Jaraduk sidles up to Akh and draws his grenade launcher. It'll probably be too late though...
Akh wastes no time in tearing into the remaining foe - at first as the dragonkin tries to fly away...
... and then again in pursuit of the fellow "Don't worry, Melissa will probably insist on stitching you up, so this'll only hurt a lot for a long time." He slashes again!
"Y'know... All you had to do was take our offer. Which was give us everything you've got on you, especially your credstick. Then we wouldn't have to... un-live you!"
Guess? shoots at the last remaining enemy!
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A series of harried attacks follow the dragonkin as he leaps over the balcony and soars away on the triaxian winds. You look over the two dragonkin, who each are equipped with an advanced iridishell armor, tactical magnetar rifle, and thunderhead dragonglaive. In addition, one has a special temperature-controlled mk2 null-space chamber that looks calibrated especially for dragon eggs! You wake up the dragonkin, who refuse to give up the name of their employer.
In the morning, Vaerenvae returns through the elevator doors. Her shining scales shine in the light of the office. She walks in with a cheery and chilling demeanor. "I told the Board that I needed greater security. Your performance was excellent. MEB! EXPENSE THIS, PLEASE!" The dragon drops an extra large gilded gold credstick onto the desk. "Twenty five, as promised. And..." She eyes the bodies tucked away. "A bonus is in order." She pulls a pulsing blob of meat out of her satchel, giving off a terrible heat. "Though a bit crass, our glands do fetch quite the price in the black market surgical centers... but you wouldn't know anything about those, would you?"
Plemelduke nudges the dragonkin with his food, asking Vaerenvae
Say, do you all have any expert interrogators who can get more out of these? We're one "persuasive" session away from getting names of who is after the clutch of eggs.
The escape of the final intruder into the sky has Akh pondering whether it makes sense to chase after him or follow at a distance. Ultimately, he decides to stay behind just in case this attack too was some kind of elaborate feint to draw attention away from the clutch of eggs.
The next morning he floats with pride as Vae heaps praise on the group. He eyes Meb with excitement and mouths "-excellent!-" to her. He happily picks up the credstick in his own fairly sizable claw. As for the second reward, he feels a little smug that he already has his own dragon gland, so he turns to Guess? "Want to try breathing some fire? I can recommend it."
He turns to Vaerenvae afterward "Is there anything more we can help with? Chase down your enemies? Liberate any of their ships?"
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Listens to Blarny the purple dragon through the headphones of the captive pair.
Remember kids, Mammal rhymes with flammable for a reason. Turn your head and use your wing when you sneeze! Vampire sneeze! Vlaaa chooo!
"Oh, it was no problem your erm.. Dragon ness. ness. Always happy to help! If I'm not dead in a month I might want to put in an order for some of your mining and farming equipment. Funny how we find the money for equipment that doesn't explode when you're both the owner and the operator of the mine..."
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"Thank you, Floor 26 will be able to... extract any necessary information from these two captives. I appreciate you leaving them... intact." The dragon smiles in the way only an apex predator can.
With the job finished, you have another week until the meetup with Tarika in the drift. So you decide to return to Brik’s Grub, since the brenneri recommended that it would be "probably good for avoiding notice". (Better review than you could give most of the haunts you've visited over the last year.) With a couple days in the drift you pop back out into real space and land on the asteroid.
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"Anyone else slightly worried she has a whole FLOOR for that? Like not the guys in an office on floor 26 the whole FLOOR? Maybe that internet conspiracy about the gap being so the dragons could polish their reputation and pretend the shiny ones were good really isn't that far off..." she has enough people trying to kill her as it is and doesn't want to poke dragons, for she is crunchy and good with ketchup.
As they walk away Jaraduk remarks
Well, I was hoping to hear the results of that, but I suppose whoever hired the intruders isn't coming after us.
As they re-enter the drift, he drops his holoskin disguise.
If they leave the ship at all on the asteroid, he will re-activate it. Generally, he just wants to depart from the diaspora without any "old friends" recognizing him.
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You spend a few safe days enjoying the asteroid. In lawlessness, there is some refuge for those who can defend themselves. You get a few bad looks here and there, but nobody makes a move. Apparently the lethality of your gear outweighs it's resale price tag for your neighbors.
Walking through the market one evening, Akh notices that you are being observed. A pair of sarcesian pirates are tailing you a few stalls back. One of the two is clearly on a call outside the public comms channel. Each are armed with a plasma sword and rifle. The stall tables around you are three-feet-high and covered with goods for sale, including a dozen standard batteries, six mk 4 frag grenades, two mk 3 flash grenades, six mk 3 screamer grenades, an advanced riot shield, and a mk 3 elemental gem (earth). Each table provides cover as a low obstacle. Tipping a table would give greater cover and provide a bit of a distraction The stall owners behind each table are busy in commerce and don't notice the growing situation.
