Avery/GM: Welcome to episode 31 of Beyond the Furthest Stars.

(Intro music plays, fades down, ambience fades in)

Avery/GM: All right, let's get into the action today. So we ended last session with y'all doing a very good deed, getting some good karma points and buying a shop for this nice farming family right next to the soon to come Big Fred's Anime Emporium.

Zach/Zahn: That we also helped fund.

Avery/GM: Yeah, Inadvertently, yeah. And Ollie and Zahn were back at the hotel getting stuff fixed up and repaired when Lapis showed up and invited you all to a nice fancy dinner tonight with Avi and Lapis at the Winston Estate and Lapis knows all of your names somehow.

Zach/Zahn: Which is concerning to Zahn.

Avery/GM: Yeah, just a little bit and then as Bruce and Polaris and Rho and Marty were coming out of the real estate office across a busy street, Bruce, you spotted a being that you have only encountered once before when you were doing some spy work.

Avery/GM: You see Rhea getting out of a fancy limo, surrounded by guards and walking into a government building. So yeah, so we will start with our happy people over in the street. You see this being getting out of the vehicle. Bruce, Rhea is an unnaturally tall being. She almost towers over you in height. She's at least 10 feet tall. She is thin with no appearance of like large muscles or fat. Her skin seems to almost be like gripping right against her skeletal structure.

Zach/Zahn: Damn, she taller than Lady Dimetrescu.

Avery/GM: She is…

Zach/Zahn: She’s taller than Vampire Mommy.

Bee/Polaris: Heart eyes.

Avery/GM: She has faded purple skin and purple white hair that flows down her back. Her eyes shine with a golden hue. And she is wearing a black and silver dress that is clearly very expensive. And she walks in a very poised and determined manner right into the building followed closely by these three red alien guards that look pretty intense.

Bee/Polaris: Can we romance villains? (laughter) I’m kidding.

Jenine/Marty: What's the morale score that we have to beat to romance a villain?

Bee/Polaris: I am actually kidding.

Avery/GM: What did I put for the romance score? No, I'm kidding. Bruce, you see her, do you mention anything to your friends or do you just, uh, go about your business?

Caden/Bruce: No, I think Bruce will kinda, like, with his tail kinda, like, side bump, like, Polaris and kinda, like, point with his tail and just be, like, She's a very important figure. I met her in one of my encounters when I was working with Lazuli and I think, I don't know what she's doing here but I don't think it can be any good.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris, like, looks up from looking at the garlic cheesy bread he got last episode and you did mention it was hot so there's, like, steam on his visor on his helmet and he looks over and clearly can't actually see her and he just nods and says, noted, shall I prepare a bomb?

Caden/Bruce: No, I don't… I don't think. That's the best course of action, but neither do I think following her is a good course of action either. Perhaps checking in with the others and seeing if they've noticed anything weird or suspicious here would be a good idea.

Bee/Polaris: Understandable. Is she not the one that sent Coil after us?

Caden/Bruce: Was she, Avery? Would Bruce know that?

Avery/GM: Yes. In your transmission, one of the things that was transmitted was that she was going to send an AI hunter to get Hermes back.

Caden/Bruce: Okay, so Bruce would be able to put two and two together.

Avery/GM: Totally.

Caden/Bruce: He'll nod.

Bee/Polaris: And you said not to prepare a bomb, correct?

Caden/Bruce: I can't say that that building wouldn't have some innocent civilians inside of it.

Bee/Polaris: But her vehicle does not.

Jenine/Marty: you just see Marty Face Palm.

Caden/Bruce: You see Bruce kind of like, tilt his head and blink, like, very much considering this.

Zach/Zahn: Are you guys just openly talking about terrorist activities in front of potential witnesses?

Bee/Polaris: I mean, we're in a busy city. If you walk by a busy city, like, you don't really pay attention to the conversations people are having.

Jenine/Marty: And maybe you hear one murder attempt. You hear one murder attempt maybe every, like, what, 15 days?

Zach/Zahn: If, if I heard somebody say Bob while I'm walking past them, I'm gonna perk up. I'm just saying.

Bee/Polaris: Well.

Chris/Ollie: Maybe They got some kind of like.

Bee/Polaris: Maybe you're built

Chris/Ollie: different. Comtacs that can automatically pick up on people in the vicinity saying things like Bob and.

Bee/Polaris: Well, I could be talking about this delicious garlic bread that I have.

Chris/Ollie: The garlic bread is da bomb.

Avery/GM: Polaris, Rho puts a hand on your shoulder. And Marty, you hear in her voice kind of like that tone that kind of indicates that she's accessing a vision of some kind with her precognitive powers.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, she's scanning my brain?

Avery/GM: No, no, no.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, okay.

Avery/GM: No, don't, don't use any bombs here. This isn't the right place.

Bee/Polaris: Well, I was, I don't have bombs on me. I was saying, should I prepare in anticipation for possible use of said bomb?

Avery/GM: Oh, oh, okay. Yeah, I, maybe. I'm not I just, I, I was just peeking into the possibility of, of that happening and it would not end well for any of us here.

Bee/Polaris: I mean, that's fair. I, I'm not as reckless as I have nevermind. Let's go.

Zach/Zahn: Yeah, cause uh, last time Zahn put in chat that he needed to talk to you guys and didn't want to Put the invitation out on open comm.

