The Lucky Penny - IC thread

[happyturtle]

The crew of the Lucky Penny has been on We Made It for a few days completing the sale of their cargo and deciding what to invest in next. Everyone has received their wages, money has been set aside for more cargo, and there is still a sizeable profit to use for badly needed repairs for the ship.

The society of We Made It is largely underground, due to surface winds that during part of the year would flay the flesh off your bones. It happens that the winds are not quite murderous yet, and Lexi is trying to find someone who will take her hang-gliding. She has so far been unsuccessful. However, she has managed to hook up with a pair of Crashlander men. They are both albinos, and as tall as she is. She's been draped over one or the other of them for the last day or so. Last night, the three of them were doing shots with their toes. Yes, they are all that limber.

For now, the group (minus Lucius and Bianca, who aren't part of the crew yet) is at the spaceport in Crashlanding City making plans for how to spend the profits.

"I've got a good lead on a new gravity generator," Lexi says. "It would allow us to take even higher acceleration while maintaining 0.25g in the living quarters. More importantly, I've also heard there is someone here who can tweak our autodoc so it will work on Mark without ejecting his implants."

OOC: What Lexi is suggesting will use up most of the money. The fusion drive and the hyperdrive could both use a good overhaul, and there's very little of the ship that wouldn't benefit from some repairs, either minor or major. Except the gravity generator and the autokitchen, which were both late model used items when she purchased them. The autodoc repair is something that the crew has been trying to get done for some time, but haven't found someone with the expertise until now.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan Freeboot - the man with no real name, was gleefully without his overcoat and fedora on this planet. It just wasn't as cold here, thank God for climate control.
He was, of course, the lat of the crew to return to the spaceport, and the one with the heaviest pocketbook remaining. It wasn't hard to guess why, the man barely spent one of his own dimes in any endeavour if he could help it.
He almost got caught once stealing a key to a High-End hotel room on Home before he wised up and just stole the money to pay for the room, instead.
IT was bound to get him and Lucky Penny's crew in trouble one day, but his dips rarely went south.
As was his nature, he thought about the cost of what Lexi was proposing, and instantaneously let out a, rather clearly audible, scoff.
"The autodoc is a good idea, if your lead is reliable, but God, Lex, one-quarter of a perfect Terran G? Why would you want such a thing? How am I supposed to keep my tools strapped down? Or stay in my rack, even?"
The crew knew better than to point out that a quarter G was not, in fact, zero G, and securing equipment for space wasn't exactly a difficult task. Dan just wouldn't hear it.
Besides, he was probably getting to a point.
Probably.
"I understand you don't like G-forces, but before we make you comfortabe, the ship has to work. Specifically, - and back me up here, Keruac, my poor drives. They need major, solid work done before Penny goes anywhere. Shutter Bug and I are good (actually, "Shutter Bug" is downright amazing), but we ain't miracle workers."
Dan crossed the spaceport, and imposed imself between the Captain and her ship.
"And thoses no way I'm..."
he glanced at the albinos on Lexi's arm...
"Er... I mean, that exhausts all our legal options, and since we're all good, upstanding, law-abiding citizens, we wouldn't bleed the good people of this City of their time or services without legal compensation."

[happyturtle]

Realizing that the crew can't talk freely in front of strangers, Lexi sends her boy toys away with a kiss and a pat on the bum each and promises to meet them later. :smallwink:

Once they're out of sight: "So what's wrong with the drives? They've gotten us this far, haven't they?"

[rubakhin]

"Baby, they're getting old," Kerouac sighs, and sticks a cigarette in his mouth. "A ship is like ... " He pauses, both to flip open his lighter and to search for an analogy that Lexi will understand. "A ship is like a woman. You have to spend money on her, pay attention to her, or else she won't put out. Or she will, but less frequently, and it won't be as good. And she'll fight with you, make trouble. This little lady, well, you haven't even remembered her birthday, and the proverbial storm clouds are beginning to gather on the horizon."

He gives the ship an uncomfortably sentimental glance. He is mildly, but comfortably, sloshed. He woke up that morning in a light state of hangoverishness, and had taken a little more hair of the dog than was truly necessary. He's been wearing that T-shirt for three days now (one of his favorites - the colorful design reminds him of a Warhol print, although it's not likely the designer knew who he was) and he hasn't shaved in a week.

At least he's still got all his wits about him. Unlike some people Kerouac could name. She's not serious about that gravity generator thing, right?

[happyturtle]

"That's ridiculous. Why would I care if a man remembered my birthday? I wouldn't remember it myself if my parents didn't send me a hyperwave every year begging me to come home." She held forth at some length about how Kerouac didn't know bugger all about women, before she realized that she'd been diverted from the main topic--which was convincing the crew (and herself) that there was nothing wrong with the drives.

It didn't occur to her that as the owner of the ship she could have just done what she liked. Despite her self-adopted title of 'Captain', there was nothing the slightest bit military in her bearing. Besides, deep down she knew they were right.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Its a metaphor, darling" Dan intones, with no limit to the depth of contempt and sarcasam included in that sentance, free-of-charge.
He paused a full half-second for everytrhing to sink in - and to allow his temper to cool down.
"Besides, lets think about it logcially - we have a good quality Grav Generator, already. We don't have top-shape engines. One would be inclined to believe juicing our drives would allow for faster acceleration - and probably for cheaper than the toy you're drooling over."
Dan visibly relaxed, and began leaning against a convienant vertical surface (he didn't bother looking back to see what it was).
"And if I ever forgot a woman's birthday, they'd beat me up around the skull with a brick. You ain't exactly a garden variety female, Lex."

[Wizard of the Coat]

As usual when they were in port Lexi's second in command was sitting back with a beer in his hand. He looked unphazed by the discsion, seemingly just happy that he could once again clear his throat with some decent liquid.

"Look, it seems clear that without Mark this ship won't stay in the air much longer. So an improved autodoc would be apreciated. But in all honesty I don't see the point in maintaining such impressive G-forces if our drives will fall apart if we push them to those limits.

Still I'd be happy to come along and see if I can fix us a better deal on both."

He speaks with some authority in his voice, yet his body posture is relaxed, making it seem like friendly peer advice. Nothing seemed to truly upset Nathan much, despite his uncought apearance he had somewhat of a professional athmosphere around him. He usually seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

[happyturtle]

"Alexandria Temple, I suggest you listen to the advice of your wiser colleagues." The voice that says these words is a sexy, alluring contralto which is intensely attractive to every straight male character.

"My name is Lexi, not--" Lexi starts to snap, and falls silent when she gets a good look at the creature who has just spoken. It is not human, or even humanoid. It moves towards you in almost a dancing motion on three hooves. It's hide is creamy white and looks as if it would be soft to the touch. It has an auburn mane elaborately curled and styled which covers a frontal hump and extends down its back. Its two heads emerge from either side of the frontal hump, looking like two one eyed snakes.

Not many humans have ever met a Pierson's Puppeteer, and for once, Lexi is speechless.

"My name is " and the creature made a musical noise with its two throats that would have been impossible for any human to even attempt to emulate. "You may call me Ambir. I have been advised that you need some rather unusual modifications on your ship's autodoc." The two heads are looking in different directions, so that Ambir can survey everyone at its ease. "Have I been rightly informed?"

A picture of a Pierson's Puppeteer is here (http://www.larryniven.org/images/ringworldart/puppet_5.jpg).

[Wizard of the Coat]

Though looking at the creature with a feeling of awe mixed with sprinkle of suspicion Nathan does not show outward signs of this and quickly purges his mind of these thoughts.


"We have made some inquiries in that direction Ambir, so your information would be correct. However we don't have the deepest of pockets, so it depends on what price you are asking or what additional services you might offer."

[happyturtle]

"It is too soon to talk of Stars. Allow me to examine the device, as well as your pilot. I will then know if what you wish is even possible." One head addressed Kerouac and Dan. "I will not step foot upon that deathtrap while it retains the capability of lifting off. Could one of you gentlemen assuage my fears by removing some parts from your alleged ship?" She (if it is a she--none of you have any way of knowing) names two parts, the removal of which will temporarily disable the chemical thrusters and the fusion drive. Disabling the chemical thrusters should have been enough. Turning on the fusion drive before reaching orbit would be the equivalent of setting off a nuke in Crashlanding spaceport and would have earned the crew the death penalty. Ambir is clearly taking no chances.

While Ambir is speaking, Lexi steps closer to Nathan and speaks in a low voice. "Listen, I only put out the word that I'm looking for a skilled Medengineer. I know I was drunk last night, but I'm sure I never said anything about Mark. What else does this thing know?"

OOC: Stars are the interplanetary currency of Known Space.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan raises his shoulder in respons to the question by Lexi.

"Quite a bit I suppose" he whispers back "Evidentially these Puppeteers don't like taking any chances. I assume we're being observed as disabling the engines would only buy her time if we tried anything. Still I prefer working with someone this professional, if her job is half as good as her desire for security indicates we should enquire about the other parts of the ship as well. Maybe we can get a full package deal if we all chip in a few stars."

During the conversation he casually tries to see if anyone is observing them, using mirrored surfaces and other things to get a full 360 view without having to obviously turn about his head. In addition he searches his subconcious for any vibes as to what could happen.

OOC
Awareness to look about inocuously and Precognition to see if dealing with this Ambil is a good idea and if he senses anything pecular that could happen.

[happyturtle]

ooc:
Roll on both skills, using the instructions here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4494495&postcount=16). (woohoo! Our first die rolls! :smallbiggrin:

[Wizard of the Coat]

OOC
Awareness [roll0]
Precognition [roll1]

EDIT: Results:
Awareness Fair +1 = Good
Precognition Good + 2 = Superb

[happyturtle]

OOC:
Awareness: You can't see any obvious watchers, but there are not-hidden cameras thoughout the hanger.
Precog: Coming by PM

[Paladin5]

A figure steps rather awkwardly out of the nearby shadows. With his eyes locked on the Pierson's Puppeteer, Mark slowly approaches Lexi and whispers quietly into her ear, "Examination is acceptable. Fusion drive ... fine. But thrusters. Without ... them, it leaves us in a bad position if authorities ... or others, come. I do not like it."

Checking his history databases for information on Pierson's Puppeteers: [roll0]
History: +3 -> Great

[happyturtle]

"Puppeteers are cowards," Lexi said quietly to Mark and Nathan. "It's afraid we're going to take off and kidnap it. Her. Him. Whatever."

Speaking loud enough to address Ambir. "Couldn't we just detach the autodoc and bring it out here for you to work on?"

"Negative," Ambir said. "If your autodoc is to heal your pilot, then it requires constant connection with the shipboard computer. I will need to examine all of the systems on your ship."

Lexi looked down at Nathan with a question in her eyes. "Do we trust it?"

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan gets a brief look of distress on his face as he closes his eyes and opens them anew. As he whispers to Lexi his voice is nearly ethereal at first, as if a spirit carries the words, but then grows analytical and stern.

"Not trusting her at all would kill Mark, but trusting her to much could doom us all. Whatever events she will set in motion for us...we'll probably need that auto-doc. I suggest monitoring her actions every step of the way. We need to figure out what her agenda is and prepare for it, we'll talk later on it. In any case she's not after money, I bet we could offer an exchange of services for a full tune up."

[happyturtle]

Lexi is not at all pleased with being put in the position to make a decision. Gah! Responsibility! That's what she had fled Luna to avoid. But now she has it anyway. Ha ha Mum, jokes on me!

Don't trust Ambir, lose Mark, trust Ambir, maybe lose us everybody. Maybe not. Sounds like a gamble. I'm good at gambling. And whether I trust Ambir or not, I definitely trust Nathan, and he thinks it's worth the risk.


Lexi stands up to her full height, projecting the confidence she'd just talked herself into. "Mark, you stay here with Nathan and let Ambir examine you. Nathan will NOT let it do anything to you that you don't want. I'll go with the guys into the ship and do whatever we need to do to make sure our visitor feels safe." And with a low chuckle, "And to make sure we feel safe too."

She motions at Kerouac and Dan to follow her into the ship. She isn't sure whether they'd overheard any of her conversation with Nathan--or for that matter, whether Ambir overheard. Do Puppeteers have unusual hearing? I should have paid more attention in Astrocivics class.... In any case, she'll discuss the situation with Kerouac and Dan while they disable the thrusters and fusion motors. Get their advice. Figure out how to monitor an alien while it works on a machine that none of them have the expertise to understand.

[Paladin5]

Mark moves close to Nathan over and whispers to him, "Your assessment is ... correct but be very ... watchful. Though Puppeteers are not known to be very aggressive ... this one is ... unusual. It has left its homeworld and it speaks with those ... of different species. It would be considered ... insane ... amongst its own kind. Be ... cautious."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan had already ducked inside the ship upo the Pupeteer's request to disable the engines.
But he didn't head towards the engine rooms.
He went to his quarters and rummaged about in one of the many not-so-secret compartments he had hidden about. A casual observer would miss them, but the rest of the crew knew about them, and he would profess to an inspector that it simply kept gear stowed for space without cluttering up the cramped quarters, already.

From the compartment, he produced a handgun loaded with Mercy Bullets.
Immidiatly tucking the weapon into his waistband, Dan flung his overcoat over his shoulders and topped himself off with his fedora, and waited to meet Lexi and Kerouac in the Engine room.

"Whats the plan, Lex?"

[rubakhin]

Kerouac has been silent throughout the whole endeavor. It gives him a sick feeling in his gut to think of - disabling, dismembering her, even temporarily, in this minor way. He sucks on his teeth and draws in a sharp breath, trying to work past his initial repulsion at the idea and vibe Ambir.

ooc:

Going to roll to see if Kerouac's empathy works at all on hir.

[roll0]

Results: Minus two ranks, so I think that bumps him down to 0, Average.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan nods at Marks words. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out on you." And then to Ambir. "you may proceed to examine him as you wish, yet I do wonder what you are doing on this world, if you don't mind me asking. After all It's not every day one comes across such a unique being." He sounds (and is) genuinely interested in whatever the puppeteer might be willing to tell him, though he attempts to make it seem like a mixture of small talk and a touch of suspicion. Inwardly Nathan was calming his mind from exitement, meeting this creature were the kind of breakthroughs he had hoped for, allready he wondered how best to aproach the scenario and what...but more importantly to whom and when to report this.

As he observed the cyborg he realised that despite his many implants to him Mark was more alive then most humans. He could feel the electronic pathways and circuits running through the pilots body. On the other hand...Mark was also a walking bomb to him.

OOC:
Psycho Energetism [roll0] and Awareness [roll1] a to actively monitor the energy field around Mark as the Puppeteer works. Nathan is actively monitoring and mapping every change in flux in Mark. If anything happens theis might allow him to help reverse it, and besides it never hurts to watch a master at work. ((OOC: I assume he's always passively aware of energy fields, just like everyone is always passively looking and listening...it's like a sixth sense, but not he's just taking a closer 'look'))

[Wizard of the Coat]

OOC:
whoops should have been 4d3, not 3d4
rerolls:

Psycho energy [roll0]
aware [roll1]

EDIT: Results:

Psycho Energetism Great +0 = Great
Awareness Fair + 2 = Great

PS: Awareness is for his normal watching what she does, Psycho energetism for anyt changes in his energy field (from his electronics, implants and such)

[Paladin5]

While Nathan is speaking to Ambir, Mark scans the room and the Puppeteer for anything suspicious or unusual.


Awareness: [roll0] -> Epic (+5)
Observation: [roll1] -> Average (+0)

[happyturtle]

Inside the ship:

"Dan, my dear, you are wearing a coat. One that you weren't wearing a few minutes ago. The temperature has not dropped. Therefore you are hiding something. Probably a weapon. And if I can figure that out, then I'm sure Ambir can figure it out as well. Now hand it over."

OOC:
Kerouac, you can make a roll if you like to see what you remember about Puppeteers from school. I don't see any relevant skills, so it would just be a straight die roll to see where you fall on the ladder starting from 0. Dan, you wouldn't have learned anything about aliens in your upbringing other than urban legends, so no roll for you.

Outside the ship:

to be added on my lunch break... sorry, ran out of morning!

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Lexi, darling," Dan responded "I've told you this coat is a flavor thing, its... like my uniform, it helps me focus on the fact that I'm orking and helps me work better."
Dan's face fell as Lexi didn't retract her hand.
"If you insist, I could grab my rifle, too, and claim I'm carrying it a security measure. After all, its a stupid crew who lets a stranger aboard their ship without being prepared to respond.
"But I still like having something concealed. We could let Kerouac hide it under his shirt, if I'm wearing the coat and not packing, why would she suspect ol' Shutter Bug?"

Despite his (admittidly flimsy) response, Dan caves without a single response from Lexi, and produces the handgun, laying the grip in Lexi's palm.
"They're only mercy bullets, I'm not a murderer."

I'm going to assume the crew knows that Dan uses "Shutter Bug" as an affectionate nickname for Kerouac, and not a vicious one.
Also, I'm liking how the Dan/Lexi dynamic is working out!

[rubakhin]

A cold shiver runs up Kerouac's spine as he tries to read Ambir. It's not unpleasant - not pleasant, either. And neither was the emotion that he got from hir. He had never felt anything like that before - but he couldn't get a read on it. Couldn't tell whether or not it was malicious, intense ... He thinks back to school, trying to remember what he had read about the Puppeteers.


[roll0]


He's off in his own little reverie, but snaps back into it when he hears his old nickname.

"Dude, this shirt is like two sizes too small. You can count my abs."

(It's not that tight. Maybe it was when he first got it - might've lost some weight since then. The current'll do that to you.)

"Man, I don't know, though. Diplomatically speaking, it wouldn't be a good idea to carry a weapon. It's rational, but Ambir's cagey. The paranoid aren't known for being rational. It's going to create a threatening atmosphere - tension, distrust, Ambir might refuse to work with us at all. If you really think you need something, let it be the Mercy Bullets and keep it concealed, but I'm not in love with the idea."

[happyturtle]

In the ship:

"I know they are mercy bullets," Lexi says, as she deftly unloads the gun. "Mercy bullets which are designed for humans. Unless you've been studying xenobiology in your spare time, you don't have any more idea than I do of what they'd do to an alien, and I'd rather not start the first Human-Puppeteer war today." She pockets the bullets and returns the gun to Dan. "Now, take off that ridiculous coat and hide this somewhere less obvious. You've got an ankle holster, right? If the worst happens, bluff with an empty gun and we'll take it hostage."

"Now... lets get those parts removed." She looks at Kerouac, who is clearly miserable at the thought of doing anything to hurt his baby. "I'm sorry, love, we've got to do it. Nathan says Mark's life depends on it, and you know he's always right about these things." She relates to them what Nathan said to her. "Now Nathan's got this idea that Ambir might be able to overhaul the engines as well as the 'doc. Personally I don't think anyone can do a better job than you can--especially not some two headed monster who's scared to even board the Penny. But you, with the right tools and the right parts...." Her voice trails off. "Damn it. Fine, fine, forget the gravity generator. You win. Whatever stars are leftover after Ambir is done with the 'doc are yours."

Outside the ship:

"We find humans... interesting," Ambir says. "You are not naturally aggressive, like the carnivorous species. Neither are you naturally prudent. Yet you are very successful, for such a young race. In the short time since our first meeting, you have become important allies to our people. We wish to understand you."

Ambir has no hands. However, her heads have dry, thick lips which extend several inches beyond the mouth, ending in finger-like knobs. The Puppeteer uses the lips like hands, but with far more dexterity than any human; this is once of the reasons for the race's superior toolmaking. The forked tongue also serves as additional fingers.

She is very gentle as she examines Mark, but she insists on examining your scars and your ports. You find this very mentally uncomfortable, but there is no physical pain at all. It seems to take a long time before she steps back and opens a small bag that is strapped around one of her forelegs. She brings out a device which you recognise instantly as a computer, despite the fact that you've never seen a computer shaped like this before. It is obviously meant to strap around a puppeteer neck to be operated with one mouth, leaving the other mouth free.

"I have an adaptor plug here," she says in her beautiful voice. "If you will jack in to this, it will allow me to take some additional readings."

OOC: Nathan, so far, she's done nothing to Mark that would upset his energy fields.

[Paladin5]

Mark glances towards Nathan before acquiescing with curt nod to Ambir's request. As a safety precaution, he severs his datalink to the ship's computer and activates a security subroutine which should allow him to monitor the Puppeteer's readings and control his access to sensitive areas.


Computer:[roll0] -> Average (+0)

[happyturtle]

Outside the ship:

Mark, as you jack in to Ambir's computer, you feel an second of disorientation before finding yourself immersed in the most sophisticated computer system you've ever encountered. It's beautiful to use, smooth and graceful. It occurs to you fleetingly that this must be what Lexi feels like in low-g--the extra weight of imperfect microconnections are gone, and you can fly through this system.

You see instantly that the computer is receiving feeds from all of the security cameras in the place. You can see the data if you like, before it exits through a firewall. The firewall itself is a thing of beauty. As you approach it, it warns you off gently, but without hurting you. You suspect it would hurt quite a lot if you were to attempt to break through it. Also exiting through the firewall is the data the machine is learning from you.

OOC: I'm going to invoke your 'More Machine than Man' aspect to make you fall instantly and heavily in love with Ambir's computer (Okay, not literally in love, unless you want to play it that way, but you really really really want to have it for your own and will mourn for it when you connect back into a human computer). If you go along with this, you'll earn one Fate point. If you choose to resist it, you pay one Fate point out of your starting pool of five points. (I probably should have mentioned earlier that everyone has five points to start.)

