[SF] Fly Free or Die AP - GM Ewok

Game Master EwokBanshee

Del groans. "Figures. Betrayal only begets more betrayal." She sighs, thinking of her sister, and shakes her head to clear the unpleasant thoughts.

"I'm always more comfortable behind the wheel," she notes. "And if the starship is what Deminda wants it's unlikely she'll blow us up. But still... We don't exactly have much experience in starship combat. It's not like BD had weapons. Or decent thrusters. Or much of anything, really."

She scrunches up her nose, thinking as she very slowly turns the starship toward the asteroid hangar. "We can't run. We won't get far on the lam from Sinjin, Eline, and Ej..."

She eyes her companions, particularly Guess?, who always found a clever way out of trouble, and Akh, who swore his friend Sinjin could be trusted. Could Guess? do something, if they were face to face? And what if Akh was right, and Deminda had betrayed Sinjin, rather than Sinjin betraying all of them? Was Akh's friend inside that asteroid, hurt and in trouble? She didn't trust Sinjin but, then again, she never had been a very good judge of character...

Del sighs. "I say we go in. We work better in person, with boots on the ground. Maybe we can figure a way out of this once we're inside." She looks to Akh. "Do you think it's more likely Sinjin's betraying us? Or Deminda has betrayed Sinjin and us?"

Before hanging up, Deminda answers Strek's question. Sorry, should have mentioned that you can keep talking to Deminda if you want. Though you know she's lying so... "Sinjin? Oh, he sends his apologies. He got a call from the broker, went to go chat with them about the sale. Maybe you'll get your money sooner than we thought!" She smiles, but it doesn't travel up to her eyes. Both Guess? and Melissa feel like Sinjin isn't in there, and Deminda is lying about the reason why. She pans the camera out, revealing a buffet table laden with luxury foodstuffs. Each of the spots has a place holder with your names on it. You see a spot without a plate labeled Lord Sinjin. Deminda laughs lightly. "Thankfully he had already ordered the celebratory banquet. Hurry up, it's getting cold!" You guess that she won't be coming to you, without breaking the "everything is fine" act. Not with that banquet she has set out for you. Though you could use that as the location of your stand if you'd like, forcing her to come to you. You note that there are no other drow soldiers in the room with Deminda.

It's been a long time since Akh spent time with his old friend, Sinjin. Loyalty was always very important to Sinjin and he rewarded it in his friends and lackeys. One the other hand, drow culture breeds betrayal and the last favor Sinjin did for Akh before they split ways was to betray their mutual employer. But he does know one thing for sure. There's no way a Xun Assassin was killed by common thugs like Deminda and his other guards. If she betrayed, or is about to betray, Sinjin it wasn't through brute force.

For good reason, starships have serious anti-tampering software and hardware built in. Melissa is able to put up some firewalls within the system that will slow anyone else down. But she isn't able to create a countermeasure without the proper supplies. Since you can purchase Countermeasures, you can't produce some with just a check. If you wanted to create some physical traps (like the Downtime activity) with grenades and an engineering check you could do that.

For good reason, starships have serious anti-tampering software and hardware built in. Melissa is able to put up some firewalls within the system that will slow anyone else down. But she isn't able to create a countermeasure without the proper supplies. Since you can purchase Countermeasures, you can't produce some...

Melissa Sees NO reason to tell Guesse? the difference as he begins negotiations :)

"Out here she can't blow us up..almost. In there she can. What do you say we give her the plans, take the ship and shut our lips as payment. That puts her and EJ in fair competition on the race to have more space in space. Ok well she's definitely cheating at the start...

And we low tail it out of here. Then we haul freight in this thing with an advantage for a few years till Gigantocorp and Enormocorp both hit the market at the same time. She comes after us maybe she gets the ship, maybe she doesn't, but those plans go out on Anonymouse's website the next day. If you do the work management wants you to do and all they give you is a promise all you'll ever get is that promise. In pieces. "

Melissa was probably bound to either be a very good union rep or an unfortunate accident at some point in her career... the army was probably safer.

Strek grabs his heavy weapon and shifts his clothing.

"I'm with Del. We go in, but we be on our guard. Melissa, think you can scan the place while we're landing? Be good to know our escape routes."

GM Ewok, do we (or perhaps Akh alone) have some ability to try and contact Sinjin directly? Comms code or whatnot? If so, we may want to try and reach him before deciding how to deal with Deminda. Although the meta-gamey player thinking in me suspects that even if we can call Sinjin right now, we'll just be redirected to his voicemail with a recorded message directing us to his assistant Deminda.

"Although I like the idea, it doesn't look like we can bait Deminda into coming on board. Given this, the options are the table are:

"Actually, we can do plan B with both options 1 AND 2. Use this ship to haul freight until Sinjin contacts us and proves he's ready to deal with us aboveboard - well, aboveboard in mutually committing criminal-ish acts, that is. Hey, it's a big galaxy! Corporate espionage and theft are not crimes in every jurisdiction in the cosmos, amirite!?!?"

Guess? pauses a bit to let the ideas sink in, as much for himself as for his fellow crewmates.

Then he continues, "I suppose it is voting time.

"Melissa and I are up for plan B - we don't head into that base and get outta here. We make a living but leave the door open with Sinjin."

Guess? turns to Jaraduk and Ahk, "What do you guys think? Head in or cut outta here?"

Jaraduk puts his head in his hands.

Fiiiine. But let's pay attention to the personnel in the hangar. The conference room and the feast looked inviting, but she might not even intend for us to make it that far.

He slings his grenade launcher off of his back and starts fidgeting with the loaded ammo.

