"You really think so Melissa? Hrmmmmmm..." Akh emits a long, echoing sigh.
"You really think so Melissa? Hrmmmmmm..." Akh emits a long, echoing sigh."Well you've got dizzy RIGHT there. They're all dragony and you know they like machines...." tries to give a subtle hip nudge but just winds up hurting their recently repaired hip...
Wearing a big, expectant grin on his face, Guess? stops mid-sentence and whatever else he's doing to just watch how Akh enacts Melissa's advice.
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Guess? has a bit of a hard time finding additional cargo among the chaos of the unplanned work stoppage aboard the floating city and the rapid sale of your last cargo. With work stopped, it seems like there isn't much product to be shipped off planet. Thankfully, after the sale of the pinkstone, starmetal, power cells, and reagents in EJ-branded bottles, you are each 18000 credits richer! With more wealth in your pockets than your entire lifetime's net worth, you are looking forward to getting back to the center of the universe and going shopping.
Captain Niva points to the bar adjacent to the landing pad, stools full of pilots. "First round's on me. After all, Jinx flies way better after he's had a few." The stoic man frowns and signs something. After remembering the mixed company, his datapad soon chirps out "Just water for me. Thanks." The ysoki sits by Guess? and comments over her beer. "I'm going to be honest. I'm still a little suspicious of y'all. Seems like every time I see you, you're saving somebody's hide or rescuing a kitten from a tree. Then again, each time I see you... you lot always have a shiny new kit with all the perks." Her eyes narrow. "There's something fishy about you lot." An awkward moment passes. "But I like my acquaintances complicated. Keeps life interesting. I hope our paths cross again some day." A few seats down, Dizzy and Melissa are already doing shots. "I heard the craziest rumors from a few engineers y'all saved from certain bubbly death!" ... "You did what to a Harvester?!" ... The dragonkin's wings expand in wonder at Melissa's stories. "Little one, you know I am a pacifist at heart. Well, when I'm not brainwashed! But seeing y'all conduct yourselves and act honorably even in a dangerous and violent galaxy. Well... It has me considering my own pacifism. Perhaps violence in the name of just self-defense is a way to add value to those we work with." Introspective, he engages with the ysoki in chipper debate about engaging with a scary world. The only thing that could possibly interrupt the deep conversation is when Melissa begins to play matchmaker - something the dragonkin does not seem mad about!
Jinx is happy to speak with Del about his ship. He speaks for some time about the repairs and upgrades he's been able to oversee while they have been held here on Entha, and the two debate the best ship design and steering mechanisms for drift navigation. Del does notice that he's perhaps a little TOO interested in how the Last Chance's hold and cargo handling systems have been modded. Nemelith speaks with Jaraduk and Strek, inquiring about their more unique weapons. "A doshko, you don't see that in non-scaly hands every day! Tell me... does it crack skulls cleanly?" She delights in any details you share able your recent battles, "Ah, I have been stuck up here, waiting for approval to leave! I envy you. I should have thought to run off and insert myself into other people's problems! That shows initiative; I can't just expect enemies to fall into my lap! Though they so often do in our business." You can't sense any sense of irony or sarcasm in the red woman's voice. "Oh, to revel in the glory of combat in such an unlikely locale. Water provides such unique challenges to warriors such as us." When Akh responds in his traditionally gloomy way, her smile brightens all the more. "Ah, now I understand why you continue to make such foolish and suicidal choices! You too display the free acceptance of pain that all pure mortals must display." She rummages around in her bag for a pair of pamphlets, handing them to both Akh and Jaraduk. "I would like to invite you to a meeting. No pressure, no pressure. But we meet every Tuesday, on Station." The paper says, in bloody red text, YOU LIVE A LIFE OF PAIN? GIVE IT UP TO ZON-KUTHON, WHO BLESSES THE SUFFERERS. THE MIDNIGHT LORD KNOWS THAT EXISTENCE IS PAIN. GO IN HIS NAME, AND INFLICT SUFFERING. She looks up at you, her face eager.
Guess? replies to Niva, [b]"Honestly,it's about valuing each of my crew's individuality and balance. Each of my colleagues bring a strong set of skills to the table but also have an opinion on how to apply those skills. I have to respect that while also keeping an eye on the bottom line as we're still ultimately a business.
