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"I'm all for trying to get a payout from Sinjin. At least he's honest about what he is. "
Sigh.... "Turn back around. Pick up Del and i GUESS Eline. Swing by Kabarat and tell lit bro he's going on a field trip. We can Dump then on GentlyUsed.. that planet I bought. The dwarves should be too deep for atmobombing even if the planet defenses aren't up yet. There's not much of a crowd to mingle in with, or at least there wasn't when I left. The refugees could be an uptick but at least that lets you know who to watch out for. "
Melissa readies her parmasean sprinkler of Generic Ysoki DNA that she's been using to sign her bio signatures with. Because mom and dad HAD to leave their DNA all over the vesk pact "cold" war.....
"Has he got some drow condition where you go extra evil and Vindictive in your old age? He wanted his smuggling fleet he got it. Everyone wins. Everyone go home. Why stir the pot? "
and holy invocation to the god of your choice
It sounds like he has no need to buy this ship from us now. Hell, he could pay us *less* than bounty hunters to walk away (we don't have to suggest much lower). But I agree, let's get that EJ agreement signed ASAP.
It sounds like he has no need to buy this ship from us now. Hell, he could pay us *less* than bounty hunters to walk away (we don't have to suggest much lower). But I agree, let's get that EJ agreement signed ASAP.
"Well, in order for Sinjin to maintain a monopoly on the null space tech, he needs us to NOT sell our ship back to EJ or even Abadarcorp. (Which we should totally do if the price is high enough!) Otherwise, EJ will just build up their own null space fleet and compete with Sinjin on a level playing field. EJ can even probably edge out *chuckle* Sinjin competitively since EJ will have the law on their side in most jurisdictions."
Guess? turns to Melissa and says, "I KNOW, RIGHT?!?! We JUST dropped off Del and Eline. Now we have to go pick them back up again. Can I just off Eline though? Our null space cargo hold isn't big enough for her ego.
"Man, you know there was once a time when we got PAID for moving people/goods around. Now we're a free-of-charge taxi/refugee service!!"
With little hope that Sinjin will actually accept, Guess? sends the offer out to him. Guess? also sends out warning messages to friends and family with explicit instructions to use secure comms only plus send us their status every 12 hours until we're able to pick them up safely.
With task one being done, Guess? looks up where this Path People Lodge is that EJ has booked a room in. Guess? also does a bit of background research... If we'll be in their building, are there any potential low hanging fruit/valuables to exploit/steal from their lodge...?
Akh practically vibrates apart at the bad vibes coming from the EJ communication. Never saying a bad thing about them again!?! He can't contemplate ever NOT saying a bad thing about them. After a long silence he asks "What do you think are our chances of burning the entirety of EJ down so we don't have to deal with their pencil pushing monsters? It seems they may be employing a bunch of phistophilus in their upper ranks. And if this contract is as bad as I'm expecting, we'll be signing away a lot while they'll find some way to ruin us again."
The appearance of a holographic Sinjin is practically a relief. "Well that makes things simple, doesn't it? We go right for Sinjin and we won't have to worry about any assassin contracts. Plus if he's rich enough to pay these out, we'll be in excellent shape. if your plan doesn't work out Guess?, maybe after we do a little assassining back, we can use the rest of his criminal empire to take on EJ ourselves. That'd be fun."
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"I think our chances for that start at zero and get lower while Sinjin is trying to kill us. Our chances of getting sinjin are lower while EJ is trying to make life hell for us. "
"Sinjin has a fleet. And an army. And enough credits to hire ANOTHER fleet and an army. I doubt he goes for a jog around Jatembe park alone and unguarded every morning at 9 am. Its not like you still work together and you can just say "hey boss good morning you see the brutaris match last nigh stab stab stab. "
"I think our chances are even lower if we try to ignore it. Sinjin seems pretty serious. We should at least look into how possible it is."
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Guess? thoroughly reviews the contract and sees no loopholes or traps. It appears to be a rigorous and ironclad way to get someone to go away and never bother you again. Perhaps The Company is happy to have their scapegoat in Eline and have this whole mess over with.
Looking at the kill contracts, you notice that the bounties are only on the four of you. Perhaps Eline had made some protective agreement for Del, or perhaps Sinjin knows that she isn't on your crew anymore. It seems the photos of your associates are included in the package as leads for the outlaws to get to you.
With so many assassins after you now, apparently, you have a hard time figuring out how to get a message to Sinjin. After all, you can't have his people tracking this back to you! But your individual and combined histories have involved enough shady deals at this point that you find some trusted friends to leak word out to the Sinjin crime family.
