In reply to Desiraye Lipost (msg # 91):

"Just these beauties."  Orvo kisses the fist of each one its three limbs, now finally back into sweet sweet Dralasite form.  "I've got a pretty wicked punch times three." Orvo looks gleefully from one person to the next, then adds, "Oh, and if you've got a slingshot big enough, I can roll into a ball and make one hell of ballistic weapon."

Realizing its pack was stuffed in the base cab with it, Orvo goes back and shuffles through his things.  "Oh, and I've got some drugs...to get answers.  Telol, social de-inhibitors...usual shrink stuff.  I'm sure I could point a gun or toss a bomb if the need arose." 

"Cool!  Come with us then and help us explain what happened here.  We'd better get back to Nuna before something really bad happens to her too."

Bartja headed for the door, intent on getting to Nuna before any assailants within the complex could...

Desi smirks when she see's the Dralasite lift up his fist when asked if he had any weapons on his person.  "Tough," she says as she starts for the door and addresses Orvo one last time, You need to tell our friend that you saw Sathar in here too and what you were hired to do.  Let's get ready to move everyone!  Smooth is fast!"

Noticing that no one actually searched the cabinet with the missing vials, he stops to search through them to see if any got left.  "Just in case the Sathar are as dumb as I suspect," he says in a dry robotic voice.

Fallen back beneath many of the discarded vials, Hammer finds two vials marked as the type you are looking for.  The liquid inside is clear.

"Well done Hammer." Kri'lik remarks as he finds the vials, then motions for every ones departure.

Orvo falls in line and heads for the door, nodding at the clever Mechanon's find.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Sat 30 Mar 2013.

You pocket the two vials and go out to meet Nuna.

She sees you in and says, nodding to Orvo, "Who's this?"

You see in this research lab numerous pieces of equipment of very advanced technologies.  In one of them, suspended in midair inside a glass-like box with various gauges and buttons around it, you see the artifact floating.  Laser lights continually rotate around the orb to examine and assess it.

Two other research assistants are here.  They are compiling and punching in data into computers as fast as it can come in from the device and seem oblivious to you.

In reply to GM Heath (msg # 99):

Desiraye steps up to address Nuna, "That is a new acquaintance we just met.  He has some very interesting information that may have to do with the research project we brought you."

"Thank you Desiraye."  Orvo walks closer to Nuna, comfortable distance that isn't too formal, and says, "Your friends here saved me from an incredibly slow and dull death inside a metal box.  That's no way for a Dralasite to go."

Orvo recomposes himself to be serious, there are troubles brewing.  To Nuna, "I was asked to secretly visit a lab and assess the ethics of some new compound..." Orvo nods to the Yazirian to give the name of it again..."It wasn't yet weapons grade, but had potential.  I'm sure I'm getting things wrong, but the point is, we walked into her lab together, and she was shot dead on the spot.  And there were Sathar there.  I saw two of them, scouring the place, ordering around [I'm ashamed to say] a fellow Dralasite who was the trigger finger for those worms."

"When this team found me, a couple of hours had passed.  Most of the 'secret compound' had been stolen."

Orvo's getting distracted by the shiny glowy thing in the glass cube.  He has to shake his head to stay on task.  Dralasites senses are hyper sensitive to stimuli, especially if it flashes.

Nuna says, "Thank you for reporting this.  Have you reported this to security yet?"  She seems very distraught by this news and she begins calling up security to have them investigate the other lab.

Bartja clears his throat, now wondering how much they should share with Nuna.  He guessed that it couldn't hurt too much since she already had the cube.

"We think the Quantariate broke into the lab by the look and sound of it.  They were after something in there.  We believe it was the very same vial of stuff we asked you about before.  If they got it, what are we facing?  What does that stuff do that we should know about?  It won't be long before they find out you have the device and they might be coming here for it soon, so there's no point leaving us in the dark on this."

He hoped his appeal would touch her sense of reason - or paranoia.

Nuna shrugs.  "I have no authority over that lab.  Someone else was working there.  That's a chemist's lab.  I wonder what the chemists know or have to do with the Qantariate."  She now looks even more distressed.

"We don't have a problem with you reporting it but, could you please leave us out of it?"

She is already talking to security over the phone, but she says to you, "Well, I'm assuming the security cameras caught you over there and you probably weren't wearing gloves, so there are fingerprints.  We had best make sure this is open for public inspection...if you are, in fact, innocent."  She says this last as though wondering why Desiraye would want to keep secrets.