[Paladin5]

The computer is quite unlike anything that he had encountered before. The myriad of data streams rushing through, being integrated and processed, is an intense, nearly overwhelming, experience. It is a wild roller coaster of sensory input - of light, sound, and energy -, a nearly transcendent state of being. To Mark, it is mesmerizing; and he lets his consciousness expand to fill and explore as much of it as he is allowed.

OOC:
As you might imagine, he's not paying much attention to security subroutines right now.

[happyturtle]

In Mark's head:

As you explore this magnificent system, you realize that it consists only of Ambir's small device. There is input coming in from other systems, including your own implants, and there is data exiting through the firewall, but the cyberspace that is yours to explore is actually quite tiny compared to the ship's computer that you are used to inhabiting. But it is perfect. You feel more comfortable here than in any other system you've connected to. You can't help but imagine how amazing it would be to have access to a complete system made of this technology.

Outside the ship:
Nathan, what you see is that Mark has just plugged in to the Puppeteer's computer. Instantly, the energy flowing through him seems to go crazy. You've seen that Mark's flows are smoother when he's plugged in to the ship, but this is way more intense, by an order of magnitude. You've never seen anything like it. A second or two of real time has elapsed.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan accepts the now-unloaded firearm, and muses over the properties of Mercy Bullets.
"That would be interesting to test... Who wants to sign up to possibly die?" he mutters to himself as he retreats to his quarters to doff his jacket and re-stow the handgun.
He looks over his small stash of firearms for a few seconds before relising that while he did, indeed, have an ankle holster, he did not have an aporiately-sized weapon.
He'll have to fix that as soon as possible.

But for now, it Looked like he'd have to go in unarmed.
Or he could raid Nathan's Cabin.
The guy did seem enough like a mercenary to have a few small, easily-concealable firearms about.
He'd return it, and unload it before the meeting, just like Lexi asked...

Sounded like a solid plan to Dan, as he suck over the Nathan's Cabin, and began to finesse the lock...
4d3v

[Thanatos 51-50]

OOPS! Mis=placed my "v" [roll0]
And in case that one messes up -
[roll1]

Taking thefirst one, not because its the better roll, but because the second was plaved as a fail-safe in case rollv didn't accept /roll as a closin tag. Call me Paranoid.
Anyway: 3+3 = 6 for a "Legendary" result.
It looks like that lock is done'n'picked to me.

[happyturtle]

ooc: Yes, the lock is quite picked. It's up to Nathan whether or not he has what you are looking for, and how well it is hidden.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathans Room

As Dan enters Nathans room he finds the place relatively clean, looking like a well kept armies baracks. Several cupboars and closets grace the walls along with a writing desk. Still the odest thing is the fact that it all seems to take up a minimum of floor space by using every inch of wall, leaving a relatively sizable space in the center of the room unoccupied. As he further observes the room he notes that above the desk is an array of misceleneous things pinned to a board of the wall. One of the closets is clearly weapons storage, with what it seems like ammunition drawers below it and an array of light weapons hung loosely in the doors, which could likely be opened to yield some of Nathans heavier stuff.

Amids a few throwing knives and what apear to be some kind of laser or plasma pistol Dan sees what he is looking for, almost as if it was left for him to find... interestingly the gun is of roughtly the right shape and size for Dans ankle holster, but without a holster of it's own.


OOC
I'm assuming Nathan has spend considerable psychic precognitive meditation to ensure he is somewhat aware about potential security breaches to his room. Makes sense for a psychic operative of the intelligence services.

He probably doesn't know every detail, but probably realised that having a gun like that would pay of.

Outside

Nathan's mind is working overtime, trying to capture the few seconds fully and commit them to memory. This wasn't just about Mark anymore, he could genuinely learn something usefull here too. Technology like this would be valuable knowledge

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan immediatly holsters the pistol without a second thought, and noting how comfortable the weight is around his ankle.
He almost left the room right then. Almost.

But that would have played against his nature.
Now, Nathan was a kind of shady sort, you see, and this always bothered Dan. It was best to never have secrets between team-mates. And sometimes, it was almost like he could see the future in how cannily he laid out plans.
And the weapon was just a bit too easy to find.
The thief decided now would be the best time to give the room a quick once-over, looking for anything that might hint as to what Nathan actually did.
He started by peering at the miscleaneous items on the message bored, and finding nothing, searches around for a couple minuete for Nathan's personal computer, and was distressed to not find one.

To put it lightly Dan was distressed to not find any juicy tidbits readily available for learning, and he was in sort of a rush to assist Kerouac with the engine.
As a result, he (absent-mindedly, Kleptomania IS a disorder, you know) scooped the loose stars off the top of Nathan's desk, and closed (but not locked!) the door before capering stragiht back to the engine room and lending Kerouac whatever existence he needed.
"Happy now, Lexi baby?" he asked the captain from under his fedora, spreading his arms wide to accentuate the new lack of overcoat.

"I'm not packing that gun anymore."
OOC:
Likewise, as a precognitive psychic operative, I doubt Nathan would have left any incriminating evidence as to his true nature where any curious theif might be able to steal a glance, especially when said curious theif also cooks his food.

[Wizard of the Coat]

OOC:
Knowledge check for being educated: [roll0] What do i know of the puppeteers

EDIT Result: 0 -1 = -1 mediocre

[Wizard of the Coat]

Wait, what that thing about puppeteers again. Surely the professors mentioned them in a history lecture. Or was it the 'advanced xenobiology' class. Yeah, that was it professor Qui had a whole lecture on them.

He'd always like Qui's lectures, being trained for deployment to all kind of hotspots to use his talents the institute ensured excelent lecturers. Qui had come from Home itself, but had always been one of Nathans favorites due to the mans extensive field experience and stories of travels. Guess his own life wasn't turning out quite so different after all.

OOC:
Invoking intelligence to reroll: [roll0]

EDIT Result 0 +1 = +1 Fair

Nathan found himself regretting not having read "A Guide to Piersons Puppeteers, Habitat and Soceity" as the professor had recommended him. It'd sure would have come in more usefull then that one lecture.

[rubakhin]

"All right, baby girl," Kerouac sighs, patting the Lucky Penny's bulkhead. "Swear to God this won't take long. And when it's all done and over with I'm gonna have the stars to fix you up right, I promise."

He goes to disable the chemical thrusters first. Just because it's a more natural thing to ask for, feels more right. Asking for the fusion drive to come offline is overkill.

It's comforting, somehow, calming, opening her up and looking at the elegant interlock of her systems. Understanding her, all the minute details that built up to the sheer vastness of the system of an interstellar starship. It reminds him, somehow, of an illustration he had seen of the tree of life from the Kabbalah. The way the aspects of God connected to each other, crossed over one another, forming a map of the creation of the world.

Anyway. No time to get sentimental. The quicker he took the parts out, the quicker he could put them back in again. Make the system whole.

"Hey, Dan," says Kerouac, without looking up. He's long since learned to distinguish the crew members' footsteps. "You want to take care of the fusion drive for me?" he says (with a deep sigh). "I'm almost done taking the thrusters offline."


Probably going to have to roll to make sure all goes well in there, right?

Roll Mechanics (+4; Superb)

[roll0]

Also might as well roll for Empathy and see if Kerouac picks up on what Dan's been up to.

Roll Empathy (People) (+2; Good)
[roll1]

[happyturtle]

Engine room:

Kerouac: You are too involved with the engines to get a clear read on Dan, but there is a hint of glee about him that you recognize--he's been up to something dodgy but essentially harmless.

You've managed to remove the part Ambir requested with ease, without so much as a scuff mark on it or your tools.

Dan: In answer to your question, Lexi ruffles your hair (something she can do easily from her height) and gives you a wink. "Come on, I'll give you a hand with the fusion drive."

ooc: Lexi's using Jack-of-all-Trades, which ups the difficulty for her by 2 ranks:

[roll0]
JoT Great +3, die +2, difficulty -2 = Great --Any successes Dan adds with Engineering will make it less likely that Kerouac will be distressed by the results. :smallwink:


Outside the ship:

Nathan: You register a more specific energy flow than before in Mark's head. You try to make sense of it, but Ambir speaks to you, keeping you from giving it your full attention.

"Your social structures are endlessly fascinating, Lt Colonel Nathan Johnson," Ambir says. "For instance, we find it difficult to understand why you allow Alexandria Temple to believe she is the one who recruited your crew."

Mark: See your PM for what's happening in your head.

[Paladin5]

History (+0) + [roll0] -> Poor (-2)
Computer (+1) + [roll1] -> Poor (-2)

[happyturtle]

Nathan: Mark has just become very tense.

[Paladin5]

As suddenly as they closed, Mark's eyes flutter open again. After an instant of slight disorientation, Mark momentarily fixes his eyes on the Puppeteer before turning his head towards Nathan and saying to him, "Ambir ... desires to speak privately ... with me."

[Paladin5]

Awareness: [roll0] -> Good (+2)
Observation: [roll1] -> Superb (+4)

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan closes his mind, to avert the influence Ambirs speech or a other distractions she might throw up. In this state he is fully focussed on the task at hand. The musical voice of the puppeteer becomes no more then a faint whisper and the patterns in the energies of Mark all the clearer.

ooc Expend a point of the "Mind above all" aspect to exersize iron self controll over himself and focus completely on keeping an eye on what Ambir is doing to Mark and ignore distractions.

As Mark speaks he gets an cold and distant reply.

"That would not be advisable Mark... Ambir, explain carefully what you are doing and don't continue untill my friend here calms down."

[happyturtle]

Outside the ship:

Nathan, by shutting out Ambir's voice, you are able to recognize that the energy flows in Mark's head are feeding his sensory input, visual and auditory. You register this just as Mark jacks out.


As Mark speaks he gets an cold and distant reply.

"That would not be advisable Mark... Ambir, explain carefully what you are doing and don't continue untill my friend here calms down."

Ambir's two heads swivel and face each other, so that she is staring into her own eyes. She holds this pose for a moment, and then looks back at you. "I have no objection to conducting my negotiations with Mark Wier in your presence, but he has the legal right to insist on privacy if he chooses."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Such legal rights only persist in certain places and this is not one of them. Besides I doubt that he is currently at his full mental capacity and considering he's confided in me watching over him, I'm the closets thing he has to a legal guardian. And as such any decisions made whilst he is under your influence will not be valid without my aproval."

Nathan's voice is firm, but still detached, his senses stilled keyd on Mark, actively bend on preventing anything bad happening to him.

"So please speak on what you have to say and be crystal clear about it."

[Paladin5]

Mark's piercing eyes lock onto Nathan and he says slowly and clearly, "The matter ... does not concern you. You may observe ... from a distance ... but I ... wish to speak ... with Ambir ... alone."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Then you shall have to wait at least a day or so and do it at another time and place Mark. You don't look like you are fully aware of your own actions now. First we need to make sure she hasn't harmed or altered you in any way. Remember the time on Bad Landing a few months ago, we stuck together and it all worked out for the best. We need to stick together again. You are my friend, I won't let anything happen to you."

The voice is steadier now, like a doctor talking to a patient, but without the friendlyness as ultimately it is still dispasionate and sounds absent as Nathans mind is still tuned on keeping a check on the Puppeteers actions.

[happyturtle]

"I believe you underestimate Mark Wier. His mind-body interface is not fully functional, but this does not impede his capacity to make informed decisions. He is no more under my influence than you are."

ooc:Nathan: As soon as Mark unplugged from the Puppeteer's computer, his energy flows instantly returned to their normal state.

Mark: see your PM

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan barely hears the puppeteers words, the state of mind made other things more difficult, but he remaines steadfast in his resolve.

"Perhaps I merely overestimate you, but I am not one to take risks with my friends. Please leave and come back in an hour after we've all had a chance to talk to mark and examine him. I am sure that you understand, afterall you are no stranger to security.."

[happyturtle]

Ambir makes that strange expression again, her two heads staring at each other, which is vaguely unsettling. "It has indeed been a pleasure to meet you, Lt Colonel Nathan Johnson. You are a most interesting human. Mark Wier, I will be happy to answer as many of your questions as I am authorized to do when your companion gives you leave."

She takes a few steps away from you, towards the ship. "Might I examine your autodoc before I go, or do you require my immediate departure?"

[Wizard of the Coat]

"It has been a pleasure for me too and looking at the autodoc would be fine by me, but you'd have to ask Lexi if she's done with the ship yet."

Nathan is barely aware of what the puppeteer has just said to him, though as the puppeteers is soon to leave he is beginning to relax his mind somewhat. With some luck his lack of any physical or verbal response at the puppeteers meantion of his rank will make it slip past unnoticed.

[happyturtle]

Ambir gracefully folds her legs beneath her to sit on the smooth flooring of the hangar. "Then I will wait here for Alexandria Temple. Perhaps you will find this a convenient time to ascertain that your pilot is unharmed."

Nathan: PM coming

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan snatches his hat from Lexi's hands and places it back on his crown instead of fixing his hair.
"Aw, gee, really? You'll help ME? How kind!" he responds in an almost flirtacious tone before setting himself up to disable the drive.

[roll0] - Total- +2, since hes working with Lexi, though, I'm invoking "Two is one, One is none" to reflect competance through teamwork and turning that -1 into a 0.
Total result is now +3+2 = +5.

Dan finds himself working somewhat slower than usual, but deftly enough to give the Captain tidbits of instruction and praise as the work progresses.
When all is said and done, Dan finds himself somewhat proud of the job and even draws it to Kerouac's attention.
"Look good eough to you, Shutter Bug?" he asks through a grin. "Clean job, should be as easy to restore as it is to dip a rich woman's pur... eh, uhm... wake a sleepin' babe."

[rubakhin]

The part Kerouac had been working on slid out like a hot pat of butter, which makes him feel a bit better. At very least, Ambir's solution for disabling the drive and thrusters had been elegant. Two parts, both of them relatively simple to disconnect. They would have been there for hours if sie had wanted them to disconnect half the system.

At Dan's request, Kerouac leans forward to study his work, rubbing his chin (and consequentially leaving two grease marks down the side of his face like reverse warpaint). To Kerouac, Dan's job on the engine seems surprisingly patient, almost tender.

"Huh, not too shabby, you two. Surprised Lexi didn't blow up the whole spaceport."

The gear he took from the thruster was not particularly fragile or large, so Kerouac hefts it to his shoulder and tells Dan, "I'm gonna run this out to Ambir. Might feel better if sie sees proof we've done what sie asked. They're very paranoid, Puppeteers," he says (with an air of great authority, although he's paraphrasing what little he remembers of some school textbook - it doesn't come from arrogance or a desire to show off, exactly, but an eagerness to understand what's going on in hir mind). "See, they were originally herd creatures, and cowardice was considered a virtue, because it preserved the herd. So I don't grudge Ambir too much over this." Pause. "Not too too much, anyway."

He's quite interested in Ambir now, since that initial spark of emotion that he read. It was really nothing like anything Kerouac has ever experienced before. It fascinates him. He's wondering now if Ambir wouldn't talk to him a little, maybe even consent to being photographed.

[Paladin5]

As Nathan was obviously not going budge from his position, Mark reluctantly acquiesced to delaying the meeting.

Still, Nathan's protectiveness seemed unwarranted for the situation. It was implausible that the Puppeteer would attempt any hostile actions in a spaceport hangar, and it was also unlikely that Ambir could have subverted his rather unique internal subroutines within such a short period of time - especially within his security protocols in place - even with the Puppeteer advanced technology.

Either Nathan knew something that he - Mark - did not, or Nathan was merely being illogical, emotional, or simply stubborn. The former was an improbable possibility while the later was more likely - as the human mind seems apt to descend to its primitive levels especially under pressure.

Turning back to Nathan, Mark says, "What ... do you require ... for your ... reassurance?"

[happyturtle]

"You don't begrudge her calling Penny a deathtrap?" Lexi snorted. "Cause I do."

They carried the parts outside, where Ambir was waiting for them, sitting neatly on the ground. She stood up to greet them. "I thank you for your indulgence," she said in her lovely voice. "Please show me to your autodoc."

Lexi glanced over at Mark and Nathan. Nathan looked completely relaxed--as unreadable as always--but Mark seemed agitated. She turned to Dan and Kerouac.

"I'm going to check on Mark. You two stay with our visitor and take her to the 'doc. Kerouac, you're in charge. Dan--" she met his eyes, then let hers flicker to his ankle holster and back "--absolute last resort only. I trust you."

Without waiting for discussion, she walked over to Mark and Nathan in long strides. "Everything okay here?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan stood silently, and very, very loosely throughout the whole exchange.
Lexi put Kerouac in charge, that was far from srprising, he was one of those people who read other people like a book. It was better to put him in charge than Dan. Besides, Dan worked better below someone else.

But Lexi's TELL! ARGH!
The single, quick flick of her eyes! That set made him tense ever-so-slightly.
Her tell might end up being the doom of getting the pupetter aboard the ship.
"Absolute last resort only" following that made it even worse.

Dependig on the alien's powers of perception - which could be specacular for all Dan knew - he may or may not have lost all advantage of surprise.
Nothing he could do but hope everything would end up smoother than cooking grease.
"Aye to the aye, Cap'n." Dan responded after the tiniest fraction of a second's pause.
He stepped back behind his new leader, so that he was partially shaded by the ship and assumed an even more relaxed stance than normal, preparing himself to step aside and allow the pupeteer a wide berth up the gangplank into the ship proper.

[happyturtle]

Ambir follows Kerouac into the ship. One of her heads is facing forward, watching Kerouac, and the other is facing backwards watching Dan. However, she is not intently watching either of you, and frequently looks away to look over the ship as you walk through it. When she reaches the 'doc, she opens a panel and jacks her portable computer into it to take some readings.

"What is your function aboard this ship, Dan Freeboot?" she asks.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan follows a good two paces behind the Pupetteer, and when she reaches the autodoc, crouches on the deck, intently watching how the creature manipulated the machinerey.
Her question, however, momentarily caught dan off-guard and he lost his balnce for the tiniest fraction of a second, falling towards the deck before catching himself.
"I find it funny how you know so much about us, and then ask me what i is I do." Da says simply, quite clearly with the intent of taunting the alien.
"I do what needs to be done. If you must come up with a title for me, I guess you could think of me as the Cook - slash - Assitant Mechanic - slash Financial Manager - slash - all-around good guy. I prefer to think of it as 'I do what needs to be done'. Why the curiosity, Ambir, writing a book on humans?"
Freeboot isn't bluffing in the slightest, and allows every ounce of distrust towards the unknown creature apparent in his voice.
His last sentance, especially could be construed as a challange and it wouln't be too far off the mark.

[happyturtle]

"It is not difficult to learn a great deal about an individual human with very little effort," Ambir says. She seems unperturbed by your suspicion. "However, you must be aware that Dan Freeboot does not officially exist."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Sure I do. Its how I get out of paying taxes."
Dan responds off-handedly, his voice devoid of any shock in this statement.
"You didn't answer my question."

[happyturtle]

"As a businessman, do you not find it advantageous to learn as much as possible about those with whom you do business?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

"As a business person, I find it advantageous to learn what pertains directly to my busness. Thus, you knowing who I am is in no way surprising, nor is your knowledge of the Captain's full name.
You knowing about Mark, also no surprised for a paranoid.
Inquiring as to my specific duties aboard Luck Penny, however, has nothing to do with business unless you wish to conduct a sperate business with me. If thats the case, be out with it."
Dan leans into the words as he speaks them, atling them off in an agressive, and almost hostile tone.
"Now, you answer my question. Why do you want to know?"

Um... Do I have to invoke "Con-Man" for Dan's "business sense"?

[rubakhin]

"Dan," says Kerouac, not aggressively, but firm. "You're out of line. You made your point. Now back off."

[happyturtle]

Ambir backs away from Dan, her heads spread wide, and both heads watching Dan closely. She is silent for a long moment, her rear leg flexing nervously. Finally she says, "I am trying to assess whether you can be trusted."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan smiles at Ambir's response.
"My team can trust me, and my team needs your work done. By extension, you can trust me. Contrary to what intelligence you may have gathered, I'm not an idiot."
The thief's eyes lock on the pupeteer's tensing rear leg, and he stands up, backing away two paces, himself.
This happened to put his back directly against the bulkhead, good in a crowd situation, not so good in a one-on-one enounter, it should seem non-threatening.
"I have no interest in harming anyone, if thats what you're wondering. I fully intend to make sure you recieve payment for your services. Before we go our seperate, merry ways."

Dan slackens his stance completely, and takes to leaning aginst the bulkhead, trying to make the alien less nervous and encourage her to continue her work.

[happyturtle]

Ambir unplugs her computer. "I have all the information I need. The adaptations are possible. Let us rejoin the rest of your crew." She turns to trot out of the ship, one head looking forward, the other looking back and addressing Dan and Kerouac. "I must speak to Mark Wier first. After that, I will meet with all of you and we can discuss terms."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Everything okay here?"