First things first, you go to sign that contract with EJ. After a day in the drift, you pop into reality with the large station and flotilla of ships ahead of you. After all the places you've been, the adventures you've been through together, this familiar locale seems almost peaceful and safe now. A far cry from when you were unemployed and desperate to reach the stars and your financial freedom. A soft ding and you see Sinjin has already sent a video message to the anonymous drop box you set up. You open the message and are immediately confused. It shows the same clip of Sinjin that you saw in hologram just before your journey. "Of course, that still leaves some loose ends, by which I mean you. ... Loose ends, loose ends, loose ends, you, you, you..." The clip repeats itself then breaks down into an autotuned remix of the quote. Does Sinjin not think you are worth a full and explained response? Is this a joke at your expense? Is the message garbled through drift decay? Impossible to say.
You make your way to the Starfinder lodge. You've begun to get used to being the big fish in most rooms. When you enter the local tavern at a new port, eyes are drawn to you and your fancy weapons and armor. In the lobby of the Starfinder Society, you find yourselves surrounded by adventurers - many of whom are even more bedecked in gear than yourselves. A team of two dozen lawyers - armed to the teeth with pens, datapads, and reference materials in briefcases - wait for you in a back room. "Welcome, thank you for coming all this way." They hand over printed versions of the thick contract (wow, this must be an important deal indeed to have been worth the growth and felling of organic medium) and explain the high level points. Guess?'s analysis fits with their description. You ask a few more questions, which they answer openly and honestly. The head lawyer then passes over a set of pens and clasps his hands. "We'd like to thank you for saving the lives of the office workers. While they have been fired for breaking Company ethics policy, we appreciated not having to pay out their life insurance policies. In their exit interviews, they mentioned that you likely had a copy of more of Eline's memories. We'd appreciate if you could release them publicly." He points to a clause in the contract that details this. "The Kalistocrat leadership has been spreading misinformation, both distancing themselves from Lady Eline and alternatively blaming her actions on The Company. We believe this situation would benefit from some radical transparency." After you sign the forms, your crew combined bank account dings to alert you to the 60,000 credit deposit along with the 80 BP investment earmarked for your ship. A quick few taps on your datapad and you see that the Burn has been lifted an you can now order from Abadarcorp Express (2 Day shipping across the Pact Worlds!) and other vendors once again. Finally, the lawyer pulls out another piece of paper with raised embossing. It's the official title for The Oliphaunt, which you can see has been legally renamed as Second Chance.
It seems you are now legitimate merchants and free traders once again— but still marked for death. Lord Sinjin, the Golden League, and an army of assassins and bounty hunters are set to give chase!
Welcome to the final book of Fly Free or Die, The Gilded Cage!
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"The pertinent bits of her memories dealing with fraud, Yes. I don't like her, that doesn't mean everything should be out there. And at least one of you doesn't want the 319 Lifeday party memories out there. " she perks an ear in what could be multiple peoples directions.
"If I violate this agreement may Ravagog never again pay me any mind. May he no longer show me favor by consuming the left sock from inside the voidspace that exists in the dryer. May the devourer find me as unto a sourball candy that is not lemon and spit me out to be left under the couch at the end of time. Ahhhhmeeeeeeen grrgrgrgrgrgrgrrgr "
but still marked for death. Lord Sinjin, the Golden League, and an army of assassins and bounty hunters are set to give chase!
The lawyers are what I was worried about....
Jaraduk dips one of his horns in ink to sign.
I pledge this agreement in Abadar and ...
He thinks on it a moment, deciding what diety to draw on from the pre-gap times.
Nethys, who embodies a governing duality of creation and destruction (which it's safe to say we've experienced a healthy amount of both).
Akh watches and rewatches the newer message from Sinjin, musing "Do you think Sinjin was replaced by a defective AI sometime along the way? It would explain why he seems so different than when I knew him in my old life. Either that or he's practicing his remixing skills. Or someone got to him before us." He rattles from side to side in considering, then shelves the conundrum for later.
With the EJ lawyers, he actively groans as they rub in their callous disregard for the lives and livelihoods of their employees. She signs under Abadar and Besmara, hoping that somehow their actively competing fields of influence will balance out the grossness of going along with what's convenient for EJ. Once the act is done and the group is out of the meeting hall, he hacks out "Oh, we'll probably regret that one somehow..."
