Starfinder: The Jade Regent Pt. 08

Author's Note: This bit has, at the end, a bonus smut roleplay held between CJ (Xata) and Jason (Sam.) No one else was involved, and they kindly allowed me to put it here. Thanks Jason, thanks CJ! :D Now, on with the story.

Starring

Lucithanaas Hana Song

Kittyas Nora

Nathan Ravenwood as Rakain

Jasonas Sam

Cyrano Johnson as Xata

Previously, on Starfinder: Following mystical visions and clues, our heroes have arrived at Kalsgard Station, a disreputable trade station at the edge of the massive ice nebula known as the Crown of the Galaxy. Hunting after the last known possession of the Tian captain who took Amieko to the Pact Worlds, they have found the man who purchased it - Fynn, a retired corporate executive. But it seems that the sword is longer with Fynn...and why?

"Shadowrunners, that's who!"

The massive metal tankards that Fynn had brought out for the party smashed into the table with an alarming clunk - the ale within sloshing and frothing. Some dribbled along the edges as Fynn, looking quite energetic for a ninety year old man, hung his head forward, panting softly. "It was bloody Shadowrunners."

Ami looked at her friends - still looking somewhat odd in her disguise as a dusky skinned girl with a poofy afro - and sighed. "S-Shadowrunners stole the sword?" She asked, sounding uncertain.

Fynn nodded. "And it's a damn shame...that sword was my best friend for quite some time..." he muttered.

Ami blinked. "Wait, what?"

Fynn nodded. "Oh, yes, Suishen was quite a talkative blade. She was my best companion during most of my retirement. Never said much about where she came from. The captain who sold me her didn't mention she talked..." He chuckled. "In fact, it took her four years to finally mention she was a living sword, not just a magical one..."

As Fynn spoke, Ami looked at her friends - her eyes wide...and it was clear now why the visions they had been given told them to find the sword. If Suishen was the last surviving crew member (after a fashion) of the ship that had brought Ami to the Pact Worlds, she would know what had sent her and her guards fleeing to the farthest reaches of the Tian Star Empire.

But there was a secondary issue - even if they left right then and there, without any more information, they would still need some kind of guide to get through the vast Crown of the Galaxy nebula. The massive field of ice and dust was not to be navigated lightly...

Fynn sighed, shaking his head. "So, what brings you lot here looking for Sui?" he asked, frowning slightly. "I am sorry you come unable to find her here...sorrier still I wasn't in my home, and couldn't kill those damn Shadowrunners when they broke in here..." He grumbled, quietly.

"Well.. we've got some good news and some bad news. Good news is we will be definitely finding those bastards and getting the sword back. Bad news is it'll be coming with us. We've been contacted by a high ranking Tian official who desires the return of their ancestral blade," Hana said, nodding slightly as she did so.

"Very high ranking," Rakain added. Ami blushed, ducking her head forward at the mention of the 'high ranking' Tian official. Nora was quiet as usual as she sat in a seat, her focus on her wrist. She keyed buttons while watching her display, chewing her lip a little as her eyes flicked back and forth.

"Right. We've got a job to do, Chummer." Xata had accessed her Cyberpunk Fiction databases.. "And we're set to get it done, so ka?" She was very proud of the Quality of the Slang. Sam chuckled at that.

Fynn nodded slightly. "Well..." he rubbed his chin with his finger. "I won't want to keep her..." He paused, looking at Xata, then back to Hana. "I wouldn't want to keep her from her home anyway. Besides, she's a bit bored here..." he smirked.

As he did so, Nora tapped away at her wrist.

"So, I assume you have some form of home security system so maybe we can get some images of the.. shadowrunners who did this?" Hana said, pausing slightly at the odd term.

He nodded, slightly. "Yeah, but the footage isn't the most useful..." he said, turning away to walk out of the door - heading to the back. He called over his shoulder. "Try some of the ale! It's a gift!"

Ami gulped, then picked up one of the ale cups, sipping from it. She blinked, then started to tilt the cup back, drinking...and drinking...and drinking...and drinking. Then she put the cup down, gasping. "Ah, that's good!" She said, grinning brightly. "It's sweet!"

"I'm cool," Nora said without context. She raised her hand with a few keyed buttons, opening a port in her palm. An array of light shot out onto a wall, projecting the video files she had manged to discover. The empty house, save for a single droid that totters up when the front door opens. SEveral men and women enter wearing black clothes and masks. The droid asks them if they wish anything - but the leader, a MASSIVE man (like, easily seven feet tall) punching the droid's head off with a single blow! They rush in, grab the sword, then flee.

