About a day after the events of the arena, the group got a hold of authorities that were able to completely shut down the arena. Though the trial took a couple days to be completed, it went smoothly and swiftly seeing as there were many witnesses via the gladiators themselves.

After all is said and told, Nivi calls the group to their now renovated ship. When the group gets to the communal room, Nivi has a big smile and looks like she is crying. "I've got wonderful news, everyone... we got payed for turning in the arena. And we got payed *big*. When the authorities heard about our luck, they decided to turn luck in our favor. We have 10,000 credits, guys! That's 2,500 credits for each of us!"

Juros' jaw just drops.

(By way of reminder, that is equivalent to 25,000 US dollars for each of you.)

"Woah!  Hah.  Like, No way!  Hahahah.  Dude, like, wicked gnarly radical awesome!   Hahahahahahahahah!  High fives!"

Kevin runs around offering high fives to his buddies.  "Dude.  Like, now I totally know we'll be big in the news!  Hahahah.  'Headline:  Blissian Merc and Crew Like, Bust Illegal Barakian Arena, Score Mondo Reward!'  Hahahahahah!"

He's too busy laughing to expound on how Murphey will likely mess this up for them.

  Hakkof does not deny the five of highness.  "I'm honestly surprised at getting anything out of that beyond token sympathy."

Nivi takes the high five. "Now I hope you don't mind, but I have already taken the liberty of putting the 2500 creds into your respective accounts." As an employer, she has that kind of information to wire money to her employees.

Juros is still slack-jawed and spaced out as his tail comes up to high-five Kevin. "I... payed? We got payed?"

Nivi puts a finger under Juros' jaw to gently shut it and says, "It gets better. The crooked people running the arena? Their assets got liquidated and some of those funds went towards our medical bills. We owe nothing."

Juros asks in a hopeful tone, "So... does this mean we're gonna stay together?" The quietest little puppy whimper can be heard swallowing the tail end of his sentence.

Nivi nods. "Yes."

"I know, like, right?  Hahah," Kevin agrees with Hakkof.

To the staying together confirmation he jumps for joy and fist pumps!  "Like, Radical!   Hahahahahah!"

He smiles at Nivi.  "Like, thanks for the direct deposit!  Hah.  And like, dealing with all the legwork junk.  Hahahah."

  "Staying on would be preferable to updating my resume for the nth time. I suppose I'll just have to settle for thousands of credits and you all then." SO HARD.

  He looks over to Juros, "Though I won't blame you if you want to wait until you are less banged up before looking into other jobs." Mental image of Juros so banged up from his terrible luck that his head has a cast and each of his limbs have a doggy radar dish.

The doggy cones are for normal dogs who don't know better than to scratch their wounds wide open... thankfully, Juros is smarter than that. Granted, his wounds were mostly internal. "Thanks." he answers Hakkof.

Kevin gets a paw-bump unless he actually is going for tail-fist bump.

Nivi relaxes and says, "So I was thinking... since we did this big favor for the people in this city, maybe we should just stay here a bit, do more good stuff, earn a reputation, and then start getting jobs abroad from there?"

"Dude, I like, totally hate resumes!  Hahahah.

'I've like, totally done all these radical things!'  Hah.

'No way!  You're totally hired!  So like, do those radical things again!'  Hah.

'No problemo!'  CRASH!  Hahahah.

'Like, I thought you said you've done this before, dude.'  Hah.

'Like, totally!  It's like, Murphey I tell ya!'  Hahah.

'Like, suuuure it is.  Dude.  You're like, totally fired.'  Hahahahahahahah."

He thinks about Nivi's suggestion, chuckling as several reasons why it will end in disaster come to mind.

"Like, totally with ya, Nivi!  Hahahah!"

After all...  disaster will strike regardless what plan they adopt.

  "Can't say I'd be against spending more time here in more pleasant circumstances."  Failpost is go, off to make more failposts!

Months pass and the group is able to secure several jobs. Their success rate skyrockets and they wind up with enough pay to last them a while (well... that 2,500 creds would have last a while on its own too, but still).

Month 4 is just starting when Nivi gathers the group and says, "We have become known pretty well around here. We've been offered a job just... posing for cameras."

Juros says, "Well you guys certainly are photogenic."

Kevin found time to go on a shopping spree and treated himself to a pair of mirror sunglasses and a colorful shirt with a palm tree print.  He liked them so much he got a matching set for each of his friends - in the appropriate size of course.

Kevin does his best celebrity impersonation, peeking over the top of his sunglasses, pointing at Juros pistol style, and clicking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth before saying, "Like, right back atchya, dude!  Hah.  We should like, do lunch some time!  Hahahahahah!"

  "Did they specify just what kind of photo shoot it was, Nivi?"  Could be for a kitten calendar, for all they know.

Juros smiles brightly at Kevin. "Thanks!" he hops up and down on all fours. "And yeah! Totally should. Also; thanks for the shirt and sunglasses!"

Nivi nods. "Yes, Kevin. Thank you." she has a bright smile and copies Kevin's "peek over glasses" pose.

Juros paws at his nose to try adjusting his sunglasses, but mostly leaves them be.

Not a single kitten in the group, so kitten calendar would need a new agent.

Nivi shrugs. "There's different kinds?"

Juros seems just as lost as Nivi on that one and looks expectantly at Hakkof.

"Like, totally!" Kevin answers, "There's like, three main kinds.  Hah.  News, endorsement, and glamor.  Hahah.  The last two are the ones you like, get paid for.  Hah."