Yeah. Polaris is like, Zahn has important news and this cheesy bread is getting cold.

Avery/GM: Okay. You returned to the hotel. Zahn, Ollie, what have you been doing since Lapis’ visit?

Zach/Zahn: So before Lapis’ visit, Zon was taking a nap. Yeah, he hasn't gone back to that.

Bee/Polaris: Oh yeah, Ollie opened the door.

Zach/Zahn: At this point, Zahn is probably around like 85 to 95 percent done repairing his own armor.

Avery/GM: Sure.

Zach/Zahn: Probably like working on the last bits of making his helmet, being able to collapse and re form again. As everybody comes in, Zahn's gonna like neck snap to the door. And he's gonna put his helmet down. He's gonna be like, Oh good, you guys are, uh, finally here. We've got a concerning situation.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris hands you the cheesy bread.

Zach/Zahn: The concern melts a little. Like, his wrinkles fade a little bit.

Bee/Polaris: It's still hot.

Avery/GM: Yeah, they put it in like a little insulated, like, hot and ready box or something.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah, Polaris’ visor is like steamed up and he holds it up for you.

Jenine/Marty: Wait, so... Question, we still have your laser blades?

Bee/Polaris: Yeah.

Jenine/Marty: Right?

Avery/GM: Yes. In fact, they're actually probably repaired by now.

Jenine/Marty: Second qu… second question, if we cut the bread with the laser blade, does it become toast?

Avery/GM: It sure does. That's why Bruce got one.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah.

Jenine/Marty: I love that so much.

Avery/GM: If I remember correctly.

Bee/Polaris: Because it can turn into a knife

Zach/Zahn: it makes the perfect toast.

Jenine/Marty: Oh my gosh, I love it.

Bee/Polaris: Oh my gosh, we can make Creme Brule so easily. Anyway, Zahn was saying important things.

Zach/Zahn: Upon receiving this garlic bread, he paused for a moment and he's like, Thanks, but this is not going to be nearly enough to straight away the stress of the Winstons have invited us to dinner.

Bee/Polaris: No.

Zach/Zahn: And they know all of our names, including mine, which I Don't even begin to know how they know that.

Bee/Polaris: I am also confused considering I believe most… my name is not on any government documents. Polaris looks over at Bruce.

Caden/Bruce: Bruce looks back at Polaris.

Bee/Polaris: You spent the most time with the Winstons. Do you have any idea how they would know our names?

Caden/Bruce: They were all on the tablet, weren't they, Avery?

Avery/GM: Yes. Yes, they were.

Caden/Bruce: I don't know how they got the information, but the tablet that I gave to Zahn that I got after doing my job had all that information on it. I Didn't exactly ask how they got that information, and maybe I should have.

Bee/Polaris: No, it's fine. I just was wondering if you knew.

Caden/Bruce: Bruce shakes his head now, but then like, looks over at like, the stove and stuff in the kitchen and is just like, Well, if we're going to accept the dinner invitation, I can always make something to bring with us.

Bee/Polaris: To kill them?

Caden/Bruce: I mean...

Zach/Zahn: I I'd rather not have any more meat. Pie bombs, if I'm going to be in the building.

Bee/Polaris: To be fair, the meat pie was not a bomb. It was a meat pie. Ollie was the bomb. I was thinking poison… Based on the response from the room, I'm going to gather that murder is not the event of the hour.

Zach/Zahn: I feel like that would cause more problems than solve.

Bee/Polaris: Noted.

Jenine/Marty: So what, like, is this like, did they just come in and go: Dinner party and then like say our name and then just leave or was it like this is a whole event with the entire family Is it like an intimate? Is this a big thing? Situation…

Zach/Zahn: This one was… it was lapis that came to us, right? Or was it Lazuli?

Avery/GM: Yes. It was

Zach/Zahn: Lapis came to the door. I didn't We let them in, and they basically gave the spiel, namedropped us, and left. Yeah.

Jenine/Marty: Okay.

Bee/Polaris: did… did she give us a time for when we should arrive?

 Jenine/Marty: Do we need to bring anything?

Avery/GM: They did not give a time, but that's my mistake. They would have given you a time. We'll say 7.

Bee/Polaris: Ah, what time is it now?

Avery/GM: Like, it's 5 30.

Bee/Polaris: Oh.

Zach/Zahn: Oh, shit.

Bee/Polaris: Absolutely no time to sew anything.

Chris/Ollie: I don't have enough time to get ready.

Avery/GM: Actually, as you start to worry about what you would wear, there is a knock at the door.

Bee/Polaris: Oh. Polaris says not it.

Jenine/Marty: I got it. I got it. I got it.

Chris/Ollie: Results were bad last time I opened the door.

Jenine/Marty: I got it. I got it. I got it. It's okay. I got this, guys.

Avery/GM: Marty, you open the door, and there is, um, the hotel concierge, uh, He is standing there wearing a cute little red hat and red suit with little gold buttons on it. Hello there, miss. Uh, I do have a, uh, note from the noble Lapis Winston, who left instructions that you were to be provided with the best clothes in Ambrosia for the party this evening. I do have directions to the nearest Insta-Tailor, if you would like to avail yourselves of those, uh... Accommodations. And Lapis also stated, you can put it all on the Winston tab.

Jenine/Marty: Amazing. Thank you so much for delivering this message and you are?