Switching it to sticky grenades, for a possibly sticky situation..

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Gah! Ninja'd by 5m :)

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Jaraduk then listens intently to Guess?' plan, nodding and bobbing his head along as the options flow.

Plan A... Body cavities? Just how big are they?

Plan B.... I like option 1, personally. Easy enough to post the ship plans to http2099://slashdot.sphere. In option 2, we can't live on the ship forever and they just wait us out and ambush us most any place in Near Space. Guys like Sinjin with serious resources... they use them.

He ruminates lol some more on it. Ultimately, I like calling her out from her and seeing if she'll show more of her hand.

I guess there's a plan C: We stall. We say "Sorry we're still decrypting the plans, and we have a serious rig over here working on it. Let us know when Sinjin arrives and we'll hurry up and finish. We're fine with cold food." This causes her to reconsider her bluff given he's likely not showing.

Jaraduk looks as Guess? to see what he thinks.

Akh ponders Melissa's suggestion. "Very gutsy. She'll probably see it as a fun challenge. But I'm put my credits on Sinjin if it comes to tracking people down and buying a good enough computer whiz to prevent any leaked documents."

He shrugs when Del asks her question "Sinjin is a great guy and very capable. When you're on his side, he'll stick out for you so long as you do the same for him. But I suppose now that he's not part of the Xun, maybe all the money and new power might have gone to his head. He seemed... less down to earth than I remember when we talked to him." He ponders "I'm not sure if its Deminda or Sinjin behind this. If it is Sinjin, that..."

"that would make me quite sad."
-------

Akh is quiet while the others discuss the specifics of the plan, but he answers when Guess makes his suggestions. "Yes, there's plenty of space in here for plans, parts, and possibly small ysoki." He taps his gullet with a claw and you hear the hollow metallic pinging.

"So, with one option, we go in, fight through Deminda's sudden but inevitable betrayal, and then escape out of here. If Sinjin ordered her to do it, we've gotten ourselves yet another powerful enemy. With the second option, we skip one life or death struggle, but if Sinjin and Deminda are working together, they'll be after us anyway." He nods "Plan B seems safer. Assuming we can get out of here in one piece."

"If we go with plan B and Sinjin himself shows up as anything other than a head under that suspiciously shaped silver platter with his name on it in the background there looking for us we call this a mulligan, apologize for the speciest assumption of drow politics, and resume negotiations with Sinjin with a 10% reduction in our pay as an "our bad". The only thing we cost him then is an hour or two, tops "

"Rig an interdimensional full tail atomic space wedgie, calm down the grieving dragon in denile, scan the rock.. why do people assume I can multitask like this.... "

computers: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Silica iron composition in the way...It's a rock well duh. Do you wish to add more power to the scanners? Adding more power to the scaners will violate warranty agreement secions...well yes thats why I said scan .

there's a loud sizzle and POP from somewhere under her desk.

"..nothing to worry about, ship just needs some breaking in is all " she vanishes under the desk and there's a ptoooh and the sound of a fire extinguisher whooshing.

Melissa's scan shows nothing interesting. Not surprising due to the "ship malfunction".

Have I ever mentioned that Drow are my second favorite NPC species? Right behind any sentient undead. So much fun RP there.

Akh looks through his comm and yes, he does have Sinjin's number! You get through, but it goes straight to voicemail. "Hello, this is Sinjin's voicemail! You may know me as a handsome and powerful Xun assassin, but I am now a handsome and powerful crime boss. So that's LORD Sinjin to you, now! Unfortunately, that means I've got to cut ties. It's not you, its me. See you in the Boneyard." Just like so many other things in your life, that comm number was too good to be true.

With Del and Strek wanting to charge the base and the remainder of the group wanting to stand strong in the ship, that's what you decide to do! Now the question is... What to say, and what to do next?

Now that Tarika has gone independent, she can certainly find you work; even if EJ corp and a drow underworld sub-boss are after you. You know for sure that Pact Worlds corporate espionage and grand theft auto warrants don't go far on worlds like Akiton, the Diaspora, Aucturn, and Apostae. Not to mention the rest of the galaxy outside the Pact Worlds, like the Veskarium or Near Space. And most worlds, even Absalom Station, have a police force that is stretched thin. Bounty hunters will be a bigger threat to your freedom than anything, but even a routine traffic stop could turn deadly.

Y'all got me opening the second AP early and clawing through the forums looking for some of this. lol I love how open-ended this AP is.

Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

I'm going to use merchant savvy to reroll:

Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

I've rerolled three times and have still come up short! Although being a corporate agent may have lowered that DC18 by 5? If Guess? is allowed to keep the highest of the rerolls, then Guess? will share what he knows from the spoiler.

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Listening to the crew, Guess? says, "Alrighty then. Consensus is we don't head into the death trap and instead we get outta here!"

Turning back to the viewscreen, Guess? raises Deminda back on comms, wears his most charming smile and says...

"Deminda!! Babe! You and I go back a long, long ways! I know, I know, ya find me absolutely irresistable! And I feel the same, right back atcha!

"And on that note, catchya later sweetums!!! Seeya soon but presumably with Sinjin, ya? Hope he doesn't get TOO mad at ya for screwin' up screwin' us! Till then, love and kisses!!" Guess? blows a kiss towards Deminda.

Guess? then turns to the rest of the crew with Deminda still on the viewscreen and says, "Did I miss anything? Anyone else have something to add?"

And just for kicks, rolling diplomacy to see how charming Guess? came off - in a smarmy kinda way, of course.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

OMG you crack me up.