"It's hard to say. To tell you the truth, I don't know. Whatever she did to Mark must have been great for him, like putting him on drugs considering the state of relaxation he was in. And now he wishes to speak to her alone..." Nathan raises his shoulders as he continues. "Sounds a little suspicious to me, so I'd like to keep an eye on Mark for a while, just to make sure he's allright and that whatever it is that he is doing or wants to be doing is not a part of the mechanations of that puppeteer. After all she has just been 'interfacing' with his very mind. Considering that a puppeteer finds all methods acceptable when doing business I am naturally a bit worried." He's friendly as he speaks, like a big brother telling mom how he protected his sibling from harm.

[happyturtle]

"'All methods acceptable'?" Lexi says, stunned. "You mean that monster's trying to brainwash him?" Her instinct is to put her hand on Mark's shoulder, but she catches herself in time, knowing that he finds physical contact disturbing rather than comforting. "Mark, what happened?"

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Not neccesarily, perhaps methods was a bad choice of words. It's just that these beings have no qualms about whatever line of business they are in. The only thing they honour is a contacts, and that is always honoured to the letter."Nathan pauses. "But as you suggested, brainwashing might be possible. Though Mark believes the interface time was too short for such things to be possible and I too find it hard to think she managed to fuly take over Mark. Still it might just be that she planted a small seed, or gave him just a taste of something. So I am not too keen on Mark talking to her alone just now. It's better to take a moment to make sure all is well."

[happyturtle]

"Then we need a contract that protects Mark," Lexi says, thinking quickly, though she felt like she'd gotten in way over her head. "Well, all of us really. Any of us could need medical attention, and a compromised autodoc could brainwash anyone, even without a computer interface. That's why medengineers are so hard to find. The bloody ARM keeps a tight lid on the technology." She takes a deep breath. "At least we know Ambir isn't an ARM. I don't think even the ARM could have taken over Puppeteer space. Unless they hired her for something. Maybe she has a contract with them to find Mark."

OOC:You don't need a roll to see by Lexi's body language that she's feeling panicky and starting to babble because she's scared and indecisive.

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Don't worry Lexi. We just need to set up a decent contract with the Puppeteer as you said." Nathan was calm as ever. "Besides I have a good feeling that Mark will be around us for a while longer. As long as we stick together we'll get through things."

OOC
Leadership to calm Lexi down [roll0]

EDIT: Result average + 1 = Fair

[happyturtle]

OOC:You get a +1 bonus because it's Lexi--you know her well, and she trusts you, which makes it easy for you to influence her. So that bumps it up to 'good'.

"Right. Right," Lexi said. "We'll stick together." She felt better. Calmer. Nathan won't let anything happen to Mark. Neither will I.

"Okay Mark. What happened? What did Ambir do to you?"

[Paladin5]

After listening patiently to Nathan's analysis of the situation, Mark turns to face Lexi and says, "All systems are operating ... nominally. Security protocols detected no attempts ... at ... subversion. Even with the ... Puppeteer's advanced technology, probability of undetected subversion ... is very low ... due to short interface time and my unique internal system structure. You may perform additional diagnostics ... to verify ... this."

"Concerning ... the meeting ... Ambir and I have a private matter to discuss ... which does not concern ... the rest of the crew. You ... may observe from a ... distance for ... security."

"I believe that ... you ... are becoming ... emotional and illogical in your assessment of the ... situation. The Puppeteer ... has been ... direct about its agenda ... to this point ... and has not undertaken any suspicious or openly hostile ... actions. There is ... no logical reason ... to break off our business with it. I suggest we continue our guarded cooperation."

"The Puppeteer has finished ... inspecting the ... autodoc. I suggest ... that ... flight capability be ... restored ... immediately."

[happyturtle]

"Well you don't seem brainwashed to me," Lexi said. "But if we restore the Penny, then we'll just have to disable her again before Ambir works on the doc. Plus I promised Kerouac he could refurb the drives, so that'll keep us from lifting off quicly."

"Listen, we're not your parents. You're a grownup, and you can decide who you want to talk to. But if you think we're going to need a quick getaway afterwards, then I can't help but worry that you're in some kind of trouble. So do you still want to talk to Ambir if the Penny remains disabled?

ooc: Lexi ran away from home to stop her parents from trying to control her, and she has a visceral abhorrence of trying to interfere with anyone's choices. Nathan, you can tell by her body language and voice that she is not at all inclined to prevent the meeting, and you'll have a difficult time trying to convince her otherwise. Which doesn't mean you can't give it a try if you like.

[happyturtle]

Nathan ooc: You want to try a precog roll to see what might happen during this meeting? For something this specific without having had the chance to meditate first, you'll need a Superb success. Feel free to use any relevant Aspects if necessary, or you can use a fate point to receive +1 on any roll. This may be spent before or after the roll, or even after any aspects have been invoked. Only one point may be spent in this fashion, unless it's countered (see the ooc thread for more details on fate points).

[Wizard of the Coat]

"I need to look something up and think this over. There is something about puppeteers in the back of my mind. Can you give me a few moments to think Mark? I need some solitude." Nathan walks into his room, smiling as he sees the gun is missing along with the change he left for the 'culprit'. I hope he likes the model...

Closing his door Nathan layes down on the floor and empties his mind thoughts on Ambir and Mark flooding into his conciousness.

[ooc]Allrighty then. Precog: [roll0]

EDIT: Invoking Psycich Operative twice to flick 2 ones to three's

RESULT: Good +3 = Epic

[Paladin5]

"The meeting ... will ... go ... forward," Mark says firmly. "Given my ... limited ... knowledge of the Puppeteer, I ... believe ... the probability of the ... situation deteriorating is ... low. However ... if ... it should ... it could ... be ... extremely dangerous for all ... involved. Thus flight ... capability ... is desirable. If ... Kerouac will delay ... refurbishing the ... drives until after the ... meeting, I will ... defer it ... till the Puppeteer ... has completed its work ... on the ... autodoc."

[happyturtle]

Lexi couldn't help but be curious about Mark's insistence on a private meeting. What did Ambir want with him? Why didn't Mark want anyone else to know? But it wasn't any of her business.

"Mark, you know you can ask me for help if you need it, right?" Lexi asked. She wondered if he did know it. Whoever had chopped him up and put computers in his head had damaged his... his humanity somehow. Again, she wanted to touch him, to connect with him, and again forced her hands to stay by her side. Because she knew she couldn't connect with him that way.

Ambir, Dan, and Kerouac emerged from the ship, shortly after Nathan had entered it. "The alterations you desire are possible, Alexandria Temple. May I now have a private conversation with Mark Wier?"

"Later," Lexi said, looking to Mark for confirmation. "Let's get the 'doc fixed up first." She was a little taken aback by how quickly the Puppeteer had examined both Mark and the 'doc, which kept her from objecting to Ambir's use of her full name.

"Very well. Then let us discuss terms. I believe more privacy would be advisable. There are many cameras about. Shall we gather in your ship's common room?"

"Um, sure. Okay," Lexi said. Then "Wait. No. I mean, yes, we'll talk. But we need a few minutes to prepare." She felt events moving too fast, and she wanted to talk to her crew first, compare notes. Make sure she didn't get them all into trouble. Above all, make sure that Nathan was there, because Nathan would know what to do. "You can wait in my quarters until Nathan returns and we have a chance to talk."

"Certainly," Ambir said. "I would not wish to negotiate without Nathan Johnson present. You may have as much time as you need."

OOC: Just to move things along, let's start the next scene with the four of us in the common room, with Ambir in Lexi's quarters. Nathan can join us whenever he's ready.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan immediatly plopped down in the lounge.
He was still carrying the gun, and he was... well, obviously feeling a bit paranoid himself.
"I don't know about her. She passed the time analyzing the 'doc by asking what I do aboard the ship. Shes knows... a fair bit about my past, too, Lex. I think she may be after something. What we would have that she wants, however, I have no clue."
He sighs heavily and lets his head drop into his hands.
"Is there a telepath in the room?" he asks sarcastically.

I'm assuming dan has no clue as to the psy powers of the crew, and isn't aware of the existance of psy abilities, being non-psychic himself. Also, I'm assuming hes never told the crew at large about his backstory, with the exception of Kerouac and maybe Lexi.

[happyturtle]

Lexi squeezed in next to Dan on the settee. Maybe a little too close. Lexi was feeling anxious, and a little human contact comforted her somewhat. "She's definitely after something," Lexi said. "She's in too much of a hurry to make a deal. There must be a thousand autodocs on We Made It that need regular maintenance, so she doesn't exactly need our business."

OOC: Up to you whether you've told Lexi anything about your past. She wouldn't have pried, though she's probably guessed that you were an born illegally on earth to a freemother (slang for a woman who manages to have children without a birthright). And since Lexi doesn't realize she's telepathic, she won't be 'fessing up just yet. :smallwink:

[Paladin5]

A voice suddenly interjects into the conversation. "You are ... correct, Mr. ... Freeboot."

Mark - standing in a corner away from the others - continues, "The Puppeteer is ... indeed interested in ... you. While interfacing ... with the ... autodoc, it downloaded ... data concerning ... you. The information ... it ... acquired was ... however ... quite immaterial ... in nature. The ... reason ... for its interest ... I can ... not discern ... at this ... time."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Still believe I was illogical Mark?" Nathan says entering with a forced smile. He looks (and is) rather tired as he sits himself down at the head of the table. His demeanor is one of concern, yet also has a touch of resolve within it that comforts those that are worried.

"She's interested in us, because of what we can do and where we come from. We all seem to have skeletons in the closet, and that is fine so long as we trust another. Yet to a puppeteer we truly are puppets to be toyed with. Their species, as I said before, has no qualms about blackmail or similar methods of conducting business and has sufficient social grace to mask it under the guise of friendship. Afterall it is all to easy to blackmail some-one, but to actually make some-one believe that you are doing them a favour, by for instance proclaiming you need them to do something so that 'others of your kind' will not abuse information is truly cunning and malevolent."

Nathan pauses and looks at the others.

"We need to stick together my friends. I suggest that we first find out more about Ambir before we make our individual arrangements with her. The autodock, let her fix it, so long as we have a decent contract I expect her to honour it... even is she is not the most honourable of puppeteers, as far as puppeteers go."

OOC
Leadership [roll0] to look resolved and unafraid despite his concerns and as such comfort the others.

EDIT: Result Good -1 = Fair (plus whatever bonusses for familirarity)

[Paladin5]

"I stand ... by my ... assessment," Mark responds coldly. "In ... addition, it ... is most unlikely ... that ... we will obtain much ... information about the ... Puppeteer that ... it does ... not want us to ... know."


While talking with Nathan, Mark interfaces with the starport's computer system - through the ship's computer - looking for any data on Ambir (arrival date, travel method, feeds from security cameras, etc.). For data not publicly available he attempts to hack through the security protocols - careful, of course, to cover his tracks.

Computer (+1): [roll0]

Invoking "More Machine than Man” and Datalink (ship's computer is aiding) and spending a fate point resulting in a Superb (+4).

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Hate to break you out of your speculation, Mark, but for some nice, hard facts - exactly what information did she pull? Also, did she pull any information on anybody else? It might give us a clue as to her intentions."

[happyturtle]

"Listen, I don't keep files on you guys!" Lexi says defensively. She thought whether Nathan was right. Did she have skeletons in her closet? No, not really. It wasn't her nature to be secretive, much to her parents' chagrin. They'd have preferred if she'd been a bit more discreet in her affairs and embarrassments. "What did she find, Dan's kzinti porn collection?" (She had momentarily forgotten that she did, indeed, have personnel files on the crew, but those files were nothing more than name, position, and salary.)

ooc: @Nathan: you'll always have a +1 bonus on Lexi. The PCs get to roleplay out whether they respond to your leadership or not.

@Mark: PM coming

[Paladin5]

Mark turns to lock his gaze on Dan and says to him, "The Puppeteer conducted ... a brief, fully ... transparent exploration of ... the ship's computer. It ... accessed no other ... records. Downloaded data ... consisted of ... Daniel Freeboot's personnel file and ... computer activity. Personnel file includes ... name, position, and ... salary. Computer activity is ... self-evident ... includes records of ... supply orders, video ... downloads, etc."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"You know how I love them sub-sentient catgirls." Dan joked for a moment, before recovering.
Then he considered Mark's words.
"Just me? Thats interesting. What do you have on me, there, Lexi? Like... as position and stuff?"

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Awareness and observation rolls on Dan as he reacts to the information given in this conversation. Perhaps he's hiding something?

Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Epic (+5)
Observation (+2): [roll1] -> Fair (+1)

[happyturtle]

"Procurement," Lexi answered. "Just Dan's records? That's... weird. I don't get it."

ooc: Dan, you want to post what Mark might learn observing you?

[Paladin5]

"Beautiful," Mark mutters under his breath. He then turns to face Lexi and says, "I have ... acquired some ... information of ... potential ... interest. Direct ... your attention to ... the ... display." Across the room a display screen turns on with the following readout:

Ambir:

Representative of General Products on We Made It (8 years).

Primarily role: contract negotiation and customer service.

Occasionally works as a medengineer on autodocs. No association with capacity in General Products apparent. High demand for her services. No complaints about services ever lodged.

Owns singleship.

Manic-depressive. Worst depressive episodes followed by believed visits to Puppeteer homeworld.

Dislikes armed humans.

We Made It government provides close, passive, security for her protection. Watched through security cameras with security forces ready to be deployed.

Current meeting secret. Security cameras being feed yesterday's footage by Puppeteer's computer. Security forces believe she is at home.

[rubakhin]

"I could have told you that one," says Kerouac, tapping the word 'manic-depressive.' "I don't know if it's normal for Puppeteers. But Ambir's emotions are ... intense. Like there's no in between. Either total ecstasy or total fear. No, both, at once. I've never felt anything like it before."

[happyturtle]

"What is she afraid of?" Lexi asked.

[rubakhin]

"I can't be totally sure. Ambir's an alien. Difficult to read. At the time I got the impression that she was afraid of somebody - " Kerouac pauses to shoot daggers at Dan with his eyes. " - who happened to be carrying at the time. Or I'm not sure why. All I know is that Dan was setting her off for some reason, but I know she was all right with me."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan sighed heavily.
"Me? Of all people, why me?" He asked pointedly.
"I'm the absolute least remarkable on this ship, all I got is a knack for stealing things and getting into and out of trouble.
"Hey, I'm a flatlander, remember? I thought we were the boring branch of Humanity. I was packing, yeah, but theres no garuntee Ambir had a clue about that. There would be an even lower probability if Lexi - sorry, doll - didn't have a tell that could be spotted from Orbit."
Dan appears to be fuming, but, in reality, is rather scared about the entire situation and is trying to think of ways to protect himself.
He had conned and stolen directly from some rather big hitters. If anyone held enough of a grudge...
Nah, that was bollucks, he never took more than his customers could pay, that was the beauty of it.
Why me?

OOC:
OOC:

Awareness and observation rolls on Dan as he reacts to the information given in this conversation. Perhaps he's hiding something?

Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Epic (+5)
Observation (+2): [roll1] -> Fair (+1)



Dan is currently holding a small, easily concealed firearm, but otherwise, isn't holding back any potentially useful information. Just the normal skeletons-in-the-closet the crew is presumably used to by now.
He does, however, perk up a little upon learning that their current meeting is being held in secret.

[happyturtle]

"You flatlanders are strong," Lexi said, thinking aloud. "Not as strong as Jinxians, but way stronger than Lunies or Belters." Then she shook her head. "No, that can't be it. Nathan grew up in 1 gee too. Besides, she came to us. If she thought we were thugs, she could have just stayed away."

"Guys, I'm lost." She looks at Nathan. "Should just get Ambir in here and see what she has to say? Maybe ditch the gun first and see if Dan still scares her?"

[rubakhin]

"I don't know. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather talk to her myself, on my own. Maybe later if I'm going to assist her with the autodoc. I can read her better. And I don't want a confrontation or anything. I just want to know what she's feeling."

[happyturtle]

"Oh sure, lets all meet with her alone," Lexi says sarcastically. "Do we need to set up appointments, or is it first-come-first-serve?" Then she thought about it some more.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. Why don't you go and talk to her now? If she's not scared of you, then maybe you can convince her the rest of us aren't scary either. Then you can bring her in here to talk with all of us."

[rubakhin]

"Alright. I'm going right now. I'll let you know how it turns out." Kerouac gets up and makes his way to Lexi's quarters.

The thing about Kerouac is that he's about as trusting as they come. He's been burned before - and badly - it's a miracle he's still got all his limbs - but despite everything he's seen of human nature, it's hard to make him suspicious of anyone, and even harder to make him hate them. People fascinate him, Ambir fascinates him, and whenever someone's acting strangely his first impulse is always to figure out what's going on in their mind, rather than figure out whether or not they're trying to **** him over. Right now he's seeing the crew as being surprisingly touchy about this business.

And he feels sorry for Ambir, having to feel that depression, that fear.

He knocks on the door. "It's Kerouac. You doing all right in there?"


Roll empathy here.

[roll0]

[happyturtle]

The door slides open. "I am well," Ambir says. "Shall I join your crew now?"

ooc: Ambir is every bit as euphoric/frightened as before. Without Dan being present, you can't tell if her feelings towards him have changed, but you might be able to tell if you brought him up in conversation.

[rubakhin]

"That's good. No, you don't need to come just yet. I was just wondering if you would mind being photographed. I'm a photographer, I've done some showed, published a couple monographs. I just do this because I like it, and because it's a living. You wouldn't need to pose or anything. If you were okay with it I'd prefer taking more natural shots - maybe while you're talking with the crew, or working on the 'doc." Kerouac sucks his teeth, then continues, conversationally - "Dan doesn't like them at all. He's one of those 'photography is just point and click, isn't it?' people."


Obviously, Kerouac's just trying to segue neatly into the topic of Dan here. Don't know if Dan should be familiar with his stuff or what he thinks about it if he is.

[happyturtle]

You can tell that Ambir is surprised by your request. You can also tell she is still frightened of Dan. "I have no objection to being photographed. I have viewed some of your work, but art is too subjective to easily be interpreted by aliens. You would likely find Puppeteer art as inaccessible. Or perhaps not, being an artist yourself."

[rubakhin]

"That's fantastic. I'm going to go get my equipment, then, it'll just take a minute. Then we can meet up with the others," he tells her, nodding for her to follow along. "I'd like to see Puppeteer art if I got the chance. I don't know what it's like, so I can't promise I'd respond to it, but it would be interesting."

He opens the door the Lexi's cabin for Ambir. "Where did you see my work? Just a coincidence? Or you must have been looking stuff up about the crew?" He says this part casually, as if it's the most natural thing in the world, which it is, after a fashion.

[happyturtle]

"Coincidence? You must know better than that, Jack Magreaux. I have researched your crew thoroughly."

[rubakhin]

Kerouac smiles. "You even dug up my real name, huh? Nice.," he says, more to himself than to Ambir. "Well, I have nothing to hide. I don't think any of us do. Nothing too bad, anyway. Um. Only ... " He lowers his voice, gently. "Did you find something out about Dan you didn't like? I know that he bothers you. Even he doesn't seem to understand why."

[happyturtle]

Ambir considers you for a long moment, before answering. "I learned nothing about Dan Freeboot," she says. "And that is what bothers me."

[Wizard of the Coat]

Back in the main room Nathan was still looking over the small bit of data that Mark had extracted. Having it jotted down on some notepaper.



Ambir:

Representative of General Products on We Made It (8 years).

Primarily role: contract negotiation and customer service.

Occasionally works as a medengineer on autodocs. No association with capacity in General Products apparent. High demand for her services. No complaints about services ever lodged.

Owns singleship.

Manic-depressive. Worst depressive episodes before believed visits to Puppeteer homeworld.

Dislikes armed humans.

We Made It government provides close, passive, security for her protection. Watched through security cameras with security forces ready to be deployed.

Current meeting secret. Security cameras being feed yesterday's footage by Puppeteer's computer. Security forces believe she is at home.


He knew he couldn't prevent these private meetings taking place, nor did he want too. What he did want is to find out what this puppeteers plan was.

"Dan, since you are obviously making her uncomfortable, maybe there is a better place for you to be whilst she is tinkering with our autodock." Nathan starts scribling something on his notepad, his body posture, though natural and apearing unforced, is such that that only Dan can see it.

"I think she might have all sorts of interesting things at her home. With some help from the authorities or using Mark's skills it shouldn't be to hard to find out where that is."

He talks softly to Dan as he writes, speaking as if to a dear friend who's in a spot of trouble "I'd love to take you for a few drinks, or we could track down some other components. Perhaps even find out something about what the puppeteer is up too." Especially the last sentence came out only half serious, though as Dan views the note it should be clear as to what Nathan intends to do.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"I like the idea," Dan suggested. "A calm, unworried mechanic is an efficent mechanic." Dan says with an enthusiastic nod.
His hands quickly moves through a series of gestures anyone with education in the Terran Underworld would recognise as hand-signs amongst the youth there.

I'd Rather not get the Bacon involved. If she returns home to get supplies, lets tar her, and then break in about a knuckle later. We can pluck feathers then. If she doesn't THEN we'll use Mark's hacking. After that, authorities.

As his hands flash through the signs, he continues speaking. The rest of his body posture making the hand-signs look like a nervous tic. He molds his words to fit.
"What I'm really worried about is security, though. You and I are the only two with any actual combat training under our belts. After us, its the captain who picks up a gun. I'm not comfrotable with only her keeping the crew out of danger.
No offense, Lex sugar."
The last line is (obviously) directed towards Lexi.

