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As the team hid the bodies, Thak checked the area for signs of the brief fight, covering or removing any bodily fluid stains. Good as new. We’re ghosts in the fog. He chuckled to himself.
"Three down. Shall we head to the Administrator's house?"
“Sounds good to me. Let’s press the advantage of surprise while we have it.”
Thak scratched Cubber’s ears as they walked. The squox had been tucked deep in his pocket this morning and looked happy to be in the fresh air. “It’s good to see you too.” Cubber licked his paw and nuzzled close, maneuvering his head under Thak’s fingers.
No, this wasn’t the vacation I anticipated either, Cubber. Not at all.
Madelon’s private residence consists of two connected prefabricated modules, rather than just one, although there is a separate entrance to each module. One of the entrances is painted with an elaborate cityscape in gold above the words “All Are Welcome Before the Master of the First Vault” while the other has a small sign reading “Private Business.” Each entrance has a keypad next to the door. The building is well maintained, but its lights are out and it carries a general air of abandonment.
The passcode you were given does not seem to work, most likely because power to this building has been turned off.
Chiaiese can see that the power to the building is disconnected, but where there's a will, there's a way. "We may be able to force this open, but before we break anything, let's at least try hot-wiring the door mechanism."
The Lashunta produces her Engineering specialty toolkit and extracts a screwdriver to remove the faceplate of the keypad. Carefully pulling out the wiring, she tests for the live circuit for the auxiliary power inside the panel and solders it to the active node. It's a simple matter to reconnect everything and re-key the code.
"Open Sesame!"
While Chiasiese examines bypassing the door's electronic lock, Yoromishtali keeps watch for any Azlanti patrolling the area. The vesk eyes the building's roof for a moment, wondering how easy it would be to jump from roof to roof while taking rifle shots at the Azlanti. He's sure there are a few buildings whose gaps are slightly too far for him to jump.
"Well done, Chiaiese," the vesk says. "Do you want me to go in first?"
Chiaiese packs her kit and steps aside. "Be my guest."
Yoro steps through the door into Madelon's private residence. Your first impression is that this place is in absolute disarray, and it appears to have been tossed thoroughly by the Azlanti.
As Yoro steps through the entryway into the residence, Chiaiese stops him just before he steps on some sort of pressure plate.
Yoromishtali hisses at the trap. "I'm not normally so inattentive," he grumbles. Rumbling his throat, he then takes a deep breath. "I owe you Chiaiese! Thank you. You know, we could use that to set a trap for the soldiers. We could rig something heavy to trip the plate. When the soldiers respond, we attack them from behind."
He looks at the items scattered across the floor. "Something to consider. What do we have here?" He kneels to start looking through the items.
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Thak was just opening his mouth to warn Yoro when Chiaiese caught him by his arm. Whew… what could’ve been bad.
As they enter the house and fan out for a quick search, the top sheet of a stack caught under some books catches Thak’s eye. He squats down and gently pulls the sheet free.
“Look at this. There was a mining accident nearby… north of here, I think. Relatives of someone local named ‘Goraya Li’ were injured, and… um… oh, wait…” — he grabs more pages from the floor — “…uh… here it is… injured but expected to recover. It was Goraya’s brother and nephews. Huh. I wonder if that’s somehow connected to the Azlanti?”
The chapel—which is connected to Madelon’s chambers by a door that opens easily—contains several simple benches and an altar bearing Abadar’s holy symbol of a golden key.
Yoromishtali looks around the chapel. He's said some prayers to Abadar on occasion, but isn't too familiar with the iconography or dictates of his worship. It always felt a little too much like a business, too commercial, when he visited an Abadar temple on Absalom Station. Still he moves slowly, looking without any preconceived notion of how this place should appear. "Well Abadar, I'm sure you want us to help defend AbadarCorp's colony. How about giving us some help?"
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Dropping the documents neatly to the floor, Thak stands and continues looking around the room. He finally follows Yoro into the chapel area.
Thak shakes his head as he explores. Another mess… they were thorough, that’s for sure.
Cubber chooses that exact moment to attempt a leaping escape from his squox pocket, but Thak catches him in midair.
Holding the wriggling squox close, he eventually calms Cubber down.
“No leaping into places we’re trying to search, buddy. I know you’ve been cooped up in there for a while, but you can get out and run around later. We need to focus.”
Now… what was I looking at?