He takes a mock serious posture and tone.  "'While it is easy to get like, overly nervous at a photo shoot, Hah, don't go the other extreme and like, treat it like a game.  Hahahah.  Do you really want your fans to see you like, picking your nose on the poster they ordered?'  Hahahahahah."

  Hakkof was more thinking of complaints from customers if he posed for a swimsuit calender.  Ugh, spacetober.  Why couldn't it Spacember again?  With the goat?

Juros says, "Well... three of us are guys. Only one is a girl. So chances that they want glamour or relatively low. I'm pretty sure none of us have become dreamboat material yet. But I am surprised we have become photo material already..."

Nivi says, "Well whatever the photoshoot is for, it's easy money. But no, Hakkof. They didn't say what kind. I guess they expected me to know?"

Kevin laughs!  "Like, no way!  Glam isn't like, just for girls, dude!  Hahahahahah!  Dude.  Like, check it out.  News..."

He pulls up a picture of a famous space sports dude on his portable device and shows it to the others:  https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...1d6e5ddcda7dc93b62e9

"Like, endorsement...."

He pulls up another of the dude: https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...b6790ae4afad8d67b7f1

"And like, Glamor...."

He pulls up a final picture of the same dude:

https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...703349e82bc8cd139fb2

"That dude made like, millions off glamour!  Hahahah.  Since they didn't say what kind, it's probably like, a mag shoot.  Which is kindof like a hybrid.  Hahah.  They pay once instead of like, negotiating royalties.  Hah.  Unless they're like, trying to take advantage of Nivi being new to this.  Hahahah."

  "Royalties would assume people still care about what happened to us in the near future, but I do see your point."

Nivi giggles with a smile looking at the pictures. "...someone you look up to, Kevin?"

Juros says, "I don't see a problem with money being thrown at us for standing conveniently in front of someone's camera. As long as they don't want embarrassing pictures of me. You can't pay me enough to have pictures taken of me wearing a tutu, for example."

Nivi says, "So are we all in? I think there was a bonus mentioned if I was able to get us all to agree to it."

Kevin is smiling big, thinking about the kinds of wrestler poses Hakkof might wind up in his royalties-earning shots, nods, and aloha signs.

"Dude.  You'd like, make a killing!  Hahahahahah."

He nods to Nivi's first question.  "Like, totally!  He' like, the dude that put extreme sports on the map!  Hahahah."

Juros' comment makes him laugh.  "Dude.  You might be surprised how many like, can be paid enough!  Hahahahahah!"

To Nivi's second question he nods, and thumbs-ups.  "Like, totally!  Hah.  Here's hoping this isn't like, totally another trap!  Hahahahah!"

   He nods, "May as well then"  He looks over to Kevin  "It probably isn't a Trap, Kevin."  It will have an unrelated disaster befall them instead, that just happens to have been in the area.

When the bunch report to the guy in charge of the photo shoots, they find a human in a business suit. He explains that the first set of shots are going to be of them posing "reenactments of the arena fight".

10 credits to each of the crew just for this photo shoot session. Juros looks slightly uncomfortable at first, but soon gets into it as the photos tend to make the group look more heroic than they really were.

Also there at the photo shoot is some plain-looking woman who approaches the group with a proposal of still more photo shooting for a similar pay (10 creds per photo session), but for a couple calendars she is working on.

Kevin nods and laughs to Hakkof's statement.  "Yeah, like, totaly more likely some random danger completely unrelated to photos will like, totally pop up!  Hahahah."

At the photo shoot he comments.  "Like, Glamour.  Hahahahah."

When he hears the pay he laughs some more.  "Like, woah!  Hahahah.  Aren't these like, the kinds of photos dudes get royalties and junk for?  Hah.  You wouldn't take advantage of a nice Blissian being new to this, now would you?  Hahahahaha."

  "We would like some specifics first, either way.  The subject matter of today's photos was one they neglected to mention."

The photographers shrug. "Nobody knows yet if this stuff will sell. But if you want to take the risk, we can offer you bunch a royalties percentage instead. It will likely amount to 10 credits being payed to you over the course of a year rather than up front. Might even be more like 7 credits if you go royalty route, but there is no way to be sure."

They then look at Hakkof. "You'll have to be specific about what you want to know before we can give you specifics you would be satisfied with. It's a photo shoot. With an approximate 10-cred pay-off per shoot. We'll be having you sign papers that say "yes, we consented to these specific photo shoots" and then we pay you. What more do you want to know?"

Nivi shrugs. "Well... we know one shoot is reenactments of the arena fight. What's the other shoot?"

The lady photographer answers, "One calendar will be space-themed, showing you all in your exploring outfits in various situations like piloting your craft, or exploring the terrain of some planet. The other calendar I was going to work on was going to be a race-themed calendar that features scenery and culture references from your respective worlds."

Juros sits and watches, tilting his head curiously.

"Totally like, heard that before, hah.  Manager said, 'Until you get like, mondo famous, you won't be offered up-front dough on top of royalties.  Hah.  So like, always ask for royalties.  Even if you're like, hard up for moolah.  Hah.  'Cause you like, never know what'll get mondo popular overnight.'  Hahahahah."

To illustratek his point, he pulls up a viral video of a formerly obscure music group.

"Royalties option for me.  Hahah.  Even if I like, wind up with fewer creds.  These all look fun to do anyway!  Hahahah."