Avery/GM: Oh, just the hotel concierge, uh, just a, a, a faceless nobody who will disappear as soon as you close this store.

Jenine/Marty: Okay, well, everybody's a somebody.

Avery/GM: Oh, no, my life ends as soon as you stop perceiving me.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, my God.

Avery/GM: I'm just kidding. I also do some stand up comedy at a local club.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, my God.

Jenine/Marty: In that moment, you see Marty's just face drop. And then she smiles and just goes, Oh, okay.

Zach/Zahn: I was expecting him to be like a hologram with that, that description.

Jenine/Marty: Awesome. Thank you so much. This is much appreciated. Um, we would love to see your standup act with that introduction at some point. Um,

Bee/Polaris: as Marty's saying that in the background, Polaris is shaking his head no.

Jenine/Marty: I like, you know how like they just like start closing the door a little bit more so you don't see the people behind you? That’s what Marty does… and she can't block anyone because everyone's taller than her, so she tries her best.

Jenine/Marty: thank you so much, Have… We will, we will definitely get to this. Um, thank you. Oh, oh wait, before, before you leave. Oh, so the Winstons, do they normally just have like, is this like a normal thing that they do, like big dinner parties or is this like a small kind of situation?

Avery/GM: Oh, the Winstons are known for their lavish parties and their absolutely wonderful world class hospitality.

Jenine/Marty: Yeah, yes, definitely. Cool. Thank you. And I just closed the door as I like, Wave. Oh, wait. Um, oh, yeah. Wait, I do like what's the correct tipping in this situation?

Bee/Polaris: $5,000

Jenine/Marty: I’ll do like Ten credits.

Avery/GM: Sure.

Jenine/Marty: Thank you. Bye! and I close the door? And then could I…

Avery/GM: You just hear outside, Oh my god, I'm dying!

Bee/Polaris: What a terrible comedian.

Jenine/Marty: Could I Research, like a Winston party?

Avery/GM: Sure. You can do that.

Jenine/Marty: I'm smart, right? I'm smart. I am smart. Yes, I am.

Bee/Polaris: You go on space YouTube and you find a video of one of the Winston's doing a keg stand.

Jenine/Marty: Yes.

Zach/Zahn: So, uh, Zahn. If we do go, is either going to just buy, like, a tuxedo to look like a tuxedo, but he is not, not wearing his stuff.

Jenine/Marty: What does the note say that he handed us?

Avery/GM: Oh, it's just a little data pad and it just says, uh, it's just instructions to the InstaTailor down the street. And then it has a note to the tailor that just says, uh, please bill the Winston Estate for all purchases from this party.

Jenine/Marty: Cute.

Caden/Bruce: You said that we had half an hour to get ready?

Avery/GM: Uh, no, hour and a half.

Caden/Bruce: Oh, perfect. Bruce is in the kitchen and like, he's pulled out some of the groceries that he bought and he's starting to make pâté.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris says, Bruce, while you're making that, I assume we're going to go get clothes. Do you want me to take your measurements and get you something?

Caden/Bruce: Bruce will like, Be whisking stuff with his tail and like, look over his shoulder and just be like, Sure, do I get to wear my chef hat or no?

Bee/Polaris: Up to you.

Caden/Bruce: Bruce will smile and just be like, I trust you to make a better decision than me.

Bee/Polaris: And Polaris nods and like In his visor where no one else can see, unless, unless Ollie is still somehow jacked into his helmet. Uh, Polaris is just looking up fancy chef, uh, outfits.

Jenine/Marty: I'm rolling for, for research.

Avery/GM: Intelligence, know. Sorry, I was, I was getting to that, Marty.

Jenine/Marty: Oh, cool. That's sad. That's a seven.

Avery/GM: Well, looking up party footage isn't that hard. So, we'll say you pass. You look up a few articles about the Winstons throwing some parties and stuff, and generally they're well received, they're usually big community events, sometimes they will throw the parties as a way to brag about their most recent, you know, philanthropic, you know, You know, deed that they've done for the city or for the community.

Avery/GM: Sometimes it'll just be in celebration of a business deal that they've made. And there's usually a lot of like champagne and a lot of like fancy foods. And well, I guess it wouldn't be champagne because it's France doesn't exist in this galaxy, but you know what I mean?

Bee/Polaris: Thank God for that.

Avery/GM: There is footage of like animal shows going on in their club. You know, animals doing tricks and stuff like that. So it's a little dubious. Not as bad as hunting them to extinction, but still, you know, jugglers and all kinds of fun stuff going on.

Bee/Polaris: It’s a circus?

Avery/GM: They have circus elements.

Jenine/Marty: Cute!

Caden/Bruce: I mean, they're walking, talking tigers. Of course it's a circus.

Jenine/Marty: Is there like an announcement for a big party happening tonight?

Avery/GM: No.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, it's a private party.

Jenine/Marty: Yeah, okay, cute, cute, cute, cute. Great. Okay. Okay. Must be intimate tonight. That's cool.

Caden/Bruce: As soon as everyone leaves, you just hear music starting to play and Bruce just starts like having a little mini party as he's just baking different pâtés.

Bee/Polaris: As Zahn and Bruce were talking, Polaris was taking Bruce's measurements.

Avery/GM: Cool! Are you heading to the Insta Taylor?

Bee/Polaris: Yeah!

Jenine/Marty: Shopping episode!

