With the opportunity to lose the other truck, Chip directs his drone off it and fly towards the other end of the tunnel, to meet with the group
Round 7
Kaz hisses as he ducks the taclash. He moves in with a full attack, slashing with both claws in Vesk fashion.
Melee 1
Vesky claws
Melee 2
Vesky claws
Kaz slashes the hobgoblin on an exposed part of his neck, killing the guard!
Your hovertruck rounds a bend and immediately enters a tight tunnel bored through a portion of the mountain. Before long, and without pursuit, you arrive at a Resistance camp.
You are met by an old woman who introduces herself as Ahnya. She is bundled in heavy clothing to protect against the cold, but carries herself with an undeniable pride. "Vog told me you were coming, and what the deal was."
A dwarf hauls up and drops a crate at your feet, "It's not much, but at least the credits are stained with blood. This will go a LONG way for the Resistance."
"Well met, Ahnya. I am truly honored to meet you. You have a fine group of resistance fighters here. I do not envy you the challenge you face against those hobgobins. We also appreciate the credits that you were able to give us. I know that these were not easy to come by. Unfortunately, we have our own heat to endure and will need to figure out how to deal with our own demons."
”Like how we gonna get back to our ship and get off this forsaken planet?”
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No sooner does Alf ask the question than the answer presents itself BD514 lands in the camp. Out steps a hobgoblin, the one who made you the offer. He takes a moment to turn off his disguise and with a little bit of static, he's replaced by the sight of a dwarf. "Took the liberty of stealing your ship. Not a scratch on her."
Ahnya adds, "Also, consider this a tip." One of the agents drops the gear the hobgoblins had as well as some firepower from the shipment itself:
"Tough to see how we take the blame for this one. Those hobgoblin morons were the ones who insisted they drive and lead the mission. Probably in cahoots with the rebels if you ask me."
"Thanks for gettin' our ship. She's a hunk o' junk but the best we can do right now."
"Angel, it is gonna take some fast talkin' to overcome what those hobgoblin soldier's are gonna report. If they report we were involved, like the idiot in the cab was claiming, its gonna be rough. Jus' sayin'"
"Tough to see how we take the blame for this one. Those hobgoblin morons were the ones who insisted they drive and lead the mission. Probably in cahoots with the rebels if you ask me."
It was tougher to see how we could take the blame for the last job, yet we did.
The trip back to Absalom Station takes days
"Well? I haven't heard. No news is good news, right?"
"Well? I haven't heard. No news is good news, right?"
We got some credits from the resistance.
But did we get paid from the actual job? Or are we still waiting for dust to settle?
"We have good news and bad news..."
During the drift flight, Kazador went over the new weapons the party received from the resistance. He stripped down all the rifles and made sure things were ship-shape. He insured the grenades weren't cracked and pins were securely fastened. He even tested out the taclashes on a canvas covered crate.
The vesk gave his findings to the others who were interested in in the long guns. These Infinity Rifles are nice. I don't have an energy weapon, so I'm definitely taking one. The Azimuth Rifle is much better at longer distance and fires a little bit more powerful laser blast. However, inside 40' the Infinity Rifle can be overcharged and do more damage in a single shot. He shows the others how to overcharge the gun if they aren't familiar.
Kaz also makes sure everyone takes a share of the grenades. Even if someone isn't proficient, they should still take one or two. The vesk takes 3 of the FragII for his personal gear.
Kaz also decides he doesn't want to use a taclash.
He brings up selling the equipment they don't want to add to group funds.
Chip takes any & all grenades left after all others thake their desired share
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Chip takes any & all grenades left after all others thake their desired share
” Well? I haven't heard. No news is good news, right?"
”We made some profit from that trip, but not as much as we hoped. The good news is that a group of resistance fighters acquired some arms to fight the oppression who has enslaved good folk. However, the problem with getting the EJ off our back remains. What other jobs do you have for us, my friend?”
“I’ll file a report with the information from your ship log. I’ll make it look as good as I can. Try not to worry.”
Tarika's expression is clearly worrying though....
"Meanwhile, Lord Sinjin is lookin’ for you. By now, he’s gotta know how things went down on Vohxa. You’d think he’d be mad about the job fallin’ through, but he says he just wants to talk to you about, ah, ‘a potential business opportunity.’ He’s stayin’ at King Curney’s Casbah, in the Armada. Y’all feel up to a face-to-face?”
"Do you really think Lord Sinjin is fine about that last job? I am a little skeptical to say the least, but then again, he must know that the hobgoblins were running a shady business back there. Sure, I am up for more business opportunities. Let's set up a face to face. He's at King Curney's you say?"
