The moment Blank Ca sits down within The Booth, Wazasha dives right in with two immediate questions:
"Blank Ca, please share with our live audience, what has surprised you about what you’ve found here? AND why are you better than your companions???"
|
Blank scratches the back of his ear, looking around at the walls of the booth. even my office cubicle was larger He thinks, flicking his ears. He then sighs, running a hand through his fur.
"We haven't found much yet, really. A bunch of unknown technology, which isn't even more advanced than ours. is useless if we don't know who made it and why and so far there's only really been goblins here. I doubt the pests would be able to build an entire moon by themselves"
He grins at the second question "Well of course: I'm older. I've got more experience, lived more things, you know? if it wasn't for my nose the goblins would for sure have ambushed us. And not only that: I was one of Abadarcorp's best project managers in the engineering division!"
Wazasha nods in response to Blank's first answer but makes no response, letting the audience absorb Blank's opinion.
To Blank's response to the second question, a look of approval washes over Wazasha's face, "Very good. Thank you Blank Ca, that is exactly what we needed. You may exit The Booth and rejoin the team."
Wazasha gestures Kaath to sit down. "Please be entirely candid as I ask you a couple questions."
With a snap of her fingers, The Booth lights up and the cameras roll as Kaath is now live!
Wazasha asks a couple questions:
"Do you trust these dwarves? Why do you think they're here and can this all be some kind of elaborate trap?
"Also, Blank Ca thinks he's better than you. What do you think? True or false?"
|
Kaath follows to the booth, intrigued at first.
I will be as candid as I can be, limited only by the knowledge of the Cosmos shared with me.
He ponders the question on the dwarves.
I cannot say whether I trust them or not, as trust is typically earned over time. I have no reason not to trust them may be a better way to state it.
He pauses in thought then continues after blinking in the bright lights.
A trap? I do not suspect any trap. But some puzzle I have been considering as they appear to be out of time or at the wrong time for their place in the Cosmos.
And I cannot tell you what Blank Ca thinks of me. I am not gifted with the ability to read minds, nor would I desire this.
"Hmmmm... yes. Very puzzling indeed! Sounds like you have no guesses as to why they're here on this space station of all places?" says Wazasha.
Wazasha continues, "So no feelings at all about Blank Ca thinking himself better than you and the rest of the party, hmmmm?"
"Thank you for your thoughts," says Wazasha, obviously disappointed that Kaath won't talk trash about his fellow teammate.
Once Purrfecta and Wazasha are settled into The Booth, Wazasha asks Purrfecta, "That was a tough fight against the ooze creatures. Why didn't your friends give you a chance to shine?
"And why does Blank Ca keep getting to make the decisions instead of you? You know that he thinks he's better than you - how does that make you feel?"
Wazasha replies, "Having a chance to show your skills is exactly what this is all about! You're all big action heros on this mission! That's what our live audience is eager to see in every one of you! And when that doesn't happen, everyone wants to know - what happened? So tell us, what happened out there? It seems the big bear and the solarion charged right in and stole the limelight, correct?
"As for Blank Ca, we know EXACTLY what he thinks... ROLL IT!"
One of the production crew members pulls out a vid screen and replays a portion of Blank Ca's time in The Booth for Purrfecta to see:
------
"why are you better than your companions???"
"Well of course: I'm older. I've got more experience, lived more things, you know? if it wasn't for my nose the goblins would for sure have ambushed us. And not only that: I was one of Abadarcorp's best project managers in the engineering division!"
------
Wazasha cuts the rest of the video feed and turns back to Purrfecta, asking, "So you see, Blank Ca obviously believes himself to be superior to you. He said so himself. How does this make you feel?"
"Hmmm... I see you're one of strong opinions. Very well! Thank you for your time, Purrfecta!" says Wazasha as she motions for Purrfecta to depart The Booth.
As Keyona gets settled in, Wazasha asks a series of questions, "Well, you've been very protective of your team. Do you truly believe they deserve someone like you putting yourself in between them and dangerous enemies?
"Of all the encounters we've had so far on this show, what has surprised you the most?
"And lastly, what about being a Starfinder makes you mad?"
|
Keyona squeezes into the booth. "Zo! didn't plan for bears when he made this, did he? I know this whole setup was not just to try to fit me into small spaces, but you'll let me know if I have to get into a skittermander-sized escape pod, right?" She sighs and answers Wazasha's questions as they come.
"Well, you've been very protective of your team. Do you truly believe they deserve someone like you putting yourself in between them and dangerous enemies?"
"I don't think anyone needs to do anything to deserve protection. We're all sentient beings, and we all deserve to be able to live our lives, or unlives, the way we see fit. It just so happens that I have what it takes to be a big, sharp wall between my babies and the dangers of the galaxy, so that's what I gotta do." She tries in vain to flex in the confined space, but it mostly looks like a shurg.
"Of all the encounters we've had so far on this show, what has surprised you the most?"
"I agree with the others that there's something mighty odd about dwarves being here - and dwarves who don't know about the Gap, no less!
Someone put them here, and so help me, if I find out who it was, they'll be in their own 'artificial moon' until we find Golarion.""And lastly, what about being a Starfinder makes you mad?"
"Well, Ippy never shows up until it's time to form the head, but I bet that's not what you're asking about. I joined up because I wanted to explore - with the understanding that I may have to knock some sense into people along the way - but it seems like all we ever do is fly from crisis to crisis. Our reputation's broken, our computers are broken, the fabric of spacetime is broken. Can we just not have something I need to clean up for fifteen minutes please?"
