The large reptilian-like men all regard each other for a moment. Then one of the bouncers nods. "You look all right."
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Regarding the art thief, Lola suggests several reasons to keep art in a safe. "It could be stolen and he wants to keep it under wraps while he finds a buyer. It might be stolen in hopes of ransoming it for something valuable later, perhaps claiming to have rescued it from someone in hopes of a reward. It might be he made a forgery of the art, switched it and is holding the real thing. He might just have it for the value of it, not interested in any aesthetic ... is that the word? ... value of it. It might have been purchased as a way of laundering money."
Lola was constructed to 'pass' as human, so she is not in much danger of being targeted for kidnapping as a potential slave. Still, she is wary and does her best to behave as the other humans are doing.
"Oh, the band playing tonight is like awesome, ohmygad! Chromatic champagne like for the ears!"
Inside:
The main dance floor of Kozmos extends almost eighty feet from north to south. Two raised bars, tended by clearly augmented verthani, nest within raised platforms in the northwest and northeast corners, while two more large vesk guard a door in the middle of the northern wall. Two androids with red collars tend a central bar, which serves as the main drinking station. Throngs of verthani and a handful of other species fill the dance floor, and the 10-foot ceilings barely rise two feet above most of their heads. The club-goers are cheerful and wildly excited. LOla fits right in.
A large stage covers the southern section of the room, flanked by ramps leading up from the east and west sides. Each ramp leads to a door, with the southern one guarded by an intimidating vesk who stands under a sign marked “Dressing Room.” A double door marked “Fire Exit” lies in the middle of the eastern wall, and the club entrance is the sole door along the western side.
Joro has trouble making himself heard over the music.
Lola approaches the central bar.
"Good evening, Miss. I am Kozmos-13. May I please get you something?"
The androids are edgy, often looking toward the southwest. They take a while to warm up to Lola, but eventually relax enough to quietly respond to her questions. "The clubs are all much the same in this district but discipline here is very severe." They tap the red collar. "Please order something, Miss. For both our sakes. Some here are skilled at parsing artifice from nature."
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Lola nods at the bartender's information and then says, "Can I get an Apye Whisper?"
The android mixes the drink and sets it before Lola, who leaves a decent tip. It is served in a wide bulbous bottle, stoppered with a marble. The liquid inside is midnight black.
Served room-temperature. It has a smooth texture, and tastes sharp and herbaceous.
Lola enjoys her drink as she bobs her head to the music and glances around the room, taking in the positions of the guards and then noting where her comrades are. She checks her comm every so often for messages.
Thundergun pushes into the crowd. He starts to circle the room counterclockwise along the wall. He's almost fully up the ramp to the stage when the vesk stationed between the corner door and the double door marked Dressing Rooms stops him. "Patron, please remain on the dance floor. This area is reserved for performers and staff."
But diplomacy is perfect for talking with people who would know the club's layout. Or you could just start trying doors. I've added verthani and android bar staff, along with vesk bouncers to the map. I've also highlighted the double fire door in the east (bottom) wall.
Voldresk starts with one of the vesk bouncers. The response is coldly professional. "Mr. Bogdin pays us to keep the patrons in line, not to discuss his business. Have a few drinks, enjoy yourself, and stay on the dance floor."
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Lola dances and gradually moves north toward the two vesk guards. She does not engage them in conversation, yet, but keeps an eye on the door to see if anyone comes or goes through it. Besides this, she tries to determine if the guards have some kind of pass key or badge. She might consider trying to swipe one if it looks like it would be possible and helpful.
If no movement through the doors seems to be happening, she will make a similar move toward the vesk guard at the SW corner, perhaps asking him where the restrooms are.
While dealing with these guards, she lets down her guard that keeps her behaving as much like a biological human as possible, thinking if they notice her as a free android, they might initiate an attempt to nab her for their business. That might get her into the office, after which she'd have to use her skills to break free.
