Saul cautiously received the hologram player and held onto it as if he were holding onto a priceless artifact that could have been easily shattered if it were to drop to the floor. He treated this object with utmost care, for a single mistake on his part will undeniably result in a few people sustaining burning injuries, or at worst, death.
"What are other Galactic Patrol agents like?" Saul felt like he needed to ask this question, "Can they be trusted?"
For one second, Saul toyed with the idea of becoming a suicide bomber. It was a distasteful thought, but it was possible since he now carried a small explosive. Allahu Akbar. Saul smirked at his snide side comment.
Again, Saul was suspicious of Sebastian, a man like Saul was always looking for signs of betrayal. So he turned to SHIEC and said, "SHIEC, can you scan these bills and see if they're not counterfeited?"
He was ready to toss the hologram player at Sebastian if he found it was a fake.
Why the fuck did I only think of this when I GOT the hologram player?! When we find out that we've been deceived once again, we'll be incinerated by then. Saul thought, and he looked displeased with the situation.
edited 14th May '16 5:17:16 AM by Victor_Skye
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."SHEIC can scan the currency. If he wants to attempt, he'll need to roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice) and determine which is the highest value of any of the dice rolled. If he uses the testing equipment aboard the ship, he gets advantage and rolls 3d6 instead. (One extra die)
Sebastian frowns. "Galactic Patrol agents are all beings of honor, sir!" he proclaims. "They can absolutely be trusted... to do whatever necessary to fulfill their missions from Galactic Patrol. As long as you obey any orders from superior Galactic Patrol agents, none of them will kill you out of hand. On the other hand, Galactic Patrol encourages self reliance... unless you specifically ask for help, none of them are likely to offer it. Even if asked, they may decide their current mission is more important then saving a group of recruit-trainees."
Such lofty words would have convinced any naive person to blindly commit their trust to this man, but Saul remained skeptical of Sebastian's guarantees. In summary, Saul came to the conclusion that as Galactic Patrol recruits they have to follow the orders of their superior or risk the possibility of death, they performed missions alone without help, and the Galactic Patrol is likely to abandon them in a mission then claim all the glory once the job is finished.
With these suspicions in mind, Saul realized that he had made a grave mistake. But he couldn't revoke this pledge so soon after promising allegiance to the Galactic Patrol. Ironically, it would have been better if he had been a con man, since Saul didn't have to deal with an entire organization of dangerous secret agents.
"What does one have to do to become a full member of the Galactic Patrol?" Saul asked.
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war.""Well, surviving your time as a parole-trainee is a good first step." Sebastian says. "Then, if you impress a senior field agent, the senior field agent can recommend you for permanent membership into the Galactic Patrol. You'd then be either sent to the Galactic Patrol Academy or given a set of classwork to perform on your own time."
Parole-trainee sounds much like I'm one of those prisoner conscripts that's sent off to a war zone, Indeed, there are certain planetary governments that traditionally used prisoners to fight wars for them. These convicts were treated worse than slaves and had no value whatsoever. They were often armed with the most basic weapons and used to defeat the enemy in human wave attacks.
Saul felt that his own loyalty turned him into a prisoner that was not only expendable but nearly worthless in value. He had to attract the attention of the senior officers if he was to have any hope of surviving in the Galactic Patrol.
Saul rubbed his chin with his right hand, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and took a deep breath. Sebastian claimed that the Galactic Patrol are beings of honor, but they are willing to leave a bunch of trainees to a horrible fate when they clash with a mission objective. Sebastian's assertions seemed to contradict each other, and Saul thought that they were just like any other organization that had no moral scruples. The Galactic Patrol seemed to value moral flexibility over integrity, and bailed out whenever a situation got too hot. In short, they lacked even basic human decency.
Finally, Saul opened his eyes and looked straight at Sebastian. After meeting an oddball like Sebastian, he expected to find other Galactic Patrol agents that were as eccentric or even more strange than Sebastian. The man dressed like a swashbuckler and a pimp, gave them a device that contained a small bomb, deputized the trio by making them swear a mysterious oath and presenting them with trinkets that were meant for children, and had the personality of a rebellious romantic hero.
Saul still did not trust Sebastian, but he definitely acted like a Galactic Patrol agent in disguise. (A weird one, I suppose.) He also gave the impression that he knew what he was doing, and he exuded a determined confidence that meant he was either an experienced liar or he was totally honest with Saul. With no one else to help them from the dangers of the galaxy, Saul had no choice but to summon the courage (and stupidity) plunge into even deeper danger to ensure that certain (possibly dishonest and cruel) people were on their side. These people considered trainees like him dispensable, they could throw him away like dirt and have a good night's sleep afterwards. (To put it bluntly, they were going to be treated like shit.)
Furthermore, Saul could gather from Sebastian's conversation, that the Galactic Patrol was highly decentralized and therefore hard to monitor for any organization. That would make it susceptible to corruption from any member of the Galactic Patrol. So every member of the Patrol was a possible threat to the organization itself. Whether it had any dubious code of honor that it upheld, Saul knew that it wouldn't matter, since the Galactic Patrol may have the power to police the galaxy, but hardly had the capacity to police itself.
It was just like any other criminal organization, but it was more legalistic in nature. Its primary agenda could be public order, but that could be easily distorted with its power to twist hands and break kneecaps to quiet any dissent. Saul's point of view is perpetually pessimistic, and he expects bad things to happen all the time. He wished that this was the worst thing that could happen, but the universe is full of surprises. If this is so, he wished that good things would come his way and catch a break from such intrigue.
