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I'm working on statting up a Technomancer at the moment, (0xp though, since I don't want to retrain Daramak), and was wondering if you guys would be ok if they tag along for 02? It's occurred to me that Society play makes allowances for mixed-level parties, and as Asier-23-7 pointed out you won't have Asier-23-7 or Antares-1 (so a tech specialist won't be redundant), but I completely understand if you'd rather recruit someone else.
"Sounds like quite the time. I chose to strive for glory through monster hunting, as my ancestors before me. Perhaps one day one of my offspring shall follow the route you have taken." "I had often considered leaving for mercenary work, or perhaps to hunt as you do. As a mechanic, though, it always made more sense to stay aboard the capital ship where I was stationed; I can be much more effective in combat by keeping a ship in the air than I could ever be with a gun. One day, a swarm boarding party breached our hull and I was nearly killed. The medics didn't repair my body so much as rebuild it. After that, I left the Amphisbaena and came here, trying to find and research other threats to the Veskarium. I heard about the Scoured Stars incident, and joined with the Starfinders to investigate." Daramak continues talking with Hakrinag, glad to have someone from back home to talk to.
Daramak doesn't mind waiting in line, having spent much longer stretches aboard the Amphisbaena with even less to do. He talks to the others about his time as a mechanic in the Veskarium, and about the pros and cons of various makes of fuses (completely oblivious to how much more tedious this likely makes the wait for the others).
As the group approaches the warehouse, Daramak deftly dodges the crowds until the party reaches the albums. "Yes, one pastry-mechanism, please? Here are your credits." Giving his thanks, he leaves with the others. "Well, this ought to make Zigvigix happy. And Historia-7, by extension. Let's go report our success, shall we?"
Daramak winces as Zigvigix begins communicating through telepathy, but it doesn't seem to bother him as much as last time. "Thank you, sir," he says, responding to the praise, "We'll bring you your album posthaste." "Good idea, Eli. I'll see if the Infosphere might contain an access point to their database or some indication as to where one might be found." Daramak's eyes glaze over as he uses his cranially implanted custom-rig to access the Infosphere.
I'd be interested, but I might like to try playing a different character (Daramak's alright, but he's a bit of a wet blanket and his skillset is somewhat redundant). That would put me behind in XP by 1, so I would understand if you guys want to find someone else instead. Let me know what you guys think.
Daramak swears in Vesk when he sees that the creature is resistant to laser-fire. However, Asier-23-7 did manage to hurt the beast despite its resistance, and Daramak's arc pistol doesn't have anywhere near the range necessary to hit from his position. He runs into the open and takes a wild shot with his laser rifle , hoping to wound the creature and get its attention.
"On it, Captain!"
"Bowb!" Daramak curses under his breath as the creature appears. Wasting no time, he activates his exocortex's combat tracking , grabs the fore-grip of his laser rifle with the hand used to throw the flare , and moves up to get a better shot at the creature . In cover behind one of the cylindrical containers, he checks his rifle's charge readout and waits for a chance to fire.
Before entering the warehouse:
Daramak draws his laser rifle before entering the warehouse. The dimness of the interior doesn't seem to bother him. He carefully lifts the lid of one of the crates in the south-eastern corner of the warehouse with the barrel of his rifle:
and finds some useful objects, but not the monster. "Southeast is clear," he mutters into his comm-unit.
"Sorry sir," Daramak says, "I hear the words you are thinking, but they don't make any sense together. Strawberry machine cake? Sugar-pop? Feather monster? Makes as much sense as 'frog blast the vent core'..."
His eyes light up "Wait a minute, I've heard of these feathered creatures. If one kills me, don't put it on my tombstone, ok? And, uh, I'm sure we'll figure out the other bit. Cake isn't too dangerous..."
"Too bad about Historia-7's mentor. We'll do whatever we can to help cheer her up!"
Daramak breathes out a sigh of relief as Laboni crosses the finish line. He stands up and tries to stretch some of the tension in his shoulders away; having no control over the outcome of the situation has been stressful for him. He joins the others in celebrating and says to Laboni, "No need for thanks, us Starfinders watch after our own. Just try to stay out of trouble going forward."
Daramak looks warily at the other members of his team, wondering if they are hearing what he is hearing.