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Akh tries to get a photo with Vae (and it signed) before heading back to the ship.
To Melissa he comments "I'm surprised she doesn't have more floors for that honestly." on the way back, then adds "That was pretty productive. And the assassins didn't even really come after us specifically, which was a nice break. Of course, I'm sure they'll come soon. Maybe we can squeeze in another small job while we finish waiting a week?"
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Of course, the group doesn't get to it. When he notices the pirates monitoring the group, he whispers to the others through comms "Don't look right now, but back three stalls there are some friendly looking pirates that probably are here to try their luck for the bounty. Want to try to talk to them first Melissa? Maybe they don't try to shank us immediately."
Akh whispers back "Well, we're not going to get the drop on them, so lets at least say hello."
, he turns and waves at the incoming pirate bounty-hunter cyborg assassins or whatever the hitman black market has managed to deliver on this fine day. As he waves his claws shimmer in their space-ripping matter-dissolving way.
Hmm, yes, perhaps they'll be caught off-guard by our direct approach. Besides, they must know our capabilities given holding off all intruders at our last job...
He approaches them beside Akh.
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The sarcesians truly are knocked off balance by their prey... approaching them? One takes a step backwards in surprise while the other, hand on his sheathed sword, waves back tentatively. "Oh, uh... hello there. I, uh, don't suppose you would want to follow us back to our starship? For uh... card game?" He smiles, knowing his lie is paper thin. You can see the pirate in the back's muscles tensing, ready to pounce.
Looking through the crowd you can see a disturbance coming your way. Seems like two more pirates are coming to reinforce their friends!
Jaraduk holds out a frag grenade towards the approaching "friends".
You wanna get crazy? Let's play "cards."
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"I know this one. We say yes, and then we go to your ship, and then we tear you to pieces and own another ship. We've done this before."
Akh doesn't speak with enough confidence to really sell the intimidation. Seeing it not catching on, he brandishes his claws instead "Or we can slice you apart here. Ready?"
Akh draws his taclash and swipes right for the sarcesian's sword the moment the fellow gets it in hand. "You won't need that."
He's paranoid that this too might be a distraction for... something, so he glances around for the incoming exploding farm animal or similar hazard.
You have chosen option: let's get crazy!
Jaraduk rushes forward, drawing his grenade launcher (the frag grenade he was holding outside of it was for demonstration purposes).
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As the front sarcesian loses his sword to Akh, "Oh, I guess... I didn't?" He is immediately blown backwards by the shrapnel and electricity.
Both sarcesians move in, flexing their weapons.
Melissa, 0 Damage
Jaraduk, 26 Damage
Akh, 0 Damage
Guess? x2, 0 Damage
Red Sarcesian, 50 Damage
Blue Sarcesian, 50 Damage
On Melissa's urging, Jaraduk pops off another frag iii grenade.
Things are moving quickly for him now and he backs away a few paces and sends another at them.
"We spotted you a mile away. We outnumber you. You're going to take several hits before your backup arrives. You'll probably die before your back up actually arrives. If you want to live, throw down your weapons and your credsticks now and leave.
"And yes, I've said this same thing, more or less, to sooooo many others before. They're now pretty much all dead."
Guess? says to the crew, "I really need to start wearing finger bones (or other body parts) around my neck of all those who have attacked us that we've killed. Me just saying it without showing it has little effect, it seems."
Guess? fires at red.
Round 1:
Round 2:
"Gently? That again?" Akh swipes at the nearest sarcescian. "Against assassins? No thanks."
"Guess? I don't think they're going to listen to you."
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Melissa and Jaraduk soften up the two sarcesians then Guess? and Akh blow them to the ground. Just as the two mercenaries begin bleeding out, the pair of reinforcements arrive! One lobs a grenade into your group and the other swings a sword at Guess?'s back. "They drain you down for us? How kind..." The pair's bravado far surpasses their skills.
Both sarcesians move in, flexing their weapons.
Melissa, 15 Damage
Jaraduk, 41 Damage
Akh, 0 Damage
Guess?, 30 Damage
Red Sarcesian, 140 Damage
Blue Sarcesian, 163 Damage
Pink Sarcesian, 0 Damage
Green Sarcesian, 0 Damage
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Ouch...