Yoro is the first to spot a niche near the altar that the Azlanti must have missed when they searched this place. Inside is a data pad.
"Right back at you, Yoro! Good eyes on that datapad. Mind if I take a quick look at that?"
Chiaiese holds the datapad so everyone can view the recording."Interesting. Any ideas what we're looking at in these images?"
"Be my guest," Yoromishtali says to Chiaiese as he hands her the datapad.
When she shows the group what she discovered,Yoromishtali bends low to study the still images carefully. "I don't know other than the interior of a building or vessel." Yoromishtali scans the image for any details that might be worth magnifying, like writing on consoles.
Aibretta is very happy to see you all upon your return from your first two missions. She is excited to hear a full report of your experience with the Azlanti patrol and with Madelon's residence.
She retrieves water and a small amount of nutritious food from her kitchen and asks you to sit down and rest.
"Grateful," Chiaiese says to Aibretta with a nod and accepts the food and water.
"The cemetery guard was readily dispatched by our team," she explains by way of recounting the attack. "We have recovered a small number of weapons and armor from the dead Azlanti; the weapons are in working order, and the armor is scorched in places but could be mended. I expect the local resistance can put these arms to use.
"After we hid the bodies, we proceeded to Madelon's residence, which we discovered to be tricky to enter as there was a trap that might have done us in. Thak found documents related to Goraya Li." She leaves it to Thak to fill in the missing pieces of that story.
"Yoro located this datapad." Chiaiese plays the recording for Aibretta. "Do you have an idea what the relic is that Cedona found in the crashed ship's engine room?"
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Thak sat down and pulled Cubber onto his lap. The squox fell asleep on the trip back from Madelon's, so he takes his time uncurling and languidly stretching every appendage.
With a final shake of his head, he looks up at Thak, gives a soft yap, and settles back down for some ear scritches. Thak dutifully obliges between grateful nibbles of food and sips of water.
“Oh, yes… Goraya Li. We found documents at Madelon’s describing a mining accident north of here. The brother and nephews of someone in the settlement named Goraya Li were injured but the report said = expected to recover. We wondered if that’s somehow connected to the Azlanti or this mysterious artifact. What do you think, Aibretta?"
Yoromishtali watches Neap taking shots of the chapel. "Are you taking stills or holography? I'm always interested in discussing videography if you're interested. Good camera placement and lighting is essential for the videos I make. There's much to learn."
At Aibretta's place, Yoromishtali places the arc caster with the rest of the weapons taken from the Azlanti. He nods along as Chiaiese and Thak inform Aibretta of their actions. He eats a small amount of the food and drinks water.
"Thank you for this," he indicates the food and drink. "It helps to recover after combat."
Aibretta listens intently to your accounts of the ambush and the investigation of Madelon's dwelling.
When Goraya Li is mentioned, Aibretta's ears immediately perk up. "You may have some news that someone has been desperately waiting to hear." Aibretta calls for her ex-husband. [b]"Jellik, go and invite Goraya for a visit. There are some people here that she absolutely MUST meet! Oh...and send Mr. Sangster in. I think it's time we get Duncan and this new group together..."
With that, Jellik sighs, nods, and disappears out the secret back door you came through back when Jellik first brought you here.
A few moments later a pahtra steps through the back door. Aibretta puts her arm around him and says, "I'd like to introduce you all to Duncan Sangster. He's been helping us keep an eye on the azlanti."
Duncan walks in and looks around the room to spot the reason for his invitation. Seeing new faces, he picks up his pace and joins the group, a toothy smile on his furry face.
"Aye, whit have we here? No green armor, so yer not Azlanti mingers. I ken yer not colonists either. I expect a guy good yarn ta explain ya lot!"
Duncan sets himself down on a crate and looks at everyone expectantly.
He wears freebooter armor, carries a couple of small arms and blades, along with a belt crowded with pouches carrying a couple of different tool kits, a comm unit, and a canteen. Attached to a backpack is a long cylinder that looks like some kind of woodwind instrument. A variety of small devices perch on his shoulders, the cuffs of his coveralls, and around his ankles.
His fur is white with dark stripes and rosettes. His eyes are gold in color, with a vertical pupil slit. He is not large, standing only about five and a half feet tall, but his wiry frame and the graceful way he moves suggest strength and agility. He would appear to be a young pahtra, but at least five years past his adulthood rites of passage.
