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"Like.... breaking the sound barrier?" Triage shakes his head and whispers to himself. "You can't rhyme barrier with barrier..."
*****
Triage will pull Sayozo aside and apply a soothing gel to the bruises just starting to yellow under their skin.
"If you're going to get in the middle of a fight, bring backup next time. You won't do anyone any good if you get hurt."
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"These rhyme schemes are getting scarier!" Research Rat grins.
Triage will pull Sayozo aside and apply a soothing gel to the bruises just starting to yellow under their skin."If you're going to get in the middle of a fight, bring backup next time. You won't do anyone any good if you get hurt."
Sayozo's aches and pains are rapidly soothed Triage feels confident his treatment. With a bit of rest Sayozo should be fine going into the show. Sayozo gives a bit of a shrug and a smile as they say, "Thanks. This isn't the first brawl I've been in and probably not going to be the last. Besides, I've seen too many places where people stood on the sidelines waiting, I'm willing to risk some bruises if can give a hand."
Hearing your advice Sayozo privately throws some of their own as they give a glance toward the combatants, "I wouldn't be too hard on them though. Times are tough and everyone's stressed out, you know?" They don't bother listing the issues of the Data Scourge, Drift Crisis, or any of the more direct issues in the Sparks. They tell Triage, "I'd say to let them take 10 and get back to work if they feel up to it."
* * *
Meanwhile, the work is continuing at the party settles the matter of the impromptu brawl. The construction crew
is making final safety additions to the stage.
"Working on Carpentry?" Research Rat suggests.
It is rough work, especially with all the running around the party has already put in within the last few hours. Jek and I-apvii are able get the safety equipment set up and confirm the other equipment is properly secured for the show.
With only a short time before show, it feels like the party has finally gotten a moment to rest with all the areas checked. You have spoken to everyone and dealt with every single issue. Your jobs aren't over yet as there will plenty of work once the show starts, but everything is as prepared as can be for the event.
One might think, but Radat Sendu comes hopping toward the party, their arms outstreched. He gestures to you and tells you, "I put you all among the hardest working in show business. Even you Djakar, I would think you would have your support handle all this stuff."
"You all did put forward that you were looking for any issues, and I do think one has come up you can help me with." He holds firm as he offers this is a low voice to ensure this isn't overheard, "I've decided to remove Lita Starr from the judges panel. I suspect she will not take this lightly, so I need you to inform her and escort her off the premises."
He pulls back and makes the most minor of shrugs as he looks to Djakar and offers, "show business. You understand? You understand."
He outstretches his arms as he laughs it off saying, "alright, you got me Triage. You know the games and are 10 moves ahead, but you have to admit, you are making it a bit rough on me." He waggles his fingers and shakes his head to emphasize the point.
All I'm trying to do is provide the people," he pauses for dramatic effect as he comes in close and gestures to the soon to be filled arena, "all the people watching this musical concordance, both here and watching this elsewhere, what they truly want."
He steps back away and declares, "drama."
"Been around a long time and I'll tell you nothing puts eyeballs on shows more than DRAMA." His appeal to convince you all holds on the air. He gives hopeful, knowing eyes to help prove his case.
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Jek back up Trage's statement.
"You heard him move along before I run out of polite options. We don't need any more drama today."
(telepathically to the whole team)"Who do these people think they are? We better be ready for anything during the show. I'm more worried about the people in it causing trouble than the fans."
Research Rat gives a thumbs up. "I'm filming everything, unless they ask us not to. he didn't ask."
The party moves away from Radat as they telepathically confer with one another. Seeing a lost cause Radat hops away as he talks to some of staff.
You don't need to wait long after messaging Celita about the details about the contract. She sends you the contract with Zo! media conglomerate and that reaffirms minor detail Celita from the meeting earlier today.
Celita put away the datapad as she responded to Jek, "I'm glad you are excited, but not Zo! himself. We are still bound to fulfill more contracts made when Zo! provided the Society years back, but he himself will not be here for the event. Radat Sendu will hosting instead."
The contract is not one for the Starfinder Society hiring Zo!, but is instead a requirement being imposed by Zo! media in trade for aid that Zo! provided years back during the Scoured Stars incident. The Starfinder Society was facing stiff penalties for failing to meet this request and would still face them Radat and Zo! media were prevented from presenting this event.
