Interview Session #1: Donio Scarte

Donio was dragged into one of the interrogation rooms and sat down at the steel desk. He wasn't a violent criminal so they didn't bother putting him in cuffs but he definitely had an unsavory vibe to him. Unkempt brown hair, badly shaved facial hair and a shifty look in his eyes as they darted between BB and the door in the corner.

BB stared at him figuring that his mind was working trying to guess the odds of knocking her over and rushing out the door.

"Go ahead."

Donio didn't respond but gave BB a quizzical look. To make things easier BB slid her chair back so she was no longer between Donio and the door.

"Go on then. If you think you can blitz your way out of here, go ahead."

Donio almost took the bait, shifting forward slightly on his chair as he put his feet under him. Then his mind caught up to his reactions and he eased his weight back, leaning back and giving BB a look of contempt.

"Nah, I ain't going down like that. What do you want."

BB gave a satisfied nod and checked a box on her datapad:

SMARTER THAN A BAG OF SHIT - CHECK

She slid her chair back into position and set down the datapad to lean foward and stare Donio in the eye. She was about to dump a lot of information on him and she wanted to study his reactions, give her gut as much information as possible so she could make the smart decision.

"I'm not one for bullshit or pretty speeches, I cut straight to the chase. You're here because you got caught stowing on a ship and you're going to be stuck here for a long time because the locals have no idea what to do with you and I'm guessing you don't have anyone on the outside who are going to bail you out.

I'm the alternative to rotting away in the jail until security gets bored with you and gets rid of you one way or another."

Donio sneered at BB, leaning back and rolling his eyes.

"What the fuck do you know about anything?"

BB responded by rolling up her sleeve to show off the marine tattoos.

"I served with a lot of people just like you. Got caught with some minor crime, locals didn't know what to do because you weren't a citizen or anything and were locked up...until an Army recruiter comes by and scoops them up to dump them on the front lines. Once they get their hands on you, you either listen up or you're shot in the head and dumped out the airlock. Imperium's too big to give a shit, they're jut looking for meat for the machine.

I, on the other hand, represent a recently acquired ship. We've got a giant ship and no crew to run it. You're looking to travel the stars and get paid to do it, you sign up with us."

There was a twitch in Donio's eye, a hint of hope and greed and suspicion all wrapped up as he finally focusd on BB for the first time in their conversation. He seemed to make up his mind and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Nah man. You ain't gonna bullshit me like that. This is a trick."

BB just snorted at that in retort.

"What the fuck kind of trick do you think this is? If we wanted you dead or enslaved you'd be out the airlock or in our hold already. You think the locals wouldn't bat an eye turning you over to a slaver? We're legit. You pass the test and sign up you'll have a contract, a job, and a wage written. In addition you get a room, food, and a life that isn't spent rotting in a jail cell or part of some suicide squad for the Army. Play your cards right and you can have an actual career, to do something with your life and earn some credits on the side. Don't you want to get out of here? Get some real food instead of the slop you're getting?"

There it was, the faintest flick of a tongue. In her mind's eye she imagined she was fishing and he had just sank his little fishy lips right on the bait. Now she just needed to yank and land the hook. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

"And in case you're wondering we're not some fucking corporate trader. Our cargo hold is pretty small, what with all the firepower we're packing. There's a reason we're not putting out a help wanted ad. We're looking for people with some dirt under their fingernails, if you catch my drift."

The man, barely more than a kid, didn't respond but the look on his eyes meant he was following her and his interested was suddenly very piqued. BB picked up her datapad.

NOT A FUCKING PUSSY - CHECK

"So, tell me what the fuck you can do for me and I'll have you sign the papers and get you released as part of our crew. This is a one time offer. If I walk out that room I'm not coming back so take it or leave it."

The kid looked like he had a million and one questions but was smart enough not to waste time asking them. After a brief conversation where he talked about how he broke into the other ship and what he can do BB gave a nod and picked up her datapad.

I DON'T WANT TO PUNCH HIS FACE IN - CHECK

Within the next half hour the paperwork was signed and Donio was released with orders to head straight for the docks and get on his new ship ASAP or his release offer would be null and void. Donio moved like his life depended on it and arrived at the ship in record time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:09, Mon 16 Nov 2020.

A look of confusion briefly came over Zhouth as he parsed the two requests. "He was sent here by a marine bird?" And then it vanished beneath one of recognition and a quiet, "Oh. Okay then, I'll go see who it is."

Zhouth, in his formal attire, was therefore the one to emerge from the airlock a short time later, whereupon he gave the fellow a quick look up and down before uttering a relaxed, even cheerful-sounding greeting of, "She only found one down there? Or she's still working on it. I guess that's why you're here on your own!" This was, of course, accompanied by a finger count-of-one with one hand and a fingers-twitch in walking motion wave of his other hand toward the rough direction of the highport's shuttle station and back again.

"I'm Zhouth, and I get the glorious duty of being the ship's official purser, which is a fancy way of saying that I get stuck doing all of the math. Did she give you any documentation?" The cheerfulness drooped a bit. "No, wait. Don't answer that. Of course she didn't. Failure to strangle counts as her official seal of everything."