"Honestly, my crew's personality leans slightly towards do-gooder-ism (we wouldn't have saved your lives if we didn't) but that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities for profit along the way. They aren't always mutually exclusive.
"And in situations where they ARE mutually exclusive, it comes down to the crew vote. Some will disagree with the ultimate decision, but we accept and move on. We're not fanatics who each individually demand my way or the spaceway.
"So! We turn a profit, hence the new kit. But the crew generally tries to do good for others along the way. It's as simple as that - nothing fishy. We're pretty transparent, really."[b]
Oh, this? Jaraduk mock humility as he holds up his storm doshko for her.
Truth be told I rather prefer blowing things up from afar with grenades. But yes, once an enemy closes in this cracks skulls well enough. Under the sea however, it was largely a can-opener for the harvester we broke down.
He grimaces at how un-impressive that must sound. Suddenly a pamplet appears in his hand. He's not feeling it but he can see it's important to Nemelith. He looks at Strek, unsure.
Well... we'll see if we can squeeze it in to try out a meeting. We're gonna be busy for a few months. For a while...
Knowing he could put his hoof in his mouth (or maybe already has), he leaves it at that for now.
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"You really think so Melissa? Hrmmmmmm..." Akh emits a long, echoing sigh."Well you've got dizzy RIGHT there. They're all dragony and you know they like machines...." tries to give a subtle hip nudge but just winds up hurting their recently repaired hip...CLANG ow. Tries another push
If Akh could make a face, he'd be making a face. "Dizzy? Well, if that's what you like Melissa, I support you fully." Akh looks over at Dizzy a few feet away, in his tacky t-shirt and talking some nonsense about pacifism. Akh hasn't had a chance to meet too many dragons or dragonkin in person in his short awakened life, but he knows Dizzy is the least cool dragon he's ever met. Possibly the least cool dragon that exists. Maybe. To be determined.
Then, determined to return the favor, he pats Melissa on the head with a claw as he speaks to Dizzy "Melissa is very nice and I think quite interested in pacifism as well." He heads off to see what the others are doing.
When he gets a Zon Kuthon pamphlet, he reads it over carefully. He hems and haws about it before saying "Makes a lot of sense. Is Zon Kuthon the reason why our jobs keep going bad? He wants to make sure we suffer for them? Why doesn't he go and do the same for everyone else?" He puts the pamphlet in his mouth "Personally, I think I'm overdue for a Nohtuk Noz, who's all about not getting hurt and everything going really well for once." He nods "Though, if we're doomed anyway, and we are, we might as well go check out what Mister Kuthon has to say."
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You do your best to let the crew of the Wintermourn down easy; with one side of the bar playing matchmaker (unsuccessfully), another rejecting religious advances, and Captain Novu failing to unearth any mysterious secrets.
As you say goodbye, Niva mouth twists in thought. With a slight shake of her head, she banishes the thought. "Fly high out there. At this rate, we'll see you at one of our next shipment depots." She gives you a wink and leads her crew off. Business done here, you strap into the Last Chance with Shan - your original reason for coming to this blue marble - and Del takes you into the air. As the ship works its way free of the planet's gravity, a light on the bridge blinks. Niva Rovu's face appears in hologram, from her own ship. "Well Howard, or whatever your name really is, I took your advice. We held a vote. Lucky me, Captain breaks ties. Lucky you, I don't think you're half bad. So I'll give you plenty of time to escape before I report you lot." She smirks sheepishly. "What? I've got mouths to feed and my crew's EJ contractor rating isn't going to raise itself. Sorry, but business is business." The private communication cuts out shortly after.
Just as your Drift engine begins warming up, you hear a familiar voice come in over the public channel. "This is the Captain of the Wintermourn, submitting a concern to the EJ Corp Negotiators protecting this fine planet. The crew of the Last Chance have committed a laundry list of crimes against your fine upstanding company. Fraud, Larceny, Forgery, Vandalism, Homicide, and Cruelty to Animals. When you find this to be true, please direct the EJ contractor kudos our way. Thank you!" You see the Wintermourn pop into the drift as you are virtually assaulted by comms coming from the rapidly approaching guard ships. Thankfully, Del is able to pull you into the Drift and to safety.
