Waterbrick Down

Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - Mission #1: Mercenaries On the Boreal Express

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Zaria, Soren, and Yelana meet up outside the Oc|Tan refueling Depot on the lower level of Ebria Station. Lighting in the lower levels flicker and the grime of the station is thicker all around. The industrial smells of oil, metal, and plastic permeate the air and the whine of power saws from the nearby scrappers guild pierce through the hustle and bustle of merchants on the lower docks. The Depot occupies nearly one half of the arm of the lower level with storage tank upon storage tank stretching from floor to ceiling. Upon inquiring at the desk of the front office the heroes are ushered into a small quiet non-descript board room. Seating themselves at a table, a voice echoes through the room from a blank viewing screen mounted upon the far wall.

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"Hello, hello? Can't seem to get the scrying camera working right, one moment please." Seconds later a Stratitarian flashes upon the screen.

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"Ah there we go... oh you're still here. Well you're all set then, got everything ready?"

Party

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Zaria Kanara (Kintobor)
226 Year Old Female Elf
Character Points: 0/10
Vitality: 6
Velocity: 2
Strength: 2
Skill: 2
Smarts: 1
Spirit: 2
Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Religion 1, Melee Weapons 2
Known Spells: Warding Bond, Solar Flare
Credits: 0
Equipment: Power Khopesh (Standard Kintetic Melee), Dune Sea Armour (Standard Kinetic Armour)
Inventory: Energy Cell, Plasma Potion

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Soren Aeolus (The Legonater)
31-year-old male Human
Vitality: 5
Velocity: 2
Strength: 1
Skill: 2
Smarts: 2
Spirit: 2
Proficiencies: Arcana 1, Insight 1, Piloting 2, Short-Range Weapons 1
Credits: 10
Known Spells: Elemental Evocation, Entropic Mending
Equipment: MK-12 personal handgun (short-ranged standard energy weapon)
Inventory: Farsight Goggles, Hacking Chip

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Yelana Fennix (Classic_Spaceman) 
Unknown age Female Human. 
Character Points: 0/10 
Vitality:
Velocity:
Strength:
Skill:
Smarts:
Spirit:
Proficiencies: Artillery Weapons 1, Perception 1, Deception 1, Arcana 1 
Credits: 0
Known Spells: Obfuscate 
Equipment: Modular Sniper Rifle (Calibrated Energy Artillery Weapon), Farsight Goggles 
Inventory: Plasma Potion

Mission Master (MM) Note: Welcome to Mission 1 folks! Please ensure that your stats are correct. We'll get started once everyone has confirmed in thread. Please try and keep out of character (OoC) comments limited. For a quick question or note, no problem, otherwise for lengthy discussions please use the appropriate non-mission thread. The goal is to have fun, so keep that in mind with your interactions between players, if I need to mediate anything please feel free to shoot me a PM. As noted in other discussion, I'm currently juggling a hectic schedule between newborn twins and the rest of life, so my activity will probably go in spurts, but my goal is to respond at bare minimum within 24hrs. Thanks for your patience and enjoy! :classic:

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9 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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Zaria, Soren, and Yelana meet up outside the Oc|Tan refueling Depot on the lower level of Ebria Station. Lighting in the lower levels flicker and the grime of the station is thicker all around. The industrial smells of oil, metal, and plastic permeate the air and the whine of power saws from the nearby scrappers guild pierce through the hustle and bustle of merchants on the lower docks. The Depot occupies nearly one half of the arm of the lower level with storage tank upon storage tank stretching from floor to ceiling. Upon inquiring at the desk of the front office the heroes are ushered into a small quiet non-descript board room. Seating themselves at a table, a voice echoes through the room from a blank viewing screen mounted upon the far wall.

Yelana took a sip of her tea as she sat down at the table. 
"Good to see I'm not late - There was a line at the spice shop." 

9 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Seating themselves at a table, a voice echoes through the room from a blank viewing screen mounted upon the far wall.

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"Hello, hello? Can't seem to get the scrying camera working right, one moment please." Seconds later a Stratitarian flashes upon the screen.

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"Ah there we go... oh you're still here. Well you're all set then, got everything ready?"

"Oh, hello. To be honest, with all the glitching, I was expecting a panicked housecat! Also, why are comms always scuffed when I'm around? It's getting weird, now." 
 