Unfortunately, he inadvertently hopped into the singly most dangerous adventure in the entire galaxy, the Galactic Patrol. There would be no breaks, instead they would be in no short supply of unexpected drama, much to Saul's horror. He resisted the strong urge to fall on his knees, clutch his face with his hands and scream.
If there is a God, Saul thought to himself, I ask him to save me from my own stupidity and from whatever madness this Sebastian is planning.
After contemplating his situation, Saul spoke, "Tell us the presence of any Galactic Patrol activity in Alpha Blue. We may assist or need the assistance of additional agents."
Saul decided to observe Sebastian closely for any signs of deceit. He had to read his body language if there was any indication that he was lying. To do this, he would question Sebastian further with important inquiries before leaving.
edited 15th May '16 4:30:07 AM by Victor_Skye
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war.""I'm sorry, but I'm not authorized to discuss what other agents may or may not be on Alpha Blue." Sebastian says. "You have your assignment. If you have any trouble, here is my card with a hyper mail address, you can send me a text message."
He hands Saul a business card that reads "Sebastian Smith, Universal Exports and Imports" on the front and has a coded hypernet messaging address on the back.
SHIEC examines the bills. Dice roll: 5, 5 The money is genuine.
edited 15th May '16 11:45:59 PM by Nodrog
"Before we leave, we must get our hands on a map of Alpha Blue first," Saul advised, "We should also get additional information on Alpha Blue first. It would be embarrassing to search the entire station just because we didn't know where to locate the magic crystal we need. We have to know the popular people, the culture there, and the places to avoid at night. Perhaps there are people who have written travel blogs about Alpha Blue describing their experiences there."
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."Alpha Blue is constantly changing, with businesses being started, moving, and closing constantly; the station is sort of an economic petri dish. The best place to find information would be on the station itself. Several people who have visited Alpha Blue have written detailed descriptions of their visits, but most of those descriptions would qualify as erotica.
Saul moved over to the The Revival and examined the hunk of junk that they were to spend a good chunk of their lives with. He ran a hand through the ship, absorbing the cold that came from the ship's icy hull.
"What are we waiting for?" Saul raised an eyebrow, "Let's get in, we have souls to save, a ship to fix, and women to bed." He opened the entrance to the ship and stepped in.
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."The three of you climb into the ship. Bunny sits at the helm station, SHEIC moves to the engineering station, and Saul sits in a command chair in the middle of the ship.
The chairs are from a variety of different ships. The command chair has had a rip in the cushion repaired with a strip of duct tape. For some reason, Bunny's chair has a 'Magic Fingers Vibrating Massage' option. SHEIC's chair base has been shaped for a humanoid form with three legs.
Saul 6, 3 snaps out the proper orders to take off. Bunny 1, 3 is unfamiliar with the controls and presses the button she thinks starts the engine.
A recording of a woman's voice plays in the bridge: ''You have selected... Eject... warp core. Please enjoy the... warp core ejection... in ten seconds. Nine... eight... seven..."
At the computer station, SHEIC 6, 5 stops the warp core ejection.
You three decide to try again.
Saul 4, 3 manages to say the right order, if not as crisply as the first time. SHEIC 5, 3 powers up the engines. Bunny 4, 1 manages to fly the ship out of the atmosphere and to the warp point leading to Alpha Blue.
As you approach Alpha Blue station, you receive a transmission from the station.
Attention, approaching ship. This is Alpha Blue Bio-organic Interfacing Entity, or ABBIE for short./
Please identify yourself and your purpose for visiting the station.
edited 22nd May '16 1:03:16 AM by Nodrog
"This is Saul Weaver the captain of the ship, The Revival, we are here to enter the station in the hopes that we could get more crystals for our Dyanotherdaylithium Chamber," Saul responded with a ceremonial tone in his voice. He thought that he had to sound the part at least. It was a bit strange on his part for a priest to be the leader of a starship, but he assumed the role anyway.
edited 22nd May '16 1:46:06 AM by Victor_Skye
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."Dyanotherdaylithium chamber? Why don't you use insta.... wait one moment, The Revival, I'm getting the results of scanning your ship now.
There's a pause for several moments, then Abbie's voice returns.
You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought. Ok, I can find you a docking spot for a week-cycle in docking bay A-13, but it'll cost a hundred credits, If it takes you longer then 7 station days for you to buy and install the crystals, you'll have to move to another docking bay and bay for additional parking time.
Did you remember to turn off the radio before saying that, Saul?
Bunny tries to bring the ship in Dice roll: 1,1. OUCH and almost gets run over by a bulk cargo freighter. Your ship does take Dice roll 8 points of structural damage, which should be fixed as soon as possible. Bunny manages to make a limping landing into place, while the driver of the bulk freighter cusses her out over the radio.

Saul raises an eyebrow, "Can you at least explain why we have these... ridiculous-looking rings and birthday cards? Are you aiming for stealth or to make us a bigger fool out of ourselves?"
When Sebastian hands the 500 credit bill to him and only 100 credit bills for the others, Saul is compelled to ask another question, "I guess you like me 5 times more than the rest of this lot. Don't worry, I'll prove myself to be 500 times more loyal."
edited 13th May '16 3:27:39 AM by Victor_Skye
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."