Akh keeps his environmental seals engaged as the group wanders around out of an abundance of paranoia. The very strict sounding entry procedures leave him concerned that this job is going to be under the thumb of another potentially very unpleasant corporation. Still, a job is a job, so he contains his voiced concerns to just a few rather pessimistic realistic comments.
He raises a claw in greeting the shirren they've been sent to meet and responds to the amiable questions with "Oh, just the usual. Places and people that cause trouble, sometimes with good snacks involved along the way." He passes an opened bag of Hyper Cheese* Curls to the larval shirren to try, but otherwise looks to Guess and Melissa to handle the small talk and negotiations.
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Melissa enlists Jaraduks help with this one, a ysoki in replacement limbs with a Victorian steampunk and brass aesthetic.
"We started calling it Dirt as a joke I hope it picks up a better name. Its got some growing pains from being a new civilization, just out here trying to get a little more start up money you know? We're gengineering our own crops that's easy enough to do locally but if you don't pick up enough infrared sensors your humans are blind half the day and that's on the GOOD half of the planet. You could use UPBs but if you want to be really independent... "
"So Gik comes back with his face all swollen up insisting that the thing can't be poisonous because it's not brightly colored as a warning and Mom tries explaining the difference between poisonous and VENOMOUS which is what he should have been worried about but of course he's a dwarf so he's stubborn enough to stay seated and upright a full minute after he's unconscious... "
"There's these cute fuzzy animals that come around begging so of course I couldn't resist tying a com unit to a couple of them that blended in with their fur. I had them say "Oh great one from beyond the stars....." "
Melissa will tell him some stories from her planet but leave out a name anyone would be likely to identify. All frontier worlds are kinda the same.
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Kish breathes in Melissa's stories, "Thank you, I grok. Thank you for your stories of the universe beyond." K’shv’l stands, sweeps their larval children into protective canisters, hooks the canisters onto their belt, and leads the way out of the office. They guide you through the mining town to a sorting facility just outside the mine entrance. There, K’shv’l asks a pair of employees in cargo lifters. "Oye! Prep the shipment for transport." You watch as a pair of shirren begin to struggle against 8 lots of boxes packed in shipping crates, moving them towards some flat-bed trailers. These trailers come attached to an all-terrain transport in a line. You get a flashback to a frozen highway a long - but not so distant - time ago. It looks like it will take a few hours for the cargo to be loaded. You know how this goes, and help out with the labor to save some time. While the cargo is being loaded, K’shv’l pulls each of you one at a time. You see the familiar twinkle in their eye - the same one that Guess? gets every chance he can. It seems the shirren wants to haggle. "It'll be 3 BP per lot, for a total of 24 BP for the cargo. Good deal, good deal. Best in the galaxy, one could say. The extraction process alone... treacherous! These are not mere rocks, but the spirit of our miners, made whole! I am practically giving them away."
Halfway through loading the cargo, a whistle sounds, signaling the end of shifts for the day. A stream of people exit the mines, gawking curiously as they pass.
Akh coughs pointedly at the price given for the desired cargo. He has no real conception of how much these things are supposed to be worth, but he's utterly convinced that even nice-seeming people are probably trying to pull a fast one. He glances over at Guess? prior to accepting anything.
Later while loading, he nods to the miners as they exit. If they turn out to be assassins in disguise themselves, he's ready.
I am very moist. he says, perhaps unnecessarily out loud, while hoping that it's working.
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A few miners focus intently on Akh and Jaraduk before shaking their heads and leaving with the crowd. After a few hours, the cargo is loaded and K’shv’l returns to escort you to the dome entrance. But as you get close, one of the miners walks up and whispers in the shirren's ear. K’shv’l squeals in delight as they turn to face your crew, whipping out their comm device. "The famous rebels! Please you must take a selfie with me! Celebrities, my family back home will never believe me without proof!”
Akh gravely shakes his head at the shirren and the miners "If you know that much, you should know that we're beacons... for death. If you take that selfie, they'll come after you too. If you value the lives of your little grubs that have yet to experience Slurm, you should keep your comm pointed elsewhere." He extends this threatening warning to the other miners as well.
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Melissa is confident that the shirren has no interest in claiming the bounty and considers your group celebrities. The shirren less-than-graciously puts his datapad away and Akh is successful in dispersing the miner and his friends. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you were here. Wouldn't want your... beacons, shining too brightly." They lead you back to the decontamination center, chatting all the while.
You notice K’shv’l attempting to take surreptitious selfies with you from various inobtrusive angles.