With a sigh of relief, you settle in for a day of travel amongst the purple and pink clouds of the Drift. Shan can't stop talking about all of the evidence everyone gathered about the aglians' intelligence and the harm EJ Corp is causing. "I'll take this right to the Xenowardens when I get back on dry land! Well, right after visiting my mother!" Her face flushes, as she sheepishly remembers what brought you all to Entha in the first place. With your valuable cargo in tow for your friend Tarika, as well as significantly heavier credsticks, it seems like things might have worked out for the best. One third shift, as is tradition, you all end up in the mess hall to eat, share each other's company, discuss all of the cool trinkets you'll be purchasing when you get to Absalom Station, and how excited you are to finally have dry socks.
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Fraud, Larceny, Forgery, Vandalism, Homicide, and Cruelty to Animals. ..
"Oh that is IT. It's not like we didn't do enough stuff that he has to go making stuff up!!!! Next time I see that **chitterchitchitchitteringchitter** I'm electrifying him till that wrung out mop on his head dries out and SHAVING it off... "
"Y'know, it's not like we weren't already on shaky ground with EJ anyways.
"And I can understand why they did what they did. I may or may not have done the same if I were in their shoes.
"But my sympathizing for what they did does not mean there are no consequences. I say the next time we see the Wintermourn, we roast 'em. At the very least, we stop saving their behinds!"
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We keep trusting that Wintermourn crew and... UGH! We should make a pact. To never talk to them again.
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"And I can understand why they did what they did. I may or may not have done the same if I were in their shoes.
"To random strangers sure. To someone that saved your life? Come on. One, thats low, even for you. More importantly, you know that someone willing to save your life is WAY more valuable than whatever Abadar prime gift card coupon EeeJay" she still says it like a non-employee is going to penny pinch for.
"I don't disagree, Melissa. The payoff for backstabbing someone who has saved my bee-hind multiple times has gotta be extraordinarily, disproportionately, ridiculously large before I'd accept it.
"Regardless, I think we all agree. They've burned all their bridges with us. Especially Niva."
"I'll also start using Niva's face whenever we take on some of the more spicier jobs."
"Wait, they said what about us?" Del stammers when she hears her crew reported on the comms. "Those backstabbers! Ugh!" she grumbles as she flies away.
In an effort to calm herself down, Del turns to Shan. "So, what's next for you? Contacting the xenowardens? Working for more evil corporations? Joining our crew of wanted miscreants? Apologizing to your mom?"
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7th shift meal.
Melissa tries to shovel goop into her muzzle while holding her datapad at arms length, clicking left and right. She's mostly successful but does occasionally have to lick her muzzle to avoid saving some for later. An app shows her face in different glasses, and then with different eyes as she scrolls through.
" I was thinking about getting my night blindness problem fixed. Without the clunky helmet " she tap taps the Aluminum miners helmet with her foot. "Ok, the obvious cyborg eyes are creepy with a capitol eeeeep. For 10 percent more they say they can match your old eyes exactly but.... " she flicks the datapad back and forth "Can't figure out if I'm an Ionizing radiation or Arcturn skyline...it's the window to the soul its gotta be perfect. " maybe the other eyeball company will have a better color match.
"Strek, you run any interesting experiments for Deline on our cargo hull? I swear it's the weirdest thing. I tried blowing up balloons to full capacity. Outside the cargo hold, they're fine. Inside. POP. I have to wonder if that's an air pressure thing or do the balloons know how big they're supposed to get?"
"You know, I'd say I'm surprised about the Wintermourn, but it seems about normal. Both for them, and for us. Next time we meet them we should trade ships with them, and see how they like being on EJ and Sinjin's hit list." Akh peers over Melissa's head "Oh, definitely Aucturan skyline. Looks very flashy, can't go wrong with that."
While Melissa's looking over new eyes, Akh is inspecting various methods to look literally more flashy, curiously inspecting the Abadarcorp augmentation brochures for Tashtari related novelty augmentations. He pauses on one that replaces your entire head with a node that works like a laser-wolf's muzzle beam. Tempting, but it would mean replacing his experimental tongue.
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Dels sister probably didn't report the theft to the company. Or at least didn't report WHO did it. She's trying to take care of it on her own.
Melissa has been helping out by doing experimental data, readings, and blue stripe reports, and monitoring the experimental cargo bay. She can either say "The ship is still here see I have new data" or "You were going too slow So i hired an independent contractor to field test the new technology". Both are at least as believable as what happened... (my sister stole the ship and then one of the thieves was nice and or cheeky enough to continue updating me on its progress)
During the third shift, Guess? will welcome Shan to the meal and propose a toast, "To getting Shan off that planet alive! AND back to some paying jobs! (potentially as highly paid mercenary guns-for-hire). You'll always have a spot as a member of this ship's crew if you want, but Del's right. You gotta make a real good apology to your mum first!"