Culture: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Before Guess?'s speech, from the Culture check:

Del beckons at the others. "Look, we all know EJ Corp doesn't like to be wrong. They've got a whole army of lawyers, PR agents, and yes-men to make sure that doesn't happen. If EJ corp announces the theft of their ship, they have to acknowledge its existence publicly. That would give up some of their secrets. Also, admitting they lost IP to common thieves—us—would seriously hurt their share price. Share price is everything. Right?" She looks to the others for confirmation. "As for Eline... I doubt she'd even admit she lost the ship. Doing so could cost her career. And as a Kalistocrat, that could cost her eternal life as well."

She sighs and muses aloud. "I don't know Sinjin, but he doesn't seem like the type who would admit if Demand betrayed him. She's an underling, you know? That's like... weakness. He'd chase her and she'd chase us.... But if she's doing his bidding still, its not like he could rat us out to the legal authorities. It's just like... criminals and stuff we'd have to worry about. And anyone who'd be open to his bribes.... So like, lots of people, I guess."

After Guess? speaks:

Del's eyes widen. "Oh, dear." She grips the steering wheel, throws the starship into gear and calls out, "Buckle up!" To herself she mutters, "Don't get dead, don't get dead..." She glances at the various vliewscreens and calls out to the others. "Someone get on the sensors! Let me know if something comes at us."

She's ready to book it when we're ready, but wants to hear Deminda's response first.

"We ARE of course perfectly willing to send the PLANS over. That's where you guys were going to make your money anyway right? One ship yeah, might be worth a million credits. The ability to make and sell a fleet of ships just like this one? That's the kind of credits they don't have numbers for. We make money, you make even MORE money, you're too busy making money to bother killing us.. its a win win. Congratulations on your drow promotion but come on, you wouldn't be having any FUN if you won everything THAT easily. That's more important than a fifth ysoki skin rug isn't it?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 7 + (2) = 17

apparently she refuses to upholster with anything less than the unparalleled plush of skittermander.

"Yeah I'm working on a plan B for the sensors... hold on. " looks around for some binoculars and a viewport she doesn't need to stand on tippy toes to see over

"And anyone who'd be open to his bribes.... So like, lots of people, I guess."[/b]

Akh murmurs "Yes, lots of people. Probably hunting us until the ship is theirs or we've been reduced to space dust. Both, really. And all this because I wanted to get a little pocket money to buy some more of those delicious marshmollos..." He echoes his own words glumly until Guess? delivers his speech.

A rolling boom echoes in his throat as he buckles himself into the seat in the starship's turret "Guess?! You really know to speak the love language of criminal organizations. The only other time I heard someone talking that way in my previous job, everyone loved it. Of course, they also killed her a few minutes later. Hopefully that won't happen here."

"we all appreciate Guess? drawing her ire so much he'll be the primary target if we all split, or we need to offer a sacrifice for a few minutes head start. "

Guess? calls Deminda up, equal parts smarmy and friendly. About 98 words in, the drow disappears from the camera - though you can hear from her labored breathing that she is still on the audio call. You can hear her words interspersed with Guess?'s, definitely pointed towards someone else.

"Head to the ship! They're not coming"

"START HER UP! I KNOW WHAT I SAID!"

Her frantic paces pause. "Listen here, you goblin brat. You don't need to talk to Sinjin, you talk to me! And when you talk to me, I knife you back!" Her voice tightens, turning to a scream. "KNIFE, KNIFE, KNIFE!" As Guess? promises Deminda love and kisses, she begins to growl in anger. "We are the underworld! You can't escape us! We will have our prize!" It's obvious she's not able to reason, not even to negotiate for the plans Melissa was offering. Strek feeds engine data to Del and she confirms. You're ready for Drift jump, it'll take several minutes before the drow can get a ship warmed up and ready to go. You can escape, free and clear. Melissa checks the scanners, nobody else is coming in. With a quick check around the group, Del nods and pushes down the lever. The space around you turns to streaks and then purple clouds. You've entered the Drift, and left danger. For now.

END OF BOOK 1! LEVEL UP!

"KNIFE, KNIFE, KNIFE!"

Guess? turns to everyone and says, "Well guys, I think that went pretty well, yah? I'm sure once the initial, y'know, maniacal homicidal murderous anger subsides a tad, they'll come back to the table to discuss some legitimate crime!"

For but a moment, Guess?'s folowing words get strangely elongated as Del simultaneously kicks the ship into the Drift, "Nooo woooorriessssss!!!!"

Replying to Akh, "Ah yes... Love and death. Sometimes feels more or less the same, dontcha think?"

And responding to Melissa, "Anytime! That's what captains are for! Besides..." Guess? looks sideways a bit then switches to ysoki and continues in a lower, hushed voice...

Guess? winks at Melissa and offers a fist bump.

HAHA! Woo! That's certainly an interesting way to end book 1! I can't stop laughing at Deminda's "KNIFE KNIFE KNIFE!" response!

Jaraduk grins back at Guess?, letting the implication sink in.

Inspiration for this post brought to you by: tax season

Strek mostly just watches the dialogue while standing in the doorway to the Bridge, but as Del is about to punch them into the Drift, he STRETCHES both of his middle fingers in a fond farewell to Deminda.

Later on, during third meal, Strek is focused on tinkering with GUMBI...

"I figure, since we're gonna be independent contractors now, someone's gotta maintain tha books. Track cost of repairs, fuel, Drift mileage, yadda yadda. Make sure this outfit is profitable. So I just installed some accountin' algorithms. Workin' for ourselves has gotta be better than Edge."

Strek is now a Profession (accountant)!

"So, what should we name this new 'business' of ours?"

