A Simple Job {IC}

[Lentrax]

The door opens onto a dark room, lit by an altar lined with cheap candles that issue thick, acrid smoke as they burn.

With heavy footsteps, someone walks across the room, trying to breathe as little as possible. It doesn’t work, and soon, the figure begins coughing as the smoke gags them. But they finally reach the altar. There, a hooded figure kneels, head bowed to the floor. Muttered prayers can be heard coming from the figure.

After a minute, the figure straightens herself up, and turns to address the figure standing behind her.

"Well?"

"Things are going as you surmised. They hired a crew, and sent them off after the Albatross."

"Good, all we have to do is wait for the next phase."


Three Days Earlier

You enter the nightclub. Asking for the private room, you are shown back to a well furnished room with plush furniture and a full bar. Not sure of what exactly you are expecting to find, except some kind of job offer, the only thing you know for sure is that this club is owned by the Rample Brothers, Fanty and Mingo.

As you arrive singly or in pairs, you realize that also appears to be a crew coming together. For what exactly, though, you can't be sure.

[Ridai]

Roxie is hardly a stranger to this sort of establishment. Free drinks, once people inevitably lose a drinking game against her and have to cover the tab. Free company, since decent looks, a lot of confidence, and a little danger draws a good bit of attention. Little in the way of danger. Even drunkards know better than to mess with someone as crazy as Roxie. She can also see that Sofia is woefully underprepared for all of that. But no matter, Roxie can familiarize her with all this as they go.

Moving through the club, smooth as mercury flowing unimpeded through the crowd and making potential troublemakers move aside, Roxie keeps Sofia close to her, arm around her waist, smiling serenely (or like a predator looking for her next meal; others can be the judge of that). Quick question to the barkeep for the private room with her palm-sized datapad, a little tip left, and in they go, with a cocktail to boot.

The woman seating herself without a worry in the world awaits what fate shall bring. There is no need to fear the future. Fate is already decided, one just needs to welcome it with open arms, and a glass of neon colors and copious tiny umbrellas and straws and liquor.

I'll include my own soundtrack for the nightclub (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCE3e1-jNHw) here.

Does Roxie have her guns in the club?

[whoiam]

Meanwhile, this wasn't too far off anything Sofia was used to, either. Being whisked through the 'common' areas of an establishment to the exclusive rooms by some form of security was all another day in the Companion's life. About the only unusual thing so far was that Roxie wasn't paying her to be here. (And most security details would be risking their jobs if they shoved an arm around her where their employers might see...)

"Still don't know what you're dragging me into this for, " Sofia grumbles to herself. "I don't do your kind of work, remember? The danger's high, the pay's usually lacking, and you keep ending up entirely the wrong kind of 'dirty'. Meeting spot's not bad, though."

[Feirgon]

Whiz

This really wasn't Roger's scene.

Not that he hadn't been to places like this before. But given the choice, he would rather be working on a ship engine or building a new mechanical device. Though, I guess both of those options weren't on the table given his current situation.

Decklyn kept trying to convince Roger that being out and meeting people. That such excursions were good for him. But Andy knew how to really convince Roger to join them on this trip, "If you want to get back to working on engines, you are going to need a ship. And to get a ship, you're going to need to work."

They were probably both right, but Roger liked Andy's train of thought better. Plus, he had a head for math, so he generally enjoyed Andy's company better.

---

Finding his way to the designated spot, he sat across from two women. The goggles on his forehead made him stick out more than usual in this place. And as he caught the attach of the two of them, he couldn't help but attempt to adjust the attention.

"THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF LOUD I AM USED TO."

The words left his mouth more of a shout than he had intended. So his eyes went wide as he waited for a response, staring at the two of them.

[AvatarVecna]

Andy chuckled and clapped the man on the shoulder. Ease up a bit, Roger. Relax. Worst that happens is we get to spend a night enjoying the atmosphere and libations. Best that happens is we get a job."

