Power’s Pink Price - Chapter 042

Now, we don't want to breed Stephanie just yet - we want her new body first - and I don't expect that the bounty has expired, so I'm cautious. We leave Stephanie in stealth mode, rent a shuttle bay through the infosphere, and just fly the golden egg into it.  It's not a ship I've been seen flying, and the rental was quite quick, so I'll have a little bit before anyone comes.  So I shut down the engines, hook her up to the station umbilical, lock everything down, and leave a few buffed up summons as guards… most of them with Invisibility, but I do leave one visible and disgused as Euler's old form.

I then go invisible myself, and - making myself visible just long enough to do the deed - drop off the system data and claim my money.

Of course, I still need to trade ships - twice, plus refitting - and I can't really do that anonymously. I'm going to need to show the egg, inspect other ships, attend negotiations, and so on… so sooner or later I'm going to need to deal with the bounty hunters and assassins.

How to, though?  If I just kill them all, I'll level up again; I'd rather put that off. So… I smile.  I think I know… hehehehe….

I start with Major Creation, to make a dozen Obdurium blocks (it’s a metal from the Stronghold Builder's Guide) - I squeeze out a caster level of nineteen for this, which gives me nineteen cubic feet of material to play with per block. I make them three feet by three feet by two feet (eighteen cubic feet).  The metal gets sixty hit points per inch of thickness, and at two feet thick, that gives each block one thousand, four hundred, and forty hit points. Normally, this would last for less than two minutes… but Technological Wonders is great: It's going to last forever.

I then use Polymorph Any Object to turn them into copies of me, Euler (both before and after versions) and Cowbird, using the Veil spell (buffed with Divine Insight for a really good Disguise check) to tweak them into looking exactly right.  I further buff them up so they're not completely stupid and foolish (Polymorph Any Object produces intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of just five when used this way… and some buffs fix that).  Some spare clothes, Misdirection spells so they detect as me, and I send them out to wander the station. They're going to be really hard to kill due to the sheer number of hit points, and in Pathfinder Polymorph spells don't automatically expire on death: Which means the bounty hunters and assassins, after a long fight where their targets were really durable, will have bodies to turn in to claim the bounties.

I wonder how many they'll pay out, and what will happen when they stop?  Assassins and Bounty hunters aren't exactly the sort of people who are nice when they feel cheated.

I go ahead and make a few dozen more, leave with them in a big group, split up a little outside the shuttle bay, and go about my day.

With my personal com plugged into my neck, I arrange for inspections and meetings; I have two ships to sell, after all.  I focus my efforts on the golden egg - I figure I'll swap that one first, put Stephanie in the replacement, get her new body ready, and then migrate her over… hopefully without her accepting the temporary chasis, as it would be annoying if I had no escape from the pink.

Inspections go well… fighters are in pretty high demand, because the bigger ships actually do properly need them: The really heavy weaponry can't target small vessels, but small vessels can still wear out the shields of the bigger ships, so they need escorts… and this one has quarters and a drift engine, which makes it great for longer gigs - bounty hunting, escorting ships that don't have hangars, scouting missions, long-term patrols, and the like. I go with the same found-and-fixed salvage story I used before, as why change what works?

I don't realize the problem with this sale until it comes up.

My prospective buyer is a grizzled elf missing the tip of his left ear, who's looking for something faster and better armed than the shuttle he has; which works for me, as I’m looking for a shuttle where I can shuffle the load out into what I want.

“So you own this free and clear, huh?” seems he wants some reassurance.

“That's right; I found it in deep space,” in a sense; we were orbiting a star in The Vast when it was born, “nobody's going to come looking carrying a legal claim to her,” because she didn't come from an established manufacturer, and nobody has a legal claim.  But it's safer to say salvage.

He smiles, “Great! I'll take it.”

I smile, “I'm glad you like it, bit I still need to make sure your trade is close enough to what I need.”

“Oh, I didn't say I'll trade you…” he draws his rifle... but I react and cast faster than he draws, silently and invisibly: There's no external indication that I'm casting. And I can do four spells a round now… only two if I need ninth level spells (mostly because I need to spend a cast on Spell Enhancer to meet the caster level requirements), but I don't need to go that high for this: The barred version of a Forcecage spell will keep him in place, a Dimension Lock spell will stop teleportation, a Wall of Force spell will stop whatever he's trying to fire at me, and that still leaves me with a casting of whatever on reserve.

But I don't actually touch him with my tainted…

“Blessed,” insists my perverse pink spirit.

…magic until… yes, he fires, and his tactical magnetar rifle's rounds hit the invisible wall between us.  He curses when he sees that.