Guess? then proposes a second toast, "To screwing over the Wintermourn crew the next time we get a chance!"
Responding to Melissa, "You should definitely go with the cyborg eyes! You won't be looking at yourself most of the time, so creeping yourself out isn't a problem! And better yet, they'll creep OTHER people out! Isn't that the whole point? Or at least half the point?"
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During the third shift, Guess? will welcome Shan to the meal and propose a toast, "To getting Shan off that planet alive!
"And to not needing the ottersack to do it! Sorry about the tranq darts though...!"
****
" And better yet, they'll creep OTHER people out! Isn't that the whole point? Or at least half the point?"
"Someone needs to look all wide eyed and innocent and its not going to be you. " She holds the datapad up to Akh and tries to see his face with the big round doe eyes on the app.
***
Unwilling to bet money, Melissa will at some point during the trip practice poker with Guess and probably wind up with more than a few extra shifts on latrine duty. She keeps going over the incident with the Earth elemental in her head, and in the many three way discussions on the matter she has while trying to get to sleep, concludes Grandma was right. Honesty would have gotten Guess? Killed instead. A better lie might have saved everyone.
She sets the tiny piece of Rocky she has left up on a shelf and occasionally polishes it while thinking.
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Jaraduk grunts in vague consensus with Guess?'s toast, taking another uncouth gulp of his drink .
So Shan, I have to ask: What did you learn from this whole experience? What would you do different seeing how things turned out?
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Akh joins the toast "And to Shan not getting mind-overridden by crazy eels along the way!" He gives the young brenneri a side eye "You DID avoid getting brain-wiped by the eels, yes? You're not currently one of their dysfunctional individual units, right? Flop once on the ground for yes."
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With the Wintermourn's call out to the EJ Negotiators in near space, neither Melissa nor Strek have time to calculate the trajectory of the Surnoch's Tooth before Del Drift-jumps to safety. Once in the relative safety of the Drift, you realize that from this new vantage point it will be near-impossible to track them down. Unfortunately, that other freelancer space trucker crew is going to be stuck on the long path to the nearest hub of civilization. Thankfully they stocked up on MREs before they left Entha.
In the galley, Shan blushes again. "Yes, definitely starting with an apology to me mah. Then, if she ever lets me out of her sight again, I'll work with the xenowardens to stop all terraforming on Entha! Who knows? Maybe we can even get the aglians into the Pact Worlds!" A bit carried away, she stuffs her mouth with Cheffy branded noodles. After swallowing them half-chewed, she stares up at Jaraduk. "Learn? Me? I guess I learned that everything works out for the best!" She gives her cheesiest grin before diving back into the bowl of food.
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Later than evening, Shan appears at Strek's room. "It's been a long time, Strek. What, four years? So... how is the freelance life treating you?"
"And to not needing the ottersack to do it! Sorry about the tranq darts though...!"
"Perhaps Tarika will need it to apply Shan's penance/punishment? May still come in handy!" laughs Guess?
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"And to not needing the ottersack to do it! Sorry about the tranq darts though...!""Perhaps Tarika will need it to apply Shan's penance/punishment? May still come in handy!" laughs Guess?
"She's unemployed and I doubt she has much of a resume she can use for the past 10 years as she.. you know" looks at the news report "Fed her last boss to a ball of rampaging piranha eels or something. So.. isn't living on her mothers couch going to be ENOUGH punishment?
"Flop once on the ground for yes."[/b]
Melissa goes all glassy eyed "uuuuNNᴉᴉᴉᴉOſ ˙sn ɟo ǝuO ˙sn ɟo ǝuO ˙sn ɟo ǝuO" and spits an eel noodle out of her nose.
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Akh picks up Melissa and tries to do the heimlich maneuver to get her to spit out whatever noodle is messing with her brain - eel or not. "Hold on Melissa, it might not be too late for you."
Akh doesn't have much to say to Shan, the brenneri really made the group's life much harder than it should have been in the attempt to rescue her. And as one of Tarika's kin, it seemed rather likely that Shan was part of the same conspiracy of dealing out intentionally life-threatening jobs. Akh keeps an eye on her, ready for any moves that might betray her true nature.