Melissa is facepalming hard enough to leave the captain hanging. "You really. really know how to talk to girls Guess?....She's a drow. The murderous is a given. It's just a matter if its a rational murderous or well.. knife knife knife murderous. "

"Bullseye Shipping. As in we have a gigantic one on us, and we can use jaraduck for the symbol, cheap. "

Jaraduk looks away for a moment to think about what that logo might look like.

Won't the target on my eye make me look like some kinda borg? Eh, we'll workshop it...

As usual, he shrugs and gets back to tinkering with a pile of fine-grained mechanical grenade parts spread out on the table in front of him.

"Oh, my gosh, we got away! ...I can't believe we got away! ...Why did we get away?" She frowns as she charts a course through the Drift. "I expected more." She shrugs. "Well, nice to see luck is on our side for a change. So... where to?"

Fade from black, back into the banquet room on the asteroid base. Two drow guards sit at the table, eating from the vast spread. They speak in low tones in between mouthfuls. "Can't believe Deminda screwed this up." The view pans around the table, highlighting the name settings. "Yeah, how hard is it to lie to a bunch of couriers? I heard they weren't even drow." The place holders pan by. Deminda Del Jaraduk Melissa "Seriously, Sinjin is going to be so upset. He really wanted that ship. What was so special about it anyway?" You turn to the other side of the table, passing behind the pair of armored baddies. "I don't know, probably had huge guns or something. Kinda looked like a elephant or bull head on the scanners." Right between Lord Sinjin and Guess? Strek is a place setting with additional text. "Yeah, those boxy outside bits were probably nuclear warheads." The folded paper reads...

Akh
Sorry, old friend. Business is business. You understand.
Turn on your crew; join us. Or die.
Your choice.

Jaraduk grins back at Guess?, letting the implication sink in.

Speaking Ysoki right back at Jaraduk, Guess? winks playfully.

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Upon hearing Melissa's business name suggestion, Guess? says, "Bullseye Shipping! I like it! And more importantly, I can't think of a better idea!! Our slogan can be 'Your deliveries are always on target... no bull!'

"And of course you realize that you'll also subsequently give up all rights to your likeness, transferring those rights to the Bullseye Shipping Corporation, LLP. But really, that's no big deal, trust me!"

I think the idea of Jaraduk being our logo is awesome! If he's up for it. Would the logo be Jarduk with a bullseye for an eye? Or would it be Jaraduk at the center of a bullseye? I threw up a crude cut & paste of both on the Decison Log slide #7!

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Replying to Del, "I'm thinking no place better than heading back to Absalom. We can get back in touch with Tarika and see if we can scare up a job. After we design Jaraduk into the new logo, of course! Anyone else have other suggestions?"

Akh settles back down as soon as the ship is out into the Drift. "Well, we're probably doomed now. But at least we're still alive and we have a fancy ship to show for it. I think Deminda won't be letting this one go any time soon, despite how much she was obviously charmed by Guess?. Or maybe that makes her all the more persistent? I forgot what Sinjin taught me about Drow courtship customs..."

When talk turns to the future, he comments "We should be called Last Chance Shipping. Because we seem to keep getting new last chances. Yes? No? Bullseye Shipping seems quite good too. Really lets the customer know that their cargo will be delivered right on target. Or that's the slogan, I think."

Del turns the ship toward Absalom Station and you all spend your free shifts exploring the new ship. As you learn about its intricacies and uncover notes from the engineers who created it, some of the peculiarities of the vessel are explained. Definitely through your exploring, not just because it wasn't mentioned in the first book of the AP...

One of the uncovered documents explains that the Company only recently finished preliminary testing of the null-space cargo holds aboard the Oliphaunt. However, because the ship was stolen before work was complete, the other expansion bays are outfitted with temporary facilities. The arcane laboratory and the tech workshop, for example, were used by EJ Corp researchers to fabricate magical and technological components essential to null-space fabrication on-site. The holographic amusement chamber (HAC) was implemented not for recreational purposes, but to test dangerous applications of extradimensional technology in a simulated environment.

The nuar balks at Guess?' assertions.

Give up rights to my likeness? My money maker?! No way! We can definitely plaster it all over the ship though. I won't be stopped from selling merch! T-shirts. Coffee mugs. Tooth brush cases. My own line of herbal shampoo... what should it smell like...?

As they explore the ship Jaraduk's curiosity gets the best of him.

Say, do you think because this was still under development that the null-space might be a bit... glitchy? We should be cautious the first few times we use it.

Physical Science (3 ranks): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Strek displays the information he found on the main viewscreen.

"Nuthin' we didn't already know. But it's nice to know other smugglers won't be tryin' to steal from us."

I'm going to start moving us into the next book, but no pressure to those who haven't levelled up yet. There shouldn't be more than skill checks for a bit.

After a few days in the drift you pop out into real space, Absalom Station filling the viewport. You reach out to Tarika, explaining that the handoff went bad and you're keeping the Oliphaunt for the time being. Feel free to in-character send this message if you'd like! I'm curious what story y'all will tell to your newly independent job-finder. In-system communications require a few hours to reach their destination, so you settle in and slowly make your way towards the Armada. After five hours, a soft ping signals a reply. In her recorded message, Tarika sits atop a padded stool in front of a cluttered workbench, rolling the worm-screw of her favorite trusted wrench back and forth between her webbed fingers. “Welp, this ain’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I was fixin’ to go independent, but I’m glad y’all made it off that rock without too many bullets in yer brisket. And hey, Deminda shirked the deal!" The otter-like brenneri leans in close to the camera. "You think Sinjin was in on it too? I try to think the best of everyone but... drow are something else." She shivers, thinking about it, before breaking back into her characteristic smile. "So y’all are the proud new owners of a cargo hold big enough for a stuffed nyssholora! Book it to Absalom Station. I found a job that’ll light yer doshko.” Attached to the message are coordinates and temporary landing rights to Docking Bay 87, a loading zone reserved for starships traveling to and from Eox.