"Yeah, I mean, you weren't being paid to guard a caravan. You made the delivery. Should be fine. I'm more worried about the lost credits and what EJ is going to do, but that's my problem. You handle your shopping and get yourself to the Casbah."
"Well, I think we can talk to him. He's out in the Armada?" confirms Alfonse. "I mean, he can't do anything worse to us than EJ has already threatened to do to us, so I can't see that it would be that big of a deal."
Feeling railroaded in your fate, you head out to the Kasbah
King Curney’s Kasbah is a strange amalgamation of large freighters and smaller vessels welded together to create a maze-like casino, brothel, and drug den.
A severe drow voice contacts you on your comms, BD514 This is Deminda. Dock at platform Alpha Two."
the dock is somewhat hidden, and it takes a bit to find it. The woman named Deminda greats you courteously, but without flair, escorting you through one of the casino’s common areas to a private lounge.
Inside King Curney’s Kasbah, you’re instantly bombarded by sights, smells, and tastes. A live band playing an assortment of strange instruments from across the galaxy jams with a chilled rhythmic thrum. The air is full of smoke from a variety of illicit substances and the layered murmur of clandestine deals. Members of many unusual species from Near Space and the Vast fill the establishment—a squid-like ijtikri crawls atop the bar to order a drink, and across the room a leafy ghoran and peaceful fur-covered neskinti pass a dose of hyperleaf back and forth. In a darkened corner, a masked embri negotiates with a strike team of vesk commandos. Deminda maintains a steady pace, moving across the large chamber to a bulkhead door guarded by a pair of female drow. The door opens as she approaches...
Beyond lies a sumptuously appointed chamber with a central rectangular table, at the head of which sits a handsome drow who rises as Deminda enters. “Ah,” he says with a smile. “The individuals who have cost me a great deal of money. At last we meet.” A half dozen armed female drow are positioned around the edges of the room, avoiding direct eye contact. The man steps out from behind the table and extends a hand. “I, of course, am Lord Sinjin. Please, sit.”
His mouth turns to a wry grin before continuing. “You failed to deliver my weapon shipment on Vohxa as ordered. Not a bad story to cover. It's quite believable really."
He gets serious, "I have every reason to be furious. And when I get furious with someone, they usually end up breathing vacuum. But the stars have aligned in your favor. I need a crew for a very special job, and you... well… you’ve alienated both me and your corporate paymasters. If you hear me out, perhaps we can both come out of this ahead."
“You’re all Evgeniya-Jaimisson employees, but how much do you really know about the Company, hm? Well, I’ve spent enough credits to learn quite a bit about it, and I’ve discovered that they’ve made a breakthrough in hybrid null- space technology. Null-space chambers aren’t new, but no one’s been able to figure out how to make them bigger than a few feet across. Your friends at EJ Corp, however, led by a woman named Eline Reisora, have cracked the code. They’ve discovered how to make a null-space chamber large enough that it makes a space bigger on the inside than it is on the outside—large enough to double the size of a starship’s cargo hold.”
Aldo does not reply yet, but instead watches Sinjin cooly. He attempts to sense motive and read the intentions behind his grin.
Chip mutters under his breath "bigger on the inside..."too...many...references!!...
When he notices Aldo not speaking, he shakes his head lightly and decides to try to help Aldo out a bit, and keep the drow talking. Sir, that is fascinating. But if you please, how does it relate to this job you spoke of?
The vesk is happy to be moving on to the next job. He hopes they can actually make some good creds on this one. Though he is happy to be carrying a new Infinity rifle. He pauses a moment to feel how it is to be caring such a light weight weapon compared to his massive and bulky reaction cannon. hmm… I do need to get a better melee weapon for when things get up close and personal.
Kaz stays quiet while meeting this important drow. He lets the others handle it. He keeps an eye out for their own security while there.
“Imagine if every emergency vessel carrying supplies to victims of the Swarm could carry twice the medicinals, if every starship bringing settlers to a distant uninhabited world could carry twice the spare parts and supplies, or if a place like this station could give everyone holed up in Downside twice as much room! I know the galaxy seems like a pretty big place, but I assure you, when you’re paying for air, food, and water, it’s really much smaller than you think. If the Pact Worlds had access to this technology, it would suddenly become twice as big. That’s more elbow room for everyone. Who doesn’t want that?”