Had he not fired, no big deal, I'd just let him out, no harm done. But he did try to kill me, so…. I drop a Major Image of myself in place, cast Superior Invisibility on myself, Greater Teleport to the far side of the room (so I can cast through the barred Forcecage - the regular Wall of Force would be a problem for Line of Effect if I stayed), and hit him with Dominate Monster… and feel the spell take hold as HER armor bends to accommodate her new frame, capped with D cups. No, I’m not angry.

“Ooh… he really liked to tie people up, so she'll get a kick out of being restrained,” my pink partner informs me, “hit her again, there's so much more to eat….” Not now, Patricia, but I probably will trap her later.

“Strip down, and answer every question I put to you honestly,” I instruct my new mindslave.

As she complies, getting naked, I start interrogating her, “What was your plan in shooting me?”

“I was going to kill you, take your ship, and collect the bounty… which includes another ship. I'd then part out two of them to upgrade the third,” oh, that mind-controlled monotone voice is so annoying.

But turnabout is fair play; he was going to take mone by force, so… “Do you own your ship free and clear?”

“Yes,” is the only reply… but I suppose it was a yes or no question.

Great. I have to get the transfer paperwork drawn up anyway, so if I simply remove the bits about giving mine in exchange… I use my personal com to send the new parameters to a contract service, and soon enough I have the appropriate paperwork on my com. I order my assailent through the signing (my payment is a very generic “for services rendered” that doesn't actually say what I did), and after all is signed, sealed, and official… I confine my would-be robbber in a Trap the Soul spell like I did the last, and go about my work… parting out my fighter for upgrades to my new shuttle. When I'm done, I have a nice little tier four starship:

After the trades and mods… I have my chosen setup: A CompEnt shuttle (six Build Points [BP]), with three additional expansion bays (two points each, thanks to the manufacturer - putting me at twelve), for a total of six expansion bays (after counting the three that come with the frame). I set one of the bays as an Industry for UPB production (ten BP and forty Power Core Units [PCU], putting me at twenty-two), one of which is a Fuel Synthesizer (one BP and four PCU, so twenty-three), and of course a Mark One robotic limb (one BP, so twenty-four) as required by the fuel synthesizer; the rest I leave for cargo. An Abysium Arcus Heavy power core costs fifteen BP (running total: thirty nine) and provides a hundred sixty two PCU. Horacalcum S12 Thrusters cost eight BP (running total: forty seven), and require sixty PCU (and give a speed rating of thirteen). I go ahead and add Mark one armor for two BP (total: forty nine), Luxury crew quarters for five BP (total: Fifty four), Mark one Horacalcum Defensive Countermeasures for six BP (total: sixty) and one PCU. A signal basic drift engine for four BP (total: sixty four) so it doesn’t get stranded if separated.  Djezet budget long-range sensors for nine BP (total: seventy three) will let the ship see farther than any other… but not through stealth systems. Light 80 shields cost twelve BP (total: eighty five) and thirty PCU, in case something actually sees it. Two turret mounts cost five BP each (total: Ninety five), and two Coilguns (long range direct-fire weapons with decent damage for being light) on them cost ten BP each (for one hundred fifteen total, my budget) as well as ten PCU each…. and seven PCU to spare with all systems running.

The goal is, of course, sniping. The long-range sensors with a special material let it see other ships (as long as they're not hidden) at the maximum range possible while the long-range weaponry keeps the range penalties down when firing... so it can shoot at enemies without being fired upon in turn.

I also use the ship to check and make sure my plan for Stephanie will work: It seems to, and as a bonus, there's a clause in Invisibility about putting visible things inside invisible things: The visible things become hidden as well (so if you cast Invisibility while holding a bag, and later stuff a visible object into the bag, the item tossed into the bag can't be seen either)... which means I only need to make the outer hull invisible, rather than every single component… which makes it go a lot faster, as the outer hull is relatively accessible and the plating is designed to be easily replaced in case of damage.

That takes a while - refitting ships isn't quick - and I take care of a few side projects:

I keep an eye on the news: Seems Slimecorp (still not their name) lost their CEO and board of directors under mysterious circumstances (two violent murders, six poisonings, and four disappeances) and the company collapsed as all the investors pulled out in the wake of the sudden leadership vacuum.

It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch, and I only needed to vanish one bounty hunter to manage it.

After that, of course, I don't need the decoys, so I track down my fakes via divinations… a good twelve of them I find in various morgues, seven had their bodies destroyed entirely by different means, and the rest survived.  I change the survivors’ appearances to unique ones, then let them live what lives they have: They don't have souls, but they do have minds… so they get to live after I give them unique appearances.