The mildly morose aspect faded just as quickly as it had come. "Oh well. You don't have much to bring on board by the looks of it, but at least I can point you to your stateroom while we wait for everyone else to show up! Or the mess hall, if you think you've recovered enough from whatever they fed you down there." This, along with his turning to take the lead, was of course accompanied by a come-along arm-wave.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:10, Mon 16 Nov 2020.

Donio takes a step back when Zhouth greets him. It's only for a moment but it is clear he was not expecting an impeccably dressed vagr to answer the door.

He considered what Zhouth said but didn't really seem to know how to react. Finally he mumbles out. "My own room? Yeah...let's go there."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:06, Mon 16 Nov 2020.

"Shared with one person! This was an old Sindalian military ship, oh, a few hundred years ago, so double-ups for the crew and singles for the officers, although they're all really nice compared to tramp trader fare." Zhouth was waving his hands this way and that as he walked, drawing attention to the various ostentatious flourishes of Sindalian decor. "We're still trying to get a few pieces to make it look like the full original work, but you should have seen the mess when we found it! It's all properly decontaminated now though; you don't need to worry about that."

"Here, this one. It's shared with Viridian, one of our piloty types." Zhouth waved a hand in front of the door to get it to open; the computerized security on the Harrier was more than sophisticated enough to cope with basic access privileges.

The door opened, revealing the reconstructed crew quarters, one half of which was Viridian's space and decorated accordingly, and the other half of which was the unoccupied basics. "I don't know what the plan is for all of you as far as assignments yet; you're the stowaway one, right?" He held out one hand in invitation for Donio to enter as he stood tot he side of the door, allowing the recruit to step in first. "You must know how to sneak a bit, but do you have any ship skills, even just basic mechanical or electronics training? I know that Ingrid is hoping to find someone who can assist her with the engineering work, even if it's just new-to-the-academy level stuff!"

Donio nods, first slowly and then with a bit more confidence.

"Yeah...I know my way around tools and stuff. Not so much a starship though but if there's a stuck door or something I can help fix it. Or swapping out bad wiring or spent air filters. Nothing fancy or nothing though."

He seemed bright, if a bit twitchy, reading Zhouth's body language and feeding back to him what the vargr was hoping to hear.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:10, Mon 16 Nov 2020.

Meanwhile back at the security office

BB had a more relaxed posture as the next prisoner was marched in. BB looked her over and frowned, glancing back at her tablet with a puzzled look on her face. The woman being sat down across from her was a slim Vilani, with long brown hair and intelligent eyes that were wide with concern. BB's brow furrowed as she began reading off the tablet.

"Taliesa?"

"Uh huh."

"Taliesa Dieros?"

The other woman didn't respond, just giving a slow nod like she was talking to someone with a learning disability.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. What the fuck is this about?"

The confused look gave way to frustration and her eyes narrowed right back at BB's returning the stare, hard.

"It says here you were a marine."

"Yeah, so?"

BB didn't respond, just rolling up her sleeve to show off the litany of marine tattoos covering her bicep. Taliesa just rolled her eyes.

"Yes I was a marine but I wasn't a..."

She studied the writing under the logos and her eyes rolled in her head.

"Yeah I definitely wasn't a drop trooper. I served in logistics."

BB leaned back, glancing back at the datapad and then nodding as all the pieces finally fit into place. She scrolled down a bit more and tapped on the tablet as she read.

"Says here you were caught hacking a...vending machine?"

"What can I say, gotta Chomp a Chunkies."

She delivered the Chunkies tag line in a sing song parody of the commercial jingle.

"That's what... a couple hundred credit fine? Why are you still here?"

"You got a couple hundred credits? I don't."

"It says you left service four years ago and there's just a big blank here."

"Yep, that's kind of why I can't pay my fine."

BB frowned, getting frustrated with the non-answers and sarcastic replies. She set the tablet down and leaned forward, locking Taliesa with her signature glare to let her know she was reaching the end of her patience.

"Alright cut the shit. You're going to tell me what you've been up to for the past four years and why you're still here from that fine."

Taliesa gave a snort.

"Oh? I am, am I?"

"Yeah, because I'm your ticket out of this shithole. I'm a senior officer on board an independent warship in desperate need of junior crew. You can choose to keep playing games and rot in here for all I care, or you can tell me the truth, get out off station and get a real chance at earning some real credits."

Taliesa only rolled her eyes again.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure everyone is dying to join up to serve on your little dinghy. That's why you're recruiting from jail cells, right? What are you even flying in? You got yourself a big pinnace do you?"

Another smirk but this time it didn't land as BB was holding the higher card in this hand.

"A Harrier. 200 tons tech level 15. Cutting edge Drinax back when the Drinax Empire meant something."