[whoiam]

Putting on her (natural) posh core accent, Sofia tells Whiz, "Try not to shout in here, dear. We're the Elite, after all. Shouting is for the commoners out in the 'common' room. Exceptions will be made only if some poor person steals one of your pheasants, your wife is discovered being unfaithful, or possibly if the wine they serve you is corked. Otherwise, decorum must be maintained at all times!"

Dropping into her (faked) local accent, she added, "After all, wouldn't want them to work out we were fakes back here, would we?"

That said, anyone who cared to examine Sofia too deeply would notice three things. One, her baggy, non-descript clothing wasn't doing a good job of hiding that she was beautiful. Two, while she was wearing 'street' clothing, it didn't look like a street person's clothes - but rather like a costume aping their style. Mostly it was the condition and the quality of the clothing - the outfit just didn't have the wear you'd expect of the clothes someone worked (or 'worked') in. And three, for a 'poor' person, she was wearing a surprisingly high quality pair of sunglasses.

[Lentrax]

As you all make yourselves comfortable, the door opens again, increasing the decibel level to dangerously high levels of bass, before being mostly cut off by its closing.

The man entering the room is dressed, perhaps not finely, but definitely professionally. His suit is cut to accentuate his figure, and his hair is styled in a very non-descript, corporate manner.

“Ladies, gentlemen,” he begins, his Beaumonde accent almost completely nonexistent. “I am here representing my client, who has found herself in a most, unfortunate predicament. Two days ago, a case was removed from her personal safe, located within her manor outside the city. She would like this case back before it can be sold or transferred, or whatever the criminals have in mind for it.”

[Ridai]

"Cuz we gonna get wings" Roxie's reply to Sofia reads, merrily drinking at the same time.

When Whiz shouts at them, Roxie's smile just grows a little wider, shaking her head for a moment, briefly pointing at her ears, and mouthing "What? I can't hear you!"

A little good-natured fun with future companions on the inevitable journey towards glory.

The woman doesn't bother with sitting up any more when the client arrives, just giving him a thumbs up while drinking some more, then typing up a few replies with her free hand before tossing the small device over to him.

"Who desires her case back?"
"What does this object of our quest look like?"
"Where shall we start our journey?"
"[insert whatever other knowledge and lore is available]"

[Feirgon]

Whiz

Roger blushed a little and looked down on the table. He wasn't sure if they were making fun of him or not, but he obviously made an awkward first impression.

"Sorry."

He then let his eyes drift around the room. Having already failed at social interaction, it seemed fitting that he should turn his attention to the non-human aspects of his surroundings. Unfortunately, nothing here grabbed his attention. Instead, he found himself staring at a nondescript portion of the wall thinking about schematics and unfinished projects. Before long his hands began to fidget, as if he was actually working on the things he was thinking about.

Even after man with a job offer had entered the room, he continued to be lost in his own thoughts.

[whoiam]

Sofia had been making fun of her class more than anything (hence the mentions of pheasants and corked wine). Though she could tell from the reaction that it had probably not been received as she'd intended.

"I'm going to guess that we don't need to know whose case it is - and if they're going through these, " slight pause, "fine, 'upstanding' fellow to recover it, the client probably doesn't want any of this connected to her name in any way." Sofia wasn't even pretending she hadn't read the questions as Roxie was writing them.

She also wasn't seated anymore, starting to circle the room towards Roger as she spoke. "So, would I be right in guessing the drop-off point for the recovered case would be with you? And more importantly, what does this mission pay?" More quietly, she continues, "It better be good if I have to give up my being-fawned-over-by-rich-older-men time for this."

At which point she would, if not stopped, arrive by Roger.


Then he earns himself a soft flick on the ear, and a whispered, "Pay attention. This is at least as much your job as mine..."

[Feirgon]

Whiz

The glazed look in Roger's eyes is immediately gone at the sudden human contact. Becoming acutely aware of the human elements in the room, he recollects the words he had been previously ignoring. It occurs to him that if this is a puzzle that needs solving, there is some missing information. With that it mind, he once again, attempts to interact on a social level. This time, however, with less shouting.