  "I see your point, Kevin.  Of course, that's far less likely without someone to say I told you so to when they made the wrong choice."  That said, he turns to the lady and says "I'll go with the straight payment, in this case."

  Oh the sacrifices Hakkof is making for you, Kevin.  Getting paid more now, so you (might) get paid more later.

Photos are shot. The space-themed one includes:

Jan: The four of them in space-suits, leaping over a rocky formation on some kind of moon-like location with the camera looking up at them.
Feb: The four of them in their ship's control room, hanging out and having a good time eating pizza. The pizza, of course, is a specific kind, which the photographers inform the group is sponsoring this specific calendar.
Mar: Nivi in a space suit, sitting at the navigation computer and looking at the viewer curiously in a kinda bunny pose.
Apr: Hakkof is lifting a small, trashed space craft in order to get to some sponsor-brand pizza that was underneath it.
Jun: Juros in space, tethered to the ship, apparently happy he is finding the sponsor-brand pizza floating there.
Jul: Kevin doing extreme space-boarding in order to deliver sponsor-brand pizza to a happy customer (some cat named Marlin).
Aug: The four of them on a rover, rolling along on an alien world.
Sep: Hakkof in space, running by using small asteroids as stepping stones (hahah)
Oct: Nivi in space, just kind of floating there in a half-curled pose and waving to the viewer.
Nov: Kevin and Juros racing each other in space. Juros is doggy-paddling while Kevin is "swimming".
Dec: A Christmasy celebration with the four of them sitting around a tree exchanging gifts.

The race-themed one includes:
Jan: Nivi guiding the other three through the Blissian capital.
Feb: Kevin showing the other three how to climb a mountain.
Mar: Juros teaching the other three how to use head-mounted weaponry. Kevin is playfully trying to lock horns with Hakkof.
Apr: Hakkof giving the other three combat lessons.
Jun: The four of them all eating at a table merrily. Each of them is eating food traditional / specific to their race, but symbolically, they are eating off each others' plates.
Jul: Nivi being taught by the other three about money.
Aug: Kevin happily offering poison ivy while chewing on some of his own and the others giving nervous smiles.
Sep: Juros being taught how to use an exo-suit that has arms with hands.
Oct: Hakkof ducking in order to enter a room the others easily entered. They all look at him welcomingly.
Nov: Hakkof holding the entire team in his arms because he can.
Dec: The four of them at a Christmas party of some kind that has all kinds of other people from other races. The four of them are clearly caroling together.

And of course, there was the arena fight pictures.

After the photo shoot, it is late and the group is able to retire to their ship (which is as good a "home" as any since space craft are designed to be such). Nivi yawns and stretches. "Good job, everyone."

Juros gives a wide doggy-yawn while doing the typical butt-in-air dog stretch before smiling and saying "You guys sure are photogenic..."

"Like, totally," Kevin agreed with Hakkof.

During the shoot, he's generous with his boasts about his friends.  "Dude!  You like, shoulda seen 'em in the real arena fight!  It was totally radical!  Hahah."   "Hah!  Juros got the skills!"  "Nivi - the cutest boss ever!  Hah!"  "Hakkof could totally handle something that heavy for realz, too.  Hah!"  and so on.

During this own shoots, he jokes around.  "Dude!  Like, space pizza is taking the idea of frozen pizza way too far!  Haha.
'Directions:  To begin thawing from absolute zero, slowly pour liquid nitrogen over pizza.  Hah.  Too quickly and pizza may like, totally shatter from sudden rise in temperature!  Hahahahahah!"

To the compliment he smiles and alohas.  "Thanks!  Hah.  And like, totally back atcha!'  Hah.  Dude.  I've totally got a craving for sponsor-brand pizza with poison ivy topping!  Hahahahahahah!"

  "Well, it helps the sponsor is actually decent pizza."  Even if the calendar might imply the delivery people are very accident prone and nowhere to be found.  The delivery guy may have been crushed to death under the ship, but at least the Pizza is okay!

Nivi gives a tired smile to the group and then says, "I had fun. I hope you all did too. I'm turning in for the night. Good night, guys."

After Nivi heads off, Juros looks at the other guys and says, "So I was thinking... as much as I like our little group being just us four, what do you guys think about the idea of recruiting a bit to help our chances in the future?"

Kevin smiles when Hakkof compliments the pizza he likes and gives an aloha sighn.

To Nivi he nods.  "Like, totally fun!  Hah.  And we didn't like, get kidnapped either!   Hahahahah.  So like, sleep tight and stuff!  Hahahah."

To Juros' question he thinks for a bit.  "Dude I dunno.  Hah.  Like, we've been doing ok lately.  Hah.  New dudes means more people in like, mortal danger when our good luck streak ends.  Hahah.  But like, safety in numbers and all.  Hah.  Hmm.  Dude.  I'm like, so glad I'm not the boss!  Hahahahah."

  Hakkof shrugs.  "We do seem to have finally had a good patch on our own.  Though I guess if more help would actually fit, it might work out."

OOC: My opinions on the matter are entirely based on letting Tim or Chris want to play more characters if they wanted to.

Juros heads for his room. "Yeah... you know what? It's just a thought. A thought more complicated than I gave it credit for and I'm tired. See you guys tomorrow."

NEXT DAY:

Nivi had made breakfast for the group and is smiling as she eats at the commons table with the other three. "Good morning, everyone. Sleep well, I trust?"

Juros says, "I was out like a light. Slept heavy and woke up bright!"