OOC:
This is a risk I'm taking, hoping Nathan's Psy-ops background confers at least a little information on the sign-language. Its also written in a kind of half-thieve's-cant to make it more cryptic. Don't know how you wanna cut that one, turtle and coat.

[happyturtle]

(Since Lexi was sitting right next to Dan, let's assume she'd gotten up to get drinks before the note passing. Nathan wouldn't have been foolish enough to let her see it, because he knows Lexi can't keep secrets. Her body language gives her away every time. :smallwink:)

Lexi grabs an armful of drinking bulbs from the kitchen, one each of everyone's favourites (an energy drink spiked with vodka for herself). She hesitates for a moment, then chooses carrot juice for the Puppeteer. She walks in just in time to hear Dan's remark. "Hey, I can totally kick your ass, as long as you turn off the gravity first." She tosses drinking bulbs to everyone, and sets Kerouac's and Ambir's down on the table.

[rubakhin]

Ambir considers you for a long moment, before answering. "I learned nothing about Dan Freeboot," she says. "And that is what bothers me."

"Ahhh, Kerouac says with a slow nod. "That makes sense. Dan's a Flatlander, an illegal birth, I think. Was on the streets for God knows how long. So he's been living off the grid for most of his life. He just made himself up a name one day and Dan Freeboot was the first thing that popped into his head. No great mystery behind that fella."

They arrive at Kerouac's quarters. He unlocks the door (it's quite a complex lock - it's something of a hobby of his, coming up with mechanisms and trying to get Dan to try and pick them) and leaves it wide open, so that Ambir can see and hear him, but doesn't expect her to enter as well if it would make her uncomfortable.

It's tiny and cluttered, but surprisingly clean. The walls are crowded with prints - some of Kerouac's own photographs, some by other people. They don't seem to have any particular theme, although they are mostly of people. Some people more than once. The exceptions are handful of cityscapes, and a shot of what looks like the Sol belt, perhaps for sentimental reasons. There are also plenty of books, enough that they've long since overflowed the tiny bookshelf and are stacked here and there. Most of the little room is dominated by Kerouac's darkroom equipment.

"I've been working with him for a while now. He's not a bad guy. I think the worst he's ever done is pull off a couple of cons," he says, fumbling with the camera. He's not usually this hostile, though. I think you scared him. Asking us to disable the engines, the background checks." He snaps a roll of film into the camera. "General mysteriousness. He's worried that you're planning to hurt us, or something like that."

[happyturtle]

Ambir trots in behind you and examines the prints on the wall two at a time--one head to a print. "You obviously consider him a friend. Is he someone you would trust?"

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Awareness(+2): [roll0] -> Great(+3)

[happyturtle]

ooc: Dan, Nathan, are you trying to keep this conversation secret from Mark? If you are, I'll need you both to roll on whatever skill you think is most relevant to try and conceal it--probably Bluff or Knavery. You're trying to beat his 'great', and both you and he can spend fate points or use Aspects to try and build up until one side is the clear winner. Keep in mind that even if one of you succeeds, if the other one fails, then he'll figure out something is up.

[rubakhin]

"He is," says Kerouac simply. "He's a con man and a petty thief, but he has a good heart. I know that when the chips are down he's on my side. And I definitely know that he wouldn't betray or hurt any of us."

[happyturtle]

"Thank you for sharing your assessment," Ambir says. Kerouac finishes gathering up his photo equipment and leads Ambir back to the common room.

"Can I offer you some carrot juice?" Lexi asks, half expecting the Puppeteer to turn it down for fear of poison.

"Yes. If you will warm it to 23 degrees Celsius, I find it most agreeable," Ambir says. The autokitchen does this while Kerouac sets up to take photos.

ooc: I'm assuming a few things:

1. All notes, displays, etc are out of sight before Ambir returns. Cause you aren't idiots. :smallwink:

2. Whatever the outcome of the Awareness/Bluff contest between Mark and Dan and Nathan, nobody will have a chance to do anything about it before Ambir arrives. So go ahead and finish that in the spoiler tags, while staying in present time in the IC text. (Hope that won't be too confusing.)

3. Lexi, of course, did not notice anything. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and make it official that any of you get +1 familiarity bonus whenever you are trying to read her or influence her in any way--bluff, leadership, awareness, whatever.

Kerouac, how much equipment are you setting up? Lights and tripod and everything, or just the camera and whatever lenses and filters you are playing with?

Coming up in the next post... Ambir finally reveals what she is after! :smallbiggrin:

[rubakhin]

ooc:

There are a couple lenses and filters he's fooling around with, but that's all. Nothing that won't fit in the camera bag. He's thinking about photographing Ambir in a more spontaneous, natural way and doesn't need or desire a bunch of bright lights, etc. to fuss with.

[Wizard of the Coat]

OOCKnavery [roll0]
EDIT Result Fair -2: Mediocre

[happyturtle]

"You are intelligent people. You are certainly aware by now that my motives for meeting with you extend beyond the refurbishment of your autodoc. You mistrust me. This is good. It would be foolish to trust someone you know so little about. I would not choose to work with fools."

"I wish to hire you to perform a task. If we can come to an agreement, I will refurbish your autodoc before you depart. Upon completion of the task, I will provide a monetary reward, in addition to expenses." She names a figure. It is about ten times what you would earn on a typical cargo run.

"Three Terran years ago, a Puppeteer was kidnapped. She projects a hologram of a Puppeteer, with blonde fur over most of its body and an elaborately groomed mane of different shades of blue fur. He had never dealt with humans prior to this, and therefore does not have a human name. You may refer to him as Chiron. It is a default name that some among us use who will not be in human space long enough to adopt a permanent name. Our agents hunted for him, but the trail went cold. We mourned his loss, believing him to have suicided rather than endure prolonged captivity."

"I have recently received intelligence that tells me Chiron may yet be alive. If true, this would be most joyful news. For the first time, I have enough information to outfit a mission to either rescue him or recover proof of his decease. I propose to hire you for this purpose. The reward will be doubled if he is returned alive."

[Thanatos 51-50]

[roll0] Bluff (+3), Total result: +3-2=+1 Dan is totally caught, but the again, Nathan is, too.

Dan listens carefully to what Ambir has to say about Chiron. Everything sounds, at least intially, kosher to him. Passengers were less dangerous cargo to bring past the authorities, but more dangerous in terms of unpredicttability, and Pupeteers were cowards, so... it probably wouldn't be too difficult o keep an eye on him. One thing, however, caught his attention:
"Wait - Disease?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

OOC @ thanatos5150
Are you sure you read correctly. It's Decease (meaning death), not disease (meaning illness) that she said.

I'll remove this post if you decide after you've been given the chance to correct your potential mistake

I had noted this right before I hit submit. It was, originally, a reading error. Lets just pretend Dan mis-heard Ambir. Its funier that way! Yay for Comic relief!

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Decease, Dan, two letter difference." Nathan corrected his friend, then proceeded to adres Ambir "Though I am intrigued that you now seem to play open card with us, I cannot help but wonder if this is yet another ruse. Certainly a resque sounds noble, but I would need more evidence then your word to validate such a mission, such as any previous attempts, potential dangers, including which factions are believed to be involved. In addition I want you to tell me your reasons of why you want him back and why you would hire and or trust us to do so rather then your own agents." Nathan's voice was business, cold almost, "You understand that without knowing that, it is hard for us to say if the mission would be worth our time."

[happyturtle]

"I have observed that the five of you feel affection and loyalty to one another. You have formed a small herd. If it were one of yours who had been kidnapped, I am sure you would attempt a rescue, using all the means at your disposal."

"Damn straight we would," Lexi mutters.

"Our herds are much larger than yours, but we feel the same attachment to each member of them. If you ask Mark Wier to access historical records, he will find that there has never been a case where a Puppeteer in distress was abandoned to his fate."

"Certainly I would prefer to work with known associates rather than strangers. There is no time to summon them. The information about Chiron reached me due to a security breach within the organization that holds him. This breach will cause upheavals. He may be moved. He may be killed. I searched the profiles of everyone on We Made It, looking for humans who I believed might be capable of such a mission. And thus I found you."

"I will provide you with as much information as I can command. It is in my interest to do so, as the success of this mission is very important to me."

Lexi listens intently. The Puppeteer had broken an important rule of negotiation by revealing she was under a deadline. Mark had said that negotiating contracts was her job. So assume she wouldn't have made such an elementary mistake. She reveals it intentionally, because she doesn't care about the terms of the deal, as long as there is a deal, and quickly.

This was big. Way bigger than dodging customs or any other capers they'd been involved in. Too big? The thought of swooping in like the heroes of a holovid, making a daring rescue--that was exciting. What a rush that would be! Suddenly, she's very much in favour of accepting Ambir's proposal.

[Paladin5]

Mark listens carefully to the exchange, all the while observing the Puppeteer closely. Although his face is emotionless, he sees this turn of events as potentially very fortuitous. Not only would the reward allow for extensive upgrades to the ship, but the mission might present a rare opportunity for the utilization of Mark's tactical flight combat abilities.


Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Superb (+4)

Checking truth of "...there has never been a case where a Puppeteer in distress was abandoned to his fate."

History (+0): [roll1] -> Good (+2)

[happyturtle]

Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Superb (+4)

Nothing unusual is occurring for you to be aware of. Well, nothing more unusual than a cyborg, a thief, and three psychics having a conversation with a two headed monster.


Checking truth of "...there has never been a case where a Puppeteer in distress was abandoned to his fate."

History (+0): [roll1] -> Good (+2)

Now, would Ambir lie to you about something you could verify so easily? :smallwink: As far as your records reach, you can confirm this statement.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan leans back in his chair and though his eyes are open he isn't quite looking at the present. Instead he probes the future about the immage of Chiron. Will he see the likeness again and under what circumstances. These thoughs stream through his mind as he untangles the webbed strands that are forming the future.

OOCprecog [roll0]

EDIT: Result: Great -1 = Good

[happyturtle]

"I do not know what trauma Chiron may have suffered. I will provide you with Puppeteer medical supplies, as well as an anti-grav belt in case he should be immobile." Lexi's eyes grow wide. She has always longed for an anti-grav belt, but could never afford one. "If there are other supplies you require, I will procure them if I can do it quickly. Preparation time must be minimal. The intelligence I have is not extensive, though I hope to have learned more before your departure."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan nodded along with Ambir's suggestion.
He was even more amiable to taking this cause up than before, when he mis-heard the Pupetteer.

OOC: Happyturtle: Permission to sig your comment about a cyborg, thief, and three psychics having a conversation with a two-headed monster?

[happyturtle]

Lexi looks around at her companions, trying to tell if they are as inclined to acceptance as she is.

ooc:Going to roll on Telepathy here. Lexi doesn't know she's telepathic--she thinks she's just getting a read on people in a mundane way. It won't work on Mark because his mind is too different, or Nathan, because he has psychic defences. (I'm trying to work out a psychic defence score, to be derived from your total ranks in psychic skills... maybe total ranks / 3 or something? I haven't had a chance to play with the numbers yet.) So she can really only ever read Dan and Kerouac.

[roll0] Telepathy +1 = +2 Good

Okay, so she can tell Dan's keen on the idea. Will hold off on Kerouac for now, until he gets a chance to post.


Dan wants to say yes, Lexi realized. So does Kerouac. She almost blurted out an acceptance right then. If it had been a smaller job, she would have--she tended to follow her impulses, and usually the crew had never objected--but this was too damn big, and Nathan was still unconvinced.

"Where is Chiron being held? What part of Known Space?" Lexi asked.

"Blue Sky. I cannot provide more details until we come to an agreement."

Blue Sky. A human world then. For some reason (probably the influence of the vids) she had imagined the kidnappers as Kzinti. Blue Sky was near Kzinti space though, which was why it was the most heavily militarized world in Human Space. Heavily populated too. Many Terrans who had been denied a birthright on Earth ended up on Blue Sky. It would have been a popular choice anyway, with its earthlike gravity and climate. But unlike some of the other colony worlds, there were no restrictions on immigration and no Fertility Board. For whatever reason, Blue Sky wanted a high population.

Lexi had never been to Blue Sky. But she already knew she would hate it. She'd weigh six times what she ought to--every step, every breath an effort.

"What would they want with a Puppeteer?" she asked.

"That information is not available to me. I can only speculate that they hope to recover technological secrets. Perhaps the General Products hull."

ooc: Dan, feel free to sig anything you like. :smallsmile:

[rubakhin]

Kerouac isn't saying much of anything. To him, the situation is pretty cut-and-dry. Somebody needs them, they're the right people for the job, and they're getting something out of it to boot.

Sure, they could all die horribly, but it's not like that had ever stopped them.

"All the way to Blue Sky, huh? So how much time do we have until we leave?" he asks. "I just got this idea and if we've got a couple hours maybe I could tune up the ... " His voice drops to a mumble and he starts sketching a diagram out on a scrap piece of paper.

[happyturtle]

"If we can reach an agreement, I hope you will leave within 24 hours. I have prepared a draft contract," Ambir says, and offers Nathan an electronic tablet. You can scroll through the text of the contract, and there is a stylus for making amendments. It's a familiar device, one that you've often used. You can beam the information to the ship's computer if you like, or to the personal handheld computers of anyone in the crew who carries one. (Lexi always has hers on her, and of course Mark is his own computer.)

As you look over the contract, looking for any red flags, the biggest surprise seems to be how few red flags there are. This is not what your professor said Puppeteer contracts were like. The two things that get your attention however are these:

"The autodoc of the Lucky Penny shall be upgraded with proprietary technology. After upgrade, autodoc is not to be sold to any third party. If Lucky Penny is sold, autodoc shall be removed and either retained by Alexandria Temple and/or crew, or offered to Ambir for purchase. No third party shall be permitted to examine autodoc without prior authorization by Ambir."

"This contract shall remain in force until one of the following events occurs: a) The recovery of the Puppeteer herein referred to as 'Chiron' b) Conclusive evidence of Chiron's death is obtained c) The death of Alexandria Temple and every member of her crew. If contract extends longer than 60 days, parties will be paid a per diem stipend."

[happyturtle]

"What do you mean by 'proprietary technology'?" Lexi asked.

"I intend to use Puppeteer nanotechnology to upgrade your autodoc," Ambir said. "There are many factions who would desire to claim it."

"Then why give it to us?" Lexi was remembering her conversation with Nathan about the dangers of a compromised autodoc. She wasn't crazy about the idea of Puppeteer nanonmachines in her bloodstream.

"It is the most efficient method to produce the desired result. Using human technology, it would take weeks for me to reprogram your autodoc to treat Mark Wier. In addition, the upgrade will allow your autodoc to repair any carbon-based animal life form. Chiron will be able to use it."

Lexi stared at Ambir in disbelief. "Any species...? That's not possible."

"Not with human technology."

"You're saying I could stick a dolphin or a Kzinti or a Kdatylno in there, and it would be healed?"

"That is correct."

"Wow." She'd had no idea Puppeteer medical technology was so advanced. "And it will be safe? It won't mess with our minds?"

"Not unless it should diagnose you with mental illness."

"And who decides what 'mental illness' is?"

"The diagnostic software, of course, Alexandria Temple," Ambir says, sounding exasperated. Being an alien, she must have put that tone in her voice deliberately. "Human diagnostic software. If you were sane by Puppeteer standards, you would be completely unsuited for this mission. If you were sane by Puppeteer standards, you would each be on your homeworld and would never have left. It is not in my interest to alter your minds." She taps on her computer. "However, I will provide assurance." Text is added to the contract stating that the autodoc will not attempt mental alterations except as indicated by mental illness, as defined by the latest edition of the diagnostic software issued by the Interworld Medical Association headquartered on Earth.

"Time grows short," she says. "What further assurances do you require?"

[happyturtle]

ooc:I'm going to npc Nathan since we haven't seen Coat in two days. Hopefully he'll turn up soon.

Nathan and Ambir spend some time going over the contract until Nathan is satisfied with it. In particular, he changes the termination clause to state that the contract will end in 60 days, whether or not Chiron has been recovered, and can be re-negotiated at that point. Ambir accepts this change, as it is clear that Nathan is not going to sign the contract otherwise. When the negotiations are complete, you each signify your acceptance via voice recording, which is standard for legal contracts. If there is ever a question later, the voice patterns can be analysed to prove that the parties were not impaired or under duress.

After you have a contract, Ambir gives you more details. The Blue Sky military R&D division are holding Chiron. Recently, they encountered a security breach, in which one of their bioweapons was stolen, along with its accompanying test data.

The day of the raid, an anonymous user posted several, vague files, to the Hypernet, focusing on chat rooms that took an interest in current events. He hit three, all well used, with high traffic. These files were vague, but gave lists of experimental subjects, basic bio-details, and the project briefs.


I have obtained documentation from the Blue Sky Military's internal system. I have broken the encoding, but you will see, the files are genuine.

.... [static]

They make for grim reading. Such things must not escape the public eye.

Bring the light. Show the Truth. Spread the word..... [static]

The Watcher.

Within those files there was a single reference to a Puppeteer prisoner. The bioweapon's handlers were asked to take their prototype to Citygate Building to assist in an interrogation. The fully armed prototype was locked up with the Puppeteer prisoner for 5 hours, with its only orders being that it was not to harm the prisoner in any way, or to tell it that those were the orders. The exercise was a failure for the interrogators, in that the prisoner found the bioweapon interesting rather than frightening, and even spoke to it, but from the point of view of the bioweapon's handlers, the prototype performed satisfactorily.

Given the capabilities of the bioweapon, Ambir believes that any normal Puppeteer should have been terrified into catatonia. The fact that Chiron was not is evidence that he is probably completely insane. The portable first aid kit contains a cuff to be wrapped around one of the Puppeteers necks, through which the computer can quickly perform a diagnostic. If it determines Chiron to be dangerous, it will immediately sedate him. Unfortunately, further data on Chiron's captivity is unavailable. It was only a fluke that the bioweapon interacted with Chiron at all.

Ambir has contracted with the insider on Blue Sky who provided the information. He will rendezvous with you on Scrapheap asteroid to offer his assistance. He has floorplans of Citygate Building and information about Blue Sky's defences.

She concludes by asking Kerouac to accompany her to her residence to collect her tools and supplies.

ooc:1. Anyone who wants a private conversation with Ambir over the next 24 hours can have one. Mark, you can assume that yours takes place after the Penny has been restored to flight capabilities. Use PM, or if you'd rather, you can email me at http://www.spam-proof-email-generator.com/docs/4/4hg_futerox.jpg

2. Ambir will be working on the 'doc for several hours. Anyone who wanted to break into her house can give it a try.

3. Ambir is leaving the operational planning of the mission up to you, but is supplying whatever gear you need that she can access. Since Nathan is precognitive, you can assume as players that you have everything you need. If you get to a point in the mission where you think 'Gee, if I only had three yellow roses and a wind up mouse...' then you'll have them, because Nathan realized they'd come in handy. In addition to this, she's providing Blue Sky military uniforms for each of you, being created by a computerized fabricator/sewing machine. It includes a layer of impact armour that will stop bullets. Hopefully they don't shoot you in the head... :smalleek:

4. Dan, Lexi asks for some shooting lessons.

5. I'll try to get the map of the dungeon Citygate Building, obtained from Lucius, up over the weekend so you can make plans. Keep in mind that the party can split up into as many groups as you want, because unlike at a tabletop game, I can run them all at the same time. :smallsmile:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan voiced his assent in the contracted in the briefest of words.
"I, the human flatlander known as Dan Freeboot, hereby assent to the terms and conditions of the contrct laid out with the crew of Lucky Penny and the Pierson's Pupeteer known as Ambir."
After this, he returns to his quarters and gathers some of his shadier equipment. Tere was no way a flatlander was going to blend in with all these albinos, so he'd just have to look... as unobtrusive as possible.
"Shutter Bug, got a sec?" he asks Kerouac when he sees him in the passageway, after he returns from gethering supplies from Ambir.[hr]Assuming Kerouac follows, Dan asks for the location of Ambir's residence.
If Kerouac doesn't show, I'll post something else.[hr]"Lex, baby, I'll give you some lessons in a few hours, I saw this one bar in town with some liekly-looking victims. I wanna check the place out for a bit. We're getting underway tomorrow, right? Plenty of time!"

[happyturtle]

ooc: The location is pretty easily available, given that Ambir is the only Puppeteer on the planet. I think we can assume Dan can get his hands on the info pretty easily, and you can go ahead and get started if you want. And there are plenty of flatlander immigrants, so you won't be too too conspicuous. Crashlanding City is an underground city, so your urban stealth applies.

BTW, Everyone's Aspects have refreshed.

Lex rolls her eyes. "Dan, in case you didn't notice, we're not hurting for stars anymore." But she's not really trying to stop you. She never has before. "Be careful, 'kay?"

[rubakhin]

Kerouac rolls his eyes. "Not a chance! Look, Ambir is a fine person. I don't understand why you're all so paranoid. And I doubt you'd gain much by breaking in. If you want to, I guess there's nothing I can do about it, but I'm not going to help you."

"Also," he adds, "is this just because she was so nervous around you before? I asked her about that. It's nothing. She did background checks beforehand, and, for obvious reasons, she couldn't find out anything about you. I explained to her that you had been living off the grid for most of your life, and also that you weren't a bad guy, and she calmed down a lot."

[Wizard of the Coat]

OOCSorry for my absence, but I could barely log into the boards for the past day.

