/dot in!
You sit on the bridge of Society starship already underway for a journey to Near Space, you play the briefing video from Ehu Hadif.
“Thank you for accepting this mission post-haste. I hope to cover everything you need to know in this briefing.” Ehu gestures, and the image of a gas giant with broad rings appears hovering over his hand.“Chart a course to Xys, a planetoid orbiting the gas giant Preluria. The Xystrian Brotherhood has invited you to explore their planet. The Brotherhood is known to have ulterior motives, however, and I suspect they are likely to ask you for a favor in exchange for the privilege of visiting their world. Playing nice with them could be the key to valuable future alliances, as they curate a collection of artifacts from different civilizations and have a reputation as information brokers.
"Timely communication with the Society will be impossible, so if they do ask you for a favor, please agree to it, so long as it’s not something incredibly dangerous—or unethical. I trust your discretion. Please record anything the Xystrians tell you or allow you to see, as this is a rare opportunity to gather information about an otherwise inaccessible world and its culture.”
/end transmission
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"He trusts our discretion? He has read our after-action reports from the last few, right? I'd believe it is he trusted our destruction abilities over our discretion ones. Besides. I didn't spend all month training on these heavy weapons for nothing!"
Rastar pointed at the cases where his burner and long-hafted doshko awaited their first trial by fire.
"And did we really have to bring the entire science and engineering department with us? I mean, have one or two along to help out, but everyone?" Geez! At least keep them on the ship!"
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Vyviane floats into the room and plops down into the captain's chair as she is wont to. "We have shown some discretion about how we use destruction. And maybe the First Seeker wanted to have a strong showing of force. I haven't heard much about this Xystrian Brotherhood, but the may appreciate a strong opponent. Or perhaps it was because I was traveling with this group? I do specialize in cat and mouse and this sounds like it will be nice and nostalgic to my former profession. "
She pauses and looks over at Kelvad for a moment, before adding, "Well Kelvad is on a retainer, so technically he's not part of any department, also he stays on the ship where it's safe. You know that."
She takes a moment to read through any additional information packets that First Seeker Ehu might have included in the transmission, having Kelvad take a look as well.
PRELURIA
Orbital Rings of Infinite Worlds
Diameter: ×100; Mass: ×100; Gravity: Varies
Atmosphere: Normal; Day: 12 hours; Year: 25 years
A massive, poisonous green gas giant with wide orbital rings. The rings consist of millions of ice and mineral bodies of highly varying sizes.
While Preluria has developed sentient life in its gaseous layers, the rings contain innumerable hidden smugglers’ bases, mercenary training facilities, and retreats for wealthy, influential, xenobiologically curious, or misanthropic individuals from across the galaxy. Preluria’s rings have no centralized government; instead, various factions vie for control of the orbitals.
***
The Xystrian Brotherhood is a Prelurian faction of outwardly pacifist ascetics who use their reputation as a cover to operate as information brokers and saboteurs.
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The door to the turbolift that runs to the bridge opens and J'Shun comes striding out followed by Commander Mahpu. Mahpu is dressed in the duty uniform of the Pabaq Self Defense Force while J'Shun is wearing a starched and pressed Starfinder Space Navy jacket. A holograpic sashimono is projecting the battle history of the Summersword clan above his head along with every combat mission and decoration the Space Admiral has ever received.
Mahpu says in a reverent voice, "Space Admiral J'Shun Kay, first son of Clan Summersword, House Davion, line of Atsu, born in fire! on the bridge."
As everyone snaps to attention, J'Shun says, "At ease, Corporal Mars give me a status report. I understand the First Seeker has another highly classified mission for us. Private Thrid Class Rastar, congratulations on passing the heavy weapons training course. I expect you to put your new skills to good use should we run into any danger."
In one of his hands J'Shun carries a dossier.
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"I'll be certain you're in my line of fire, you sanctimonious..." Rastar's murmured tirade was cut off when Vyviane elbowed him in the ribs.
"Fine, fine. We go to Xys, try not to kill anything that moves. Do a favor for a group of professional spies, and try not to get the Society embroiled in another public mess like that thing with Datch last year. Got it. Let's get on with it."
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"Do anything not too dangerous or unethical, keep good records, try not to kill everyone. Sounds like a standard Starfinder mission. Just because we're not discrete doesn't mean we don't show discretion. We just haven't ran into many people interested in surrendering," Chorizal comments as he gets the briefing after entering the bridge after J'Shun.