Yoromishtali gives the pahtra a bow with a snarl, a traditional vesk greeting to a warrior. "My name is Yoromishtali. Raised mostly on Vesk-3. Are you from Vesk-6?" he asks in the common language of the Pact Worlds. "I'm just curious is all." He pauses, examining the newcomer's face.
"Are you related to Porth Sangster? We sparred together and he was on my show not too long ago. He lives on Absalom Station, though I did meet him on Aikiton."
He motions with his right hand to indicate the others. "We all know a colonist here, you probably know Cedonna, and thought a relaxing resupply job would be a good way to see her and earn some money. I don't think any of us expected to find ourselves fighting the Azlanti."
Duncan's smile fades as the Yoromishtali mentions Vesk-6. "I'm from Pulonis. We Pathra hae enough imagination ta gae planets names, not just numbers." Indignation creeps into his words. Then he moves on.
"The Sangster clan's large. I'm probably related ta Porth some way. I dance but not as a way o' fightin'."
"As fer Cedona, she's in trouble, so I hope ya can help bust 'er out o' the slammer she's in. Ya got a ship?"
Yoromishtali appears confused for a moment with the word "Pulonis" until Duncan's next sentence gives him context. He shrugs and crosses his arms, keeping his face neutral and non-threatening.
After Duncan asks about a ship, the vesk nods and glances at the others. "It's a modest starship. We were attacked as we approached the planet and landed not too far from here."
Yoromishtali indicates the weapons they've taken from the Azlanti. "As you can see we've been busy. We ambushed a patrol near the cemetery. Our plan is to reduce the invaders' numbers and then liberate the prison. Aibretta mentioned the Azlanti have control of the moisture collectors. Is that what we want to investigate next?" he looks to the others for their opinions.
"Aibretta filled me in aboot the take-over. I've been workin' on modifications to the tin-minin' machines up in the mountains. Gettin' machines ta work in environments like this is somethin' o' my specialty. Learned a lot o' tricks on Pulanis. The place has guy wicked strong magnetic fields. When the mine lost contact with the Landin', I set off ta find oot why. Been dodgin' Azlanti patrols an' wonderin' what the dobbers'r doin' in this backwater."
"Cedona an' I became friends in the short time I've been here. Had lots o' deep conversations aboot all sorts o' things. The thought of her a prisoner has me ragin', knowin' a little 'bout how the Azlanti operate. I learned their language back a ways ta see if any books that survived the gap might have ideas about how ta make useful devices that don't rely on lecky."
Noticing blank looks about that last comment, he adds, "Electricity."
Duncan pokes at the equipment Yoromishtali indicated. He picks up a helmet and tinkers with the insides as he talks.
"What's wrong with the moisture collector? I fixed that before I left for the tin mines. Hae the hobbos been suckin' on the batt'ries again? That's the colonies main source o' water. Strange thing aboot this place. Full o' water, but not much in liquid form."
Aibretta considers Neap's offer.
"Mighty generous of you, Neap. You know, I get so busy sometimes that I forget to eat. If you are of the mind, I could take one. If it's okay, I could also make that idiot ex-husband of mine take one. He's always on my last nerve, but I don't want him to starve to death. And if you have any more to spare, maybe I can pass them along to Goraya...in fact, there she is now."
With that, Jellik steps back into the workshop, this time trailed by a Damaya Lashunta woman. She carries with her a heavy dish full of a pleasant smelling casserole. She smiles and with dripping sarcasm, says "Welcome to Nakondis!"
"Thank you, Neap," replies Chiaiese, accepting one of their megavitamins for the first time. She admired efficiency, if she did not always practice it, and certainly the Stellifera was a finely tuned lifeform. It didn't hurt that they were pleasant company.
She wasn't sure the same would be true of the team's newest member. Judging by the sometimes amusing exchange being hashed out in Aibretta's living room, Duncan was all-business. Perhaps that was a strong quality for his skillset and profession, and surely his familiarity with the Azlanti would be a plus. She wasn't sure how it would work out when the task was something she would normally handle, but was one he should be handling. She popped her megavitamin and washed it down with tap water - a rare treat for one who spends most of her time on Absalom Station or on spacecraft.
Like all things that are new, this relationship would take time to figure out. Chiaiese winked at Duncan but said nothing.
When Goraya walks in she feels instant familiarity. Her antannae perk up, and she beams a greeting to her fellow Damaya. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Chiaiese of Qabarat, daughter of Cacia, Social Minister to Lady Morana Kesh. Her saliva glands already pumping, she adds, That smells divine!
