Stace [GM] (00:00:30): Welcome to Explorers wanted. We are a weekly Numenera Actual-Play podcast, moonlighting as an occasional Stars Are Fire podcast. My name is Stace Babcock. I am the GM now. With me today is Marietta Jones. Marietta [Ria] (00:00:44): Hi, I'm here. Eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Stace [GM] (00:00:48): Alex Finn Alex [Mox] (00:00:49): So yeah, I took off the little sock I have on my microphone and this is my voice raw, in your ear hole. Marietta [Ria] (00:00:57): Sounds raw. So raw. Alex [Mox] (00:01:01): And Daniel Andrlik Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:02): What's happening? Where am I? Alex [Mox] (00:01:05): You're on the other side Daniel. Can't you tell? Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:07): I feel so powerless and alone here. Alex [Mox] (00:01:09): You really should. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:10): It's just, it's really good to experience because it should you what it's like to be on the other side of the table. It's important that you keep in touch with that, Daniel. Stace [GM] (00:01:20): All right, well like I said, this week we are playing Stars Are Fire. The cyber-systems sci-fi setting. It is hard-ish sci-fi. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:29): The harder the better. Stace [GM] (00:01:32): And, Marietta, you didn't play with us before. Or the time we played offline before that. So I'm happy to have you here. But just so you know, just a little bit of background about the Revel, which is the setting that we're using straight out of the book. Essentially, 10 years ago from the time of this one shot, there was something called The Event where strange clouds surrounded the Earth. And all communications were shut down, the ships that were beneath the atmosphere were lost and have never been seen again. Drones and ships have occasionally sent in. They have never returned. And at about the same time, almost coincidentally, ancient tunnels were found beneath the moon and Star Force is enforcing a quarantine on both the tunnels and the Earth because nobody knows what's going on. Stace [GM] (00:02:23): So this is the general setting. For the most part, the Revel contains the solar system. Faster than light travel's pretty rare, and there's only about seven ships that can do it, that can leave the solar system. Mox and Tamara crew members aboard one of those vessels, the XK Asher Limited Partnership Vessel Goodspeed. And we start this adventure with Mox and Tamara in a modified racer space ship, docked at Stardeep. Stardeep Spiral which is sort of the recreational casino fun times. There's gaming, there's hotels, run by Stardeep Conglomerate. Marietta [Ria] (00:03:07): Is it Las Vegas? Stace [GM] (00:03:08): Yeah. Las Vegas but in space. Daniel [Tamara] (00:03:12): Space Vegas. Stace [GM] (00:03:13): Space Vegas. Absolutely. So you're at Space Vegas. Daniel [Tamara] (00:03:18): So it's Sin Station? Stace [GM] (00:03:19): Sure Daniel, it's Sin Station. Daniel [Tamara] (00:03:21): Thank you. Marietta [Ria] (00:03:24): It's the only done you get tonight. Stace [GM] (00:03:25): We'll see. You're in, like I said, a modified racer. It's kind of a small spaceship and you have docked this spaceship at gate G-4 of the Stardeep space station and before I get into your mission, Mox, or Alex I should say. Tell me about Mox. Describe your character. Tell the listeners what's up. Alex [Mox] (00:03:49): So Mox is a small time criminal operative who was caught and served some time in jail after which tried to go straight. Mox is the pilot of this ship usually and I really into books and pop trivia. But also isn't afraid, apparently to kill people and just let people die, we learned last time. Daniel [Tamara] (00:04:15): Because, she's not going back to jail again. Alex [Mox] (00:04:17): Yeah. You just can't... no jail. No jail. Stace [GM] (00:04:21): We did learn that last time. Daniel, how about you tell us about Tamara. Daniel [Tamara] (00:04:25): I'm playing Tamara [Karaith 00:04:26]. She is a doomed explorer who murders. She's probably in her mid thirties. She has dark red hair, cut fairly short right now. She has some scaring at her throat that she's very sensitive about. Tamara dresses kind of always with an intention of keeping herself as hidden as possible because she's always sure that something is about to go wrong, although she, of course, always wearing her power fist on her right fist. She is probably miserable because she does not enjoy these games. There's too much exposure because she hasn't been able to trust ever since she tried to help her friend's kid out. Stace [GM] (00:05:13): Yeah. So Mox and Tamara, part of the XK Astra Goodspeed's crew, have been dispatched to Stardeep as part of a overt corporate mission to escort a conglomerate scientist, Dr. Ria Ortiz, from the Stardeep space port, to a location within Stardeep so that she can complete the final step of the hyper-secret Project Pharaoh and then once she has, they must get her to Montfort station near Venus. And that is the general crux or of the plan. Stace [GM] (00:05:51): While you're sitting, you're still sitting in your racer ship, the ship's AI dings on and says, "Mox and Tamara, we have arrived. It is time for your back brief. Mox, what is your secret identity?" Alex [Mox] (00:06:07): So, my secret identity is Cordel Juniper Hill of Anus, Anius... Stace [GM] (00:06:18): Anus. Alex [Mox] (00:06:18): Anius. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:25): Anius, like the guy in the story? Stace [GM] (00:06:28): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Like the guy in the story. Daniel [Tamara] (00:06:29): Anus is what the locals call her, the local teenage kids. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:34): There's no underlying plot line with that is there? Stace [GM] (00:06:37): I don't know. Fuck around and find out. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:39): Okay. I will. Thanks for asking. Stace [GM] (00:06:43): Tamara, if there is evidence of XK's involvement in this mission, what are you required to do? Daniel [Tamara] (00:06:51): Destroy it. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:52): Good. Mox, this is for you. If the cargo doctor Ortiz is carrying is lost, what must you do? Alex [Mox] (00:07:01): I know this one. We destroy it. Stace [GM] (00:07:04): Good. Finally, Tamara, if it is a choice between preserving Dr. Ortiz and the project, what should you choose? Alex [Mox] (00:07:14): Dr. Ortiz. Stace [GM] (00:07:15): That's correct. As a reminder, Stardeep does not allow long rifles or other large weapons aboard the station. Security personnel are limited to a pistol. You may leave now. Daniel [Tamara] (00:07:29): Tamara just stuffs her right fist into her pocket. Stace [GM] (00:07:36): Yeah, not a problem right? Daniel [Tamara] (00:07:38): Yeah. Got big pockets. Stace [GM] (00:07:40): Just a giant Kangaroo pouch. Daniel [Tamara] (00:07:42): Yeah, pretty much. So were we together when they were asking us these questions or were we in separate places being... Stace [GM] (00:07:48): Oh, the ships not that big. There's the bridge which has three stations and three state rooms and the engineering area where the engine is. Oh, and there is a hidden weapons pod. This is why this is a modified racer, so you're going to be able to hear each other pretty much anywhere you are. Daniel [Tamara] (00:08:10): Okay. Tamara is going to be next to the airlock that's going to connect and she's standing there waiting for a moment and says, "Mox, it's time to go." Alex [Mox] (00:08:22): I mean, I just don't understand why this one has to have so many restrictions. We got to do whatever last mission. Daniel [Tamara] (00:08:31): Yeah but last mission we were on a corporate ship with no oversight. We're going to be tangling with Star Force directly now, not a bunch of crazy colonists. Alex [Mox] (00:08:41): Yeah. It will be interesting to see what we hit. Daniel [Tamara] (00:08:43): Yeah I guess we'll grab pistols. Alex [Mox] (00:08:46): I guess we get all the mini guns we can. They grab the pistols. Stace [GM] (00:08:52): All right, and both of you are wearing pretty generic corps set type black fatigues. Trying to blend in, just look like security contractors. You hear the hiss as the pressure inside and outside the airlock equalizes and the ring light around the interior of the airlock, turns green and the airlock opens. Daniel [Tamara] (00:09:19): Let's go find this doctor. Alex [Mox] (00:09:21): You go first. You know you're much better at security than I am. Daniel [Tamara] (00:09:25): Fine. Tamara goes through the airlock into the station. Stace [GM] (00:09:29): All right, so when you un-board or deboard your craft, your racer, there is just a very small sort of foyer, I guess, and there is an ID scanning station. It's unmanned, in front of the doors that lead into the passenger terminal. Daniel [Tamara] (00:09:47): I assume we have false IDs. Stace [GM] (00:09:50): You do. You have everything you need for your secret identities. Daniel [Tamara] (00:09:53): I'll scan my false ID. Stace [GM] (00:09:55): There's beep and a green light and the door hisses open into the space port. Daniel [Tamara] (00:10:02): Okay. I go right through. Stace [GM] (00:10:03): All right. It shuts immediately. Alex [Mox] (00:10:05): I guess Mox follows and scans their fake ID. Stace [GM] (00:10:10): You get the same thing, green light, door opens. Alex [Mox] (00:10:14): She unfortunately goes through. Stace [GM] (00:10:16): All right and as soon as you enter Stardeep's passenger space port, you are assaulted by music and bright lights. So gambling is very prevalent. The casinos are the most popular thing on Stardeep, although there are areas and sports and things like that, various kinds of entertainment. People can even play sports themselves and bet on it. But as you walk in, it's kind of like you think of a Las Vegas airport, where they have slot machines right out in the terminals. There are tons of VR pods with people in them, trying to get in one last game before their shuttles arrive to take them back to wherever they came from. Instead of rows of uncomfortable terminal seating, there are artfully arranged couches and chairs and servers in black tie, wandering around with trays of drinks and appetizers. And as you look to your right, you see done the narrow terminal, you've got the games on your left and the seating on your right, you can just see the sign for gate G-11 which is the gate that Dr. Ortiz is arriving at. Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:28): This is the worst part of O'Hare. Come on. Alex [Mox] (00:11:33): I mean, do we need to jog to get there on time or is it an okay travel? Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:39): It doesn't matter what the gate number is, it's always a rush. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:43): Run. Don't stop for carrots. Stace [GM] (00:11:45): Yeah, so you arrive at the gate and you realize that they meant the gate G-11 on the third level and you have... no I'm just kidding. Alex [Mox] (00:11:54): And they always change it. Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:55): There's been a gate change to terminal A. It will be physically impossible for you to reach this and your plane will leave. Stace [GM] (00:12:03): And the tram is down. Alex [Mox] (00:12:04): I was like, yeah that sounds right. Stace [GM] (00:12:07): All right, you guys head that way. As you head in that direction, you see various Star Force officials wandering the spaceport. There's not a ton of them. There's a handful that you can see. They're very distinctive. They wear black berets, these little black mock turtle necks, tucked into black cargo pants. They're ready for the disco and to enforce security within the Revel. You see some of them patrolling. Others you see doing some random ID checks around the terminal and one things that you are ware of is that Star Force is looking for Dr. Ortiz. Stace [GM] (00:12:51): As you make your way there, though, you don't attract any attention. You arrive outside gate G-11. After a very short period of time you hear an announcement. The Luna-1 shuttle is docking. De-boarding in five minutes. Stace [GM] (00:13:06): And at this point we will go inside the shuttle which you can think of it as like a commuter airplane. Like one of those for the little short hops. Marietta [Ria] (00:13:16): Little puddle jumpers. Stace [GM] (00:13:17): Yeah, puddle jumpers. It's got some cracked leather seating. Marietta [Ria] (00:13:21): I love it. Stace [GM] (00:13:22): Extremely cramped. There's no such thing as first class on this shuttle. And way in the back in the seat that doesn't recline, is Dr. Ortiz. Daniel [Tamara] (00:13:31): Where they usually keep prisoners. Marietta [Ria] (00:13:36): She's that passenger that's still clicking away on her not laptop. They're like, "Please restore that for landing." She's that person. Stace [GM] (00:13:48): Yeah, so Marietta, why don't you go ahead and describe Ria Ortiz for us. Marietta [Ria] (00:13:54): Yeah. Ria Ortiz, she's a scientist. She likes to hang out in the back. She is a creative adept you would rather be reading. So she's here to meet you guys. I think she's stressed out probably but she's just been clicking away on her not laptop. Whatever the Stars Are Fire version of futuristic laptop is. Being one of those business people on the puddle jumper and everyone's like, "who's this lady with this really intense bun who just like...?" So she's got a really intense bun and some pretty thick rimmed glasses. She's got a long trench coat on and some black slacks and some low, practical heels. She looks very neat and put together. Stace [GM] (00:14:37): And in her pocket, she has? Marietta [Ria] (00:14:40): Secrets. Stace [GM] (00:14:42): Project Pharaoh. Marietta [Ria] (00:14:43): Yes. It's in her chest pocket, in a pen case inside the pen. Stace [GM] (00:14:50): Cool. Marietta [Ria] (00:14:50): But you guys don't know that. So just pretend like you don't know. So yeah she's here. Trying to be normal but just can't. Sorry guys. She's not inconspicuous at all, it's fine. Stace [GM] (00:15:07): So everyone's doing that thing where they stand and hunch, even though they're not going to get off for five minutes. But then finally, the way ahead of you clears and you can exit the shuttle into Stardeep's space port. Marietta [Ria] (00:15:21): Okay, so she'll click clack off there in her little heels with her little messenger bag brief case, I think, that has her other possessions in it. It's leather of course, business class over here. Trying to be on the puddle jumper, it's not working very well. So she'll come out and looks just how you would expect. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:44): So, is anybody else looking like they're approaching her before Tamara and Mox do anything? Stace [GM] (00:15:49): There is a Star Force officer, apparently randomly, checking IDs. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:55): Since Tamara's security, can Tamara intuit whether this is a random check or is this deliberate, oh I'm going to ask this person, ask this person, and I'm deliberately making my way towards somebody specific. Stace [GM] (00:16:09): I think you would have an asset to that. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:11): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:16:12): Which would make it a six intellect. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:16): That's a 19. Stace [GM] (00:16:17): All right so you deduce that it is a truly random check and you actually also realize that this is Stardeep's heightened security, the random checks. So they are on the lookout for somebody. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:36): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:16:37): What would you like for your minor effect? Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:39): I'm going to say for my minor effect, since I got the pattern, that I'll be able to approach the doctor and lead her off in such a way that it discretely is not noticeable to security that we're avoiding them. Stace [GM] (00:16:54): Okay. You are able to do that- Alex [Mox] (00:16:59): Yay. Stace [GM] (00:16:59): ...assuming that Dr. Ortiz is cooperative. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:02): So, Tamara is going to approach Dr. Ortiz and say, Emily Graves, Dr. Graves we've been looking forward to you getting here. Come with us please. We'll show you the way to your room. Marietta [Ria] (00:17:16): Was I briefed on their names? Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:17): Yes. Marietta [Ria] (00:17:18): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:17:19): So, Tamara is Marge Sunnydale Place and Mox is Cordel Juniper Hill. Marietta [Ria] (00:17:27): Okay, so say, "Oh, is Cordel with you?" Just to like, see if this is really the person. Stace [GM] (00:17:34): Yeah, she's back that way. Alex [Mox] (00:17:36): I think Mox is busy kind of scoping out everybody else, making sure we're getting a wide berth. Marietta [Ria] (00:17:45): I guess she will go with them eyeing the security of, this person isn't wearing the same outfit as those guys that are scanning IDs that I'm clearly who I am. So she'll go with this person. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:59): I'm going to lead her over near Mox so we can figure out where we need to go next. Stace [GM] (00:18:06): Okay, so you get a discrete distance away and according to your mission brief, all three of your mission briefs, you are to head to multi-purpose suite 247-H. Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:20): How far away is that? Stace [GM] (00:18:20): So that's pretty far. It's a few decks up and a few sections over. Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:27): Stace? Stace [GM] (00:18:28): Yes. Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:28): I have two XP. I would like to spend them for a short term benefit. Stace [GM] (00:18:32): Oh, what would you like? Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:34): I would like to say that Tamara has, at some point in her history, done security work on this station and is very familiar with all of its layout. Stace [GM] (00:18:47): Okay. So what you know, to get to multi-purpose suite 247-H, that is actually in the retail and luxury services section of Stardeep. And you really kind of have two options to get there. You've got the longer covert way and you have the direct, fastest option. For your direct, fastest option, to there in the least amount of time, which is still probably going to take you 45 minutes, you have to walk through the space port level casino, so not the terminal, but the casino itself, that is on that spaceport level. You have to walk through the casino to get to the elevators, you have to take those elevators over six sections and down two decks, then the best thing for you to do is buy a ticket to the current soccer game that is going on, walk around and through the arena, exit on the far side and then walk down the hallway to multi-purpose room 247-H. Stace [GM] (00:19:54): Your covert options are to use the employee areas of the casino and that would take you even longer. That would take you about an hour and a half. Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:03): Excuse me, Emily. Cordel? Marietta [Ria] (00:20:07): Yes? Yes, Yes, I am Cordel. Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:10): There are two ways that we could go here. One is about 45 minutes and it involves going through a bunch of the casinos and through a soccer game. The other one is I know some of the employee areas and we could try and stealthfully use those to get there unnoticed. It's going to take about an hour and a have though. Alex [Mox] (00:20:33): Define through a soccer game please, Margaret. Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:37): We'd have to buy a ticket and walk through the arena and exit out the far side. Alex [Mox] (00:20:43): Oh, I thought you mean we actually had to get on the field, run across the field. Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:49): That would probably be more fun. No, we'll mostly be going past the drunk people. Alex [Mox] (00:20:54): We could do the streaking part. Get on the... Get famous. Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:59): I don't think our charge is looking for that and I don't think the corporation's looking for us to get famous on this one. Marietta [Ria] (00:21:06): Oh, you never know. Alex [Mox] (00:21:07): But I mean, if we got famous while she walks casually around while we're running across the field naked, it could work. Marietta [Ria] (00:21:15): I'm not very good at talking. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:17): Don't know, it might attract the attention of law enforcement, Cordel. Marietta [Ria] (00:21:24): Regardless, standing here isn't great. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:26): Yes, Emily, we're aware. Alex [Mox] (00:21:28): Let's go the stealthier route. I just feel like the crowded soccer games a good way to get stabbed. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:39): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Or to lose track of Emily here. Alex [Mox] (00:21:43): Oh, that too yeah. Somebody could kidnap her. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:47): She is rather conspicuous looking. Marietta [Ria] (00:21:50): Right. I do believe we're on a bit of a time crunch though. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:53): Yeah, we are. We're still going to take the longer way that's a little safer. Marietta [Ria] (00:21:59): Point me in the direction. Alex [Mox] (00:21:59): Power walk. Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:00): Follow me. Marietta [Ria] (00:22:01): I'll power walk after her. Full hip swing action. Stace [GM] (00:22:08): All right. To enter the service areas, out of the space port, what you're going to want to do is, essentially you're going to need to go through one of the space port kitchens rather than the main entrance out of the space port, into the casino. Or, I am of course open to suggestions if you guys have other creative alternatives to going through a kitchen or a different type of service that's available in the terminal. Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:38): What about janitorial access or something like that? Stace [GM] (00:22:41): Oh, yeah. So there is a designated service entrance and exit that is separate from the kitchens and things like that so that janitorial and maintenance can go in and out. Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:50): I think that might be safer just because I presume there's less staff there. Stace [GM] (00:22:57): Yes. But you also know that the staff scan their badges or swipe their badges to get in and out through those doors. Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:05): Does Mox have any hacking or anything like that or computers? Alex [Mox] (00:23:09): Not hacking, but sneaking, staying quiet, repairing or leveraging risk. Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:18): Oh, question. Is there any janitorial staff currently visible in this corridor? Stace [GM] (00:23:27): Oh, yeah. They're all over the place. People are cheering, spilling, occasionally puking. Alex [Mox] (00:23:32): What kind of roll would it be to just pic pocket one of them? Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:35): That's what I was thinking. Stace [GM] (00:23:37): To pick pocket your average janitorial staff member, they do either wear their badges in a lanyard around their neck, or clipped to their belt for easy access. Alex [Mox] (00:23:50): But are they OSHA compliant lanyards? Stace [GM] (00:23:54): Are they break free lanyards? Yes they are. Alex [Mox] (00:23:56): Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice. I think Mox is going to find somebody with a break free lanyard and do that little bump and go. Stace [GM] (00:24:04): Okay, for a little bump and go, keeping in mind that there is Star Force around, so it's not just the janitor you're trying to fool, this is going to be a 12 speed to attempt to take the lanyard without being noticed. Alex [Mox] (00:24:22): Could I use leveraging risk? It's very risky. Stace [GM] (00:24:27): Yes, I would say that this is a task that involves chance. Alex [Mox] (00:24:31): Yes. Okay, so Mox is trained in that so nine? Stace [GM] (00:24:36): You do have an inability in sneaking. Alex [Mox] (00:24:39): Yeah I was looking at that, I was like, shit. So I think it washes. But, you know you just pretend you're drunk. Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:47): Effort. Alex [Mox] (00:24:48): Fine, I'll spend effort. Stace [GM] (00:24:51): Does anyone want to try to tell Mox? Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:54): I was thinking about that but I'm worried about leaving Ria on her own. Marietta [Ria] (00:24:59): I do have an inability in social interactions. However, I'm training in creating a narrative. Could make up some really great stories. Stace [GM] (00:25:06): Okay, so with a level of effort, that is going to be a nine. Alex [Mox] (00:25:10): What pool is it? Stace [GM] (00:25:12): Speed. Alex [Mox] (00:25:13): 19. Stace [GM] (00:25:16): All right. You feel like that lanyard's been taken off and put back on several times. That break free clip's a little bit loose. You manage to snag it without being noticed by either Star Force or the janitor. What would you like for your minor effect? Alex [Mox] (00:25:32): The Mox can kind of, just, keep going towards the janitorial areas and Tamara and Ria will follow. Is that minor? Stace [GM] (00:25:42): That's kind of success, actually. I would suggest maybe that this particular janitor is a supervisor and you have one level up on your access. Alex [Mox] (00:25:56): I do like that. The only other thing I could think of is, they just took their break and they don't have a lunch this shift, so it's going to be a while before they can go back. Stace [GM] (00:26:06): Okay, I'll take that instead. That's fine. Alex [Mox] (00:26:09): I feel like we should go a little bit further in the back before we're discovered. I don't know, what do you think Daniel? Daniel [Tamara] (00:26:15): I think that makes sense. Alex [Mox] (00:26:17): As a former retail employee, that is what I think. Stace [GM] (00:26:20): All right. So you go to the service door, you swipe the door, it turns green, the doors slide open and nobody's on the other side. So you go ahead and you get in. Marietta [Ria] (00:26:34): Wow, I'm really impressed. It's impressive. Daniel [Tamara] (00:26:38): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:26:39): So this service area is a concrete corridor with white painted cinder block walls. It's very Spartan and there are several carts here and there throughout the hallway. Tamara, with your knowledge, you know which freight elevators to use, which corridors to take and soon enough, you find yourself and the service door that is going to open into the retail and luxury services area of Stardeep. Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:13): Here's my question for you, what do the carts look like? How big are they? Stace [GM] (00:27:17): They're... I'm not great at dimensions but you know the ones that are like, four by two or like four by three, like the big... Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:25): Are they like the ones that have an enclosed spot underneath them? Marietta [Ria] (00:27:28): Are they like the ones you can hide under in the movies? Stace [GM] (00:27:32): You can have either. Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:33): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:27:34): So you're talking about the ones where they have the side thing so you don't see the bottom of the garbage bag? Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:38): Yeah. What I'm thinking is if we can stuff Rita Ortiz into the cart, since we're wearing relatively typical black ship suits and she's wearing this trench coat and practical heels. Marietta [Ria] (00:27:54): You wanted to do this for so long. Stace [GM] (00:27:56): Oh yeah, you can put her underneath, you could put her in a trash bin, put trash on top of her, you can do a lot of stuff with these carts. Marietta [Ria] (00:28:04): Why are you offering them these possibilities? Sure you do. Stace [GM] (00:28:08): There's room service carts, there's whatever cart you want. If it makes sense, you got it. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:12): Ooh, room service cart. Marietta [Ria] (00:28:14): Yeah, I want to be in a room service cart. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:16): So we put her underneath the room service cart, because it's going to, essentially a residential, not residential but like a hospitality suite, essentially, right? Alex [Mox] (00:28:29): I like the trash option. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:31): Well it's multi-purpose. So somewhere that room service would go. Marietta [Ria] (00:28:34): Yeah, you're delivering room service, obviously. Stace [GM] (00:28:38): So, multi-purpose suite is what they call it because, it could be almost any type of business. It could be redesigned and remodeled to be almost anything. Yeah, Sure. Marietta [Ria] (00:28:51): Doctor, I need you to get into this cart here. It's going to be a little cramped, but it will be easier for Mox and I to pose as room service bringing you in. Stace [GM] (00:29:01): I think she'll kick over a janitorial bucket that's conveniently placed nearby, step up onto it and then step into the trash can and then, while standing in the trash, look at them and be like, "You had damned well better get me to this fucking appointment." And then she'll lay down. Alex [Mox] (00:29:18): Mox puts trash on her. Stace [GM] (00:29:20): What? Tamara looks at Mox, is like, "didn't we tell her to get in the room service cart?" Alex [Mox] (00:29:27): Yeah, you did. Marietta [Ria] (00:29:28): Oh, did you? Alex [Mox] (00:29:30): But Mox is already putting trash on top of her. Marietta [Ria] (00:29:34): I thought you told me to get in the trash can. Alex [Mox] (00:29:35): And Mox is just going, "Shh." Marietta [Ria] (00:29:37): I can do the room service cart. Alex [Mox] (00:29:40): But you're already too stinky. Shh. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:44): Mox has already got trash on top of you. Alex [Mox] (00:29:45): Oh. Okay, well. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:49): I guess we're going as janitors then. Stace [GM] (00:29:52): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:29:53): We should rec on that if you want, because that is not what I heard you say. I heard you, "Get in the trash can." Daniel [Tamara] (00:30:00): No, I don't think we should rec on it, I think if we're going to put her in the room service, she should just have to come out of the trash can. And I think Stace should make you roll to see if you have any trash still on you. Alex [Mox] (00:30:11): I mean, it would be funny. Stace [GM] (00:30:13): Oh, trash on you like sticking to you? Daniel [Tamara] (00:30:15): Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:30:15): Oh, okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:16): Yeah, I misunderstood what Daniel said, and now I have trash on me. Stace [GM] (00:30:21): Seems like a very Dr. Ortiz thing to do, honestly. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:24): Get in this trashcan? Okay, I guess. Stace [GM] (00:30:26): Just like, not paying attention, yeah. Alex [Mox] (00:30:29): I honestly thought that was what was happening, like Marietta was just really into character. I was like, huh, that seems right, yeah. Stace [GM] (00:30:37): All right, cool. So you're rolling through these hallways with the trashcan and you do walk by a janitor who is in a little nook, clearly slacking off. And he looks at you three, or you two, excuse me, and he says, "Hey, you must be new. You better go get your blue jumpsuit on. Chad gets really upset if you're not wearing your jumpsuit." Alex [Mox] (00:31:01): I think Mox just goes, "Fucking Chad. Where are the spare blue jumpsuits?" Stace [GM] (00:31:06): Well, you know you can pick up jumpsuits from Chad's office but if you lost your jumpsuit, he's going to charge you 15 lumens for your new jumpsuit. Alex [Mox] (00:31:17): Are there like, dirty ones? Daniel [Tamara] (00:31:19): Yeah, but we're not going to go back all the way to our quarters to... like, we are where we are. We don't have time to get another one. If you could keep it on the DL for us, we'll get changed as soon as we can. Stace [GM] (00:31:33): Yeah, I mean, I'll let you know if I see Chad and you let me know if you see Chad, all right? We'll be cool. Daniel [Tamara] (00:31:39): Yeah, I won't say anything about that. And won't mention anything about the, trying to flex my knowledge of the station, I won't mention anything to Checkpoint Charley about the security posture you're taking here. Stace [GM] (00:31:56): Whoa, I was just giving you a heads up dude. Like, I would hope that you would... Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:03): No, no, that's what I'm saying. I'm not saying anything. I'm saying, we're in this together. Stace [GM] (00:32:07): Yeah, we totally are. And if you see Chad, just do like the two short clicks on the comms badges, you know on our frequ, like everyone else does. Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:18): Yeah, for sure. Stace [GM] (00:32:19): Chad's a real asshole. All right well I got to keep on not working. Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:24): Yeah. Alex [Mox] (00:32:24): Fuck Chad. Working hard or hardly working? Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:28): We're planning our own round of that a little bit later, if you know what I mean. Stace [GM] (00:32:32): Yeah, man. Like, whatever. I literally don't care. Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:36): Okay. We'll go fuck ourselves. Okay, see you later. Stace [GM] (00:32:41): Wow, just trying to help. Alex [Mox] (00:32:42): New people. Stace [GM] (00:32:43): All right, so you get to the service area, you roll right out into the retail section and the hallway's not super crowded. It's got a few customers moving here and there. You see bag shops and clothing shops and just down the way you see multi-purpose room 247-H which is currently the Wistful Remembrances, Day Spa. Marietta [Ria] (00:33:11): Amazing. I want to go. Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:13): Okay. There's our location, Cordel. Alex [Mox] (00:33:17): I mean, we're pushing through a day spa? Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:21): Well, we're picking up trash from the day spa. We can take a few more bags. Alex [Mox] (00:33:27): Yeah. If they're ripped, who cares? Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:29): Exactly. Like this one on top is ripped. It's definitely leaking. Tamara discretely winks at Mox and uses her mono-molecular blade to just slightly cut open the trash bag that's on top. Alex [Mox] (00:33:45): Mox winks at Tamara like, shame about those leaky trash bags. Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:50): Yeah, standards have really dropped here. Alex [Mox] (00:33:52): Really cheeped out on the quality. Alex [Mox] (00:33:54): We are we horrible people? Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:57): We already established that Mox and Tamara are not good people. Marietta [Ria] (00:34:01): Oh, I know. Alex [Mox] (00:34:04): Yeah. But I'm just like, God. Marietta [Ria] (00:34:08): Okay, so we're going into the suite. Alex [Mox] (00:34:12): Ah, good times. Stace [GM] (00:34:12): Okay. So you roll into the day spa and there's a waiting room, of course. There's a door straight ahead and there's a counter to the left. There's a woman standing behind the counter. She's got braided brown hair, very serene looking. She's wearing a tasteful green robe. And she looks up to you and says, "They just took out the trash an hour ago." Daniel [Tamara] (00:34:41): Yeah, we got a communique that we needed to be here to pick up more trash. We just go where they tell us. Stace [GM] (00:34:49): Okay. And she'll pull out a trash can from beneath the counter that is virtually empty and set it on the floor near you. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:02): So this... just to be clear, form our briefing, is anybody else at this place supposed to know what we're here to do or is it all...? Like where in the space are we supposed to go? Alex [Mox] (00:35:13): Dr. Ortiz? Marietta [Ria] (00:35:14): Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:35:15): Ria knows. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:16): What? Stace [GM] (00:35:16): Ria knows the answer. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:19): I'll cough. Stace [GM] (00:35:22): Just as a reminder, Marietta, Ria knows there's lab equipment. There's a hidden lab in this space that she is supposed to go to and do the final step. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:30): Okay, but are we in the room yet because, Ria's not going to pop out of the garbage can in the middle of the hall. Stace [GM] (00:35:36): You are in multi-purpose suite 247-H. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:38): Okay, we're in here now? Stace [GM] (00:35:39): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Marietta [Ria] (00:35:41): The door's shut? Okay. Hopping out. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:42): But there's a person at the desk though. Alex [Mox] (00:35:45): Yeah, we're at the spa. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:47): I don't think that's a problem or something. Alex [Mox] (00:35:50): But there's a person here. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:51): Why? Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:53): Okay, we need to check out some of the other rooms, but we'll be in and out as fast as we can. Marietta [Ria] (00:36:00): I don't have anything in my mission briefing that says that there should be a person in here or not. I mean, I'm aware of the laboratory equipment, I'm just not sure that Ria would know what to do in this situation. Because, she also can't see anything. All she can hear is them talking. Stace [GM] (00:36:14): No, that's totally fine. Stace [GM] (00:36:15): "All right," says the woman behind the counter, and she walks over to the door that was straight ahead from the entry way and pulls it open. She says, "Please leave the cart by the door and go collect the trash. That cart doesn't really fit the spa's aesthetic and I don't want our patrons to see it." Daniel [Tamara] (00:36:37): Well that's a problem here, because you see, my colleague here, Cordel, she's got a bad back so we need to take the cart with us. But what we can do is we can try to keep it as unobtrusive as possible, keep to the edges. Alex [Mox] (00:36:53): I think Mox is going to lean heavier on the cart and kind of try and milk it. Marietta [Ria] (00:36:58): I also don't have any ciphers or anything that would be helpful. Because, if it's just this one lady I feel like knocking her out but I can't do any of that. Stace [GM] (00:37:07): Okay Daniel, go ahead and give me a persuasion, an intellect roll of six to try and talk this lady into letting the nasty garbage can into her beautiful spa. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:16): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:37:16): Is Mox helping? Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:18): Mox is assisting me. Stace [GM] (00:37:20): If Mox isn't... okay. So three. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:24): Okay, that is a 12. Alex [Mox] (00:37:25): Yay. Stace [GM] (00:37:26): She sort of sighs and opens the door. I would escort you but I'm waiting for somebody so go ahead and don't be long. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:36): We'll be as quick as we can. And Tamara starts pushing the cart through the door. Stace [GM] (00:37:42): Okay. You enter a space that has some nice reclining chairs, there are people with little drinks just waiting to be called back into the rooms that are kind of in a hallway to the left of this secondary waiting room. They look at you with mild disgust. Alex [Mox] (00:38:02): I think Mox is going to whisper to Tamara, "You'd think these people didn't shit or something." Daniel [Tamara] (00:38:08): Yeah, I don't get it. Tamara leans down as if trying to push the cart but it's heavy and whispers down through the leaking trash, "Where's the lab supposed to be?" Marietta [Ria] (00:38:20): It's supposed to be in here. I don't know who these people are. Maybe she was waiting for me but I'm in a fucking trash can. Daniel [Tamara] (00:38:27): Well, this is a day spa, so I assume the lab is hidden. I assumed they told you where in here it should be. Marietta [Ria] (00:38:34): Well they didn't so you can wheel me back to that room and I can beat it out of that lady, I guess. Not that I'm much of a fighter, I thought that was your job. Alex [Mox] (00:38:41): Mox is going to find some trash and dump it in the trashcan. Marietta [Ria] (00:38:45): All right, that's it. And Ria jumps out of the trashcan, covered in trash and she's like, "Where the fuck is my contact here?" Stace [GM] (00:38:53): All the people in the fancy spa waiting room, gasp and all of their heads turn and lock eyes on you, standing in this trashcan and one of them says, "I'm going to the front desk. We need to call security." Marietta [Ria] (00:39:09): This is security, you idiot. Stace [GM] (00:39:11): "Oh, my God, what a terrible... this place is supposed to be... oh my God." And she opens the door into the original room with the counter and she says, "Call security. Someone snuck in here in the trashcan." Daniel [Tamara] (00:39:26): Time to go. Alex [Mox] (00:39:33): So, we can't kill Ria, right, but Ria can be hurt? Stace [GM] (00:39:37): Ria has to be able to conduct her business. Alex [Mox] (00:39:41): That's the mission briefing? Stace [GM] (00:39:42): But yes, she is supposed to remain alive. Alex [Mox] (00:39:45): Can Mox pistol whip Ria? Stace [GM] (00:39:49): You can pull out a pistol in the spa, yes. Alex [Mox] (00:39:52): Okay, not a pistol I guess. Daniel [Tamara] (00:39:55): In front of all these people? Alex [Mox] (00:39:56): I guess just whack Ria in the back is the head to knock Ria out? Marietta [Ria] (00:40:01): I think Ria's also mildly surprised that there's as many people in here, because there was only the one voice before. Marietta [Ria] (00:40:11): Oh, hi. Sorry, couldn't see in the trash can and there was more trash being dumped on me. Stace [GM] (00:40:17): So the woman that was standing behind the counter, with the braided hair, comes over and peaks in through this door and looks at you three and says, "Oh, we'll get this taken care of right away. Excuse me you three, I need you to leave right now. You're disturbing our guests. This is a quiet place. Please come with me." Alex [Mox] (00:40:38): Can Mox make it look like she's apprehending Ria, like oh my God, this person just popped out of our trash can. We had no idea there was a person in our trashcan. Stace [GM] (00:40:48): Yes. I mean you can try anything. Alex [Mox] (00:40:51): Okay. Mox would like to do that. Stace [GM] (00:40:54): All right. That is going to be 15 intellect roll to try and persuade the counter lady that you didn't know somebody was in the trashcan. Alex [Mox] (00:41:05): Okay. 19. Stace [GM] (00:41:07): Okay. How do you look as though you're apprehending Dr. Ortiz? Alex [Mox] (00:41:11): I think Mox just genuinely tackles Ria and does the hands behind the back security tackle. Marietta [Ria] (00:41:23): What the actual fuck, lady? Get off me. Ugh. Stace [GM] (00:41:27): I'm going to have to ask all three of you to come in this room. Stace [GM] (00:41:31): And what would you like for your minor effect, Alex? Alex [Mox] (00:41:34): I think to give Tamara asset on what Tamara wants to do in this situation. Daniel [Tamara] (00:41:41): Has the front desk had a chance to call security yet? Stace [GM] (00:41:44): It would appear that she came straight to the door to see what's going on. Daniel [Tamara] (00:41:48): Is she in the room, or is she out in the main room? Stace [GM] (00:41:52): She's in the doorway trying to get you guys to leave that area. Daniel [Tamara] (00:41:57): Tamara is going to go over to the doorway like she's complying, start stepping through the doorway, past this woman and then she is going to try and incapacitate her with a swing of her fist. Stace [GM] (00:42:12): Okay. That is going to be a target of nine. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:17): Is this after we're all in the other room and not in front of this group? Stace [GM] (00:42:21): No, you guys are still mostly in front of the group, yeah. People are pulling out personal assistants. They seem to be communicating about what's going on. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:29): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:31): Tamara's going to try anyway because she's going to hope that this lab is hidden well. She's going to spend some effort, bring it down to a six. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:39): Maybe this lady knows? Alex [Mox] (00:42:41): Wait, I thought I gave Tamara an asset too? Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:45): Oh, and I've also got an asset, so that's a three. Stace [GM] (00:42:51): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:51): Ooh, that's good because it's a four. Stace [GM] (00:42:51): All right. Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:51): If you're not going to knock her out immediately, I should doubt that it's six damage. Stace [GM] (00:42:56): That's what I was just looking at, so thank you. Yeah. You knock her out. She's debilitated. Or, not debilitated, she's unconscious. She's not debilitated in the sense of the cipher term debilitated. Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:07): Tamara is going to basically push her underneath her desk and just fold her up, deeply asleep underneath her desk, unless there's like a closet or something in that main room that she can shove her into. Stace [GM] (00:43:22): There is that other door that was near the counter. Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:26): Oh, would I know what that is? Stace [GM] (00:43:29): Mm-mm (negative). Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:29): I'm going to try to open that door and see what's there. Stace [GM] (00:43:32): It opens and you look down a fairy undecorated tile floored hallway with a door on the other end and a restroom sign. There's a restroom on the right. Alex [Mox] (00:43:46): [inaudible 00:43:46] did we go in the wrong door? Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:49): Do we have any comms between us? Stace [GM] (00:43:50): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yup. In ear. Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:54): Yeah, I'm going to do a comms to Mox and say, "Bring the doctor and the trash back to this area. There's another door here, separate from the spa." Alex [Mox] (00:44:01): I guess Mox is going to man handle the doctor back into the trash and then push the trash back into the hallway. Daniel [Tamara] (00:44:09): Stace, you haven't answered this question yet but exactly how much trash is actually on Dr. Ortiz at this point? Stace [GM] (00:44:16): Well, since you tore up the trash bag, it's now loose trash. Well she's still in the trashcan right? So I feel like we cannot definitively answer that question. She is covered in trash right now. Daniel [Tamara] (00:44:27): Okay, great. Stace [GM] (00:44:27): Probably some juices though. Daniel [Tamara] (00:44:31): Yeah, that's what I was really wondering about. Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:44:32): Yeah. Alex [Mox] (00:44:33): Mox is going to go that, I guess. Marietta [Ria] (00:44:36): Ria loves it. Oh, so much joy. Alex [Mox] (00:44:39): I mean, unless there's like some weird reality show in this universe where Mox could pretend they're a prank show, Marietta [Ria] (00:44:47): Yeah, now that you mention it, you hear several of the guests who are now standing, some of them on their chairs, talking into their communicators saying, "Yes, security? There are three violent people at the Wistful Remembrances Day Spa. We need someone here right away." Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:07): Tell them they're on Space Jack-ass. Alex [Mox] (00:45:10): Mox is going to be like, "Fuck you, this is Space Jack-ass." And like hightail it out of there with Ria. Stace [GM] (00:45:16): Okay. You're back the room with the counter. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:20): This way. Tamara is carrying the counter attendant. Alex [Mox] (00:45:24): We have a hostage. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:26): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Down this hallway. Alex [Mox] (00:45:29): Mox follows with her hostage. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:31): Tamara will shut the door behind them. Is there a way to lock it? Stace [GM] (00:45:35): Yes. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:36): Okay. Tamara will lock it and head towards the far end of the hall where she is really hoping the door leads to a lab. Stace [GM] (00:45:43): There is an electronic lock that requires a key code and a badge scan. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:50): Dr. You want to wave your fake ID at this. Marietta [Ria] (00:45:54): Fuck. I will attempt that and knock on the door simultaneously, very vigorously. Stace [GM] (00:46:00): There's a harsh beeping sound, a flash of red and the door does not open. Marietta [Ria] (00:46:07): She bangs on it louder and she's like, "Hey, assholes, I barely got my ass out of there and I'm sick of this bull shit. This was poorly thought out. I don't know who hired you." Stace [GM] (00:46:17): There's no response. Daniel [Tamara] (00:46:18): What about our maintenance worker's ID tag? Alex [Mox] (00:46:21): We could try that. Stace [GM] (00:46:22): You can try it. Alex [Mox] (00:46:24): Mox tries the maintenance one. Stace [GM] (00:46:26): It doesn't work. Marietta [Ria] (00:46:27): I just don't have anything else in my mission brief, like I don't know what to tell you guys. Stace [GM] (00:46:33): Okay. A door that's locked, you have an unconscious employee, you have a bathroom. Marietta [Ria] (00:46:40): That I feel like we should have talked to, that probably would have just opened this door for us if I had of just popped out and not been in a fucking trashcan. But it's fine. Daniel [Tamara] (00:46:48): To be fair, we didn't ask you do get in the trashcan. You just decided to do that. Alex [Mox] (00:46:52): Oh, can we try the employee's, unconscious person's stuff? Stace [GM] (00:46:59): You sure could. Alex [Mox] (00:47:01): We're going to do that. Stace [GM] (00:47:02): Okay. She's wearing her badge on her belt, her robe belt and you scan it and you get a green light and the key pad back light turns on as though expecting you to put in a key code. Marietta [Ria] (00:47:16): Fuck. Alex [Mox] (00:47:17): Mox runs back out and checks her desk. Daniel [Tamara] (00:47:21): Are you looking for a Post-it? Alex [Mox] (00:47:23): Yes. Like, underneath the keyboard. Stace [GM] (00:47:25): Okay. You find nothing of the sort. Find some receipts, you find just some chap sticks. Daniel [Tamara] (00:47:32): I'm going to hack this keypad and use perfection so that I action is as if I rolled a natural 20. Stace [GM] (00:47:39): Okay, yeah. So tell me how Tamara manages... what flash of insight allowed her to realize what the key code is? Daniel [Tamara] (00:47:50): She didn't need to realize the key code because what she ended up doing is, that flash of insight was actually, she remembered the admin override for the default factory settings on these, so what she does instead is, she uses her mono-molecular blade to cut a part of it that she knows will trigger a reset to factory settings, so that she can just dial 0000 and have it unlock. Stace [GM] (00:48:17): And it unlocks. Daniel [Tamara] (00:48:18): She opens the door. Marietta [Ria] (00:48:21): Wow, I am mildly impressed. Stace [GM] (00:48:24): What do you do with unconscious lady? Daniel [Tamara] (00:48:26): We're holding onto her for now until I can find an appropriate place to ditch her that I know we won't lose track of her. Stace [GM] (00:48:32): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:48:33): I think Ria walks through the door if it's open at this point. Stace [GM] (00:48:37): It is and you walk into a state-of-the-art lab. There are two scientists, working at stations wearing lab coats. And one of them, a young man wearing round brown glasses with longish hair, looks at you and stands up and says, "Dr. Ortiz, we've been waiting for you and-" Marietta [Ria] (00:49:01): Yeah well, I had some incompetent help. Stace [GM] (00:49:04): What did you do to Rosie? Marietta [Ria] (00:49:06): Well... anyway. I think she'll be okay. Stace [GM] (00:49:10): Set her down. Daniel [Tamara] (00:49:11): Yeah, we think Rosie might actually be a mole. Stace [GM] (00:49:13): What? Marietta [Ria] (00:49:14): No, you just don't know how to communicate with people. Gosh. Stace [GM] (00:49:18): Rosie was waiting for Dr. Ortiz, or Emily, whatever. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:22): Yeah well, I was in a trashcan and didn't even know we were in the room. Daniel [Tamara] (00:49:26): Rosie tried to have Dr. Ortiz arrested by the way, by security. Alex [Mox] (00:49:30): She was super suspicious. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:31): That was those other people, not her. She was trying to get us to come into the other room. Alex [Mox] (00:49:35): Says trash lady. Stace [GM] (00:49:37): Oh, that sounds like Rosie. Daniel [Tamara] (00:49:38): Dr. Ortiz, you are not making any sense right now. I think you should leave it to the security experts. Alex [Mox] (00:49:44): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Super says. I think the trash got to your brain. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:49): Anyway, I'm done with these people. Stace [GM] (00:49:52): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:53): She takes off her trench coat and tosses it aside and says, "Where can I go get set up?" Stace [GM] (00:49:58): You don't even... you're just here to refine it right? So the morphic-laborometer you're looking for, it's right there. And they point to this random-ass piece of equipment against the back wall. Marietta [Ria] (00:50:09): Yeah. Has to be refined one more time. Okay. So she'll grab the pen container out of her pocket and walk over there and start setting it up to finish the rest of it and making sure all the parameters in the machine are what they're supposed to be, that basically they've done the job that they are supposed to do because, I'm not familiar with these scientists. Stace [GM] (00:50:28): Okay. Are you trying to conceal the nature of Project Pharaoh from the scientists or from Mox and Tamara? Marietta [Ria] (00:50:38): I'm not saying shit about it, I'm just refining it. So I'm literally just walking over and doing what I'm supposed to do but I'm going through whatever the safety protocol is before you refine something is, to make sure that all the parameters on the machine are correct. That it's set up appropriately for this refinement. Stace [GM] (00:50:55): You do that. It's a pretty straight forward task for a scientist. Mox and Tamara, what are you doing while she does this? Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:02): Quick question, could I ask Marietta to take her headphones off for just a second? Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:05): Tamara looks at Mox and says, "I bet you five lumens that she yells 'Eureka' when she figures this out. She's that kind of lame right" so [crosstalk 00:51:13]. Alex [Mox] (00:51:13): Oh my God. Bet on. Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:15): Okay, you can put it back on. Marietta [Ria] (00:51:17): I love it when you guys tell secrets when I'm in the room. Stace [GM] (00:51:19): So I just want to be clear, Dr. Ortiz is not being sneaky. Alex [Mox] (00:51:24): I know, Mox is watching. Stace [GM] (00:51:26): If she wouldn't be, that's fine, I just want to be clear. Marietta [Ria] (00:51:29): I don't know why I would be. This is the job they were hired to do, to protect me to refine this. I don't see why it would be an issue. Stace [GM] (00:51:36): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:36): Tamara's not really paying that close attention because, Tamara is focused on the security situation because Tamara's always assuming that something is going to go terribly wrong. Stace [GM] (00:51:46): Okay. So Mox then, you watch Dr. Ortiz reach into her chest pocket, pull out a pen, unscrew it and pull out a vial of some sort of liquid and place it into the laborometer before closing it and initiating the refinement sequence. Now, Ria? Marietta [Ria] (00:52:09): Yes. Stace [GM] (00:52:09): Can you... just to see how well you do this, according to the parameters that were set, etc., etc., can you go ahead and give me a... and this is a scale, go ahead and give me a D 20 roll for biology or whatever. It would be intellect. Marietta [Ria] (00:52:29): And I'm trained in biology, chemistry and medicine. Stace [GM] (00:52:32): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:52:33): And research. Stace [GM] (00:52:35): Okay so to succeed, you need a nine intellect roll. Marietta [Ria] (00:52:40): Okay I'll spend a level of effort then. Stace [GM] (00:52:42): Okay. Six. And you're trained... Marietta [Ria] (00:52:46): I can only do one. Stace [GM] (00:52:46): In biology? Marietta [Ria] (00:52:46): Yeah and chemistry and medicine and research and botany apparently. All of them. That rolled off the table. Let's try it again. That's an 11. It's all I've got for you. Stace [GM] (00:52:59): Okay. So the laborometer spins up. It gets through its process fairly quickly and the place where the serum is just opens on its own, flips open and the vial is there. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:15): I think she holds it, kind of tilts it upside down and looks at it again and says, "feels so strange that so many years of my life are in such a tiny vial." Stace [GM] (00:53:21): It's like a strange greasy, oily, gray-yellow. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:26): That's it. That's all she wrote. And where's the patient? I'll say, turning to the other scientists. Stace [GM] (00:53:34): Oh. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:34): It said a different place. Stace [GM] (00:53:36): "You're not going to have to worry about leaving." And as that scientist says that, why don't you guys go ahead and give me a 12 perception check. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:48): Oh, that's an 18. I'm sorry I should get my other dice. Daniel [Tamara] (00:53:52): 10. Stace [GM] (00:53:53): What'd you get? Daniel [Tamara] (00:53:53): No, wait, no, wait, I'm trained in perception, so I see still. Alex [Mox] (00:53:56): I got a 12. Stace [GM] (00:53:56): Okay, so you all hear a faint hiss and then there's a slight metallic smell in the air and the two scientists turn and you see that they have breathers over their mouths. And I need you guys to roll me a target 12 might defense. Daniel [Tamara] (00:54:20): I'm going to spend effort. Stace [GM] (00:54:21): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:54:22): Got an 18. Stace [GM] (00:54:23): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:54:24): I got 19. Stace [GM] (00:54:26): Dr. Ortiz? Marietta [Ria] (00:54:28): That's a two. Stace [GM] (00:54:29): Okay. Alex, what would you like your minor effect to be? Alex [Mox] (00:54:31): Catch Ria when Ria falls, probably. Is Ria going to pass out? If Ria's going to pass out, Mox wants to catch Ria. Stace [GM] (00:54:39): Okay, so if that happens, you can just keep that in your pocket. But it doesn't happen this time but Ria, you are feeling woozy and almost sleepy and Ria's now hindered. Marietta [Ria] (00:54:51): Okay. I think Ria is going to crawl over to her bag and put her breather on. Stace [GM] (00:54:56): I'm going to need everybody to roll initiative. Alex [Mox] (00:54:58): Monkey bunkies. 11. Daniel [Tamara] (00:55:02): 20. Alex [Mox] (00:55:03): Damn. Stace [GM] (00:55:04): And what did Ria get? Marietta [Ria] (00:55:08): 12. Stace [GM] (00:55:10): Okay. So Tamara, you've got this weird metallic taste in your mouth and you see both, supposed scientists pulling, they're drawing, so they're not out yet, not completely, but they're drawing heavy handguns. There's one to your left, and there's one slightly behind you to your right. No, Tamara wouldn't let him be behind you. So there's one slightly ahead of you on your right. What do you do? Daniel [Tamara] (00:55:37): I'm going to go towards the one on my left and my target is actually to, it's sort of like a melee attack but I'm trying to grab the breather off their face. Stace [GM] (00:55:47): Ooh. I like it. So go ahead and give me a nine speed for that. Well, yeah I think so. Daniel [Tamara] (00:55:57): 19. Stace [GM] (00:55:58): All right, you manage to pull the breather off their face, and I will say, if you wanted, as a minor effect, Tamara can take the few seconds to put it on her own face if that's what she intends to do. Daniel [Tamara] (00:56:11): Yeah, for sure. Stace [GM] (00:56:13): All right. So you have the breather, they don't. Ria, you're not feeling great, you're a little bit sleepy. That tile floor's looking pretty comfortable. You got two... Marietta [Ria] (00:56:24): I think I am just going for the breather. Stace [GM] (00:56:27): On the other one? Marietta [Ria] (00:56:28): No, on me, for me. I'm trying to get my breather out because, I'm aware of what's happening I presume. Stace [GM] (00:56:33): Oh, you have a breather in your inventory? Marietta [Ria] (00:56:36): Yeah I have a breather. Yeah, so she is literally like running for her bag which I think she left with her coat, probably. So I don't know how big this room was but she set it do the side before walking to the machine so I think she's like woozily trying to get over to her bag and pull out her breather. Stace [GM] (00:56:51): Okay. It's not super far but I would say because Rita's hindered, you're going to be able to... just give me a speed roll of nine, you're hindered so 12 to see if you can get to the bag and put the breather on in the same round. Marietta [Ria] (00:57:04): Okay, well that was a two, so guess not. This dice is retired for the evening. Stace [GM] (00:57:11): You do manage to make it to the bag, but the buckle is just so frustrating. Marietta [Ria] (00:57:17): I think she's like fumbling to the buckle and she's like leaning to the side as she's trying to open it. She's like slowly falling over, more and more and she's like, "I just need the breather." Daniel [Tamara] (00:57:27): This is why you don't buy designer shit. Alex [Mox] (00:57:28): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:57:30): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:57:31): I don't even think it's designer, I think it's just impractical. Stace [GM] (00:57:34): Mox, go ahead. Alex [Mox] (00:57:35): I guess Mox is going to rush the other person and try and grab their breather. Stace [GM] (00:57:40): Okay, this is a fairly small room, so nobody's more than immediate distance away, so you can attempt a nine speed. Alex [Mox] (00:57:47): 20, after I activate Siri. Stace [GM] (00:57:51): Okay. So you grab the breather. What you would like for your major effect? Alex [Mox] (00:57:57): I don't think I could snap this person's neck taking it off can I? Stace [GM] (00:58:02): You could rake their eyeballs, which would blind them for a round. Daniel [Tamara] (00:58:06): Big thumbs up. Marietta [Ria] (00:58:06): You could put the thing on. Daniel [Tamara] (00:58:09): You want to put the breather on? Alex [Mox] (00:58:11): I'm going to go with the raking eyeballs. Daniel [Tamara] (00:58:13): And get the raking on. Stace [GM] (00:58:14): Yeah, yeah. No, also you can. So cool. All right, so the scientist that Tamara snatched the breather off of their face, raises the heavy hand gun and fires at Tamara. And go ahead and give me a nine speed defense. Daniel [Tamara] (00:58:35): I'm trained. Stace [GM] (00:58:37): Okay. Six. Daniel [Tamara] (00:58:39): That is a seven. Stace [GM] (00:58:40): Okay. Instead, they just blast a hole in the dry wall and we turn to the second one, who is trying to hold up their weapon but can't see very well due to the nails that were just in their eyeball and so we're going to go ahead and skip their turn. All right, we're back at the top. Tamara. Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:04): Okay. Tamara is going to power fist the mother fucker that she just took the breather off of. Stace [GM] (00:59:10): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:59:10): Yeah. First him good. Stace [GM] (00:59:12): That's a nine might. Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:15): Okay. Aren't they hindered because, of the gas? Stace [GM] (00:59:19): They are hindered because of the gas. So, that's a six. Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:20): I got 20. Marietta [Ria] (00:59:22): Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:59:24): Ooh. All right. Well describe what you do to this poor guy and then do you want the extra damage or the major effect? Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:32): Yeah, I want the extra damage. Stace [GM] (00:59:34): Okay. And I'm not going to pretend like I remember what a 20 gets you. Daniel, what does a 20 get you? Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:39): Plus for. So, that's 10 damage total. Stace [GM] (00:59:42): Okay, how do you kill this guy in one punch? Marietta [Ria] (00:59:45): One punch man. Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:46): Tamara pulls back her arm, punches at their face. They try to dodge but Tamara's already accounted for that and they're skull literally shatters as Tamara's first hits it, and reverberates with the extra kinetic force the power fist has got on it. And the other guy gets rained on with blood and brain. Alex [Mox] (01:00:11): Nice. Stace [GM] (01:00:12): And it gets in his poor raw eyeballs. Okay. Ria, Tamara just painted the walls and the other scientist with brains and blood. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:24): Love it. Stace [GM] (01:00:25): You don't have a breather on. First, give me a 12 might defense. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:32): That's a nine. Stace [GM] (01:00:33): Okay. Mox, your minor effect from earlier was that you were going to be able to catch Ria when she succumbed. She has succumbed and is sliding towards the ground. Alex [Mox] (01:00:44): Mox catches Ria all poetically and shit. Stace [GM] (01:00:47): Very dramatic and cute. Mox pats her on the head in comfort. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:51): I think she was already on the ground over her bag, so it's just like she's like sploosh. Stace [GM] (01:00:57): All right. Daniel [Tamara] (01:00:58): Okay, different phrase please. Stace [GM] (01:01:00): Oh, than sploosh? Daniel [Tamara] (01:01:00): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (01:01:02): All right. Alex [Mox] (01:01:04): Phrasing. Marietta [Ria] (01:01:05): Sorry. I'll... someone else thing of one. Alex [Mox] (01:01:09): We were talking too much about Archer for sploosh to work anymore. Marietta [Ria] (01:01:13): I've never seen Archer, so. Stace [GM] (01:01:16): Fix yourself. So the doctor is unconscious. Mox, there's one more, the formally blinded scientist. They're hindered because they breathed in the sleeping gas. What do you want to do? Alex [Mox] (01:01:35): Would Mox know it's sleeping gas? Stace [GM] (01:01:38): You could probably deduce that it's knocked Dr. Ortiz out. Daniel [Tamara] (01:01:42): It's either that or nerve gas. Alex [Mox] (01:01:45): Yeah. I was just like, the brief thing was pretty clear about Dr. Ortiz not dying. Stace [GM] (01:01:51): It was. Alex [Mox] (01:01:52): Mox can't tell the difference between sleeping gas and nerve gas, so I think Mox is going to spend her turn putting the mask on Dr. Ortiz, like from her backpack. Stace [GM] (01:02:03): Okay. You do that. It's the remaining scientist's turn and they raise their heavy hand gun and very shakily aim it at Tamara once again. And as they raise the hand gun, it slowly tumbles forward and slips out of their fingers and they follow it, falling face first down on the ground. And combat has ended. Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:27): Nice. Alex [Mox] (01:02:28): I think Mox is going to turn to Tamara and say, "Who's the dumb one now?" Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:33): Yeah. And Tamara reaches into her pocket and hands Mox five lumens and says, "yeah, she didn't say it." Is there any kind of de-contam in here that we can use to clean the blood off of ourselves, if there is any? Stace [GM] (01:02:48): There is the restroom in the hallway just outside. Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:51): Okay. Let's get the doctor out of here and try to wake her up, or if you think it'd be better we could try putting her in the trash again, but I'm worried she'll wake up and freak out if she's under the trash. Alex [Mox] (01:03:04): Cuter when she's angry though. We would just put her in the trash for fun. We still have to get her out. Daniel [Tamara] (01:03:10): I'm not opposed to that if she doesn't make a fuss when we get out of here. We should definitely ditch her trench coat though. We should just make sure she's got the other stuff she needs. Alex [Mox] (01:03:21): Yeah. Daniel [Tamara] (01:03:22): Besides, this trench coat's pretty much fucking ruined from all this trash. Alex [Mox] (01:03:27): Could we switch her clothes with the scientist whose face you blew off so they think she's dead? Daniel [Tamara] (01:03:35): It's a little messy but I bet you they have an extra lab coat here. Stace [GM] (01:03:38): So while you guys are debating this, you hear loud knocking, thumping sounds on the door that leads back into the room with the counter and you head a loud voice bark, "Star Force, open up." Stace [GM] (01:03:53): And that's where we'll end this episode. Marietta [Ria] (01:03:57): Fair. Stace [GM] (01:03:59): You guys make really good choices. This is how it feels, huh Daniel, where you're like okay, yup. Uh-huh (affirmative) Daniel [Tamara] (01:04:08): That was sarcasm right, on the good choices? Alex [Mox] (01:04:11): So you're going to do that today, huh? Stace [GM] (01:04:14): I don't know, I think you guys are making great choices. Very fun choices. All right. Marietta [Ria] (01:04:19): You know, character based choices, it's fine. Stace [GM] (01:04:21): So, Alex, what stuck out for you? What seemed cool? What did Mox get up to that you really enjoyed? Marietta [Ria] (01:04:29): I think I like how we're doing things out of the normal for our other campaign. So this is more of a, no, no, no, you can't kill everybody and just be the little weird eco-terrorist, Cha Cha. This is a stealth mission and you should remain semi stealthy. Stace [GM] (01:04:53): All right, yeah, cool. As always, we're going to go ahead and do our segment called Player Intrusions where one of us offers you, our listeners, an XP to check out something we think if awfully neat. This week, Alex is going to share. Alex, what would you give you listeners an XP to check out? Alex [Mox] (01:05:13): I've been mulling this back and forth actually and back and forth and back and forth and etc. and I've actually decided to go out of left field, no one's expecting this, but God of War. Stace [GM] (01:05:30): Oh yeah. Alex [Mox] (01:05:31): Not like the original games, but the newer one, air quotes, for the PS4. Stace [GM] (01:05:37): The new, new one? Like the reboot? Alex [Mox] (01:05:40): Yeah. I guess it's a reboot. Where it moves out of Greek mythology into Norse Mythology and mainly I enjoy it because I can play the came and most of the time I'm just yelling at the screen, "Boy!" It's just one of those really fun hack and slash games that has pseudo story, similar to Assassins Creed but not as customizable. So you don't have to worry about those things. Stace [GM] (01:06:11): You still play as the painted guy? Alex [Mox] (01:06:13): Yes. You are still painted. But now you have a beard. Stace [GM] (01:06:19): Oh. Alex [Mox] (01:06:19): And it's also Faraaz. Stace [GM] (01:06:20): Cool. Alex [Mox] (01:06:21): But he has a son now. Stace [GM] (01:06:23): And it's PlayStation exclusive right? Alex [Mox] (01:06:26): I don't think it was actually. Stace [GM] (01:06:28): Is it PC? I know it's not on Xbox. Alex [Mox] (01:06:31): I thought it was PlayStation exclusive. Stace [GM] (01:06:32): They have been releasing more games on PC though. Like, Horizon Zero Dawn's out now on PC. Alex [Mox] (01:06:39): Yeah. Marietta [Ria] (01:06:40): I like that game, a lot. Alex [Mox] (01:06:42): It does look like it's a PS4 exclusive. Stace [GM] (01:06:47): Cool, that's all right. PlayStation games need loving too. Alex [Mox] (01:06:50): I'm one of those weird persons who choose their consols based on controller size the PS4 is smaller than the Xbox, so I chose the PS4. Stace [GM] (01:07:01): Totally fair. That's the reason I don't go full PlayStation is because of the controller, but we're not talking about that. We're not trying to start a controversy in the Explorers Wanted Community. Alex [Mox] (01:07:09): Controversy drama. Stace [GM] (01:07:11): Yeah, so God of War is historically a fighting action type game right? Alex [Mox] (01:07:16): Yes. It is a hack and slash. Stace [GM] (01:07:19): With quick time events, right? Alex [Mox] (01:07:21): Yes, there are QuickTime events, and if you go into the older games, there's a quick time massage event. Marietta [Ria] (01:07:27): What? Alex [Mox] (01:07:29): Just getting that massage in. I mean, they did it in Final Fantasy X too so why can't God of War do it? Stace [GM] (01:07:36): Yeah, so it's a fantasy game, yeah. Alex [Mox] (01:07:38): That fantasy where we can get massages. Daniel [Tamara] (01:07:41): There's no Ronas. Alex [Mox] (01:07:42): I know. Stace [GM] (01:07:44): Thank you, Alex. And Marietta, where can people find us if they want to talk to us? Alex [Mox] (01:07:51): Oh, man. Best place to start is our fabulous website which is explorerswanted.fm. We are on Twitter @explorerswanted. We are on Instagram @explorerswantedpodcast and we're on Facebook as Explorers Wanted Podcast. And if you're looking to support us om other ways, we also have a Patreon and we also have some goals that we're working towards there. We would love your support if you are able to do that and we're explorers wanted on there. And then if you really want to hang out with us, the best way to do so is to come hang out in our Discord server where we're very active and have a community which is lovely. There are links to the Discord on all of our social medias and on our website. We hope that you would join us there. Daniel [Tamara] (01:08:29): And honestly though, the best thing that you could do if you wanted to support us, that you could do for us right now is to tell a friend. And tell them why you like the show and why they should listen to it. The second best thing you could do is to leave us a five star review on a podcast directory. Specifically Apple podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher. Those where five star written reviews, especially if they're specific, make a big difference in people checking us out. Daniel [Tamara] (01:08:55): If you didn't like the podcast, well I'd like to remind you that the cow says. The dog says. And the goat with 1000 young says, "You have failed to pay tribute for the last time. I name you awful. I name you betrayer. The clock is pulled, Donald, and I am coming." Stace [GM] (01:09:17): If you want to reach out to us individually on social media, you can do so via twitter. You can find me on twitter @andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-K. Stace [GM] (01:09:25): You can find me on twitter @StaceWindu. Alex [Mox] (01:09:28): You can find me debating the body horror that is the game bug snacks @realteaunicorn. And yes, I will sell you real estate, but not really. Marietta [Ria] (01:09:39): And I've been giving it another attempt on the twitter. You can find me @imonahike. Stace [GM] (01:09:44): You're very funny on Twitter. All right, well that's it for this episode, that's a wrap. Thanks everybody. Please enjoy the rest of your day, week, whatever when you're listening to this. And, All (01:09:57): Bye. Stace [GM] (01:10:29): What is your secret identity? Alex [Mox] (01:10:33): Going to make me look this up now. Hope you're happy. I think Mox is also- Marietta [Ria] (01:10:39): Give her my name. Alex [Mox] (01:10:42): ...trying to remember it out of all the other things that is memorized over the last few days, like counting cards on Sin Station. They made sure that you know. Stace [GM] (01:10:53): It's in the podcast assets channel so... Alex [Mox] (01:10:56): On my God, why do we talk so much in chat? Stace [GM] (01:10:58): Or I can drop it in chat. Hang on, I got it, I got it, I got you. Alex [Mox] (01:11:01): Why? Stace [GM] (01:11:01): All right. Wait, hang on, I did that wrong. Daniel, don't make excuses for me. All right, so... All (01:11:10): Bye. Stace [GM] (01:11:13): Guys, you left me hanging. You left me hanging. All right. Let's stop recording.