Xata looked at the ale quizzically but did not drink it. She was privately wondering if consuming it would constitute Doing a Deal With a Dragon. Sam just shrugged and took the offered drink- and chugged it.

"See, why does he need to punch the droid's head off?" Rakain said, taking a swig of his ale. "We get it, dude, you have a big dick."

Xata frowned. "Data indicates that penis size and punching power do not strictly correlate. Except if you're Sam, of course."

"Don't tell Brash," Ami said, grinning slightly - looking none the worse for wear from the massive tankard she had drunk.

Rakain laughed, then laughed harder at what Xata said.

Hana frowned, leaning in to look at the faces as close as she could. "Actually, there IS a bit of logic to it. If he didn't destroy the droid it might be easier to identify him or it could contact someone as they stole the sword."

"He stands out. Honestly if we seek out a team with him at the lead we'll be possibly close to finding the group who stole the sword," Nora offered after a moment. She took the time to isolate a portion of the footage and freeze, leaving the image of the full Shadowrun team. "If we can possibly extrapolate the rest of the team and work from there we'll also be on a good road."

"Kinda hard to blend into a crowd when you're seven feet tall," Rakain said.

Sam's own eyes were bigger than her it seemed as she had to stop for air after only downing half the tankard. A very unladylike burp followed. "Sorry- but this is potent." She said, blushing a bit.

"You are surely more potent yet," Xata assured her confidently.

Hana sighed, "Cliche as this is, can you zoom and enhance here?" She said, pointing to an armband one of the men wore that he clearly had been trying to cover.

Ami blinked, looking at Sam, snickering. "It...didn't have that big of a kick." She paused. "...fuuuck, is this a Kami thing?" She whispered - reminding them of the time where they had found Ami riding a completely exhausted Rakain - apparently having not realized they had been fucking for literally hours and Rakain, though willing, was near to passing out.

Kami things.

Rakain coughed once. "Yeah. Kami things."

Sam nodded to Ami, saving face. It was odd to have someone with that much more endurance around

"Gimmicky CSI Function, GO!" Nora said with a small giggle, nodding to Hana. She keyed a few buttons and did as asked by zooming the footage in. The footage zoomed in with a whirr, and then became clearer as they saw the armband showed a snarling lion on it.

"Son of a bitch!"

Looking, they saw Fynn had returned, holding a thick data crystal in his hand. He seemed focused on the armband and thus, didn't ask uncomfortable questions about how they were viewing the footage he had gone to go and get. Walking forward, he pointed at that. "I know that symbol! That's the ring of Asvig Longthews..." He frowned, slightly.

"That's...quite a name," Rakain said.

"Well, he is a tall bastard," Fynn said.

"So, you can point us to them then?" Hana said casually, trying to push past how Nora had hacked the man's security system.

Fynn shook his head. "No, I don't know where Shadowrunners stay about. Wage slave and all that." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Perhaps you know where Mister Longthews might seek such people?" Xata suggested.

"Might worth noting they also hack places in advance. Sorry, but I found a backdoor on a hunch which is how I found the footage. I was curious," Nora said with a small wince. "I did my best to...'patch' the code up, you could call it."

"Dive bars tend to have Johnsons..." he said, frowning. "The lower levels are better, the further from corporation held locations."

Hana frowned, "You obviously know something. and I would assume you wish to help us find the men who did this, don't you?"

"I know the symbol," Fynn said, sighing. "Asvig and his gang hit Rangacorp half a dozen times over the past two years. Small jobs, but well done."

"That kind of news gets around, even among us retired bogies."

"Johnsons." Xata cross-referenced the term. "Database suggests corporate talent scouts. In the right venues we might be able to masquerade as such, to gather 'intel'. Alternatively we might be able to portray ourselves as Shadowrunners and gain 'intel' from fellow Chummers."

"I dunno about talent scouts," Rakain said. "I think we're all a little too colorful to pass as corporate stooges."

Sam chuckled. "Well, I also wouldn't want to get too much information from you. Atleast that sort of intel that would be able to get traced back to you.." She noted, then followed up with "but I think I know their types well enough. Let's go take a look around after we cover up these little flags signalling our obedience to their corporate overlords and crack open a melon or two."

