As of the year 6072, Tharian Emperor Dominus took charge of Haylor (or "Base 3") and in so doing, got enough of an upper hand on the rulers of the other planets in the same system (Known as the Eternity Lords). Rather than go to war with them, Dominus offered a shared rulership where the Eternity Lords still had all the power they had prior, but Dominus would have final say on matters he deemed especially important. Although that is an oversimplification of the Eternity Pact, it was clear from then on that Dominus was in charge of the Eternity System. And although he ruled the one system just as Sarah Anselmo ruled the Merchant System (more popularly known as the Neo System), Dominus was considered the most dangerous man in the star cluster and would soon become both feared and hated by everyone across the star cluster.

However, evil though Dominus was, he had many who were quite loyal to his cause. The loyalty was not blind, either. Dominus had plans that he believed would bring a lasting peace to the star cluster and begin further exploration of the galaxy. He had powerful people under his command, certainly, but the ones who got the most first-hand experience to Dominus's plans were actually his blackops team. Elite individuals who had been hand picked by Dominus himself to perform tasks that would shake the very foundations of all the civilizations in the star cluster. This team was called "The Galaxy Imperative" and was initially formed in 6074. Although the members of this team have changed, it is the team of '94 that we will be focusing on...

The current year is 6094 by the universal calendar. It is the middle of the year. You are a member of this elite team. What your specialty is is up to you. The only requirement is that you are really good at a particular thing while being competent at most things.

The team has been called to Dominus's secret meeting room. The room that is almost exclusively for The Galaxy Imperative.

OOC: Please introduce your characters. All of you have the same rank of "specialist" and it is up to you if you have been on this team longer than just now, but Angel Bard is a fresh member and will be introduced to your characters in the next post. If your character is brand new, you too will be "introduced" in the same way as Angel.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:02, Sat 02 Nov 2019.

At first Pyrus tried to act cool.  But that didn't last long.  Secret and exclusive though this may be, it is still a meeting room.  Not designed to be fun.  So he hacks into the big screen so he can play his latest favorite game, "Giant Bug Slaughter 5!" with a better display than what his portable computer has.  (Well... not better than his top-of-the-line wireless V.R. sunglasses, but it just wouldn't do to be wearing a fancy blindfold before a meeting in case something important like snacks were to show up.)

Rock thumbs means he had to order a Barakian-sized folding travel controller in order for it to both fit his hands and his pockets.  He used to have to make his hands smaller every time he gamed, but that just looked and felt too weird.  Soon enough he's racking up the carnage count.

"So I hear a rumor that we've got a premo solo agent joining our group.  Some super spy assassin daredevil thingy nobody's ever seen the real face of or whatever.  I'm worried that he's one of those 'Doesn't get along with others' types, and we're all going to have to adjust our style to match his, not the other way around."

  In spite of how on point Pyrus's comments could have been, Joe Zahenshmin's face is not permanently obscured by dramatic shadows in this setting (and he doesn't dress like a trenchcoat stereotype either).  Which means having to actually restrain his facial expressions for tasks such as-

  -Repair VR glasses after a giant dragon man headbutts something.
  -Patching up Thermal Cool Tactical Suit when people shoot at dragon man.
  -Ordering new beanbag chairs that can survive a dragon man as an item on a special elite team budget line.
  -Having to remember WHICH secret meeting room is in use today.  Because his redacted pirate resume is just lousy with projects where everyone wants their own secret meeting rooms. It's a good thing Base 3 is so big or they would run out of room from all the secret meeting rooms, wowie zowie.

  After a point, a habitually blank expression is just a time saver for the grey furred coyote.  "Pyrus, you are a 'primo solo agent', I'm a primo solo agent. Everyone who gets put into this team is always a primo solo agent."

OOC : If not for the fact it would probably melt both your computers, I would totally desire to play EDF5 with you guys for some top quality giant bug slaughter.

Pay no attention to that "Darkthorne" last name. I just don't have a GM tag here for fill in names.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:38, Sat 09 Nov 2019.

Angel enters the room. She's wearing a black cloak around herself, but the hood is down, so Pyrus and Joe can clearly see her face and the fact she's a half-blissian (or a blissian that decided to dye their fur black). She looks to be a teenager, probably mid-teens. Because of the cloak, it's impossible to tell what all she might have on her without some means of being able to see past a cloak.

She gives a sweet smile to Pyrus and Joe. "Well hello there. I'm Angel. Nice to meet you."

She keeps her eyes on the two, as if expecting them to introduce themselves.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Sat 09 Nov 2019.

Well gee, if Joe's done all that for Pyrus, he's likely his best friend in the whole Universe!

Pyrus smiles, blushing from being called premo.  "Aw shucks.  I'm just a big ole-"

Surprise Angel!  Talk about shattered expectations!  Instead of Dominus entering with some Darth Vader dude you can't see the face of, no Dominus and pretty bunny instead!

"Um..."

You have been devoured by a giant bug!

"Aw dangit!  Phoey!"

He stands and raises his arm to slam the controller down in frustration, but stops himself.  Not only is there a Blissian present, but he'd have to wait who knows how long for a replacement to be shipped to his apartment.  So instead he just sheepishly sets the controller down on the table.

"Um... Hi.  I'm Pyrus.  This is Joe, Larry*, and Moe.*"

A flood of questions start popping to mind, but Pyrus keeps them to himself for the moment, too embarrassed to say much for now.

*Placeholders for any other members of the team assuming Pyrus and Joe weren't the only members of this team.

  If only 'I did a bunch of assistant work for pirate mad scientists' had the sort of results Pyrus assumes more often. Then he would be one of the most popular people on Base 3. Instead, Joe was an efficient background extra shuffled from project to project until his name popped up on every list of 'who do we get to babysit the lava dude' requirements.

  At least Pyrus isn't an asshole, so that was one notable benefit to the job.  A low bar, but such is life working in the upper circles of a guy calling himself Dominus.

  "Hello, Angel. As he says, I am Joe." the lingering lack of questions also means not interrupting the urge for monologue, but that's always harder to gauge when appropriate.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:00, Sun 10 Nov 2019.

Larry: 50 years old.
 - Lion
 - Explosives expert

Murphy (Moe): 34 years old.
 - Ferret
 - Grifter
 - Is one of those guys who just seems to mysteriously know when to do things.

Angel nods to the group and goes to have a seat before Dominus does finally enter.

Dominus: 53 years old.
 - Korshare Barrakian
 - Opportunist politician
 - War veteran
 - Has mecha wings attached which has often had people mistake him for a beefy Fou, much to his annoyance.

Dominus says, "Welcome, Galaxy Initiative. And as you see, you now have a new one in your ranks. I'll expect you all to get to know her on the way to your latest mission."

He brings up a holo display of Planet Morose* and then zooms in on a specific area. And then a specific building in some of the ruins. "I sent a forward team to this area and they have not reported back. They were not incompetent, but they also were not the Galaxy Initiative. Go there, retrieve what you can of the forward team, and retrieve what they were after; The Heart of Stone."

*Oft nicknamed Base 1 for reasons that have since been forgotten, Planet Morose is a barren world with ruins on it that hint at a civilization having once been there. But there are no records of the civilization. There is a superstition that when any of the planets in the Eternity System experience a solar eclipse via Morose, the Night Dreamers are about.


OOC Sidenote:
Depending on how long Joe or Pyrus have been on the team, they may be used to the idea that Dominus sometimes has to send them on missions in his own solar system despite technically owning it all. So for example, he has had them take missions on civilized planets in the Eternity System, such as Pirace, Tavern, Tharia, and Coal. I mention this because I almost had the mission take place on Pirace, but changed my mind for plot reasons.

