[Event] Problems With Portals (Part Two) - The Port Job

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In the end there are some things that cannot be fixed with a strong will, elbow grease, and space duct tape. The combination of lengthy debate between the Agrii, the success of the repairs of the He Rows, and the fact that they were not nearly enough leads to the confirmation of a new plan. Lists are made, items are loaded, beloved baubles (and copious bottles of Agrii-Moisturizer) are passed on, and a nervous farewell passes between the Agrii and the He Rows.

“Not for get us. Please get things for helping,” Ga Re says as the He Rows begin loading their shuttles.

“Bring back much and sirs,” Mu Ly cheers brightly.

Another Agrii with bright, smart green eyes covered in goggles watches, hands on a display they have taken over, one that will trigger the temporary portal to get the He Rows where they need to go. A return date has already been agreed upon. Their lives, once more, rest in the hands of the He Rows. Good thing they have plenty of faith in you.

Once the ships are boarded and ready a small portal ringed in violet light tears open in space. The edges of it almost seem to flicker, to tremble. For all of the work the repair teams did all they could do was ensure a small window of safety, both now and at the agreed upon return time, so the pilots must be confident and punch it. Even then, once they pass through the opening into another part of space they aren’t close to their destination. It will take nearly a full day for the pilots to guide the ships safely to their goal.

Then, at last, there it is. A large, shining beacon in silver and white and black out in space. The best translation the Agrii could give of the name of the place is Spaceport NG-102. Their knowledge of it is heavily predicated upon old episodes of The Drift Fleet, which meant they could not be entirely certain that the location was still active, but from initial scans of local space, it’s not only active but it’s grown. Spreading and expanding in almost dendritic fashion in space this is clearly a lively gathering spot. Hundreds upon hundreds of ships seem to be arriving and departing at any moment.

Good thing you have your pilots, otherwise docking procedures might be a bit hairy. But with careful piloting, some back up communications with station command, and a bit of patience, The Glitter Food and The Peanut Party enter the docking queue and are soon locked in to their neighboring docks. Meanwhile, station policies, procedures, and legal notes are beamed across for the Captains (as that is what station command will see the Pilots as) and their Security Chiefs to review and distribute to their crews before coming aboard.

Whether people read the instructions or not really is up to them, but maybe the little cheat sheets that can be related to communication devices will be useful. After all, how are you supposed to learn about initial decontamination procedures, or receive the extremely generalized and frightfully undetailed maps, or learn how to differentiate between station security, station staff, and anyone who doesn’t directly work for the station administration.

After your ships’ respective medical staffs guide He Rows through initial decontamination processes in the airlocks, He Rows are finally given the ability to roam the station. There is a lot to get and while your scheduled meet up at the portal location is weeks away, no one can be certain how long it will take to get everything you need. At first the extensive time frame might have seemed silly, but now that you are here and evaluating the twists and turns of maps, watching various aliens go past, and realizing you’re not automatically understanding every single language you hear (unless you have the Communications expertise or other abilities), well, it’s starting to look like you might need that extra time.

What’s more, He Rows will quickly find that the previous concern the Agrii had over not being able to provide enough funds will prove true. Merchants at various locations will be happy to trade for some of what you have, or to give you temporary employment in exchange for other things that are needed or valuable trade goods. Perhaps the more conniving can find less than legal means to secure funds, though they will need to be careful not to fall on the wrong side of station security. There’s also some value to be had in charm and quick wits when it comes to making good deals.

And boy are there ever a lot of good deals that could be made here. Spaceport NG-102 is expansive in an impressive way. There are small ‘runner bikes’ piloted by drones that can be ‘hired’ at no cost to quickly ferry people and goods across the large station, and you will need them as an attempt to cross on foot from one side to the other could easily take a day, and that’s if you don’t get lost. There are also outdoor shuttles that can carry He Rows back to the section of the station where the ships are docked. But mostly they will take you around to the variety of commerce hubs, or near to docked ships where people are selling right out of cargo holds, and other various amenities. Honestly, when you think about it, this place might be less of a spaceport and more of a strange mix between a mall and an international airport.