Del turns the craft towards the station. Once you pass beyond the outer limits of the Armada and into official Station space an automated message flashes on screen. WELCOME TO ABSALOM STATION, CENTER OF THE PACT WORLDS. SUBMIT YOUR SHIPMENT IDENTIFICATION AND LANDING RIGHTS PRIOR TO DOCKING. You know the traffic log software will file a grievance with the overburdened Station Security traffic commission for any violators of Station space. Very few grievances are followed up on for first time offenders, but its a chance you don't want to take. Melissa and Strek put their heads together and work on the ship's paperwork. Time to create a Forgery! One of you can attempt a Computers check, with others aiding. Now is the time to name your newly founded business and ship!

computers: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Melissa is on the coms with a white furred ysoki with similar blue eyes, though his are even bigger or the glasses make them look so. There's a holographic pennant in the background that reads "Q U:Go fighting Renkrodas"

" Are you SURE you can't send your text book with your class notes?..no.. come oooon. Urgh...Plagurism smagerism you already bought it once.. FINE. Thanks for the help. Erm.. doing? OH. A ship lost their ID in a magnetic storm I'm trying to get it back for them. YES I am tech support stop laughing you little....Thanks for the help litsib. Such as it was... "

Jaraduk frowns at the station seen through the viewport.

Well, I guess we're "home." It's not much of a home given how we need to lay low. I'm still not so sure about our ability to hide from Sinjin.

After the call with Tarika disconnects, Akh murmurs "You don't think... Tarika..." He sweeps anxiously from side to side "She did get us that job with House Zeizerer, which set up the next job with the House, that got us into the current situation. She has connections, yes, and we think we can trust her, but..."

Akh attempts to aid the construction of a forgery mostly by pointing out a lot of different ways it could get tested and found wanting.

Computers (Aid): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

"What if they backtrace your credentials to the central server? What if they insist on an in-person inspection? What if they compare the e-signature against those given by EJ?"

Earlier...

"So guys, should we go with 'Bullseye Shipping LLP' as the name of our business venture? As for the ship name, I like the sound of Akh's business name suggestion. Instead of the Oliphaunt, perhaps we rechristen her as the Last Chance!! Whaddaya'll think? I'm open to more ideas!!

"Regardless of what name we choose for the ship though, I think we should definitely change it away from Oliphaunt. Why make it easier for EJ to identify us by preserving the ship name, amirite???"

Before explaining to Tarika what has happened, first a little flashback to what we said to Tarika before we went to hijack the Oliphaunt...

Telling Tarika that we're resigning...

Due to the years Guess? has spent working with Tarika, Guess? speaks with a tinge of sadness in his voice, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is we're resigning. I know, I know. I know what you're thinking: 'How could you Guess? But we've fought through so much together at EJ, Guess?. We've stuck together through thick and thin, Guess?.'

"I've still got your back, Tarika like I know you'll always have mine. But facing reality, we're about to get canned anyways. So even if I... even if we didn't all resign, we'd be gone soon regardless.

"BUT that's where the good news comes in! Even though we're resigning, this crew is sticking together! An interesting new opportunity has sprung up for us. Now, I can't really go into it right now. But you betcha that once we've had a chance to milk this one for what it's worth, well, y'know that fancy restaurant over in The Eye that all the execs would go to where a single meal cost more than two years of our pay?"

Guess? thumb points both thumbs at himself, "Well guess who's gonna take you there? Guess?!!!

"And honestly, you should get outta the Company also. Look, when I'm back, let's talk about setting up your own shop - go independent! You've certainly got the right contacts... just a bit of funding is what you need!

"Anyways, thanks Tarika for everything and we'll be back in touch real soon!!!"

After a few days in the drift you pop out into real space, Absalom Station filling the viewport. You reach out to Tarika, explaining that the handoff went bad and you're keeping the Oliphaunt for the time being. Feel free to in-character send this message if you'd like! I'm curious what story y'all will tell to your newly independent job-finder.

And here's what Guess? says to Tarika over comms upon our arrival back to Abasalom...

"Hi Tarika! We're back!!! So ummmm.... Not everything has gone exactly according to plan. We didn't quite get the funds we are entitled to. So unfortunately, I won't be able to take you to that restaurant over in The Eye just yet. But dontcha worry! I will! I will! Just a matter of time!

"But in the meantime, let us know if you've got a lead on any jobs! This ship of ours has space for a hundred tons of cargo!"

To Akh...

Jaraduk turns sharply and sort of looks sideways at Akh.

Tarika? No... no. She looked out for me. Got me this job. She had nothing to gain from me. Frankly... still barely does. I trust her with my life.

Ahhhhh, thank you for filling in the gaps there Guess? ! Very well done.

Tarika's reply to Guess? comes in just before you land. "Ah, I should have known it was too good to be true! Isn't it always? Guess?, we've been around the block a few times and always covered for each other. I think this new job will be just right to get you back on your feet." She holds up the wrench in front of her mouth dramatically, and continues in a stage whisper. "Even if I did expect your butler would be doing it in some fancy skyliner you bought right off the dealership." She winks and grins at the camera. "I'm holding you to that dinner in The Eye though!" The footage cuts and Del sets the ship down. Between Akh and Strek's assistance, Melissa manages to make a decent forgery. It's enough to not earn you a grievance from Station Security at least!