Avery/GM: Cool. Okay, so you head on down to the Insta Taylor, uh, you pass by the, the welcome desk and, and... Bill, the concierge, just tips his hat and says, I'm not really dead, I promise. Ha ha ha.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris stops and stares at him for an uncomfortably long amount of time before continuing to walk with his friends.

Jenine/Marty: Well, when that's happening, I do kind of like do the thing where you just kind of try to push, but because Marty's very small, it's just kind of like the thing where you're just like... Feet are dragging, and it's not working.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah.

Jenine/Marty: Sick, sick, sick, sick.

Avery/GM: I don't expect y'all to love every NPC I make. They can't all be winners.

Bee/Polaris: No, he's great.

Chris/Ollie: We should have bought him his own hotel.

Bee/Polaris: You know what? Good idea!

Chris/Ollie: Just every single NPC. Hey, we got extra money, what's up?

Bee/Polaris: I mean, what are we gonna do with it? We'll just steal more.

Chris/Ollie: I mean, we'll eventually just own the whole town, and then we can just get hella money and kickbacks.

Avery/GM: Y'all come into this Insta Taylor shop, and it's not like, it's not horrible, but it's, it, it, you know, it, it, it is what it is, it's like fast fashion kind of stuff, there's these, like, six or seven robots that are kind of just zipping around the shop. Folding clothes, measuring out clothes, cutting cloth, things like that. One of them perks up and just says, ah, welcome valued customer. How may I serve you today?

Jenine/Marty: I show the data pad.

Avery/GM: Oh, thank you… Analyzing… understood. The Winston's will be billed for whatever you purchased today.

Bee/Polaris: Excellent. We'll take the whole store.

Avery/GM: What is the occasion?

Jenine/Marty: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're not. We're not, we're not . Um,

Chris/Ollie: we're the owners now.

Jenine/Marty: We own it now. Mwa ha ha

Bee/Polaris: Polaris has like a, an evil like cat face on his visor.

Jenine/Marty: occasion is dinner party.

Avery/GM: Oh, you are attending a fancy dinner party at the Winston estate. We will be more than happy to equip you with what you need. Please step this way. And he sort of gestures toward, or this robot sort of gestures towards like this huge selection of fancy gowns and fancy suits and everything in between. So if y'all want to custom out yourselves, feel free.

Jenine/Marty: Beautiful, wonderful.

Avery/GM: Zahn, you notice on this little display case in front of you, A little holoboard, um, and it's advertising a little, a little plug in USB device. And it says, all new holodrobe. Need to spruce up your combat armor for a fancy party? Just plug the holodrobe in, select the appropriate attire, and presto, a fancy new suit, perfectly formed with your armor. And there's an asterisk that says, no refunds.

Chris/Ollie: Mm. Permanent change.

Jenine/Marty: I think it's a great deal.

Zach/Zahn: Hypothetically you just unplug it and it will be okay.

Jenine/Marty: Hypothetically.

Zach/Zahn: Hypothetically. But I've got a, I get a. Roll 3D6 now for programming so I can uninstall if need hopefully.

Bee/Polaris: It binds to your suit and says, I am in control now, Zahn.

Chris/Ollie: Yeah, what's that movie, Upgrade?

Zach/Zahn: Oh yeah.

Bee/Polaris: Have not seen.

Chris/Ollie: Which is, it's essentially just Venom.

Zach/Zahn: Yeah.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, okay.

Zach/Zahn: But yeah, Zahn is gonna like, snap his fingers and point at it and be like, ooh, ooh, shiny. That looks like a lot more simple of a version of what I was thinking anyways. Let's go with that.

Avery/GM: one of the robots gives you a thumbs up and just saysit's very fun to use. I have seen many people enjoy it.

Zach/Zahn: Are there any like reported setbacks with it?

Avery/GM: The device has been known to overheat and melt after about a year of use. No damage is done to the armor that it's plugged into, but it does have a limited lifespan.

Zach/Zahn: Eh, that's fine. I'm not planning on wearing this suit for a year, so.

Bee/Polaris: Why not? Just go into combat with a full suit.

Avery/GM: So this is your, your guys opportunity to, yeah, fashion show it out or whatever, you know? Like…

Bee/Polaris: now I know I was the one

Avery/GM: if you have any ideas….

Bee/Polaris: I know I was the one that brought this up, but I actually have no idea

Jenine/Marty: I got it. I know what Marty's wearing.

Bee/Polaris: I'm, seriously scrolling through Pinterest.

Jenine/Marty: I got this. I got this. Marty is wearing like this from like it's like a satin skirt that goes up into like a red lace bodice and then in the shoulders there, like, I need to find a picture of them. Wssentially she's wearing… it's called a bolero in Filipino culture and it's very pretty. and I love it.  She's cute. Oh wait, no, I think it's called a Filipiniana. but essentially these like little… the most important part is that the shoulders are like these round arches. I'm really bad at describing what it is, but like, it would be those like little shoulder pads, but like, it'd be like a completely red dress.

And, um, lace bodice and like a satin skirt with like those shoulders also being lacy. Yeah, and then she's also in black heels because she wants to be just a little taller. and the bag stays with… and her medical bag stays with her.

Bee/Polaris: Heck yeah.

Avery/GM: Not a bad move.

Jenine/Marty: Sick, cool.