Duncan does not take the proffered pill, unsure what it is although he assumes it is safe after he sees Aibretta and Chiaiese take one.
Duncan nods and gives Chiaiese a smile when she winks. He regards Neap with some unabashed curiosity, but says nothing. He's not sure what species she is. He's not ready to ask too many questions just now.
When he sees Goraya, he waves and says, "Goraya! Glad ta see yer all right. I was working up in BTEP-1 an' heard chatter 'boot an accident at BTEP-4. Our esteemed visitors jammed the comms 'fore I could find out more. I hope yer kin are safe."
He enjoys the smell of a cooked meal after eating trail rations for a few days.
Yoromishtali greets the damaya with a nod of his head. "We felt very welcomed since we've been here," he says trying to match her sarcastic tone. "Thank you," he adds with a gesture to the casserole. Food always deserves proper thanks, he thinks.
He does a quick count of who took one of Neap's blue spheres and waits a moment to see if anyone else looks interested. "I'll take one, but save it for tomorrow. Thank you."
Yoromishtali focuses on some of the other conversation in the room. "Do you know what type of accident it was?" he says to the colonists in general.
Duncan gets his mess kit out of his pack and helps himself to some of the dish Goraya brought, leaving plenty for everyone else. He eats and listens for a time, interested in knowing more about the forming team of resistance fighters.
Eventually he says, "I got enoof o' conquerors back on Pulonis, so I'm all in on being sand in their machine o' conquest. I can fight an' figure oot how ta make machines do things they weren't designed ta do. What do the rest o' you bring to the project?"
"Well, then I'll eat it now since I don't want it to go to waste," Yoromishtali replies to Neap with a slight bow of his head. He takes a small piece of the casserole and sits down.
"I bring my teeth to the project," he answers Duncan with a gesture to his doshko. "And a student's mind. In addition to that, knowledge of using numerous weapons, the capacity to take a beating, and also give one in numerous forms of martial arts. I'm also the creator of a show on the various martial arts developed in the Pact Worlds, mostly." He points to a camera mounted on his armor's chest piece. "I'm attempting to film the combat. Forgot to turn it on during our first encounter with the Azlanti. Nearly forgot the second time too." He laughs at himself then bows his head slightly to Neap.
"I do a little bit of everything," answers Chiaiese. "Though close combat is not on the list of talents I would consider specialties. I'm the daughter of a diplomat and an officer of the Lady's fleet, but I have my father's temperament for etiquette and my mother's tenacity."
She digs in to the scrumptious casserole and switches her attention to Goraya.
Yoromishtali focuses on some of the other conversation in the room. "Do you know what type of accident it was?" he says to the colonists in general.
Goraya turns to Yoro. "A mining accident, I'm afraid. I haven't heard from my family, and since the Azlanti are suppressing communication, I can't get a signal out." Goraya's eyes mist up a little as she finishes. "Madelon was supposed to be receiving a report at anytime, but then the Azlanti came and imprisoned him. I may never know what happened."
As Chiaiese cuts a piece of the casserole, she realizes that Goraya's cooking is a traditional, though simple, lashunta dish using local mushrooms, herbs, and wild grains. It's not exactly like you would find on Castrovel, but it's a reasonable facsimile.
It's been too long... Chiaiese projects indiscriminately as she savors the traditional casserole as if it were the warm embrace of a lover. She casts a look at Goraya that is at once sympathetic and intimate.
"Sorry to learn of the plight of your family," she says aloud. "We will do what we can to free them." In between bites she hands Goraya the datapad discovered at Madelon's residence.
"Do you know what that technomagical relic is that Cedona found at the crash site?"
Once Duncan has finished his meal, he'll get out his tool kits and begin taking apart one of the Azlanti cadet helmets. He wants to extract the radio and hook it up through his comm unit to alert him to any transmissions and to transmit a message back if he wants to try to use his knowledge of Azlanti language to bluff them over the radio. He'll also check to see if the helmet has any ID signals that might activate security systems.
"The Azlanti's are jamming our communication frequencies, but I suspect that dinae affect their radios. Given a bit o' time, I might be able ta use their transmitters ta try ta get a signal to the mines. If we can locate their jamming device, I might be able to disable it."
Yoromishtali lowers his head, "Most times it's the not knowing that really preys on me," he tells Goraya. "I hope you have resilience for this time. We'll free the captives as soon as we can."