The entrance to Docking Bay 87 is a wide airlock door set into a wall of reinforced glass, which has reinforced bunkers attended by undead elebrians. Beyond the glass walls, a line of docking segments connect to a single long walkway exposed to the vacuum of space — where undead dockworkers come and go. These sort of racially adapted areas are common on the Station, as creatures adapt their living quarters to the environment of their home planets. You think back to one delivery where you had to deliver a couple tons of Verces rice crackers to an underwater hanger. While most of the docked vessels have ashen hulls resembling monstrous rib cages, a destroyed luxury liner bearing signs of battle damage languishes in a nearby segment.

Tarika converses with one of the corpsefolk working the airlock checkpoints as you exit the ship. When she sees you, the brenneri squeals then runs toward the crew and exclaims, “It’s so nice to see y’all livin’ and breathin’!” Tarika points toward the wrecked luxury liner. “Believe it or not, that unfortunate wreck is our next meal ticket. The Harlequin’s Prayer was a Vercite starliner. Got popped by pirates. Hull burst. Killed almost everyone on board. Sad, but how does that keep us in credits?" She spins her favorite wrench, doing jazz hands. "Well, I found a buyer on Vesk-2 looking for fifty tons of black hearts. Those are necrografts—strips of dead flesh you can get attached to your insides to, you know, ignore stuff that kills us living people, like vacuum and radiation. And where do we get enough corpsicles for all those necrografts? You guessed it!” She gestures dramatically to the wrecked luxury liner. “There’s a broker named Rishae who handles stuff like this. She’s at the Revenant Urge, a club here on the station." She puts her hands in the pockets of her jumpsuit, whose EJ logo has been patched over with a rough material. "I thought you richie riches would be able to buy the cargo in cash but... maybe you could trade in those ship repair vouchers for it! You still have the ones I gave you, right?" She puts her hands on her hip, eyes wide and expectant. “Well, wha’dya say? Should I tell her yer comin’?”

Any questions for Tarika? You can make purchases between here and the club if you'd like. Those of you who took applicable Professions can work together to find bonus cargo as well.

Culture, DC14: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Jaraduk perks up at the sight of the destroyed luxury liner.

Hmm, an Opulos Drift Cruiser. Top of the line. At least, before it was destroyed. If one of those took aim at us we'd be a cloud of UPBs in no time. An EMP and that front-gun... yeah no problem at all.

When they disembark, Jaraduk smiles widely at Tarika.

It sure is good to see you too outside of a comm screen! It's easy to forget folks are flesh and blood sometimes, from these distances!

Then she begins to explain their next job.

Hrm, so uh, just how many bodies are in there? And we need to drag them up to this club...??

Melissa pulls into Absolom station staring in wonder out the window with her nose pressed to it almost to the point of splaying her cheekpouches. She watches the sun, saranrae, glitter off of the glass and metal shining like a beacon against the black curtain of space.

"Home huh.. I hope people know how lucky they are to live here..."

At the ship, she gulps. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say those guys need to be ki...re horizontalized? What do you call it? "

Guess? will be morphed into his usual generic-looking, non-descript goblin appearance.

Replying to Jaraduk, "I don't think we're dragging bodies up to the club. I think this guy Rishae will acquire all the bodies from this ship and arrange to process the corpses into fifty tons of black hearts. We'll then use our ship repair vouchers (aka build points) to buy those black hearts from Rishae. We then head over to Vesk-2 and sell those black hearts to the buyer Tarika has located."

Guess? turns to Tarika and says, "Is that about right, Tarika?

"Our ship holds a hundred tons of cargo. Aside from the fifty tons of black hearts, any idea on what else we can haul with the other fifty tons of capacity?"

------------

Guess? will, as usual, look for any potential lucrative side cargo to haul. The more lucrative, the better - irrespective of legality!!! Well, within the limits of the crew's moral code...
Profession (smuggler or merchant): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Re-rolling with merchant savvy:
Profession (smuggler or merchant): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

------------

I haven't figured out what Guess? will buy yet, aside from a personal upgrade to DEX. Will figure that out in the next day or so!!

Tarika slaps Jaraduk on the thigh, the highest part of his body she can reach. "Hey there, newcomer! Hopefully you last longer at this new job than the EJ one I got you!" She winks playfully. "You gotta stop thinking with your muscles, big guy! Don't worry, I've arranged the sale of these corpses to Rishae. I also found the job that needs the necrografts." She pauses a moment, jokingly waiting for applause. “So Rishae works her magic, literally. Then you ferry the goods over to Vesk-2 and cash in! Guess?, you've got the right idea there. Now... there's something you're not gonna be happy about this job..." She looks at the ground, deliberately avoiding Akh's gaze. "The buyer, uh... they ain’t interested in telling us who they are until we arrive, goods in hand,” Tarika warns. “And they’ve advertised this job across the Pact Worlds. Whichever crew tracks down the cargo and delivers fastest gets the prize.” She throws her hands up in the air, throwing away the problem. "But that's no big deal! After all, how many folks are going to be able to supply 50 TONS of undead-magic-techno-surgery supplies that quickly? Not many folks, I'll bet."