"I'm sure everyone else is as sure as I am that this offer to explore their planet is just a ruse to get us there so this Brotherhood can give us the real job they want done."
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J'Shun, hands the dossier he is carrying to Vyviane and says,
"Corporal Isafira, I understand that your application to officer candidate school has been accepted. Starfinder space navy special operations command has recently implemented new doctrine regarding the training of junior officers. In order to give them field experience and to promote initiative it has been decided that each officer candidate will be given a field commission in order to evaluate their potential for leadership. Corporal Isafira I am promoting you to acting Lieutenant for this mission and placing you in command of the squad. Captain Chorizal and myself will assess your potential for leadership and have the final say on your application to officer candidate school. Of course, if over the course of this mission we run into significant danger I will reassume command and once again lead us into glorious battle with whatever diabolical foe we encounter." He gestures toward the dossier. "These are your orders."
The dossier simply states that by order of Starfinder space navy special operations command that Corporal Isafira is to assume command of the squad for this mission only and Captain Chorizal and Space Admiral Kay will be evaluating her performance.
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Vyviane elbows Rastar in the side before he can say too much, countering his whisperings with her own, "He may be sanctimonious, delusional and spend way too much money on his delusions if that expensive looking jacket is anything to go by, but he's still a Stafinder and does do a great job of fulling that white knight role that people love to get behind."
She does get blind sided by J'Shun's unexpected 'orders' and the fact he is actaully allowing her to take command of the group. She opens her mouth, then closes it, then opens it again, closes it, before she finally thinks of something to say. "I don't quite remember applying for anything along those lines, but I appreciate that you are finally recognizing my abilities... So does the Starfinder Navy require the officer in charge to bark orders, or can I ask people politely first?"
She picks up the dossier and reads through it, curious as to how professional the thing appears and if she can see evidence that J'Shun has made the document himself. She also looks for a contact number, curious if there is actually a Starfinder Navy that she's just never known about.
After traveling for ten days your ship exits the Drift. An intensely green gas giant recognizable as Preluria dominates the viewport. Its rings sparkle against the darkness of space, massive compared to those of the Pact Worlds’ own gas giants, Liavara and Bretheda. Xys itself is but a tiny speck within those rings, a planetoid caught in Preluria’s orbit.
As your ship enters Xys’ atmosphere, several ships appear to guide you toward a landing pad where a group of humanoids stand ready to your arrival.
As you disembark The obvious 'leader' steps forward to greet you - he appears to be human but with smooth, pliant gray skin. The six others in his entourage wear light gray robes without any adornment and have their hoods drawn to obscure their faces. “Welcome to Xys, travelers. I hope you had a pleasant trip. My name is Makao, and I will be your guide during your stay here. Your interest in Xys and the ways of the Brotherhood honors us.”
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"I am it is an honor to meet you also.
J'Shun is dressed in a formal navy blue Starfinder space navy uniform with all his medals, decoration, and ranks pinned to it. On his head is a bicorn hat trimmed in gold with a sigil of the sun pinned to it. His holographic sashimono is currently displaying the heraldry of the Summersword clan, a silver longsword inset upon a bright yellow sun with 14 rays of light emanating from it and arrayed upon a circle colored bright red.
Makao smiles and nods positively, the expression seemingly genuine - even if it also appears he is doing it out of a custom and practice he's not necessarily used to. He looks to the rest of the Starfinders to see if any more introductions are forthcoming.
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Rastar strode out of the ship with his new doshko on a sticky patch on his back harness, and the heavy burner riding on its sling. He started to speak, was drowned out by He Who Is Delusional, then tried again.
"I'm Rastar. Just Rastar. No need for bombastic names or delusional pride for me. One name has gotten me through my whole life. We hope to learn much of your people and world, and thank you for your offer of hospitality."
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Vyviane boggles slightly over the professional looking documents and orders. They weren't something that she'd expect J'SHun with his limited computer abilities to draw up. There's signatures in there that look nothing like J'Shun's handwriting nor each other, and finally is that Arvin's signature as well? She spends the last leg of the journey turning this abnormality in her head. She could be the delusional one and completely missing that the 'Starfinder Navy' exists. But Rastar also seems to share her opinions about J'Shun being delusional, and Bodo and Chorizal have only being seeming to play along with the man, giving him what he orders and using their 'rank' when it's convenient, but never mention anything about a 'navy' on their own. But then how did he make those documents? Does he have other aids than Mahpu, or did he make...
