Skyside 4

[Green Elf]

The assassin aims at where his lungs are and attempts to take a shot.

The bullet goes through the glass and hits his left lung. People scream and guards start trying to push through the people to get to the man. The assassin still has to get the item off of him.

[Morty]

[Streets of Skyside]

"Yes, but take the roundabout way," Wenomir says. "We'll pay for it, of course."

[Celticbear]

Streets of Skyside (Xavouir)

Xavouir takes his place in the space taxi.

That alley where we were (Jonas)

The gun does fire, and it reflects off of Jonas's chestplate into a nearby building.

Oh now look at what you've done, you scuffed the paint! Look, last time I tried to ask nicely, but now?

Jonas extends his right arm, and a blade made of purple energy extends from it, going near inches away from his face.

Let's try this again. I want to know if you saw some weird a** kids with eyes in their mouth and teeth in their eyeholes. Your cooperation in this investigation just became mandatory, so don't run. I can almost guarantee I'm faster than you.

[8BitNinja]

The bullet goes through the glass and hits his left lung. People scream and guards start trying to push through the people to get to the man. The assassin still has to get the item off of him.

The assassin grabs his SCAR and runs to the bottom of the tower and then tries to force his way through the crowd. He then tries to the body and search it for the item.

[Green Elf]

The assassin grabs his SCAR and runs to the bottom of the tower and then tries to force his way through the crowd. He then tries to the body and search it for the item.

The assassin makes his way through the crowd and finds a tape in his left jacket pocket. A fat blue humanoid alien with four eyes says "What are you doing?" And attempts to kick him in the stomach.

[Zefir]

That Alley

The mutant pulls back the hammer of the crude firearm and points it at Jonas. "M'eyyyy alleyw'aaaay. G'eeet y'uuur own." The mutant's voice is soft, low and clicks slightly, under the distortion of a mutated jaw. The mutant will fire if Jonas gets within about two metres, the gun emitting a loud bang and sending a chipped glass marble flying through the air in his direction. The distance is short, very short, but the unrifled barrel, mutant's poor aim, and the low quality of the black powder in the gun mean that the improvised bullet has very little accuracy... Though if it hits, it will serve very well as a bullet. The recoil is poorly counteracted by the gun's crude construction, and the barrel actually parts from the plastic grip, flying off to hit the ground behind the mutant.

If Jonas doesn't approach that close, then the gun will remain pointed at him, wobbling slightly, and the mutant nods towards the end of the alley to reiterate the point of this being their territory.

Alley Roofs

There's smears of magic spattered onto some of the surfaces, creating a trail leading into the maze. The magical glow from the spatter has an oily sheen. The spatter's old and faded, dating to roughly about the time of the fight last week, but it has been out in the weather. Wind and rain have washed away most visible traces left by the bleeding 'girl' who escaped Jonas and Arkant's retribution.

Something within the crude tent is magical, and a creature. It, too, is oily, with a metallic rainbow sheen, though it is not as faded as the blood of the 'girl' who fled. It also isn't moving, or doing anything that a creature would ordinarily do- including breathe. Only if the vision specifically sees creatures, rather than all magic, will Arkant be aware that it is alive, somehow. Furthermore, the mutant in the alleyway below also has magical abilities, glowing the colour of moonlight, and Jonas may have magic as well.

Alley Roofs

An intresting event. Arkant will look down on himself if there is a magic round he should see it. Befor he can take a look at the tent he hears the shot.
"Is everything okay? " he shouts down. He waits for the answerand then turns again to the tent. He tries to slowly remove the sheet to hve a look.

[Earl of Purple]

That Alley

The mutant seems unfazed by the blade of energy and Jonas' related threat. "K'iiill m'ee. Y'oou l'oose. N'oo inf'ooo. Br'iiibe f'ooor kn'oowl'eedge." The mutant throws the broken gun aside. "T'aaake f'oood or n'eew, b'eetter g'uuun." The mutant, though its body is completely concealed, doesn't seem too worried.