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You send a message out to Tarika just before you leave Entha, letting her know that Shan is safe and on her way home.
Aboard the ship, Shan does not do anything to give away her true eel-infested and nefarious nature. Akh continues to observe nonetheless... waiting for the sudden and inevitable turn of bad luck.
...
As your ship pops back out of the drift, Absalom Station appears through the bridge's viewports. Your inboxes all ding with new messages.
Guess? gets a message from Baron Karmalar Gravender. "Well, if it isn't my favorite freelancer captain and dangerous animal herder! Things are going fabulously here on the ranch. Those three goblins you dropped off here are doing well. Somehow they all survived the milking season! They keep babbling about how they love that they're hot, even in the cold of night. Or maybe, they're talking about how they love their HOT? Hard to say, but I remembered you saying something about that before you left. Thought I'd pass along that they're thinking of you. Or that they're going through some sort of indigestion. One or the other. Anywho. Next time you're in the Veskarium, come and visit us nufriend!"
Del gets a message from her sister. "Darling, Del. As I performed my ritual meditations this morning, the prophet brought you to mind. I pray for your lost and heretical soul every night. The temptations of this world dragged your down and into the hands of those ship robbers. Poor little sis. Repent, I pray, and return to me. I weep when I think of you going into the cold dark afterlife to receive the punishments for your mortal sins. Why? Why would you condemn yourself to an eternity of unknown destination when you could instead go into the tender embrace of virtual reality with your golden treasures gathered and stored here in the mortal plane? Ah, my dear sister. Please. Hear my words. Purify yourself. Return to the ways of the white cloth. Turn yourself in, forgo these ill compatriots. Return to the light. Sincerely, Eline."
Jaraduk gets a message from Captain Fireheart, of the Veskarium. "Jaraduk, sir. I hope that your journeys have been as full of success, strength, and honor as I know you are. I wanted to update you on the rogue sect known as the Adamant Scale. We have seen no further mysterious kidnappings, nor any other murmurs of terrorist activity from them. It seems that perhaps your work was successful and their fire has petered out. Thank you again for you and your fellow crewmember's hard work. All praise to Damoritosh, may he guide your doshko through the spines of your enemies."
Akh gets a message from an anonymous forwarding service. "I have not forgotten about you, old friend. I hope you are taking excellent care of my starship. Don't bother bringing it back; I'll come for it soon. This time your golden parachute will be your funeral shroud. -S" The note is accompanied by a return address at the forwarding service.
Melissa gets a message from her family back in the mines. Unsurprisingly, it is equal parts judgement on her choice of non-mining-related career path and requests for larger sums of credits accompanying her notes back home.
And finally, to all of you, there is one from Tarika. She tersely expresses her gratitude; she’s clearly both emotional and uncomfortable about feeling so indebted to all of you, despite her friendship with you (some of whom, for years). Tarika shakes off her discomfort and takes a deep breath in the recording. "I haven't been just grinding away at my wrench while you were gone. I stayed busy, too. I successfully decoded the data that we intercepted during the theft of the Oliphaunt, well, the Last Chance. And it has all the information that we need for the job of the century — a job that will finally make you all rich enough to retire! Come on in, let's talk." With a glint in her eye, the brenneri closes the message.
Jaraduk listens to his message, and grimaces a bit. He quickly hits reply and sighs audibly before he begins speaking back to the Captain.
I'm glad we helped to keep them at bay. However, I would remain cautious and watchful. We found them to be persistent and I would first guess that they've gone underground to bide their time and build strength. I suppose I could be wrong. Still... Otherwise, my team and I are glad to hear you're doing well!
He ends with a pleasant smile before terminating.
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To Tarika's message, he sends a private text reply to her.
We know you work hard for us. That's why we wanted to bring back Shan in one piece to make it up to you. I think we came through and we're looking forward to hearing more about that big job! We'll see you soon, friend! -Jaraduk
Del sighs after hearing the message from her sister. "Same old Eline," she mutters. She remembers wearing the white cloth. That was never the problem. It was comfy and fine—she still had one of her Kalistocrat gowns, crammed in the bottom of her travel bag under her bunk, alongside the long white gloves. It was everything else that went with it. She would never step back into that prison. Even if her current lifestyle left... room for improvement.