Because of this there is enough variety in shops to make one content for years to come. Do you want some more seasoned wood to take back to Agra-10 to build? There’s a supplier for that. What about plas-crete mixes that set fast and sturdy rebar and frames so you can quickly build or rebuild skyscrapers? Yep, you can get that. Oh wait, is that all too heavy for you to lift into place? Why not buy a portable, size adjusting power crane. Maybe building isn’t your thing and you really could go for a candy store the size of a city block. Just check to make sure what you’re buying is for carbon based lifeforms.

There are vendors for food, for bulk supplies, for clothes, for jewelry, for anything you could ever want or need. In fact, there are even stores that seem to specialize in mundane items from your home world, though the people selling it are definitely not from any world you know. Still, where else in the world are you going to get a charger for your smartphone, or your favorite board game, or a properly made chili dog? There’s even rumors that there might be other, more illicit markets to get you supplies that station security would by no means approve of.

Yet a good He Row knows that there is more of value in the world than simple material objects. What was that saying? Right, knowledge is power, and perhaps there is some to be had here. In fact, there must be, because every now and then one of the passing aliens or vendors may look at you just a bit sideways. This may result in them hurrying on to get away from you, or perhaps they are so unnerved that they fumble their negotiating and you get something for far less than you would have thought possible. With enough time, observation, persuasion, and liberal eavesdropping you might even be able to figure out just why that is.

And then there’s the glimpses you get in passing through the press of crowds. Rarely, very rarely, perhaps happening only once or twice to a handful of He Rows, there might be a hint of something familiar in the distance. Pink skin, three large eyes, four limbs, a mouth full of very sharp teeth, and often traveling in groups that tower over others. If you didn’t know any better you might think those were Agrii in the distance, but surely not, right? You would have noticed if one had snuck onto the ship and disembarked with you, right? No, you must be imagining things.

All told this space station seems to have plenty to do, a lot of chances to stock up for the long term or improve your lives on Agra-10, and for those mindful of your mission here, all the parts you could need to restore the Agrii ship to full working order. Just remember that you might need to come up with a way to get past the red forcefield to affect your final repairs. Other than that, He Rows, Spaceport NG-102 is your oyster, and it’s time to get your fill of it. You’ve got several weeks, you’ve got a home base on your ships, and you’ve got a shopping list.

Let’s see what you can do with it. And how much you might learn before someone invariably lands themself in hot water.

FAQ
What are the dates of Part Two of the event?

OOCly the event starts tonight February 26th and lasts until March 29th. In Character this event starts about one week after the explosion on the Agrii ship, and will last until just before the ships are due back at the portal on March 29th. At that point we will move into part three.

This is the longest part of the event due to the amount of items He Rows need to acquire, the work they’ll have to do along the way, and the exploration and investigation they can get themselves up to, thus we wanted to give it the most time to give you space to work with.

Can we opt out of this event?

He Rows can opt out by usual means of hiatus. As normal they will disappear when hiatus starts, and reappear at the fountain on their home ship upon their return, unless by that point we have returned to Agra-10 and then their return will be at the Temba fountain. There is no means to opt out by staying with the Agrii. He Rows are not obligated to leave their home ships though.

I was on hiatus for the last portion of the event. Can I still take part in this?

Yes! He Rows will appear at their ship’s fountain when they return from Hiatus, no matter if it’s now or at some point later in this event. They’ll probably need some active briefing from their fellows about what is going on, but they’ll still be able to take part in what is going on.

How much will we stand out here?

Barely at all. This place is booming with a sprawl of alien species, very few of which are alike. If you can imagine it, you can probably see it here. He Rows will have no trouble at all, blending in, and need not bother to try. Actually, if anything, you seem to be noticeable for other reasons…

How much is language going to be a barrier here?

On average players that do not have the Communications datapoint (or some other ability which renders language barriers moot), you will probably understand and be able to speak to around half of the people you encounter. The other half don’t seem to be magically translated. There is good news though. It will not take long to find vendors selling a variety of translation units. These are small devices, usually designed to go over the ear (and since they are designed for a ton of races you’ll be able to find something that works for you if you are non-human), and will provide a running translation of what you’re hearing. You will need to take the associated receiver that is worn like a ring at the individual you are trying to listen to.

These seem very common on the ship, and you will often see strangers making surreptitious gestures to activate translators. These are, though, quite costly, so you may instead choose to rely on your Communications companions, or just go for good old fashioned pantomime. For those that want to take their device apart, you might be able to get the parts as an Engineer to make additional copies, and those with the Communications expertise can copy over the programming and link these new devices up with the station auto-translate subroutines they run on. Once you leave the station these devices will no longer function, so maybe you’ll choose not to buy one because of that..