Still an other small change that I'd like to make is that termination of the contract as stipulated in clause X refers to the recovery of Charon and would not cause us to lose any payment, equipment (like the autodoc) or other benifits that we would have gained under it such as a full reimpursement of expenses made in pursuitof our mission.

Nathan would looks over any other clauses that indicate if and how Ambir will remain updated on the mission and how communications should be arranged. (he probably wouldn't change them, but he's interested in seeing how she's going to keep tabs on them, in part as it might help with the upcomming escapade oif him and Dan)

Nathan was eager to leave the ship soon after the contract had been negotiated, but paused to talk to Ambir as she was about to leave herself.

"Ambir, I must say that I am intrigued by working with you and Chiron, but do wonder about one thing. If Chiron is indeed insane he should naturally be treated for it. It may however also lead to him not trusting other humans such as us at all. To ensure we can still bring him back without harming him I'd have to ask you about some means to do so. For instance humanity has mercy bullets to make sure that we don't have to use lethal force. I am sure that puppeteers must have acces to such means and would be happy if you could provide us with some in case his insanity makes our job difficult."

He looks somewhat concerned as he asks her this, as if he dreads the prospect of this turning into a reality. Though he waits on her answer he is not going to argue with her if she disagrees and soon afterwards departs to his room to prepare to go out with Dan on their enterprize opening one of his closets to take out a small backpack containing numerous items that he could use to disguise himself or another. It looked innocuous and worn enough to be worn without raising to much suspicion, yet Nathan felt it would help to use this on his self assigned mission.

Leaving a few minutes after Ambir he leaves the ship without a word going to a nearby bar where Dan would be able to meet him, often it was better not to make excuses and just be back in time and it wasn't like they needed him for engineering in any case.

OOC to all
Can I assume we all have the equivalent of communicators or mobile phones or something on us, preferably (especially in Nathan's case) the kind that would have layer upon layer of securityto prevent people hacking it and listening in and the option to go 'of the grid'.

[happyturtle]

@ Nathan: "Such methods do exist, but they are only used by law enforcement on our homeworld. Since I am the only Puppeteer on this planet, I do not have any need for them."

@ Lexi: Ambir sets to work on the autodoc. Lexi accompanies her, as she spent just enough time in medical school to know a bit about the technology, but she's soon out of her depth. She's pretty much able to provide assistance by opening panels and passing Ambir tools, and that's about it. She does however, ask Ambir to stop calling her by her full name, and address her as Lexi, and Ambir complies.

"So, um, tell me to shut up if it's none of my business, but you referred to Chiron as 'he'. But his shape is similar to yours. Are you male or female?" Lexi asks.

"Neither," Ambir answers. "My species has three sexes. I used the masculine pronoun for Chiron merely for convenience sake, as your language does not provide a gender neutral pronoun. Chiron and I are not the same sex, so you may think of me as female if it makes you more comfortable."

ooc: @Kerouac: see your PM for what happened at Ambir's place

@Nathan: You do not have any difficulty getting the changes made to the contract that you suggested. As for communications, daily updates by hyperwave are requested, with allowances made for contact interruptions in case of necessity or emergency.

And yes, secure communications among the crew are available. Probably looks like a bluetooth earpiece, but smaller and sleeker, and it makes a temporary secure bond to the skin so it doesn't fall off. They aren't normally very secure, but Mark could easily have added that.

[Thanatos 51-50]

To Kerouac:
"Well, okay... that makes sense." Dan relents. "Thanks... that means I can actually spend some time having fun at the bar, too, eh?" Freeboot winks at this last line, and lets a childish grin smear itself across his face.
He leaves immediatly afterwords for his conversation with Lexi
Can I out-bluff the Empath? [roll0]

To Lexi:
"Stars are... a secondary priority. We're about to get underway again, and I wanna spend some time with a woman thats slightly more responsive than an Ice Sculpture. Unless you're willing to thaw a bit..." the thief, once again, somehow manages to make this sentance flirtacious and endearing.
He then tips his fedora and makes an exagertaded "gentlemanly" bow, obvious copied from from the vids.

To Nathan:
Freeboot pats the First Mate on the back. "Hey, you still owe me that brewski, 'member?" he jests as his other hand attatches his personal bluetooth (flesh-colored!) "I know just the bar, too!"

[happyturtle]

ooc:
Can I out-bluff the Empath? (4d3)[2][1][2][1](6)
Not with that roll! You are so busted.


"Unless you're willing to thaw a bit..."

"Another time, love. Some of us have to work for a living."

[rubakhin]

"Dan." Kerouac crosses his arms and gives him a murderous look as he disappears after Lexi, calling after him,"Trained. Psychic. Remember? Also, my IQ 's not in the single digits, dumbass."

He catches up with him as he's leaving the ship and says, "Listen, don't do anything stupid. Why don't we just go out drinking (for real, obviously), get moderately trashed, and forget about this whole business for a night? God knows when we'll get the chance again."

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan gave Dan the benifit of half a nod to confirm his request for a drink, signaling him to lead the way.

"We'd be happy to have you come along Kerouac, but I do suppose that you've got to help out with the modifications or otherwise spend some time adjusting the ships systems. Remember there is plenty of stuff that needs a tune up before this thing aint a deathtrap anymore." Nathan says to the mechanic as he catches up with them in a happy and welcoming tone, but ends up sounding like a parent who'd feel 'disapointed' if he didn't do his chores. "Just give us a call when you and Ambir are done and we'll meet up with you for a last night of revelry"

[rubakhin]

"Of course, of course, Kerouac nods. "So, after me and my lovely assistant Dan are done fulfilling our engineering duties, we'll catch up with you."

[Paladin5]

"I suggest," says Mark walking into the conversation, "that ... instead of ... spending the ... 24 hour preparation ... period becoming intoxicated ... or," Mark adds looking at Nathan and Dan, "in even ... less productive activities, it ... would be advisable to ... begin ... operational planning and the .... procurement of any ... necessary ... materials."

OOC:

Mark has downloaded all mission details into his memory banks.

I assume more details are forthcoming.


He then hands Dan a datapad and says that, "I have ... listed a series of ... adjustments to the ship ... that you and ... Mr. Kerouac ... can perform."


The list consists of pretty minor tweaks to the ship. A chemical thruster slightly off in orientation, a loose maneuvering surface, a hydraulic line with slightly low pressure, etc. It should take at least a few hours though.

[happyturtle]

In the clinic: While working with Ambir, Lexi has the computer play some of her favourite music. Soon she is singing along--not brilliantly, but she's on key at least.


"My hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I can't seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you thank when you have such luck?
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!"

"I have not heard that before. Is it Lunie music?" Ambir asks.

"No, it's Terran. The singer was the King of Terra. I guess it was before the UN."

"Lexi, Terra was never ruled by a single king. You must mean the sovereign of a particular nation state."

Lexi crinkled up her face. "Oh hell, I don't know. I sort of flunked Terran History. That was the year that Jorge Ashford's family immigrated from Earth, and he already knew it all, so we cut class together a lot." She grinned. "He was my first flatlander. They aren't terribly limber, but mmmm... those muscles...." She is lost in a moment's reverie. "Anyway, he was into antique music, and that's when I first heard King Presley."

Don't go too hard on Lexi... how much detail do you remember about bards from 600 years ago? :smallwink:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan freezes as his companions prevent him from leaving, listening with a (mostly) even head to their disputes.
He was caught, most definatly, and there was no way to weasel out of it.

He snatched the datapad from Mark's hands in one quick, angry otion.
"Okay, fine, you got me. I hereby, promise, on my... well, theres really nothing I can swear on to make you guys believe me...
I will not, however, force my way into Ambir's residence.
As for these repairs..."

Dan is telling the truth, for you Empaths in the audiance. However, here is a bluff check: [roll0] to pass the fact the an "Open window" does not constitute "forced entrance"
Invoking: Con-man (x2) to increase all die rolls by one, making the total ++ Nil Nil.
+3 Bluff +2 Dice = +5 total.
[roll1]
Dan's quick eyes scan the contents of the datapad.
"External systems only. The rest can be taken care of after we're underway. It'll pass the time.
Also - Nathan and/or Mark, do you know what type of guns Blue Sky Military carries? I can see if I can tap into the Crashlander Black Market for similar arms. If we're going to blend it, it should be worth the stars. If you're worried that I'll use it as an excuse to break in, let Lexi come with me. She asked me for shooting practice, anyway."

[happyturtle]

ooc: 1. Bluff roll is good enough, unless people want to try and roll to see if they detect it. Might have trouble finding windows in an underground city though.

2. Nathan would have pretty detailed files on the military capabilities of human worlds, so he can tell you what you want to know. Mark can also get the information, though Nathan's files will be more in depth than what is easily available.

3. Lexi will be fine to go with you. She's figured out by now that Ambir doesn't need her help, and that she doesn't have a hope in hell of working out whether Ambir is corrupting the 'doc in some way.

[rubakhin]

Kerouac is more or less satisfied with that. "Right, take Lexi if you go. It'll get her out of Ambir's hair. And God knows you two have been itching to spend some time alone, haven't you? I'm going to get started on these repairs."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"So much for a boys night out..." Nathan sighs as Kerouac leaves for Ambir. He did NOT want Lexi along. "Blue sky personel use a varienty of weapons, but I think the Mark IV Whistler is one of their more common handguns. Packs a decent punch, but not the best piece of kit available, yet unless we have a good reason to wear heavier gear we'd quickly be spotted by security checkpoints." Nathan tells Dan. "Listen though, whilst you and Lexi spend some private time on the black market I'm off to get some more info. I'll meet you in that bar for a drink after we're done."

Nathan leaves the ship almost immediately afterwards...he'd been wanting a spare moment to contact his superiors...all he needed was the hyperwave encoder he was carrying and an uplink.

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Awareness (+2) against Dan's bluff: [roll0] -> Great (+3)

Military (+2) check on Blue Sky: [roll1] -> Superb (+4)

[happyturtle]

ooc: @Mark: 1. Dan's bluff beats your Awareness.

2. You can't touch Blue Sky systems from the hyperweb, but you can find the information from other sources, such as We Made It's intelligence service.

3. Through your hyperlink with the ship, you can monitor some of Ambir's work on the autodoc. She's upgrading the computer circuits in the 'doc with Puppeteer technology. It's beautiful, but at the same time, it makes a jarring contrast with the rest of the ship and makes the human circuits looks old and ugly.

[happyturtle]

"When they said you was high classed,
Well, that was just a lie.
When they said you was high classed-- Lexi sees Kerouac enter the clinic. "What's up K?"

He tells her about the plan, and Lexi immediately agrees. "Good thinking. We need to top up on supplies anyway. We were originally going to be planetside for another week, so me and Dan haven't done any of our shopping. We'll leave the cargo hold empty though. Might give us a bit of extra speed, and we can use the space as a shooting range while we're in hyperspace."

She stands up and wipes her hands on the legs of her jumpsuit. "Besides," she adds with a rueful smile in Ambir's direction, "I don't think my assistance is necessary here."

Lexi collects wish lists from everyone, then catches up with Dan. "This will be fun," she says with a grin. "We can actually afford everything we need for once."

ooc: 1. If there's anything really unusual you want Dan and Lexi to look for, post it in the ooc thread. If it's reasonable for them to procure it within a few hours, then you'll get it. If you don't mind them knowing what you have, that is. Might be harder if you want to try and do your own acquisitions. Along with the weapons and any requested items, she'll be getting refills for the autodoc and autokitchen, hair dye (her current style is a bit conspicuous), and recreational drugs. I'm sure she also has a long list from Kerouac of parts and tools he needs to make his baby happy. (Probably a list he's been compiling for quite some time.)

2. Ambir will be working on the autodoc till morning. She takes several food breaks (herbivores have to eat more often than omnivores) and before her first break, adds a program on Puppeteer diet to the autokitchen. Mark will no doubt check up on it, and will find out that it's a commercially available piece of software used by passenger liners who need to be prepared to feed passengers of any species. It is perfectly safe.

3. Ambir is happy to converse with anyone who stops by. Despite using her mouths as hands, she can talk while she works. It seems her voice is produced primarily with her very long vocal cords rather than requiring lips and tongue to shape.

[Paladin5]

Mark wanders off to speak with Ambir while the others are away.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan cahnges his "unlawful excursion" gear into "unlawful shopping" gear (in other words, he puts on a light jacket and stows his more complicated lockpicks) before meeting Lexi at the gangplank.
"Glad you could join us, you got everyone's Christmas list?" Dan asks in a teasing tone as Lexi arrives.
He takes a moment to scan everyone's list and mntally adds up the stars it would take.
Yup, they had enough, and this little excursion was not only perfect for casing Ambir's residence, but also looking into that assault rifle he had always wanted.
"Now, to be honest, babe, I've been slacking a bit and not really looking too hard for the market here planetside, but it shouldn't be too hard." he explains as he tucks everyone's wishlists in a jacket pocket.
He looks thughtful for a few moments.
"Lets try... hmm.... This way!" he says, heading off in a seemingly random direction. If he follows the right path from here, he can "accidently" go by Ambir's house.

[happyturtle]

Lexi is happy to follow Dan's lead, happy to be in the crowds of the city, happy to have money to spend, and happy to be on the verge of an adventure. All her reservations about Ambir had vanished. Mark was clearly his normal self, or whatever passed for "normal" with him, and the contract they'd signed was more than fair. Anyone looking at her can tell she's bubbling over in excitement and delight, her eyes shining. Forget hang-gliding. This is the kind of rush I've been looking for.

"Shouldn't take us long," Lexi says. "The guy who bought our cargo knows a guy, and Simon knows another." Simon was one of her two companions from the night before. "Sucks being on a tight deadline--that'll cost us stars--but since we're not buying cargo, we've got the stars going spare." Of course she knows Dan does not agree with her cavalier attitude towards money. For her, it was easy come easy go, but Dan found it painful to overpay by even a tenth star. "So what happened to your original plans for the evening?"

ooc: I've given Lexi some ranks in Contacting. Combined with Dan's social skills, and his teamwork bonus, they are actually pretty good at this sort of thing when they work together.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan grinned and waited for a bit before answering Lexi's question, dodging though the crowd with a liquid ease and grace.
"Truth be told, I never was going to a bar." he explain's as he ducks between a couple albinos.
Being small was a mobility advatnage, as he had learned through his early life. You could dodge and weave and avoid being hit alot easier. And that was just as he was doing - by pure relflex.
He also had an annoying habit of disapperaing for a few seconds whenever he started to leave Lexi behind, only to re-appear when she caught up or got utterly confused.
Cities were an organisim, a single, grand cell. And it was their innate workings which Dan exploited so expertly.

A foriegn body was usually rejected by its host cell the moment it was noticed, but, in society, there were so many holes in the cell's systems. IT just didn't detect foreign bodies anywhere near well.
Somewhere in the route, Dan had accessed a public computer, or bribed a passerby, or somehow obtained information telling where "That one Pupetteer lived".
Soon thereafter, they were at her doorstep and Dan stopped.
"It was an excuse to check this palce out, doll. I'm going to look for any holes in her security real quick. For her own saftey. Be right back."
[roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
Awareness is to spot security holes, Free-running is to get to normally inaccesable areas. Urban Stealth is to be sneaky about it.
Er... total results -
awareness: -4+1 = -3
Free-running strikes even: +1
Stealth +1+1=2

[happyturtle]

Ambir's house is in a posh part of the city, in a residential district where the crowds are thin. It is a low, stand-alone structure with wide corridors separating it from the larger human houses in the area. It has a single door and no windows. You don't see any security at all.

ooc: Let's see if Lexi does: Awareness [roll0] +0

Edit: Okay, that leaves her at a -1, while you were at a -3, so the two of you suck at recon. But she at least notices one thing.



Lexi speaks to you in your earpiece. "Dan, are you nuts? There are cameras everywhere!" With that warning, you look around (sneakily, since you made that roll) and realize that she's right. The security cameras are thicker here than anywhere else in the city.

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Dan (-1) -> Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Fair (+1)
Lexi (+1) -> Awareness (+2): [roll1] -> Superb (+4)
Nathan -> Awareness (+2): [roll2] -> Legendary (+6)

[Paladin5]

Mark's voice suddenly chimes in through Dan's earpiece,"As I stated ... before ... Mr. Freeboot, your present course of ... action is ill-advised .... .... especially considering the state of ... security around the .... dwelling. I suggest ... you desist and ... return to your other ... business."

[happyturtle]

ooc: Mark, did you send that only to Dan, or to Dan and Lexi both?

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Just to Dan.

[Thanatos 51-50]

OOC:
Don't know how you want to rule this, turtle, but Dan's Stealth (+2) beat Mark's Awareness(+1)!

[happyturtle]

ooc: Mark does not know where you are, but he knows where Lexi is, and can probably guess you aren't far off.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Ill-advised my action may be. For a fact, I'm aware that it is utterly fruitless. Ambir's place is secure. I wanted to make sure someone with less scruples than I wouldn't take the oppertunity to steal General Products technologies. I promised to you all that I wouldn't test the lock, and so I won't."
Dan evenly replied through his earpiece before re-appearing.
"Alright, Lex, our friend is safe. Lets see about those vegetables!"
With that, Dan immiedatly begins activly searching for the Black Market.

I assume Dan's Fence skill will work. [roll0]
Total results: +1 Fence, +3 Roll = +4 result!

[happyturtle]

ooc: Let's see if Lexi can provide any help.

[roll0] +2

[happyturtle]

ooc: Let's see if Lexi can provide any help.

[roll0] +2


Okay that was bad... Let's invoke Lexi's 'Lucky' aspect to reroll:

[roll0]

Total +1 to add to Dan's roll making it +5

[happyturtle]

Working together, Dan and Lexi charm or bribe or bluff enough people to finally reach a weapons dealer. The dealer doesn't have 5 of the Whistler in his own stock, but he makes some calls and manages to round some up. He also offers Dan a selection of assault rifles to choose from.

ooc: Going to roll on Lexi's telepathy here:

[roll0] 1 + 3 = Superb

Dan, are you buying live ammunition, or just mercy bullets? You can get both, but I just need to know what the party's going to be carrying.

Before they leave, Lexi gets a hunch that maybe the dealer has something else available. Something he might not want to show just anyone.

"Someone told me you might know where we could get some mining equipment," Lexi says, laying a hand on his arm.

"Not really my line of business."

"Of course not, of course not. It's just that I know a Belter who'd pay good money to get his hands on a Slaver disintegrator."

It doesn't come cheap, but Dan and Lexi manage to convince him to part with the disintegrator. This is indeed a mining instrument, quite capable of digging through tough rock. It does this by destroying the molecular bonds and vaporizing the item it's aimed at. If aimed at a human, it would flay them alive, depositing their atoms in a fine mist all over the area. If you used it long enough, you could completely vaporize someone. This, to put it mildly, is pretty heavy weaponry, and it seems completely out of character for Lexi to want it.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan haggles for a long time with the dealer over the price of the Whistlers, eventually coming to an agreement only because Dan couldn't, in fact, take his business elsewhere.

Then, came the Assault Rifles.
There was a small collection, and Dan slowly, methodically went over the pros and cons of every weapon before eventually deciding on one.

The following is Dan's priority list of features (in order):
Versatility - the weapon must be able to fire underwater, in a vacum, and in any number of improbable situation.
Reliability - the less the weapon jams, the better
Common Caliber - Bullets must be easy to find.
Collapseable stock - For flavour reasons
Magazine Capacity - as much as possible
Recoil - as little as possible
Customization - as much as possible. This is Dan's lowest priority, but over-and-under rails would definatly spark his interest. He'd be willing to spend a few extra stars on a reflex sight or tactical scope and flashlight.

While hes there, Dan looks over everyone's wishlist and stimulates the underworld economy a bit by favoring purchase of such items here.
If a widget is in good conditon, and costs the same (or less) than a legally acquired widget, he'll make the deal here rather than legally acquire a widget.
Its a personal thing.

The thief, however, refuses to assist the captain in her drug deals.

Dan pays attention to Lexi's purchase of the disintegrator., as soon as they are out of earhost, with goods they can carry in hand, he turns to Lexi.
"What did you want the laser for? Thats... pretty intense stuff."

[happyturtle]

"We're going to be in a basement, right?" Lexi says. "Maybe we need to dig ourselves out. Good god, I wouldn't use this on a person!" She stuffs it out of sight in her rucksack, and shows not the slightest interest in Dan's shiny new assault rifle.

ooc: Yes, you can have all of that. Good roll + plenty of money means that the dealer guy can track down what you want even if he doesn't have it himself.

Lexi tries to get her own drugs:
[roll0]
Contacting 2 - 1 = +1 Which is good enough for a flirtateous woman in the bad part of town to get hold of drugs.

(And for all you kids playing along at home... just say no to drugs, as well as to black market weaponry and exotic mining tools! :smalltongue:)

[Thanatos 51-50]

"well, if you had to, would you?" Dan asks as he crates the illegally-acquired goods back to the ship (don't want to get caught with 'im, no siree!) before going out for a last round of shopping for the items there really is no black market trade for.