"Ah yes, you're larger than the average sentient..." Wazasha snaps her fingers and the production crew immediately jumps to attention, modifying the booth with extensions and additional panels, significantly enlarging the booth, making it comfortable for Keyona to sit in.
"One can't ever say that Zo! doesn't care about production value!" grins Wazasha.
Responding to Keyona's answers, "So your protective instincts extend even to these dwarves we've discovered. But perhaps they are faking ignorance and this is all some elaborate trap. Have you considered that?
"As for the Starfinders, it sounds like they've committed fraud upon you, correct? They promise exploration but, as you stated, the entire organization just creates one mess after another that unfairly places strain on its agents such as yourself. One can argue that this entire live show is a result of Starfinder mismanagement, would you not agree?"
|
|
Responding to Keyona's answers, "So your protective instincts extend even to these dwarves we've discovered. But perhaps they are faking ignorance and this is all some elaborate trap. Have you considered that?
"Of course I've considered it. You think no one's ever tried to pull one over on me? When I'm keeping my eyes on them, I'm also keeping my eyes on them, you know? If there's any funny business, I'll teach them a lesson, but you have to assume the best of people if you want the best of people."
"As for the Starfinders, it sounds like they've committed fraud upon you, correct? They promise exploration but, as you stated, the entire organization just creates one mess after another that unfairly places strain on its agents such as yourself. One can argue that this entire live show is a result of Starfinder mismanagement, would you not agree?"
"Look, I'm not mad at them, I'm just... disappointed. It's not Ehu Hadif's fault that things are always pear-shaped. We can't let the jinsul take over the Pact Worlds, even if I'd rather be drinking wine on Pulonis."
"Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and insights, Keyona."
-----
Keyona and Kaath's time in The Booth wins over the fans!!
The infosphere feed picks up again!
When Delikie enters The Booth and sits down, Wazasha says, "Thank you for joining me. Please be assured that while you are the last Starfinder member to join us, you are certainly not the least..."
And then she launches into a series of rapdi fire questions!
"...well except for Blank Ca who thinks he's superior to you. Do you think that's true?
"And your teammate Kaath acts zen but is actually filled with cosmic rage. Surely he's a ticking time bomb that's a threat to your safety, right?
"Purrfecta seems to dislike all undead, including our live audience. How can you justify working with someone like that?
"And Keyona finds the Starfinder leadership to be incompetent. Do you agree and why would you even continue working as a starfinder??"
|
|
"He definatly thinks so, butalmost all elders like him have an ego bigger than their beards. It's kind of funny when they need help with getting Porthole XP working."
"If Kaath decides to go nuclear, I'll tranq him and throw him at whatever is trying to kill us. Or just run in the opposite direction.
"Better she gets lead poisoning then I do, Y'know?"
"Eh, there's always morons in any organization. Besides, I get better pay doing dangerous missions that I do safer ones. The work's also more interesting. You haven't been bored until you've had to deal with five cases of Carpal Tunnel in one day. At least the caffeine overdose added a little interest."
"This mission in particular reminds me of a mission I undertook back when I was a merc, rather than a Starfinder. It was an astroid mine, and there were ten of us. There was something odd down in the depths, it turned out that there was an Outer Gods cult down there, and they had summoned something, and it killed them all. We found it sleeping on top of a pile of gnawed up bones. It was a quadrupedal thing, mustard yellow and with a lamprey mouth. Our machine gunner got jumpy, and woke it up. It opened that mouth, and a massive, strangely pupiled eye opened inside the mouth. It glared at the gunner, and he was literally turned inside out. We only killed it after running away and detonating an entire mining company's worth of demolition charges in its face. By that point it had killed half our whole team.
She graphicly describes the ways her team died.
"Quite the cynical pragmatist aren't you?" grins Wazasha, obviously amused at Delikie's responses. "I think our audience particularly enjoys your ideas of turning Kaath into a weapon or Purrfecta as a meat shield.
"Your mercenary war story sounds awful. But I believe you may have some interesting stories to tell... But perhaps for another time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us."
Wazasha cuts the Booth's camera feed and remarks with a grin, "Don't be suprised if Zo! reaches out to you in the future for a show about some of the more gory mercenary missions you've been on."
The infosphere feed chimes:
Wazasha arranges to have the booth set up extra wide, large enough to accomodate the entire Starfinder party.
She asks, "What do you think about the huge chamber that you've uncovered? Do you think some unknown aliens built this place? Does this change our understanding of the galaxy's history? What do you think should be done with all these dwarves who thought they were on Golarion but were actually in some kind of massive, sophisticated simulation?"
|
|
"I didn't sign up for a moral conundrum, but they should be brought up to speed- at the very least. There's got to be some fancy rehabilitation center. Maybe Cayden's lot will take them." He makes an annoyed, grumbly sound, clearly displeased to be left on a cliffhanger. "It doesn't change my understanding of the galaxy at all. Sick people that do f$@@ed up things have always existed- I can't say I expected it. And by Abadar I understand the lack of funding- but we can't let this discovery just pass by. I'm not a bleeding heart but people are stuck there."
Replying to Purrfecta, Wazasha says, "Can certainly count on you to be consistent with your logical but wholly unexciting responses, Purrfecta."
To Blank Ca, "Ah, the perpetual grump but underneath that exterior, shows a small sign that there's a heart of gold there somewhere..."
And lastly, to Delikie, "That's good commercial thinking. Our audience should stay tuned for some potential future specials!"
Wazasha then says to all three of you, "Thank you for sharing your final thoughts with the audience!"