How hard is it to navigate in this station?

Very. Think of an ant colony and then expand it several times out. And you’re the ants. This place is complex. There are regions in it that may specialize in one type of good or another, but it’s not universal. Rapid transit between areas can be achieved by drone-piloted runner bikes on station (best for navigating within a specific region or between two neighboring regions), or through auto-piloted skimmer shuttles that will move around the outside of the station to shortcut between greater distances. These require no fees to use.

In general the maps provided by station security are not going to be as effective as you’d want. It’s better to ask for directions. Though He Rows with certain expertises will find they have what seems to be a knack for finding related commerce centers without really trying. It’s unnerving, but useful.

How do we get funds for our purchases here?

This is really going to depend on the character. Are they good with negotiations (whether they have Comms or not)? Then they might find it useful to barter with vendors using the trade goods the Agrii tried to provide, as well as resources on the ships themselves. Please don’t take any major pieces of the ship apart, though. He Rows will also find that new and novel plants are worth a good bit here, so those with a related database or experience might be able to make headway with money there. There is also working for payment or in exchange for what you want. Great opportunities for work will be listed below, in relation to expertises, but in general if your character could potentially make a living doing it back home, there might be someone in the market for it here. That includes but is not limited to: food service, all sorts of repairs and crafts, guard/security duty, entertainment, animal handling, and even data entry.

And yes, we do mean anything you could do back home. There is absolutely a shady underbelly here, there are crimes going on, and you can avail yourself of them. Join a short term crew for a robbery, channel your scam artist side and sell properties and timeshares on Agra-10, use magic or other means to deal in things people have not seen here, become a black market medic. But be warned, you can fall afoul of the law.

What about casinos?

Strangely enough, there are none here. Sorry about that. There doesn’t seem to be gambling here at all.

What happens if we’re caught by station security doing something illegal?

You will get arrested. All arrests will result in being put in holding until you either 1) repay your debt to society (in the form of money/goods), 2) perform sufficient public service, or 3) the final departure time for the He Rows approaches. In all cases your ‘Captain’ (aka the Pilots of your ship) and the ‘Security Staff’ (aka Security expertise members of your ship) will receive immediate notification of your arrest and what for. They will be asked to come acquire you if you do not immediately commit to your form of punishment. Anyone still in jail at the time the ships depart the station will find themselves awakening in their room on the ship one day later as the ship approaches the portal location.

Can we stage a jailbreak and/or be confined to the ship?

Yes. In the case of the latter if you refuse to do your repayment the Pilot and/or Security forces of your ship can negotiate your release contingent on you not being allowed to leave your ship again. If this is chosen you will be on house arrest and those with Security Expertise can place a lock down on the ship to prevent your departure (by mundane means, teleporting or other powers that may bypass the docking area would still function). If you choose a jailbreak your face(s) will be on all security and update monitors in the ship, so chances are people are going to try and turn you in for the funds or good graces of station security. Either way it’s unwise to be on the station with station security on your bad side.

What would count as illegal actions here?

Mostly the usual. Theft of all forms, violence performed while not contracted for security work or done in clear and witnessed self-defense, kidnapping, murder, black market purchases/sales, smuggling, basically what you’d expect. Public intoxication may only have a night in the drunk tank if you start violence, public nudity is actually strangely enough not a concern due to differing cultural practices. We do remind you though that you should tag appropriately and per game rules characters must be 15+ to be involved in any drug/alcohol use, and 18+ for anything sexual or involving nudity. These rules are always in place and we haven’t had anyone cross that line before, but please do keep it in mind here. And remember, no top leveling anything related to smut. If your character is going to go streaking or skinny dipping in a hallway or pool on the station, that happens somewhere in the course of the thread and gets a tag, not as the start.

How likely are we to get caught if we do commit crimes?

It depends on how obvious the crime was. Do it in front of active cameras or security personnel, it will go up drastically. But in general we first say ‘get caught if that sounds fun to you’. Secondly, the more showy the crime, the more likely you are to get caught. Thirdly, roll a d3 and if you get a one, get caught. And finally if none of those really make up your mind for you, drop into the questions below, outline your crime, and ask us to decide for you (but only do this if you really believe you’d be happy with either result and just can’t make up your mind.