Nivi giggles.

"Hahahah.  Like, poet don't know it!"

Kevin gives Nivi an aloha sign and smile.  "Dude.  I've said it before, I'll like, say it again.  Hah.  Best boss ever!  I mean like, who else gets to like, wake up to a radical home-cooked breakfast at work!?  Hahahahahah.  Like, thanks a mil, Nivi!  Hah.

"Sleep was awesome.  Hah.  Had a radical dream of opening up a burger joint with my awesome friends!"

  "As unfortunate as some of our past jobs have been, the fast food industry would likely not be a step up.  Even with the company involved."

Nivi smiles brightly at Kevin and says, "You're very welcome." then taps her lips with her index finger, pondering. "Hmm... burger joint... well unless we subbed the meat for something else, I wouldn't be able to partake."

Juros says, "....poor Nivi. You're vegetarian?"

Nivi says, "All Blissians are. We are herbivores. Meat doesn't do too well in our stomachs."

Juros says, "Dang. Sorry."

Nivi shrugs. "I grew up this way. Don't know what I'm missing. But I heard a lot of substitutes can come so close to the actual taste, even connoisseurs wouldn't know the difference."

Juros says, "Sounds like a plan. Because when Kevin mentioned burgers, I started thinking that sounded like such a good idea for lunch later."

"Burgers and pizza with friends after a yummy breakfast, Haha.  It's like, so rough at this job!  Hahahah.  'Dude, you like, forgot the part where you get kidnapped!'  Hah.  'Like, no way.  I didn't forget.   Totally worth it for the friends I've made!'  Hahahahah.  Woah.  That says a lot about fast food like, not being a step up, though!  Hahahah."

On the question of meat he shrugs.  "Whatever counts as a healthy diet for your species is real important if you wunna be like, at the top of your game!'  Hahahah."

  "Well, at least they can still enjoy some fries."  Probably!  Not that it counts as a healthy diet either way.

  Of course as a Barrakian, the average burger for sale is practically bite sized for Hakkof.

Nivi says, "I checked my email while I was cooking for you guys and the photographers sent us copies of all the photos. Wanna see?"

Juros says, "You bet!"

The photos are, of course, highly professional. Only severely self-conscious people might find these photos to be bad or embarrassing. Despite Juros seeming humble about his being photographed earlier, he seems rather pleased with how his pictures turned out. But he seems just as pleased at how everyone Else's turned out also.

Kevin chuckles and aloha signs.  "'Dragon's Breath spicy fries!  Like, the most extreme fries in the skies!'  Hahahahahah.  They really are like, totally tasty."

When he sees the pics, he cheers.  "Woah!  Like, radical!  Lookin' totally awesome, dudes!  Like, photogenic to the max!"

  "I'm surprised I turned out allright.  Not so much for the rest of you."

EDIT: Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp *slide whistle sound*
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

Nivi says, "Of course you turned out alright, Daminicaverius Hakkof. Why wouldn't you?"

Pizza is, in fact, ordered later on so that the group can enjoy the very pizza that sponsored their first calendars. :D

Over pizza dinner, Nivi informs the group of their latest job: Escort mission! Some barrakian princess wants this group to escort her from her palace to her friend's palace.

"Like, I'm not surprised.  Hah," Kevin answers Hakkof with a grin, "You're like, a poster dude for Barakian Badassery!  Hahahahahahah!"

To Nivi he smiles and adds, "'Cause he's like, totally modest!  Hahahah!"

During pizza party time, Kevin enjoys play-acting his favorite food ads.  When escort mission comes up, he laughs.

"Dude!  Literally, 'The princess is like, in a different castle!'  Hahahah!  I can totally see it now:  Hah:  Radically hard to please princess with like, totally refined taste rolls up in a limo, hah, and is all, 'Do you have any sponsor brand pizza?' 'Like, But of course!'  Hahahahahahahaha!"

  Why would a princess want to be escorted by people who were most recently famous for getting kidnapped?... Or maybe they expect to be kidnapped anyways, and figure 'well, at least they broke out'?

  "Well, do you know which princesses are involved?"

Nivi nods, "Princess Eleanor is who we are escorting. Her friend is Princess Fanilar." Nivi looks clueless on Kevin's joke, but Juros at least affords a smirk and chuckle.

Juros asks, "When do we do this?"

Nivi says, "Monday of next week. Until then, we pretty much do whatever we want."

"Woo!" Kevin cheers, "Vacation!  Hahahahah!"

He does a celebratory hand plant and aloha wave.  Then puts on sunglasses, turns on some party music, grabs a nurf ball, and starts sports-casting an imaginary game.

"There's the snap.  Hah.  Fakes a handoff.  Hah.  There' like, going for a sac!  Hah.  Kevin's giving ground!  Hah.  Juros is open!  Hahahah!"

Kevin tosses the ball in a high arc toward Juros.

  "We'll probably be dealing with all the boring stuff, Kevin.  That's why it's a job."  He resists the urge to intercept the foam sports object.

Juros catches the ball. "I'd like to think hanging out with a princess would be more exciting than boring."

Nivi looks to Juros and Hakkof. "Kevin's probably talking about the week we are waiting before the job. After all, I did say we can do whatever we want until then."

Kevin shrugs. "Boring like, totally beats being forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena.  Hah.  But yeah.  Like, what they said.  Hah."

He opens his hands to be ready to catch any Juros passes.

"I wonder if either of the princesses are like, fans of ours, Hahah."