Lola scouts for a direct route, considers pickpocket larceny, and more desperate ploys. The vesk at the north door close ranks as she approaches. "Staff only. The show's that way." They point south to the stage. "[/b]
She weaves back through the dancers. The music is recorded now, while the acts change. Performers enter and exit the dressing room doors. Crew reset the stage. A hulking shobhad, a performer, not crew, by the brightly colored clothes toys with their keyboard near the edge of the stage.
The vesk at the dressing room door, "Performers only here." She is helpful on the bathroom issue. "Go out the way you came in and take a left."
Thundergun wanders east, ending up near the firedoors. Apparently no vesk are posted here. The big izalguun looks around.
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Idir follows the others into the club, surprised a bit that they apparently qualified where native Vercites weren't. His eyestalks dart around as he hangs around Voldresk for a moment to gauge the ambience.
"Mixed feelings," he comments. "On the one hand, crowds make me a bit more comfortable. Reminds me of the safety of the herd and whatnot. But it's easy to get distracted in such a noisy, chaotic environment."
He drifts over to the bar where Lola is and turns to the bartender.
"I'd like a margarita on the rocks, please," he says politely. He takes a seat and looks back towards the dance floor while one eyestalk turns back to the bartender making his drink.
"It's...almost fascinating, watching things from here," he comments. "A space meant for relaxation, and yet you can sense the tension in the air, hiding just below the surface."
"I am Kozmos-14. I will be happy to get that for you." the drink is quickly made, with a generous pour. 14 Glances over Idir's shoulder to Lola in the corner. "Your friend is extraordinary. 13 was instantly charmed. They seldom like the guests." She taps her red collar. We are required to be very pleasant to guests, and 13 only wishes for a genuine interactions. They find the false face we must present quite annoying and usually transfers that emotion onto the guests."
By the unguarded fire door Thundergun completes his examination. Over comms he tells you, " These doors are alarmed. I think I could deactivate the alarm, but the bouncers are likely to notice me."
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Lola returns to the central bar and engages Kosmos-13 after getting a refresh on her drink. After friendly chit-chat to confirm what Idir reported about the android's attitude toward herself, Lola leans in and says quietly, "I am researching a crime that this nightclub's owner committed. If I wanted to get into the boss's office, how would I do that without being noticed?"
Joro responds over the comm, "Do you need help or a distraction?"
"Yes."
Lola returns to the central bar and engages Kosmos-13 after getting a refresh on her drink. After friendly chit-chat to confirm what Idir reported about the android's attitude toward herself, Lola leans in and says quietly, "I am researching a crime that this nightclub's owner committed. If I wanted to get into the boss's office, how would I do that without being noticed?"
It's clear that 13 is impressed with Lola and views her very favorably. They also bemoan in round about terms their situation here. "All of Bogdin's would give their right lower limb's motion control transistors for a decent chance at liberty and revenge. But as long as our collars are active none will risk anything that might be interpreted as rebellion of any sort. I can't help you." But as he says this last he reaches back for a bottle, misses it and his hand waves and circles to the east for a few revolutions before he turns around to finally grab the bottle.
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"I am Kozmos-14. I will be happy to get that for you." the drink is quickly made, with a generous pour. 14 Glances over Idir's shoulder to Lola in the corner. "Your friend is extraordinary. 13 was instantly charmed. They seldom like the guests." She taps her red collar. We are required to be very pleasant to guests, and 13 only wishes for a genuine interactions. They find the false face we must present quite annoying and usually transfers that emotion onto the guests."
"Yes, I can see how that would be frustrating," Idir says as he accepts the drink and licks at the salted rim a bit. "Mr. Bogdan seems to have a very particular way he likes things. It kind of "brings down the vibe" as more hip people would say. Makes it feel like the place isn't so much for the clientele and more for him."
The implication in his tone says he'd like to know more about the club's owner, and what that implies about how the club's set up.
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Lola sips her drink and glances in the direction of the handwave and sees TG near the doors. Before she wanders back to the dance floor with her drink and messages her team with the intel on the east door being the direction to go, she tries to stealthily evaluate the slave collars to get a sense of whether she might be able to hack the collar and release 13.