Pyrus has been a member of the team for less than a year, but he's learned to heart each member.  Explosives are cool!  And so is tricking the badguys!  And Dominus is cool even if his wings are fake, poor guy.

No hugs.  Well that answers one of the many questions about Angel.

"Gosh.  Hope they're OK.  Heart of Stone?  Is it a heart-shaped ruby?  Or... we don't know what it is?"

  Officially (so far as Elite Pirate Team is official), Joe was brought on around the same time as Pyrus.

  Those who have paid attention to such patterns would have already noticed a long list of Successful Plot Gadgets used by the Galaxy Initiative, were unofficially (less any secrecy, more 'no credit for the help'... and ALSO secrecy') worked on by Joe long before he became directly involved with the missions.

  "The important thing is that Dominus wants it.  Knowing what it is always makes that task easier, of course."

Dominus says, "It looks like this" and gives a visual:
https://www.mediamatic.net/ima...84d61afea2a7e%29.jpg

Larry is still staring at the map of the location they are supposed to go to.

Dominus says, "There is a 24-hour time window. After that, any survival supplies the forward team took will run out. If there are no further questions, I'll be going to my next, more political meeting."

Like Larry and Murphy at the moment, Angel is silent.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:01, Mon 11 Nov 2019.

Pyrus' eyes go wide upon seeing the Heart of Stone.  He knows he'd be sorely tempted to eat it if he found it.  But he'd hate to disappoint Dominus.  And questions about, "Is it dangerous?  (So I'm not as tempted to eat it,)" or whatever are always met with "If it were dangerous to eat I would have told you already," or "If it weren't dangerous, would I be sending the Galaxy Initiative?" so kinda too sheepish to ask those sorts of questions anymore.

"You got it, Dominus!  Good luck with the dumb politicians..."

Dominus is so brave!  Pyrus doesn't like being in the political hall even when there's no one else there.

"Let's go, team!"

  So either Dominus doesn't know and wants to sound cool, or thinks he'll sound cooler by withholding the information.  It is these parts of the job that make Joe almost miss paperwork.

  "I'm sure all information you require us to know will be available in transit, Dominus." Still, at least Pyrus didn't have to be told not to eat a precious artifact... Though the dragon might end up too polite and not bother Angel with obvious questions for him, at this rate.

Dominus nods and exits the room.

Larry, Murphy and Angel get up and head off for the docks where the Galaxy Initiative ship is. Dominus has given the Galaxy Initiative full reign with the craft; allowing them to do whatever they please with it. One might think the ship of some super spies might not look impressive lest they draw attention. But actually, this ship has an exterior that can project any color all along its hull so that for those missions where 'looking cool' would help blend better, it can do so with ease. Larry is explaining this on the way into the ship. "Murphy and Pyrus like it when we pretend to be a pirate ship because Murphy can put images of pretty ladies on the ship and Pyrus can have fire decorating the ship. I like when we act like a cargo ship because we attract pirates who we can defeat and take their stuff. Joe likes it when our missions go without any equipment taking damage, so keep that in mind."

Once inside the ship, Larry sets the ship on auto-pilot heading for Morose and says, "Alright, little girl. Dominus said we should get to know each other on the way, so since you're the newbie, you get to tell us about yourself first. Then Pyrus will share about himself. Then Joe. then Murphy. Then me."

Angel says, "My full name is Angel Melissa Bard. If you want to use a code-name for me, I like using my middle name for that. I'm a trick-shot, meaning I can hit whatever I'm aiming for; be it with a gun or a thrown object such as a dart or ball. I know a lot about guns, so I can tell you all about any capabilities our enemies armaments include as long as it is a firearm of some sort. I'm good at reading people, so I can be useful for detecting lies or figuring out motives. As I'm sure you all already know, I'm an assassin. So I have a skill set that reflects that. As for who I am on a personal level, you will have to find that out over time."

Larry nods, satisfied. Then looks at Pyrus.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:04, Tue 12 Nov 2019.

Pyrus grins and nods to the comment about putting flames on the ship.  He listens curiously to Angel's self-description, trying to wrap his mind around a part Blissian person being anything Angel describes.  Oh well.  Never actually met a Blissian, so maybe a lot of what he's heard was exaggeration.  Or you just lose all the Blissian quirks when only one parent is Blissian.

"Um.  I'm a lava monster.  I'm tough and can pick up heavy things.  And I can do hacking and stuff.  And uh...  Oh yeah!  I can make really funny faces!"

Pyrus changes the shape of his head to be that of a horse.  "Reheheheherr!  I'm a horseless headman!"

( commando creepy horse mask: https://memeworld.funnyjunk.co...k_70ccc8_4453497.jpg )

  While Joe can hardly claim he won't mangle equipment if it means the team not dying, it's okay if he does it because what is the point of being a pirate if you can't be wildly hypocritical?

  "While 'mysterious ancient artifacts' are not the usual, I'm mostly kept around to get things working for people that don't have time to remember how every one of a kind devices or project turns on." Which is often interrupted by 'get him! he's the weak ner-AAAARGH!' , the nerve of some people.

Angel widens her eyes at Pyrus shapeshifting, looking rather unprepared for that, and then giggles. "Wow... that's... impressive."

She then nods to Joe as he intros himself.

Murphy says, "In a way, I'm kinda my namesake. If something bad can happen to anyone, I almost seem to 'sense' it and know exactly how and when to make bad things happen to people. I'm also what they call a 'grifter', which is someone who swindles people."

Angel slowly nods with a frown that says "OK cool."

Larry says, "I'm an explosives guy. Our team technically doesn't have a leader besides Dominus. We're expected to work out among ourselves who leads if anyone. I naturally took the role because I've been on this team longer than the rest present and because I have a bit of an alpha personality. But if you feel leading is your thing, be sure to show us what you got without failing and I'll be fine obeying your orders. Until then, or until I die, I'm in charge."

Angel nods and says, "Feels kinda ragtag. Like maybe the person I'm replacing, if I'm replacing anyone, didn't have the same skillset as I do."

Larry says, "You're correct. This group has been as small as three members and as large as seven. We only gain team members when Dominus finds someone he thinks would be an asset to our team. Despite our elite status... or maybe because of the nature of it... we're a bit laid back. As long as you are capable, you are free to do whatever you want."

Is it really wildly hypocritical for a fix-it guy to prefer survival over things breaking?  Pyrus would argue if that's hypocrisy, then being a hypocrite is very sensible.

"I get the feeling like this is one of those that we don't want to activate," Pyrus answers, "Could be wrong, though.  Could be that it generates an endless supply of rock candy."

Yay!  Pyrus got bunny giggles!  AND a compliment!  Better be careful not to overdo the gag or it won't be funny anymore.  So his face returns to normal.

"Yeah I really like it on this team.  Exciting stuff to do and great folks to look out for me.  Don't have to squabble over spoils like pirates do.  Don't have to go to a boring job like most everyone else does.

"Not interested in being anyone's boss, though.  Never understood why anyone would be.  I like Dominus and all, but he's nuts to willingly take on all that responsibility.  He and Larry make it look cool, but it's soo not for me."

  Joe has been working under the logic of 'If the explosives guy wants to lead, that means the bombs are in front of me instead of behind me'.

  "It doesn't really fit the PR packet to say 'Dominus picks what he thought sounded cool'.  Officially, all members assigned are here for carefully considered reasons."