Would going armed be considered an issue with station security?

Yep, but only in some situations. Those individuals with the Security Expertise are allowed to carry weapons openly on their person, whether they be personal weapons or those provided by the Security Expertise. The good news is that your fellows with said Expertise are also more than capable of helping people hide most weapons about their person. Larger weapons this will be harder with, but consult with your fellows when it comes to sneaking weapons off of the ship, though please also try and err toward the side of smaller weapons to make it easier on them.

How difficult will it be to get the parts we need to repair the Agrii ship?

Honestly, the greatest barrier to acquiring the parts you need (except for a means past that troublesome force field) is going to be money. There’s plenty of room in the cargo hold, there’s a seemingly endless amount of vendors, there’s plenty of time. By the end of this period we’re assuming the He Rows acquire everything they need to affect repairs of the Agrii ship. What’s more, we’re assuming you can get what you want to possibly upgrade your ships (please report upgrades to us with a comment on the Ships page) in small ways, and even get supplies for Agra-10. You’re finally in a place where the technology level matches some of your need, and you may in fact be able to affect some actual long term improvements to Agra-10 if you desire. Remember to report major changes to Temba/Sh’Ka that may result from purchases here on the appropriate Maps page.

Can I find [insert canon world appropriate foodstuff or plant here]?

Provided the food/plant is not rare, yes. This is both in terms of restaurants, preserved foods, and plantable things. Have you missed onions? Go grab seeds. Are you craving blue milk? It’s for sale somewhere. Would you really just love some gyshal pickles? They smell like feet but they’re tasty and you can buy them by the pickle or the barrel.

There are only two stipulations. First is that is that all plants/seeds must go through a quarantine period on the ships in a designated part of the cargo hold for a few weeks (seedlings/saplings/small plants often come in biocontainers meant to handle their needs for up to a month), and can only be planted on the ships. Second is that you probably won’t be able to get a lot of any one given thing. Tastes of home in your personal garden? Yes. Able to start your own soy based economy to conquer the universe with your monoculture powers? No.

What about animals

Animals that are raised for meat or byproducts like eggs/milk/fibers can be gained at a maximum of ten animals (nine female, one male). Animals acquired for companionship (aka pets) will always seem to be just too expensive. So no new pets guys.

You know, this is a spaceport. Could I maybe hire a ship to take me home?

Oh absolutely! Go ahead and use your valuable trade goods to get yourself a sweet comfort level too. Wait, you think there’s a string attached to this offer? Yeah, there is, you got us. He Rows can get on any outbound transport they want, whether they pay for it or stow away or get kidnapped. But the minute the ship clears local space, the He Row will wake up back in their room on their assigned ship. Sorry, no getting out of here that easily. Oh, and you’re out your funds. At least your stuff came back with you.

What sort of things can we find in the black market?

The usual sorts of ‘illegal’ things. Intoxicants that may be banned in other places, weapons that are really dangerous (and sadly won’t work when you get them back to Agra-10), medicines and medical tools deemed ‘too dangerous’ for use by medical professionals, tools of the trade for crimes. Oh, and one other thing. If you make it to the Black Market you may hear rumors that someone has crafted the ultimate in B&E (Breaking and Entering) tools, but no one has managed to meet their price yet. Maybe someone should hop over and take a look. Below you will find a sign up thread. You may volunteer one of your characters for this, and two to three will be selected by RNG (amount depends upon how many sign up for this). Qualifications for sign ups will be listed in the comment.

Okay, you’ve specifically called out pink people, you KNOW we have to ask. What is going on?

And for that particular investigation, check the comments for sign-ups. Again, please sign up with only one of your characters. A selection of four to six characters (depending on the number that sign up) will be chosen at random to catch additional glimpses and find some success regarding their investigations. Each character will come away with different information, and those that choose to work in teams on a thread may pick up something extra.

We have some suggestions for skills that would be useful for characters in this investigation in the sign up thread. Please note, your character cannot be selected for this investigation if one of yours was selected for the Black Market ‘Ultimate in B&E tools’ group. That RNG will be run first, followed by this one. If there are not enough sign ups in this and someone who was selected for B&E Device signed up for this as well with a different character, they may receive a character in this as well. In the comment thread there will be a suggested list of expertises/skills that would be useful in this investigation, but unlike with the black market, they are not required.