  Hakkof really doubts 'maybe they are fans' would be so in his case, but then he has kind of a coasting on personal acceptance view of himself compared to other Barrakians.

  "True, though we do whatever we want on our off time anyways.  So I guess that means we're almost always on vacation?" No wonder you wanted to keep working for the bunny.

Nivi says, "Glad you asked. The very reason we were hired is because the princess is a fan of ours."

Juros ohs. "Gosh. Fans? I never thought of myself as someone with fans..."

Kevin cheers!  "Woa-ho-hoa!  Hahahah.  Like, radical!  With royal fans we're like, moving up in the world, Hahaha."

He smiles and Aloha signs at the guys.  "Fans is why the photo shoot, hah.  So if our fame like, keeps snowballing, we'll be living on easy street!  Hah.  But like, living up to fan expectations can be totally tough!  Hah.  So like, don't forget to floss!  Hahahahahah!"

Especially important for a dude who'll eat anything and is always smiling.

  "Well, I doubt any of us will blow most of our money on a castle we can't afford to keep.  Even with royalty becoming involved."

The team has fun for a week. Eventually, the day comes and the team meets up with the barrakian princess. She's a little girl, no older than 10. She looks ready to burst for how excited she is to see the group.

A frowning prune of a barrakian middle-aged woman goes over the rules with the team. The princess rolls her eyes and blows upward on her bangs while slouching to the side.

Once the rules are read, though, the group is gathered with the princess inside the royal escort vehicle. The princess immediately wants to hug the bunny, pet the puppy, have Kevin show of some fancy moves and have Hakkof show off his muscles.

Prune-face forbids fancy moves inside the escort vehicle. Which is, by the way, rather sizable. (Think Millennium Falcon, you have a decent-sized main room complete with game table)

Kevin payed close attention to the rules and even turned them into an acronym to help memorize them.

"D.U.D.E.  Hah.
Don't like, let her out of your sight.  Hah.
Under no circumstances are you to like, deviate from the itinerary.  Hahah.
Do mind your manners.  Hah.
Extreme caution!  Hahahah."

When forbidden from showing off, he laughs and winks at the princess.  "I'll like, tell ya what isn't against the rules.  Hahahah.  Fist-pound from radical little babe!  Hahahah!"

He offers the princess a fist-pound.

  Because a frowning plum would just be silly.

  Hakkof waits for official fistbump completion before FLEX MC MUSCLETIME NOW WITH DYNAMIC FLEX FLEXING FOR FLEXING FLEXNESS.

  Look, if you are self conscious about it then you can't even flex in front of a mirror.  This things just happen for proper flexing.

The princess fist-bumps Kevin, squeaks and blushes! Then puts her hands on her cheeks oh-my-ing at Hakkof's muscles. (For ease of imagination, we'll just say it's Miniel as a barrakian princess)

Miniel asks the team how they met.

Nivi's side of the story is that she was looking to get a crew together and a crew practically landed on her lap. She tells of how they crew may have had a rough start luck-wise, but never did they get at each others' throats. A fact she is extremely grateful for.

Juros' side of the story is that he just wanted to find work as a mechanic / technician and when he saw a blissian was hiring, he jumped on the chance. Since then, he has been enjoying the company and friendship of Nivi, Kevin and Hakkof.

Kevin grins and aloha signs at Hakkof flex time.  To Nivi and Miniel he nods.

"Like, I know, right?  Hah.  So my team was like, top of their game.  Hah.  Returning champs and all.  Hahah.  But like, success had gone to everyone's heads.  Hahaha.  'Like, who needs teamwork when you're like, this radical?!'  Hahahahah.  We like, got eliminated in the first round!  Total upset!  Hahahahah.  Dudes threw tantrums and like, the team totally disbanded.  Hahah.  Then I joined this team!  Hahahah!  Like, super awesome gnarly radical to the max!  Hahahahahah!"

  "Less dramatic in my case.  I was just between jobs at the time, and it seemed like a good idea."  Assumptions it would be easier than usual met with mixed results.

  "Still, I'm glad I met them all."

The craft rumbles with a loud sound. A voice comes over the com saying, "Please remain inside the craft and buckle in. This will be a rough ride."

Nivi goes to buckle Miniel first and then buckles her own seatbelt. Juros does the same. Juros looks at the others. "So maybe there was more to this job than just 'the princess likes us'?"

Nivi says, "I don't know, but it does seem a coincidence we are here during some kind of trouble."

"Woah!"

Kevin buckles up.  "Dude.  Hah.  I was surprised when like, nothing bad happened during the photo shoot.  Hahahah.  After all we've been through, I've like, come to expect trouble.  Hahahah."

  "It being intentional would suggest our problems have any planning behind them, instead of the sort of thing that just happens."

  Buckle up for safety, etc etc.

Juros sarcastically comments, "Oh. So that crazy lady accidentally kidnapped me. And the arena people accidentally kidnapped all of us and accidentally threw us into a fighting arena. We should totally call the police and let them know it was all unintentional and un-planned."

Nivi tries to steer the topic back to something positive, "On the bright side, our troubles have been very few for quite a while now..."

The ship continues to shake, but there is no sign of damage yet.

Kevin chuckles.  "Dude.  You like, totally know that's not what he meant.  Hahahah.

He nods to Nivi.  "I was thinking we were like, due for some mondo Murphey.   Hahaha.  But like, at this rate I'm wondering if some evil mastermind dude is like, totally gunning for us or something.  Hah."