She finally snaps out of the rounabout thoughts as they land, her face starts to shift. He nose flattens some as her hair straightens. Her forty or so years that she normally takes great pains to hide showing, gracefully start to line her face. She takes the golden hoop earrings of her Absalom Socalite look and replaces them with silver hoops instead. She gives a slight smile and checks her look in the mirror. Stately, mature, caring, and wise. A perfect look for handling discussions!
She takes her time stepping off the ship and gives the leader a bow in return to his generous greeting. "It is you who honor us by inviting us to your wonderfully fascinating world. Is it true that Preluria is the biggest gas giant in the nearest 6 sections of space?" She gives the man a good moment to respond before adding, "You've met my companions already, but I seem to have neglected giving you my name. I am Vyviane Isafira, nominally in charge of this group. We are looking forward to getting to explore and learn about your planet."
With the strange 'greeting pleasantries' coming to an end and all introductions completed, you are whisked away by the friendly diplomats.
What follows are five days of relaxation in luxury spas and hotels, guided expeditions to farms and meditation circles, and meals catered to your preferred tastes.
Makao accompanies you any time you step outside your accommodation. Whilst you are seemingly free to ask questions and take notes about everything you see, anything else not on the tour you show interest in is brushed off as ‘not important’, ‘currently not open to visitors,’ or prompts some other vague or roundabout answer.
You receive what you highly suspect is a sanitized version of the Brotherhood’s beliefs and practices, highlighting their sustainable farms that source to hungry populations throughout the system, pacifist beliefs, and meditation practices.
You are also allowed to tour heavily curated sections of the Brotherhood’s information vaults. Whilst you take the time to transcribe some interesting notes about various artifacts and historical documents but quickly realize you’ve only been granted access to a tiny fraction of the organization’s resources.
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Vyviane tries to be a bit permissive in her 'leadership' style. Mostly she asks people to do things every now and then but doesn't give orders, primarily as there are no reasons to give orders in the first place, given how much they are guided around like a shot in a railgun. At first she pushes ever so slightly to see or ask about things that Makao doesn't mention or want to talk about, but then quickly judges that pushing further would be a risky maneuver, and slowly pushes her inquisitive questions to more mundane topics.
During the week she watches the way people of the Brotherhood move and act, and looks for a smaller or shorter member she could try to disguise herself as, just in case they of she needed to go rogue.
She pauses in the information vault and takes a look around, curious if she has a good place to try getting a key card or access to something that the Brotherhood doesn't want her seeing.
What Vyviane works out is that the place is clean, too clean, as though people have been moving at the advance of the party meticulously cleaning and sanitizing every area you could walk through on your very well chaperoned and completely staged 'tour'. She also becomes acutely aware that the party is being monitored, taped, examined, and scrutinised at all times. She finds little to steal, but also becomes aware the chances of getting caught would be very high. They are putting on a huge display, clearly intended for the Society to be sent a message, but also to put the Starfinders under a microscope.
As this enjoyable but uneventful tour comes to an end, Makao leads you to a conference room at the Spaceport. As you settle in, Makao’s demeanor shifts from friendly and servile to direct and businesslike.
“We hope your stay was much to your liking, and that you send glowing reports back to your Society, but I would be lying if I said inviting you here was just part of a cultural exchange. We hope you can help us discreetly solve a disappearance. One of our agents has gone missing on the nearby Vault of Vorlath, and we’re concerned for his health. We have his last known coordinates, and of course a detailed description of him"
"Your organization’s increased presence in Near Space, combined with your outsider status, makes you the perfect candidates to investigate this matter.” Makao slides over a datapad. “In return for your cooperation, my organization will provide monetary compensation as well as inroads to a future alliance. We understand if you are hesitant about this mission. I can assure you that our agent wasn’t initially involved in anything illegal or dangerous, though I can make no such guarantees about his current situation. Ultimately, we need a neutral party to investigate the situation on Vorlath, and if you accept, we will owe your organization a debt.”
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"We can certainly tell them you give a nice, sanitized little tour. Can't say we've seen much else. Perhaps once we've retrieved your missing agent, we can get a more...natural look at your world?"