Del saves the message, but doesn't reply. She'd need time to brush off her sister's disdain and think of something worth saying that wouldn't start another fight.
In the meantime, she takes the Last Chance in for a landing.
"I haven't been just grinding away at my wrench while you were gone. I stayed busy, too. I successfully decoded the data that we intercepted during the theft of the Oliphaunt, well, the Last Chance. And it has all the information that we need for the job of the century — a job that will finally make you all rich enough to retire! Come on in, let's talk."
Guess? turns to the rest of the crew with a triumphant look on his face. "See! Even Tarika knows! We're no longer a crew of long haulers! She found us a job of the century because we're BLACK OPS SPECIAL FORCES MERCENARIES!! Amirite?!?!?"
------
On his off time, Guess? will send a message back to Baron Karmalar Gravender. "I'm happy to hear things are good on the ranch. And I'm also happy to hear that Rattlesnarp, Fleagreeb, and Goog are doing well. Oh, don't you worry about HOT. That's just a little-known goblin deity that those three worship above all else. As far as they're concerned, HOT is an all-powerful, all-wise, all-knowing god.
"Just remind them that they should sacrifice 50% of their earnings to HOT on a monthly basis. That will ensure HOT continues to watch over and protect them!!"
Akh cheerfully answers Sinjin's message with:
"Please feel free to get in line. Also, it'd be good to see you too. Remember to bring some snacks when you visit, and maybe a new sidekick since that last one didn't work out. - Akh."
"PS: I'm not sure why you think the Starship is yours? We stole it, using our own connections as ex-EJ people, and then protected it from a really bafflingly large number of threats. You didn't pay us for it, and last I checked, tried to betray and kill us in a totally not classy and kinda embarrassing way. What I'm saying is, at this point, you should probably just give up on it and cut your losses."
He wanders over to the rest of the party and says "Oh, more stuff from Sinjin. I think we've been overdue on bloodthirsty drow for a few weeks, so you all should keep an eye out for the next improbably conveniently timed attack."
"Wonder if he still wants to buy the ship. If he forks over the cash, I think we should sell!
"But I think he'd rather just murder us for the ship..."
During one of the 3rd shifts, Guess? asks in front of everyone, "Hey Melissa, can you take these shadow nerves out? We can do it right here on the dining table! Nothing like a bloody, spinal surgery to whet the appetite before our third shift meal! Amirite??
"While some may shy away from putting themselves on display like this, I have no inhibitions when it comes to improving the morale of my crew mates!"
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He wanders over to the rest of the party and says "Oh, more stuff from Sinjin. I think we've been overdue on bloodthirsty drow for a few weeks, so you all should keep an eye out for the next improbably conveniently timed attack."
Melissa spits out the noddle ""Wait Sinjins ALIVE? I thought he got drow demoted the knife knife knife angry drow " she ughs. "Yeah I don't want to lose my baby here, but I like living. See if we can cut him a deal? One that involves a reasonable transfer in a safe location not hey sure we'll show up where only you know where the bodies are. "
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"Yeah, no one wants to see THAT and as I'll be the only one wearing the magnifying glass I'm the only one that will. I don't even want to think of eating where there's been a naked goblin and before you say anything, my species is incapable of vomiting but we DO get the shakes something awful...which would be bad right before I need to take something out of your spine."
She just throws a fresh tarp over the maintenance dolly in the hallway, oyxgenates the heck out of the goblins blood, hands him some rum and anelgesics and heads to down. Parts is parts right? They're shadow nerves, plenty of extra light should work. And fire. Lots of fire... If she messes up its not like we can't grow nerve tissue. What is this the information ages?
Whooosh
"Anyone know where the any key is on a goblin? Besides the three in his stomach..."
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With a pull from the superior intoxicant in the ship's larder (put there by Guess? for 'special occasions' after all), Melissa manages to pull out the Shadow Nerves without a hitch.
And now we begin...
Due to Melissa losing her noodle-based lunch over the unfortunate misunderstanding over how she may or may not have been overtaken by a brain-eel/aglian/electric-feel... you decide to meet up with Tarika at the food dispensary, Noodles Between. Sure, the last time you ate there you were ambushed by not one but two waves of mercenaries eager to claim a bounty on your heads... but the noodles were FANTASTIC! You schedule the meeting for a few hours after Del lands you in the hanger, so you have time to shop.
