully cultivated hypoallergenic gardens. The red couch-bed is undisturbed.
A security robot stands a few feet from the entrance, and further in, a man in a business suit and sunglasses sits at a computer. ”I knew it!” Lanzio screams in a panic. ”Robot! Attack!”
Skrivix throws his hands up in a defensive posture. "We're not here to hurt you! Someone else is, we were rushing to make sure you were okay!"
”A likely story! Tell it to my robot!” the man says, frantically typing at his computer. It seems you will have to subdue him before he will talk.
Skrivix shoots at Lanzio's computer and misses wildly, nearly hitting Harrac in the process.
"Lookout! Wild gravity fluctuations or something happening here!"
Karyn fires a needle directly into the robot's neck, puncturing its chassis and entangling the automaton. Rei follows up with an electric blast, the lightning wreaking havoc with its systems. Skrivvix's shot goes wide, but Harrac slams into the robot, knocking it back a few feet. Talc blasts it with plasma, further damaging it.
The robot still manages to raise its arc emitter and fire on Harrac! Meanwhile, Lanzio taps away at his computer, finishing with a flourish. The computer begins to beep ominously as the executive reaches for a nearby laser rifle...
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"Why don't you use your computer skills to find out who tried to kill you, you idiot! Environmentals in this area were set to shut down!"
Karyn aimed at the man, another entangling biohack loaded. If he didn't stop his aggressive actions, she would shoot.
Karyn will shoot the man in the neck.
Talc blasts the robot again, and it falls over, sparks spraying from its chassis. Lanzio curses and refuses to put his rifle down, dodging Karyn's dart!
Skrivix pleads for Hanzio to give up before relenting and casting daze on him to hopefully slow him down.
Lanzio winces at Harrac's fury, taking a step back. Skrivvix's pleas seem to finally get through to the man, and he drops his rifle and raises his hands. "Okay! Please, don't hurt me!"
Rei shoves the man aside and looks at the computer. She realizes he has wiped the computer and rigged it to self-destruct! There are only a few seconds to try to deactivate the code before the whole rig explodes.
Skrivix looks at Hanzio, then at the computer.
"You've been a bad boy. Uhh.. ladies? Help?"
Rei succeeds in disabling the self-destruct sequence.
"Okay, okay! I'm here at the behest of the board of directors of an organization I represent. I don't actually know who they are, but they pay me in credits and influence to arrange for security firms to work with selected individuals or for 'accidents' to happen to those opposing the board. They wanted me to handle this mission personally--to upload an alien program into Songbird Station's infosphere." That must be the code you found inside the station's reactor. "Ever since I finished the mission, I've felt extremely paranoid. It's like the entire station has some sort of malevolent intent towards me. I thought you were sent by a rival to have me eliminated!"
Lanzio seems unaware that the very program he uploaded was, in fact, designed to kill him as well.
"Your paranoia is justified. Your mission was aimed at killing someone here, but that someone might have just been you. Maybe there is another target, but you were intended to be collateral damage. Come with us and provide us with the information you have. We will be able to offer some protection that may ease your anxiety."
"Damn! I knew it!" Lanzio says. "Alright, alright. I'll come quietly, so long as you promise to keep me safe if there's an attempt on my life!"
You escort Lanzio to where Historia-7 has holed herself up. The android interrogates the man further and studies the code you retrieved from the reactor, her expression carefully guarded.
"This is not good. The code appears to be an alien hybrid virus that combines magic and technological code. The virus has buried itself deep in the infosphere and intends to fully activate at the height of the upcoming concert--about 30 minutes from now. There’s no way to evacuate the station in time, and causing a panic in the crowd is likely to result in hundreds of casualties.
"But I have a plan. I believes I can take advantage of the sophisticated hybrid stage projector that Strawberry Machine Cake uses to project their realistic holoavatars. With a bit of tweaking and a connection to the infosphere, I can use the magic of the stage to interact with the magic of the code, contain the code in the stage projector’s computer, use the holoavatar programming to force the code into a physical form, and then have you all basically shoot it to death.