[happyturtle]

"No. No way," Lexi says, then thinks it over some more. "Well, I don't know, if one of you guys was in trouble... No, I still couldn't. Not with this thing. That's just... gruesome. If I absolutely had to kill someone, kill or be killed type situation, let it be with a regular gun. But I'd rather stick to the mercy bullets and not kill anyone."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Good. I want you to carry it when we go on-mission, then. We'll have to figure out a way to disguise it and bring it in, but I don't want anyone else in the crew to know unless we need to use it.
Especially Nathan.
I don't doubt Nathan would use it on any of us at a moment's notice. And the only way three people can keep a secret is if two are dead.
That gear is way intense, Lex."
He stops Lexi in the street to explaion this and looks really, really serious about the whole ordeal.
"You know I have... moral issues, but that... thats too much. It makes my stomach queasy just thinking about it."

I, on the other hand, would love to see the flavor any one of us would write if we use it to kill a person! I'm twisted, with morals, Dan is both without twisted-ness and morals.

[happyturtle]

Lexi feels as if she's been punched in the gut. "What?! No, Nathan would never-- how could you even think such a thing?"

ooc:Telepathy to see if Dan really believes what he said about Nathan.

[roll0]= +2 (That's good enough. So does he?)
Good god, please let this be Dan's idea of a sick joke...

[Paladin5]

OOC:

Invoking "More Machine Than Man" aspect.

Awareness (DC -2): [roll0] -> Poor
Awareness (DC -1): [roll1] -> Average

[happyturtle]

@ Mark: Lexi keeps disappearing from cameras for stretches of time, as the network of cameras is poorly maintained and frequently vandalized in the seedier part of town. However, you have a general idea of her movements, with occasional glimpses of her here and there. (It helps that she's practically got a bulls eye as her hair dye scheme.) Dan is completely invisible to you until you catch sight of him walking near Lexi and guiding a hovercart with a couple of crates of goods back towards the spaceport.

Their transactions are completely off the grid--cash only--and therefore non-existent as far as the computer is concerned.

[happyturtle]

No, he doesn't completely believe that... but he's not joking either.

Lexi feels sick. "I don't like secrets. I trust Nathan." And I trust Dan. And Dan's serious about this.

She shoves her rucksack into Dan. "Take it. Destroy it, sell it, hide it, I don't care." She glares down at him. "I hate keeping secrets. But I'll do it. If you want me to carry it on Blue Sky, I'll do that too. But don't ask me to believe that Nathan would turn on us. Don't you dare."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Perhaps I mis-spoke." Dan says, mulling over his words more carefully this time.
"The Slaver is dangerous. I... couldn't trust myself to not use it, and I definatly can't trust Nathan to not use it. After us, you're the only one guns even moderatly mix with."
He sighs, as he tries to figure a way to sling the rucksack, before giving up completely and handing it back off to Lexi.
"We'll keep it, sure, wouldn't want to waste the stars." He began to explain, "You know I trust Nathan's got my back, and I got his. Same goes with anyone aboard the Penny. I guess the fact that hes our resident Mercenary gets me on edge. Merc's Creedo is "where to money goes", right? I ran in a gang on Terra, I'll protect my gang before I go for a big score.".

With a sudden smile, Dan flashes his msot charming grin. "What? Flatlanders are aloud to be paranoid, too. Lets get this stuff to the Penny, so we can get drunk enough to forget this conversation!"

[happyturtle]

"Yeah, okay," Lexi says, still clearly miserable. She takes a couple of steps, then impulsively turns around and pulls Dan into a hug. "I hate this," she says, her voice muffled by Dan's shoulder. "I wish I hadn't bought it."

[happyturtle]

Dan and Lexi return to the ship with their illegally procured goods. Kerouac sees that Lexi was happy when she left and miserable when she returned. He is used to her moods shifting rapidly. She's not moody, exactly, she just lives in the Eternal Now. However, he's rarely seen her this unhappy without high gravity being involved.

ooc: Make two empathy rolls if you want to learn more, the first one for Lexi and the second one for Dan. You get +1 familiarity bonus for Lexi, and she's not opposing. Dan can oppose with a Bluff if he wants (and it's up to him whether he's even still dwelling on the disintegrator incident--you read his present emotions, not his past ones).

Ambir, while outwardly calm, is inwardly going into a manic frenzy. Kerouac can almost feel the emotional collapse coming.

ooc: I'll give another day of real time before we advance the story. Any last minute things anyone wants to do on We Made It?

[rubakhin]

ooc:


Jeez. :smalleek:

[roll0] (+1)

[roll1]

[happyturtle]

Kerouac can tell that Dan is in some way the source of Lexi's misery. She's a little bit angry at him, while at the same time feeling closer to him. And she's feeling guilty.

He can't get a read on Dan. Must be the emotional woman and alien in the room drowning him out. :smallwink:

[rubakhin]

Kerouac is pretty exhausted. It's not easy being able to read how everyone's feeling. Even less so when everyone's running full-throttle like this. He kinda just wants to ignore everyone, break into whatever opiates Lexi brought back with her, and go to bed. Of course, that would be bad. (Moreover, it would eat at him even worse if he tried.)

He walks close to her, trying to look inconspicuous, and drops his voice down to a whisper, so that Dan can't hear. "Lex? Is something wrong?"

[happyturtle]

Lexi feels a sudden rush of affection towards Kerouac, at his concern, but she waits until Dan leaves the room before answering. "Oh, you know, Dan hit on me, I told him I didn't mess around with my crew, and he begged and pleaded and made me feel bad." This is clearly meant as a joke, but Kerouac can tell she isn't planning on telling him what really happened. "Kerouac, do you trust me?"

ooc: Not sure how 'trust' came to be such an important theme in this game, but I'm enjoying it. :smallsmile:

[rubakhin]

Kerouac furrows his brow. So it did have something to do with Dan, but he doubts he's going to get answers from him either.

"Yeah, of course I trust you. You're my captain, and you're a good woman."

[happyturtle]

"And the rest of the crew? Do you trust them too?"

[rubakhin]

"I wouldn't be traveling with them if I didn't trust them."

[happyturtle]

"That's exactly how I feel. We're a team. All five of us. And I couldn't do without any of you." She takes both his hands in hers and meets his eyes. "Listen, you probably know I'm not telling you everything, but I swear to God, it's not because I don't trust you. Okay?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

When Dan left the room, it was to dutifully deliver a Whistelr to each crewmember.
Lexi already ahd hers, and he had accidently left before handing Kerouac his. Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, he made a mental note to break into his room and leave the weapon on his desk.
As he handed the weapon to each crewmember, (Carefully avoiding Ambir as he did this - no need to freak her out!) he solemnly added the simple piece of advice to "Practice in your spare time."
What he didn't tell them was that he was also planning to rig the Gravity to stay at about 1 g the entire trip to Blue Sky to keep everyone acclimated, and he'd be running PT for the less physically inclined crew-members and those used to weaker gravity.

As soon as he handed off the weapons, he moved into the autokitchen and re-programmed it to include slightly higher amounts of carbohydrates and other essential nutrients for the mission.
It was going to be tense, and everyone would need that little extra bit of energy JUST in case.
[roll0] To re-program the auto-kitchen, if nessecary

He hid all the illegal supplies he could in the less conspicous "smuggler's spaces" hidden throughout the ship.
Except for his weapons and the Slaver, which went into his personal cache.
The Assualt rifle, in particular (Which he was trying to think up a name for... "Vera" sounded somewhat right, but just a tiny bit off...) has stripped, cleaned, and re-stowed in a special little niche he had kept empty near his rack just for whenever he got a weapon like this.
Then he gets to wrok on those repairs he promised Mark.

Anybody reading Dan's emotions (or anyone with an unearthly keen sense of smell!) would get a quite clear reading of stress, only slightly more elevated than his usual pre-mission preperations. He is, however, doing his best to be calm and amiable to any crewmember (and even Ambir!) who approaches him.

[roll1] [roll2]
Bluff is to appear calm, Engineering is to get to work on the ship's external systems and rig the grav generator.
Also, I hope you enjoy the Firefly referance! :smallbiggrin:

[rubakhin]

"That's exactly how I feel. We're a team. All five of us. And I couldn't do without any of you." She takes both your hands in hers and meets your eyes. "Listen, you probably know I'm not telling you everything, but I swear, it's not because I don't trust you. Okay?"

"Okay." Kerouac nods, and gives Lexi's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I understand. And I know I do way too much prying. It's just kind of hard not to when you can feel everything but you don't know why or what's going on. Just take care of yourself, that's all I'm asking."

[happyturtle]

Lexi leans down and kisses Kerouac's cheek. "No, you never pry. You're the best." Then, with a sudden grin, "Now, as much as I'd love for us to get trashed right about now, I bet you could use a hand with the engines."

[happyturtle]

ooc Dan:
What he didn't tell them was that he was also planning to rig the Gravity to stay at about 1 g the entire trip to Blue Sky to keep everyone acclimated, and he'd be running PT for the less physically inclined crew-members and those used to weaker gravity.


Lexi's going to murder you in your sleep, you know. :smallbiggrin:

Yup, you succeed at both the cooking and engineering rolls. Ambir does not approach you at all.


Lexi's mood has improved a bit by her chat with Kerouac. Seems to be a knack of his, making people feel better. But she has a good imagination, and every now and then, she sees a very clear image of Nathan using the disintegrator to disassemble her crew one by one, saving her for last. "Damn you Dan," she mutters. "I'm going to kill you for putting that picture in my head." Why did I even get it? I'd never even thought of owning such a horrible thing, till I got a hunch the dealer had one. She somehow fails to follow this line of reasoning, not being quite ready to let her conscious mind realize what her subconscious mind knows.

She pops some uppers in order to pull an all nighter on the engines. She'd rather go back into the City, hit some bars, pick up a boy or three, and make the best of her last night planetside (Probably not going to be much partying on Blue Sky, that's for sure) but for once, she figures she'll do the responsible thing. It won't kill her, so long as she doesn't make a habit of it. And Kerouac was right... she'd been neglecting the engines too long. It was a wonder he hadn't walked off the job in disgust months ago.

Without quite realizing that she's doing it, she avoids both Nathan and Dan. When Dan turns up in engineering, she remembers that she needs to check up on Ambir and learn some more about the autodoc. (And thus doesn't notice Dan's work on the gravity generator.) The last thing she does, while Kerouac is walking Ambir home, is to return the fusion drive and thrusters to operational capacity. Once that is done, she downs enough drugs to hopefully keep her from having nightmares, crawls into bed and turns on the 0-g sleep field (mercifully a separate device from the main ship generator) and is soon passed out.

ooc: I figured Kerouac would have wanted to be sure Ambir made it safely home and didn't collapse on the streets somewhere. If he didn't do that, let me know and I'll rewrite that bit.

[happyturtle]

Midmorning, a few hours later, Lexi is awakened by a searing headache. Truth be told, it was what woke her up most mornings. "Sleep field off," she groans, and she is gently lowered to the surface of the sleeping plates. That's when she feels it. Gravity. Hated, evil gravity. One hand slaps out to a nearby terminal. Even half-awake and hungover, she can type in the keystrokes to reset the gravity generator without looking. But nothing happens. She sits up, slowly, feeling as if her bones would break under so much weight and tries again, actually looking at the screen this time. Ugh. She had done it right after all. It just wasn't responding.

"Hate you Dan," she mutters. She has no doubt that he is the one responsible for this hell. "Ought to wake you up in 6g sometime, see how you like it." This is not a new idea, but as it required her waking up earlier than Dan, she had never actually managed to carry it out. She closes her eyes again. The light from the screen is stabbing her brain. And unlike typical mornings, she aches all over. She remembers she'd been working on the engines, had been doing some heavy work. Can't remember why it had seemed so important.

Kerouac liked to treat hangovers with the hair of the dog, but Lexi was a firm believer in modern medicine. She staggers to the clinic, her eyes still tightly shut. It was no accident that her room was right across from it. She says it's because she's the only one with medical training, but the real reason is that the autodoc has a hangover cure.

She climbs into the coffin and pulls the lid shut.

Twenty minutes later, the lid swings open, and Lexi sits up, fully alert and completely recovered. She now remembers everything from the day before and is appalled that she had used a recently upgraded autodoc without testing it first. But it worked, and worked damn good. Her head is clear. Her aches and pains have vanished. She is full of energy--ready to take on the world, even if she has to do it in 1g.

If it hadn't been for the gravity, she would have raced to the kitchen at top speed. She has so much energy that she needs to burn it off somehow, but she'd never be able to run in 1g. She does manage a trot that is almost a jog, that must have amazed any of her crew who witnessed it. She dials a breakfast, then looks around for everyone else. They'd want to lift off soon.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"How'd you sleep, sugarplum?" Dan asks Lexi as he strolls into the compartment, a badly-burned piece of toast in his mouh as the other two held a datapad, upon which he was making a checkmark.
"All the externals I was working on yesterday are green." He explains, smoothly as if he didn't notice the Gravity. "As soon as Mark is up to it we can take off."

He sets the datapad on a counter, and uses his now-free hands to pull up a stool before he proceeds to conciously eat aforementioned toast.
"I figure, since we're heading to a Terra-like colony, we need to bulk up a bit. Low-grav has been spoiling the crew - myself included." he says, calmly, matter-of-factly. "I volunteer to run PT. Nothing too strenous, of course, but if we're all moaning and groaning about the gravity, that'll be a dead giveaway on Blue Sky.
People gotta be able to run if the going gets tough, you know."

As soon as the toast is gone, Dan reaches for a orange and a juicer. He kept such antiquties about the kitchen for really no identifiable reaon, other than he may just like cooking for himself instead of having a machine take care of it.
It becomes readily apparent that hes talking to himself more than anyone present.

Then, he begins muttering various bits of calethenics hes planning on putting the crew through, complete with "laps around the cargo bay".
After a while of this, and quite a few "hmmm... no"s, (subverted with the occasional "That sounds okay, but...") he suddenly brightens and looks directly at Lexi.
"How do you like 'Veronica'?"

[happyturtle]

How could anyone possibly function so well in this hellish gravity? It just wasn't right. Lexi thinks black thoughts in Dan's direction. "When did you become responsible?" Lexi asks. "And who the hell is Veronica?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

"New autodoc must see irresponsibility as a mental disease." Dan jokes as he takes a sip of fresh orange juice.
"And I was wondering what you thought of the name,Veronica, you know, for our baby?"
Dan shoots Lexi a look as if this should be common knowledge and she should have picked up on it right away.

It readily becomes apparent that Dan has yet to annoy the Capitan, today, and he was trying to start the day off right.
Its also pretty clear that hes warming up to the idea of being some sort of heroic spy from the vids on this current run, hence his over-the-top and somewhat uncharecteristic planning.
He fiddles a bit with the datapad until the building schemtics appear, then he studies them like a schoolboy pouring over his textbooks.

[happyturtle]

"I hope you weren't enough of an idiot to use the autodoc before I could get a chance to test it," Lexi says. She has no idea what 'baby' he's talking about. "Listen, about the gravity. Couldn't you, you know, build it up gradually over the journey? Please?"

[happyturtle]

While Lexi is failing to convince Dan to turn down the gravity (Damn him!) a delivery arrives from Ambir. The first crate contains the Blue Sky uniforms with their hidden weapons, along with extra buttons and a spare length of Sinclair molecular chain to practice with. The second contains the anti-grav belt, Puppeteer first aid kit, and personal gear for Chiron. Lexi takes it to an empty cabin to set it up for Chiron's use. The anti-grav belt she hangs on to though. After grabbing a shower, she tries it on. She could live in free fall if she wanted--heavenly!--but that would be awfully blatant. She dials it down to reduce her weight just slightly, about 0.8 gee, then puts her jumpsuit on over it. With any luck, Dan won't notice that she isn't quite as miserable as she ought to be.

Soon the ship and its crew are ready to depart. As is her custom, she sings along as the ship's speakers blast the Lucky Penny's official anthem: "Good Luck Charm" by King Presley.


"If I found a lucky penny
I'd toss it across the bay
Your love is worth all the gold on earth
No wonder that I say

Come on and be my little good luck charm
Uh-huh huh, you sweet delight
I want a good luck charm
a-hanging on my arm
To have, to have, to hold, to hold tonight"

ooc: Mark, how about a Piloting roll for the normal space part of the journey? With a Superb success, you can reach the edge of the system in .75 days instead of 1 day.

[Paladin5]

Mark, rather awkwardly, sets himself upright into the pilot's chair of Lucky Penny's . The chair, if you could call it a chair, is an impressive mess of cables and electronic equipement with very little body supports and would probably be considered quite uncomfortable to sit on. Mark then leans slowly back making sure that one by one - from the bottom up - each of his spinal ports connects correctly with the corresponding reciever. Once finished, Mark's eyes glaze over and close as the chair swivels to a near horizontal position. The cockpit lights up and the computer chimes in, "T minus five minutes to lift off. Please secure all loose objects and take your seats." The ship shudders, creaks, groans, and hisses as the maneuvering surfaces and chemical thrusters are put through pre-flight tests and the crew feels a slight lurch in their stomachs as the gravity polarizer momentarily switches between its maximum and minimum settings before settling back on 1g.

After five minutes, with the reactor warmed up, all the pre-flight checks completed, and the crew in their seats, the countdown begins, "T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ..." The roar of the chemical thrusters is unpleasantly loud as Mark smoothly lifts the Lucky Penny off of the pad and, while banking away from the spaceport, ascends to 500 ft before tilting the nose up ande kicking the engines into full throttle - swiftly, if a little uncomfortably, taking the ship into orbit.

Once in orbit, there is a half-a-second of silence before the fusion drive kicks in breaking the vessel free from the bonds of We Made It. Several minutes later, Lucky Penny slingshots around We Made It's moon rapidly heading out of the star system.

OOC:

Piloting - Normal Space (+3): [roll0]
Invoking "More Machine Than Man" aspect to switch from Great to Epic.

[happyturtle]

Lexi never fails to be impressed by Mark's mastery of the ship. Had she been the one piloting the ship, they'd still be in orbit as she worked out the safest route out of the system. Mark is able to do it without thought, the way Lexi herself can leap and dance in low gee without having to think about how to move her body. Of course for Mark, the ship is his body. A look at the computer screen shows her they'll be in hyperspace a full 8 hours early. "Mark, you're amazing!" she shouts, laughing in delight.

Feeling that things are well in hand here, she fetches her Whistler from her cabin and heads down to meet Dan in the cargo bay. She's hoping to bypass the whole concept of PT and focus on shooting practice. Sure, she's supposed to be impersonating a soldier, but only a soldier walking through an office building in an orderly manner. No one will expect her to be digging foxholes or running obstacle courses.

Of course that's only getting in. It won't be quite so easy to blend in on the way out with a Puppeteer in tow. According to Ambir, the Blue Sky office of General Products was staffed only by humans. No Puppeteer was willing to live on such a militarized world. So they will probably look pretty conspicuous on their way out.

She thinks again of using the disintegrator to dig out, but even putting aside the distaste she and Dan both have for the weapon, it isn't a great plan. It won't be fast, and who knows how much wiring or plumbing they'd break through just getting through the walls of the building. And then there would be whatever underground infrastructure the city possessed. Meanwhile, security forces could be pouring down the lift. Not good.

She shakes off her worries. Nathan will think of something. Or Dan will.

"Okay," she says to Dan and Nathan, holding out the Whistler. Not pointing at anyone, oh no! One time they had been running guns to the Free Wunderland movement, and Dan had caught her handling the cargo carelessly. He'd chewed her out good for that, and spent a few hours drilling her in gun safety, though she'd refused then to learn how to shoot. That was the first time she'd seen his serious side, and it had come as a complete shock to her. She was seeing it again now. "Wanna show me how to use this thing?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan quickly inspected the firearm and Lexi at a distance.

[roll0]Result = Dead even, +1 for ranks, +1 for dealing with Lexi, = +2. happyturtle PM'd me saying I'd need a +3, so...

Dan's inspection pauses for a second over the gravity belt, during which time he squints, as if something just isn't right.
"Probably my imagination," he mutters as he inspect's Lexi's firearm.
The saftey was off.
The stupid saftey. Was off.
"Cap'n, would you kindly tell me where the error lays in our current state of affairs - Lack of PT nonwithstanding?"
There is a pause that can be measured in fractions of a heartbeat.
"Your secondary saftey (the one on the gun, not your trigger finger) is disengaged. That means you could, quite possibly shoot some part of the ship. Please turn on the gun's saftey, holster it, and follow me for a warm-up lap around the cargo bay. It'll get the blood flowing. Much better to be aware of you're surroundings, don't you think?"
Dan lays down his overcoat and brand new rifle - unloaded, bolt open AND saftey engaged - nearby before setting off at a slow jog.

[happyturtle]

ooc: The grav belt is under Lexi's clothes, so you don't see it at all. The awareness roll was to notice that her weight is off.

"Oh for god's sake," Lexi mutters, annoyed at herself for forgetting the safety. "It's the frickin gravity. Pulls the blood out of my brain."

Even with the help of the grav belt, the thought of jogging is intolerable. She sets off after Dan at a brisk walk, which itself would have been far more than she could have managed if she wasn't still buzzing with energy from the autodoc. She'd need to check the 'doc and make sure she was still getting her osteo-supplements. It was all too easy for a person to break a bone from moving around in higher gravity than they were acclimated to.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Er... Maybe I mis-typed? Dan's gaze restsed on the GRav Belt, which was underneath the jumpsuit, and thats the reason he didn't notice it, but something still pinged him as "wierd".
Ya'know, like a someone looking at Clark Kent's face and staring at the glasses for a few seconds.