I'm not sure if I should feel guilty about the others: No souls, and they wouldn't have existed at all if I didn't need decoys, but they also died because I used them as decoys.

Food for thought... bit I'm kind of glad I don't need to sleep, as that means no nightmares.

Now, we don't want to breed Stephanie just yet - we want her new body first - and I don't expect that the bounty has expired, so I'm cautious. We leave Stephanie in stealth mode, rent a shuttle bay through the infosphere, and just fly the golden egg into it. It's not a ship I've been seen flying, and the rental was quite quick, so I'll have a little bit before anyone comes. So I shut down the engines, hook her up to the station umbilical, lock everything down, and leave a few buffed up summons as guards most of them with Invisibility, but I do leave one visible and disgused as Euler's old form. I then go invisible myself, and - making myself visible just long enough to do the deed - drop off the system data and claim my money. Of course, I still need to trade ships - twice, plus refitting - and I can't really do that anonymously. I'm going to need to show the egg, inspect other ships, attend negotiations, and so on so sooner or later I'm going to need to deal with the bounty hunters and assassins. How to, though? If I just kill them all, I'll level up again; I'd rather put that off. So I smile. I think I know hehehehe. I start with Major Creation, to make a dozen Obdurium blocks it's a metal from the Stronghold Builder's Guide - I squeeze out a caster level of nineteen for this, which gives me nineteen cubic feet of material to play with per block. I make them three feet by three feet by two feet eighteen cubic feet. The metal gets sixty hit points per inch of thickness, and at two feet thick, that gives each block one thousand, four hundred, and forty hit points. Normally, this would last for less than two minutes but Technological Wonders is great: It's going to last forever. I then use Polymorph Any Object to turn them into copies of me, Euler both before and after versions and Cowbird, using the Veil spell buffed with Divine Insight for a really good Disguise check to tweak them into looking exactly right. I further buff them up so they're not completely stupid and foolish Polymorph Any Object produces intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of just five when used this way and some buffs fix that. Some spare clothes, Misdirection spells so they detect as me, and I send them out to wander the station. They're going to be really hard to kill due to the sheer number of hit points, and in Pathfinder Polymorph spells don't automatically expire on death: Which means the bounty hunters and assassins, after a long fight where their targets were really durable, will have bodies to turn in to claim the bounties. I wonder how many they'll pay out, and what will happen when they stop? Assassins and Bounty hunters aren't exactly the sort of people who are nice when they feel cheated. I go ahead and make a few dozen more, leave with them in a big group, split up a little outside the shuttle bay, and go about my day. With my personal com plugged into my neck, I arrange for inspections and meetings; I have two ships to sell, after all. I focus my efforts on the golden egg - I figure I'll swap that one first, put Stephanie in the replacement, get her new body ready, and then migrate her over hopefully without her accepting the temporary chasis, as it would be annoying if I had no escape from the pink. Inspections go well fighters are in pretty high demand, because the bigger ships actually do properly need them: The really heavy weaponry can't target small vessels, but small vessels can still wear out the shields of the bigger ships, so they need escorts and this one has quarters and a drift engine, which makes it great for longer gigs - bounty hunting, escorting ships that don't have hangars, scouting missions, long-term patrols, and the like. I go with the same found-and-fixed salvage story I used before, as why change what works? I don't realize the problem with this sale until it comes up. My prospective buyer is a grizzled elf missing the tip of his left ear, who's looking for something faster and better armed than the shuttle he has; which works for me, as I'm looking for a shuttle where I can shuffle the load out into what I want. So you own this free and clear, huh? seems he wants some reassurance. That's right; I found it in deep space, in a sense; we were orbiting a star in The Vast when it was born, nobody's going to come looking carrying a legal claim to her, because she didn't come from an established manufacturer, and nobody has a legal claim. But it's safer to say salvage. He smiles, Great! I'll take it. I smile, I'm glad you like it, bit I still need to make sure your trade is close enough to what I need. Oh, I didn't say I'll trade you he draws his rifle... but I react and cast faster than he draws, silently and invisibly: There's no external indication that I'm casting. And I can do four spells a round now only two if I need ninth level spells mostly because I need to spend a cast on Spell Enhancer to meet the caster level requirements, but I don't need to go that high for this: The barred version of a Forcecage spell will keep him in place, a Dimension Lock spell will stop teleportation, a Wall of Force spell will stop whatever he's trying to fire at me, and that still leaves me with a casting of whatever on reserve. But I don't actually touch him with my tainted Blessed, insists my perverse pink spirit. magic until yes, he fires, and his tactical magnetar rifle's rounds hit the invisible wall between us. He curses