"We'll certainly help. Our briefing officer encouraged us to do so, and the offer of monetary and alliance rewards is certainly appreciated. But, I think I am speaking for my superiors when I say the greater reward would be something a little less...do you guys have sales brochures here? That's what this last week has felt like. A walk through a sales brochure."
The otherwise cool diplomat has a friendly face, but eyes that suggest he'd happily have Rastar used for fertiliser on one of the 'glorious factory-farms in which volunteer labourers use the advanced and enlightened Brotherhood farming skills to grow surplus food for distribution to other neighbouring planets' - "You were provided a wonderful tour of the highlights of our planet, and we have been very generous with our hospitality. These are dangerous times, a person has gone missing, we would be saddened and embarrassed if one of our guests also went missing - I would think your report was reflective of the positivity and safety you have experienced. I am certain the Society would not have sent incompetent writers."
"Space Admiral J'Shun Kay, first son of Clan Summersword, House Davion, line of Atsu, born in fire - you are clearly the senior person of your delegation and an esteemed and high ranking officer - I entrust to you this information to help your search" - he slides across a datapad.
The datapad contains a full description and image of the agent. He’s a human of average height with brown hair and eyes, going by the name Firiz for this mission. His last known coordinates, taken from a tracking device built into his comm unit, are a location close to one of the Vault of Vorlath’s spaceports. The datapad also lists some of Firiz’s security codes, allowing you to decrypt any potential messages he left behind.
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Vyviane gives Rastar a look or reproach as he digs into the man, but quickly tries to recover. "Forgive Rasstar, he is direct about his thoughts and feelings, sometimes to a fault. It is not wrong nor a problem to try present one's best side. I'm sure that even in these dangerous times a place as safe and harmonious as this would never lose track of a guest of theirs. Such an oversight would tarnish the reputation of your monetary and hurt not just your relations with the Starfinders but others as well." She pauses and takes a deep breath, before continuing, "But it seems our time with you has been compeletely safe and very relaxing as well. I, personally, will include nothing but glowing reviews in my reports." ... some of which would include your discretion but how dangerous you can be.
She gives a small mental sigh when Makao still hands the datapad over to J'Shun, even after being told she was nominally in charge. "Thank you for the information. I assure you that my team will look into this discreetly and hopefully to you satisfaction." She leans in a little closer and in a conspiratorial tone adds, "Also I should ahve mentioned this earlier, but there have been some serious doubts raised about his rank. Some of us truly believe he has made it up in some grand delusion. The Starfinder Society have historically had a very flat organizational structure."
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"I will honor your request Makao for I am Space Admiral J'Shun Kay, first son of Clan Summersword, House Davion, line of Atsu, born in fire! Tell me now, what is this Vault of Vorlath you speak of."
Though J'Shun accepts Makao's request he has been keeping notes and discussing the whole situation and the clinical nature of the Brotherhood's presentation to the team with Chorizal.
"Acting Lieutenant Isafira, take this datapad and make preparations for a rescue mission."
"This is good - a sign of cooperation and friendship between our benevolent and glorious organisations"
“Vorlath is another planetoid within Preluria’s rings. It is governed by the Vorlath Mercenaries, a cutthroat company that hires themselves out to the highest bidder. They’re... less hospitable than we are here on Xys. The planetoid itself is nothing much. Mostly deserts, rocks, hovels, and terrible bars.”
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Rastar bristled at the threat implied in their host's words, but before he could respond, Vyviane elbowed him in that soft spot under his low ribs that she had found so useful recently. He held his tongue, and simply waited for them to leave. He'd rescue this agent, then maybe he could burn the smug sneer off of Makao's face when they returned.
“Most members of the company are worlanisi, a small, blueskinned species of humanoids that set up shop on Vorlath after volunteering for some sketchy genetic studies years ago. Preluria’s political situation creates near-constant demand for their work, so for the past 10 years, they’ve been recruiting other species into their ranks to help fill the demand for their services. They have a charming motto: pay up or get out.”
J'Shun believes this to be a pretty fair and accurate appraisal that gels with what he has heard.
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Vyviane listens to the introduction of the mercenary company, and then realizes what time it was. She closes her eyes and mentally prepares her self with a sigh. Time for J'Shun to give his orders, and tell everyone exactly what they should be doing... She waits for a second, and then peeks out at the man, surprised to find him look at her.