"And besides, it's worth the risk. They're willing to pay 20 Veskarium Naval Bond Premiums for it! Just let me know when you secure the black hearts. I'll send visual confirmation of the inventory to the buyer, then they'll send exact coordinates." She looks down at her datapad then shrugs. "Don't know anything about the pirates. My guess is they're a long ways from here by now. You might be able to ask around about them? Good thing your ship is so... unassuming." She looks like she had other, less polite words for it. "Whoever the pirates are, they didn't take half as much as they could have. We aren’t the first people to try to make some creds out of this tragedy post-explosion. A bunch’a goblins" she avoids eye contact with Guess? this time "already came by and made off with the Drift engine from that wreck! I don’t know what they think they’re gonna do with it, but the Harlequin’s Prayer had a Signal Booster — a big step up from the basic Drift engine in most starships, including your fancy new flyer.” You can use Diplomacy and ten minutes to canvas the area with questions about the pirates and/or goblins.

She sends you the address for Revenant Urge. A quick net search says it is a club dedicated to Urgathoa and located in Absalom Station’s Downlow district. She answers Guess?'s question, "Rishae Tulvauran is a competent necrograft dealer from what I hear. Great reputation, been around and dealing in legal half-life mods since the Gap. My contact mentioned that bringing a unique trinket as a gift will start things off on a good setting." She nibbles on her wrench, distracted. "Oh, and no fighting! Lucandrians hate conflict, try not to start any bar fights. Now, I didn't make a deal with her yet, figuring your negotiating skills are better than mine. She's a Lucandrian, should stand out of even that crowd. Rishae may have what we need already on hand and, if not, she’ll know how to turn these lot" She nods towards the wrecked spacecraft. "into grafts in a hurry. Sorry I can’t be of more help but, y’know... corpse trading is kind of a niche market.”

Tarika shrugs at the mention of additional cargo. "You weren't kidding about storage! I imagine you don't have the creds to fill that all the way up, but maybe if you have extra ship vouchers around... Everybody needs food, there's gotta be some specialty items that the Vesk would want shipped over from the Station."

Anybody have additional questions or follow-ups? Folks can aid Guess?'s Profession roll if you have something that could be arguable applicable. Also, if you have any other business you want to take care of on the Station now is a good time.

Sorry I'm running a bit behind! My Dead Suns game is finally wrapping up and its eating a lot of posting time. Glad Guess? is getting in there with some hard hitting questions!
----------
Earlier:
"Bullseye Shipping! Yes, that seems quite good. Implies that we're capable, but secretly tells everyone that their tasks are doomed to be intercepted by drow operatives after they are in our hands. Excellent." Akh drifts from side to side. "Now we just have to set up some ads, and..."

When Jaraduk assures him regarding Tarika, he says "Yes, I'm sure you're right."
----------
Now with Tarika:
Upon hearing that the job Tarika found was transporting necrografts made from the victims of a starship-based-disaster, Akh audibly creak-groans. "Oh, no. What happened to nice jobs involving transporting inert, non-dangerous, delicious, and fully legal foodstuffs? Why is it always something that sounds dangerous?"

When she clarifies that the buyer is completely anonymous and definitely 100% positively going to double-cross the team, be double-creak-groans "Why..." He falls silent. There's no point. It's obvious that the universe wants to punish him for daring to dream of a future involving swimming in delicious marshmollow. He would just have to face the sudden and inevitable betrayal and punch that betrayal in the face.

He asks Tarika "Are we on a timer here? Are the black hearts going to go bad? Or are there more people than just us looking to fill the request?"

Jaraduk looks slightly dejected for a moment after the explanation of the exchange. Aww. It was gonna be funny if we could drag some of them through the streets of the station.

HA! Love how you *subtlely* hinted at the BP payoff there...

"A bunch’a goblins" she avoids eye contact with Guess? this time "already came by and made off with the Drift engine from that wreck!

Guess? notices Tarika's discomfort and says, "C'mon Tarika! We've known each other for too long for you to worry about hurting my feelings. Afterall, I was the one who hid from you the fact that I was a goblin all that time we worked together at HQ. You've looked past that so hey, we're think as thieves you and I!

"And besides, what you describe is pretty standard goblin operating procedure. I'd be quite disappointed by my brethren if they DIDN'T attempt something like that!!

"As for the buyer, I'm not fussed. If they'll pay, I don't mind the anonymity. Besides, you're talking to a guy who's constantly wearing a disguise, so who am I to judge?"

Guess? turns to the rest of the party, "So if this Rishae person would appreciate a unique trinket, anyone got any ideas? Too bad we don't have anymore of those uniforms that we bought off the grandmas at that rebel hideout on Vohxa. Those were pretty unique..."

-------------

Jaraduk looks slightly dejected for a moment after the explanation of the exchange. Aww. It was gonna be funny if we could drag some of them through the streets of the station.

Listening to Jaraduk's deep, dark desires, Guess? asks Tarika, "Hey Tarika, maybe you can arrange a side job for Jaraduk to join the group of laborers tasked with dragging the dead bodies to Rishae's processing facility? A couple extra credits on the side for some good honest work can't hurt, amirite??"

Guess? pauses for a moment, pondering the value of good, honest work, then shrugs and says, "And on that note, I'm off to find some illegal cargo for us to smuggle! Meet you all at the Revenant Urge later for our meeting with Rishae, yah?"

-------------

Aside from going around looking for other cargo to haul (per the previous profession roll), Guess? will ask around about both the pirates and the goblins.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

He'll then head off to make some personal purchases then meet with the rest of the party at the club to meet Rishae.

"Shouldn't moving giant amounts of bodies be left to medical professionals , mortuary workers, or at least that weird kid playing with the frog innards that surprised no one when they went..." stops and looks at guess? "Dammit"

Before Guess? walks off completely to complete his errands, he turns around, grins at Melissa, clicks his tongue and shoots finger guns at her.