Avery/GM: Yeah, they spin it up for you and it's, it looks beautiful and very fancy and yeah, you are definitely going to fit the part at this party.

Chris/Ollie: Ollie will approach the measuring stand in front of the tri mirrors and just step on it and look at the, uh, the tailor and, and say, one classic black tux.

Bee/Polaris: Yes, a little dog tux, yes!

Jenine/Marty: With a little bow tie!

Avery/GM: With a little an uwu face at you. And then, uh…

Chris/Ollie: Even charming robots.

Avery/GM: And then, yeah, just whips up a super cute doggy tux. And then also offers you a top hat to go with it.

Chris/Ollie: Aha, excellent.

Bee/Polaris: Yes, that's so cute.

Chris/Ollie: Ollie will say, oh, that was surprisingly not as much trouble as I thought. Do you often get dog customers?

Avery/GM: We are prepared to serve any combination of humanoid or anthropomorphic need.

Chris/Ollie: My friends will hear about you. And he's going to turn around and tell everyone, hey, this tailor shop is pretty great. They even serve dogs.

Bee/Polaris: Do you need a little, like, dog bag to carry anything important?

Chris/Ollie: His torso will just open up and say, No, I got that covered.

Bee/Polaris: Ah, yes, excellent.

Avery/GM: Oh, goodness.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris will just get a really nice jacket. Like a bomber jacket. And just put it where he's already wearing.

Avery/GM: That's great.

Jenine/Marty: Marty does ask for a bowtie for Polaris.

Avery/GM: You're walking up to the club and just like, put this on, come on.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris will get the bowtie, but put it on his helmet. Like, like a hair, like a hair bow

Jenine/Marty: Yes!

Avery/GM: That's glorious. Bruce still needs a fancy chef suit.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah, Polaris is like, putting in, like, the measurements and everything he took from Bruce into, I guess, like, a terminal or something for them to, to whip up a fancy chef suit.

Avery/GM: Yeah. Bruce, do you have any preference on what this looks like?

Caden/Bruce: Well, we're in a fancy galaxy world, so it can look like anything.

Avery/GM: Exactly.

Caden/Bruce: So, this... This fancy chef suit is gonna be like, half white, but not like 50 50, but like, kinda thing where it's just like, the majority of it is like a white normal chef suit, but then the other half of it is this really fancy, like, gold, um, Gold, green, and black, like, designs that just cover the other half of it in, like, tiny little, like, when you look closer to it, you realize they're, like, little geckos that are kind of, like, going up and down the shirt, but from far away, it looks like one of those fancy, like, embroidered, like, fabric, like, carpet designs, and then just the pants are just, like, a regular white chef's, like, jacket pants, but then you realize, like, the little tail has, like, a little attachment, which is also, like, a little tiny bow tie.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah!

Avery/GM: I love it. This is great.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, Polaris will get boots with the fur too.

Avery/GM: Boots with the fur? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Bee/Polaris: Like sleek black boots with like, that are fur lined. And the bomber jacket is also fur lined.

Jenine/Marty: Oh my god.

Avery/GM: Zahn, do you activate your thing here? Or are you waiting until you get to the party?

Zach/Zahn: I'll, I'll test it out here. Just gonna come out as a, a three piece like midnight black suit with kind of like oily blue and black tie And then his helmet is actually going to just remain the same style.

Jenine/Marty: Valid!

Zach/Zahn: but it's going to be, it's going to be like a glossy black.

Bee/Polaris: Nice

Avery/GM: Very cool.

Zach/Zahn: Just cause Zahn still doesn't really like showing up his face.

Avery/GM: Totally. Cool. Yeah. Y'all leave the tailor, they, they give a friendly goodbye and just say, please feel free to shop again And you're back at your hotel, ready to get, or you're already suited up, or did you get dressed at the, at the tailor or are you taking it back and then getting dressed?

Jenine/Marty: Taking back and then getting dressed

Bee/Polaris: Oh, taking it back and then.

Avery/GM: Okay!

Bee/Polaris: You don't want to get it dirty. Right. Okay, cool.

Jenine/Marty: Gotta do my hair and makeup. I gotta do my hair.

Avery/GM: Cool. is there anything anyone else wants to do aside from getting your hair and makeup ready before you head out to the party? Bruce, what are you cooking?

Caden/Bruce: So Bruce has made three different types of pate. One is duck. One is this, um, bug meat that doesn't exist in our human world, but exists in space world, um, where I kind of see them as like giant shelled beetles that, like, you can just, like, kind of get the inside of the meat from, and he's made pate out of that. And then the third one is, like, this mixture of just beef and, um, chicken. And he's made these just and they're very fancy and they smell very nice but there’s no poison in them.

Bee/Polaris: How do you eat oh, how do you do you, like, eat pate with, like, a cracker or something?

Caden/Bruce: Yeah, usually, like, you cut it and then spread it on a cracker. So, like, he's cut up some of like the nice warm fresh things of bread but then he's also like just kind of I think they bought some crackers so I think he just has like a plate of crackers as well but he also just doesn't know if the Winstons will just eat it as it is because he's not sure if they eat

Bee/Polaris: yeah

Caden/Bruce: bread or crackers or if they're just carnivores like

Bee/Polaris: well they well uh he ate the meat pie and that has crust

Avery/GM: that's true and veggies there were Seeds for different vegetables and fruits at the Winston, this, uh, compound on that little planet.

