"Those gangs were indeed far from their stomping grounds, but if they were sent so that we would be caught in the crossfire, it is very likely that they were not aware that their war was so directed. If they had been hired to attack us directly, they would have done so exclusively rather than shoot at each other, and would certainly not have withdrawn once one of the sides was eliminated", said the android. "Likely this was to make it more difficult to trace the attack back to its sponsor, though it was done at the cost of making the ploy less likely to succeed." She pondered. "Unless, perhaps, Duravor was the sole target. Then once he was down the gangs were free to fight each other."

Laelyn leans forward, nodding.  "Maybe they were individually hired to attack Duravor, so once he was down, the fight was over who could claim the payment.  Or, if they are rival gangs, it could have just been a matter of opportunity - you know, people you hate, right there, and what luck there's a gun in your hand, sort of thing."

She smiles.  "I am definitely interested."  She pauses a moment, running a hand through her hair, and her smile fades, replaced by an apologetic look to Chiskik.  "I'm sorry, it's not right to be `interested' when you've just lost a friend.  I get caught up in the puzzle of things, sometimes.  Midge, of course we have a choice - the door isn't locked.  But don't you want to know what happened?  Or perhaps more to the point, why?"

     Chiskisk nods at Midge's suggestion and taps on their table.  "I will inform security of your status with the Starfinders.  If you can track down where the prisoners were taken, they should be responsive to letting you interrogate them," they said.

     They then glanced at Asher and nodded again.  More tapping, and everyone's data chips chirped.  "I have forwarded 200 credits to each of your accounts as a ... Signing bonus.  I suggest you all get settled aboard before beginning your investigations.  I can recommend a nice hotel just a short walk from the Eye, if you like.  I know they provide a discount to Starfinders.  It's called the Moons of Sleep," they suggested.  They made a flicking motion on their table, and the mini-computer Midge had taken bleeped.

     "I trust you all to get to the bottom of this.  Duravor was my friend, and I hope you will not let him or the Starfinders down in this investigation.  All I desire is the truth," they said, standing and moving back around the desk.  "I have forwarded my personal comm code to all of you if you wish to contact me.  Good luck."

     The door to the office opened and Dallia entered.  She moved to the side of the open door and waited patiently.

Kairynn stood and offered Chiskisk a polite bow. "Thank you. We will endeavor to bring whoever is responsible for Duravor's death to justice." She waited for the others to make their goodbyes.

Asher smiled as he gave a thumbs up, "Just leave it to us." before making sure to wait for everyone to be done as well.

Midge's eyebrow rose as he got exactly what he wanted, and so did Asher, but he took note of the secretary's motions he gathered up his stuff and headed out with the others. Not bothering with more than a nod before heading towards the door and with a glance at the bigger people he sniffed briefly twitching his whiskers before asking,"To the moons of sleep? Anyone get any details on the coppers?"

"I did not", said the android. "I am unsure if the constabulary will give us information on an ongoing investigation. It will require persuasion. We could also visit the Level 21 crew. They might tell us why they were so far out of their turf, and they may be favorably inclined towards us if they perceive we aided them against the Downside Kings."

"I like the androids line of thinking, going down to the gangs will let us a lot more than having to deal with all the red tape of the cops."

Asher rubbed his chin, "Though they could just end up killing us on sight just for walking in on their truf.....so there is that threat......"

Shrugging he simply gave a smile, "Still you guys seem to have smarter heads then me, so I;l go with whatever you guys sounds the smatter way of doing things."

"Chiskisk did say they'd send our `status' to security," Laelyn notes.  "And seemed to expect they'd be cooperative.  Talking to the one they took into custody seems like a safe place to start.  Even if we don't learn more about what actually happened, we can probably find out more about the gangs that would help us deal with them, both from the police and, if we're lucky, the ganger."

"Their insignia said Precinct 12, so that's where I'd start.  Officer Letru was pretty friendly, and Officer... Melanie, I think?  Melodie?  It was harder to make out her badge without gawking, but she's the one who confirmed our report made sense, so she's likely well disposed towards us also.  We might also talk with Aliq," she considers.  "That was the medic who looked us over.  He seemed nice enough, and if there was anything odd about either Duravor's wound or any of the gang members', he'd probably know."

[Private to GM: I just made the medic an Ysoki, but apart from picking a name that kind of fits that, I can't see a reason why Laelyn would say that out loud.  Letru would be the Kasathas who talked to us directly, and Melanie the human officer who gave her the nod.  While I'm establishing things, I'll go ahead and say Laelyn noted an Inspector Parker, another Human, who was the officer in charge, if that's OK.]

     Dalia escorted them out of the building as they discussed their plans.  She showed them to the exit and wished them luck in their explorations, which was a typical Starfinder Society farewell.

     Laelyn seemed to be very confident in her memory recall of the officers they had encountered.

     The Moons of Sleep hotel was in this district, and would only be about a 10-minute walk, and considerably less if they flagged down a hover-taxi.

     Level 21 was in the lower decks of the station and would require a good hour of travel at least.