The journey back to your ship in the all terrain transport is uneventful, but once there you look at the massive stack of cargo on the trailers and your lack of a loader. If only you had power armor... Oh well, you've never shied away from a hard days work. You settle in for two shifts of team lifting crates into your magical cargo bay.
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"Thats a lot of cargo..Better call S.O.L." SOL has the porter chasis and I think is made for this. Not sure what our new robot friend can do
melissa could burn the spell gem of might of the elicoth/starfinder ant haul, but there doesn't seem to be that much of a rush.
I can't see Melissa not returning a mining truck. I doubt she can leave shopping carts outside without feeling guilty. Guess can fly the last chance its The last dance this week over the town and them melissa can jetpack up to the ship.
Jaraduk looks at the hefty stack of cargo, sizing it up.
Well, it was leg day after all! Left with the legs, not the back!
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Akh smacks the selfie cam with the end of his tail, lightly enough not to break it but firmly enough to make his capacity to break it clear "Please don't get us killed, all of us, very painfully."
Once at the ship he helps with loading all the new cargo on board, keeping an eye out for sudden but very expected assassins that may jump out from just about any orifice. If the topic comes up to bring the truck back he questions the logic "Are you sure we can't take it with us? Or maybe give it to our new shirren friend to take back and park wherever they keep their cargo trucks?"
It seems the shirren wants to haggle. "It'll be 3 BP per lot, for a total of 24 BP for the cargo. Good deal, good deal. Best in the galaxy, one could say. The extraction process alone... treacherous! These are not mere rocks, but the spirit of our miners, made whole! I am practically giving them away."
Halfway through loading the cargo, a whistle sounds, signaling the end of shifts for the day. A stream of people exit the mines, gawking curiously as they pass.
"3BP? Look, the goods are of... adequate quality. At best. And c'mon.. You and I both know that your operation here is quite a bit off the beaten path. Few bother coming out this way for your goods. It's a miracle we even found you!
"Now this being, said, I'm not heartless. No no no! I've got a big heart and a soft spot for honest miners doing honest work. Let's say 2BP per lot for a total of 16BP and we're done! Whaddaya say?"
"Rebels? Dunno what you're talking about. The name's Laurie. And I'm a recent addition to the crew. I needed work so I didn't run the usual background check."
Guess? turns to the rest of the crew, "Y'all are rebels on the run? Really? So hey, perhaps we need to revisit my share of the profits...amirite?!?"
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K’shv’l shrugs and ends up taking Guess?'s hard bargain. Guess? is able to successfully disguise the team from the prying eyes. And Akh's keen eye protects you from an ill-fated social media post!
After a day of hard labor, you pack up the ship and are free to leave Centus II with your cargo, head into the Drift, and plot a course for Orry. You fly on past the planetary security, exchanging the necessary security codes. The deckhand drone waddles up behind you. "WOW! SURE IS GREAT THAT NOBODY RECOGNIZED YOU ON THAT PLANET! OTHERWISE THIS ESCAPE WOULD HAVE BEEN HORRIBLY STRESSFUL I'M SURE!"
pop!
After a few days of peace, you pop back into real space to see the shattered planet. Orry spins around a sphere of black energy. Massive chunks of the planet’s crust, each lush with life, form rocky islands that orbit the darkness. Upon approach, an automated message plays on repeat over the ship’s comm unit, its too-chipper voice garbled and fuzzy. “Attention. By law, all visitors must report to Harmony-One. Upon arrival, landing requests will be considered and arranged. The current wait time is… four… months.”
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Akh squints at Laurie. "If I know our Captain Guess, and I think I know him pretty well by now, he would offer any new recruits a share more valuable than any credits: "On the Job Experience". Once you've defeated your first, sixth or twenty ninth assassin, you'll be better skilled than everyone else in the job market and you'll be able to get positions you've only ever dreamed of. Like working for Vaerenvae!"
Once back on the ship, Akh nods knowingly at the deck drone, utterly convinced that an ill fate was only narrowly escaped.
The look of the planet Orry leaves Akh curious. "Their greeting system leaves a lot to be desired. Anyone able to send a message to our phentomite contact directly? Maybe we can bypass any kind of orbital problems to deliver their high priority cargo."
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A shattered series of floating islands surrounding a gravitational anomaly, Orry is not suited to aerial travel. All off-world visitors are directed to Harmony-One, a space station in low orbit operated by AbadarCorp. When gravity fluctuations are minimal and the space station is properly aligned, visitors are transported down to a spaceport outside Zisfahani, the largest city on Orry and the only safe location for air or spacecraft. From Zisfahani, visitors can travel overland to other destinations. Unfortunately for you, Elby isn’t meeting you on Harmony-One or Zisfahani. Instead, Elby expects your ship to land at specified coordinates. Obeying local landing procedures would take too long!