"you'll need a permit for those, or at least Royalties to Zo! "

To Akh, Tarika mutters to herself. "Well, to be fair, necrografts are technically inert, non-dangerous, delicious, and fully legal foodstuffs... for certain sorts of folks..." She then gets back into business mode. "Well, you're not technically on a timer. But... you definitely are. No pressure." She grins, then gnaws on her wrench out of anxiety. "I mean, its an open job. Every day that passes gives other groups time to find some Black Hearts. But hey, those are some uncommon necrografts, and a lot of them! It's not like every trader on the open market will be vying for this." To Guess?, Tarika smiles knowingly. "Yeah, who are we to judge, am I right? In fact... I did hear the eoxian overseers over there needing a sentient someone to direct the zombies up to the Club. They probably would just grab a skelly-boi to do that but if you wanna..."

Guess? scours the lower levels of the Station and finds a few options to fill space.

-50 tons of regular bread. This costs 600 credits, and should sell for 1200 credits, assuming you find a buyer
-40 tons of circuit boards. This costs 2400 credits, and should sell for 4920 credits, assuming you find a buyer
-20 tons of brethedan hallucinogenic cotton candy. This costs 2 Ship Voucher (BP) and should sell for 2 Veskarium Naval Bond Premium and 2700 credits.

Asking around the hanger, you feel like you interview everyone. You find a pair of dock workers who remember three goblins who took the Signal Booster to the Heap, a junkyard in Botscrap. The engine was broken, so the goblins got it for cheap; they just had to pay off a few guards. One of those guards lets it slip that "Tremeshkan, 'the Razor', Carva is a notorious shirren space pirate and Free Captain who attacked the ship." He gives you a printed copy of a Security News Bulletin that features the shirren’s face. He also mentions that although the Stewards blame Tremeshkan Carva for the tragedy, and the ship did sustain some weapon damage, the dockworkers insist that only an internal explosion could’ve caused the kind of damage dealt to the ship’s interior. He doesn't know enough about mechanics to know the truth. While Guess? distracts the guards the rest of you get into the terminal computer. Apparently the Harlequin’s Prayer had thousands of passengers, including the ship’s owner, Verthani fashion mogul Otan Saema. Saema was in debt to Blackwind Engineering, who now owns the ship and leads the salvage operation. Blackwind had the rights to the dead bodies, allowing them to be sold in case of an accident.

After you make your individual purchases you meet back at the Revenant Urge. The club's aesthetic combines the haunting and traditional with the ultra-modern and chic. The building resembles a macabre cathedral decorated with a towering spire at each corner and flying buttresses, pointed arches, and ornate columns of onyx and black marble. The entrance is an oversized door of coppery metal framed by pillars of bone and adamantine and the rib bones of a giant undead beast. Above the door, a circular rose window made of holographic crystal projects the silhouette of the goddess Urgathoa—depicted as a woman with a skeletal lower half dancing with a scythe. The acrid odor of burning plastic and chemical solvents lingers in the air, and the pulse of muffled bass throbs behind the door. Art on Slide 1!! The double door opens to a vaulted hall; seven floors with open balconies overlook a crowded dance floor, along with one more floor at the building’s summit. Gigantic speakers blare hypertronic sludge house. Floating above the crowds of dancers, undead dancers whirl about in hovercages while brandishing bladed weapons or caressing dangerous animals. The patrons themselves—mostly undead—writhe and contort to the music, illuminated by flashing strobes. A few clubbers jump from bungee cords tethered to the upper floors, their silhouettes bouncing in and out of view. Each of the four spires that anchor the building contains a lavish elevator with walls made of holographic crystal. When your crew enters the doors, you see a robot squox - a merge of a fox and a squirrel - near the entrance rise up on its hind legs and stare at you. After a moment, it scampers off through the crowd, toward the bar. It settles near the feet of a large light purple-skinned dragonkin wearing a Strawberry Machine Cake band shirt, who stands out amongst the majority-undead patrons of the club. Though the club is wild in every way, the only other person of particular interest is an undead nuar basking in a hot tub full of raw meat. His left hand is petting an undead dog with a hairless body and a skeletal carapace that cover's its back, neck, and head. His right hand is holding a bone blade to the neck of a waiter as he says something threatening that you can't quite make out due to the distance and the bone-rattling music. Alright! You can all go talk to one of these folks, you can split up and talk to both, or you can ignore them both and ask the staff for Rishae. Up to you! Also, there are photos of both of these NPC's on Slide 4.

Apologies - just a brief post at the moment, but will look to post more later today. While shopping for his items, can Guess? also be on the lookout to purchase a trinket for Rishae? If yes, here's a culture roll to see if he spots anything appropriate.

Guess? searches around for some trinket to gift Rishae. He's got about 500cr so is okay to spend up to that amount but would of course prefer not to spend all the cash he has on hand...

Culture: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Purchases: Jaraduk upgraded his armor and sold his subzero hailcannon.

As the team walks away from the terminals they snuck up to, Jaraduk starts to muse about the clues gathered so far.

Hmm, so if the ship could have only taken all that damage from an internal explosion, it's still possible that the external fire caused it. I wonder if this ship was carrying something it shouldn't have been. Maybe a passenger smuggled something onboard. I don't imagine Blackwind Engineering wanted to collect on their debt this way...

Melissa didn't grow up under a rock, she grew up under a LOT of rock. So is looking a bit out of sorts staring at the celebration of necromantic undead around her. She closes her eyes and tries to focus on the two most interesting things in the room, the robotic squox and the dragonkin, both of which happen to be the only not undead things in here.

"Hey so.. THATs really cool, did you build that yourself? The skitterings really realistic, I should know... "