Nyizin snarls in anger as the energy blast causes her controls to momentarily freeze, then attempts to regain control.
It's no use, though, and her vehicle slams uselessly into the guard rails. Deciding to answer in kind, Nyizin fires her weapon at Laboni:
But her targeting controls seem to be malfunctioning as well. "It's now or never," she mutters, before slamming her fist down on the red button set into her control panel.
Nyizin grits her teeth and pushes her craft's acceleration lever forward as far as it will go. Her hand hovers for a moment over a red button near the lever, but she pulls it back. Not yet, there's still time. I'll keep this little trick hidden in my sleeve for now. Aiming her craft towards Ratrod, she pulls the trigger built into her steering controls...
...but her shot thuds harmlessly into the dirt behind Ratrod.
Hey, sorry I've been posting sporadically. My old computer died and I had to get a new one.
No day job here. GM Kuey, I don't know when you plan on doing chronicles, but when you do could you mark off that I'm using the level 1 rebuild? Nothing major, I just want to switch Daramak's Scholar Focus to Life Science (Bioengineering) to better match his habit of adding cybernetics and bionetics(?) to anything with a pulse.
Nyizin wastes no time gunning her engine, trying to make it to the front of the pack. *sputter* Unfortunately, her craft doesn't start right away and she is left in the dust. She's learned a thing or two from her departed dragonkin friend about determination, though, and attempts to even the odds with a blast from her kinetic weapon.
Given the nature of the race (namely, that sabotage is fine unless you are caught), Daramak spends his last break checking over Laboni's racer.
If sabotage is found:
Noticing that something is wrong, Daramak warns the others and tries his best to fix it in the time remaining.
If checking Laboni's racer for sabotage isn't allowed, or if none is found:
Satisfied that Laboni's craft hasn't been tampered with, Daramak spends the remaining preparation time re-calibrating the racer's steering mechanisms.
"Okay, I think that's about all I can do. Good luck, Laboni." You're going to need it...
Cracking his knuckles as he finishes programming, Daramak proceeds to root through the nearby scrap and retrieves some old rubber tires. He cuts the tires into strips and bolts them across the surface of the racer.
"It's nothing fancy, but that rubber should help insulate the engine and other internal parts from energy weapons. If Laboni makes it to first, she'll be an obvious target." During his trips to find extra tires, Daramak examines Lemgem's racer.
When he is satisfied with his work on the racer's HUD, Daramak proceeds to tinker with the racers's connection to its remote control. "Looks like there's some latency in the wireless connection. A more efficient compression algorithm could help with the bottleneck and make the controls more responsive..."
On his way to get some space-coffee, Daramak walks by Nyizin's pit to look at her racer.
Daramak nods politely when he is introduced. She's just a kid! And nearly too upset to race. "Don't worry about Radaszam. Even if you lose, you aren't getting thrown in a trash compactor. Might end up cleaning them for a few weeks though." Real inspiring, Mak. Why don't you tell the kid her odds of winning this race while you're at it? When Eli suggests visiting the racer, Daramak agrees, "Yes, let's see what we have to work with. Back in the Veskarium Navy, I used to help overhaul the odd Mauler and even flew as a test pilot now and then. How much worse than the Swarm can this Ratrod be?"
"Antares, are you alright? Once we've dealt with 'Litho' here you should let me take a look." Daramak shoulders his rifle and slowly takes a step or two closer to the creature, trying not to startle it. "Easy, we're here to help. Can you understand me? Blink twice if so." He repeats himself in Vesk, Akitonian, Brethedan, Triaxan, and Vercite on the off chance that one of those languages might be familiar to the alien. Seeing that the creature appears to be attempting to feed on the terminal, Daramak tries to figure out a way to help it get what it needs without further damage to the machinery:
To Madrigal, he nods and says "We also have a pair of static arc pistols and a shock grenade. And I'm sure I could rig something up to help if I have enought time."
After disabling Lan's trap, Daramak enters the next room. The ambient radiation doesn't bother him much, in part due to the radiation-resistant mechanic's jumpsuit he wears under his armor. Based on the damage present and the description given by Si of "Litho", Daramak racks his brain trying to recall if he might know anything about this creature: When Hakrinag goes to chase the creature out of the vents, Daramak says "Good idea. I'll close off any vents other than the one you go in to and keep it contained to this deck."