Angel headtilts at Joe. "Do you mean you guys aren't carefully selected?"

Murphy says, "Well... yes and no. Joe here likes to say things in a way that make them more amusing. Technically, we're all carefully considered if you count all the numbers crunching and coincidences involved in us being found and selected. But the reality is that Dominus doesn't have the time to carefully select us; it's more like he is presented options and he picks the one he likes best at that time."

Larry says, "Keep that in mind, young lady. We are elite, there is no question about that. But that doesn't mean we are the absolute best around. So when we're up against, say, any of the elite teams who work for the Eternity Lords? Do NOT underestimate them. That's how one of the Galaxy Initiative wound up dead ten years ago."

Larry then looks at Pyrus. "Assuming we even figure out how to 'activate' it. Assuming it even IS a thing that 'activates'. It might be a powersource or a piece to something for all we know. I say if it can be activated, leave figuring out its activation to Joe and Murphy, and only if we either really need to, or our curiosity exceeds our self-preservation instincts."

Angel then looks at Pyrus. "I can explain the desire to be in charge if you want. But it almost sounds like you would rather not know."

Pyrus rolls his eyes at mention of PR.  More of that political stuff he wants to stay far away from.  Well...  Except that he doesn't mind that the reputation of Dominus' Lava Dragon has been greatly exaggerated.  "Ripped open a starship and devoured the reactor core!" while technically true, doesn't tell the real story that it was a tiny starship rusting in a junkyard and it took quite a while to finally get at the core.  If he were a member of the team back then, well, Pyrus wouldn't have needed to stoop to dumpster diving in the first place, but even if he did, his new team mates woulda popped that ship open like a tin can in less than half the time.

Pyrus shrugs.  "All I know for sure is that it looks very tasty.  And the last I heard of someone devouring some legendary heart it was a mythological god of mischief who wound up daddy to a beast of the end times.  So I'm doubly tempted to have a nibble."

He thinks on Angel's offer and answers.  "I don't see why knowing would bother me.  Especially since it means hearing more of your nice voice.

"...Not that I mind the guy's voices.  They all sound so cool!  Larry sounds like thunder, Murphy sounds like fire, and Joe sounds like the ocean."

So the elemental is a tad predisposed to think in terms of the elements.  What of it?

"Your voice is more like...  The cosmos is talking to me."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:27, Mon 18 Nov 2019.

  Technically, it was a long stretch towards self deprecation over the fact Joe himself was put on Team Fancy Pants Pirates. Therefore, clearly Dominus must have low standards they are trying to bring back up by picking Angel.

 After all, Space > Ocean, duh.

  "Please do not deliberately cause an apocalypse, Pyrus" it may be beyond hope if it comes to accidental doomsdays from natural disaster dragons.

Angel gives Pyrus a chuckle. She doesn't take his comments about the end times seriously. His comment on her voice has more impact. "Cosmos as an element... hmm..."

She then says, "Well to explain why people want to be in charge, I have two explanations.: Everyone wants something. Some people want one thing. Others want many things. People who want to be in charge usually see it as a means to have all the things they want. Second explanation for why people want to be in charge is that they hate when they don't have control over things. For example: Imagine if one day, you were not the one controlling your body, but instead, somebody else did. That feeling of powerlessness causes people to strive for power and control. That's just two potential motives for wanting to be in charge. There are others, but those are the two that make the most sense to me, anyway."

Pyrus wears an innocent look in response to Joe, nibbles his lower lip, shrugs, and answers, "As the song says, 'It's better not leaving temptation around.'  Better chances if I'm not left alone with it is all I'm saying."

He smiles to hear Space Bunny's laugh again.  He head-tilts and looks at the ceiling while considering her explanation then answers with that sing-song tone that kids use when answering, "I give up," after being told, "You'll understand when you're older," "Oh I dunno.  I guess I can kinda see some draw.  But still seems to me like all the reasons put together isn't worth the all drawbacks.  If I had a pebble for every time I've heard Dominus says, 'There's something I must do,' I'd be the size of a mountain by now.  Too busy to have fun!

"Then there's all the coup attempts, the heroes trying to kill you for the achievement, the time and effort setting up your defenses only for them to be ignored because of some exploit, stupidly bad luck, (or stupidly lucky enemies,) the whiny minions, the mental illness that makes you trust those dumb minions to deal with your enemies for some reason while you deal with something less important personally, or repeating the same tactic over and over in a fight regardless of whether it works or is the one thing that allows you to take damage, or forgetting that you have super tech that can easily solve your problem...  'Stupid Ball,' I think it's called?

"Yeah.  Seems to me like being a boss is way overrated."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:31, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

  Joe lives every day with a Narrator controlling his body and it's worked out mostly okay so far. But Angel probably wasn't referring to something both so literal, and meta, at the same time as power gamers muscling in on your narration territory.

  "Dominus works harder at keeping their title than most, at least." After all, most complain they are surrounded by incompetents for their problems.  While Team Rocket The Galaxy Imperative's current job is because even 'NOT incompetent' leaves messes to clean up.

Larry says, "Don't worry, Pyrus. We'll give you all the tasty rocks you want or whatever, but this one will not ever touch your paws."

Murphy says, "Stupid Ball is an everyone game, Pyrus. Like desiring to eat something so badly that you don't care it would be the last thing you ever experience. That makes all the objections you made sound like a breeze."

Angel shrugs. "There you go, Pyrus, everyone has something they like. For some like Dominus, it's being in charge. For others like Murphy, it's survival. For others like you, it's how tasty the rock is. It's just a matter of how much work or frustration you are willing to put up with to have the thing you like."

"I'll be happy just to NOT be that guy that Dominus is talking about when he complains about being surrounded by idiots."

Pyrus pouts at being accused of stupid and counters, "Having an fatal flaw isn't the same as the stupid ball.  I've warned you about my Achilles heel.  Larry knows to keep the Kryptonite away from me.  Problem solved."

Angel's point seems to turn Pyrus's fatal flaw into something more like a motivation, and he slowly nods while processing it.  "Well when you put it that way...  Wow.  It all makes sense now."

  Some cliches are not quite as expected. For example, it is the Lion using the dangerous amounts of explosive traps instead of the Coyote (usually).  Meanwhile, some prove true as the Bunny plays up the carrot for the 'carrot and stick' metaphors.

  "Well that should be simple enough Pyrus.  Just don't decide the work and frustration you want is to eat the thing your boss wants."

Murphy shrugs. "Guesso."

Larry says, "Alright guys and gal. We're coming in. Brace yourselves."

Planet Morose has a lot of space debri around it. It is the first deterrent to visiting the world, and is enough to keep most would-be explorers from going to the planet's surface.

The ship "Star Warrior" is equipped with some forcefield generators that withstand both energy attacks and kinetic impacts quite well. Still, with as hard as the debri field hits, the ship shakes a few times.

After a few minutes, the ship enters atmo and then lands. The area is as barren as expected, looking much like a rock desert.

http://famouswonders.com/wp-co...er-view-of-petra.jpg

The atmo is safe, though, so no space suits required.

Larry holds up some gas masks. "We might need these once we get inside the building. Keep your scanners on."

Angel nods and takes one of the gas masks while quietly following the group.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:36, Mon 02 Dec 2019.

Pyrus nodded to Joe and says with a sigh, "Yeah.  Pretty much the main reason I'm asking to be kept from the temptation is that."

Upon arriving he smiles.  "Oooh.  Pretty sandstone.  Wonder if it's a feldspathic arenite."