"For this plan to work, we'll need to get the cooperation of the band, but unfortunately both the band and the band’s agent are busy prepping for the imminent concert. That means that Strawberry Machine Cake’s agent isn’t taking calls, so you will need to run back to the concert area to meet the band's agent in person. I'll send a message to Zigvigix to meet us there. Are you ready to go?"
You make your way through the crowd for a third time, pushing towards the backstage area. When you arrive, Historia-7 and Zigvigix have managed to secure a short meeting with Strawberry Machine Cake’s bizarrely clad agent, Shinjiro. This middle-aged human man wears an elaborate pink-and-white frock coat, complete with a pink top hat that has white rabbit ears protruding from the brim.
"Konishiwa, Starfinders. Unfortunately, the band is prepping for the concert and cannot attend the meeting. I recognize the severity of the situation but we cannot stop the concert. Besides the fact that we have poured 2 years of work into preparing for this event, I also agree with the assessment that the station cannot be evacuated in time. I believe the only way to avoid casualties from both the virus and a panicking crowd is to make the audience believe the battle with the code is part of the concert.
"Historia-7 has outlined her plan. It is a good plan, but only if you can make the code look appropriate to the stage show."
The android nods and begrudgingly turns towards Zigvigix. "I am going to need some advice on how to do that."
"I have several thoughts!" the shirren declares happily.
Shinjiro turns back to you. "I intend to get the station guards to quickly amp up the security force-field barrier to prevent the fight from spilling off the stage. You will be allowed onto the stage as extras prior to the start of the concert so you will be able to stand ready to battle the manifested code... but you cannot go onstage dressed like that!"
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Karyn glared at Harrac. "Dress up and go on stage with SMC? How did someone like you manage to rig this, Harrac? Is one of your imaginary online friends secretly a PM of a burgeoning world or something?" Still grousing, Karyn knew there was not enough time to do much of anything else, so went along with this crazy, stupid, and crazily stupid plan. She randomly punched up a costume, something with a lot fo flash and heavy makeup.
"Guess that leaves Rei and Talc to be matching sweet lolitas! It will be sooo cute."
Skrivix goes glam and goes glam hard.
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Talc turns to Harrac, clasping his hand on the large vesk's shoulder "This is it, Harrac, the day you've always waited for. You're going to be on stage with SMC, can you believe it? I need you to stay focused though, remember, we're here on a mission. Got it?"
He pats the Vesk's back and moves to select heavy metal.
Once you take your positions on the stage, the concert begins and Historia-7 enacts her plan. The stage’s spotlights turn on all at once, and the band’s opening chords rise above the excited screams of the audience. The projections onstage warp and twist in time with the music and the deafening cheers, as the band’s holoprojectors struggle to grasp an entity that exists only in the digital world. Suddenly, the holographic lights seem to explode, covering the stage in a cloud of technicolor glass and smoke. The smoke lingers for a minute then finally parts, revealing a pink, white, and black robotic figure that is now standing in the center of the stage. As the crowd murmurs, the mecha slowly turns to regard the audience before it, and then mechanically raises its finger toward the lights and strikes a dramatic pose!
”Three, two, one, let’s rock!” CAPTAIN*CARMINE shouts. The band begins to play, and the battle is on!
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Harrac is bouncing on the balls of his feet, throwing his hands up, trying to hype the crowd. He was overjoyed that whoever was running the holoprojector had somehow figured out his love for the classic Bowie paisley. He looks up at the robot and grins, "Party Time! Let's gooooooooooo!" He advances and swings.
for
Harrac’s solar weapon slices deep into the mecha, eliciting a shower of pink sparks! It makes a mechanical noise and strikes back with its plasma blade,
Tacl blasts the mecha with a supercharged shot, leaving a gaping hole in its chest cavity! Karyn and Skrivvix each score light hits on it, though it avoids becoming entangled. Despite the damage to its holographic form, the mecha seems ready to fight on!
The crowd goes wild, and as CAPTAIN*CARMINE begins a catchy chorus, the entire audience joins in!