Caden/Bruce: But that could have been for the, uh, butler.

Avery/GM: Oh, fair. Yeah.

Bee/Polaris: I feel so bad for stealing his cake.

Caden/Bruce: But yes, that is what Bruce has made.

Avery/GM: Wonderful. Cool. Well, if y'all don't have anything else to do, then you get dressed. Uh, Rho elects to stay behind with Hermes.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris took the longest for hair and makeup to make them fashionably late and then puts his helmet on.

Zach/Zahn: It's just for him.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah.

Jenine/Marty: Sometimes you can look nice just for you And that's good.

Chris/Ollie: Oh, um, really quick, Ali definitely prepared and brought his drones, not, uh, you know, with us, but they're going to be, uh, like stalkers are going to be parked like at their maximum range. And then the, uh, void hawk, I'm going to have float above the compound cloaked or well sensor cloaked.

Jenine/Marty: And I'll also say that Marty is committing. Uh, for the day for precognition just for safety

Avery/GM: sure

Jenine/Marty: just because

Bee/Polaris: do we have to have ollie on a leash

Chris/Ollie: i yeah i've been waiting for someone to uh raise an alarm but i've got the tux on so

Avery/GM: yeah no one is gonna ask such a fancy boy to put on a leash

Bee/Polaris: okay good because i was gonna say we're gonna have to get a diamond studded leash

Avery/GM: So the Winston estate is part of a very posh area of the business district. It is a four story megaplex that never seems to be lacking in traffic, both foot and air. There are hover vehicles that seem to be landing on the top of the roof and then depart shortly after and that kind of thing, the bottom floor, you can hear. Just a lot of music coming from, as it appears to be sort of a, a nightclub. There's no shortage of groupies, dancers, and patrons vying for a chance to gain entrance and perhaps gain favor with this most prestigious family. Approaching the door, you see two anthropomorphic jackal like beings wearing very fine clothing. They each wear sunglasses over their eyes and are checking a list on some sort of data pad And one of them looks up at you as you approach and is just like, Names? Are you on the list?

Bee/Polaris: Yes.

Jenine/Marty: Yes. Yes, we were invited by the Winstons. I, uh, Marty and Party.

Bee/Polaris: The Marty Party.

Avery/GM: The Marty Party.

Jenine/Marty: I thought it would be easier, cause you know, like, I don't know what their names be known, and like, Marty's name is like plastered everywhere, so that's why she said it. She didn't mean to Rhyme Yeah. Marty and Company.

Avery/GM: Yeah, this, uh, anthropomorphic jackal checks the list and says, uh, Oh, yep. Uh huh. I see. Yeah. Uh, hang on in. If you have anything you want to check at the door, feel free. No pressure though. Uh, welcome to the Winston Estate. And you hear a bunch of like groans from the crowd of like, Aw, they get to go in. They just got here. You know, that kind of stuff. And yeah, so you're coming inside the club and there is the coat check desk to your right. And standing in front of you is this blue tiger person, Lapis. They are wearing a very smart looking business suit. The jacket is half black, half white with matching pants of the same style. They are wearing a black dress shirt and a white tie. They are dressed impeccably. The music is bumping and vibrating louder as you walk in, kind of vibrating almost to your bones, except for you, Ollie.

Bee/Polaris: Cause you don't have bones.

Avery/GM: Right. And Lapis just says, Oh, welcome. I'm so glad that you all showed up. Avi is waiting for you in her quarters. Um, we'll need to head that way. Fair warning. One of my dads, uh, Shin Winston is kind of in a foul mood after a business deal went south this morning. So if you see him out there in the, on the club floor, just don't, don't antagonize him. Okay? I know you have a lot of questions. All of them will be answered. I promise you. And don't worry, Zahn, Myself and Avi are the only ones who know your name. And she gives you a big smile.

Zach/Zahn: The, uh, the lights on Zahn's visor squint.

Avery/GM: Do you follow them out?

Zach/Zahn: Yeah.

Bee/Polaris: No, I leave.

Caden/Bruce: Yeah.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah, we follow them out.

Zach/Zahn: I just leave.

Avery/GM: Deuces.

Zach/Zahn: Peace.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris like motions to put on glasses and then has like aviators appear on his visor.

Avery/GM: And yeah, Lapis leads you through into the dance floor. there's a variety of beings here dancing and grooving. There's a DJ up here spinning some sick beats. You know, you got all kinds of weird characters going on here.

Bee/Polaris: There's a shadow guy.

Avery/GM: There's a shadow guy.

Chris/Ollie: yeah. There's a nerd, drowning his sorrows.

Bee/Polaris: Another one? Oh boy.

Jenine/Marty: Is it the nerd that we know?

Avery/GM: That's not actually the nerd. That's just a token I used.

Jenine/Marty: Would the nerd be invited to this?

Avery/GM: No.

Bee/Polaris: No.

Jenine/Marty: I don't think he's cool enough to get in.

Bee/Polaris: He's not.

Chris/Ollie: Especially not after that fiasco.

Jenine/Marty: Ha ha, loser.

Bee/Polaris: We did embarrass him.

Avery/GM: And yeah, and Lapis seems to be leading you out onto the dance floor. They stop real quick and there's a little bar here and they're just like, if any of you would like a refreshment, please feel free to take one. We have a variety of drinks available. And they are playing the very, a very convincing role of a good host.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah.