It warmed BB's heart to see the smug smirk fall off of Taliesa's face.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I'm Taliesa. I served 8 years in the Vilani Marines as a logistics officer but when I left, my job prospects fell through and I ended up serving on board an unlicensed salvage crew. About two months ago, the ship got impounded and most of the rest of the crew arrested while it was docked, but I happened to be out grabbing supplies when it happened. I've been living basically homeless on station ever since trying to get a line on something."

BB slid across the tablet with the crew contract ready for a signature.

"Well your prayers have been answered because this is just what you've been waiting for..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:55, Sat 10 Oct 2020.

"Well that works then! Give you a month with Ingrid, she'll have you swapping out fusion cores with one hand while sword-dueling mortal enemies with the other!" Zhouth held both hands up and out to the sides, first as a dramatic gesture in itself, then in pantomime of the simultaneous activities in question.

And when they came back down, Zhouth's voice took on a mock-conspiratorial whisper. "She's from the Sword Worlds, you see. Keeps claiming that she only works the engineering angle and sword-fighting is unladylike, but I'm sure that she's holding out on us."

He rubbed the back of one hand with another for a moment as another thought came to him. "Oh, I should warn you about one thing: Varca like to think that he's secretly in charge of everything, and we mostly humor him with that, but he can get really grumpy really quickly and start making comments about Open Airlock Inspection Technician being a good work placement." What was probably meant to be a wan but reassuring grin followed. "It's mostly bluster though. Well, as long as you don't do anything genuinely silly like trying to steal from the ship, or betray the crew, or hold your teacup wrong on weekends."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Tue 06 Oct 2020.

     The door quietly opens behind Donio, and a darkly dressed figure quickly slips inside the room.  Seeing that Zhouth has spotted him, he signals for the Vargr not to acknowledge him.



     There is suddenly a tap on Donio's shoulder...from behind.

     Spinning around, Donio sees a man wearing some kind of black armor, or protective suit.  He's a human male, somewhere around 180cm (5-foot-11), maybe 79 kilos (79.4kg/175lbs), with dark, close-cropped hair, and a face that looks like, maybe the guy's been in a couple too many fist fights...or ten.

     But his eyes!  The guy's eyes are blood red in color--not his pupil's, those are blue, actually--but all the rest of each of his eyeballs is a blood-red in color.

     And this guy was glaring at Donio...

     "You haven't told Zhouth everything." the guy growls, without blinking,

     "Tell me...how long will it take you to circumvent a SuSag electronic lock, model ZorZav One-Ninety, with keypad entry?  And, if you lie to me, Donio, you will be assigned to Airlock Maintenance duties...for a short while."

     The guy--who still hasn't blinked!--suddenly gets this tight little grin on his face,

     "I'm Varca, by the way.  Now, answer me."

(OOC: Requiring GM input (I think).
Varca believes that Donio might be a Rogue, like...um...somebody else that Varca knows...and Varca is trying to confirm this.  "Picking" an electronic lock requires only Electronics(computers) skill.  And a felonius attitude.  See pg. 152 of Core Rulebook for more on "opening locks")

Donio just looks up at Varca and shrugs.

"Dunno. Nobody say nothing about picking locks. Just said something about the chief engineer needing a hand from time to time. That marine lady said I'd be a...what was it...apprentice, yeah. Just helping out and stuff. Why, do you need a lock picked?"

In reply to Donio Scarte (msg # 9):

     Varca narrows his eyes at Donio,

     "No.  I'm looking for help to open vaults." Varca says, watching Donio's reaction to that statement.

     After just a moment, Varca looks up and over Donio's shoulder, at Zhouth,

     "This one'll do, Zhouth." Varca says with a nod to the Vargr, "For now."

     Varca returns his red-eyed gaze to Donio,

     "We can always assign you to Airlock Maintenance...later..." Varca says to Donio, with a smirk,

     Varca turns and starts to walk out of the room, buts calls back, over his shoulder,

     "Don't forget to warn him about me and Rejji, Zouth!  And our issues with...touching things..."

Zhouth picked up on that - or perhaps took a moment to pick up on that - as Varca stalked out. "What? Oh, yes. Don't poke him without permission. Or Rejji. It's one of those Vespexer cultural things that they try to tear your arm off and eat it if it's offered without asking first. Something like that, anyway." He looked puzzled for a moment. "Though I don't know how well that works without those flesh-rendering vats."

He held up his hands in a what-can-you-do shrug. "Never mind all of that. You got approved! Well, by Varca. Still have to talk to the captain about it! He's usually much more relaxed about things." Then the look of concern came back. "But don't touch Ingrid. He'll tear off something else if he thinks you've tried. They're kind of a couple, you know?"

Donio looks at Zhouth with a raised eyebrow. He seems to be taking things in stride but there is definitely a rising feeling of what the fuck is wrong with everyone vibe coming off of him.

"Would it be easier to list off what I can touch?"

He pointed towards his bunk.

"Can I sit down? Is that allowed?"

Zhouth relaxedly waved one hand side to side in a don't worry about it sign. "Other than people being touchy about touching, you should be fine as long as you use your fingers and light sockets sense. We've just got a lot of colorful personalities here is all."

That was stated with absolutely no sense of irony regarding his current wardrobe.