Pyrus tastes a stray pebble.  "Nope.  Quartz.  Must be mostly pretty decent weather 'round here judging from the lack of erosion.  Unless this place isn't all that ancient after all."

He takes a more quadrupedal posture and sniffs around.  Not that his sense of smell is any better than anyone else on the team, just that he tends to be less adverse to putting his nose to the ground and sniffing at dusty rocks.

  Joe may not look it (which is part of the point) but he's all set to survive being ejected out an airlock, let alone something gas masks can deal with.  Still, physical backup options are always good to have.  "Thanks, Larry." he comments, as he gives it a once over just to be sure.

  At Pyrus's commentary, he adds "Places qualifying as 'ruins' seem to linger better than most, regardless of when they were built."

Larry shrugs. "Gasmasks. Weapons ready. And in we go." he puts his gas mask on, pulls out his pulse rifle, and walks in.

Murphy follows suit, though his weapon is apparently a laser rifle / staff. So while it looks like a standard scifi staff*, it can fire lasers out one end as if it were a laser rifle.

* https://bw-1651cf0d2f737d7adea...8976/image_78976.jpg

Angel puts on her gas mask and then draws two laser pistols.

Inside, the group can see stairs that lead up, but also hallways that lead elsewhere. Larry looks around, pulls down a pair of goggles and says, "They explored both pathways. Guess we're going to have to do that as well."

Murphy says, "I'd prefer to go high and work our way down. That way, most of our work will not be tiring since we'll be going downward."

Larry pauses. "Good point. Let's make our way up then."

Upstairs, places like this are found:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media...09399.jpg?1418846978

The decorations are more obviously from the advance team that has gone missing.

A Scifi gasmask fills more roles than just filtering the air.  Such as muting your voice to the enemy while still transmitting it perfectly clearly to the others in the team.  Which is part of why Pyrus has one and puts it on.  But since he still wants to use his sniffer and poisonous gasses don't bother him, he doesn't have a filter installed.

No objection at all to Larry taking the lead.  Being the team tank stings, so Pyrus is always happy to not have to take point.  Once in the mystery room, Pyrus checks for a WiFi signal that the advance team mighta set up to network their devices.  Also looks the room over for devices left behind.  Maybe he can find a log that'll clue the team in on what to look out for.  Last entry: "We should never have dug so deep!  Drums!  Drums!  They're coming for us!  This will probably be my last-  AAaaaargh!"

Scifi log entries are usually audio files or grainy audio-video files that keep you from seeing what actually killed the victim.

"Heart of Stone...  Anyone ever heard of an ancient Liver of Stone?  Lung?  These relics are always hearts for some reason."

  "We could attempt to call them directly, even a corpse has a com.  Though we still do not know if they have are simply missing, or captured."  Or driven mad by ancient bullshit, that's always annoying.

Angel looks to Pyrus and answers, "In standard culture, the heart is considered the center of emotions or of the soul."

Larry says, "Actually, Angel, if you go back far enough, the liver was considered the seat of your lifeforce. So I wouldn't be surprised if we DO wind up hearing about a Liver of Stone at some point."

Angel says, "Huh. How about that. Then I suppose either this people were forward-thinkers, or not as ancient as what you're talking about."

Pyrus does find a log and the last entry records pictures of the Heart of Stone (including 3D-scan holo pictures that were sent to Dominus) and a log about checking how to remove the heart without setting anything off. No sudden args. Just simply no more logs after that. Sorry, standard drama, make way for suspense drama.

Useful enough, though, the log also includes the location of the heart so the group now knows which way to go to get to it.

Murphy nods to Joe and attempts to com one of the people. No response and none of the group can hear Murphy's voice in the distance, so the com is either off, blocked from audio range or blocked from signal range.

"I think I have two centers of emotion.  My face and my tail."

Pyrus of course shares what he's learned with the team.  He thinks better of pranking his friends by making it look like he can rip out his own heart.  Enough lectures about taking these missions seriously have taught him that timing is important for humor.

"Well unless their mobile devices were all destroyed or taken out of range, I should be able to find them.  I doubt they would have thought they had reason to stealth their own signals before disappearing."

Signal locator is activated.  Direction and signal strength of any active wireless computers will be indicated and shared with the team.

  Well clearly if that were true, then ancient dwarves would focus on the liver because they need it more than their heart for drinking.  No blood means no blood alcohol poisoning, duh!  Except ancient dwarves are written by modern humans, so heart symbolism it is.

  "I know it sounds childish, but as usual do not violate the buddy system unless we have to.  Granted, we have to very often." Now, TECHNICALLY It's easier for Joe to sneak around with Pyrus with him, in the sense everyone will be paying extra attention to Not Joe.  But it's of little surprise Joe often has to leave the lava boy unsupervised on missions.

When Pyrus mentions emotion in the tail, Angel's tail involuntarily twitches.

Larry says, "Not childish at all. That said, I say we stick together completely. Not splitting us up at all just yet. Let's go where Pyrus found those signals before we mess with the Heart. This team had reason to believe they couldn't just simply remove it, so we should find out why they haven't been answering coms."

Murphy says, "Let's approach slowly. I'll be looking for any traps as we go."

Fast-forwarding a little, the group finds the bodies of the advance team. They do not have a mark on them and look like they simply relaxed and then died in their sleep. The room they are in is relatively small, only 15x15 feet. It looks similar to a sauna, but made of stone and missing any water/steam.

Pyrus doesn't get why "buddy system" sounds childish and is glad that Larry upheld that it's a good idea.  His tail wags along with Angels', though probably much more noticeably.

At the room, Pyrus sniffs around.  "I'm guessing undetectable poison.  Either in the air or the food.  'Cause if they were sick, they probably woulda had a chance to call for a medic.  Unless they died of the fastest lethal disease in the history of the universe."

He doesn't mention why he ruled out violence 'cause he doesn't want to get a "Well DUH," from the team.

"Maybe they're still alive."

Pyrus checks for signs of life.

"This sure is a weird room.  What kinda ancient builder makes a useless room like this?  It's like the kind you only find in low-graphics FPSs."

  "Just so long as we work out how to not all die together in the process like this team, Angel." Well, at least they don't have to rescue them anymore?

  He comments to Pyrus "Like you are expecting, it is probably a room meant to kill people. Which both means it isn't pointless, and is also right at home in an FPS"

The bodies do not have gas masks on, but according to the equipment the group has, there is no sign of poison in the air. All the same, Larry says nothing about removing masks.

Angel suspects Joe directed that particular precaution at her because she's new to the team, so she simply nods to him with a smile.

What Pyrus finds when checking the bodies is interesting... they are warm to the touch, not stiff, and even have heartbeats.

A stone golem "transforms" out of the wall in the room. It has a deep, robot-like voice and asks, "I am Helper. Who are you?"

Angel answers, "I'm Angel. This is Larry, Murphy, Joe and Pyrus."

Helper says, "Good. Why are you here?"

Angel pauses. Larry ponders. Larry says, "To learn about the Heart of Stone."

Helper looks around at the others. Murphy remains quiet.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Thu 02 Jan 2020.

Well yeah.  The purpose of death chambers are to kill you, sure.  But Pyrus was referring to those weird rooms that seem to serve no function.  Were the devs going to put some lootables in there and forgot?  Was it going to be a spawn point?  Neither of those would make sense here.  Unless this ancient civilization was big into augmented reality paintball games.  Come to think of it, that would be AWESOME!

Pyrus gasps!  "They're alive!"

While trying to wake them, his eyes go wide at the appearance of the golem.  When things don't get immediately violent, he discreetly stops reaching for his grenades.