  "Yes, all the horrible things that happened to you were spur of the moment horrible things... Which really doesn't change the horrible part of all that, unfortunately.  Hey, Boss lady said PLEASANT.

  He looks over to Kevin, and says "That is highly unlikely.  As that would make more sense."  Closer?

The ship jars again. "No, but guys, I really do think they were planned. People don't just up and snatch visitors off the street for an arena fight. Especially when they know most of those visitors don't stand a chance in hand-to-hand against barrakian gladiators and then start an international incident over something that normally wouldn't be an exciting fight. And that girl? That wasn't incidental. A random kidnapping would not have served her purpose. One of us had to be the target. It was kidnapping with purpose."

Nivi says, "Well we certainly can't rule out the possibility. But whether those were planned or this ship being attacked was planned might not make a difference for how we deal with our current situation. So if any hostiles start popping in, you guys have suggestions on how we'll handle this?"

Keven and Hakkof can see seating (bolted to the ground), a luggage compartment, a mini-fridge, an entertainment system, and two doors in this room (One on either side of the room)

Kevin shrugs.  "Just don't like, cross the line between jaded and paranoid, dudel  Hahahah.  Remember that we like, always pull through to be tormented some more later!  Hahahahah!"

He smiles at Nivi's question.  "We're all like, strapped in.  Hahahah.  So like, if we get boarded, let's totally have the pilot do a barrel roll!  Hahahahahah!"

To prune face he asks, "So like, are the princess's regular guards on vacation?  Hah.  Or are they like, in the front with the pilot?  Hahahah."

  "The reason I haven't assumed as much, is because it would make too much sense." Having one person specifically out to make your life inconvenient?  That's for after you get famous or punch a few too many pirate lords in the face, not before.

  Hakkof pays more attention to the door in the direction of the airlocks.

Prune-face answers, "They are guarding the pilot, yes. You are guarding the princess."

Juros says, "It's not paranoia if they are really out to get you! I'm just trying to think through our experiences and see if there's a connection because you can only have so many coincidences..."

Nivi says, "We'll discuss that later then, Juros. Really good idea, Kevin. And sounds fun too!" Almost the last response you expect to hear from some good-two-shoes soccer-mom blissian, but hey... she probably figures it is the least lethal means of dealing with an infiltra-oh look here they come!

In come a couple of barrakian troups! Normally, two would seem like a small number, but as spacious as this ship is, a group of 5 or more would be a bit cramped to send into the room.

On the one hand, it's like, totally a gamble to stay strapped in.  They may like, shoot you like a sitting duck!  Or like, shoot the princess.  Kevin imagines himself more likely to survive a blaster shot than a princess, so using himself as a body shield totally comes to mind.  But like, on the other hand, being unstrapped will mean getting bounced about in the barrel roll!  Personal risk either way.

But un-strapping means slightly better chances for the radical princess.  So Kevin quietly un-buckles to leave the appearance of being strapped in and tries to draw the invaders' attention away from his friends.

"Dudes!  I like, totally surrender!  Hahahahahahah!"

  It's much easier to deal with things when not sitting in a chair, this is true.  Unless maybe it was a flying chair with laser cannons?  A question for another day.

  "Good idea, they might miss you that way." Barrakian and quick draw are not usually things found in the same sentence, but Hakkof's less pleasant habits have included challenging other barrakians to five finger fillet for a reason.

  Shame there's two Troops, but hey, somebody else getting shot at is well over due for this crew.

OOC: You know, it's been ages but I think this is literally the first situation where the fact Hakkoff is supposed to have a gun, AND it's a situation where Shooting is a viable solution.

EDIT: We realize this was not very explicit even for this player's habits.  But all that talk about quick draws and 'wow, I've never had a chance to shoot anything before this!', means he shoots at them.

Not trying to cause a late derail, since I've been mentioning it ever since the Faction Admin post, and before Kevin posted.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:56, Wed 11 May 2016.

One of the infiltrators comments, "They didn't say she was just a kid."

The other says, "Or that these famous guys would be here."

The first says, "Er... and gal. Pardon, ma'am." he uses his not-gun-hand to give a "tip your hat" style salute to the blissian.

Nivi says, "...well this is a pleasant surprise. There some kind of mix-up?"

The ship then does a barrel-roll as planned and the startled infiltrators go flying to the wall and then the ceiling. Needless to say, so will Kevin unless he does something EXTREME!
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Wed 11 May 2016.

Kevin is sooo relieved talking happened rather than shooting.  But talk about perplexing things for the invaders to say!  Did they invade the wrong ship?

Kevin was ready to buckle back in in case of barrel roll, but polite invaders is so distracting...  "Dudes!  Maybe you like,  WooOOooah!!"

Barrel roll!  Kevin grabs hold of his seatbelt and holds on for dear life.  He gets bumped around a bit, but when he braces his feet against the seat, he can ride out the barrel roll!
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Wed 11 May 2016.

One of the men takes a shot in the center of mass as per Hakkof's shot, causing the guy to fall onto his back. The other takes cover and fires back at Hakkof!

They don't waste time with pleasantries now that combat has ensued; they are distracted with self-preservation mode.

Then the barrel-roll happens, throwing everyone who isn't buckled in to the wall and then the ceiling...
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:06, Thu 12 May 2016.

Kevin was ready to buckle back in in case of barrel roll, but polite invaders retcon is so distracting...  "Dudes!  Maybe you like,  WooOOooah!!"

