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Night Shift- A Grimmerspace Story

By Stephen Landis

Set in the Grimmerspace Universe by Iron GM Games

Three months after the events of First Run...

Arc thought he hated the Endless Mall before back when he had to look up at it every night back on Gylorr and see that consumerist abomination leering back down at him from Gylorr’s moon, Diff, with that artificial glow that made night almost as bright as day on the endless scrap fields of Gylorr. But standing here, right in the middle of all this opulence, he was introduced to entirely new levels of hatred for those Fazharan bastards...

After he and Arjana, quite possibly the first Fazharan he didn’t hate, escaped a remote deep space colony inhabited by transhumanist cultists that lured spacers to a violent death with the promise of rich salvage, the two of them returned home to the Thriftic Binary to figure out exactly how they were going to explain what happened to the authorities. Which went about as well as cynical Arc expected it to. The Binary police did not believe them, the report was filled and dismissed, and Touchdown Salvage decided it was more economical to just fire the two of them then conduct their own investigation.

Arjana was obviously heart-broken about this turn of events as the two of them parted ways and she went back to Fazhar with her droid assistant Ge-Vees. Arc couldn’t blame her even though he knew this was probably how things were going to end. Still, wrapping things up were harder for him then they were for her, he didn’t know Jim or Captain Smith personally but they were both from Gylorr. Someone had to go to his homeworld and tell their families that they won’t be coming home...

Jobless and now thoroughly depressed from that errand, Arc went back to working odd jobs and salvage work in the frozen tundra of northern Gylorr, scraping together enough money to have another go at getting off planet. Which lead to where he was now, in the Endless Mall of Diff trying to get hired as a maintenance worker and hopefully make enough to leave the Binary behind him. Unfortunately to take full advantage of an opportunity that came up, he needed to get through this interview...

“Well Mr. Gnosh, your resume is certainly what we’re looking for. What made you decide on applying at Sammy Skraen’s Pizzeria?” Zora, the restaurant’s owner, asked as they sat in her office.

Arc smiled slightly and nodded as he considered the best way to answer her question as he looked back at Ariel. Like Arjana, Zora was a Fazharan yet the two could not have been more different. Where Arjana was dark-skinned equatorial Fazharan that was overweight from years of sitting behind a workbench and having mechanical familiars spoil her with recipes drawn from a galaxy-wide culinary database, the platinum blond Zora reminded Arc of old fairytales of skeletons animated through magic. Pale to the point of being pasty and with a lack of any noticeable muscle mass or adipose tissue, Arc was certain his prospective employer was borderline anorexic. Something that made her business of choice all the more ironic.

And then there were her eyes. Where as Arjana’s brown eyes shone with a child-like optimism up until the reality of the Gliding Rim hit her like a truck, Zora’s pale blue eyes seemed to regard him with a certain coldness he never expected to see in a Fazharan. Sure the robotics wizards were all full of themselves but this was something different…

None of these observations were spoken as he answered her question a moment later. “Well, Sammy Skraen is clearly a popular place. I’ve seen ads for it halfway across the Endless Mall. Literally as I came here by that big indoor ocean the mall built in the equatorial region. Figured any place that slathered half the Endless Mall in advertisements is a good one to get a job at. And with all this machinery, you definitely need someone who can fix it.” He replied with equal parts truth and brown-nosing, recalling what he learned about the pizza parlor before filling out his application.

Sammy Skraen’s Pizzeria was a pizza parlor and entertainment complex in a recent midlevel expansion of the Endless Mall. Arcade with holo-tag arena, concert hall with an animatronic band of droid musicians capable of housing two hundred, and a small movie theater that seated fifty people in addition to the pizza parlor that seated four hundred. All of them built around the anthropomorphic Sammy Skraen and her metal band. Arc did not remember the names of Sammy’s band mates, only that the drummer was an anthropomorphic version of one of those spider-things locked away in the Endless Mall Zoo. And even then all he remembered was thinking what a nightmare the droid was going to be to fix if it ever broke.

“Oh, so you saw our latest ad campaign. Do you like our mascot? I made her myself.” She asked, bringing him back to the present.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to make toys out of that little devil yet.” He replied with a smile that he hoped wasn’t too forced. Bitch, what the Gyre is wrong with you? You somehow made the terror of Paravesh even more terrifying then they already are. That damn clown smile is going to take ages to forget!