Despite himself, Daramak barks out a genuine laugh in response to Eli. "I know exactly how you feel! I left the Amphisbaena to get away from this kind of work. I once spent a whole month debugging a glitch in the automated doors..." When the flickering lights start making it difficult to see , Daramak presses another of the buttons on his armor's comm unit to activate the built in helmet light . Daramak stays quiet and lets the others speak to the children. Where are their parents? They're going to get themselves killed...
As the party disembarks from the shuttle, Daramak pushes a few buttons on the comm unit built into the left wrist of his armor to make sure that his personal life support systems are ready should they be needed. He nods agreement to Antares about ships being no place for children. He glances over at Asier-23-7, wondering whether or not the android could be considered a child. As the team gets in the lift to E-Deck, Daramak unslings his rifle, holding it lowered but ready to use it if needed. "Master of Stars, eh? And us down here looking to pull a faulty fuse. Brings back a lot of memories."
Lining his rifle up for another shot, Daramak sees that the last goon is fleeing and instead slings it back across his chest. After a quick glance back to make sure nobody is seriously injured, he says "Damn fine work, everyone." Well, maybe this team isn't the fastest, nor the most discrete, but we sure got the job done. He nods in response to Madrigal "Indeed. Still, they fought bravely. There's honor in that, if not their cause." During the short break, Daramak approaches Eli with his medkit and offers to check her wounds. When it becomes clear that he isn't needed, he searches the downed goons and pulls a battery from one of the arc pistols. The charge readout on his rifle saying 90%, Daramak ejects the battery and plugs in his spare. Daramak watches in fascination as Hakrinag builds a high tech weapon from parts that even he wouldn't know what to do with. Were it that I deserved such praise. I fear that Hakrinag overestimates my capabilities as a soldier. Catching the grenade, he says "I'll be sure to put it to good use. Thank you." Back at the Lorespire Complex, Daramak sees off Ceren and Jubair with the others. "Perhaps we can work again sometime," he says to Ceren. Looking through the supply box, Daramak examines both the datajack and the frostbite rifle, but puts them back. "That datajack would be nice," he says wistfully, "but I'm afraid I'll need one custom made to be compatible with my neural implants. And I don't know how I could ever replace my old service rifle. Ah well."
Daramak grins in response to Hakrinag. That's one thing I've been missing ever since leaving the Amphisbaena; the comradery. Joining the Starfinders was a good move, I think. He takes a moment to re-target his combat tracking . Swinging his rifle around to aim at yellow, he fires:
Details:
...but mistimes his shot and it goes wide.
There it is. About time something went sideways. I was starting to get worried. "Batons and pulsecasters. They want them alive," Daramak mutters just loud enough for the group to hear as he unslings his laser rifle . We still need to get them out of there, but at least they aren't in immediate danger. Sighting down his rifle towards the goons, Daramak activates his combat tracking to target the goon . He holds his fire for the moment, waiting to see how Madrigal's plan plays out.
Daramak nods to Hakrinag. "Apologies. I seem to have become caught up with the question of immediate survival and overlooked longterm viability of the plan. Perhaps a mneumonic editor, to implant false memories? No, Ceren would surely uncover inconsistencies before long and unravel the whole thing. Well, the best lies are often based on truth..." As Aisier-23-7 starts hacking away, Daramak asks "Could it be possible that Ceren might have angered the wrong people on either Aballon or Akiton, and was forced to flee? It would help cover flaws in their story, and explain their reluctance to be found."
"Well, Historia-7 did say the hacker would be a valuable addition to the Dataphiles. Maybe there is a place for both Ceren and Jubair with the Starfinders? Ceren's talents are obvious, and she could teach the new recruits a thing or two about technology. Jubair seems to be a savant when it comes to growing plants, perhaps there is a botanist working for the society who could use a capable apprentice?"
Disappointed with his failure to prove useful to the team, Daramak stands aside to allow the androids to work. Serves me right for rushing. At least there are others here who can cover for my mistake, I should be thankful for that. Wait, are those...are those punch cards? Thinking about Ceren and Jubair's predicament, Daramak says "In addition to the new IDs, it may be possible to physically change your appearances through either medical procedures such as plastic surgery or certain biological augmentations. It's a bit extreme, but if it could help you two live normal lives then it may be worth it."