Looking at the Sinjin video, "Yep. He just wants us dead. No two ways about it. How irrational. That's probably why female drow are usually in charge. They know how to properly run a business and not let things get personal."
During the meet, Guess? pledges to Desna, "Tho you don't care if I adhere to this agreement or not, throw some luck our way please."
Before departing the meeting with lawyers, Guess? says, "You'd appreciate it if we released more of Eline's memories? Well, we'd appreciate additional fee payments. You and I both know that if you want us to provide any services, we're typically amenable - for the right price. Make us an offer and if it's more than fair, we'll probably negotiate for more (just being honest), but once it's an extraordinary offer, we'll take it. So hey, consider us always open to receiving offers."
Guess? also informs EJ about Sinjin's plan to run EJ out of business. "If you care to throw more money our way, we can look to make the Sinjin and his fleet of competing ships go away. Nothing ruins a monopoly more than competition!"
After departing, Guess? says to everyone, "Okay, time to pickup friends and family, getting them to safety, amirite?"
After the meeting, Akh comments to Guess? "Pick up friends and family? I'd guess the assassins after us will be looking out for that. Maybe setting up traps for us to trip when we go to wherever they are. I wouldn't count on us being faster... especially since we came here first." Akh ponders and then adds "Do you think this whole EJ agreement was also part of Sinjin's plan? Knowing we would be busy with this so he'd know exactly where we are? We should be on the look out for an attack any moment now, then..."
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You walk out of the Starfinder lodge, the gold-plated credsticks weighing heavy in your pockets. DING! A chorus of dings, fewer now in number than they used to be, issue from each of your datapads. You see a message from Tarika. “I’ve still got the ship I bought myself,” Tarika says happily, “with my share of the White Glove job. And y’all are in a pickle, so we should meet up somewhere we don’t have to wait hours for an answer. Try and lay low. There may be a job at Brixlot, if ya need one—it’s a li’l spaceport out in the Diaspora, probably good for avoiding notice for awhile. I got to pick up Shan first, so expect me in about three weeks. If anything goes wrong, I found some Drift coordinates! Maybe they’ll work... and maybe they won’t. I’ll send ’em along, and we can call that plan B.”
Located on a small asteroid with standard gravity and low atmosphere, Brixlot is centered around a restaurant called Brik’s Grub. Run by Brik Anderslug (CN male dirindi), known for his bad hygiene and bombastic attitude, Brik’s Grub is cheap and tasty. Space pirates and vagabonds loiter here for weeks at a time, turning the parking lot into an eccentric outdoor market as they sell ill-gotten gains out of their cargo holds. You will be able to shop and upgrade their starship here.
Getting to the diaspora, to meet with Tarika, shouldn't be too hard. But those assassins know the Last Chance. An engineer could change the radar signature of the ship and a hacker could change the digital signature to make tracking more difficult.
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No reason not to use a computer reroll
=45
""I swear if you squint you can still see the bullseye no matter how much primer I throw over it...."
Mellissa will, as usual, wind up sleeping at her computer or engineering station and living out of a Sasquatch water cup and frozen goop bars.
We should probably also make sure sinjin hasn't left any OTHER surprises on the ship while we're at it....
The Diaspora... here's hoping I go unnoticed there.
Jaraduk informs the others, but very nonchalant. He probably just searched for this stuff on the InfoSphere. Probably.
"Hmm, it does seem sensible to lie low for a while. Let Sinjin think we're scared while we slowly learn how to reach him. On the other hand, maybe he knows us well enough to know we'd be looking for a job and Brixlot is a perfect place for it. Then again, if his assassins want to show up we can tear them to pieces... probably." He considers the possibilities before saying "I think we should give it a try."
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Decision made and your starship well hidden, you decide to go meet Tarika. With three weeks to wait until you meet in the Diaspora, you decide to head to Brixlot. Hopefully you can lay low, spend your newfound riches, and enjoy a few weeks of normalcy before catching up with your brenneri friends.
You head back to the spaceport, catching sight of your faces on a rotating bounty board in a seedy bar near the hanger. It seems Sinjin's contract is following you already. You make it back to your ship safely. Guess? takes the craft up and out of Absalom Station. Memories float to the surface - just a few months ago you flew out of a smaller space station in the same vessel. Without a credit to your name, you were just six space truckers with a ship and a drive to... fly free or die.