She gives a small surprised sound as the wheels in her head start to turn, right she was supposed to be giving orders. She looks flat at J'Shun. "Mr. Kay, would you mind giving me a briefing of what you know about these mercenaries, these seem like your types. Chorizal, I want a review of our martial strength, if you don't mind. Resorting to violence would be my last choice of action, but if we do I want it to be assured in it. Bodo, can you check our supplies for the upcoming trip? Fuel, food, water, air, and any supplies we might need to trade or barter. Makao, I'm assuming you'll help refill our stocks of the essentials, right? Rastar, is there anything you want to do to help us prepare for this? You have a good head on your shoulders and I trust your judgement, even if your discretion could use a little work. Alright, before we break up here, does anyone have suggestions or concerns that we should address now? No? Okay then let's get to it, and remember you can bring any complaints or fears you are having to me at any time."
After a second she looks over at Makao and asks, "Is there a good way to approach these mercenaries? Would a letter of introduction from you help? Or should we act like possible recruits? Or just go in using the name of the Starfinders and hope that they have heard of us and hopefully not that extremely bad drivel that was part of a smear campaign last year?"
"I would suggest a letter of introduction to these mercenaries would have you seen as no longer a neutral third party. If you ars simply Starfinder Operatives then you are neutral, if you are seen to be coming from the Brotherhood they will be far less open - despite the foul lies and hateful propaganda circulated by wretches and liars against the Society."
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"You had me at 'terrible bars,'" Chorizal says.
He listens closely to the rest of Makao's description and suggestions and to Vyviane's orders.
Afterwards, he goes around checking with everyone on their weapons and armor.
"Pretty much same as the last mission," he tells her when they get underway. "I've got my dragonglaive, which I still haven't really had a chance to use, my light artillery laser, my pike and this," he thumps his throat a couple times enigmatically.
"Admiral Kay has his sword and gun and that fancy holographic flag thing."
"Rastar's switched tactics and ditched the pistols for a heavy weapon - flamethrower and a frosty doshko. Kind of a fire and ice thing going. He's also got an impressive number of secondary weapons. Pistol, knife, grenade. You know, what an operative would all a full load out."
"Bodo's got a needler rifle, fancy stick and a scattergun. I guess we all figured we should find a way to deal with tiny things after that mission on the ice planet and those nanites."
"Anyway, if we run into trouble, it's going to realize it ran into us," he summarizes.
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"The Vorlath mercenaries are a company known for taking on some of the most difficult and frequently questionable, ethics wise, missions in the Pact Worlds. Their usual methods are brutal and efficient. They'll do anything to get the mission done if you pay them the right amount of credits. Innocent bystanders, women, and children, it doesn't matter to them if they are part of the collateral damage. Their calling card is the ace of spades. Before they leave the combat zone they leave a playing card on the forehead of the corpse of the highest ranking officer from the enemy unit they just defeated. It is always the ace of spades. Acting Lieutenant Isafira, these mercenaries are a significant threat. We must approach them with caution."
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Vyviane nods at the excellent suggestions. "Thank-you for the update on our military capabilities, Chorizal. I was afraid that they might be only focused on strength as you talked about, Mr. Kay. I agree caution would be warranted here. But as Rastar is saying we should not seem like pushovers as well. Being able to strike back if and when needed would be good."
She pauses and thinks for a moment, before adding, "Alright. Here's what we should do from here. I sincerely hope they weren't watching the approach of our ship when we first got here, and it's a right shame we didn't know that perhaps disguising our ship would be important. But what's done is done. Actually, I think we could use that to our advantage."
She pauses for a second and then nods, "Right. We should disguise our ship as best we can. Rastar, Chorizal, can you help with changing the outer appearance. We should cover the Starfinder insignia and maybe add some extra bulk to the outside. Bodo, can you help me and tweak the engines to change their output patterns? J'Shun I'll need you to suit up and be ready for a space walk when we get out of sensor range."
The halfling then lays out her plans. "So, we want to hide the fact that we are the same group of Starfinders who visited here on Xys. We'll disguise the ship just in case the mercenaries are watching, and jump into the Drift. While there, J'Shun will take off the outer disguises and we'll retune the engines before jumping back. Our cover story for approaching is to visit a make contact with the mercenaries, in a part of an outreach program making contact with all of the larger organizations of Preluria. If they comment on how slow we were to our companions (assuming they tracked our arrival about a week ago) we claim it was one of the vagaries of the Drift. Does that sound good? Any suggestions or concerns?"