"Um...  We're also rescuers.  And these people need rescued.  Why are you here, Helper?"

  Joe is very glad he didn't attempt to just zip through the room without touching any surfaces.  Trusting your mobility tends to not really hold up to when the building itself is mobile.

  "What do you want, or the closest thing to it, Helper?" It's all well and good living in a crushed spirits pirate empire when they are in charge, but SOME people have to the hassle of repeating questions to 'I don't want anything, I live to serve! Types.

Helper says, "I am here to help and guard the Neylor and their temple. It is my duty and what I was built for. The people before you are healthy for now. If you are here to take them away and out of this temple, you are welcome to."

Larry says, "Good to know.. getting them out of here was our intention."

Angel is examining the golem while trying not to look amazed at its appearance.

"Neylor?  Haven't seen any Neylor that I know of.  Are they tiny or invisible?  And why can't I wake these guys up?"

So this wasn't an FPS kill room after all.  Put-you-to-sleep room?  It is kinda boring looking.  But if the golem popped out for them, that's not very boring.  They should be awake!

  There goes Pyrus asking good questions again.  So he'll go with a boring follow up.  "How long have you been guarding this place?"

Helper answers Pyrus, "The Neylor are hidden. You cannot wake those people because I have put them into a magical sleep that will only lift once they are off world."

Helper turns to face Joe. "I have been guarding this place for 3,049 years."

Larry asks, "Why did you put these people to sleep?"

Helper says, "Because they said they were going to remove the heart of stone and take it off world. I am not permitted to allow that to happen."

So they'd be fine if they'd lied.  More evidence that honesty isn't the best policy.  Whoever said that must've meant something more specific, like, "If you lie to me, you're fired."  Darn those overly broad maxims!

"Woah.  Long time.  You're magical?  Awesome!  Can you tell if I'm magical too?  I think I might be.  I wunna learn how to cast magic spells like you do!  I'm made of rock like you are, so maybe I can."

There goes that tail-wagging again.

  Right, follow up question then, even if he doubts much will come of it.  "When is the last time you have even seen or heard from a Neylor?  And is the list of things we shouldn't down on this world ten items or less?"

The golem answers, "You are magical. The last time I have seen a Neylor was today. The rules on this world are not restricted to ten items or less."

Larry asks, "Is there a written form of the rules..?"

The golem answers, "Yes."

Larry asks, "Where is it?"

The golem gives directions to another room.

Larry asks, "...is it OK to ask about the Neylor you saw today?"

The golem answers, "Yes."

Larry asks, "Then where is the Neylor you saw today?"

The golem points at Angel. "There."

Pyrus grins at Joe's question.  He raises his eyebrows in surprise at the fact that the golem knows that he's magical.  And that there's still a Neylor around even 3,000 years later.

But hearing that Angel is the Neylor has takes him completely by surprise! ( https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vi2...-trick-to-baboon.gif )

"You'd think for all the games I've played I'd have expected a surprise reveal like that, but I sure didn't!"

He looks to see if Angel is just as surprised as he is.

  Joe figures it is a coinflip for if his boss actually knew this ahead of time and wanted to act all mysteriously smart. Or, will merely claim to have known it the whole time when they put Angel on the team.

  Also, he won a bet that Pyrus was magical, but alas that guy fell into a volcano... We're not sure if it counts as irony or not that betting on the lava dragon involved a death by volcano.

  "So, not even the Neylor are allowed to remove the heart or change your orders, I assume?"

  He looks in the direction of the Room Full Of Rules, and expects he is the only one boring enough to want to slowly read them-ahah. Hah. Yeah right.  Joe is boring enough to scan ancient rules into a portable keyword search enabled format.

Angel seems just as shocked as anyone about being labeled a Neylor.

The golem answers, "Specific individuals have the authorization to remove the heart of stone. The half-blissian is not one of them."

"Um.  So...  What are the Neylor, then, if a half Blissian is all Neylor?  Is it like, some magical power you're born with?  A nationality?"

Pyrus updates his mission status for Dominus: Rescued advance team alive. Weird non-hostile magic native hindering 2nd objective. Currently questioning native.

  Alas, ancient racism is being upheld before current day convenience.

  "okay, I wasn't expecting to need you to specify the second most recent Neylor you've seen or revived orders from.  Yet here we are."

The golem answers Pyrus, "Neylor are a nation build upon the worship of the goddess Velocity. There have been other such nations, but this location was of the Neylor."

Larry looks at Joe. Then looks at the golem. "Why didn't you answer Joe?"

The golem answers, "Because he did not ask a question."

Murphy says, "Great, we're dealing with an overly literal magical construct. OK, so who and when was the second most recent Neylor you've seen?"

The golem answers, "Yesterday, I was visited by a Neylor by the name of Carlos."

Angel asks, "What was he here for?"

The golem answers, "I am not permitted to answer that question."

Pyrus listens to the exchange, lips skewed.  He can guess why Carlos was here.  Got a message that there were intruders who admitted they want to take the Heart of Stone.  Can't say what he was up to since that includes important things like, "He hid the Heart of Stone under the altar in the final boss chamber."

"Velocity?  Wasn't that a racing game?"

Pyrus shakes off that train of thoughts.  Best not to ask details on the goddess or you'll get a long exposition dump of historical info that won't even count towards an achievement if you take the time to listen to it all, much less have any relevance to your mission.  Probably.

"So um...  Angel here would like to know why you think she's a Neylor.  Erm.  Phrased as a question.  Why you think Angel is a Neylor?"

Mmm.  On second thought, skipable flavor text is more the modern game way of doing things.  There were quite a few oldschool games where important details were hidden in the long expo dumps.  And this guy was probably made with the oldschool mentality.  But such questions can wait for after the answer to this one.

  Ah yes, only worshippers of Velocity the Strong and Pretty would have such mastery of passive aggression bestowed upon their constructs.  Why crush your enemies when you can get the extra satisfaction of making them get patient and throw a tantrum that makes them deserved to be crushed?

  ...You know, on top of wanting to steal your plot artifacts.

  "Are the Naylor able to create another Heart of stone? And what would the rough equivalent value in goods or credits be?"

  Joe might need to bust out the big guns of 'technically, just buying one counts as any means necessary'.  But that probably would be well out of their budget.  But chained sidequests are also very oldschool.

As tempted as the narrator is to suddenly have game-show lights along with golem proudly announcing how you can win a heart of stone, this sadly doesn't happen.

Angel is staring at the golem.

The golem answers Pyrus, "Why I claim Angel is a Neylor is classified."

Angel gazes off. "Oh well."

The golem answers Joe, "Only Velocity can create another heart of stone. The value would be up to her, but she has given me permission to allow power-seekers like yourselves who ask such purchase questions with the following answer: Gift me 100 healthy, living people, perform the ritual, and you may receive a heart of stone."

Angel says, "What does the heart of stone do?"

The golem answers, "Once per day and once per night, the heart of stone has the power to turn any one person you wish to stone. The exception is it cannot turn Velocity or a Neylor to stone."

Larry raises an eyebrow. "If that's to be believed, that would be a super weapon. Anyone you can think of. That could be political leaders, influential people..."

Pyrus grins playfully at Angel.  "You are Velocity!  But the psychic samurai erased your memory.  And for some strange reason, people who opposed the mind-wipe still don't tell you until the big reveal moment."