"Do we.... um... know who took it? Or at least... where we can start looking?"

He turns his head to look at the woman who had flicked his ear. He stares at her innocently as if apologizing for his earlier behavior.

[Lentrax]

The man smiles apologetically.

“You are working for me, and I am in turn working for my client. That is all you need to know in that regard.”

“As to what you are looking for, what is in the case is not your concern. My client would like your assurance that you will not attempt to open the case when you recover it.”

The man sits down in one of the chairs and withdraws a small leather pouch. “As for payment, I have half of your payment here with me. The other half will be paid to you upon delivery. I assure you, that it is more than satisfactory for your time and efforts.”

[GideonBurkheart]

Dressed in his usual sherrif-like brown duster, Leon Jacobson, a known crooked cop and lover of all women strolls up from the back of the bar.
Did I hear someone say that they want to be fawned over?" Leon says as he comes up behind Roxie and Sofia. Well hello Roxie, Sofia. Long time no see ladies..." and he gives them a quick wink.

"I was hoping to finish my whiskey, but If you beautiful women are in on a job...Then sir you got another employee. Leon Jacobson, infiltrator extraodinaire." He flashes a bright smile, his pristine teeth making his handsome face become even more so.

He knows that anywhere that at least Roxie is going, it'll be fun and worth quite a few credits. Plus he's gotten slightly bored with just drinking at bars while he gets put on paid leave. He might even be able to chase a little tail along the way.

[whoiam]

Roger's sudden awareness of the world around him is met with a dazzling smile just a few inches from his face (as she's still hunched over in her 'whispering into his ear' position), and a quick whisper of "Welcome back!"


[roll0]
[roll1] + [roll2]
(Base Influence d6 + Allure (2 steps) + Sweet and Cheerful(2 steps))


Then her attention shifts back to their employer, and she straightens up to address him. "So, remaining questions: What does the case look like? How do we identify the correct case without checking it's contents? Do we know who took it, or where to pick up it's trail?"

While asking those questions of her employer, Sofia walks over to him (now he's taken a seat) and holds her hand out (presumably for the leather pouch, since she's holding it out horizontally).

[Lentrax]

The bag jingles slightly as it is set into Sofia’s palm.

But he doesn’t let go. “You take this money, you don’t get to back out. Once you do, I will tell you the details you will need.”

[Ridai]

Roxie thumbs up as she sips. Then after a beat, she points at her datapad she tossed to the man, followed by curling her fingers to have him throw it back.

[whoiam]

"I think she means we're in. Even with the 'I think we're a spy agency' restrictions on the briefing. The men will have to speak for themselves, though - we're not together."

[Feirgon]

Whiz

Roger's cheeks began to flush as he took a hard swallow. Normally, at this point, Roger would normally stare at floor or at least turn away. But he was transfixed for some inexplicable reason.

That is, until she said "...we're not together."

It took a moment for his mental faculties to return to him and, in that time, he is pretty sure he felt the pang of heartache.

Roger looked back at Andy (and Decklyn?) as he cleared his throat.

"I mean...this is why we're here, right?"

Roger fought hard to keep from looking back at the woman whom had transfixed him.

[GideonBurkheart]

"Like I said. Where ever you two are going, I will definitely tag along for some dough. For old times sake Roxie?"

He flashes another one of his killer smiles.

"I actually wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. We gotta retrieve a briefcase? How many guards we gotta knock out?"

He finally leans back against the wall and looks at the man handing over the money. "So what about these details?"

[Lentrax]

The man nods, releasing his grip on the bag. And then Sofia realizes just how heavy the thing is. It has to be a couple of kilos, and if it’s all coin, then it is likely in platinum.

“The men you are chasing after are the Colinns brothers and their crew. They have no idea what it is that they stole, just as you have no idea what you are retrieving. The case is silver, one meter long, and half a meter tall. The only other detail I have on the case is that it will be cold. Freezing cold.”

“The Colinns brothers work mainly out of the docks.”