I didn’t get selected for either the black market or the pink people, or I’m not interested. Is there anything special for me to investigate?

Oh yes, very much. Remember how we noted that sometimes people here almost seem to recognize you? How sometimes this causes them to run away or seem nervous or you get a really great deal out of it? Well surely that’s something. Anyone with the will to do so can look into this particular event, though we suggest in the long run either having or teaming up with someone of Communications or Engineering expertise to help facilitate your investigations.

Finding out more will mean finding a way to get someone to talk to you. This could be through charisma, bribes, or intimidation, or perhaps something we can’t even imagine on our own. Using whatever leverage you apply across multiple NPCs (this can be handwaved if you want), He Rows will learn that there are rumors that there are still ways to watch the old Drift Fleet. At certain hours and on certain wavelengths you can find a weak transmission signal, and if you decode that onto a suitable visual media device, you’ll find what seems to be feeds from Agra-10.

Anyone who really wants to dive into this should leave a comment in the appropriate thread below to find out what you see on the video feed (presumed maximum of five minutes of watching before you lose the signal despite best efforts).

Once a He Rows learns of and views this transmission it is up to you whether they put together that this is a live feed or an old one. And if you think they are cunning enough, they might be able to transfer that clout when it comes to aliens who recognize you for favors. After all, the Drift Fleet and their Atroma controllers carried a reputation. Though maybe that reputation is not a positive one. Think carefully before you apply the Drift Fleet name to your advantage.

Is there anything special for Drift Fleet Alumnus?

Of course. These lucky few will be instantly recognizable. In fact, you may even run into old fans of yours! This could easily be leveraged for free meals, help with acquiring supplies, or even finding resources on the ship.

My character has no datapoint expertise, but there are cool things for different ones. AmI going to miss out?

Nope. Remember that the ships now have mini data points. They aren’t perfect, but they will give you enough to interact with anything going on here that requires expertise. Remember, touch a data point once to get the expertise, touch it a second time to remove it, or touch any other one to swap it out. We’re really okay with you changing on the fly here if you want to or find it will make some things easier/more fun. Expertises are here to give you new/special ways to interact with our event. But you can still also get up to a lot of stuff with just your personal skills, or by completely winging it. You could walk into this event with no expertise, no skills beyond being coordinated enough not to trip over your own shoelaces, and still find yourself in shenanigans.

Hey, my character has been on a personal task/project/mission ____ for a while. Is there something here which could help them?

Probably. Get in touch with us in the questions below and we’ll see what we can arrange.

I have other questions, can I -?

You know the drill. Ask them below.

One last thing before I go. Is there any way that you could give us a handy list of what sort of benefits different expertises might give us while we’re on the station?

Oh how sweet of you to ask. Of course. Check the comments below.

Comments

Pink Alien Information Yields

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First, please note that these details are provided per individual. It is possible for more information to be gleaned if any of the winners team up and do a thread for the investigation. If you do so, please provide a link of the characters in their thread doing investigation activities, and we will provide an additional nugget of information gained in that specific investigation.

Second, all pieces of information are important to the larger picture whether they seem like it at first glance or not. If someone else has more text in their information than you do that does not mean they got more information, just that theirs needed more explaining, but all are equally relevant/important.

Third, additional clarifying questions may be asked, but only about your specific information piece (or the piece gained by a team during investigation).

Fourth, some information pieces are given specifically as compliments to the qualifications different He Rows presented as their reason for being suited to the investigation. Just as a specific thank you to making us smile with them.

(This list is provided in alphabetical order, not order of importance. Above list was the order the rng spit names out in)

Jughead

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Jughead's investigation will result in finding a source that works at what seems to be some form of multi-species spa. It is what appears to be, well, the best explanation would be that the alien seems to be a neon orange and pink aurora. When it 'speaks' it shifts a lot like the waveforms you might see on audio software. And boy oh boy is it apparently a gossip. The best way to get it talking is to get whatever treatment it's offering (that's up to you), and boy is it going to talk a lot. He's going to learn about who is dating who, reactions to new station policies, talk about this really cute sweater it saw but unfortunately, you know, no bipedal form so it can't even WEAR IT. In and around all of that he will manage to suss out that it always knows when they're on station because they stop in for specialized skin treatments from it, of course, because where else are they going to get the right spectrum of light to feel like they're back in those damp jungles they love? It's usually their first, and final, stop for a taste of home when they're on shore leave.