Melissa springs up hitting her head on the trucks muffler. OW. (swift for ysoki)
Runs out the back and starts patching Blue? Back together "Your enemy is doing what your "friends" won't. Consider getting some better friends alright?" she should have enough cover down here if aoos are a problem.
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Can't touch this!
He fires another grenade through their midst so that it explodes on them from behind.
Akh flips his tail to clear the explosion , then dives toward the green sarcesian "Drain us down? Are you sure that's what happened?" He slashes a claw at green while keeping pink in range.
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Akh protects his teammates from the explosion while Melissa patches up the nearest pirate. "Wut? Mother? Death? Is that you?" On the other hand, Jaraduk is in the midst of his own private music video.
Akh punishes the pirates, who draw swords and swing back. "Uh, bub? Doesn't seem like they were drained much... How much was this bounty?"
Melissa, 24 Damage
Jaraduk, 45 Damage
Akh, 16 Damage
Guess? x2, 30 Damage
Pink Sarcesian, 16 Damage
Green Sarcesian, 53 Damage
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"Yes yes its your mother. Go work in a store. It was always your calling to reach the top shelves. And would it hurt you to call once in a while?"
She steps on some of the less injured parts of her patient to see if there's anything left of the other one. The wing bones connected to the thing bone, the thing bones connected..I hope here...
"How much was the bounty? Inquiring minds want to know!" Akh asks the attackers as he retaliates against the nearest sarcesian. His claws glow black as they tear.
Guess? backs away and fires twice at green !
"I'll tell you what I tell everybody else: Save yourself before you're dead. Leave us all your cash and weapons and and armor and all gear and you may leave alive. Consider this us mugging you with you having the opportunity to walk away alive. Agreed?"
Jaraduk switches weapons, ready to shift to the savage phase.
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Melissa patches up the second (formerly) dying mercenary while battle rages above her. The sarcesian's countenance alights with greed as Akh lays into him. "Three months pay! Six thousand credits! Imagine, only split twelve ways!" Jaraduk, swapping gear, notices the shopkeepers and market crowd around you beginning to whisper at this announcement.
Guess? fires twice, bouncing both shots off the pirate's armor. "You'll have to take my credits out of my cold dead fingers!" Both pirates swing in a flurry at Akh, but he dodges and deflects all of them!
Melissa, 24 Damage
Jaraduk, 45 Damage
Akh, 16 Damage
Guess?, 30 Damage
Pink Sarcesian, 16 Damage
Green Sarcesian, 79 Damage
Grr... I'll split you! Jaraduk snarls before laying into the sarcesian.
"Oh no, six thousand credits split twelve ways? That's terrible. If Melissa saves you after this, I hope you'll work on your negotiation and your job-difficulty-evaluation. I think Guess? may be offering classes." Akh whirls forward, tail whipping through the thin air as he claws away at the two broke assassins.
"Seminar seats are six grand per head to attend. Ten grand for the platinum package which will provide additional unspecified perks to guarantee a significant increase in your lessons learned towards negotiations. However, refer a friend and you'll qualify for a discount worth up to two grand!"
Telepathically, Guess? says, The platinum package provides nothing but forking over the cash will teach them a lesson in checking the fine print and questioning all claims before paying. The refer a friend requires ten referrals before any discount is provided. Kekekeke!
Guess? pritotizes firing at green before pink.
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You take out the third pirate and lay into the fourth. He stumbles on a wounded leg and turns to run. "Or... out of his cold dead fingers!" He moves to flee before being cut down by Akh and Jaraduk on the way out. You see the three corpses unconscious enemies are laiden with gear but also that other outlaws in the crowd have begun to show each other their datapads. The grumbling from the crowd begins to rise as dozens of the asteroid's denizens reach for their weapons! Clearly outnumbered, you decide to flee towards the Second Chance.
You dodge and weave through the black market, haunted by the gathering crowds of rogues - each just as greedy credit-driven as Guess?. As you break out of the fray, seven hundred feet of open asteroid stand between you and your ship - interrupted only by several other parked ships. "" Two assault plows, ramming prows spiked and brutal, hover above the surface and race towards you from two directions! You have a few seconds to prepare for their arrival.
Melissa, 24 Damage
Jaraduk, 45 Damage
Akh, 16 Damage
Guess?, 30 Damage
Pink Vehicle, 0 Damage
Blue Vehicle, 0 Damage
This calls for the long shot.
"I wonder what they're hoping they'll accomplish with this? Is it to keep us busy while someone Reisora's the ship? Oh, they are, aren't they." Akh speeds eastward as fast as he can fly, but saves his thruster heels in case they're needed later for intercepting something.