Since then, two of your group have slipped away to a quiet retirement. (Slipped away, came back explosively, then slipped away again in one case...) The remaining core four sit back in their seats, preparing to jump into the drift. Your armor and weapons are beyond the wildest dreams of a simple EJ employee. You have a ship of your own - legally, for once. If you can get Sinjin off your back... you'll be well and truly free. With a pop you transition from real space to the rainbow clouds of the drift. A few days later, you reappear in the Diaspora above the asteroid. Guess? pulls you down to the edge of a hundred acre parking lot that surrounds the truck stop restaurant of Brix's Grub. The vast market of makeshift stalls by parked starships fill the space between you and the relatively small building.
Akh leaves it to Guess? to determine his disguise, though he suggests psychic sea-eel.
Arriving at the Brixlot, he peers at crowds and the stalls and comments "It seems nice. Maybe we'll get shanked here. Thankfully we've become rather shank-resistant." He suggests grabbing a bite to eat and gathering some information on jobs, but otherwise sticking to the ship to sleep in case of an immediate need to evacuate.
Perhaps a mutant toad-thing can inquire on working with Sinjin. It will be totally non-obvious.
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Melissa, now a ginger ysoki, stands out among her more grotesque and slimy companions. You step outside of the ship and quickly realize you won't be an oddity here at all. About a thousand feet of widely spaced starships are parked between you and the market with pirates, scoundrels, and the outskirts of society wandering between. This seems to be the resting place for outlaws and neo-libertarians alike. Among them are the more niche races of the Pact Worlds, those those from further out, that wouldn't be seen elsewhere outside of Absalom Station. You keep your armored helmets up - the gravity on this world might be normal but the air is quite thin.
You spend a few hours wandering the stalls of the market, whose offerings put those of The Spike to shame. Drugs, illegally modded weaponry, and illicit goods abound. Between those stand large stacks of crates with the labels convenient torn off. "Fell of the back of a truck." jokes an orc to a sarcesian customer. While some vendors have fairly permanent structures set up on mobile bases, the majority are just wares laid out by the cargo bay door of the closest ship. You see a variety of crews. Some appear to be randomly thrown together - like yourselves - while others are homogenous by ancestry, gender, or tattooed markings. After spending the remainder of your funds, you finally make it to the small central building.
The truck stop, hulking in shape though not in size, has a bioluminescent paintjob that shines over the desolate asteroid landscape. Its soft, pulsating glow seems to have drew in weary travelers from across the galaxy. Your small group, weary from the days of interstellar travel, moves through the snack stop’s enormous, fleshy door that slides open with a wet, sucking sound. Inside, the air is thick with the pungent scent of alien flora and the unmistakable odor of the creature that ran the place. A colossal, slimy slug-like dirindi, its bulbous eyes blinking slowly, sits behind a counter piled high with strange, alien snacks. Its voice, a deep, rumbling gurgle, welcomes you. "Welcome to Brik's Grub, humble travelers! Please, partake in our peculiar and yet compelling hospitality!" He waves a wet arm towards the racks of odd flavored snacks and fried food that has been rotating under heat lamps for far too long. You approach the counter with wary curiousity, happy to see the menu on the wall. Finally, some fresh food that isn't coming out of a metal robot (no offense to Cheffy, of course.)
Other beings, their forms as varied as the stars themselves, mingle in the booths around you. A towering, insectoid creature with iridescent wings sips a glowing, viscous drink. A small, furry creature with large, inquisitive eyes nibbles on a plant that hums with energy. The air is filled with the soft hum of alien technologies and the distant, rhythmic pulse of the snack stop’s life force. Above the bar is a faded poster with a printed quote, "Roadside attractions: people feel themselves pulled to places where, in other parts of the world, they would recognize that part of themselves that is truly transcendent, and buy a hot dog, and walk around, feeling satisfied on a level they cannot truly describe, and profoundly dissatisfied on a level beneath that. - NG”
Next to the back door is posted a digital mission board. It's full of missions that wouldn't be worth your time, but there are two that stand out.
1. Need security escort for live cargo; four days; Drakelands. Payment: 25,000 credits. -Archonomix company of Triaxus
2. End wildcat strike at farming compound; three days; Life Innovations Biosphere. Payment: 25,000 credits. -Life Innovations company of Castrovel
Akh's arms are full of edible goodies as he floats his way over to the job board. He peruses it up and down as he tosses grey lumpy things into his maw. "Working for more big business... I suppose we can check the live cargo one. Better than getting more enemies by breaking some strike, or failing to break it."