OoC: 

Spoiler

My stats look good. 👍

 

Edited by Classic_Spaceman

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Soren walks almost mindlessly through the bustle in the docks, unfazed by the music of machinery. In the board room, he finds a seat in the far corner of the table, and gives a firm nod to the Stratitarian on the screen. 
 

Everything looks good to me!

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Zaria made her way into the bowels of Ebria Station. Although the atmosphere was less inviting than the upper levels, it was a new locale, and Zaria was intrigued by the areas... unique charm.

Making her way into the board room, Zaria takes a seat and looks around, focusing on the projection of her employer once the image comes through.

"Well, I am ready." Zaria replies to her employer.

OOC: Purchased a plasma potion, so I'm down 10 gold. Will likely be looking into some healing spells at some point, but no matter. Thanks for having me! :thumbup:

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The Stratitarian seems somewhat confused at the group's responses.

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"Why are you still here, I thought you had everything you needed? You really making me repeat myself? Fine what'd you miss?"

2 hours ago, Kintobor said:

OOC: Purchased a plasma potion, so I'm down 10 gold. Will likely be looking into some healing spells at some point, but no matter. Thanks for having me! :thumbup:

MM Note: Fixed.

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Zaria confusedly looks towards the hologram. "Leopold, I can assume? We were told to come here. Are we just... going straight to the train then? If we are immediately heading out, that is fine, I thought maybe we would be briefed or given some more information. Where are we boarding the train?" Zaria asked. She'd never dealt directly with Oc Tan before, or any large corporate conglomerate for that matter, but she was aware of the company's existence.

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15 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria confusedly looks towards the hologram. "Leopold, I can assume? We were told to come here. Are we just... going straight to the train then? If we are immediately heading out, that is fine, I thought maybe we would be briefed or given some more information. Where are we boarding the train?" Zaria asked. She'd never dealt directly with Oc Tan before, or any large corporate conglomerate for that matter, but she was aware of the company's existence.

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"Weren't you listening earlier? Knew I should have figured out the camera ahead of time. Fine... Yes, I'm Leopold Irgonstead, I manage Oc|Tan's median supply chain for the middle quadrant of the Mahkrian system. As I said, you're heading to Parous on Oquim. I've already got tickets reserved for you at the central hover-train station under my name. You'll be boarding the Boreal Express which runs non-stop between Parous and Con'stop near the planet's northern pole. You'll be monitoring a pair of M-Tec's personnel, a dwarf and a Quaarm. They're traveling with some sort of experimental power generator. We don't have a lot of details on the device, but apparently M-Tec retrieved it from the core of one of Aluriel's moons. We want as much info as you can get on the thing, schematics, reports, readings. My managers have also informed me that if you can actually bring it back with you, I'm authorized to double your pay. This is supposed to be a game changer in the energy industry and Oc|Tan's got enough on its plate already without worrying about such disruptions." Leopold pauses, slightly lowering his voice, "I don't think I need to tell you that your discretion is appreciated, we don't need anything tracing this back to Oc|Tan, understood? You pull this off and I'll make sure the bosses hear about it and I'm sure your fledgling organization will be seeing some more lucrative contracts come your way real soon."

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18 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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"Weren't you listening earlier? Knew I should have figured out the camera ahead of time. Fine... Yes, I'm Leopold Irgonstead, I manage Oc|Tan's median supply chain for the middle quadrant of the Mahkrian system. As I said, you're heading to Parous on Oquim. I've already got tickets reserved for you at the central hover-train station under my name. You'll be boarding the Boreal Express which runs non-stop between Parous and Con'stop near the planet's northern pole. You'll be monitoring a pair of M-Tec's personnel, a dwarf and a Quaarm. They're traveling with some sort of experimental power generator. We don't have a lot of details on the device, but apparently M-Tec retrieved it from the core of one of Aluriel's moons. We want as much info as you can get on the thing, schematics, reports, readings. My managers have also informed me that if you can actually bring it back with you, I'm authorized to double your pay. This is supposed to be a game changer in the energy industry and Oc|Tan's got enough on its plate already without worrying about such disruptions." Leopold pauses, slightly lowering his voice, "I don't think I need to tell you that your discretion is appreciated, we don't need anything tracing this back to Oc|Tan, understood? You pull this off and I'll make sure the bosses hear about it and I'm sure your fledgling organization will be seeing some more lucrative contracts come your way real soon."