Caden/Bruce: Bruce is busy holding, like, his, like, I think he probably put them in boxes, like, three boxes of his pate, but he'll grab, like, a champagne glass with his tail.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris will also grab a champagne glass.

Jenine/Marty: I grabbed the equivalent of a Shirley Temple.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris will grab, um... A glass of water for Ollie. Yeah, Polaris will ask for a dog bowl.

Avery/GM: They hand you a dog bowl. No problem.

Bee/Polaris: Cool. Polaris pours the champagne in there and then grabs another champagne glass.

Chris/Ollie: Ollie’ s gonna just hop up on the counter and start lapping away.

Avery/GM: Oh Gosh!

Chris/Ollie: This substance is intriguing. It is so bubbly.

Avery/GM: Oh yeah, you have taste receptors. I forgot I gave you saliva and taste receptors.

Bee/Polaris: Oh gosh. Wait, does that mean he can’t drink alcohol?

Avery/GM: No, he doesn't have dog biology. He just has the taste receptors. So he just has sensors that can interpret taste.

Zach/Zahn: Off the counter. Ollie, off the counter.

Avery/GM: And, yeah, you're, you're walking across the dance floor, you see all these various patrons. Lapis leads you towards a raised platform where a red tiger person sits in a throne like seat… their head is in one hand, they look quite sullen. He eyes you as you approach, but doesn't really say anything. Bruce, you notice, flanking just behind this, Tiger person are two other Scaph, which you haven't really seen a lot of in your travels recently And it's, you know, it's probably a bit weird to see them having a regular job, so to speak. But yeah, they're, they're kind of holding some weapons and, you know, obviously doing some sort of bodyguard work here. They kind of cock their head to like one side looking at you and then go back to like analyzing the crowd. And they are an orange and yellow color palette.

Avery/GM: And Lapis leads you to this little teleportation pattern. It's just like Avi is waiting up in her quarters. Please step on through and We will hopefully get this dinner underway.

Zach/Zahn: You first, Lapis.

Avery/GM: Oh, of course. They touch a little device on their wrist to like, program the pad and then step on and disappear.

Zach/Zahn: Visor still squinted, Zahn will go on first.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris will go on second. Gotta make sure room's secure.

Jenine/Marty: I'll go next.

Caden/Bruce: I think Bruce will indicate for, um, Dog Ollie to go next.

Chris/Ollie: Did we know That was the head of the Winston family, or was he just one of the heads?

Avery/GM: He's just one of the heads.

Chris/Ollie: Okay.

Avery/GM: And Marty's research probably would have pointed that out at some point. Because Marty has done a lot of research on the, uh, Winstons.

Jenine/Marty: My favorite enemy.

Zach/Zahn: My favorite enemy!

Avery/GM: As you arrive in Avi's quarters, uh, you realize that the area you are in is more of an… Office or like a reception type area. The space is laid out as if you would kind of wait here to be allowed in to see Avi. Lapis leads you through these doors here, or inside, there is some seating to your right. There is a fancy desk to your left and straight ahead in front of you is a balcony overlooking the sprawling metropolis of Ambrosia. The lights and sounds of the city create kind of a living kaleidoscope of colors and noise.

Avery/GM: Standing on the balcony, looking out over the city, a glass of red wine in her hand is Avi, dressed elegantly. She wears a long, flowing, high necked black gown, and she takes a sip of her wine and turns to you and just says, Oh, my guests, my friends, my gambling partners. How are you?

Bee/Polaris: Only one of us gambled.

Avery/GM: Come now. Do you really expect me to believe that Ollie didn't let you know what was going on?

Bee/Polaris: Actually, yes.

Chris/Ollie: Initiative is a new experience for me and I took advantage of it.

Avery/GM: Avi kind of like takes a step, not back, but just kind of like puts, puts her hand up to her chest. Like, Ollie, you're looking different. Is that Ollie? That sounds like Olly.

Chris/Ollie: It is I. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a scrape earlier and I had to

Zach/Zahn: improvise,

Chris/Ollie: improvise. Thank you.

Avery/GM: Avi goes and sets her glass down on her desk and turns back to you and is just like, well, thank you for coming on such short notice. I try not to send out invitations the day of, but this really couldn't wait. I'm actually hoping to hire you all for a job.

Bee/Polaris: Polaris motions to take off his fake, uh, aviators and then like underneath the, the image of the aviators, his eyes are squinting.

Avery/GM: I know, I know, you have no reason to trust the Winston family. After all, my cousin Violet does technically want to kill you. But I can assure you that I have no taste for revenge, at least not for Bryson Winston's death. He had it coming.

Bee/Polaris: Yeah, he was kind of a terrible person.

Avery/GM: Oh yes, hunting animals to extinction just for the fun of it? That's...

Bee/Polaris: Well, I mean also the implied wanting to hunt us.

Avery/GM: Oh, oh, uh, yeah, definitely not the kind of attitude we like to have towards other beings, you know, very inappropriate behavior for sure.

Zach/Zahn: So how do you know all of us? Some of us are either pretty private people and others have Almost no document, paper trail.

Avery/GM: My cousin Lapis can fill you in more on the details if you'd like, but let's just say that nothing is outside the sight of the oracles.

Bee/Polaris: Oh, oh, this, okay. This again. Hey, Bruce, those are your friends, right? The oracles.