Reviewing the contract there are stipulations toward pranks. Notably that they are not banned, but that neither the staff nor Starfinder Society need to aid or even avoid interfering with them. The one restriction placed on Radat's pranks is the broad wording, "no potentially lethal pranks."
Going through the documents takes time though and it is showtime. The doors open and excited fans swarm into the building, quickly filling the theater to capacity. The arena is filled with energy.
A constantly shifting medley of songs from the bands in attendance plays as the crowd enters and fans jostle for prime viewing spots.
Soon, the house lights dim and the stage lights come on as Radat Sendu steps onto the stage, smiling and waving.
"Welcome to the Ruby Theater! My thanks to the Starfinder Society for organizing this star-studded event!" A round of applause fills the theater and Radat gestures about to encourage the cheers build the excitement for the event.
As the noise beings to diminish, Radat lowers his hands to guide the attendance for a more quiet somber moment. "The Drift Crisis is a tragedy that has shaken the Pact Worlds to its core, but that only means it's more important than ever for us to come together as one to share joy and celebrate the things we love—things like music and the people that make it."
After a few hushed moments, he takes control again as he begins speak with a growing energy until it reaches a crescendo. "It's with great pleasure that I welcome you here tonight and thank you for joining us as we discover the next Star... Sugar... Superstar!!!"
The crowd cheers and Radat waits until they calm to add, "And who knows? There might be a few more surprises thrown in. For that, you'll have to wait and see." He winks, and the crowd murmurs in anticipation.
"We are all lucky tonight have the most talented and extraordinary judges from industry tonight. Each of them are stars that have inspired a generation."
The most experienced member of the industry is K1ng Ch0rd, a veteran of the music industry who was one of the pioneer technorappers and has continued to innovate over the years. His studio has continued to produce some exceptional talent and maybe he will be able to see the talent in our contestants tonight!"
K1ng Ch0rd gives a stoic nod as he states, "I'm looking forward to seeing the variety of bands we have on display. These bands have plenty who are flying into new styles and genres in ways that the current studios can't imagine. I have my eyes and ears wide open for this show." The visor shifts to display starships flying into the unknown and finishes with a stylized set of eyes and ears.
Radat continues down the line as he gesture toward Lita Starr. "The voice of Lita Starr is known to anyone who has been touch with music in the last few decades. She has been the heart and soul of many bands until recently stepping out for herself. If anyone knows vocals it is Lita Starr!"
Lita jumps onto the table as she waves to the crowd and basks in their adoration. "I feel my body glowing from excitement! I hope you all feel the same way!"
To the next Radat proclaims, "if the sweetness of pop isn't your flavor, than maybe you are familiar with the agrosynch metal sound this bassist from Abysshead produces. Let's hear it for Lynthia!"
There is a loud roar from some dedicated fans cheering for the metal band. Lynthia doesn't over any introduction herself as she gives a nod to acknowledge the fervor.
"And finally," says Radat, "who could forget the synsation from the galactic megahit band Strawberry Machine Cake. I will say, if the Swarm didn't quell the war between Veskarium and the Pact Worlds, they would have! Show her all your love! It is Tsuchi-ko!"
The crowd cheers and led signs light up across the seating. Tsuchi-ko seems to appreciate every bit, but declares, "I like to thank everyone for being here, for coming to join something that is bigger than any one of us. I have believed the music is stronger than any Drift beacon in uniting us. I hope you all find a new favorite band tonight!"
Following the introduction Celita is quick to contact you via comms. "Starfinders," Celita says as she steps away from the noise. "Based on the data request you just made, I might not need to even say this, but I'll status it just to ensure we are on the same network. Radat is contractually prohibited from pulling any of his trademark ill-humored pranks that could be considered violent or dangerous. Still, I don't trust him not to do something distasteful."
"Keep an eye out and discreetly disable anything he’s set up that could damage the event's image or our reputation."
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Ikmanji decides back stage is probably the best place for them to be. Hopefully it will put them in a good location to deal with anything that might go wrong.
They watch the crew and the people directing the order the acts come out. They will likely be the first to notice something strange happening.
As the lights move and twirl, the first band begins to move onto the stage under the curtain of shadow. Radat looks toward the audience as he begins to introduce them. "Our first band is a stellar-"
The crowd chitters as the sound systems project a high pitched Radat to the crowd. Radat looks a bit perturbed as he speaks out again, "don't worry folks, it will take just a moment for the team to adjust the audio."