Zora nodded approvingly, Arc had said all the things he needed to say to seal the deal. “Welcome to the team Jacob, how soon can you start?” She asked, reaching forward to shake his hand.

The lanky, weathered mechanic dressed in business casual rose to his feet and shook the offered hand. “When do you want me to start?”

“You can start tomorrow night at six PM regional time.” The pizzeria owner smiled.

Arc returned her smile and made a mental note of the time before politely seeing himself out. On the way out of Sammy Skraen’s Pizzeria, he continued to make mental notes of the building as he threaded his way through the crowd of kids and parents coming and going. The floor plan, the position of each area relative to each other, the locations of all the stairways and the emergency exits, making sure to keep his observations as discreet as possible.

Once safely on the monorail that connected this little section of the moon-wide shopping mall with the rest of Diff, Arc sat down and took out his personal comm unit, dialing the number he was told to call. “Hi, it’s Arc. Just finished the interview, I start work tomorrow night at six.”

“Good, we’ll make sure everything else is ready. Also, there’s been an update. I’m sending you the relevant file now.” The modulated voice on the other end replied.

Arc accepted the file his contact sent him, his eyes going wide as he quickly skimmed the contents. “Okay, I’ll keep an eye out. Just remember to keep to your part of the deal and I’ll keep to mine.”

“No need to worry about that Arc. You just focus on your part. Shield out.” His contact answered before ending the call.

Arc stared at his comm unit before shaking his head and putting the device back into his pocket. Guess there was nothing left to do expect get ready for tomorrow night and hope that this wasn’t going to turn into a mistake...

The next evening, Arc arrived at work dressed in his coveralls with his custom rig in hand. No one was there to greet him as he walked in through the employee entrance, the place was empty. The guests were gone and most of the automation appeared to have been shut down for the night. Already that was a bad sign, Zora or someone else should have been here to greet him and show him around. For that matter, was there anyone actually working here other then Zora and himself? Everything he saw when he was here during the previous day was vending machines, robots, and self-service terminals. Damn Fazhar automation, he had half a mind to turn around and give up on this farce.

Pulling out his personal communicator again, he dialed the pizzeria and after a second of navigating an automated directory, he was transferred over to what he assumed was Zora’s comm unit. “Hello Zora, it’s Jacob Gnosh. You hired me yesterday, I’m here on time and ready to get started.”

For a second there was silence then a burst of static over his communicator that echoed over an intercom that was somewhere over his head. “Oh hello Jacob.” The familiar voice of Zora appeared over the intercom. Arc’s sense of foreboding was increasing. “Could you please head to the employee lounge and wait for me there? It’s over by my office.” She asked, sounding like she was distracted by something.

“Sure…” He replied, obviously much less trusting then he was the day before, and took three steps into the pizzeria before the automatic doors slammed shut behind him and audibly locked themselves. “What was THAT?” Arc asked, still having his new boss on the line.

“Just a security feature, the doors lock automatically a few minutes after the night shift begins to make sure no one gets in or out. Are you making your way to the employee lounge?” Zora replied, still sounding distracted and beginning to get audibly agitated.

“Great… yeah I’m heading to the lounge. See you there.” He replied before closing the channel. Heading out of storage and cutting through the massive automated kitchen that was a maze of robotic arms and computer-controlled ovens, he found the employee lounge and quickly looked around after stepping inside. Lounge was standard enough, a sofa and some chairs next to a small dining table in front of him, a kitchenette with a coffee pot and combination mini-fridge/microwave appliance cube to his left. In addition to the door leading back out into the kitchen behind him, it also had two transparent aluminum doors that connected to the adjacent manager’s office and maintenance office on either side of the lounge. All in all, not the worst amenities he ever had to put up with.

Seeing that there was no one else in the room with him, Arc reached into his custom rig and activated the wireless universal remote. With a click of a button, the three doors all closed shut and locked themselves. And a good thing too, no sooner had he locked the room then Shield was calling his comm unit.