Keith

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Keith's interview target will end up being a person that looks like a secretary bird, if a secretary bird was made out of living green crystal and spoke via the chiming music made by ruffling their head 'feathers'. This isn't an alien Keith chose to corner though. Turns out it heard Keith looking into things and brazenly made its way over. Declares that she was a HUGE fan, loved his romance with that little guy, did that ever go anywhere? After he manages to get her back on topic (and bypass some comments that might have been flirting?), he'll manage to get her talking. She says that those people are known as the Drovveok and you never see more than one ship of Drovveok at the station at a time, and never more than a handful of individuals. Of course if there were more around Station Security would be on high alert because, as the saying goes, 'One Drovveok is a curiosity, two are a barfight, three are a gang, and four are a strike team'.

Link

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Link encounters a creature that looks a bit like if a Rhinocerous and a Blue-Maned Lynel had a child. Except it's only about a foot taller than Link is. And boy does it look intimidated by him. In fact, the main thing that Link walks away with is that this individual ultimately seems to be comparing Link to the Pink Aliens, because they both are carrying a LOT of weapons with a LOT of confidence that they know how to use them, though it thinks that the Pink Aliens are a lot scarier because, well, if they were asking this, they'd actually be using the weapons to actively threaten to cut this Rhinocerynel's hand off or something. They're like that. Big and scary and threatening. Everyone knows it. Just, you know. Stay away. Unless you're looking for a fight. Actually, you know what, just stay away, because even station security isn't willing to try and disarm them so he'd probably get hurt.

Radley

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Radley's informant, once he tracks one down, will prove to be what looks, shockingly, to be human. Well, they do for the first few minutes of talking. Then they tremble in a sort of unnatural, perhaps vaguely gelatinous way, before becoming a what looks like a potted plant on some set of robotic legs. And later in the conversation a large, quadrapedal lizard that looks like Radley could ride it. If he's paying attention, anything the informant changes into seems to be an approximation of another alien species walking by. This lifeform complains about the pink aliens a lot. About how one time it changed to look like them and it was SO uncomfortable. It's skin was so wet, and it had reduced hues of vision, and it was so hard to talk with all those fangs in its mouth. And it had felt like it might break things around it if it tried to hold them, because the form had a LOT of strength and it wasn't ready for that. Mostly, though, it was surprised that it hadn't felt aggression when it shifted. Usually when it takes other forms from tasting their genes in the air, it gets the impression of the full nature of the creature, including emotional dispositions. And more aliens than you'd think have them. Like Radley's species tastes like curiosity. But these didn't taste aggressive. Just... Worried. Genetically predisposed toward worry. It did like the eyes though. It could have so many colors of eyes. The third one sees in infrared, did he know that?

Steve Rogers

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Steve will manage to talk to a whole group of what seem to be school children, of different species. They really like talking to him. He'll probably have a few climbing on him while he does so. The group competes to tell Steve about what they learned about the aliens in school (because there are apparently schools here, probably for long term station staff's children). Anyway, they can't all agree on the details, like the species name (perhaps their species all have different names for them), or where they come from (far away), or what they're like. One thing they all agree on is that their parents and teachers say that things are better since the treaty. There's even talk about possibly hiring one of them to join station security, if they ever seem like they might want to stay. Sometimes they do that, hire people from races that have signed onto the Star Treaty. They think these ones only did it recently, though. Though they can't agree on when 'recently' is. Given possibly varied life spans, it's definitely understandable that some say it's 'super duper long ago' and another goes 'nuh-uh, I remember when it happened'. The dangers of life spans and development cycles. But they all agree that everyone says it's much better than before they signed the treaty, because apparently they were REALLY scary before then.

Team Up Information

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If you have questions meant to clarify what other information you got, please ask them in response to your information post.

If you have a thread where two information seekers team up, please provide the link here so we can provide results of information gathering. We limit this to two team-ups maximum per person (meaning if person A teams up with person B and again with person C in a different thread, team A/B will get a bit of information, and team A/C will get information, but if A teams up with D, there will be no additional information, but D could team up with B or C or E for more information)

[newmemorywhodis]

I am Very Late to this, but Keith and Link are teaming up to investigate further here. They've just started their search in the thread now

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After some searching that leverages Keith's status as a member of the Drift Fleet and Link's bristling with weaponry (and thus looking like a security guard trying to intimidate people for his captain), they will be directed to a merchant that often deals with the Drovveok. When they find the shop they will discover it is a merchant who is fascinated with weapons.