He moves the side of the stage where he takes a microphone and forces a grin as he shakes his head. He doesn't get one word in before it is obvious that the sound is even more distorted with him sounding more like a chittering animal. The crowd laughs and Radat shakes his head. He sets aside the microphone and returns to his headset. With outstretched arms Radat thinks a moment before saying, "it seems like I'll be a sounding a bit high for a while, but our first band will give you different sort of elation. I present to you the fusion of orchestral vocals and synth rock, 'Empyreal Flow'!"
Empyreal Flow has a number of members but the music centers around the flow between their keyboards flowing into their vocalist dressed in a few white producing smooth operatic vocals that overlay with the music.
Ikmanji finds that everything is clear the back stage. The next band is ready to head out on cue.
Going on to the catwalk though, Triage spots a new addition amid the equipment. There is a container attached to the lighting rig right above the stage. Given the position near the stage, it would be fairly obvious distraction to run to it now, but someone could try to sneak up to it.
As the last bits of Empyreal Flow's epic fade away, applause breaks out and Radat steps up to the band. "A spectacular work, I could feel your heart in it."
The crowd chuckles as Radat's high pitched voice fills the air. Radata shakes his head and looks to the stand to say, "but what will the judges say?"
They all give generally positive and supportive comments.
K1ng Ch0rd commends their unique fusion of the vocals with the instrumentation and suggests there is a lot of unexplored ground they can cover.
In a sweet voice Lita Starr extolls how absolutely, positively wonderful the vocals were.
Lynthia also commends the vocalist, but suggests that same operatic voice can take a could take more of a lyrical bent and tell a stronger story or present a message.
Continuing to offering advice Tsuchi-ko warns from using their unique style as a way to avoid improving as artists. She noticed some areas where the song was a bit discordant. She reaffirms they have a wonderful sound, but they could present even more skillful songs.
Empyreal Flow thanks the judges and steps off the stage as Radat presents the next band, "you all better all be warmed up out there, because otherwise you might not survive the energy of the act. It is 'Rainbow Sparkle Explosion'!"
A band of wearing pink and blue pastels run onto stage. They throw up cute poses as high paced pop music begins to play. Their mixture of choreography, costuming, and lyrics is super sweet and some might say overly cutesy.
As sugarpop is filling the arena, Jek pulls down a bit of the cuturns to obscure I-apvii as they make their way to the container. They can see that it is filled to the brim with a disgusting green slime. There is a remote control connected to the release mechanism that will deposit the entire contents on the stage below right where the bands are performing.
It isn't a trival process to disable to or remove the container. I-apvii can attempt to remove it, even with the aid or direction of others over comms.
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Not exactly sure how it works, Jek tries to describe the container and how it's connected by looking up from the ground, hoping info from a different perspective might help I-apvii figure out the trigger.
(telepathically) "Looks like there's a green wire coming up from the bottom of it might be hard to see from your angle."
Working together the Starfinder team is able to safety take over and reconfigure the container to be released upon your command. A few checks are done and the slime is safely at the group's disposal.
After the display is done, Radat avoids speaking and simply gestures toward the judges.
K1ng Ch0rd complements some of the more complex melodies that play throughout the song's structure, but notes he rather more focus be placed on those.
Lita Starr declares they are sweet as a sugar cookie and a billion times better!
Next there is Lynthia who complains that the lyrical composition is dull and boring and straight forward. "There were less than a dozen words repeated throughout the song and I didn't find one notable message among them."
Tsuchi-ko even nods to agree noting that there is nothing wrong with making music just to inspire joy, that this isn' ta song she would promote as a standout track. She does encourage them more to express their voice through their music.
They make doe eyes at the comments, but smile at all the enjoyment that the judges found in the song as well as the cheers from the crowd.
Rainbow Sparkle Explosion steps off the stage and Radat returns to center stage as he prepares the audience for the next band. "If you think this show is all sweets you will think again." Radat pushes past the peristant cackles from the crowd as he declares, "next we be taking the pop and giving you the punk power of the Monster Generation'!