Zach/Zahn: The fuck are the oracles?

Bee/Polaris: Didn't Bruce mention that to us?

Avery/GM: Yes.

Caden/Bruce: I wouldn't say friends.

Zach/Zahn: In that case, Zahn Because I don't remember Zahn having gone into questioning about it. He'll He'll put different emphasis on The fuck are the oracles, then?Like, head swing glancing at Bruce over his shoulder.

Caden/Bruce: Was the Oracles the group I was working for?

Avery/GM: Yeah, that was Lazuli's group.

Caden/Bruce: I mean, I briefly worked for them, from what I could kind of gather. I mean, I wouldn't say cause chaos, but try to, um, keep everything equal in the galaxy.

Zach/Zahn: That's just great.

Avery/GM: Lapis speaks up and says, uh, yes, we try to keep everyone on the same level playing field, you know, we try not to let the hegemony get too powerful or the Republic get too corrupt, but recently our efforts have been hampered by...

Zach/Zahn: It's gonna say you're doing a wonderful job on that one, letting your cousin just kind of run rampant with Republic resources.

Avery/GM: Oh, no, that's very standard Republic corruption. We, we go after the bigger fish. A Winston getting a generalship and misusing her resources, that's, that happens every day. That's fine. No. We're talking about the people who make the big decisions. We keep them from becoming too corrupt, but recently our efforts have been hampered

Bee/Polaris: By?

Avery/GM: Well, it all stems from your friend Rho, who I see you didn't bring with you today.

Bee/Polaris: She didn't want to come. Also, was she even invited?

Avery/GM: Oh, yes, she should have been included on the invitation. We knew she was there.

Bee/Polaris: Eye squints. Do we have a comms link with Rho?

Avery/GM: You would have it through Hermes.

Bee/Polaris: Okay. Polaris would be streaming, like, everything that's been happening up until now. Sure. So that Rho can stay informed.

Avery/GM: Yeah, definitely. Avi says, but what the oracles are is really of no consequence to the job that we are asking you to do. There is, as you know, the Hegemony has come into the possession of a certain program, the IASO program. I don't know if you've deduced exactly what it can do, but it is capable of pretty much destroying any artificial intelligence that it comes in contact with.

Zach/Zahn: How did the hegemony get this?

Avery/GM: That is beyond our sight. I know I said nothing is beyond our sight, but actually that is one of the few things that has been…

Jenine/Marty: Okay, that’s not sus.

Avery/GM: It's actually been kind of embarrassing, not gonna lie.

Zach/Zahn: Got it… that's a hole you should probably look into filling.

Bee/Polaris: Does Polaris know anything about the custodians of the IASO program? Or was that, is that something that Blairs would have to talk to the constituents about? Or what they were going to explain to him?

Avery/GM: That was part of the thing that Alioth was going to explain at some point.

Bee/Polaris: Dope.

Jenine/Marty: How does one, how does one spell this?

Avery/GM: I A S O

Jenine/Marty: Yes! Okay, cool.

Bee/Polaris: When Avi says… or when Lapis says that it's a hole that they're trying to fill and it's so embarrassing and everything, uh, Blairs does say, Uh, I believe I may be able to find that out.

Avery/GM: Oh, that would be most helpful. Yes. Usually we're quite good at finding things that try to hide from us, but it has not been very fruitful this time.

Zach/Zahn: So Zahn's gonna cross his arms and he's going to be like, get to the point. What do you want us for?

Avery/GM: Well, the IASO program. Poses a grave threat to all of us, because as you know, almost any world in this galaxy is governed by numerous AIs controlling clean water, environmental configurations, everything that makes modern life livable, and we can't allow One side, like the Hegemony to have all of that power. What we need to do is find a way to destroy the IASO program and eliminate any trace of its coding from the galaxy. And I believe there is a space station that may hold some clues as to the origin of the IASO program, and that's where we need you to go.

Avery/GM: Avi pushes a button on a little remote that she picked up from her desk. And over on this little table, a holo… hologram pops up and Zahn, you see a site you have not seen in many, many years. It is your home, New Terra Station. She says, Zahn, I need you to go home.

Avery/GM: And we cut away from that scene.

Zach/Zahn: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo

Avery/GM: Back to your hotel room.

Bee/Polaris: Oh no.

Avery/GM: Rho and Hermes are sitting in the room and Hermes speaks up, having heard what has been streamed to them both, and looks up at, uh, Rho and just says, Rho, I need a favor of you. I need you to take me to see my mother. And that's where we're going to end it.

Bee/Polaris: What? Hermes has a mom?

Jenine/Marty: I'm screaming.

Bee/Polaris: Also, I'm sad that Herbie's didn't trust us enough to bring him to his mom.

Caden/Bruce: Right?

Bee/Polaris: We let him fire guns.

Caden/Bruce: We let you almost kill people, Hermes. Come on.

(Ambience fades out, outro plays then fades down)

Avery/GM: Thank you for listening to our show. Beyond the Furthest Stars is a 1UP Podcast network production. Intro and outro music produced by Destin Carpenter. Background music provided by TabletopAudio. com and used under an attribution, non commercial license from Creative Commons. Tracks used today were Mega City Slums, Cyberpunk Bar, and Dark Matter.

Additional background music licensed from Q Up Arts Sounds. We'll be back on October 15th with our next episode. See you out there, Beyond the Furthest Stars.