After a few hours of retail therapy, you all meet back up at the busy intersection of food stalls, hungry and excited to meet up with your friend. The brenneri still has tear stains around her eyes from what must have been an emotional reuniting with her daughter. “I appreciate y’all helpin’ Shan out, and it’d be nice to sit back and take it easy for a bit, but — well, I mentioned I deciphered the data from your Oliphaunt... sorry, your ship the Last Chance, escapade, didn’t I? I s’pose y’all are curious to know what secrets that little cache was hidin’!” Tarika pauses, fiddling with the wrench at her belt for a moment before continuing. “It’s big. Real big. Seems the Last Chance was built to replace the Windfalls — the gold commerce barges the Company builds for the Kalistocracy on the Horse Eye Orbital Plate. You prob’ly saw one." Del's eyes go wide. Oh, she's more than seen one before. She's taken tours of them! Even sat in the pilot's seat! (Not that a kalistocrat would ever deign to actually fly one.) "Those things have a reputation for bein’ loaded with serious treasure; we’re talkin’ retire-to-your-own-private-moon money. The Kalistocracy does its best to keep the routes secret, but piracy’s gone up recently, which was the whole reason the Company started work on an alternative." She eyes Guess?. "And, well, we don’t have any pirate warships sittin’ around so the more violent way is out..." Her eyes flick to Melissa and Del, "Not that it was ever an option! But... we do have all the security data contained in that module we.. obtained! With that, an enterprisin’ individual — such as myself — could create credentials for a small team of like-minded folk — such as y’all — who could slip onto the empty ship as it is leaving the EJ shipyards, fly it to it's Kalistocracy destination, pick up the cargo... just like you normally do... then, maybe, who knows, the fancy schmancy treasures go missing somewhere in transit! And we all retire to our own moons, unbelievably rich! What could possibly go wrong?!"
[dice= medicine]1d20+14
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[b]And we all retire to our own moons, unbelievably rich! What could possibly go wrong?!"
After listening to Tarika's proposal, Guess? says, "Wait wait. You're proposing that we fake some credentials that will allow us to board an empty treasure ship. Hang out with its crew until it gets to its destination where the crew will load it full of unimaginable treasure. Then while it is in transit, we murder the entire crew, taking the treasure ship for ourselves. (Or maybe we murder the crew when we first board.) We meet you somewhere to offload the treasure. You then help us fence the stolen treasure and launder the money. Once the money is laundered, we live the good life until the end of our days. Is that what you're saying?
"Or the TLDR version is: We Reisora a Windfall in order to Reisora treasure beyond our wildest dreams. Amirite?!?
"Yes? Well in that case, I see nothing that can possibly go wrong! Let's DO EEEEEEEET!!!!"
Guess? then sheds a tear as he adds, "Tarika, we've been friends a long time. And seeing you grow and evolve as a sentient, it just makes me feel so good and proud of you. I've always looked forward to the day where we could work on a heist / fence / laundering job together!"
Guess? is practically bawling by the time he gets the last word out.
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Mel looks at Del "we're not talking them out of the theft.... "How about we don't try to talk you out of the theft and we don't try to talk us into a murder? And because I'm not a goblin that includes anything I help you do. Like If i help you get onto the ship its MY fault if you perforate people. We have more than enough cash for cheap merciful fusions. " "
"I suppose we can do that. I mean having the actual captain alive as a prisoner does make it easier for me to acquire all his/her identifying bio-signs, making it easier to impersonate him/her. And keeping the cap alive also provides us the option to torture him/her when we need additional personal or secret information, such as passwords or authentication codes.
"And I suppose the same applies to the rest of the crew. Keeping them alive makes it easier to impersonate them when needed and keeps them available for the inevitable mandatory torture sessions!
"(yes, yes. if for some reason the crew gives up the info we need, then torture isn't necessarily required...)
"Great out-of-the-box thinking Melissa!"
Guess? begins to again shed a tear...
How big of a ship is this? That is, what's the required crew complement? Ideally we simply are the whole crew. Second best is that we hire our own stooges to fill out the complement. Of course, that increases the fake identities we need to operate, but y'know, costs of avoiding murder.
Jaraduk seems calm through most of this, stroking his chin and thinking about the different risks of pulling this off.