Alley Roofs

Beneath the tarpaulin is a cocoon, a thing three feet long and covered in thick black goo, like the blood of the things. It's glowing in magic and life, though most standard tests wouldn't find lifesigns within.

[8BitNinja]

The assassin makes his way through the crowd and finds a tape in his left jacket pocket. A fat blue humanoid alien with four eyes says "What are you doing?" And attempts to kick him in the stomach.

The assassin is kicked, but he is still holding on to the tape and runs out. Unless he is stopped, he will run out of the scene.

[Zefir]

That Alley

The mutant seems unfazed by the blade of energy and Jonas' related threat. "K'iiill m'ee. Y'oou l'oose. N'oo inf'ooo. Br'iiibe f'ooor kn'oowl'eedge." The mutant throws the broken gun aside. "T'aaake f'oood or n'eew, b'eetter g'uuun." The mutant, though its body is completely concealed, doesn't seem too worried.

Alley Roofs

Beneath the tarpaulin is a cocoon, a thing three feet long and covered in thick black goo, like the blood of the things. It's glowing in magic and life, though most standard tests wouldn't find lifesigns within.

Alley Roofs

Arkant gets closer. He uses his magic to vcreate a shield around him, just in case the thing explodes or something jumps out. He will then use the tarpaulin to wash away the goo and got a better look at the thing under it.

[Green Elf]

The assassin is kicked, but he is still holding on to the tape and runs out. Unless he is stopped, he will run out of the scene.

The assassin makes it out safely. All he has to do is turn it in at the Massimo Armed Forces HQ.

[Celticbear]

That Alley

The mutant seems unfazed by the blade of energy and Jonas' related threat. "K'iiill m'ee. Y'oou l'oose. N'oo inf'ooo. Br'iiibe f'ooor kn'oowl'eedge." The mutant throws the broken gun aside. "T'aaake f'oood or n'eew, b'eetter g'uuun." The mutant, though its body is completely concealed, doesn't seem too worried.

Alley Roofs

Beneath the tarpaulin is a cocoon, a thing three feet long and covered in thick black goo, like the blood of the things. It's glowing in magic and life, though most standard tests wouldn't find lifesigns within.

You smart alec! Jonas shouts as he sheathes his blade. He then produces a small metallic rod.

This is a credstick, it has five thousand nuyen in it. It's money. Use it to buy food or whatever. It's yours if you tell me what I want to know.

Before the mutant can speak, or otherwise interjects, Jonas says: First question: kid with a mouth instead eyeballs. Seen any near hear?

[Earl of Purple]

That Alley

"N'oooo. St'aaay a'waaay fr'oom th'ooose. Th'eeey're n'aaasty. S'aaaw th'eeem k'iiiill a gu'aaaard in b'oody ar'moooour. N'ooot n'eaaar h'eeere." The mutant reaches for the stick and takes it, a little uncertainly. If the money is as much as it sounds like, the mutant can finally leave Skyside, and maybe find a way to reverse the worst of its alterations. If that's possible.

Alley Roof

Under the goo, the cocoon is black and shiny, and slowly oozes more of the black ooze. The cocoon is long, rather thick but tapering to a rounded point at each end, with oily-looking black strings fastening it to the floor beneath it and the low wall.

[Zefir]

Alley Roof

Arkant looks at the thing. There is a short moment he remains totally still like he got an inner dialog coming up, but that only needed a second.

"Jonas." Arkant says and thought they are far away his voice arrives jonas clear and loud. "I think I found what we were looking for. Can you come up?"

[TechnoScrabble]

Ruined Manor

In what was once one of the nicer parts of Skyside, a private portion of the gravity-defying platforms hovers a scant few meters lower than it should. Carefully tended lawns spanning acres have become overgrown, the browning, untended grass choked with litter. The walls surrounding it are dirty in places, scrawled with graffitti, crumbling in others, the wrought iron fence at the top beginning to rust, though its frame has bent only slightly in the places where it has lost support. This once-auspicious manor's fall came long before the current upheaval in Skyside, though recent events have not done it any favours. Portions of the lawn and gardens are burnt, the smoke-stains rising up like the shadows of pine trees against the walls of the manor itself, the lower parts of stained-glass windows mishapen and discoloured. The outer structure itself is, for the most part, intact, with only small portions of the tiled roof crumbling in, but inside the door the floor has collapsed, making anything beyond the foyer impassible for all the rubble. A single skeletal hand, wrapped in fading purple cloth, sticks out of the dusty, ruined stone and rebar a short distance in.