Orvo listens intently, not just to the words spoken but the body language used, mostly by Nuna, but also Orvo's new team mates, to get a better sense of their respective relationships to Nuna.  Orvo uses his Empathy skill to check if Nuna is giving off any other vibe, aside from just concern or fear of punishment.  Is she hiding something?

OOC: 23:19, Today: Orvo rolled 15 using 2d10. empathy check on Nuna.  Perhaps I rolled that incorrectly?  I intended for it to be percentile...

Roll d100 for percentile.

She does not seem to be suspicious, just upset that a murder occurred in the lab under their noses, and that it was a Sathar...and that it has something to do with the Qantariate, which few people know about.

Desiraye reluctantly nods to Nuna about calling security but, she knows it's the right thing that should be done with a murder in the labs they don't need to get blamed for.  She motions with her head for the rest of the team to come over (including Orvo who she makes specific eye contact with) by her so that we can talk quietly amongst themselves.

"We all know that we didn't commit any murder here.  With that said, we need a cover story of why we're here.  Orvo, they hired you for a job correct?  Do you have a problem with saying we're working together and you missed a xheck-in and we came to look for you after we didn't contact us at a certain time?  Anyone else have any ideas?  The murder victim needs justice and I think I know where to start.  Floor's open for suggestions everyone."

Hammer says, "If they have video footage, shouldn't they have video of the Sathar?  I mean, how did they get in here anyway?"

"That's my fear, Mr. Hammer.  For me the question is: is security in on it, because why aren't they swarming the lab we just left?  Especially if they have footage of Sathar slithering on down through this place?  And if there isn't any footage, did these Sathar goons compromise security already, by either taking them out or buying them out to look the other way?"

"I can't help but feeling we're on our own here in that regard."

"Yes, Desiraye, I was hired to do some psychic evaluations on some of the technicians who've been logging longer stays - mostly vets in the company.  I was to receive names upon arrival.  Didn't happen.  And I'd have to find the name of the person who sent me the contract to get my original contact info.  It may have been forged, even by the woman who was murdered to get me here - this is all guess work.  But I will say we are working together and leave it at that for now, rather than spin a story that runs amok.  I'm good at detecting lies.  Not telling them.  Sorry if that disappoints."

Orvo taps a floppy grey foot on the ceramic steel flooring, like a flipper, all three arms crossed in contemplation...

"Do any of you know of anyone else who may need our help?  Perhaps our 'mission' at this point should be one of search and rescue?  Does this shiny cube thing need guarded?  Can we tap into the video archive from here if it's best to stay?"  Orvo shakes his head - so confusing.

Security arrives, but Nuna does not let them into the lab.  Instead, they take you each and interrogate you.  In the process, you find out that the security guard monitoring the monitors that monitored the lab (OOC: say that three times) had been killed, and in reviewing the footage, they did, in fact, find the Sathar entering the lab.  Orvo's story (and yours) checks out.  They do not press charges or seem suspicious.

The Sathar apparently appeared out of nowhere within the lab environment, and you are reminded of the Qantariate method of popping into this dimension through their "Blackness."  Somehow, the Sathar were able to teleport or otherwise move into the lab space, and then back out, using a technology you are not aware of yet, but almost certainly to do with the Qantariate.

This whole process takes about two hours, and you finally return to the lab and Nuna, who is working on deciphering the Sphere with her assitants.

"Come in," she says.  "We've had some time to get some results from the Orb already.  Are you ready for this?"

Tonelessly, S'Krllk says, "Only if it's going to try to kill us, we're used to that. Anything else would be a surprise."

Desiraye smiles at S'Kllk's comment and walks over to where Nuna is so she can view the information they have discovered.  "Orvo!  Are you interested in joining our team?  We, us four, have been through a lot together and you seem like you might have something to bring to our team here.  I don't think the others would mind?  What do you say?"

Orvo bows with two hands out and one over where its heart would be if it were any other species in this galaxy gone bonkers, says, "Why Desiraye, I'd be honored.  And my fists, and occasionally witty banter, are at your service.  Besides, who wouldn't want to hang out with a Vrusk." He winks at S'Kllk.  "Vrusks are all the rage on Dralasite worlds if you didn't know.  Oh, and human comedians, but that's old hat."

Orvo forgets this maybe isn't the best time for cracking wise, "OK, so what are these new findings?  And can someone clue me in on the old findings, like a very brief synopsis?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:35, Sun 07 Apr 2013.

Bartja taps the artificial side of his skull for emphasis. "After this head injury, I'm not even sure I am who I remember being!

Okay Nuna, clue us in on your findings and let's see if any of the pieces start to fit."

He was still wondering about those vials that were taken from the lab and was half occupied with reading three test reports he had photographed back in the lab...