"I'd think acting as potential employers would be easier. It doesn't take much to dress yourself up as a corporate type and acting as fellow runners would have the disadvantage of not only a lack of rep, but us asking about fellow runners might seem as if we're threatening them," Hana said, her voice skeptical.

"I do have some old suits," Fynn said, grinning slightly. "They're still in fashion, I think."

Ami leaned over, whispering to Hana. "You do look sexy in a suit."

"I propose the mobilization of Cyber-Punk Tropes in general." Xata looked at Hana. "Splitting the Difference, I think Hana and I would make excellent Rocker Girl/Boys. Plausible as new entertainment professionals with intersection points in both worlds."

Hana snickered, "I do have a suit of my own, or something more submissive if you'd prefer I act as a barely sapient service droid type."

"Well I'm not opposed to being dressed up a little. Black Tie Optional can be fun." Sam nodded.

Fynn's cheeks colored, then coughed. "W-Well, ah...how you handle it doesn't matter much to me. Just so long as you bring them to justice." He nodded slightly.

Ami stood. "Sounds like we've got a good plan..." she said, looking at the others.

Nora stared down at her things and then shrugged, "Low effort hacker will be low effort and hang around someplace and just blend in."

"Black Tie Optional... Clothing Optional... Morality Optional..." Xata suggested playfully.

Rakain cracked his knuckles. "Big vesk will serve as Plan B Fire Support."

"Well, that IS the issue with pretending to be employers. Logically we wouldn't all be able to go at once in a group." Hana said, shrugging.

Xata gave Rakain a Saucy Wink of approval. To Hana she suggested: "Rocker Girls and fans, though..."

"Xata's idea could work, actually," Rakain said.

Ami blushed. "Okay, can someone please tell clueless old Woodwise what the heck a Rocket Girl is?" She asked.

"Yes, excepting the fact that would not only require more specific outfits, it is basically the problematic idea of acting as runners.." Hana sighed. "I may be wrong, but I can't imagine why one group of runners would be looking for another that isn't hostile."

"An entertainment figure who moonlights as a Shadowrunner but uses their fame and wealth to get away with it. They get popular with their exploits." Nora hummed, "I think?"

"Oh, like those people who stream their dungeon delving on Delve dot Twitch?" Ami asked, snickering.

"Rocker Girl," Xata said. "Entertainment professional in civilizations of a certain advanced state of decadence who specialized in Rocking Tunes, Fucking Groupies and General Naughtiness. Rocker Boys and Girls could be criminals but did not have to be, as Nora hints at. It would situate us in a Grey Area of the Law."

"I think we've been in legal grey area for quite some time now," Rakain chuckled, taking another swig of his ale.

Sam shrugged. "It's not like there is a code among them, not as much as you'd might think. No merchant guild running them. Besides, the people we would want to be asking isn't other thugs like them. It's the people that supply and maintain their ability to live off the grid. You don't find a shadow by looking in the dark. You start finding the light sources."

"Excellent point," Xata nodded approvingly at Sam. "And," she added: "Shadowrunners should be as vulnerable to a Rocker Girl's charms as anyone else. With any luck, they would come to us."

"Didn't know you moonlighted as a poet, Sam," Rakain said.

"Yes, but assuming these are professionals, they would be keeping track of who is looking for them in general, especially among those who they deal with regularly. Which would be more enticing for you, someone asking about one of your friends offering employment or someone who is at best a potential rival?" Hana pointed out.

"Someone who is neither," Xata said, warming to her Theme. "Like an Innocently Curious Artist. Who you might also Totally Want to Fuck." Her circuits were starting to glow. She was liking this plan more and more.

Ami snorted, quietly. "I...don't want to alarm you, Xata, but fucking dangerous criminals might not be as much fun as it sounds in the books..." She said, nodding. "Why don't we try asking around subtly first, then see about approaching people more openly secondly?"

Sam shrugged as they continued to discuss plans. "Fynn, what is the seediest, dirtiest dive or hole in the wall that you know of?"

"We could pursue both strategies simultaneously," Xata suggested. "Inquire on the underneath by one avenue while providing Stimulation by another."

Fynn nodded. "The Polar Bear's Den," he said, quietly. "That's where the icehoppers like to go."

"Ice hoppers?" Ami asked.

"The natives who live out in the Crown - they come in here sometimes to sell and trade and such," Fynn said, nodding.

"Perhaps they could use Professional Musical Entertainment!" Xata said.

Hana sighed, "Alright, we can split up. Xata can pick her group to go with her and I'll act with whoever is left as a potential employer."