"Okay, I'm going to need a little more to go on than that - And by 'a little', I mean a lot. I need descriptions of the two targets and any security detail they have, schematics of the train, intel on the package - rad signature, size - all that, handoff contact and location in Con'stap, any possible rival organisations with knowledge of this device - Hart, Triad, those. . . 'Magpie' guys, and - Wait. . ." 
Yelana slowly took her hand off of her cup of tea. 
"Did you say you reserved our tickets under. your. own. name???
Yelana put both palms on her forehead and sighed loudly, trying to ignore her impending headache. 
"Are you shitting me?! You blew this op before it even started! When M-Tec finds out their shiny new generator is missing - and they will - they'll file a complaint with LRTS, access the train's manifests, and find out that someone from Oc|Tan booked passage - Even if we don't get caught, you still ensured that the theft can be traced directly back to Oc|Tan! Unbelievable. . ." 
 

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1 hour ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Okay, I'm going to need a little more to go on than that - And by 'a little', I mean a lot. I need descriptions of the two targets and any security detail they have, schematics of the train, intel on the package - rad signature, size - all that, handoff contact and location in Con'stap, any possible rival organisations with knowledge of this device - Hart, Triad, those. . . 'Magpie' guys, and - Wait. . ." 
Yelana slowly took her hand off of her cup of tea. 
"Did you say you reserved our tickets under. your. own. name???
Yelana put both palms on her forehead and sighed loudly, trying to ignore her impending headache. 
"Are you shitting me?! You blew this op before it even started! When M-Tec finds out their shiny new generator is missing - and they will - they'll file a complaint with LRTS, access the train's manifests, and find out that someone from Oc|Tan booked passage - Even if we don't get caught, you still ensured that the theft can be traced directly back to Oc|Tan! Unbelievable. . ." 
 

Zaria shook her head "You have little faith in yourself and your allies." She opened up her reusable water bottle and drunk from it. "If you are so concerned about this being traced back to Oc Tan, then we will simply need to be discreet about this and get off the train at Con'Stop like everyone else, without anyone the wiser to our reason for being on the train." She shrugs. "Or are you not up for a challenge, Yelana?" She states, almost sounding board.

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1 hour ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Okay, I'm going to need a little more to go on than that - And by 'a little', I mean a lot. I need descriptions of the two targets and any security detail they have, schematics of the train, intel on the package - rad signature, size - all that, handoff contact and location in Con'stap, any possible rival organisations with knowledge of this device - Hart, Triad, those. . . 'Magpie' guys, and - Wait. . ." 

The Stratitarian already annoyed, grows even more agitated.
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"Do you think I'd be hiring you if I had all of that information?"

1 hour ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Did you say you reserved our tickets under. your. own. name???
Yelana put both palms on her forehead and sighed loudly, trying to ignore her impending headache. 
"Are you shitting me?! You blew this op before it even started! When M-Tec finds out their shiny new generator is missing - and they will - they'll file a complaint with LRTS, access the train's manifests, and find out that someone from Oc|Tan booked passage - Even if we don't get caught, you still ensured that the theft can be traced directly back to Oc|Tan! Unbelievable. . ." 

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"Miss, do you really think I put it under my actual name? Of course it's under a pseudonym! Now then, I'd appreciate no further outbursts otherwise I can have you shown the door."

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11 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria shook her head "You have little faith in yourself and your allies." She opened up her reusable water bottle and drunk from it. "If you are so concerned about this being traced back to Oc Tan, then we will simply need to be discreet about this and get off the train at Con'Stop like everyone else, without anyone the wiser to our reason for being on the train." 

"You misunderstand - I mean that the theft will be traced back to Oc|Tan, regardless of whether we are discreet or not." 
 

12 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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"Miss, do you really think I put it under my actual name? Of course it's under a pseudonym! Now then, I'd appreciate no further outbursts otherwise I can have you shown the door."

"Yes? . . You did say your name was Leopold Irgonstead, and that you reserved tickets under your name. Is 'Irgonstead' your pseudonym, then?" 
Yelana bristled at 'Irgonstead's' surly attitude, taking a sip of her tea to retain her composure. 

18 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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"Do you think I'd be hiring you if I had all of that information?"

"Yeah, actually - Some of it, at least. Right now, your 'plan' basically amounts to racially profiling a bunch of random Quarm, asking totally-not-sus questions about tech we know nothing about, stealing said tech without being noticed, and somehow getting offworld with it once we reach Con'stap - All on a non-stop train." 
Yelana sighed and took another sip of tea. 
"Okay. . . What do you know, aside from what you already told us? And where did you even get this information in the first place?
 