The man rises to his feet, and hands Roxie her pad back after typing his contact information into it. “Do you have any more questions for me?”

[Ridai]

Roxie checks what was written on her pad. In most other Roxie circumstances, that would have been the equivalent of a weird pick-up line.

She stashes her device and shakes her head with her same serene (if a little too wide) smile, the same expression being seen as she faces the rest of the crew. She retrieves her pad again, taps on it, thinks for a second, two more taps, then holds it above her head.


ROXIE
↓

[Feirgon]

Whiz

Roger shakes his head slightly as the man rises.

It was a lie, Roger had lots of questions. But he didn't feel like asking any at the moment. Especially with someone who obviously didn't want to say too much.

He looks around the room, careful not to make eye contact with...that one person in particular, and catches sight of her friend holding a sign above her head. A few thoughts came into his mind, but he settles on one before he speaks.

"Hi. My. Name. Is. Roger. But. Some. Call. Me. Whiz."

He then flashes her an awkwardly large smile. It is obvious that he thinks she is hard of hearing.

[Ridai]

Roxie smiles back widely. Surely, this gal is as good as gold, judging by that expression.

[whoiam]

"Roxie's ears work just fine, Whiz." Sofia seemed distracted, busy as she was peering into the bag to count the money, but she'd still picked up his slow, careful speech. "It's her throat that's broken."

She didn't have any other questions, either. But once the man had left the room, she'd turn back to the others present. "So, show of hands, who else heard that description and thought 'cryo box'?" Not waiting to see how many hands went up, she plowed on. "Anyway, Roxie's right, we should do introductions. I'm Sofia, and when my friend - and Leon - aren't dragging me into this kind of work, I'm a Companion. How about the rest of you?"

[GideonBurkheart]

"I don't think so. Find the guys, find the case. Probably won't be that simple but I've never been one to turn down an interesting job." Leon then turns to Roger, "Hey man, good to meet you. What's your story?" He extends out his hand for a handshake.

[Feirgon]

Whiz

Roger suddenly realized a very important detail had been skipped.

"How do we plan on getting where we need to go?"

Deep down, he had hoped a ship would come attached to the job. But he knew that was an unlikely proposition.

"Do have enough to buy a ship?"

[Ridai]

Roxie, feeling like she has held up her name for long enough, waits for things to move on. When they don't, she is getting the impression she is meant to add something. So she taps on her pad a bit, adding "Valkyrie" to her name. When that doesn't seem to do the trick, she briefly waggles her compact submachine gun.

Finally, she types up something new.

"Onwards to the docks, brethren!" With the plan to fetch themselves a taxi there.

[Lentrax]

The docks are a large complex of havens, bars, dives, blackout zones, docking ports, chop shops, and the occasional honest business person.

You arrive near the lower complex, where the smells of refuse and shipyard waste are almost, but not entirely overwhelming. But, if you are looking for criminals trying to get off world, the area with the most blackout zones is probably the best place to start.

Of course, there is also one large drawback to someone of Sofia's... credentials... appearing in such a place.

Beggars. Lots of beggars. A veritable mob of them, all reaching, hands extended, to Sofia.

"PLease ma'am." "Spare a coin?" "My children are starving." "My ma needs medicine." "My da just lost his leg in a loading accident."

[Ridai]

Combat boot steps preceed Roxie just so happening to appear beside Sofia. She slowly sweeps her gaze across the horde of beggars, smile and eyes growing just a teensy bit wider, like a friendly reminder that what she is looking at may or may not be fresh meat or a target-rich environment. It probably doesn't help that she subconsciously licks the corner of her mouth. Or that she is carrying a submachine gun. Or that she has been described as unhinged in the past.

Willpower (+ Military Rank) [roll0] + [roll1]
Discipline/Intimidation [roll2]

[whoiam]

"Well, I wouldn't be averse to..." Sofia started, but quickly picked up that she didn't have the crowd's full attention. Glancing around, Roxie's a pretty obvious reason why that might be. From the volume of her response (somewhat louder than it'd need to be just for talking to the person beside her), Sofia's aiming this next part at the crowd as much as (well, probably more than) at Roxie. "Give them a break, Rox. I was just going to ask if they knew where we could find the Colinns brothers. Trading some coins - or a little clinic time - for a guide isn't such a bad idea, is it?"