He looks over at Larry.  "The way things like this usually work is that it sounds way more useful than it really is.  You finally get the boss's weapon then find out, 'Oh it runs off an ultra-rare or ultra-expensive fuel that the boss used up to use the weapon on you.'  And, 'The maximum range is exactly the diameter of the boss fight's arena.'  And, 'As it turns out, it only turns someone into stone for a few seconds.  Plenty of time for the boss to kick you into the pool of lava in the arena, but not terribly handy elsewhere.'  I'll bet there's tons of catches like that 'cause he so freely tells us what it can do and how to get one."

"Even so.  Dominus could easily scoop 100 healthy people out of the prisons for the exchange.  Unless...  do minor things like piercings, anti-social behavior, or an addiction to caffeine disqualify you from being labeled 'healthy?'"

Pyrus figures that though he's partly made of stone, the heart of stone would likely kill him just as quickly as it would a squishy, so he doesn't bother asking.

  "As long as we are picking apart trends Pyrus, the simplest one would be 'never said you would get one, only that you may slipped in after 'Make mere mortals argue if selling a hundred people is immoral or easy'."

Angel asks, "So are we permitted to take these guys off world so they will wake again?"

The golem answers, "Yes."

Angel says, "Well then let's get these guys out of here at least. The golem has made it clear we can rescue our guys. From orbit, we can report what we learned and see what Dominus wants to do about it."

Larry says, "He doesn't wanna be bothered with updates. We were given a mission. We can take these guys to our ship so they will be on life support or whatever, sure, but our mission is clear."

Murphy nods. "Yeah. Let's regroup at the ship and discuss our options."

Pyrus is guessing that the golem's "yes" answers his question as well.

"Well dang.  100 'healthy' people won't be so easy to scoop up after all."

He scoops up one of the KO'd guys, expecting someone else to handle the second, and heads with the group back toward the ship.

Once out of hearing distance of the golem, he answers Joe, "I'm guessing the goddess worded it that way to cover contingencies like, 'Here's your 100 people, you worthless, ugly, excuse for a deity.'  I'd refuse the deal if someone were like that, but I've heard that even criminals have to honor their verbal contracts even in the face of rude customers or else their name is mud.  So on top of being stuck with having to do business with people they hate, they have to punch their customers for the insult lest they be called wimps.  Then the customer escalates and what could have been something as simple as, 'I won't do business with potty-mouths' turns into a shoot-out.

"I say this because most dark deities in games don't bother with verbal loop-holes and just blatantly go back on their promises saying stuff like, 'You were a fool to think I would honor the agreement!  And a worm like you cannot do anything about it!'  But there were admittedly one or two that were such sticklers for wording that one claimed, 'I am the deity of Time Itself!' because of a grammatical error in the treaty between the gods."*

*Borrowed from one of the many maximum volume, long-winded oldschool D&D lore expositions Rick assaults my ears with from time to time.  Seth: "You should weaponize his voice."

  "Hopefully they will have something to say beyond 'We showed up and then got put to sleep' or 'We don't NEED your help!' posturing."

  After Pyrus gives his exposition about crime decorum, Joe comments "As usual, wanting to look good is the main concern involved above all else."

Larry carries a couple scientists. He's a hulking lion, after all.

To Joe, Murphy says, "Well yeah. If you don't posture, you're dead. And even if you didn't have that to worry about, who enjoys being rejected?"

Larry shrugs. "Not everyone cares how they look... but I sure do. Just look at this beautiful mane." he swishes his main a bit.

Soon, the group is at the ship and the scientists are laid upon a med table. The ship takes off and goes into orbit. When questioned, the scientists explain the chain of events:

1) Arrive on location. Set up equipment.
2) Find heart of stone. Examine. Get sidetracked by trying to translate writings.
3) Find room with golem. Tell golem there is nobody here, so the stone is up for grabs and they are taking it for science.
4) Black out. Wake up in ship with PCs asking them questions.

The scientists very clearly demonstrate a complete lack of any awareness for anything that isn't science and are baffled as to why a golem would knock them out for wanting to do science.

To be fair, they also seem consistent. Like the kind of people who would be happy if someone stole their equipment in order to perform science.

Pyrus laughed from Larry's hair funny.

"Yup!  Gorgeous!"

Later:  Welp.  Looks like Joe was right again.  Nothing useful to say.

"More confirmation that games really do reflect real life.  These guys sound exactly like the NPC scientists in Malevolent Denizens.

'With the right amount of genius and a touch of perceived insanity, science can conquer anything!'"

  "I'm fairly certain I'm still here due to resisting the temptation to posture, Murphy.  But like everything context changes so much." being overlooked by self important maniacs of high rank also has it's uses.

  After the exposition, Joe comments "They actually got to the heart though, Pyrus." Does it still count as making more progress when they had to be rescued after a party wipe?

  "Do you remember what route you took to reach the hear without seeing the Golem? Though I suppose if you didn't see any doors and openings larger than the heart itself, we've got more problems than what guards we do know of."

Murphy looks at Pyrus. "You're catching on, kid."

The scientists show a 3D map of the ruins and show where they found the heart.

Angel says, "And you didn't take it because you weren't sure if it was trapped." ironic that they were cautious about physical traps, but didn't understand that telling a golem your intentions was a bad idea.

Murphy says, "So let's use a robot to grab it remotely. If it's trapped, our not being there will mean the trap won't harm us. Joe, can you fetch out one of them drones?"

Pyrus grins at Murphey.

To Joe he shrugs.  "The mad scientists of Malevolent Denizens succeeded in making the 'perfect organism' too.  Just that 'success' was the disaster that drove the plot.  I'm expecting that this Heart of Stone thing is like that.  Where the universe would be better off if we didn't succeed in getting it."

"Oh yay!  Drones!  So much fun!"

Pyrus pulls a wireless controller out of his pack and punches a few buttons to set it up for interfacing with drones.  He pauses a moment in thought.

"Ya know.  I'm realizing Dominus gave us this mission objective without knowing the important information that the Heart of Stone belongs to some dark goddess.  So... suppose we succeed.  Goddess finds out.  Causes way more trouble for Dominus than the Heart is worth.

"Cutscene: 'I'm surrounded by idiots!  You should have known better than to steal from some spooky super-powered being!  If I wanted mindless servants on important missions, I'd send robots!  Agents with brains are supposed to be able to make basic common-sense decisions such as when an objective is no longer worthwhile!'"

Pyrus shrugs.  "I'm game either way."

  "My worst case scenario is far more boring. A simple 'It doesn't work off planet anyways, suckers'.  Still, that assumes the Golem or any other defenses will politely sit back and let us take it rather than move to stop us.  But trying it with drones is still a much better plan than anything I had come up with yet."

  That said, he gets started on busywork prepwork for Sci-Fi construction working for Work and Piracy.  He's sure Pyrus didn't set that controller for player 2 or anything, that would be crazy.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:01, Sat 15 Feb 2020.

But before the team can do much of anything just yet, Murphy says, "Hey guys... we got a new development. Scanners just picked up a ship approaching the site we just came from."

He taps a few buttons. "Looks like a privately owned ship. But I recognize the model as one made on Planet Tavern."

Angel walks over to take a look at the onscreen. "Probably an independent crew then. But why here? They daredevils or something?"

Larry says, "If they're brave enough to come here, I like 'em already. Let's meet 'em on the surface and find out what they are here for."

Pyrus nods and turns the ship to face the newcomers.

He coms them, "This is The Galaxy Imperative ship, Maiden's Voyage, hailing the approaching Tavernian ship.  We like you already for having the guts to come here.  Pick a spot and we'll meet up on the surface."