Did we mention they are an honest to god dragon? Not kidding. Their shop is just a hold of a ship, and there are clearly rooms off to the sides that might be their hoard. They're large and has silvery scales tinted toward violet at the tips, and their head is so big that a horse could ride down it and not have to worry about touching the sides of its throat. The coolest bit is probably their horns, which seem to be made of living sapphire crystals. Truly, a breathtaking creature, and quite amenable to talk.

The dragon, going by the name of Mirvanunth the Bravehearted, will happily gossip with you about their customers. He doesn't see a point in suggesting that privacy is important. Not like weapons. He will exchange information for a fee.

That fee is a lick of a fine quality blade. Just one little lick.

Will one of the two pay this price?

[newmemorywhodis]

Keith's going to offer up his Bayard, though he's not sure if that will count as the kind of weapon Mirvanunth wants.

Link will only offer the Master Sword if Keith's Bayard is turned down - and that would come with severe warnings to Mirvanunth. The Master Sword doesn't let anyone other than Link or Zelda touch it, and likely will cause the dragon pain. Link would try and have a quick silent convo with the Master Sword to ask it not to harm the dragon, but that's not a given.

[trpmods]

The Bayard is a valid choice. Mirvanunth the Bravehearted will take a long lick of the edge of the Bayard. They declare it 'a stellar example of craftsmanship'. The next time Keith makes use of the Bayard in blade form, he will find that it is sharper than before and better capable of holding an edge even when used against strong armor. Congratulations on the weapon upgrade.

The dragon takes a moment to lick their claws, clearly savoring the taste of the blade before nodding to themself. That taste, it is decided, is worth two questions. What would they wish to know?

[tempredmental]

Keith decides to ask one question at a time. He first asks what Mirvanunth knows about the Drovveok as a people.

[trpmods]

This is a very good question, and they chuckle because it's wonderfully broad and evasive of a single point, and they approve of that. Of course they note they will not say everything because the blade wasn't of quite a good enough quality for that. But they will give a brief primer.

The Drovveok are a warrior people from a planet on the far side of this region of space. Their planet is very jungle like, and they are a semi-aquatic species of course. These people very much have codes of honor to define their warrior race, and those that come to him do so with offerings of fine weapons they collect so that he might improve their best ones in turn. Many centuries ago they came into conflict with an allegiance of space-faring races in this section of space, over a misunderstanding you understand. But their honor required answer, and so the war continued for many, many years. Truly they were a feared species, to the point that even the Drift Fleet was known not to touch upon their controlled regions of space. However that has changed in the last century, with tentative peace accords being reached, and the Drovveok seem to be respecting these accords so far. At least the non-splinter factions. Everyone is still understandably cautious, as there is always fear that a false move might provoke hostilities anew.

Not that they would start things with Mirvanunth the Bravehearted of course. There is an honor debt between them. And they are tasty with a light soy sauce, so they as a people know better than to test Mirvanunth's patience.

[tempredmental]

Two very non-talkative types don't do well with asking questions, but Keith has learned that there are times when he needs to step up, so he does when Link doesn't offer a second question.

He asks what the dragon knows about the splinter factions.

[trpmods]

Ah, what a good question. The dragon takes some time to lick their chops and teeth before continuing.

The splinter factions of the Drovveok do not believe in this concept of peace. It is possible they are motivated by paranoia, certain that there will be repercussions taken against their people if they are not in a constant state of alert. You see, Mirvanunth believes that the Drovveok are a very paranoid and fear prone people, which is what led to their violence and codes of honor. It is easier to control expectations when there are such rigid rules and violence to keep them in line. But these splinter factions have been known to raid the outposts of other species in the space bordering theirs. Which often leads to the core Drovveok going and hunting them down. Which in turn provokes more fear and paranoia within the species core and thus makes more Drovveok splinter off.

Truly a depressing cycle of lashing out in a species that has not yet learned how to 'play nice' with others. They probably weren't hugged enough when they were little spawnlings.

[tempredmental]

Keith takes all that in, and nods. He thanks Mirvanunth for their help, and leaves an offer of doing them a return favor around the station for as long as his ship remains docked.