Dan is... merciful, after a sense, taking the "Warm-up lap" slow and easy (although, still at a brisk pace for him, blinding speed for Lexi :smalltongue:), and stopping after "only" two laps, before waiting for Lexi on the firing line.
Dan spends the time waiting for the much-slower-in-high-gee captain by loading his rifle and, in general, getting it ready to fire.
"See? Don'tchya feel ready to take on the world, now?" He asks, as he aims the weapon downrange at one of the targets he set up last night.
Where do you want to start?
Whats consdered "short range" and "effective range" for a common handgun like the Whistler in the Known Space 'verse?

[happyturtle]

ooc:
Whats consdered "short range" and "effective range" for a common handgun like the Whistler in the Known Space 'verse?

Er, I don't know. Happyturtle never got a chance to learn about firearms before moving to a country with no 2nd amendment. Wanna make something up for me?

"I want to be able to take someone down if I have to. With the mercy bullets, I mean. I know how they work--little slivers of anesthetic that dissolves in the bloodstream. Works fast, but not instantaneously. They might get a second or two to react before they collapse. So I want to be fast." She sighs. "Well, as fast as I can be in 1 gee."

[Thanatos 51-50]

OOC>

ooc: Er, I don't know. Happyturtle never got a chance to learn about firearms before moving to a country with no 2nd amendment. Wanna make something up for me?The only firearms training I have, the military gave me, and believe me when I tell you I'm horrible with guns. I believe "effective range" for the M9 is something like 50 meters, so we'll use that, unless there are any objections?
IC>
"So, you're worried, basically, about survival? Don't worry about it too much, lethal rounds have to hit somewhere solid to cause death - but they hurt like hell, and might incapcitate you for a bit. More than likely, the guards aregoing to be geared for LTL - thats Less-than-Lethal - if their weapon is even ready to fire."
Dan aimed down his sights for a couple of seconds, held his breath for a short while and squeezed off a practice round.
[roll0]
"Its pretty easy to draw a pistol quick. Not so easy to get a round somewhere where it'll do good. Not much of a difference, really, with a Mercy Bullet - you just need to strike mass"
Dan slung his rifle and tapped the Whistler he had on his leg. He usually didn't carry heat aboard ship, especially so much of it, but this was special, he wanted to get used to the feel of the equipemnt on his body. In his own special way, he was currently practing infiltrating the building.
He turns away from Lexi and faces downrange once more.
"Get to where you can see me draw." he advises, and, as soon as she complies, whips the weapon out of its holster.
His feet are immediatly planted shoulder-width apart, both arms straight, and his knees are slightly bent, coiled and ready to react.
"Take note of my hands and my stance. Being quick means getting from neutral to here as fast as possible."
[roll1]For the quick-draw demonstration.
Both rolls give an unmodified result of +4. (+2Ranks+2Roll) No matter how you slice the round he shoots (penalties against marksmanship, non-zero'd weapon), its more than likely still pretty good.
Also - I'm slowing down posting because everyone else is having computer issues, and I don't want to rush too far through the training before they get back.

[happyturtle]

"Don't worry about getting shot. Psshyeah, right..." Lexi muttered.

She watched Dan closely, and then did her best to imitate him, quickly getting into stance and drawing her weapon. She didn't squeeze the trigger--after all, the gun was still unloaded.

[roll0] -1 roll +4 acrobatics -1 gravity penalty = +2 Good

"How's that?"

[happyturtle]

Elsewhere in Known Space…


Ambir dances. The walls of her small home have vanished, and been replaced with whirling holographic images of thousands of her kind. The dance is intricate, and Ambir dances for over an hour without missing a step, until the image of Chiron appears among the dancers. With a discordant cry, she stumbles and nearly falls. The computer recognizes that Ambir is no longer dancing and stops the program. The holographic dancers vanish. Ambir slowly rises and walks unevenly towards her autodoc, steps into it, folds her legs under her, and tucks her heads down into her chest. The lid of the doc closes over her automatically. Shortly thereafter, the diagnostic software advises General Products and the We Made It government that Ambir is on medical leave.

******************

A Kzin whose fur is filthy and matted sits in a corner, purring to himself in utter contentment. A wire leads from the base of his skull to an input in the wall.

******************

The Minister calls by vidphone. "Have you located Dr Clark yet?"

"We've traced him and the prototype to the Olive Coast. He will be apprehended soon," said a blonde man in an azure blue uniform.

"See that he is."

The Minister signed off, and the blonde man smiled. He was quite certain that Dr Clark would never be found.

******************

The Puppeteer knew his neck was healing badly from where the bioweapon had broken it. He was losing the sight in that eye, and the pain was too great to use his mouth. If medical care was withheld much longer, his captors would have to amputate. Unless they were prepared to let him die. But he had stopped wishing for death long ago. Vengeance must come before death.

I could have killed the bioweapon before it damaged me. I should have. But if he had, the sonics would have been activated, and he would have been as helpless as before. Worse than before, because he would have lost the element of surprise. His captors did not know that he had yet one weapon at his command.

******************

She was an attractive woman with red hair who walked with the strong, confident gait of one who has done extensive physical training in a higher gravity than the 0.71g of Wunderland. There were many Kzin in the city of New Munchen, and as she passed them, she made a point of meeting their eyes and smiling widely. On Kzinhome, this would have led to a duel, but the Wunderkzin had learned to made allowances for humans, and did not assume that the baring of teeth was a challenge. Even if, as in this case, it was.

[happyturtle]

Just going to progress the story line a bit while we wait for Thanatos to return.

As the shooting lessons progressed, Dan figured out that Lexi was wearing the grav belt. This led to an argument, which led to Lexi turning her personal gravity down to zero, flying all over the room, and showing off how she could take someone by surprise and shoot them from above. Of course when she tried actually shooting a gun with no gravity, she wasn't expecting the recoil, and ended up slamming her elbow hard against the ceiling and completely missing the target. She finally accepted (after much badgering by Dan) that while she could eventually learn to shoot in different gravities, there just wasn't enough time to do this before the mission. Grudgingly, she handed over the belt to Dan and promised to train in 1 gee only.

Amazingly enough, she's actually doing it, and though she's bitching and moaning quite a bit, it's not nearly as much as everyone would have expected. Lexi gives all the credit to the autodoc. She's now tested it and given it the green light, and encourages everyone to use it daily. If you do, you'll find you can train harder without being sore the next day.

While testing the 'doc, though, Lexi comes across something strange. "This is weird," she says. Seeing Nathan in the corridor, she calls out to him. "Nathan, you got a minute?"

[Paladin5]

The computer chimes in, "Brace for transition to hyperspace." After several seconds, the Lucky Penny shudders and another announcement from the computer echoes through the ship, "Hyperdrive engaged. Estimated time to real space return: 4 days."

On the bridge, Mark slowly disconnects from the pilots chair and shuffles over to the mess. Grabbing the cereal dispensed by the autokitchen, Mark takes a seat and begins eating it - making quite a mess as usual. Those who are particularly perceptive might just recognize that Mark always seems slightly agitated while the Lucky Penny is in hyperspace. As is his custom, it is likely that Mark will spend most of the journey sitting in the mess slowly eating sugary cereal.


Pilot/Nav Hyperspace (+1): [roll0] -> Superb (+4)

[happyturtle]

Anyone who wants can walk in on this conversation. Lexi isn't trying to keep it private.

"The way a normal 'doc works is that it compares the patient to a database of healthy specimens. If there's a significant deviation, it goes to the diagnostic software to determine if treatment is required."

"This thing," Lexi says, patting the 'doc, "Works differently. There isn't a database. Instead, it compares the patient to the blueprint given in their own DNA. It's way beyond anything I've ever even heard of before. If I were to attempt to put a price on it... well, I can't conceive of it. It's worth more than Penny and everything on it, by several orders of magnitude. It doesn't make sense that a Puppeteer just gave this to us. That's the first problem."

"The second problem is that this thing obviously has not had any human input in the design. When it rebuilds you according to your DNA blueprint, it does it even if the DNA is stupid. It tried to grow back my wisdom teeth, and the diagnostic software convinced it not to on the grounds that there wasn't room. It did grow back my appendix. On Luna, those are routinely removed during infancy. And well... um..." Lexi grimaced. "Let's just say I seem to be a virgin again."

"I'm not a gene engineer, so I can't tell it how to interpret the DNA. All I was able to do was to get it to pop up a confirmation box whenever it wants to do something. So it's going to be tedious and need babysitting, but it's still amazing. Simply amazing."

"So then I wonder how it will handle Mark. If it rebuilt him from the DNA up, it could make him completely human again, but he wouldn't be Mark. Most of his brain would be a blank slate, and whatever of his mind is stored electronically would be gone. But the 'doc won't do that. It's got an override set up so that if Mark is put in the 'doc, it will ignore his DNA and rebuild him according to a set of specs loaded into the system. Basically it's a snapshot of the way he is now. If he's ever hurt, he'll be rebuilt exactly the way he is today. So that's clever."

"Now we get to the main problem. Mark's specs aren't the only ones in the 'doc. There's another set of specs in our 'doc. Remember when Ambir told us about the theft of a bioweapon? As far as I can tell, our autodoc has been modified to be able to provide maintenance to the weapon. Are we supposed to be transporting it somewhere? Did you know anything about this?"

The contract says nothing at all about the bioweapon. Ambir never mentioned to you the possiblity of you doing anything with it.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan had merely given an afirmative nod as he accompanied Lexi to the autodoc. As she spoke the psychic could not help but wonder about some of the device's other functions. maybe it could restore my memory. For the first time she was around Nathan Lexi would be able to read something of him, he'd let his guard down...unwillingly and seemingly unaware of it...she'd sense a mix of fear, hope and resolve in Nathan as she spoke of the miracles of this machine. The next feeling she sensed was one of disapointment...blank slate...it would remove my memories...again and a kind of mental absense...as if she was talking to a wall. His body made all the right intuitive sounds "hmmn.......interesting...", but she could feel his mind wasn't paying attention.

As Lexi mentioned the bioweapon Nathans mind closed as fast as the bedroom door of an angry child. interesting....

"Let's take a look at this bio-weapons specs then. If she's got anything planned it's best to know about it. I have a bad feeling about the place we're heading...as if we're driving a hovercar full speed into a misty forest."

Nathan pull up the autodocs specs on the bio-weapon and examines them.

OOC Precog: [roll0] What does nathan's mind sense of this bio-weapon. => result: superior

Oh also for the record: Precog [roll1] general meditation about the mission before leaving (I'll boost it all the way up to legendary if needed using his Psi operative trait) => result (with two flicks of 1's to 3's) Legendary (the top one)

[happyturtle]

Lexi wasn't consciously aware that she was seeing into Nathan's mind. She was used to reading people, even Nathan, though she was unaware that she was generally only reading the mental facade he was projecting. But when his mind suddenly closed, she felt it. Something wrong. It was like he wasn't there, and that made her uneasy.

The image from before of Nathan using the disintegrator came into her mind, and she pushed it down. Stop it. Nathan would never do that. But the mental jar from his mind shield combined with the vague suspicions that Dan had planted had affected her.

"I'm not crazy about the idea of having a bioweapon on the ship," Lexi said, showing him the specs. "If I'm reading this right, it's dangerous as hell. Super deadly, and no off switch, short of dumping it in the 'doc and leaving it sedated."

Between the doc specs and the files Ambir provided, you know what implants Bianca's been enhanced with, as well as her skills and somewhat of her personality. You don't know anything about her origin.

What your precog tells you is that you need Bianca with you on the mission or it will not succeed.

Oh, and you can sense that Lexi's trust in you has been a bit shaken, as well as that she is keeping secrets.

(Further details to come by PM when I'm home from work.)

[Wizard of the Coat]

"There is always a permanent off-switch." Nathan said in a tone that Lexi could not tell if it was cold and heartless or meant to reasure her, Nathan wasn't too sure either. He felt Lexi's unease and was strangely disheartened by it, he wasn't too used to having friends...even less at letting them down. "Still I do not distrust this thing. In fact I think it's a good idea to take it along."if anything Nathan sounded completely confident of this fact and he was. It was the first solid good fealing he'd had about this mission. He had to have that bioweapon...

"They obviously do not have a great deal of controll over it themselves and we're pretty much aware of what it's capable of. I think it's going to be a usefull addtion to our growing complement of high tech equipment. Besides I doubt we'll be able to piss of the bluesky corp any more if we complete this mission and such a device is an excelent insurance policy. They'd be loathe to damage it...and negotiations become all the easier when you have a bargaining chip."

OOCI love being a bit scary and mysterious to Lexi. Nathan is meant to be able to freak people out. His mind is alien to most humans...he's partly a mindweapon afterall. Though in this case not on purpose.

[happyturtle]

"You want to take it with us," Lexi said, in full sarcastic mode. "'Oh hello, security guards. We really belong here, honest! And to prove it, we've got your stolen bioweapon.' How is that supposed to work? No offense, Nathan, but that's just stupid." Lexi plopped down in one of the clinic's massage chairs. "The smart thing to do is to just destroy it. If I delete the datafile, then the first time it goes into the 'doc, it will remove all the implants. That would probably kill it."

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Well first of all we're not going to announce her presence to the security guards." Nathan replied with a smile in a patronising, yet loving tone, he was fond Lexi's naivity and he showed it.

"We have to remember that this is likely a top secret project of theirs, so it's unlikely that they'll have security guards looking for it or even be aware of it's general existance. I doubt they'd have more then a hand full of highly loyal agents on the case. Afterall if word leaked out they'd face massive problems." Nathan pauses to let Lexi think. "Furthermore, if this weapon proves to be managable then we'd have a very effective tool on our hands. A tool that is likely to be fully aware of Blue Sky military and security procedures."

Nathan stops, obviously pausing to think for a second. "The only real risk we'd face is the mental stability of this thing. I personally don't think it's too much of an issue, afterall it's unlikely to have a great deal of love for the Blue sky corp as it has made no obvious efforts to return to them. In addition I've heard no reports of random and mysterius slaughter, so I think we're in the clear. Still if you'd want an absolute 100% certainty there's always this autodoc." Nathan taps the device lightly. "Have it run an analysis on it's mental state, or better yet get Marc and Kerouac to reprogram it to make it favorably inclined to our cause. Who knows maybe Mr Trained Psychic** could give it a private reading. Combined with his mechanical skills I'd put more trust in him then the autodoc if he says he's up for the challenge."

**OOC: He's indicated Kerouac with this.

[happyturtle]

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Nathan, you're probably the smartest person I've ever met, but you know bugger all about medicine. You can't just program a human mind like it's a computer." She didn't like using the words 'human mind' to refer to the bioweapon. It was a thing, not a person, whatever it looked like. "Ambir could probably program a 'doc to do it. Med school dropout here," pointing to herself, "certainly can't. And it's not something Mark or K could do either. Autodocs are meant to be safe. They are very very difficult to compromise. A normal hacker can't do it. Not even a super hacker like Mark. Not unless Mark's been to medical school and never told us. We can use the 'doc to sedate it, or to destroy it, but not to control it. If you want to control it, you'll have to find another way."

[happyturtle]

"But even supposing we can control it, and even supposing no one there is looking for the bioweapon, it looks like a child. I don't imagine there are a lot of kids running around the military headquarters. And that reminds me, do you have any ideas for how we're supposed to get out with a Puppeteer in tow?"

[happyturtle]

Thanatos PM'd me with Dan's comments, since he still can't log in to his main account

"Nathan, actually, my plan involved walking straight in." Dan syas in a matter-of-fact manner, complete with friendly smiles.
"And I think good ol' bioweapon in tow - or more approiatly, in chains, would do nothing but enhance our disguise and give us a quick, highly visible reason to head to to our Pupeteer's holding cells."
Dan grinned and pulled up a chair.

"Even without our retinel data in the locks, we could probably get away with using the weapon as our ticket down. Buncha grunts assigend to catch the target catch it, and they lead it downstairs. No sweat.
All else fails, we can go with the orignally planned aspect.
Subdue every Blue Sky jerk in the room, and give me time to pick ol' Mother Lock."
Dan's grin widens as he leans back - very comfortably in his chair.
"Once we're downstairs, we just take control of the situation - something I'm sure you mercanaries can do pretty well - and then bounce out through the front door.
Or we can create a back door. We'll figure it out when we get to the inside."

[rubakhin]

Meanwhile, Kerouac is not touching anything, not bothering anyone, and not paying too much attention at all. He's got unidentified mechanical gubbins strewn out on the table (nothing too important, otherwise they'd be in their proper place - probably futzing around with some useless contraption like that thermonuclear pencil sharpener he kept trying to invent last month) and is listening to this whole business with half an ear.

Look, I'm pretty sure you're sick of this touchy-feely crap," he says, the side of his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he prods a particularly delicate spring with a pair of tweezers, "and this is seriously naive, even for me, but come on, it's a little girl. Yeah, child soldiers can be pretty messed up, but they're basically people. Probably she is too. "Bioweapon" sounds terrifying and all, but it doesn't mean much other than that she's tricked out compared to those glassy-eyed twelve-year-olds with AK-47s you see in National Geographic. I want to know what she's like before we start panicking. Or trying to kill her, for chrissake, Lex. I mean, like you said, we could always keep her heavily sedated."

He picks a tiny sliver out of whatever it is he's working on and holds it up to the light, squinting.

"By the way, I would strongly advise against trying to control her, use her, or just generally ****ing with her at all. But strategy's your business. I'm just here to fix the Penny."


They totally still have National Geographic a few hundred years in the future, right? Man, that thing's been around since 1888.

[happyturtle]

"It looks like a child. That doesn't mean it is a child," Lexi says. She's turned on the massage function in the chair and is bonelessly relaxed, barely even lifting her head. "They could have made it look like anything they wanted. They could have made it look like a big scary Jinxian soldier, but instead, they made it look like a child because humans come hard-wired to protect children. It's psy-ops. Nothing more."

[rubakhin]

"Somehow, I just can't picture a big scary Jinxian soldier with the mind of a ten-year-old girl," Kerouac replies, looking through the autodoc files.

[happyturtle]

Yeah, Lexi's totally talking out of her ass here. There's nothing in the files to give anyone a clue about Bianca's origins.

"Does it have the mind of a ten year old girl, or is it just trained to act like a ten year old girl?" Lexi was growing uncomfortable again. If it was 'trained', that meant it was intelligent, which meant that destroying it--her--would be murder.

[rubakhin]

"I don't know about you, but if I were training a billion-dollar bioweapon, I think the last thing I would want to teach it is how to act like a ten-year-old. Have you ever babysat?" He shakes his head and straightens up. "Don't think we're going to find out much until we actually meet this girl."

[happyturtle]

"Do I look like the babysitter type?" Lexi says. "I'm glad children exist, in the same way that I'm glad sewage recyclers exist. We need them for society to function properly. Doesn't mean I actually want to be responsible for them myself though."

"If the three of you think we shouldn't destroy it, then we won't. But if it decides to kill us all, I hope I live long enough to say 'I told you so.'"

"But back to problem number one. What's the deal with this thing?" she prods the autodoc with one toe. "I can think of at least three places where I could sell this for enough money to keep us all in luxury for the rest of our lives. It clearly needs a lot of work, but if someone could combine this technology with some kind of AI smart enough not to blindly follow the DNA, it would revolutionize medicine. So what makes Ambir so sure we won't hop over to the Serpent Swarm and sell it to the highest bidder?"

ooc: The Serpent Swarm is the belt of the Wunderland/Alpha Centauri system. The Wunderland First movement to rid Wunderland of UN authority is based there.

[happyturtle]

"Killing is bad, sweetheart, plain and simple." Dan says, clearly showing where he stands on the issue of killing the bioweapon.
"If it were a robot, I'd hacve no problem dismantling it. If it were trying to kill me, I'd have no moral problems knocking it out and slitting its throat. Simple survival.
Killing something because we don't understand, not smart, not morally acceptable, even to me. I'm not a murderer."
The thief stands up and moves toward's the clinic door, turning around when he actually reaches it.
"As for why Ambir trusts us to not just go out and sell it, thats not in most - if any -of our natures.
I can get all the money I want, easily. I consider every U-squared-C in any major city a walking bank.
I'm pretty sure you, Lex, would blow far too many stars far too quickly. And then, you'd be bored."Dan quickly jerks his head towards Kerouac
"And there's nothing beautiful about the rich"
Dan streaches a bit and turns back towards the door.
"Now, whaddayall want for lunch?"

[happyturtle]

Lexi sits up and looks Dan in the eye. "What about Nathan?" she says. "What's to stop him from doing it?" There's an undercurrent of challenge, as if she's daring Dan to voice his suspicions aloud.

[happyturtle]

"I left him out on purpose." the theif replies as he glares daggers at he first mate. "I'm not so sure about him. Hes a smart guy. Capable, too, I'm sure he'd have no trouble getting honest work in the military as an intel guru. And he chose to run with us, hell, he had a hand in recruiting us.
Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy the intellectual challange the bioweapon would provide." The stern gaze melts into a welcoming grin at this last sentance.
"Er... is there any hint of a name in the weapon's files? Calling it "the bioweapon" (or even "it", for that matter) feels kind of... wrong.
But we can discuss that over lunch. Orders, guys, seriously."

[happyturtle]

Lexi's eyes moved from Dan to Nathan, wanting Nathan to say something that will remove all suspicion. Willing him to say it.