“Was just about to call you, I think we have a problem.” He began, hiding in the kitchenette and pulling out the handcannon that was hidden in his coveralls. The Swagger-pattern handcannon was a comforting weight in his hand as he checked the six-round cylinder, made sure it was loaded, and slid it back into place.

“Arc, there’s been a leak. We don’t know what happened but you need to get out of there, your cover is blown.” Shield replied.

Hands holding his weapon in a trembling death grip, Arc looked up and towards the transparent aluminum door leading into the manager’s office. Standing behind the locked door, staring right back at him was a woman dressed in a Sammy Skrean costume. From foot to neck, the female stranger was covered in velvety black faux fur, their face covered in a white mask that was fixed into a broad grin and unblinking eyes that followed him as he walked from one side of the room to another. In the stranger’s right hand was a long blade that looked more suitable for cutting through dense jungle foliage then it was for cutting pizza toppings, her left hand was raised so she could wag her index finger at him. Coating the blade was something Arc could only hope was a particularly fine pizza sauce.

Nestling his comm unit between his cheek and his shoulder, he raised his left hand and wagged his middle finger back at her. “Sorry Lt. Detective Shield, afraid it’s a little too late. I’m locked in here until morning unless InterCrux knows how to breach a half-ton alloy fire door.”

“Sammy” audibly slammed her fist against the transparent aluminum door in frustration as she began to realize just how badly she had been played. “She’s in the room with you?” Shield asked.

“Next room over. My gun’s drawn and we currently have a locked transparent aluminum door between the two of us. How long before the tactical unit arrives? Because right now I am very glad I went over my weapon budget for this month.” Arc replied as he gripped the Swagger in both hands again and raised it towards the blade-wielding assailant.

Shield was silent for a moment. “Alright Zora, I know you’re listening to this line and my man tells me he has you in his sights. Throw down whatever little death toy you have in your hands and surrender.”

Zora; proprietor of Sammy Skrean’s Pizzeria, the prime suspect in an unsolved kidnapping spree, and the costumed captor currently staring at Arc from the other side of a transparent metal door, finally spoke. “You’re already too late, the time is almost at hand.” The masked woman laughed. “All I need to do is-” She began before something seemed to cut her off mid-sentence, her unblinking eyes suddenly glowing with a cold blue energy.

Without another word, Zora took off. Arc merely stood there, listened, and silently counted the seconds before exhaling. “She’s gone. What in the Gyre was that all about?”

“She’s gone?” Shield asked then spoke to someone else on his end. “Arc, I’m spliced into the building’s internal sensors. We’re picking up seven life signs. You, her, and five others that were in a room that isn’t on the original floor plan we have on file. One of them broke free and is running towards your location, Zora’s trying to cut them off.”

Arc inhaled and softly uttered a string of curses as he tried to steel himself. “How long till you get down here?” He asked at last.

Shield was silent for a moment. “Fifteen minutes for the tactical unit to arrive, another five tops for them to breach one of the fire doors and make their entrance. Twenty at the most. Try to not get killed before them.” The ARCop replied, knowing what Arc was thinking about doing.

Arc nodded even though there was no one to see. “Twenty minutes, okay then. See you in twenty.” He replied before ending the call.

Thumbing the wireless module on his custom rig again, he unlocked all the doors in the break room. The smart decision would have been to just sit there behind three locked doors and wait until help arrived. Unfortunately for him, five kids, three of them from Gylorr, needed him to do the dumb thing. Unfortunately for Zora, true Gylorrans always tried to look out for each other...

The kitchen was deathly quiet as Arc slowly walked through with his gun raised and his ears open. Slowing his breath, he strained his ears to try and listen for a clue just what Zora was looking for. Stepping out of the sterile kitchen and into the brightly colored foyer of the pizzeria, he soon picked up the increasingly familiar sound of Zora’s voice.

“Fredrico… Fredrico… Come on Fredrico, the other children miss you.” The costumed psycho called out from somewhere in the arcade area.

Still trying to be as silent as the transhumanist cultists that once hunted him for sport, Arc tried to remember who Zora was calling for. Fredrico, that was the name of the kid in the file Shield sent him yesterday afternoon. Male, twelve years old, Gylorran, Equatorial descent, parents were part of one of the desert-dwelling nomad clans that roved the sand-blasted badlands along the planet’s equator and came up to Diff to work at one of the motorsports arenas about three blocks to the west of here.