I got intel that east is are the way to go, she messages through the team comm unit links. "I'll create a distraction when you let me know you are ready. Joro, how about you ask me to dance, and we can pretend you tried to touch me too intimately and I will respond with a reaction that will draw the attention of the bouncers?"
"All right." Thundergun replies.
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Voldresk huddles near one of the bars and orders something tall and stout, not that they'd likely have anything other than fancy liquor here but hey maybe he'd get lucky.
"Wait Lola, I think I may.. dishonorable as it may be, be able to get near enough to the stage to cause a fault in the sound equipment, that should provide you and Thundergun distraction enough to get the doorways open. Wait for my mark."
After downing the beverage he looked around for a way to access the sound or light system.
Voldresk has an unexpected gift for skullduggery. Crouching near the stage, the vesk locates a router for the stage electronics. After splicing in, an escalating cacophony of feedback and unpleasant strobe effects flows in waves across the room.
Thundergun does his best to look inconspicuous as he crouches his bulk over the lock. Even with distractions provided by Voldresk's aural assault light show, and Lola's dramatic interposition, the izalguun stands out in the crowd.
Two vesk converge on Thundergun. The one from the main door is held up by Lola; the one from the north door politely asks Joro and Thundergun to step away from the door in a tone that makes it an order.
Thundergun shuffles away meekly. Soto voce he let's you know over the comms, "Sorry. I could not disable the alarm."
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Idir grimaces as their attempt to create a distraction fails. He eyes the door and says over the comms, "If one of us exits the club, do you think we'd be able to get back in? There may be another way in from outside, but I worry whoever makes that attempt may suddenly not be 'cool' enough with the bouncers to return inside should that be a non-starter."
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In the game world, you'd have to consider the possibility of Vanos police busting you. This is a Starfinder module.
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You have options: an innovative suggestion from Idir, and combat, and trying the fire door again, or something completely different.
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Lola suggests avoiding confrontation for now. She volunteers to slip outside and scout the perimeter for alternate entrances. She checks at the door to see if she can reenter after she leaves, claiming she needs some fresh air.
Once outside, she strolls casually around, looking at her comm unit as if having trouble getting reception and working her way around the outside, giving a report through the comm once she has been around once.
The bouncers are amenable to Lola exiting and returning.
Circuiting the building she finds two doors. One is midway down the east (bottom) side of the building. The other is around the back. (bottom left corner) The door in back has been welded shut all around its periphery.
The door on the east has a small high window. No one is in this narrow alley. Bracing against opposite sides of the door's shallow recess, she can quickly chimney up and look through the dust-streaked window. Inside, something large and looking substantially like an 8 foot tall solid metal parallelpiped blocks the doorway.
The bouncers let her return to the club.
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"External entry is no-go," Lola reports. "But what we want seems to be just east of the door we're trying to open," she adds, referring to the door TG tried to open during the last distraction.
She suggests setting up another (different) distraction. She gets an idea. If some people are smoking cigarettes and hence have lighters, someone could order a very alcoholic drink and spill it near where another one of us is lighting a cigarette with an open flame. The resulting fire will draw necessary attention to putting it out and TG can try again.
Lola and Idir put their distraction flambeau plan into action. Thundergun lurches toward the door again.
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Lola purchases a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and passes them on to Idir with instructions to wait for her to get her drink. Then she should light the lighter as she walks toward him, trip over each other and have him drop the lit lighter into the alcohol.
She orders a drink with the highest alcohol content from the center bar, a Spisin Screwdriver. She then heads toward Idir once he is lighting his cigarette. After a collision, she spills the drink as he drops the lighter. Whoosh!
"You clumsy idiot! Look what you did! Someone get a fire extingusher!"
Flames break out. They're no conflagration, but it's enough that panic ripples outward through the crowd. Suddenly there's a rush in two directions as dancers scramble toward either the main entryway or the Fire Doors.
"Tiny hallway!" Not wishing to become a sentient logjam, Thundergun sidesteps the swell of people pouring through the fire doors and into the hallway.