"Xata is a One-Gynoid-Band," Xata mused. "But I do think Sam and Rakain have a Certain Style if they wanted to act as my Side-Sapients." She gave them both the Big Cute Android Girl Eyes by way of persuasion.

Rakain drained his ale and slapped the mug down on the table. "Side Sapient, reporting for duty," he said, standing up and moving to the android's side.

Sam chuckled at the display, amused. "We can fun like that later. Rakain should stick to you, as should Nora. I should stick close to Hana. Thinking of trouble, after all."

Xata gave him a luminous smile. "Rocker Girl Xata is Very Generous by way of compensating her Side-Sapients," she said with a wink. She nodded at Sam: "Very prudent."

Ami snorted. "Lets...see how the bar looks first...Fynn, got a direction?" she asked.

Soon, the group was headed out. Taking the elevator down - Ami paying the elevator payment again - they came to the lower levels of the station. HEre, the corridors were thin and filled with a cold mist. People lounged against the walls, speaking to one another, and several sent them fishy looks. The actual tavern was a small, quiet hole in the wall - whose neon sign had half died, meaning it looked more like T OLE EAR rather than the actual name of The Polar Bear.

But as they walked up, the hatch opened and a writhing sack of pissed off muscle was thrown from the hole. The figure smashed into a pile of trash heaped on the far side of the corridor, writhing and springing to her feet. "Fuck you!" she shouted, shaking her fist at the door as it slammed shut and latched.

The woman who had been tossed out of the bar was a sight to see - lean and tightly muscled, with a body that had a perfect set of abs along her tummy, coffee brown skin, straight black hair, brilliant blue eyes, and clothes that showed off her figure...and yet were also quite strange and exotic. She had a tight blue top, with white fur along the shoulders, and a brown pair of pants. She kicked a can at the door in frustration, then turned to look at the six people looking at her.

She scowled. "What!?" She asked, spreading her hands. "You want to start something too!?"

As the six looked at her, they noticed that she was quite pretty...but she also looked a bit battered. She had a black eye, a slowly healing split lip, and one of her fingers were in a splint. Not that that seemed to stop her from glaring at them.

"Rough night?" Rakain snarked.

Xata looked at her with sympathy.

The girl sighed, brushing some dust from her shoulder. "It was the afternoon, actually, that kind of sucked..." she muttered.

Hana raised up a hand, "We don't want to get in a fight with you, don't worry." She said, stepping back.

"So enough has been started then." Sam said with a shrug, casually brushing off the threat. "Sounds like you could use a drink."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." Xata approached her gingerly, hands out. "May I?"

"Bad days arn't enjoyable. Sorry to hear," Nora offered with a friendly wave, wanting to help diffuse things.

The girl sighed quietly, looking at Xata. "Uh, sure..>" She shook her head. "But not yet. I need to find that asshole and kick his head in..." she grumbled, quietly. "Tall fucker's friends won't get the drop on me a second time..."

"You might find it easier with some help," Xata said gently. A song was already rising in her throat.

"How does a man the size of a T-rex sneak up on you?" Sam asked, teasing.

Hana raised an eyebrow, "Well.. seems like our search is a bit easier than we hoped..."

The girl blinked. "Wait, you know Asvig?" she asked, her eyes widening as her clothes striaghtened and a few busted seams tightened up under the magic that Xata was casting. "Whoa, whoa, what!?" She looked at Hana.

"Not as allies!" Hana raised her hands up quickly, "We want his ass on a platter. Well, first we want to ask him about some stuff, then we'll beat his ass."

"Well, that and if you are refering to them as tall, then giant might be a closer description." Sam pointed out.

The girl nodded, then grinned. She held out her hand - not seeming to care that her finger was splinted. "Well, uh...lets find a better dive to get some drinks and I can tell you about my sorry day. Oh, the name's Ukahkka Korra." She paused. "You can forget my first name, it's Varki."

"Pot. Kettle. Relative darkness." Hana said to Sam, snickering. Then she frowned to the girl, "Is Asvig inside?"

Ukahkka Korra shook her head. "No, they threw me out becuase I...threatened to kick some asshoel's head in..." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking somewhat chagrined.

"What did the asshole do?" Xata asked with innocent curiosity.

"Well, he was one of those assholes who tell Shadowrunners what to do," Korra said, nodding. "I figured if anyone would know how to get to Asvig's place, they would."