Midge pulled up the computer that had belonged to the dead Starfinder, investigating what had been sent to him. He listened to the others blabber with half an ear, his ear flickering as Laelyn recalled everything with uncanny precision. His red eyes looked up at her and his nose twitched,"I'm pretty sure I can get us a map of the station and a location for Precinct 12 if I can get a stable connection to one of the local networks...like say the one at the hotel. Let's get a hover cab, they may even know where it is with just a question...."

Laelyn nods, rubbing her hands together excitedly.  "Sounds good!" she agrees, stepping out to wave for a taxi.

"Precinct 12 is four corridors over and one level up from the docking bay in which we arrived", said Kairynn. "We can proceed on foot or by cab as you prefer."

     A hover-taxi floats up to Laelyn and opens up like a clamshell.  The robotic driver turned in place to face them.



     "Need a lift?  Nano-Cab is on the job!" he announced.

Midge pushed forward, a rather amazing accomplishment considering all the bigs he was with,"Yes, we need a ride to the Moons of Sleep." He glanced over at the others,"Once we have a settled place to use as our base we can make our way over to Precient."

Without really asking he slipped into the cab and waited for the others.

”Very well”, said Kairynn-412, and she slipped in after Midge.

Asher did his best not to take up to much space or sit to close to the others.

"Heh sorry about the tight fit" he said with a sheepish smile as he glancd at Midge and Laelyn.

Laeyln takes her own spot, and smiles at Asher.  "It is called nano cab for a reason," she replies.  "So I suppose we should be happy that it's larger than a billionth of a normal cab."

     "Moons of Sleep?  No problemo!" the golden robot insisted.  Once everyone was inside, the clamshell closed and they lurched into traffic.  Along they way they passed a shopping district, a few large churches, the Arcanamirium, and a large park with purple and yellow-leaved trees.

     On a big holographic display, a news report showed a picture of large, pock-marked asteroid.  A banner at the bottom of the screen read: 'Hardscramble Collective vs. Astral Extractions: Legal battle for salvage rights to Drift Rock'

     The cab pulled up to the archway of an attractive building that seemed to be made of stone.  The side of the building was mostly a dark gray, but two crescent moon symbols were painted across it in a soft yellow.  A holographic display above the entrance spelled out 'Moons of Sleep'.

     The clamshell opened and the droid asked for four credits.  He then offered a Speed-Call activation card so they could request a Nano-Cab anytime they needed one.  The card guaranteed a cab to any main-level location within five minutes, day or night.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:07, Sat 04 Aug 2018.

     The robot seemed to cough.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:07, Sat 04 Aug 2018.

Laelyn pays and accepts the card with a thanks, giving the robot a concerned look.  "You should run a diagnostic," she suggests.  "That sounds like you might have downloaded a virus."

Turning, she looks at the building.  "Looks nice," she decides, strolling in and up to the front counter, still smiling.  "Good afternoon.  My friends and I need a room, or two if you don't have a quad open."

Midge seemed unconcerned about being squeezed against the bigs, in fact he almost seemed to relax as things got a little tighter, like the smaller space seemed more natural to him. Smirking he looked up and out of the window as they drove, a twitch of his nose the only indication the headline they saw as they drove interested him.

Once he got out he watched as Laelyn seemed to take charge and then with a shrug fell in behind her, his tail slipping over the edge of her belt as he raised his wrist computer up to his arm,"Keep going, I'm going to walk and work, this way I'll follow you."

Glancing down at the screen he placed his bionic hand onto the input terminal of his computer, the connection that was established was obvious as blue runes started flying across the view as soon as he did.

First he started looking for the article he had seen about the people fighting over the rights for the Asteroid, and then learning what he could about the precinct that they were going to visit.

Kairynn-412 extricated herself from the nanocab and follow around. She followed along with apparent impassivity. "Let's get that room quickly and move on to our investigation. We do suspect we are dealing with murderers, caution is of the essence and we would not wish the trail to grow cold."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:27, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

Asher nodded in agreement with Laelyn as he moved toward the counter as well, "Way better than some places I had to stay at that's for sure."

"While I agree that we shouldn't wait around too long, we still might want to take a quick breather for ourselves before we head off. I mean we haven't really had a chance to fully get a chance to get our bearings and get to know each other," He said looking over to the group, "Unless you guys don't want too, and just keep things professional between the lot of us."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Thu 09 Aug 2018.

     The four of them entered the lavish lobby and approached the front desk.  The entry was decked out in burnished chrome and pink marble.  A dark-haired elf with obviously bionic arms greeted them kindly.



     "Good morning and welcome to the Moons of Sleep.  Alseta has guided your journey most properly," they said with a smile.  When Laelyn addressed them, they blinked and glanced away for only a moment, the glowing flicker of an ocular implant flashing in their left eye. "Yes, we have a quad available on the 22nd floor.  The view isn't the best, but it does include two bedrooms, four beds, a living area, balcony and kitchenette.  Will that be sufficient?"



OOC:

Could everyone please highlight their dialogue with a different color?  You can go back and fix your previous posts, or just use the color consistently from here forward.

Midge has already claimed Aqua, and Asher and Kairynn need to decide who gets to keep Blue.

Orange is limited for OOC text.

Thanks!