Nathan, you can feel Lexi subconsciously using her psychohypnotism here, but I won't bother rolling because first of all, she has no chance of succeeding against you, and even if she could, she can't compel someone to say something when she has no idea what the words should be.

[Wizard of the Coat]

"Intel guru?" Nathan says at Dans remark unphased by the rogue's accusing eyes, his bodylanguage saying not a chance Dan, i prefer my stay on this ship...he really did.


Shrugging to lexi he continues "Let's have lunch then" and walks to the door, concluding the meeting as if blissfully unaware that there even could be a reason to be suspicions about him...his mental facade to Lexi as if were truly unaware of what Dan could imply and innocent.

[happyturtle]

Lexi laughed, pleased that Nathan wasn't acting shifty or guilty or trying to hide anything. (ooc: Ha!) "Why don't you get an honest job, Dan? You can get an ident on Blue Sky, nice and legal and everything, and join the Home Guard."

"Anyway, you know what I want, southern fried moa and homefries. But since you'll veto that for being unhealthy, then surprise me. You know I'm easy."

[happyturtle]

During lunch, Lexi sat next to Nathan flirting with him shamelessly--listening to whatever he said, catching his eye, finding excuses to touch. Somewhere below her conscious mind, she was trying to connect with him again, the way she'd connected earlier.

She was now convinced that Dan was completely wrong about Nathan, and that Nathan had nothing to hide. She didn't resent Dan too much for being suspicious, but Lexi had known Nathan a lot longer than Dan had, so she knew he could be trusted. Dan would come to realize it in time.

As usual, Dan managed to make a meal that was both delicious and healthy. Lexi ate almost half again as much as she usually did. If she didn't know better, she'd think she was putting on muscle. Of course it was too soon for that. It was only her second day of Dan's PT. Then she thought about the 'doc and wondered. Maybe it's trying to rebuild me for 1 gee.

Dreadful thought! If she got too muscled up, she'd lose her agility! Better start doing some yoga--every day as long as we're in 1 gee. Gah! She didn't have to worry about getting killed on Blue Sky. Two workout sessions a day would be enough to finish her.

[happyturtle]

During the four days of hyperspace, Lexi spends a lot of her time on the bridge on mass detector duty. She sticks to Dan's PT schedule, and by the fifth day since leaving We Made It, she's able to gingerly jog about half the length of the cargo bay. The 'doc confirms that her bone density is increasing rapidly, and by this time, she can feel muscle developing.

Her shooting is improving too. She's not a great shot, but she now feels confident handling the Whistler, and the mercy bullets don't require precision.

She badgers Dan into doing yoga with her--mostly so she can one up him at something after days of getting her butt kicked during target practice and PT.

She doesn't mention the disintegrator again to Dan. She'd like to think he's forgotten about it, but isn't terribly optimistic about the chances.

She's cut down a lot on her partying--mostly from being too tired to bother. But one day she takes a few huffs from a party inhaler with the intention of getting a minor buzz and ends up smashed out of her ever loving mind. It seems the 'doc has cleaned out her system so thoroughly that she no longer has any tolerance for drugs or alcohol. (Any smokers who use the 'doc will find that every cigarette feels like the first one.... :smalleek:)

On the whole, despite the gravity, Lexi was as happy as she usually was, and excited about the mission. The fact that they still didn't have a plan did not bother her much. She knew Nathan would figure something out. Mark could break into the security system, Dan could open any locked doors and shoot down anyone who threatened them, and Kerouac would help her deal with the insane alien they were there to rescue. And the bioweapon--well, the guys thought they could deal with her, so Lexi didn't worry about it much.

And after the mission? Back to We Made It--with the cabin gravity down to a bearable .25 gee, or Dan would get an earful!--and back to hauling cargo around Known Space. Maybe they could try Gummidgy next. Now that she knew how to shoot, she could try hunting. That would be a new kick!

[Paladin5]

During the four days of hyperspace, Mark spends all of his time sitting in the mess. Those who wanders through find him slowly eating bowl after bowl of very sugary cereal while tracking their every movement in his unwavering gaze. His eyes, though slighly glazed over, lack none of their piercing nature and the whole effect is rather disquieting to those unused to it. Those who try and speak with him find him even more uncommunicative than usual, ignoring most conversations, and, when asked direct questions, supplying only very short, simple answers.

Contrasting his outward appearance, internally Mark is abuzz with activity. He uses the travel time to upload all data in his memory banks to the ships's computer and clear any data not relevant to the upcoming mission - ranging from unimportant memories to extraneous knowledge. He also downloads potentially mission pertinent information and lesser used, more specialized subroutines. Mark spends the remainder of trip through hyperspace pouring over the available mission data, comparing it to known historical events and applying current military theory.

[happyturtle]

After a few days of this behaviour, Lexi confronts him. "Okay, Mark. I've been over the 'doc with a fine tooth comb. Now I want you to get into it right now, while there's no emergency, so we can make sure everything's working properly. You won't even have to unLink. You can pilot the ship from in there."

So what's Mark's favourite cereal? Is it Golden Grahams? I love me some Golden Grahams--too bad they don't sell them in jolly ole England :smalltongue:

[Paladin5]

Mark acquiesces to Lexi's request with a listless nod. Dropping his spoon by his cereal bowl, Mark slowly stands up and walks - rather sluggishly - to the autodoc.

I'm not very familiar with 27th (right?) century cereal brands. :smallsmile:

[happyturtle]

Unlike when most people enter the 'doc, Mark can actually track the software's decision making skills while it works. There's lots of elegant Puppeteer technology in here, and the nanites get into his central nervous system, cleaning out the microcircuits and rebuilding a few here and there. The biological parts are not rebuilt from the DNA blueprint, so the 'doc is constrained to leave him mostly as it found him. It can't fix his brain damage without removing all the implants. But it can remove toxins, adjust his blood chemistry to optimum levels, ensure that he has the right levels of trace nutrients, and so on.

The procedure takes several hours. When it's done, Mark feels wonderful--the best he's felt since the brain damage first occurred. He's absolutely bursting with energy, and his data links run even faster than ever.

Lexi is looking over the autodoc's reports as Mark sits up. "Well, love, how do you feel?"

The kitchen builds your food from a stock supply of proteins, carbs, and lipids. So it can replicate any cereal brand that's ever existed, providing someone puts its recipe into the software. :smallbiggrin:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan sepnds his spare time (time between planning sessions with Nathan, PT, target practice, yoga, cooking and general engineer duties that are too small to bother Kerouac with) in the cargo bay or his quarters, going over the details of their faux uniforms, their equipment, everything.
By the time the fourth day in Hyperspace rolls by, the young Rogue has framiliarized himself with every last piece of kit.
He makes the announcement at the end of the fourth day's PT session:
"Hey, sorry about the higher grav, everyone - Lexi included." he jokes as he serves up nutritious breakfasts.
"When we drop back into Normal Space, I'm unlocking it, and I'm not running PT. Use the time to relax, and make whatever last mineute plans you need. Being rested should give us an edge. Over being tired, at least."
Dan treats everyonje to a geniune smile as he says this, deftly concealing the insertion of a liberal amount of hot sauce in Lexi's cereal.

Sleight of Hand against Lexi's helpless Cereal! [roll0] - break even! I don't know whther you want to use pick pocket or an "Average" score.

[happyturtle]

Pick pocket seems reasonable.

Lexi squeals in delight, and gives Dan a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "My hero! Can we have null gee? At least for an hour or two?" Before he can answer, she sits down to tackle her breakfast--she's been eating like mad during this trip--and gets a mouthful of fire.

She jumps up, spilling her cereal, and grabs the pitcher-bulb of milk, gulping down about half of it. Thankfully it hadn't been contaminated as well.

"Good one, Dan," she says, picking up a towel to wipe up the spilled cereal. "You really had me there." Then as she walks past him to dispose of the towel, she mushes the whole soggy mess into his face.

[Wizard of the Coat]

Nathan had ignored most of Lexi's flirting over lunch, though hadn't indicated for her to stop it either, being his usual professional self. Instead he went over some of the standart protocols that Blue Sky personal would follow. Though not directly usefull to the mission Nathan felt it was essential that they knew the basic mindset of a Blue Sky employe. After lunch he got up and walked to the kitchen.

"Dan don't count on me for dinner...I've got some preparations to do for the mission..."

Retrieving some high energy protein bars and isotonic liquids from the machine he retreated to his room and locked the door behind him. Placing the rations in easy to reach places he sat himself on the floor and emptied his mind...

Late next day, not long before dinner he woke up from his bed...his room was a mess and a mixed odor of sweat from his clothes and body and sugar from spilled drinks and leftovers protein bars that littered the floor. Raising himself to his feet he pulled himself to the shower, extra cold, flexing his muscles one by one to purge the toxins that had build up the previous day and night. He was awake and his mental aquity was restored, still it took all his soma training to get his broken body to do what he wanted...the autodoc sure seems apealing now... Purging that thought from his mind he dried himself off and put on a simple robe and loose trousers, both tied at the waist, as he made his way to the dinner table.

The rest of the journey was uneventfull, some tactical planning and cleaning aside. At breakfast Nathan pulled the crew together on the fourth day to go over the details with them.

"Relaxation time is good Dan, but before we spend all day playing pranks on another let's go over the plan first."He was smiling as he said so, obviously amused by Dan's actions, there was something to the free spirit of the thief that he found endearing. Still he proceded profesionally.

"My reseach and sources have told me of a seperate underground entrance to level B-2. Apparantly there are numerous military tunnels under most of the city. I'd say that rather then use the main entrance that we use these tunnels to gain acces to the facility. The bioweapon and whomever it is with might help us with that."

[happyturtle]

"Yeah, we need to get serious. No more pranks." She shot a grin and a wink at Dan to let him know the war would have to be continued when 'Dad' wasn't watching. She dialed a breakfast burrito--the hot sauce had made cereal less than appealing--and sat on the countertop eating it. "We're still in hyperspace. How the hell have you been contacting anyone?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Dan removes the soggy towel from his face with one hand, and wipes that same face with the other, an amused grin on his face.
He then balls up said towle and passes it to Lexi's chest as if it were a basketball.

"Hey, an underground entrance, you say? Thats better than the front door, at the very least!
Any further intel on the subject?"
Dan smoothly slides into his chair and unpeels a banana, biting into the juicy fruit.

[rubakhin]

Kerouac snorts into his cornflakes. It's nice to see this kind of thing again, everyone acting like a family. Lexi seems to have more or less forgotten whatever it was that was bothering her, and Kerouac is doing his best to put that sort of thing out of his mind.

He's been kinda moody lately, and, consequentially, has spent the past few days Retreating Into His Work (with capital letters of importance) like the temperamental artiste he is. He spends most of his time tinkering with the Penny and various other mechanical flights of fancy. ("It's a watch slash condiment holder! See, it can tell whether it's morning or night, right? Because it's a watch. So, this button dispenses sugar around breakfast time, but if you press the same button during the evening, you get salt. Brilliant! ...Wait, what? If you want tea after dinner? Er ... ") He's also been staying up nights organizing some of his warzone photographs, trying to arrange them into some kind of thematic whole regardless of where and when they were taken. If anybody's wandered into his quarters and seen what's spread out on his table, they've noticed the layout constantly changing, Kerouac struggling to work in portraits of organ leggers and Kzinti, trying to figure out if he should mix in a couple shots from that photo essay on Flatlander poverty. Whatever statement he's trying to make, he can't seem to arrange the project correctly. There's something missing there.

Apropos of nothing, Kerouac has also redeveloped some casual photographs of the same group of club kids. Smiling, laughing, having fun. They look a little ridiculous lying on the table next to all the grim-faced soldiers and scarred children.

He's been training, but only when someone nags him about it. He is (quite literally if something goes wrong on the mission) terminally lazy.

[happyturtle]

Lexi pulled up the floorplans on her dataplan. "No sign of a separate entrance here. So not just underground tunnels, but secret underground tunnels. I wonder if they'd be guarded more heavily than the front door?"

She also wondered how Nathan knew about them. They weren't in the files from Ambir. He couldn't have contacted anyone while they were in hyperspace, and the hyperweb was offline as well. That means he's probably known about them all along. So why didn't he tell us?

Oh hell with it, he's telling us now. And with that, she squelched the suspicion that was trying to reestablish itself.

[happyturtle]

After Lucky Penny drops out of hyperspace, Lexi goes to the communicator to contact Ambir. After all, they were supposed to check in regularly. Instead of Ambir, the call is answered by what appears to be another Puppeteer. However, the image has the universal markings that identify it as an AI hologram rather than a Legal Entity.

"Identication please."

"This is Lexi Temple. Is Ambir available?"

"Identification confirmed, Alexandria Temple. I am authorized to advise you that Ambir is in autodoc. I am authorized to interrupt medical treatment at the request of Legal Entities Alexandria Temple, Nathan Johnson, or Jack Magreaux."

"Who's Jack Magreaux?" Lexi said. It took her a moment to remember Kerouac's legal name, which was listed in the computer records for the rare occasions that she had to pay her crew in electronic funds instead of cash. "Oh, you mean Kerouac."

"Shall I rename that LE 'Kerouac'?"

"Yes, please. And rename me 'Lexi'."

"Done."

"What about Dan and Mark?"

"I am authorized to interrupt medical care on the request of Mark Wier or Dan Freeboot only if it is affirmed that Lexi, Kerouac, and Nathan Johnson are all incapacitated or deceased."

Lexi wondered about that for a moment. Obviously Ambir still didn't trust Dan, and Mark... well, Mark probably wasn't qualified to make a judgement call about someone's health.

"May I see Ambir's medical status?"

"That has been authorized." The report from Ambir's autodoc displays on the screen. The report shows that Ambir experienced a serious manic meltdown, shortly after Penny's departure, and the autodoc strenuously recommends she not be disturbed. Alarmingly, it does not give an estimated recovery time.

"Do not interrupt medical treatment," Lexi says. "I'll record a message." She does so, advising their projected time of arrival at Scrapheap, then ends transmission.

She informs the crew of Ambir's condition. "I guess we're on our own now."

[Paladin5]

Mark is back in the pilot's seat and, upon dropping out of hyperspace, immediately kicks in both the fusion drive and the chemical thrusters - pointing a course to slingshot around the system's fourth planet (an uninhabited gas giant) to intercept with the Scrapheap asteroid. The combined effect is more than the gravity polarizer can compensate for and, as one might expect, the result is a bit uncomfortable but, thankfully, the maneuver lasts only a few seconds. Some might suspect that Mark enjoys subjecting the crew to his slightly unpleasant piloting before quickly remembering that Mark doesn't seem to understand the concept of "fun."


Pilot/Nav Normal Space (+3): [roll0]
Invoking "More Machine Than Man" aspect to bump it from good to superb.

[happyturtle]

Scrapheap is a large oblong asteroid, about 25 kilometres in diameter. Gravity is created by rotation, with the heaviest layers near the outer surface of the equator reaching 1.2 gee. Population is about 1.5 million. Unlike the Sol Belt, the Blue Sky belt has never been independent.

Lexi sends a routine request to dock, and within a half hour or so, gets a transmission from Scrapheap.

Looking out of the screen is a Jotok. You've all encounted them before, on Wunderland and the Serpent Swarm. A Jotok looks like a five armed octopus, with an eye in each arm and a mouth in the center. It walks on two or three hands (any two or three--the limbs are not specialized) and uses the others to manipulate objects. When it needs more hands, it can sit on its belly-mouth and use all five hands, which makes them master technicians. Kerouac has probably worked with them before. They are hatched as individual arm/brains, non-sentient, but during adolescence five arm/brains join together to form an adult Jotoki. Each adult is therefore its own breeding population, able to provide multiple genetic combinations. Though the brains are irreversibly joined, they still retain some independence. The closest human analog would be conjoined twins, if conjoined twins were able to share thoughts, and if they came in multiples of five.

Long ago, when humans were still learning to use fire, the Jotoks had an empire founded on trade. They hired the Kzinti (who were then about the technological level of medieval Europe) as mercenaries. This proved to be a serious mistake. Once the Kzinti learned the technology, they enslaved the Jotoki and took over their empire. The Jotoki slaves came with them during the wars, and now there are free Jotoki in human space, with the largest population in the Wunderland system. The Jotok homeworld is deep within the Patriarchy, and still enslaved.

"We are being Customs Master Methodology. Please to be stating your designation."

"Captain Temple of the free trader Lucky Penny, registration Jinx."

"You are not appearing to be Jinxian."

"Indeed I am not. But Penny is."

"Please to be stating your intentions."

"Refuel on Scrapheap then proceed to Blue Sky."

"Please to be stating your cargo and value."

"No cargo. We're deadheading this trip."

"We are being skeptical. It is being necessary to inspect your ship."

"Certainly," Lexi said. She was confident that by now Dan had the cargo bay clean as a whistle, with all their illegal weaponry safely out of sight.

"Please to be stating purpose for this trip."

"Holiday. We're here to see the Memorial."

Methodology entered all the responses on their terminal. ("They" probably being the most appropriate pronoun since Jotoki are genderless and have five brains.) The Memorial was a popular destination, so aroused no suspicion. A free trader travelling without cargo did arouse minor suspicion, but then again, smugglers didn't usually dock at Scrapheap.

"You are being assigned to dock 184C. Please to be following beacon."

The customs inspection goes smoothly. Methodology and a human assistant walk the length of the cargo hold (it isn't unknown for smugglers to think they'll be clever and use a holo projection to hide the real cargo) and investigate the exercise room. Dan takes care of the necessary bribery to make sure the inspection is only cursory. There's a hidden nook in the mess filled with cash for such purposes. It just makes things move easier. All of the crew know it's there, but Dan is the best at this sort of thing, so he's the one who makes most use of it. If anyone were to dip into it for personal use, Lexi would never notice (or particularly care). She just refills it whenever they sell their cargo and marks the money off the books under the entry 'tips'.

All the legalities being cared for, and visitor's visas arranged, the crew is free to enter the station. As you leave the dock, you are met by a young man in a station authority uniform.

"Good day, Mr Johnson, Captain Temple, gentlemen," he says, looking at each of you in turn. "Welcome to Scrapheap. A gentleman is waiting for your presence in 3-20-68. I can guide you there, or you can follow the station indicators you'll see at each crossroads."

[happyturtle]

"Are you taking us to meet Lucius?" Lexi asked. Despite Ambir's normal formality in address, she had only given them their contact's first name.

"To tell the truth, I don't know the gentleman's name," the messenger said. "He just asked me to meet you."

"Then by all means, lead the way," Lexi said. She sized him up and came to the instant conclusion. Lockstepped. She could always tell. She flirted with him a little anyway--she couldn't really help herself--but it was fairly toned down, and she soon brought the conversation around to partnership contracts.

Yes, he was in a long-term contract, and his devotion to his wife was clear in every word. They were Sol Belters, and they'd been denied a birthright because depression ran in his wife's family. The Fertility Board was a joke--everyone knew that depression was treatable. As long as you used a 'doc at least once a year, you'd never show symptoms. So they'd come to Blue Sky, done their time in the Home Guard, and now she was expecting their third child. Three children! They planned to stop there, but legally they could have as many children as they chose. Blue Sky was truly the land of opportunity.

"You'll see," he predicted. "You'll fall in love with the place and decide to stay. Or you'll come back when you are ready to have a family. Everybody does."

Lexi found the whole conversation profoundly dull. Monogamy always was. But she did her best to pretend to be interested (ooc: using psychohypnotism to project 'Your ordinary life fascinates me'), and even asked a few questions about the immigration process, and the Home Guard. As if! She had a birthright on Luna, should she ever be mad enough to procreate, and doing a term of military service sounded like the purest form of torture.

Mr Boring parted with them at the door. Lexi pressed the intercom button.

"Who is it?"

"Captain Temple and crew."

There is a noticeable pause. "Come in."

@ Mark: In the pause, a minor message is sent, using some sort of short range medium. It's not being actually sent to anywhere, just blindly transmitting.

"They're here. Go."

[Paladin5]

Anyone who is looking directly at Mark might just notice that he tenses ever so slightly and his eyes begin scanning the area at a faster pace than usual.

OOC:

Linking into the station's WIFI is probably the first thing Mark did after docking. Nothing illegal at this point though, as there doesn't seem to be much incentive for that information yet.

Awareness (+2): [roll0] -> Good (+2)

[Wizard of the Coat]

"It's my job to gather information before leaving. Now that i've gone through all information I'm quite sure about the tunnels being an option. Still this Lucius might be of help there. I haven't quite gotten round to how to enter."

That was all Nathan had said on the matter of the entrance. Truth being that he had indeed gone through all information, though this part didn't come from one of his contacts...still in Nathans mind there was little difference between psychic information and those handed by real people.

OOC:Awareness +1 +/- [roll0] +1 = good

precog (any threats on scrapheap?) +3 +/- [roll1] +3 = epic

psychometry +0 +/- [roll2] -1 = -1

also a question: I'd like to know if the Lucius we will soon see (likely) looks/sounds the same as he did in my precog vision.

EDIT: I used d6's by accident, I'll just take 1-2 = 1 3-4 =2 and 5-6=3

On scraphead Nathan was quite quiet, clearly eager to meet with Lucius and not to interested in procreation right. As the voice called for them to come in he reached for the doorhandle, clearly pausing as he held onto it to allow his mind to analyse the voice and his feelings to judge the door.