With a press of a remote, Sinjin summons up a holographic representation of a transport starship, its image slowly rotating over the table. “The answer to that question, of course, is your employer. EJ Corp wants to keep this technology for itself and use it to crush the competition. They’ve built a prototype starship for it, called the Oliphaunt. It’s housed on the Horse Eye Orbital Plate, near Aballon.” Sinjin thumbs his remote again, and the image of the starship is replaced by a three-dimensional holographic model of a large starship construction facility in space. “No outsiders are allowed on the orbital plate, with one exception: many corporations have starship construction projects there, and shareholders for those corporations are allowed to dock and move around freely."
“You aren’t shareholders in EJ Corp. At least, not yet. But you do all have stock options as part of your severance pay bonus structure. If you were to leave the Company— before you’re all fired—you could redeem those options for a not-inconsiderable amount of EJ Corp stock. You could then walk onto the Horse Eye Orbital Plate and steal the Oliphaunt for me. And then, my friends, I could make you all rich beyond your wildest dreams... and you could do whatever you want for the rest of your lives.”
Aldo doesn't get any hunches on his truthfulness.
"Lord Sinjin, your generosity has been exceptional. Truly this is an offer that is as you say, 'beyond our wildest dreams'. However, that being said, the risk is far beyond what we have encountered before. Please permit me a moment to discuss your offer with my colleagues. We will have an answer for you shortly."
With Lord Sinjin's acknowledgement, Aldo leads his companions into a side room to discuss the offer.
Outside of the earshot of the drow, Aldo asks his team, "What do you all think? Is this the risk we want to take to make us rich beyond wildest dreams?"
”Well, we ain’t gettin’ rich as corp stooges, dats fer sure.”
”Well, we ain’t gettin’ rich as corp stooges, dats fer sure.”
Keeping an eye on the rest of the room Kaz appears to be not paying attention. But at Vizzini’s words, the vesk looks over and nods in agreement.
"If you're still thinking about it, here." He tosses a 2000 cred stick your way, assuming Kaz will catch it.
"Quit EJ Corp and cash in your severance packages. Let's get to work..."
Alfonse thinks, 'I wonder, are we stepping out of the frying pan into the fire. I know Lucius and Giovanni told me not to sign on with the corp, saying it wasn't the fast cash I thought it was. They were totally right. But, now, what are we getting ourselves into?'
For once the chatty ysoki is quite quiet, as if he's thinking about his life decisions, which he is.
Kaz catches the cred stick.
He shrugs his bulky shoulders and then nods. Lets do this.
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"What do you all think? Is this the risk we want to take to make us rich beyond wildest dreams?"
Chip tilts his head slightly. So far, our work for EJ Corp has been...less than satisfactory. And their reactions to situations out of our control have been to scapegoat us. I think that striking out on our own, on our own terms, is preferable, now that we have a valid option. Besides, if we DO steal the Oliphaunt... here his head tilts slightly in the other direction, and his voice picks up a reverent tone while dropping to a near whisper ...No one at home would believe this!
"Alright, then if we are all set, my friends, let's do this."
Returning to the room with the drow boss, Aldo declares,
"Alright, Lord Sinjin. We have conferred with each other and we are agreed. We will steal the Oliphaunt for you. In return, we expect to be paid beyond our wildest dreams. Let's do this indeed!"
Angel nods in agreement.
"Excellent. I will meet you upon your success. Contact me upon success and I'll give you coordinates. Not until then. Plausible deniability and all..."
His attention shifts, clearly the meeting is over...
Lets start researching. What kind of info can we find on this Whore’s Eye Orbital Plate? Kaz thinks for a few moments more. I dont remember much about our severance packages from EJ either… I guess I didnt find that part of the webinar very interesting.
Indeed, the webinar was REALLLLLLLY boring, by design. Most employees don't know what's in the contract.
Employees who attempt to redeem their severance packages spend many hours on their personal comms and the infosphere, negotiating with faceless Company personnel who shuffle them from department to department, converse in monotone using jargon they never explain, contradict each other, and leave employees on hold for hours until the call simply ends.
Going through the bureaucratic bull crap, Alfonse fast talks his way past petty clerks whose only job seems to be preventing him from getting what’s owed him.
”Hello, this is Aldo Cygnaurius calling. I would like to put in for my severance package. Please direct me to the office of maximum return possible.”
Aldo and Alf both muster out with 500 credits and 2 Bp.
"If I don't get my severance package, I won't be the only thing getting severed, if you take my meaning.
Angel musters out with a more modest package: 250 Credits and 1 Bp.
Chip makes his attempt. It is interspersed with his usual pop-culture references...
...but the automated voice has no time for culture, and they only get in the way.