Barrel roll!  Kevin grabs hold of his seatbelt and holds on for dear life.  He gets bumped around a bit, but when he braces his feet against the seat, he can ride out the barrel roll!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:53, Fri 13 May 2016.

  Hah! dodged it-WALL, well that wasn't so-Shot to shoulder! Okay that's less pleasant-CEILING.

"Still not the worst flight I've been on." He mutters, as he fires again before directions get even more indecisive.

Nivi winces as her allies get shot and tossed around. But she trusts her allies who didn't buckle up must have done so for a reason. "Can't we talk this out?!"

The attackers yell, "Nope!"

Juros says, "Well at least they gave an answer..." BLAM! Juros is hit by a stray blaster bolt in the face. He goes limp. But judging from the cartoonishly singed face, either they have their blasters on very low settings, or they have them on stun. Juros doesn't have a hole in his face, in other words, and is still alive. If unconscious.

Apparently, center-of-mass guy survived the blast to the chest (he has body armor. Shocker!) Hakkof's second shot grazed the other guy in the shoulder (Yay paying back shoulder for shoulder?) But the barrel roll is tumbling the invaders too, so they look very dazed. Nivi yells, "Quick! Knock them out!"

The ship only did one roll. It is currently stable.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Mon 16 May 2016.

Kevin doesn't have anything strong enough to knock out a Barakian.  But the invaders do!  He tumbles over to shoulder injury dude, figuring him less likely to be able to stop him...  Push gun to be pointed under invader dude's own chin, then pulls the dude's finger!  ZAP!  Dude collapses unconscious!

"Hahahahah..  Knocked him out by like, pulling his finger!  Hah.  Epic fart!  Hahahahah!"

  "Allright, I am beginning to believe something has it out for Juros specifically."

  While Kevin cleans up, Hakkoff shoots the other guy while he's down to ensure he stays that way... What? He put it on stun setting, the invader can take it.

The invaders are knocked out! There is a moment of silence before the barrakian princess yells, "That was totally wicked!"

Nivi is still clinging to her arm rests, teeth gritted. Then snaps out of it and says, "Let the pilot know they can stop barrel rolling. Just in case." and then checks on Juros who, thankfully, was sitting right next to her.

Kevin grabs the weapons, rushes back to his seat, and buckles in.  Just in case.  If there's an intercom button handy, he'll ask the pilots to not barrel roll.  If not, he'll let prune-face handle that.  To the excited princess he gives a smile and aloha sign.

"Woah!  Hahahah.  Like, nice shot, Hakkof!..."

But then he notices Juros is out like a light and he loses his smile.

"Yeah, like, totally.  Poor Juros has having like, the worst luck of all of us!  Sure hope he's gunna be alright."

  "We are so taking him helmet shopping after this."  Even if wearing one to a child's birthday would not be an expected requirement... Well, it's Juros.  At this rate a Juros themed mech would be a light precaution for the space doggy.

The pilot is informed of barrel roll completion.

Juros paw-twitches and then paws at his nose while unconscious. Nivi says, "Alright. Now to have whatever onboard medic give us all a lookover, starting with Juros.

30 minutes later...

Juros is awakened and has a headache, but is otherwise fine. Similar with the invaders.

"Like, totally!  Hahah.  We should all like, totally get helmets so he won't feel like, the odd dude out.  Hah.  We'll be, 'Nivi's extreme Team!'  Now with full riot gear!  Hahahahah!"

When Juros wakes, Kevin will get him up to speed on what happened.  He looks over at the invaders to ask what gives, but finds himself too angry with them to form a coherent sentence.  "Dude.  Like...  Bogus!  Seriously, like...  No way!"

  "So, regardless of what you were getting paid.  What pushed you to decide breaking and entering a child's birthday party was a good career move?"

 He knows it wasn't actually her birthday, he just wants to make them more uncomfortable about their actions.

 That said, he keeps Juros company.  Because any doggy that can take that many hits to the face and keep going is tough doggy worth respect.

One man says, "For one, didn't know until we were being shot at. Then, it was too late."

The other man says, "Guy, just keep your mouth shut. It's the best thing to do now."

Juros is being babied by Nivi. And the half of him that likes it is kicking the butt of the other half of him that feels his manly pride being wounded. He pushes his nose into Nivi's hand and then rests his head on her lap.

Nivi idly pets Juros while looking on at the conversation, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Kevin has to think on it for a bit.  Wasn't expecting to be shot at?  Does that make less sense than shooting a dog when it was the big guy shooting at you?  Or is his aim just that bad?  His employer's a moron for hiring incompetents if that's the case.

Kevin sighs.  "Dude.  You go ahead and like, keep not apologizing.  The more remorseless you like, keep makin' yourselves out to be, the less likely the princess will like, speak up for you.  You shot my friend!  So you can like, totally keep easin' yourselves into spending the rest of your lives in a cage!"

  Hakkof can acknowledge Nivi is more comforting company for Juros than himself.

  He opts to wait and see how things progress, for the moment.  Wait, no.  Double checking on said princess is preferable.

The two men do not respond.

Nivi says, "Don't waste your breath, Kevin. We'll let the authorities handle them from here."

Juros says, "To be fair, they were not aiming to kill. Otherwise, I would be dead. Their guns were set to stun."

The princess is not only fine, she gives Hakkof the biggest smile a little girl can muster and says, "You and your friends are SO getting extra cake!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:01, Sat 18 June 2016.