A small fire burns in a barrel, tended by a few vagrants in various stages of scruffiness. Though they hold their hands over it, they don't commit themselves to it, ignoring the warmth and acting by rote. They don't shiver, or shuffle side to side, or rub their hands together, they just stare into the flames, surrounded by what little they've pulled from the ruin. Their eyes are unfocused, but they glitter, reflecting the light of the fire, their only hope for salvation. If they can only stare into the flames, maybe they can pull themselves away from it. If the flickering heat can scare it away, maybe they can have their minds back. They've felt it, the thing in the ruins, and it reaches out to them jealously, hugnrily. It reaches out to all those who pass too close, an old, tired soul. Furious. Hungry.

Alone.

Afraid.

[Celticbear]

Alley Roof

Arkant looks at the thing. There is a short moment he remains totally still like he got an inner dialog coming up, but that only needed a second.

"Jonas." Arkant says and thought they are far away his voice arrives jonas clear and loud. "I think I found what we were looking for. Can you come up?"

((Sorry for the wait, storm's crazy))

Ugh, hold that thought. says Jonas. He then jumps up the roof.

What's up?

[Earl of Purple]

Alley Roof

The cocoon remains, oozing black goo. It's three feet long, stuck down by the goo.

Down in the alleyway, where Jonas has just left, the mutant starts to hobble away, as fast as it can with its new cred-stick of money. Next stop, long gone.

[Zefir]

Alley Roof

"It's a simular goo to the once we got." Arkant says
"I would say its next step of it's evolution." He points at the cocoon.

[Earl of Purple]

Deserted Alleyway

The alleyway passes between two warehouses, one used in smuggling goods stolen from Riverside and Inside into Skyside where they can be sold legally, and the other used in mass-producing knock-off toys out of cheap plastic and lead-based paint. It's fairly wide, large enough to fit a broken-down van. The van is pretty large, painted red under a thick layer of filth and grime, and the headlights have been deliberately taped over to hide their glow. The passenger door is open, and the keys are in the ignition. Driving may be difficult, however- the windscreen is dominated by a spiderweb of cracks and bullet holes, and all four tyres are flat.

The rear doors swing open, one so hard it falls off, and the inside is revealed. The van's cargo area is empty- besides a cavalry sabre lying on the bottom. It's in a black leather and wood scabbard, and has an ornate hilt of copper and brass. The scabbard comes with a pair of delicate chains from which the sword can hang from a normal belt, and is decorated with gilded runes and glyphs embossed in the leather.

The sabre releases a magical signal, calling on the ambitious and power-hungry.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Attila's Cantina]

What seems to be a platinum blonde woman wearing high-tech armor enters the cantina, looking around. The two large weapons that hang from her hips indicate she's ready for trouble, though her demeanor remains casual enough. She seems to be expecting someone to follow her in, as she glances back at him, and nods, then begins making her way towards the bar. This is where she and Kirk were supposed to meet this Eskitikin person, after all. No sense in drawing too much more attention than she already has.

[Gullara]

[Attila's Cantina]

Kirk follows in just after her, nodding to her as he goes past. He stops just inside to take stock of the place, and hopefully spot their contact. The drow isn't wearing his more recognizable attire, and a pair of gloves cover that problematic hand. Hopefully they can manage discretion.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Attila's Cantina]

Electra makes her way up to the bar and waits for the barkeep, a polite, but friendly expression on her face. Hopefully their contact is already here and she's just having trouble spotting him, but it never hurts to ask.

[Celticbear]

Alley Roof

"It's a simular goo to the once we got." Arkant says
"I would say its next step of it's evolution." He points at the cocoon.