Of course it's no small risk that we're leaving via EJ shipyards. These had been be good fake identities, and we'll need any shipyard staff or other crew on board to not recognize our mugs like those bounty hunters. Our infamy slowly grows...
He grimaces slightly.
Reflecting on the job, Guess? mentions, "Everyone might want to consider buying a holoskin and disguise toolkit before we take this on. They're not too pricey."
Akh listens to the conversation with concern "I can think of a lot of individual parts that could go wrong."
"I know we're now big black-ops mercenaries and all, but it seems like we're asking for it if we go try to steal another super fancy super valuable ship. What if we just didn't go stealing things things from powerful organizations, so fewer people have a convenient excuse to come after us and kill us? This seems like a good time actually to lay low for a while." Akh looks over at Guess?'s enthusiastic face, then shrugs "Ah. Well, I guess we're doing it then."
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And we all retire to our own moons, unbelievably rich! What could possibly go wrong?!"
The brenneri sputters. "I'm not suggesting murder! No, no, no... I figured at this point y'all had enough of a silver tongue, skillful hands, and heavy credsticks to figure out how to distract a few casual wageslaves." Her eyebrows shoot sky high. "I mean, wasn't so long ago that we were all in that bracket. Didn't take too much for us to slack off at the job." She smirks, and twirls her favorite wrench. "Now laundering... That's just a dirty word for creative accounting. Not all systems' banks follow the Pact Worlds' laws you know. Don't you worry about that, I'll take care of you." Her eyes flick to Del. "Now... you may need to 'Reisora' a few things during the job. But that's just cutthroat business in a cutthroat world!" While she does accept Guess?'s compliment, she also sticks her fuzzy fingers in her ears when he mentions 'the T-word'.
She quickly adjusts her attention to Jaraduk. "I'm going to be honest. I've always been more of a numbers and relationships person than a hull size and crew count person. I believe in y'all's skill set. But... four should plenty for a ship of this size. Probably." She does frown a little and pull up a public notice. "I mean... I did watch a NetVid documentary on the six of you, plus Lars, gods bless his soul, and how you're all secretly Cult of the Devourer prophets. Juicy stuff. So... I guess that's a type of infamy."
The CompEnt Windfall, a proprietary design of the Kalistocracy, is manufactured exclusively by Compiler Enterprises on the Horse Eye Orbital Plate near Aballon. The station produces one starship per month for the purpose of being ferried to the Fortune’s Heart transfer station, loaded with treasure, and auctioned off to eager Kalistocrats. The Windfall is therefore fairly rare; most of those in existence are owned by Kalistocrats who have won previous auctions or those who have purchased them from these winners. Selling one’s auction ship isn’t necessarily frowned upon by Kalistocrats, though most would be reluctant to part with such a symbol of economic triumph. The Windfall is designed to operate via partial automation by default, requiring only a small skeleton crew to maintain the systems. Though it has enough weaponry to defend itself, it’s primarily a cargo ship; rather than sheer firepower, the Windfall’s security comes more from the secrecy of its route, biometric locks to ensure only authorized individuals are allowed onboard, and anti-hacking systems to avoid breaches. Even so, piracy of the barges has recently increased as word of their valuable cargo has spread, so upgrades in armaments are likely imminent. Most of the Windfall’s floor plan is dedicated to cargo bays, with space reserved for a luxurious stateroom so that the winner of the auction might enjoy their journey in comfort, as well as a trivid den for the crew or the auction winner and their retinue to entertain themselves during long trips. The Windfall’s decor is ostentatiously expensive and elegant, with gold-trimmed molding, jeweled light fixtures, and sumptuous furnishings. The crew quarters, though not as extravagant as the stateroom, are quite comfortable, and piloting a Windfall to Fortune’s Heart is generally considered a plush gig among those in the know—assuming they can pass the rigorous security checks required.
And... it can definitely be flown by 4-6 people.
Tarika looks at Akh and frowns slightly. "I mean... we could wait a month to lay low if you want... But two months from now those codes might update. If that happens, we lose our chance." She flexes her muscles, obviously trying to pull out all the stops. "And besides, it's not just another super fancy super valuable ship! This one is so big you could fit your existing stolen super fancy super valuable ship inside this newly stolen super fancy super valuable ship! A ship in a ship! With treasure inside that ship! Or maybe both ships!" You can practically see the credit signs in her eyes - a look you've seen repeated in Guess?'s face countless times.