Listening carefully, more so to keep track of Zora then her quarry, he soon heard the sound of someone hyperventilating softly in the dining hall. On the other side of the building from psycho bitch, thank the Benefactor. He thought to himself as he quietly slipped into the massive great hall.

Automated housekeeping droids had already set the dining hall up for tomorrow’s parties, tables were set with place mats, paper plates, and festive tablecloths, chairs were pushed in, and judging by the dim light of the powered down holographic display in the corner, the birthday kids tomorrow were named Timothy, Gertrude, and… Xian? The heavy breathing stopped the moment Arc stepped in; wherever Fredrico was, he clearly could see someone was nearby.

“Fred, Fred!” Arc hissed. “Come out Fred, your parents sent me.” He whispered as loudly as he dared. If Fredrico’s parents were smart, they would have taught him to not fall for something like that. But it was the best Arc had to work with.

And apparently it was enough. Fred quietly crawled out from under the table he was hiding and looked up at Arc hopefully. “My parents sent you?” He asked with a small smile.

“Technically your uncle did but forget it, let’s get you out of here.” He replied and reached for the kid’s hand.

Fredrico’s smile broadened… then promptly disappeared as he looked at something directly behind Arc, his eyes filled with terror.

Son of a Fazharan whore! He swore silently and immediately spun around with his weapon raised. Seeing the costumed Zora roughly twenty feet away, he pulled the trigger and fired a shell at her.

Still too slow, much too slow. The shot went wide and peppered a metal chair with buckshot as his opponent dodged, rolled, then jumped up… and up before disappearing into the darkened rafters above the massive dining room. The bottom of Arc’s stomach began to sink as he realized her costume wasn’t just for show. She could jump and probably both climb and glide as well… Glide…

“Get going Fred… GET GOING!” Arc shouted as he grabbed his charge by the arm and started to run for the door.

Behind them, a piercing shriek echoed from the darkness and Zora began her descent, membrane wings fully extended and arms outstretched. Purple bolts of energy arched from her fingers and hit Arc squarely in the back. Zora pulled up and ascended again as she followed her quarry out the door into the main foyer. Panicking, Fredrico ran into the pizzeria band hall as fast as his feet would carry him, Zora swooping down and disappearing behind him.

Arc grunted in pain as he lost track of both his charge and his opponent again. Seeing it over his shoulder, he could have sworn her parlor trick was just some high-tech pyrotechnics, a deconstructed pocket laser or plasma torch tucked away in the suit’s gloves. But his wound did not feel like it, he had gotten his fair share of plasma and laser burns and this was not either of those. Each of those purple bolts felt like someone whacked him in the back with a piece of pipe. Hurt like a Gyreling but at least he could walk it off after a minute.

“Motherhumping cunt… whatever you need Fred for must be really important for you to turn your back on me twice now.” The Gylorran techie grumbled as he staggered after the others, the pain already starting to fade. “But if you make that mistake again, I’m going to shove this gun right up your bony ass and pull the trigger.”

The band hall was another open area that was creepy at night. The expansive dance floor was built to hold a crowd of easily a hundred kids and their parents, polished open floor that took up the majority of the room. Other then a small skybox and the rafters above his head, there wasn’t anywhere for anyone to hide. Yet the room appeared to be empty. Just him and the droid band on the other side of the room seemingly frozen in place.

Just him and four droids that suddenly turned their heads to all look at him with the same unblinking stare that was becoming far too familiar tonight.

“Nope… not tonight.” He pulled his custom rig out and attempted to turn the four robots off remotely with his free hand. The wireless module chirped angrily as it encountered the firewall software protecting the mechanical band from the exact sort of thing Arc was trying to do. Breaking through that would involve taking his eyes off of the four of them or the still-lurking Zora a lot longer then he could afford to.

“Damn it, looks like this should have been your gig Chips.” Arc snarled and started to run for the exit.

Even without looking over his shoulder, he knew they were right behind him. The dance floor was a polished synthetic stone and the band was made entirely of metal, the heavy thuds of Sammy and two of her band mates provided a heavy percussion to the rapid beats of the arachnid drummer skittering along with them. No matter, he was almost at the door.