Ugh, this is going to end up like the Alien, isn't it. Did you get some in a vile or something? asks Jonas.

[Deathkeeper]

[Attila's Cantina]

One might be able to hear the faint sound of flushing, and MERC's contact exits the ladies' room (there wasn't anything for hosts). They're a four-foot (1.2m) insect personwith green skin, rainbow compound eyes, and long antennae. They're wearing a dark outfit with a hood, two well-concealed sidearms in her coat (mentioned in case someone can spot the subtle but tell-tale bumps in her coat). and has a small section cut out on their abdomen to allow movement of their small mostly vestigial extra arms.

They immediately make a beeline for Electra and Kirk.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I knew that you'd be here this minute but I didn't think there was going to be a line! I'm Eskr Eskitikin. You may call me by any of my given names: Eskr, Esky, Esky-kins, Ess, E, and Tiki. I believe we are working together?" chitters the insect in what might by some people be considered a slightly feminine voice.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Attila's Cantina]

Electra looks away from the bar before the bartender makes it to her at the sound of flushing, and notes the insect person making a beeline for her and Kirk. Assuming Dipsnig's list had photos, she'll match Eskitikin's appearance with the photo internally. The insect will probably note the two rather large weapons hanging from her hips in their folded, holstered forms, along with the black high-tech armor, complete with thruster pack on her back. Close up, Eskitikin can see that where most humans have ears, she has small metal domes with what look like blue lenses in their centers. She glances at Kirk, raising an eyebrow. So much for discretion. At least the bug didn't blurt out they're working for MERC, though that can probably be inferred.

"Perhaps after a fashion. I'm Electra. Shall we find a place to sit down?"

[Gullara]

[Attila's Cantina]

Kirk raises his eyebrows a bit, but he keeps his reaction otherwise to himself. "Yes, let's. We have plenty to talk about." He'll gesture for the two women to lead the way.

[Deathkeeper]

[Attila's Cantina]

Electra, please. Nobody goes to Skyside, let alone the catina of a notorious Hutt crime lord, as a group, for innocuous behavior unless they immediately get drunk. As none of them have ordered five-plus drinks yet, anyone can infer that they're here on business. Eskr is just disposing of the formality. Pretending you aren't co-workers would require more coordination than they could do without ever meeting. Salesmen don't arrange meetings in bars.
"There isn't much of stain anymore. Your leak was quick and problematic. I've done some probing but I haven't been able to determine what caused the repulsors to fry. Not much word from the local experts either. I wrote a report for you." chatters Esky as they head to a table, producing a little chip from a pocket.
What could be more normal than three people working on swoop bikes? Attila started out as a mechanic, after all.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Attila's Cantina]

Well, as double-speak goes, that's a bit better at least. Electra doesn't know much about swoop bikes (the similar things in her home dimension were called Ride Chasers or Land Chasers), though the vernacular is probably close enough for their purposes. She seats herself at the table Eskr leads them to, taking the seat with her back towards the door so as to shield the others in case of trouble. She is the only one who's armored here, after all. She glances around again, but isn't obvious about it.

"Well, that should be helpful, at least. Did the local experts have any suggestions at all, or do we just start pulling parts until we find the problem?"

[Earl of Purple]

Alley Roof

The cocoon remains still, not moving, a strange mix of dead and alive, as whatever is inside matures.

Different, Deserted Alleyway

The sabre resting in the abandoned van is still here, and still emitting a magical lure to attract the ambitious and power-hungry.

[Gullara]

[Attila's Cantina]

Kirk glances between the other two. Hopefully there'd be more useful information in that report then. He holds out his hand to take it. "We very much appreciate your help with this." He adds as he slips the chip into a pocket.

[Deathkeeper]

[Attila's Cantina]

Eskr nods. "All the parts were from outside of Skyside, which led to a lot of mistrust with the locals I asked. Almost entirely elven and orcish make. Many knew nothing, others swore it was arcane gobbledygook, and others simply blamed the whole thing on snakes and refused to comment. I left many of the transcripts in the report." They say, nodding.