You can see the sheen of Harmony One just above the planet's horizon, and pinging a gently orange on your scanners. Guess? is pretty sure he could fly under the radar... And alas, in the world of high stakes smuggling shipping, you don't have Elby's contact information. Perhaps she is out of infosphere range, or perhaps she is extra cautious.
Jaraduk thinks he can optimize the Oliphaunt’s engines to “run silent” by reducing the heat the engines emit...
"Huh." remarks Guess? surprised and disappointed at K’shv’l's reaction to the proposed price. "He should've been way more put off. I think I didn't go low enough and left BP on the table. Hmmmm... Sorry guys. There's a first time for everything I suppose..."
Later, looking at the drone, Guess? says, "Y'know, I think you're a Marvin. From now on, until further notice, your name is Marvin!"
Before piloting the ship in under the radar, Guess? instructs, "If anyone asks, we're not smuggling. Nothing illegal about what we're bringing in. We're simply taking the unofficial fast track lane onto the planet. After all, who has never cut in line before, amirite??"
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Marvin grabs a permanent marker from the kitchen and promptly plops on his back and begins writing Marvin on the bottom of his feet. The rest of the crew is a touch more helpful enabling Guess? to sneak past the station's sensors and down to the planet!
Variable gravity fields, shifting land masses, and unpredictable gravity fluctuations make attempts to land on Orry certain death for most pilots. Thankfully, you don't have just any pilot! In addition, Orry emits signals that scramble electronic sensors, making starship instruments unreliable. Melissa looks on, frustrated, from her position and unable to help.
Guess? makes it through the floating rocks and debris with skill, but is surprised by a particularly strong gravitic pulse right as you get close - pulling an outer panel off and into the maelstrom. The coordinates lead to a small, isolated island covered in rocky fields and slender trees, floating on the fringes of Orry.
Guess? is able to land safely, despite the poor visibility. You look out the bridge viewscreen, seeing a lone phentomite woman waiting in an open, grassy field. You get out of the ship and approach; she she lowers her head and spreads her arms wide.
You understand the gesture is a greeting and can replicate it.
You can deduce from Elby’s posture that she is afraid.
You catch the glint of a sniper’s scope on a distant floating rock!
Akh nods gravely, fully commiserating with Elby's sensible expectation of imminent danger. He returns the gesture as he comments to the party "I'd say we have a trap all lined up for us here. Anyone see where they're going to come from? With all the weird gravity, if I was going to ambush us, I'd do it in a way that didn't require me to fly in to reach us." Despite looking around, he doesn't spot any ambushes of note. He decides to try the phentomite "Elby, which way?"
Jaraduk gets the greeting, but not what's interesting about it until Akh points it out.
Then... he starts looking around on extra high alert. Then to Elby to point the way. His hand starts to reach for his grenade launcher.
Guess? follows Akh's lead and also returns the welcome gesture, arms widespread.
Catching Melissa's concern, Guess? yells out, "If you're under duress, do what I do!"
Guess? continues holding the welcome gesture and gently sways his arms up and down.
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Elby waves her arms up and down wildly. "Yes! They're right over - "
Four shots ring out, shaking Elby's body with their impacts. The actions bring to visibility four assassins whose sniper rifles are all twisted to face the phentomite where they were previously focused on you.
Silently, the assassins all shift and fire their sniper rifles at your group! Less silently, the phentomite throws her arms up in the air - screams - and flees.
Everyone is up! Everyone but Akh is up twice.
Elby, 80 Damage
Melissa x2
Jaraduk x2, 34 damage
Akh
Guess? x2
As he waves wildly, Guess? yells, "No! No! Subtle! Stay subtle!"
When the shots all land on Elby, Guess? sighs. "Nevermind..."
First round:
Guess? draws his weapon and fires at red.
Second round:
"Give up now! We've got you outnumbered! And y'all didn't position yourselves far enough to take the advantage of distance. We're gunna overrun y'all like... NOW!"
Guess? continues to fire at red.
"Oh, there they are. As expected." Akh spots the snipers and is vaguely surprised that they've positioned themselves in close range. He rushes for the two to his east and slashes at green with an entropic claw. He figures the rest of the party can keep red busy without him.
Attempting to act fast, Jaraduk first tries to slow two of them down...
He then sends a more fiery grenade at those same assassins...
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Round 1
Melissa move/draws the causatoject out of her cheekpouch, shoots the fleeing phentomite in the butt with a healing serum (per faq, no longer requires an attack roll)
Be healed! for
Round 2
Cheekpouches the caustoject (Swift)
Draws the eels
Standard GET EM ALL!! Getem on everyone Tries to get blue and purples attention with a line of zappy goodness
vs blue and purple
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Guess? turns on the sniper settled in a prone position on the floating asteroid, who returns fire in an eery silence.
