Moxie tries to rally the group to finish it off. "Come on now, it's on its last legs!" He waves the pistol at the creature threateningly again.
Yoromishtali launches a kick at the creature as it moves past the vesk.
Yoromishtali feels two conflicting emotions. First let the creature flee since it was defeated and second chase it down. He decides to take the spirit of the first with the action of the second. He shifts the doshko in his hands so that the tooth won’t cut into the creature. Instead he attempts to hit the mephit with the blunt side of the doshko’s head, in a controlled manner to not kill it.
Yoro smashes the mephit. It is no longer functional, and only a small pile of debris remains.
Yoromishtali lets out a long, slow breath. ”Not a bad fight,” the vesk says checking his doshko’s tooth, looking for any chips or nicks along the blade’s edge. ”I wonder why the captain left it here.”
He hesitates before sitting down on the couch. ”Anything we need to do before contacting Bubs?”
Chiaiese gives a telepathic thumbs up to the rest of the team and then wanders forward to recon the bridge and run a ship diagnostic and verify the registry, then access the log files, searching for information about what might have happened to the former Captain of the vessel, and why a mephit came to inhabit it.
"Let's be thorough while we're here," she advises in response to Yoro. "I don't trust Bubs as far as I can throw him. There may be clues on the Djinn as to what became of her captain."
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"Oh! Well, yes, I guess you could just do that," Anton observes as Yoro takes it down by whacking it with a heavy thing.
"You know, I've been wondering what exactly it was that resigned this ship to this fate. Was it a structural deficiency? Did it have a rad leak? Or is it, like, perfectly fine?"
Anton pours over the ship, trying to solve the mystery of why the ship was here and not in space.
Although this Captain McLaren was by no means timely or regular with his logs, there are bits of interesting information.
He had been having some mysterious mechanical difficulties, and in fact there was an unfortunate and rather delicate situation where he scraped the paint of the ship of a vesk customer when he had difficulties with docking maneuvers not long before he docked here.
It also appears that his intention was to arrange for repairs, and to enjoy some gambling at King Curney's Casbah up in the Armada. That was his last entry.
Meanwhile, the Djinni has set here for nearly two years, and ostensibly you are the first to board her since then.
Moxie begins searching the forward area of the ship as well as the mephit itself. He notes any damage the group took as well as the ammunition and charges expended for the Bub's invoice.
”Those unidentified problems sound strange,” Yoromishtali says as the captain’s log is referenced. He goes over to bridge. ”Otherwise, does it say the vesk’s name? I wonder if I know him or her. Or the ship name. I like giving my business to a fellow vesk when I can.”
The vesk looks out the window. ”Should we attempt to pilot this to another, more accessible dock?”
”Maybe we should see if there are any other ships that have been forgotten?”
"I have a feeling this is a dead end. Why don't we go back and report to Bubs that we found the Djinn. Time to get paid."
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"I'm gonna agree with that," Anton says, crawling up from a jeffries tube, covered in grease and dust and trailed by Viv. "This ship is like some gremlin's nightmare. It's like someone's been slooooooly un-fixing it for a long time. Gimme 24 hours and -I- could have it ship-shape and ready to get take-out from a white dwarf, but if it was anything like this when it was active, no wonder someone would shut it up and toss the key.
Anyway, yeah, let's beat feet."
”You guys make sense,” Yoromishtali says. ”Let’s get out of here. Contact Bubs then receive payment.”
Poor Tim. Didn't deserve such a fate. Maybe we can put him back together some day?" Xic seems genuinely upset by the fate of the Tech Mephit.
"I could probably help with repairs if we needed, but I'd rather let it be Bubs's problem to start with. If he wants to pay extra for us to fix it up, so be it!"
A few interesting points of order:
1. Bubs mentioned that the ship has a better than average drift engine. Xic and Anton can confirm that this is the case. Even if Bubs can't figure out a way to get the ship out of the entombed hangar, the drift engine makes this a profitable venture if he can salvage it.
2. You all did find a fair amount of gear and valuables. You are free to keep anything you found. Bubs just wants the ship and any systems and furnishings within.
Bubs tells you to send him all the pictures and documentation you have. He asks about the drift engine, and then tells you all to get some rest. He'd like to meet in the morning at the L7 Bar and Grill in the Gallery.
"I'm going to have to get some legal assistance and see if we can get that ship out of there. Make sure all of the zoning laws were followed when they cut that ship off from space. Even if we just pull the drift engine out, I've made my money!"
"Of course, of course." Moxie smiles. "Bubs, my partner and I can certainly help you with the paperwork and making sure that all the permits are filed in good order. We did have to manage some trouble in finding the ship, especially vacating a squatter. All of that will be covered in the invoice though."
Upon returning to The Gallery and reconnecting with Bubs, Chiaiese returned to the office of The Nexus - the name she had finally decided on for her news company. She peeled off her filthy armor and took a long shower, lathering her thick, mahogany hair three times.
After compiling her notes from the spirited outing, she drafted a short article and released it into the infosphere, careful not to reveal too many details, such as the exact location of the Djinn Mirage or Bubs' role. It was an intentionally bland an uninformative piece.
Next she checked her messages, and discovered more than twenty attempts to contact her by various bureaucratic agencies on Absalom which wanted a cut of her business ventures, unaware that The Nexus was merely a front for clandestine operations carried out by Chiaiese, ad with no expectation for actual revenue from legitimate operations.
I need a secretary to handle this nonsense, she thinks, and five minutes later she had a open job submission out to the Gateway for potential applicants.
Administrative tasks completed, she sets out for a meal before the next rendezvous with the team. There is still a matter of payment from Bubs.
Once back at his place, Yoromishtali performs a ritual to add the second tooth to his doshko. “The Tooth That Seeks Honor.” Part meditation and part recitation of vows that were ancient before the Gap, the vesk films it for his channel. Afterward dinner, he edits the videos together, adding a voice-over to explain cultural aspects to non-vesk. He also writes letters to his parents and grandmother about reaching this stage in his understanding of the doshko.
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Returning to his flop, Anton re-greases Vivian, tightening a few things that were lossened on the ship. After a brief repast of green soyMEAT and red soyDRINKME! that leaves him crosslegged on his messy floor contemplating the future. That mostly included looking at a large elven statue and thinking about the ship.
He did a quick 'net search for the statue, and sent a few Xmails to a couple people he knew that might have data on so odd a thing.
While doing that, he thought out loud about the Mirage.
"I just wonder how she got there, Viv," he said to the hoverbot that floated docilly behind him. "The odd breakages, the way she was built 'in' to a garage, that she has a hyper-tech engine? It doesn't add up. But maybe, just maybe, Bubs will be willing to pay extra for me to take the thing out! It would sure be neat to have a look at thing up close."
"The Order would pay extra to have a leg up against Lord Borak."
"Yeah, but I don't think I'd wanna go third party. Bubs pointed this out to us and we really--." Anton stopped speaking and froze suddenly. Either the statue had just talked or...
"Uh, Viv, did you say something?"
*beep?*
Bubs hasn't been able to wipe the smile off his face since you all gathered at his table. Now that you have your payment (along with a handsome bonus), Bubs is in the mood to celebrate.
"I'm going to head to the Absalom Station planning commission tomorrow. Something's fishy about the way that hangar was sealed up when the renovations were made 18 months ago. If we can open up the station exterior, we can get that ship out. If not, that upgraded drift drive will make this profitable, and we should be able to get that out without breaking the station open."