Yeah, we could use a job with less risk of reputation gain and visibility right now. *very-alien-ribbit*
"Sounds good! First, we illegally transport some endangered animals to a rich gazillionaire who wants to keep them for his private zoo, then we go and bust up some poor strikers suffering injustice so that we can get a big fat paycheck from the corporation that is unfairly paying them less than a living wage!" declares Guess?, completely avoiding eye contact with Melissa.
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Guess? correctly points out to Melissa that the job you're not picking up is less focused on protecting the farmers and more focused on getting them back to work. No way that will involve a fraught ethical decision at all...
You accept the mission and turn around. The slug man waves you back to the bar. "A mission, eh? Well, folks do need to make some credits in order to spend them on the finest interdimensional delicacies this side of the Starstone!" You sidle up to the bar. Brik gestures with a slimy tentacle towards a shriveled, purple object. "Behold! The Gloomberry! It tastes vaguely of… sadness and old socks, but it’s packed with vital nutrients! Or something sweeter? This is Slurp Slime! Made from the fermented nectar of the Grobnar Flower. It tastes like… well, imagine the sweetest honey you’ve ever tasted, mixed with the pungent aroma of a swamp at low tide. Perhaps you’d be interested in some Crunchy Krill Clusters?" He points to a box filled with dried, insect-like creatures. "They’re all the rage these days. Never expire! Well, basically. They're not Slurm, after all!" After a vaguely edible meal, you walk the long journey back to your ship.
A motley crew of smugglers, pirates, and outlaws mingle among the stalls of the market, their faces hidden beneath hoods and masks. The thin air of the asteroid reads to your sensors as thick with the acrid byproducts of exotic fuels and the low hum of advanced technology. The labyrinthine market threatens to pull you in, with distractions at every turn with the strange and wondrous wares on display. There are alien artifacts, stolen technology, and even living creatures from distant worlds. But you know better than to linger, for the longer you stay, the greater the risk of attracting unwanted attention. So, back to the Second Chance you go.
A couple days in he drift and you pop back into real space below Triaxus. Archonomix HQ is located in the central Drakelands and has its own small spaceport. The 100 story building towers over the urban sprawl around it. When you land, a group of four corporate security types meet you and your ramp. "We've been expecting you, come on in." One gruffly adds, "And don't touch anything!" The more sensitive among you can tell that they don't appreciate outside muscle being hired for this job. You're escorted into the building, and up to the receptionist's desk. A blonde haired ysokis woman greets you with a smile as large as her face. "Hi there, travelers! I'm Meb, Vaerenvae's secretary! She sent me down here to make sure you got in alright." She begins printing out plain white temporary ID badges with your names and photos - taken from the overhead security cameras - on them. "So, here's the sitch. Four days work, 25,000 credits. But you knew that already! Daily meals and lodging provided, you're so very welcome for that. All on site, very convenient. I'll walk you upstairs to speak with the big lady herself to get the actual details of the job." She side eyes the security guard looming behind you. "All very hush hush, you know. Any questions?"
Archonomix is a dragon-corp based on Triaxus that specializes in researching and designing hybrid terraforming technology, which it supplies to various settlement efforts on inhospitable worlds. Many of the major colonization efforts led by Pact Worlds business concerns use Archonomix’s technologies, and it has also begun taking contracts for Veskarium interests. Though Archonomix isn’t a name known to the average galactic citizen, the company is still quite profitable and remains well-respected to those in the know. The current CEO of Archonomix is Vaerenvae (LG female mature adult gold dragonAA2), who gained her position more than a century ago through smart business practices and old-fashioned cunning. Born on Triaxus a few decades after the end of the Gap, Vaerenvae was encouraged by her parents to travel among dragonkin and ryphorians at a young age. She spent several decades on various starship crews, venturing throughout the galaxy and selling more than a few pieces of Archonomix equipment along the way. In the process, she learned that the corporation was cutting corners on important safety features, and started a campaign to force Archonomix to recognize and fix these flaws s. She also started a small manufacturing firm (using a loan from her parents’ hoard) to supply Archonomix with plastic casings to make their products safer and easier to use and transport. Vaerenvae ensured that her company, Verve Plastics, was vital to Archonomix’s continued growth and convinced their previous CEO, a very old brass dragon named Thestauresk, to acquire it. Vaerenvae parlayed the buyout into a role as vice-president at Archonomix and soon earned her way into her predecessor’s trusted inner circle, all the while taking pains to establish herself as a friendly, knowledgeable face around the office. When Thestauresk was ready to retire, Vaerenvae was the obvious choice to replace him, and no one in the company had any objections. The gold dragon has spent much of the previous century turning Archonomix into an industry leader that makes premium products with unmatched safety standards. She’s also a staunch proponent of her workers’ rights, and she has called out several dragon-corp executives for the poor treatment of their employees. This has made her a few enemies among her peers but has also resulted in positive changes in other Triaxian companies’ policies, which has garnered her substantial respect among many throughout the Pact Worlds.