Makao gives you a final aside "Firiz was last seen at a seedy dive bar, The Crooked Doshko,It would probably be good if you created a cover story explaining why you’re looking for Firiz. Perhaps he owes you money, or he stole something from you. I’ll leave that decision to you. Probably best to avoid the mercenaries as much as possible as they may otherwise take an interest on what you are doing and stymie your progress - or worse - somehow tie you back to us and put you in danger"
"We also happen to have a spare space shuttle in one of our warehouses, non-descript, registered to a shelf company owned by a shelf company and loaded with a circuitous route that would be hard to track as originating from here. It also has the latest passes to get you through the spaceport at the other end. We just had such a thing in case of needing to do one of our benevolent deliveries of goods ... anonymously" he shifts as though even he is sceptical of the cover story about why they have a hangar with a totally non-descript and mostly untraceable vessel.
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Vyviane gives Makao a look and a blink for a second, before commenting, "If you had that, it would have made planning for this MUCH easier. You should have said something earlier. Yes, let's use that shuttle instead. Also having a specific reason to find Firiz would be helpful, and now we don't have to haggle for entry papers. This sounds mush sounder than my plan." Though I'm sure I could have pulled it off.
She stands, looks over at J'Shun, "Taking over my mission? Already? I hadn't realized I had failed that badly already."
The unmarked shuttle proves up to the task of travelling anonymously to the Vault of Vorlath. The shuttle’s journey charts a roundabout route to make it harder to determine its exact origin point.
The Vorlath spaceport incorporates an amalgam of technologies from different eras and worlds in various stages of disrepair. The ship effrtolesslys passes through the checkpoints and docks without drawing any obvious attention.
You follow up Firiz’s last known coordinates point to the rowdy dive bar close to the spaceport - The Crooked Doshko. Vyv recognizes the graffiti on the building’s windowless outer walls as tags associated with local mercenary companies - a sure sign that this place is a regular hang for guns for hire. A bored worlanisi bouncer stands outside the bar. A flasshing neon sign announces Show tonight - 20 credit cover charge. You can hear the heavy bass pounding through the wall and the occasional sounds of...breaking glass?
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"Ignore him. I think it's an autonomic response, like breathing, for him. He inherently has to give orders. As for the cover story, I am a licensed bounty hunter in the Pact Worlds. My credentials certify me to have a team of up to five for bounty operations. I say we use that and go for a flat our snatch and grab, based on an outstanding warrant for...tax evasion."
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"And I was going to add a sick spoiler to our ship, too!" Chorizal grumbles as they decide to go with the boring shuttle.
He looks as quizzical as anyone else when Makao mentions they just happen to have a shuttle perfectly designed to sneak onto another world handy.
"Bounty hunters it is. Are you going to officially deputize us? I'm trying to see how many titles and ranks I can collect."
At the bar, he walks up, forking over his 20 credits to get in. "I don't know what they're playing in there, but I like it already," he says to the group with a grin.
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"You are now officially deputized. Under the Pact Worlds bail enforcement code, you must clearly identify yourself as a bail enforcement agent when making the arrest, and may not offer lethal violence towards local law enforcement at any time, though you may use lethal force in self defense against non-LEOs, as appropriate to local law and custom. Any contract offered up will specify the terms of the recovery, and 'Dead or Alive' is not a phrase that should ever pass your mouth while working to collect civil fugitives. The goal is always to bring them back alive."
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"Acting Lieutenant Isafira, I am simply reminding you that it is Starfinder Space Navy standard procedure that when an officer in charge issues orders her subordinates will not execute her commands until she says THIS I COMMAND! Chapter 5, section 2, article 1B of the Starfinder Space Navy officer's manual clearly states that all orders must be followed by issuing the directive THIS I COMMAND! If for some reason you are incapacitated on the battlefield and cannot speak your armor's comm unit has a back up system integrated into it that will broadcast, THIS I COMMAND!, for you until command has been transferred to a junior officer. Now issue your orders Acting Lieutenant...
Chorizal pays the cover charge to the cashier and can already tell it truly is his kinda place. The sounds of blaring music, throaty singing, cheering, and jeering erupt from inside the bar, and the odor of smoke and stale alcohol spills out into the street.
Chorizal is waiting at the door - ready to enter.
"Hey he only paid for one" the bouncer taps the sign and looks at Jshun expectantly.