Jumping and diving through the door, he quickly thumbed the wireless module again and made the fire door into the concert hall slam shut behind him before he finished landing on the carpeted floor of the main foyer. “Oh thank the Benefactor the security on the doors is garbage.” He exhaled as his four pursuers pounded on the metal door separating him from them.

“Yes, I will definitely have to upgrade my security next time. Not how I imagined you’d be earning your pay but I’m not complaining.” A familiar voice called from the other end of the room. “Who’s Chips though?”

Arc grumbled and quickly grabbed his hand cannon before rising to his feet. For whatever reason, Zora let him get up instead of kicking him when he was down. Something that definitely wouldn’t have happened if the roles were reversed. She was toying with him, why?

Gun leveled at the costumed figure at the other end of the foyer, he considered his options. The whole tussle they just had couldn’t have eaten more then eight minutes of his twenty before help arrived. Zora just stared back at him from behind that unblinking mask of hers, she traded her machete for a longsword crackling with electrical energy and seemingly wrought out of sheet metal and copper wiring. The thing looked like a cheap cosplay prop but Arc had worked around electricity long enough to know that those blue arcs running the length of the blade were not fake.

“A friend and fellow Gylorran. Bit of a computer wizard as his nickname suggests. He’d have so much fun taking your toys away from you.” Arc replied. He could have told her that Fredrico was Chips’ nephew but decided to keep that card close to his chest. Less ways this freak knew how to hurt his friends, the better… “Now you answer one of my questions. What is this all about?” He asked challenging.

“You really think I would make it easy by acting like a villain in some Voti serial? You’re going to have to work harder then that if you want to understand my mistress’s plan.”

“So there really is someone else above you and it’s a woman.” He replied with a smile as Zora scowled and tightened her grip on her weapon. “What, did you really think I was just some dumb junkyard scrapper looking for a wage slave job? How awakened of you.”

True to form, Zora responded to that remark by lunging forward, her sword lifted up as she readied a swing. Arc replied by firing a shot and quickly taking a step to the side. The round found its mark if only barely and drew a splash of blood that splattered against the plastic walls of the foyer. The blade whistled as it sliced through the air where he once stood, cutting with a sharpness he did not expect from a crude hunk of scrap.

She turned to attack again but Arc was already gone, returning to the kitchen to try and stall her for a little while longer. The longer he kept her running around and playing this game, the less time she had to finish whatever she was trying to do.

Back in the kitchen, the undercover mechanic ducked behind a free-standing island and nearly jumped when he came face to face with Fredrico who was cowering behind the same kitchen fixture. “Fred!” Arc hissed as quietly as he could manage. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” He chastised while keeping an ear open for Zora.

“But that lady wants to sacrifice us.” Fredrico replied in lieu of an apology.

Arc quickly peered over the kitchen island to see that the two of them were still currently alone before turning back to his charge. “Say what?”

“That Zora lady said she needs blood and fear to make her boss happy. Said the boss would give her more magical powers if she gave us a good scare and spilled our blood all at once.” Arc’s young charge replied, giving him the most exposition he heard all night.

Trapped in a pizza joint with a serial killer that believes in blood rituals and fear magic… He thought briefly before Zora’s bizarre sword cut through the kitchen cabinet between him and Fredrico.

In a flash, both Gylorrans were up and running towards the back of the kitchen and towards a door that Arc realized wasn’t supposed to there. With their captor hot on their heels, Arc and Fredrico ran into a large room that was completely empty except for five Thunk containers on the far end and a bizarre green pentagram on the floor. Adrenaline pumping through his veins and Zora right behind him, it took Arc a moment to realize the pentagram was glowing and there wasn’t a visible power source anywhere.

Standing in the center of the pentagram with Fredrico beside him, he turned and faced Zora as she stood at the effigy’s edge. “So… you actually believe in this mysticism nonsense?” He asked, hoping that she lost track of time and forgot that the clock was still counting down.

“Not very vulgar in front of children are you? I would have expected a Gylorran to be more profane upon seeing something like this.” Zora replied, her tone dripping with smugness.