Figuring it a waste of fuel, he doesn't flip on the shields and sets a very leisurely course for the surface.

After flipping off the mic, Pyrus comments, "If they're here for the Heart, should we just let them have at it then buy it off 'em for normal money?  That way if we bump into any angry super-beings, we can blame the theft on the Tavernians and claim we were in the process of getting the Heart back for her."

  Joe won't be the first to suggest 'Or, you know. Just shoot them' because Larry likes them and Pyrus is thinking ahead for plot device risks over the plot device.

  "Right, delaying that drone deployment so I don't run over our new acquaintances in a cramped hallway just yet."

The other ship coms back that they want to meet in front of the structure. The voice on the com is male and gruff.

The two ships land and out of the other ship comes a male Fou Barrakian, a female grenu, a male coalwren, a male wolf, and female wolf. The barrakian is clearly exuding authority as if he's the boss of this other crew.

The barrakian says, "My name's Kallon. This is Shishi, Morning Glory, Gerald, and Ginger."

Larry introduces himself and his crew in return.

It is soon apparent this crew is here for the relic as well.

"Nice to meetcha!  We just successfully rescued a team of scientists that were stuck here," Pyrus boasts, being sure to not mention the other reason for being here.  That's more for Larry to decide whether to divulge or not.  Yaaay for not being team leader!

And now to impress and bore them with geology technobabble so they don't ask too many questions.

"This place is great!  The lithospheric history points to an intimate coupling between the movement of the plates on the surface and the convection of the mantle (that is, the heat transfer caused by bulk movement of molecules within fluids).  Thus, the plates and the adjoining mantle convection currents always move in the same direction – because the lithosphere is actually the rigid upper thermal boundary layer of the convecting mantle.  This coupling between rigid plates moving on the surface of the plane and the convecting mantle accounts for the stone used in the structures here."

...and because Pyrus is legit fascinated with the topic.  It shows in the big smile, eager tone, and tail-wags.

  Joe doesn't consider Pyrus living up to a sterotype, when the usual stereotype for elemental themed beings is 'Lava hot! I like cold! Smash tiny houses with rocks, we like rocks!'

  "I'm more curious about the timing than the reasons. Lots of people saying they want things, but not even trying.  Now everyone is suddenly in a rush to try at the same time." Well, that could just because that's how adventures work, Joe.  Nobody ever talks about 'That time we found the buried treasure and nobody else showed up'.

Kallon answers Joe, "Simple really. Most believe any relic of Planet Morose to be pure myth, or at the very least hard to find. And this world is hard to even land on, as you are quite aware, which keeps most from bothering to try. But when people see someone approach this planet at all, that catches attention. My crew and I saw a tharian science vessel approach here and tapped into their comms, doing some remote spying with some sensor cloaking*. We found out they were after the heart of stone. Then we saw you guys. So we approached and figured we could talk things out."

Larry says, "Bit of a gamble we'd be willing to share. It is, after all, one relic."

Kallon says, "Yeah, well... you guys identified yourselves as the Galaxy Imperative. While I'm hesitant to believe that, I can't deny this is the kind of thing the GI might be involved in... so if you are here on orders, we don't want trouble. But we also don't want to have come here for nothing."

In a smooth voice, almost timid voice, Morning Glory looks over at Pyrus and says, "Based off what you're saying, there must be some crystals inside the temple. Though you are an unusual one in that you seem equally excited at the idea of heat as you are about rocks. Unless I'm mistaken and you are more excited by heat..."

Gerald and Ginger look happy. Tails wagging, tongues hanging out (granted, this place is a bit hot so most canines would be panting here). Shishi, though panting, is otherwise nearly frozen for how attentive she is.

Angel is keeping an eye on Shishi, with the occasional glance to Gerald and Ginger. Murphy is just leaning against one of the boarding ramp's pistons, looking relaxed.

Larry says, "You didn't come here for nothing. In fact, we were thinking of recruiting you bunch to help us acquire the stone."

*sensor cloaking is usually only effective if a sensor hasn't picked you up yet and only works at certain ranges. Get too close and sensors will pick you up. Range is determined by how good the other guy's sensors are and, well, the PCs have some of the best.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:30, Sat 22 Feb 2020.

"It's so weird how that's a thing with everything," Pyrus comments to Joe, "You go to a store with no customers inside for one item and the registers are all swamped in the time it takes to grab it from the shelves.  Or you find a lonely spot to camp mobs in a low traffic MMO server then next thing you know there's a bunch of other parties all pulling from the same area faster than the mobs can respawn.  What're the chances?  Never understood that coming up so often."

He head-tilts at Larry's answers.  Must figure it a waste of breath to try and convince anyone of being who you are.  Pyrus is new enough to the team that, "Yeah right.  I doubt you bunch are the Galaxy Initiative," isn't something he's used to.  Probably best to keep out of that conversation rather than risk saying something stupid.

To Morning Glory he smiles.  "I'm made of lava.  So both are important topics to me.  Nice to meet someone who shares some of my interests.  You a gamer?  That's my real passion.  It's pretty awesome how this whole scenario has been a mash-up of various games I've played.  Makes it familiar enough that I can contribute, and at the same time I don't know what to expect, so it's fun!"

  Joe doesn't quite have the hubris to assume he has the best personal sensor cloaking around.  But he is fairly confident it would take a plot device or Important NPC to do better... So of course his job involves constantly being around both those things.

  "Not really too surprising a thought process, though did you have a step two for your three step process worked out yet?"

  Insert 'Well... Step 3 is profit!' joke here.

Morning Glory headshakes. "I am sorry, but I am not much of a gamer. Gerald and Ginger like gaming..."

The wolf pair seem to be eyeing Pyrus excitedly now that he has mentioned gaming.

Kallon says, "Well... you guys are looking to have us work with you. I was thinkin'. We work with you now. You work with us on another exciting thing when we find one? You guys do have time off to do fun stuff on the side that pays off, don'tchya?"

Larry strokes his beard/mane. "Sure. That way, we don't have to worry about how much to pay you for helping us?"

Kallon nods. "Exactly. Favor for a favor. Though obviously, if there's a big score for the thing we get your help with, it would be ours."

Larry shrugs. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Murphy's ear wiggles a little, but he doesn't comment.

Angel is quietly observing also.

Pyrus grins proudly and shows off his trophy profile on his holo-projecting mobile device.  Not e-sports level, but achievements enough that prove he has no life outside gaming and watching videos on geology.

On the arrangement, he wants to brag, "The Galaxy Initiative's time ain't cheap!"  But...  recovering a divine magical super-weapon kiiinda fits the bill of, "Doesn't come cheap."

But wow!  Larry just said, "sounds fun!"  So glad the guys aren't all business.

"Just in case it wasn't obvious, we're not allowed to pull any jewel heists in Dominus-controlled space.  And since Dominus is all about uniting the systems for the good of all, we can't be doing gray-area stuff like kidnapping for ransom even if they totally had it coming.  But breaking into ultra-high security high-tech research facilities to nab valuable schematics is right up our alley."

  It would be Pyrus's gimmick to consider the tradition of main quests leading to sidequests, but Joe will think about it anyways.

  "While it wouldn't be the first time it happened, I'm not expecting today to involve any offers of 'Hey, wanna betray your boss next week?', Pyrus."

The narrator has NO IDEA what to do next, so the scene transitions to the two groups parting ways and our PCs have the Heart of Stone. It was technically free for the taking, but there were traps and golems and stuff that were set off once the heart was taken.