He pauses to hear her response to Chiaiese about the crash site.
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You hear the door to Aibretta’s workshop open, then a distracted and somewhat dusty Thak walks into the room with Cubber firmly in his arms. The squox is all eyes and nose, looking brightly around and testing the room’s new scents. Thak doesn’t seem to notice anything and starts speaking into the conversational lull.
“Sorry the quick exit there. Cubber got away from me and somehow made it outside —” he playfully turns the squox to face him — “and decided you wanted to play hide and seek under some machinery. Didn’t you? Yes. Under lots of machinery. And made me chase you. Yes you did.” He sighs and works on putting the squirming animal back into his armor’s squox pocket.
”I can’t really blame him. He was cooped up during most of the action and…”
Thak finally looks up and notices the new arrivals and the food.
“Oh. I’m, um… sorry… I’m…” He brushes the dust off his paws and for a moment seems like he’s trying to smooth out his armor as if it’s a business suit. He smiles warmly and moves across the room, first to Goraya, then to Duncan.
“Greetings. I’m Thak, Thak Poorida.” As if on cue, Cubber yaps twice. “And this is my sidekick, Cubber.”
He finally takes a moment to process the conversation he overheard as he came into the room.
“Mining accident? Uh, yes, there were some documents at Madelon’s that talked about a mining accident north of here. Some people from the settlement were injured but the report said they were expected to recover soon. We wondered if that’s somehow connected to everything that’s happening.”
He looks sheepishly around the rest of the group. “Umm… what else did I miss?”
Goraya does a double-take when Thak mentions the documents. "What? Madelon must have gotten those just before the arrival of the Azlanti. Can I see? They're going to be okay?...THEY'RE GOING TO BE OKAY! Thank you so much!"
Clearly, you all have made a connection with Goraya. Aibretta is also more trusting of all of you newcomers at this point.
Aibretta makes a recommendation. "Listen, you all deserve a nice long rest, but I wonder if you would do a favor for me before you do. I'm worried about the settlement's supply clerk--his name is Rendell. He's good natured, but I'm worried he might have done something stupid. We haven't heard from him in a while. Could you go check on him at the warehouse?"
"What'd you miss?" Yoromishtali answers Thak. "Some good food and introductions with Duncan, mostly. Imagine my surprise meeting someone from the Veskarium way out here! He's a friend of Cedonna, so he's okay." He fixes his gaze on Duncan and nods in respect. When Goraya and Aibretta begin to talk, he shifts his focus there.
"Rendel," Yoromishtali repeats the name to help it get into his memory. "Do you have a picture of Rendel, or can you give us a description?" He checks the two teeth of his doshko, for the n-th time that day.
Duncan returns Yoromishtali's endorsement with a nod of his own.
Goraya produces a group picture of many of the colonists on her comm device. She forwards it to Yoro.
Yoro, you notice Cedona in the picture. Goraya also points out Rendell. He appears to be rather petite, unintimidating man.
[ooc]So, shall we head to the warehouse?
Duncan stands, clips the helmet to his pack with the comm unit switched on receive mode so he can hear if there are any messages send out from the garrison or other soldiers.
He checks his sidearms and then waits for the others. As he waits he absently flexes and fingers into a fist and then back open. As he does, a set of curved claws extend and retract, a natural feature some Pahtra have, a remnant from their less evolved ancestors.
"I know the way to the warehouse," he offers as the others assemble.
Chiaiese finishes the casserole and cleans up. Her personal kit includes a toothbrush and she steps away to make good use of it.
"Lead the way," she replies to Duncan.
Duncan takes a look at the picture that shows Rendell.
When everyone is ready, Duncan draws his pulsecaster pistol and leads the group out of Aibretta's shop, south between two structures, then east, which takes the group to the west wall of the warehouse.
The plan is to reach the warehouse exterior, listen for sounds in the warehouse, then go south and east along the structure to the door. Duncan will point out the hobgar trap and suggests people keep as far from it as possible, to avoid spooking the trapped beasts into making noise. They will only be in direct view of the garrison for the short distance they cover from the warehouse's SW corner to the entrance.
Yoromisthali picks up his rifle and checks the ammunition level. Satisfied, he nods at the others. "I'm ready to go," he says. "Thank you for leading us there, Duncan. I'll be the last person, to protect the rear."
As they walk along, the vesk stays close to the buildings, looking over his shoulder often, peeking around corners.