Daramak enters the house with the group, half expecting an ambush. As Ceren tells her story, he grows more and more concerned. So we've found the files, and the hacker is willing to give them to us if we take her back to HQ? Things don't go that smooth. Something's wrong here, I just don't know what. "Alright ma'am, try to remain calm. We're here to help, but we don't have much time. You and your grandson should get anything you need to travel, stick to the essentials. Does this place have a back door we could use?" At Madrigal's suggestion, Daramak thinks for a moment and adds "You mentioned an ancient computer. If you let me use it, I could try to plant some false evidence to make it look like someone used your network as a proxy, or encrypt some dummy files. That could buy us some time. If she'll allow using her older computer: "You weren't kidding about this computer being ancient. This tech is even older than the stuff I'm used to. Not sure I can pull this off..."
Seeing that the woman is unnerved, Daramak slowly lifts his hands away from his rifle in a non-threatening gesture. He tries to look as friendly as possible for an armed, six foot tall, 200 pound carnivorous reptile. "Rest assured, ma'am, none of us have any intention of harming you or yours. An unfortunate reality of our job is that we sometimes need weapons for self defence; we're only carrying them as a precaution. That said, our sources have led us to your domicile, and there are other, less scrupulous groups who are also looking for this data. It is likely that they will arrive here looking for it sooner or later, and it would be best for everyone if we could locate it and clear this up before they do. At any rate, we should talk inside, this street is too open."
As the taxis approach the flat, Daramak speaks quietly into his comm unit "That looks like the place. Easily fortified, could be difficult to get into if we go in loud. Our hacker has more important things to be doing than gardening, so that's probably a bodyguard. There could be others inside or around back." After a few moments of thought, he adds "I'm starting to think the hacker might not be working alone. If he's half as good as we've been led to believe, then he knows he left a trail. He can't hold out in that flat against station security forever, so I'm thinking this is a rendezvous site. We have to assume that either security or the hacker's friends will show up at any moment." Daramak approaches the gardener with Madrigal, staying a few paces behind and looking uninterested in the conversation. He looks around, trying to spot danger.
I'm not sneaking anywhere in this tin can I'm wearing, I should stay here in case Madrigal runs into trouble. Does this team even have an infiltration specialist?
Somewhat sheepishly, Daramak says "Apologies. I'm afraid my armor was designed for protection at the expense of mobility. I've been meaning to retrofit it with some servos at the joints, but I'm a bit low on credits at the moment." "I'm not sure discretion will be easy either," he says, nodding towards Hakrinag and the reaction cannon he carries. "Still, leadership must have some confidence in our capabilities; we would never have been given this assignment otherwise."
As soon as Historia-7 finishes the briefing, Daramak connects his comm unit to the local infosphere and pulls up any information he can about Bluerise Towers. Assuming Historia-7 gives us the location that she traced the hacker to, he also downloads a map of the area and starts planning possible entry and escape routes. "Speed and discretion, yes sir." Addressing the party, Daramak asks "Shall I arrange transportation? It looks like we'll need two taxis, unless the Society has a motor pool."
Daramak activates and examines his new implant. In response to Guidance's explanation of its purpose, he says "Good enough for me." He turns off the chip and lets out a satisfied grunt. After Antares' and Asier-23-7's introductions, Daramak introduces himself "Name's Daramak. Fuse Tender 1st Class, VCS Amphisbaena, Veskarium Navy. Retired. You can call me Mak. Or not, I'm not picky." Daramak nods at the suggestion to visit the Dataphiles first. If anyone can help advance my investigation into the Scoured Stars Incident, it'll be the Dataphiles. I should do what I can to ingratiate myself with their leadership.
Looking at the palm of his left hand where the subdermal chip was implanted, Daramak says "I wouldn't worry too much about the subdermals. Most likely they're holotags; for identification purposes should one of us end up needing a closed casket funeral." He opens and closes his hand thoughtfully for a moment and adds "But then, I suppose they could also be designed to burst a blood vessel or release toxins into the bloodstream should we be captured or go rogue..."
knowledge rolls for chips:
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