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2 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Yes? . . You did say your name was Leopold Irgonstead, and that you reserved tickets under your name. Is 'Irgonstead' your pseudonym, then?" 
Yelana bristled at 'Irgonstead's' surly attitude, taking a sip of her tea to retain her composure. 

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"Well you're at least somewhat astute I see. Yes."

3 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Yeah, actually - Some of it, at least. Right now, your 'plan' basically amounts to racially profiling a bunch of random Quarm, asking totally-not-sus questions about tech we know nothing about, stealing said tech without being noticed, and somehow getting offworld with it once we reach Con'stap - All on a non-stop train." 
Yelana sighed and took another sip of tea. 
"Okay. . . What do you know, aside from what you already told us? And where did you even get this information in the first place?
 

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"The source of the information is not relevant to your mission. The energy from the device is reported to be enough to power a small planetoid for a week. M-tek is keeping this off the books as well, no press releases, no industry bulletins, nothing. So there must be some reason they're keeping it under wraps as well. You'll have a few days on the trip, so that should give you time to figure things out. Like I said earlier, it'd be preferable to get our hands on the device, but if you're not interested in the pay increase, we'll suffice for whatever data you can get us."

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15 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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"The source of the information is not relevant to your mission. The energy from the device is reported to be enough to power a small planetoid for a week. M-tek is keeping this off the books as well, no press releases, no industry bulletins, nothing. So there must be some reason they're keeping it under wraps as well. You'll have a few days on the trip, so that should give you time to figure things out. Like I said earlier, it'd be preferable to get our hands on the device, but if you're not interested in the pay increase, we'll suffice for whatever data you can get us."

"I disagree, but whatever." 
Yelana adjusted her hair for a moment. 
"Hm. . . Anything else we need to know before we ship out? And what do we do with this thing once we get it? Is there a dead drop in Con'stap, or are we bringing it back here? And how are we getting offworld?
 

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38 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Yeah, actually - Some of it, at least. Right now, your 'plan' basically amounts to racially profiling a bunch of random Quarm, asking totally-not-sus questions about tech we know nothing about, stealing said tech without being noticed, and somehow getting offworld with it once we reach Con'stap - All on a non-stop train." 

Soren shrugged. 

Whatever happens, happens. Plans are shams anyway; once you’re in the field it all goes to hell eventually. 

All in all, sounds like a basic train job to me. Get in, get the device or as much info as possible, and get out. No questions here. 

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7 minutes ago, The Legonater said:

Soren shrugged. 

Whatever happens, happens. Plans are shams anyway; once you’re in the field it all goes to hell eventually. 

"Riiiiiiiight. . . Maybe with that attitude. . ." 
Yelana glanced around the room. 
"So, who's taking the lead on this op, anyway? I suggest Zaria - She's levelheaded, and as a devotee of Varuth, probably knows the ins and outs of travel better than either of us do. Especially the inns. . . Get it? . . Nevermind." 
Yelana sheepishly finished the rest of her tea, waiting for the others to respond. 
 

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1 hour ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"I disagree, but whatever." 
Yelana adjusted her hair for a moment. 
"Hm. . . Anything else we need to know before we ship out? And what do we do with this thing once we get it? Is there a dead drop in Con'stap, or are we bringing it back here? And how are we getting offworld?
 

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"If you do manage to obtain the device, you shall bring it back here. I've arranged for a shuttle to ferry you to Parous and from Con'stap."

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23 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

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"If you do manage to obtain the device, you shall bring it back here. I've arranged for a shuttle to ferry you to Parous and from Con'stap."

"Got it." 
Yelana turned towards her companions. 
"If that's all, we should probably head to the shuttle.
 

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2 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Riiiiiiiight. . . Maybe with that attitude. . ." 
Yelana glanced around the room. 
"So, who's taking the lead on this op, anyway? I suggest Zaria - She's levelheaded, and as a devotee of Varuth, probably knows the ins and outs of travel better than either of us do. Especially the inns. . . Get it? . . Nevermind." 
 

Soren moves past the remark, evidently not remotely concerned with Yelana’s worries. 

Zaria might as well lead; I have no better suggestions. 

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3 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"You misunderstand - I mean that the theft will be traced back to Oc|Tan, regardless of whether we are discreet or not."