when he sees that. Had he not fired, no big deal, I'd just let him out, no harm done. But he did try to kill me, so. I drop a Major Image of myself in place, cast Superior Invisibility on myself, Greater Teleport to the far side of the room so I can cast through the barred Forcecage - the regular Wall of Force would be a problem for Line of Effect if I stayed, and hit him with Dominate Monster and feel the spell take hold as HER armor bends to accommodate her new frame, capped with D cups. No, I'm not angry. Ooh he really liked to tie people up, so she'll get a kick out of being restrained, my pink partner informs me, hit her again, there's so much more to eat. Not now, Patricia, but I probably will trap her later. Strip down, and answer every question I put to you honestly, I instruct my new mindslave. As she complies, getting naked, I start interrogating her, What was your plan in shooting me? I was going to kill you, take your ship, and collect the bounty which includes another ship. I'd then part out two of them to upgrade the third, oh, that mind-controlled monotone voice is so annoying. But turnabout is fair play; he was going to take mone by force, so Do you own your ship free and clear? Yes, is the only reply but I suppose it was a yes or no question. Great. I have to get the transfer paperwork drawn up anyway, so if I simply remove the bits about giving mine in exchange I use my personal com to send the new parameters to a contract service, and soon enough I have the appropriate paperwork on my com. I order my assailent through the signing my payment is a very generic for services rendered that doesn't actually say what I did, and after all is signed, sealed, and official I confine my would-be robbber in a Trap the Soul spell like I did the last, and go about my work parting out my fighter for upgrades to my new shuttle. When I'm done, I have a nice little tier four starship: Spoiler After the trades and mods I have my chosen setup: A CompEnt shuttle six Build Points BP, with three additional expansion bays two points each, thanks to the manufacturer - putting me at twelve, for a total of six expansion bays after counting the three that come with the frame. I set one of the bays as an Industry for UPB production ten BP and forty Power Core Units PCU, putting me at twenty-two, one of which is a Fuel Synthesizer one BP and four PCU, so twenty-three, and of course a Mark One robotic limb one BP, so twenty-four as required by the fuel synthesizer; the rest I leave for cargo. An Abysium Arcus Heavy power core costs fifteen BP running total: thirty nine and provides a hundred sixty two PCU. Horacalcum S12 Thrusters cost eight BP running total: forty seven, and require sixty PCU and give a speed rating of thirteen. I go ahead and add Mark one armor for two BP total: forty nine, Luxury crew quarters for five BP total: Fifty four, Mark one Horacalcum Defensive Countermeasures for six BP total: sixty and one PCU. A signal basic drift engine for four BP total: sixty four so it doesn't get stranded if separated. Djezet budget long-range sensors for nine BP total: seventy three will let the ship see farther than any other but not through stealth systems. Light 80 shields cost twelve BP total: eighty five and thirty PCU, in case something actually sees it. Two turret mounts cost five BP each total: Ninety five, and two Coilguns long range direct-fire weapons with decent damage for being light on them cost ten BP each for one hundred fifteen total, my budget as well as ten PCU each. and seven PCU to spare with all systems running. collapse The goal is, of course, sniping. The long-range sensors with a special material let it see other ships as long as they're not hidden at the maximum range possible while the long-range weaponry keeps the range penalties down when firing... so it can shoot at enemies without being fired upon in turn. I also use the ship to check and make sure my plan for Stephanie will work: It seems to, and as a bonus, there's a clause in Invisibility about putting visible things inside invisible things: The visible things become hidden as well so if you cast Invisibility while holding a bag, and later stuff a visible object into the bag, the item tossed into the bag can't be seen either... which means I only need to make the outer hull invisible, rather than every single component which makes it go a lot faster, as the outer hull is relatively accessible and the plating is designed to be easily replaced in case of damage. That takes a while - refitting ships isn't quick - and I take care of a few side projects: I keep an eye on the news: Seems Slimecorp still not their name lost their CEO and board of directors under mysterious circumstances two violent murders, six poisonings, and four disappeances and the company collapsed as all the investors pulled out in the wake of the sudden leadership vacuum. It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch, and I only needed to vanish one bounty hunter to manage it. After that, of course, I don't need the decoys, so I track down my fakes via divinations a good twelve of them I find in various morgues, seven had their bodies destroyed entirely by different means, and the rest survived. I change the survivors' appearances to unique ones, then let them live what lives they have: They don't have souls, but they do have minds so they get to live after I give them unique appearances. I'm not sure if I should feel guilty about the others: No souls, and they wouldn't have existed at all if I didn't need decoys, but they also died because I used them as decoys. Food for thought... bit I'm kind of glad I don't need to sleep, as that means no nightmares.