Soon, the group is on the way back to Haylor (Base 3). The stone itself is currently in Larry's care and locked inside a metal box. He orders Murphy to get a nap and Murphy obeys without questioning it.

Angel asks, "I suppose Dominus might ask us to use the thing on some enemy or other. But just in case he doesn't, do you guys have any personal enemies to use it on before we turn it in?"

Larry shrugs and looks at Pyrus/Joe.

"As often as I hear rants about subordinates going off the rails, kinda figured it needed clarifying," Pyrus answers.

One sniff of the Heart and Pyrus lost interest in eating it.  "Erm.  So we still don't know what the catch is.  Such as it turning the user's arm into stone in addition to petrifying the target.  I guess if anyone can spare an arm to find out it'd be me.  But I'm in no hurry to test an unholy weapon on gamers with bad manners."

  "As far as I know, there isn't anyone who has vowed revenge against me personally." Now, the Galaxy Imperative in general would probably be a different matter.  But at that point you may as well qualify the list as 'hates pirates' and that would just get out of hand.

  Joe already had the feeling this may end up one of those 'I hired the new girl because she can work the plot device' situations back in the temple.  But it would still hold true now.  "Of course while you are asking, I don't suppose you had some deep seated hatred against someone we should be made aware of?"

Angel shrugs and says, "They're all dead. I half figured it would be the same for you guys, but figured I'd check."

Larry says, "Well then. If nobody objects, then straight to Haylor."

The trip doesn't take long and the group docks on Base 3. Tharcon is actually there to meet them. He has a kart behind him with five lock boxes in it. Each lock box has the names of the Galaxy Imperative. Larry, Murphy, Joe, Pyrus and Angel. Tharcon explains, "These are for you all. Consider it bonus for getting the job done quickly and efficiently while also rescuing the forward team."

It wasn't a HARD job... but it wasn't easy either. Just easy for the players since we did a time skip.

Pyrus is glad none of his friends have any nasty personal enemies that need to be killed.

When Dominus presents the group with treasure chests, the lava dragon wags his tail and hops in excitement!  "Oh boy!  Is it gold?  Yummy minerals?  V.R. goggles?"

He calms down some when he realizes that it's unlikely the others would be getting those kinds of things as a bonus.  "Ooooh!  It's cutting-edge commando gear, isn't it?"

 It's the equipment of the now disposed of failure team!... Nah, probably not.  Recycling isn't 'look how evil I am' enough.

  "Thank you, sir.  I take it there are no pressing issues we should be aware of currently?" Clearly he would have told them already if so.  Unless he was just being polite by not bringing it up yet.  Consistency isn't really a thing when it comes to employers in... Well, everywhere.

Dominus answers Pyrus, "I'll let you all discover what is in your boxes on your own."

Dominus then nods to Joe. "Correct. No pressing matters. Enjoy your break."

With that, he heads off, leaving the group with the lockboxes.

Angel shrugs and goes to check hers. It seems to be a simple lock that opens upon sensing the electrical signatures of the individual team members as well as a quick fingerprint scan. So ANY of the Galaxy Initiative could have opened each others' boxes with a little bit of effort, but most people wouldn't even have the skill set.

Inside Angel's box is a bunch of parts and a data platform. For Joe, it's obvious the parts are for energy applications and thus probably most likely for things like laser gun upgrades or even flat-out building a laser gun from scratch.

She begins browsing the data platform, but makes sure she has her back to the wall to prevent anyone from seeing what's on it. In case it is something private.

Inside Pyrus's box, should he choose to accept it, is actually several different kinds of rocks (with labels to indicate where they are from) and V.R. goggles.

Inside Joe's box, should he choose to accept it, is also some parts, though more varied in application than Angel's box had. There is a note indicating most of these parts are exotic and where they are from so if he should want more of a given part, he can easily order such from Dominus's treasurer.

Larry and Murphy are opening their own boxes also. Larry got some explosives. Murphy got just a data platform. Murphy does like Angel and hides what he's reading, but he seems VERY pleased with the result.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:19, Tue 26 May 2020.

Pyrus jumps for joy and thrusts his fist into the air!

"OMG!  It's a limited edition Theta-Wave Hypnoban Neuro Sim 9000!  I heard there were only a handful of these ever produced before the factory got raided, and that shipment never made it to the open market!  The tech is so cutting-edge rumor has it that the Eternity Alliance hired double-agents to steal it for their elite psychics!"

Pyrus begins to unbox it with such reverence you'd think it was a holy relic.  "Daaang.  Is that blood on the plastic seal?  People literally kill for these..."

As he reads the expected certificate of authenticity at the top of the box, Pyrus absent-mindedly reaches for one of the rocks and has a taste.  His eyes go wide.  "Woah!  Spicy!"

He takes a closer look at the label.  "Ooh niice.  Copper porphyry Morenci sterlinghillite.  Heh.  Save this for...  No, this IS a special occasion!"

Inside the box is what looks like a pair of sports sunglasses.  Pyrus puts 'em on, syncs up with his mobile computer, and begins playing his favorite A.R. sim: Paintgun.  He fires off a few virtual paintballs at his friends.

"What's got you smilin' so much, Murphy?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:49, Mon 13 Apr 2020.

  Clearly Murphy got the names and addresses of everyone who has ever beaten Murphy in a videogame.  What a waste, he already knows where Joe and Pyrus live.  Speaking of video based defeat, Joe could cheat his way out of Pyrus's pretend paint, but chooses not to.

  Meanwhile, a real sign your boss is a professional is when they give you the black ops version of 'I have no idea what to even get you, have a gift card?'

Murphy smiles at Pyrus. "Just some info I've been wanting. Locations of people I wanted revenge on. Blackmail on some important jerks. Stuff like that."

Larry says, "Dominus definitely knows how to treat his special employees."

Angel gets to playing with the parts she got to upgrade one of her guns. "This is why I have two guns. I can upgrade one while still having a fully-functional one handy. And since I got into building guns, I can customize them to every one of my preferences." She has the cutest little bunny smile as she works on it.

Larry says, "Well I'm gonna put in for some time off. My wife's getting on me about time away from home."

Murphy says, "Then so will I. I have some more unwrapping to do with these gifts."

Angel shrugs. "I'm the new girl here. I haven't earned time off yet, so I guess I'll hold down the fort."

Larry chuckles. "I see we have a professional wrapped in that blissian package. Alright. Well if Dominus has a mission for the G.I., don't call me unless it becomes clear you really need me. I'm sure you three can handle whatever, though."

Pyrus ohs.  "Revenge" could be something as simple as killing some evil dude who killed your parents or as serious as publicly shaming a troll who joined your team to deliberately throw the world FPS championships.  Either way, Pyrus has learned it better to not ask details unless he's ready for some super-long exposition.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKum3NtLDg

Pyrus smiles at Larry and nods.  "You said it!"

Cute bunny smile is enough to convince him that he should get a scan of Angel's gun to use as one of the skins of his favorite virtual pistol.

Pyrus pretends to be clueless.  "We have a fort?  And it walks away unless you pin it down?  Just kidding.  I know what that means.  And I'll be happy to challenge you to some Duck Hunt if you like, gun bunny."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:47, Tue 02 June 2020.

  The correct answer is 'More than two guns, but only tell people about two of them'.  So Angel probably gave the correct answer.

  "Your confidence in us not screwing up and dying is truly inspiring, Larry.  Though that would also require our Boss being impatient enough to give us a task we'd fail without you in the first place." Is it 'what's the worst that could happen' risks when you're shoving an important NPC's good reputation onto the tracks in front of you first?