"Then you misunderstand me." Zaria replied, pointing to herself. "How can they trace a theft back to anyone if we just make our way off the train as if nothing ever happened? If they have no evidence of a theft, then what can they do? Make a baseless claim that it was stolen?"

Zaria took in a deep breath and sighed. "Right, looks like I'm in charge." Leadership was not something Zaria was used to, but she figured it wouldn't be too hard.

"If neither of you two have any more questions, I think we have enough information to proceed." She turns to the hologram. "We will get you what you are looking for, Leopold, in one form or another."

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On 6/23/2021 at 3:32 PM, Kintobor said:

"Then you misunderstand me." Zaria replied, pointing to herself. "How can they trace a theft back to anyone if we just make our way off the train as if nothing ever happened? If they have no evidence of a theft, then what can they do? Make a baseless claim that it was stolen?"

Zaria took in a deep breath and sighed. "Right, looks like I'm in charge." Leadership was not something Zaria was used to, but she figured it wouldn't be too hard.

"If neither of you two have any more questions, I think we have enough information to proceed." She turns to the hologram. "We will get you what you are looking for, Leopold, in one form or another."

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"Very well then, I trust you to figure out your own authority structure. An Oc|Tan shuttle is waiting outside to see you on your way."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The heroes depart from the depot and find their shuttle prepared for them. The journey to Oquim is uneventful and their courier not particularly chatty, all in all it's a dull trip which serves in stark contrast to the gleaming metropolis of Parous. The industrial city gshines with accents of gold and copper, sections of the metropolis suspended in the air by the aid of Quavoron crystals. The heroes have little time for sight-seeing however as they are quickly dropped off at the Parous hover-train station. Bustling with people of every background and species, the group soon locates the platform for the Boreal Express.

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Zaria was enthralled by the sights of Parous, what little she managed to see. She had seen the splendours of her home planet, but this was something entirely new, something different. She spoke a soft prayer in a hushed voice to Varuth as she made her way with the rest of her group to the train station's platform, marvelling at the engine.

"Alright, I guess we wait in line and get our tickets?" Zaria asked. She wasn't used to public transport, her feet tended to get her most places. She waits in line, keeping quiet and trying to listen to the conversations around her.

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11 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"Alright, I guess we wait in line and get our tickets?" Zaria asked. She wasn't used to public transport, her feet tended to get her most places. She waits in line, keeping quiet and trying to listen to the conversations around her.

As Zaria bides her time she tries to pick up on the conversations around her.

Perception Check (DC 1 & 3): 6, 2, 1 (1 Success, 2 Failures)

The elf can overhere part of the dialog between an O'Kor'uk and an undead seated on a bench nearby.

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"... and how long did you say you've been working on the Boreal Express?"

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"Nearly thirty nine years, figured I'd make it an even forty before retiring."

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"I've got to imagine you'll miss the luxury of the trip, no?"

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"I mean, we waiters get to drink as much as we want as long as the passengers are kept happy, but once you've ridden the Express a few hundred times, it looses its charm."

Zaria also picks up on the elf ahead of her muttering to herself.

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"...I just can't believe it. If the society thinks I'm going to take this slight sitting down, they've got another thing coming..."

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Soren is far less impressed by the glamour of the planet, keeping a dour expression as he waited in line. He took little heed of the bustle around him, rather, he fixed his gaze on the guards, trying to gain insight as to how they were feeling about the crowds. 

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3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Zaria also picks up on the elf ahead of her muttering to herself.

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"...I just can't believe it. If the society thinks I'm going to take this slight sitting down, they've got another thing coming..."

Zaria clasped her hands and continued to wait in line. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the information she overheard from the elf in front of her, but she figured it might be worth something later.

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On 6/25/2021 at 4:10 PM, The Legonater said:

Soren is far less impressed by the glamour of the planet, keeping a dour expression as he waited in line. He took little heed of the bustle around him, rather, he fixed his gaze on the guards, trying to gain insight as to how they were feeling about the crowds. 

Perception Check (DC 1 & 3): 4, 3, 2, 2 (1 Success, 3 Failures)

Soren only notes the one guard who seems occupied with checking passengers' tickets before they board, ignoring most of the rest of the crowd's antics.

23 hours ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria clasped her hands and continued to wait in line.

MM Note: Just waiting to see if @Classic_Spaceman wanted to do anything before continuing.

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