“What this?” Arc began, gesturing to the arcane symbol beneath his feet. “Glowing paint. And that was a nice trick back in the dining hall with the magic missiles. What gun did you use and how did you miniaturize it so it fit in your gloves? Likewise, how did make that cosplay prop function like a real sword? Especially one sharp enough to cut through a quarter inch of commercial-grade polymer.”

“I’m a technomancer. My patron gives me magical powers over technology and matter in exchange for my devotion.”

“You think you’re some kind of space wizard? Yeah sure and I’m a level fifteen Tengu Summoner.” Arc replied, wiggling his calloused fingers mockingly at Zora.

Arc could just picture Zora blinking behind her mask, her train of thought momentarily derailed. “What’s a Tengu?”

“No idea. Chips was the nerdy one, not me.” He replied, realizing he just blew his chance to stall Zora by babbling about nothing.

Zora apparently also realized he was trying to distract her in order to give Lt. Shield and his team time to break in, responding by gesturing towards a pile of discarded junk to her side with her free hand. The pile of junk glowed with the same light as the pentagram and a small robot formed and began to hover in a tight orbit around Zora.

Arc blinked as he watched the display. He could easily explain away most of her tricks but that one was a bit harder. “Well… some new robotic tech from Fazhar?”

If it was, his opponent was not inclined to enlighten him. Zora charged again and this time did not miss. Her sword cut through the armored fabric of his coveralls and pulled away with a splash of crimson as electricity ran through him and stunned him. Fredrico ran away from the mad magician as fast as his short legs could carry him and in a moment of inspired thinking, hit the electronic releases on the other four Thunk cages.

Seeing their opportunity, the five children ran out of the ritual chamber. Zora hesitated, splitting her attention between Arc and the children, trying to catch at least one of them before they all escaped. Unfortunately for her, her opponent was not easily distracted. With an attention to danger that had been honed by years spent on Gylorr, Arc ignored the fleeing children and aimed his handcannon at Zora and her pet robot. Pulling the trigger, he fired. And again, and again, and again. As the fourth round found its mark, Arc broke the cylinder open and dumped the six spent shotgun shells onto the floor before slamming an oversized speed-loader into the empty cylinder and popping the gun back together.

The first two rounds hit her hovering “protector drone”, shredding it. The second two tore into her left shoulder and right side, drawing blood and forcing her to stagger from the impact of his shots. As he finished reloading, she raised her good arm and uttered a single word in a language he did not recognize. The pentagram glowed with a blinding light, Arc raised his hand to shield his eyes, and when the light faded, Zora had disappeared.

Before he could even wonder where she had gotten to, a distant explosion echoed from the employee entrance and soon Arc was greeted by the familiar sight of Lt. Shield walking into the ritual chamber. The InterCrux ARCop was accompanied by a squad of Voti Marines, their iconic shoulder-mounted cannons scanning the room for threats like a team of angry serpents. The investigation and resulting raid was a success. So why did Arc feel like they were left with more questions then answers…?

The End….?

To: Magos Barker

From: Magos Romero

Subject: Threat Dossier Profile Addendum

An update for the file we’re building on this particular individual. The details from are more easily verifiable as one of our agents managed to recover his information from the Truthseekers’ own personnel files and the employment application Arc submitted to our front operation (turns out he did use his real name on the application.) Unfortunately this account seems only further muddle our running description of Arc. Updated description attached below.

Name: Jacob “Arc” Gnosh

Species: Human of Gylorrian descent

Gender: Male

Age: Again, stresses of living in the Gliding Rim make age-reading difficult at best. Yet according to the application he submitted to the pizzeria, Arc is thirty years old. Whether or not that’s accurate has not been verified yet.

Homeworld: Gylorr

Polity: Thriftic Binary

“Character Class”: Again, skills and occupational trappings appear to be that of a Mechanic but Arc STILL does not seem to fully conform to either the Artificial Intelligence or Experimental Prototype specializations we’ve previously seen employed by groups like the Starfinder Society. Strong possibility that he is a new specialization we have not seen before, possibly one currently unique to the Gliding Rim. Still waiting on Magos Barton and Magos Agresta to finish compiling that intelligence update on the Gliding Rim Galaxy. Until we can cross-reference his demonstrated abilities against the latest data, I still have no idea what he is capable of. Until then, I suggest we codename his specialization “Homebrew.”