[Feirgon]

Whiz

This was more of a crowd than Roger was used to. But then again, none of the attention seemed to be on him and his...eccentricities. So, at least he wasn't the center of all this attention.

Though, given the nature of the crowd and the two ladies in front of him, he's not sure he could actually get anyone's attention if he wanted to...

[Ridai]

With the message delivered and Sofia shining with benevolence, Roxie no longer shows her teeth, now hidden behind a pleasant smile.

[Lentrax]

The vast majority of the crowd pressed on at Roxie's challenge, too tenacious or desperate to move onward. But when Roxie made a move for her gun, they moved on in a hurry.

The docks hustled and bustled around the motely group as they moved deeper into the complex. Shipyards claimed to have ships for let, ships to hire. Crews for your ship. They claimed every service you could think of for a ship, from repair to refit, and even one that would "Turn scrap or salvage into cash in minutes!"

After several minutes, it becomes apparent that the Collins brothers, if they were even here, had gone to ground, and it would take more than just strolling the docks to find them.

[Ridai]

Roxie looks about, then to Sofia, raising her eyebrows in a most significant way while inclining her head.

[GideonBurkheart]

Leon seems confused as to why we haven't found our ride yet. He looks to Roxie and Sofia first and then finally to Whiz just in case, "Uhh anyone know what these guys are supposed to look like? I guess I could probably track 'em down."

[whoiam]

Roxie's gestures draw an amused eye-roll from Sofia, followed by a (not terribly convincing) pout. "Fine, I'll try asking for directions. Just try not to scare off whoever I ask this time..."

Sofia's approach to finding a lead to the Collins brothers was wonderfully direct. She retrieved her guild id from one of her pockets, then walked down one side of the street. Every vendor she passed, she stopped, showed them the ID, and told them the same story.

"We've received a Guild Registry application for the Collins Brothers. The contact details I was given were just unusable garbage. Sounds like someone was pranking us, I know, but I've got to find the prospective clients to confirm it either way. If you know a way to contact them, let me know - or let them know to come find me. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my regular clientele...."

[Ridai]

Roxie beams at Sofia (wrists touching beneath her jaw, hands on her cheeks), the very soul of innocence. Unless they encounter something bad, Roxie is on her best behavior. She also happily shrugs towards Leon.

[Lentrax]

Sofia’s ploy draws a lot of odd looks from the vendors, but eventually, she is able to gather that the Collins brothers tend to work in one of the blackout zones, known locally as “The Hole.”

“But I don’t recommend you go there, missy. That shén bèi yíqì* place is a veritable death sentence for a Companion such as yourself.”


Shén bèi yíqì: God forsaken.

[Ridai]

Roxie's eyebrows rise once again. Guarding the Fair Lady in the Den of Lions it is! Adventure!

[whoiam]

Sofia, for her part, didn't particularly fancy walking in and taking a look around. So she turned instead to the group's menfolk.

"Any of you good at blending into a crowd? Roxie and I aren't much use at that. But it's probably a good idea to take a look around 'The Hole' before I enter it. The vendor's right, we'll have a lot of attention on us if I go there..."

[Feirgon]

Whiz

Roger's eyes go wide as he points to himself.

"You think I wouldn't stick out?"

[whoiam]

Sofia draws in a long, dramatic breath... waits for Roger's sight-line to make it back up to her face... and then points out, "Compared to me, you're practically invisible, honey."

[Ridai]

Roxie, anticipation still very visible on her face, looks back and forth between her brave companions and finds them unable to decide who is the bravest of them. When not even a swashbuckling waggling of eyebrows does anything, Roxie takes it as her lovely companions wanting her to spearhead this excursion, which she gladly does, already on the way to "The Hole" (holding a text question about the location in front of people's faces if needed) and heading right in.