The judges stand shows a mixture of reactions. K1ng Ch0rd's face remains stoic, but nods along his helmet shows an image of desserts being measured on a scale. Lita Starr is aghast as she looks on utter horror at the display. Lynthia covers her mouth as she leans back in her seat and watches the spectacle. Tsuchi-ko looks shocked at the display and shakes her head as Radat collects himself.
Monster Generation doesn't let up though as they continue to march on the stage and wave off the clean up staff and yell back at the closing curtains as they walk center stage. They are a group of various humanoid that are dressed in extravagant outfits with antennae arms and frills across their clothing. The lead singers jump straight into the pile of the smile driving the slime up in a spray that gives Radat's lower body another coating. One takes her hand and pulls wipes away some of the slime and styles her hair back with the awful substance.
They being playing, and Radat is force to quickly, and carefully, get away as the band drives straight into music full force. They are brassy punk band with a frantic sound. Rebellious lyrics fill their song as they highlight culturally rude actions they seem to endorse and place them against the actions of corportations.
The performance produces applause from most of the audience, less so from those closer to the slime itself. The judges are in better spirits as the slime is treated as a element of Monster Generation's act.
K1ng Ch0rd compliments some of their technical styling, but suggests they are relying too much on the aesthetics.
Disgusted, Lita forces herself to complement that their band just looked like they were having so much fun playing their music.
Enjoying their performance Lynthia complements their messaging combined with their style and that symbolism. She indicates they might want to adjust but that they are good for giving voice to people.
At the end of the row Tsuchi-ko states that they let the performance get in the way of the music and that this venue might have not been the right place for that style of song. She encourages flexibility and being able to adjust the performance to the venue, although she does suggest they did demonstrate a lot of impromptu thinking just now.
The band raises their arms as they step off stage and cedes it to the clean up crew and Radat. The substance drips slowly as it runs along his clothes as he declares, "this as quite a surprising intro into the performances tonight. We are going to break for commercials, but don't you dare go away. We have plenty more performances tonight and..." A glob of slime punctuates the moment as it drips down his seal. "Who knows what will happen next on-?"
He lets it the crowd cheer out the name and the logo for the event flashes across the screens.
A 10 minute break is called as the judges step away to relax out of the arena for a bit. Radat is obviously using this time to get to wardrobe as he looks for a replacement outfit. He offers you a glance along the way but his expression is covered by the dripping slime.
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Ikmanji gets held back from immediately trying to clean up the slime by the band’s manager. Gus is laughing too hard to be any help.
Ikmanji offers towels to Radat and any judges that might have been splashed.
They comment that “Concessions could do a good business in splash shields, rain gear and cleaning wipes right now.”
They do send over the team comm “Can someone check what happened up in the catwalk with that slime?”
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"This Djakar, live on the scene for DNN at the Star Sugar Superstar contest!" Djakar enthuses. "There was a surprising incident today when Host Radat was slimed while introducing the band, Monster Generation, who took the slime in stride and gave us all a splashy entrance!"
Djakar pauses for the scene replay of the lead singers sliding into their entrance. "This is a band that is simply oozing with charm!"
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Operating quickly the concessions is presenting a new snack in the form of a sweet, bright green and sparkly taffy.
"Presenting a sugary surprise,"
"A display from the stage we reprise!"
"Giving sweet airdrop from orbit,"
The pause is interrupted by Keeji, who is busy improvising the new menu item.
"You won't find this in any market?"
With a new outfit and a new headset, Radat is back on stage and the judges are also returning to their seats.
* * * *
"Welcome back to Star Sugar Superstar," calls out Radat. He gives a glance around in a few directions before giving a smile to the crowd. "Can never be too careful. Anything can happen tonight." He gestures with a toothy grin.
"Our next performer likely is topping the bulk limits of our dressing rooms. You better get ready for the metal coming from 'Mecha-Crash'!"
The next band is on stage as a trio all in suits of powered armor with two on guitar an done with a massive drumkit. They are heavy metal band with their drums at the core of their songs. The drummer makes heavy use of many cymbals on their rig. The high speed giving to constant crashes that rage over the low vocals.
The music thrums through the air and much of the crowd is enjoying it. As the guitar-laden crescendo of the song arrives it seems as though the energy flowing through the power armor might be second to that of their fans.
You notice that a group of fans are trying to press on stage. If they succeed they will bring the performance to a crashing halt.
What does the party do?