Juros defending the dirtbags that shot him just accentuates how low they are.  Kevin nods to Nivi and turns his back to the Nimrods so he doesn't have to look at them any longer.

"Dude.  Like, sooo glad you're ok!"

He smiles at the princess and aloha signs. "Alriight!  Extra caake!  Hahahahahah."

  Hakkof makes a note to give Juros more than extra... Though hopefully the guy won't start to expect snack foods to be related to injury.

The group makes it to the princess's party. Fun times are had, complete with Juros having a messy cake-covered muzzle while smiling broadly. The princess brags to her friend about the shoot-out and how the heroes are not overblown from the news after all. Nivi opts for a nap very shortly after festivities.

Night falls, though, and Nivi wakes up, informing the group that she is setting up a rotating watch. At around 3am, Nivi wakes the others and lets them know there is someone lurking about the premises. "Tried to get a good look, but no luck. So could be an assailant, could be staff, could even just be a passer-by."

Kevin loves parties.  And kids.  Fancy party for royal kids is new, but still allows for inhaling helium from balloons and singing silly songs with a chipmunk voice.  Or balancing a spoon on his nose while imitating a seal.

When mystery lurker happens, Kevin yawns and stretches. "I can like, act as a diversion or whatever.  Hah.  If they're like, a badguy or something, they'll take advantage of the distraction and like, slip in 'while no one's looking.'  Hah.  Right into Hakkof's ambush!  Hahahahah!"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Sun 17 July 2016.

  While he's probably better at lurking than the average Barrakian, that's still more of a 'by comparison' thing.  Though sometimes just the mere concept of surprise Barrakian is enough to make up the difference.

  "Well, you'd better not be too interesting then.  Otherwise I'd still want to pay attention to you instead"

Nivi says, "You have wonderful reflexes, Kevin. So you would be ideal for that, yes."

Juros says, "I'll be finding out if this person belongs here by checking the roster and comparing it with the camera footage. Let's stay on coms."

Kevin aloha signs and smiles.  "Like, thanks!  I'll like, practice making balloon animals outside.  Hah.  The occasional popped balloon would be like, the perfect diversion for a thief.  Hahahah.  Outside so as to like, not wake the kids.  Hah."

Unless the group objects and offers a better idea, he heads out with a bag full of long balloons and starts following tutorials on his mobile device.

  Hakkof probably won't think of a better idea until everything is over with.  So he gets to... uh... Well actually there's actual room to reasonably lurk on a Barrakian ship, go figure.

(Note; when I mentioned making it to the party, I failed to mention the party did not take place on a ship, but at a palace.)

The lurker is indeed distracted by Kevin and begins sneaking up on him. The lurker is barakian sized.

Kevin is hoping whomever it is that the heroes are watching for is simply a cat burglar or lost homeless person, and not another assassin gladiator kidnapper or whatever.  Or at least that no one will get shot, knocked out, kicked in the ribs, etc, etc...

POP!  Oops!  Didn't mean to twist the balloon cat's head off...

"Woah!  Hah.  Musta, like, lost count of the twists.  Hahah.  Like, sorry, balloon kitty.  Hah.  I'll like, reincarnate you as something stronger.  Haha.  Like, a giraffe!  Hahahah."

  Considering the potential for violently unfortunate misunderstandings if HE attacks first, Hakkof goes for the 'tap shoulder on opposite side you are standing' to judge their reaction of being spotted.

The barakian slowly turns to look at Hakkof. He has a very thick brow, buck teeth, and is cross-eyed. He has a "huh?" expression at first, but it slowly becomes a dumber and dumber smile. The kind that makes you feel like you are losing IQ points just for being around it. "Hiiiiii...." the guy says. "Eeeeh... goat make balloooon animals. Heeee...."

The guy is also frickin' huge. All muscle, 8' tall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:45, Thu 15 Sept 2016.

Turns out Hakkof was right to not punch first and ask questions later.  That would have been awkward to explain attacking a special needs guy while he's bawling his little heart out.

Nevertheless, Kevin is so stunned he brain freezes.  "Like...  Woah...  Hahahah."

He snaps out of it and smiles at the big guy.  "Like, totally!  Harder than it looks.  Hahahah."

Kevin offers the dude one of the balloons that survived.  "...It's supposed to be a dog..."

Yes, punching first (and probably second, as well) would look particularly bad in these circumstances.

"So, what's your name?"

The big lug looks at Hakkof. "Name... Jarth." he says with a goofy grin as if proud that he knows his name. Then looks back to Kevin.

"Balloon... hard?" he says amazed before crushing (and popping) the balloon. His expression melts to sorrow. *sniff* "Jarth harder than balloon..." he says with a shaky voice as if he wants to cry.

Woah!  Like, Kevin's seen dudes with serious head injuries more cognizant than this dude.

"Like, hello, Jarth!  Hahahah."

He holds his arm out then hangs a balloon hoop on it.  "Like, hold it like this.  Hah."

He then offers the mini balloon hula-hoop to Jarth, hoping to cheer the poor guy up.

Hakkof expects this latest balloon to meet it's demise at Jarth inadvertently flexing his biceps.

He refrains from commenting about this, though.  Even if he's ready to offer space tissues in case of huge manchild tears.

Jarth gives that goofy grin of his as he sees the balloon fit over his arm and not pop. "Jarth happy..."

A yawning Nivi comes walking out to where the others are. "What's going on, guys?"