Lately, there have been rumblings within Triaxus’s business world that an up-and-coming executive named Nalathraz (NE male young adult blue dragon) wants to expand his investment portfolio with a very hostile takeover of Archonomix. The blue dragon sees his older rival’s concern for the well-being of her employees as a weakness, loudly declaiming how much she “coddles her minions” on various conservative Triaxian media channels. Vaerenvae has taken notice of her would-be rival, and while she has the advantage of experience, she hasn’t gotten this far in life by ignoring or underestimating possible foes. Though some of her more-traditional draconic colleagues have recommended she simply tear out Nalathraz’s throat, Vaerenvae considers such violence uncouth.
Akh floats in, punnet of gloomberries in one claw as he pops them one by one into his mouth at a steady pace. At the mention of Vaerenvae he comments to the secretary "Oh Vaerenvae! I've heard so much about her. Very inspiring. Did you know there's an officially unofficial Vae is Bae fanclub? Not that I'm a member or anything but I hear it's pretty big." He's deeply unconvincing. As he considers the upcoming meeting he shines and buffs his scales "By the way, do you know if she likes Slurp Slime? And are there any touchy subjects we should avoid?
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Meb winks at Akh and reveals a small orange pin beneath her lapel. "V-I-B? Founding member, right here." She leads you through security and to the elevator as Melissa and Akh explain the nuances of Vaerenvae's history. You get to the top and the elevator opens onto a large but comfortable-looking waiting area. An imposing mahogany desk sits before a holographic Archonomix logo. There are several couches, sized for all manner of species, and a handful of planters containing rare orchids. Meb moves to sit behind the desk at her workstation. "Alright, head right on in." As you go through the room, Akh can't help but notice how... dragon-sized it is! As is so rare in your adventures, everything here is large-sized. He leads the way, grabbing the oversized door handle and pushing into the next room.
Vaerenvae’s office is a testament to power, wealth, and gilded design. The sleek, minimalist space features a dragon-sized desk and a handful of cushioned chairs for humanoid guests. The desk floats a foot off the ground and the seat behind it looks more like a throne than an office chair. A pair of tall, wide glass doors leads out onto a balcony, which has a breathtaking view. Several abstract paintings hang on the walls, all created by renowned artists from across the galaxy. The furniture is sleek and modern, with plush seating and shimmering metallic accents. The air is cool and crisp, scented with a subtle hint of ozone. The centerpiece of the office is a massive, ornately carved desk made of a material that resembles polished obsidian. It is large enough to accommodate the dragon's massive form, and its surface is littered with holographic displays, data pads, and other futuristic gadgets. A low and gutteral hum fills the air as the chair spins around in the most melodramatic way possible to reveal an enormous golden dragon. "Welcome, adventurers. I, Vaerenvae, CEO of Archonomix, require your services. As you may know, dragons, particularly those of my esteemed position, have certain… logistical challenges. Namely, childcare." She gestures with a clawed hand towards a massive, ornate incubator humming softly in the corner. "Within these chambers reside the future of Archonomix – my clutch. I have a critical business trip, a matter of utmost importance, and I cannot risk leaving them unattended." The dragon flexes her golden wings. "Now, I assure you, this is not a perilous quest. Our company's esteemed security detail, the finest in all of Triaxus, will maintain their usual vigilance throughout the building. However... they are not quite flexible enough to handle this. While this assignment is precautionary, it is too vital to be assigned to our regular staff. You see, Archonomix is currently embroiled in a… disagreement with a rival corporation. A company that, while I trust will remain strictly professional, has a history of… unconventional resolutions." You exchange nervous glances. "I am not suggesting imminent danger," she clarifies, her voice softening slightly. "But the world of dragons, as I'm sure you're aware, can be… unpredictable. And a mother dragon, especially one as fiercely protective as myself, never leaves anything to chance. Consider this… an insurance policy." She fixes you with a gaze that could melt obsidian - and likely has. "Your task is simple: remain here, ensure the incubator functions without interruption, and report any… anomalies. Should any unexpected… guests arrive, I trust you will handle them with the discretion and… efficiency that befits associates of Archonomix." Veridian leans forward, her smile sharp as her draconic teeth.