While Akh rushes in, Jaraduk launches grenades over his head. The pair of attackers are encased in sticky fibers, unable to dodge the shrapnel that follows.
Melissa gets in place, but her lightning arcs just behind the pair. The far sniper trains her rifle on Melissa, but both shots go wide.
The two remaining assassins carefully sidestep around Akh, each holding out their right hand. You watch as their ceremonial tattoos come to life, crawling down their arms to form into knives in their hands. The assassins strike in unison, each managing to get through Akh's defenses. As they do, you catch them baring their teeth to reveal amputated tongues.
The phentomite cowers in the distance, feeling slightly more confident having been healed.
Everyone is up! Round 3.
Elby, 64 Damage
Melissa
Jaraduk, 34 damage
Akh, 26 damage
Guess?, 18 damage
Red, 49 damage prone
Blue, 7 damage entangled
Green, 7 damage entangled
Pink, 0 damage
Akh mitigates the second strike after the first raises his entropic potential. He follows by slashing swiftly through green, ripples billowing out from his claw. "Neat trick with the tattoos."
Slinging the grenade launcher over his back and grabbing the doshko he launches forward.
Stay right... THERE!
He yells while charging one with his doshko.
Guess? switches focus away from red and onto the pink target right by Akh.
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Stabby Snake and Crunchy Cow come in swinging into the unfortunate assassin. Melissa tags one of the farther half-elves before dropping for Guess?'s shot.
The half-elf moves around Akh, realizing too late that the Android is also uncannily agile! The pair of assassins swing in tandem, their practiced grace once again getting through Akh's defenses. Blending Guess?'s accuracy with Akh's grace, these may be the most daunting foes you've ever faced.
On the other side, the assassin drops her rifle. It drops, then bobs up again in the strange local gravity. She draws a sleeve of shurikans, flinging one into your contact's quivering body.
Everyone is up! Round 4.
Elby, 79 Damage
Melissa
Jaraduk, 34 damage
Akh, 55 damage
Guess?, 35 damage
Red, 49 damage prone
Blue, 29 damage entangled
Green, 96 damage entangled
Pink, 68 damage, Flatfooted
Guess? winces at the pain from getting hit but continues to relentlessly focus on the pink assassin!
Jaraduk catches the same assassin on the backswing!
Akh sees that Melissa's got the situation handled with Elby, so he continues his assault upon green (or pink if green has fallen). "Do you have more backup coming? I think you might need it." Akh comments to the assassins as he continues slashing away.
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Guess? pushes through the pain, dropping the far assassin with a shot under Akh's arm. Jaraduk lays into the other half-elf, who sways in place from the blow. Melissa's shocking attack lays her out as well. Akh swings, a moment behind the necessary timing.
Upon the sniper's perch, the last sniper fires twice more and causes puffs of moon dust at Guess?'s feet. A look of evil glee passes over the remaining assassin's face as Melissa moves in. She quick draws another shuriken and slices into Melissa's side!
Everyone is up! Round 5.
Elby, 79 Damage
Melissa 44 damage
Jaraduk, 34 damage
Akh, 55 damage
Guess?, 35 damage
Red, 49 damage prone
Blue, 56 damage entangled
Green, 160 damage
Pink, 143 damage
Neeeeext!
Man I hope they didn't pay you guys much. Jaraduk isn't precisely meaning to taunt them as he looks around the battlefield at their decimated numbers.
"Hey look, if ya drop your weapon and all your cash now, we'll let you live. Sounds like a good deal, staying alive. Y'agree?" shouts Guess? at red.
And when red does not agree, Guess? fires again!
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The group sends a flurry of wild blows at the remaining assassins, who are so thoroughly hampered by your efforts that the attacks land.
One sniper hits Guess? in the back while his partner flees Akh and Jaraduk only to turn and throw another star that misses Melissa in the unsteady gravity of the asteroid.
Everyone is up! Round 6.
Elby, 79 Damage
Melissa 44 damage
Jaraduk, 34 damage
Akh x2, 55 damage
Guess?, 57 damage
Red, 82 damage prone, Flatfooted
Blue, 103 damage entangled
Green, 160 damage
Pink, 143 damage
Akh closes into a more up close and personal range with the surviving assassin. After a moment to size up his potential victim, he delivers a slash that ripples with extra energy
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Akh takes an opportunistic slash at the fleeing assassin...
... then spins about to charge at full speed at the other remaining assassin to the west. "Don't think I forgot you!"