Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 1: Broken Star Options

[Chrome Head]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Uh, I probably shouldn't try to guess as to where that line of questioning is going. But I'll say this. We're interested to learn who committed the murder, and if someone hired them, who that person is. If the shooter is gone or dead already, how it happened and who did it is irrelevant at this point. But what happened still matters to the extent that it may help solve the murder. I can easily agree to conceal the identity of anyone who acted in defense of the victim if this is your wish."

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

Stingray nods at Amy's answer, and turns to Overkill and Grease looking at them expectantly.

[Always Overkill]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

Intrigued by the exchange between the two Awakened present, Drave nodded quickly in response to Stingray's gaze, "I will abide by the assurances you have reached with Unser junger Freund "

[DrZaius]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease is quiet for a long time. He isn't as familiar with mages as Amy appears to be, but knows his nature makes him lie, even when he knows he should tell the truth. Answering something in a straightforward and clear manner felt foreign to him, and he bristled at the request. He thought about the questions in his mind, turning each over in his head before answering.

"My first question is, do any of you hold ill will towards the deceased or her family?"
"Have you been tasked to track down the killers of Officer Wright?"
"Are you required to report all the information you receive to Lone Star or the Sector government?"
"Would you feel compelled to report what happened to the people responsible for Officer Wright's death if they were no longer in a position to cause further harm?"

The first question had a few doubts. Other than the police in general? Probably not. "No."
The second was trickier. As a rule, Grease tried to avoid admitting to strangers when he was on a job. Being put in a spot like this so that he could gather more information was irksome, to say the least. He ground his teeth before answering again, "Yes."
The third was easier. I can choose to report anything I want, depending on whether or not doing so will profit me. "No."
The forth gave him pause. Where the killers already dead? What did "no longer in a position to cause further harm" mean? Whose definition of harm? Grease wanted to talk to them, but he felt compelled to report nothing. "No."

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

After hearing all of their responses, Stingray seems satisfied. "While I am no particular fan of Lone Star in general, Sylvia was a friend of mine. Although a mundane, she would often stop in this shop to chat, as she had a fascination with all things magical. She had even started taking night classes on the subject. My job is a lonely one, save for the spirits, and although Miksha is a great bodyguard and friend, he does not choose to speak much."

He pauses for a moment, gesturing with a hand, and a bottle of water floats from a nearby shelf over to him. He takes a long sip, and then continues. "When I saw what happened to Officer Wright, I could not sit idly by. There were a total of 4 assailants, each riding a motorcycle. I saw them come up on Sylvia from behind, and shoot her through her window." His fist curls a little tighter around the water bottle as he continues. "It was a simple matter to bring forth a watcher to follow them, and when I discovered where they lived, Miksha and I paid them a visit for a brief chat." His voice becomes harder, and more menacing. "It was not a conversation that any of them survived."

[DrZaius]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

Nodding along, Grease responds. "That is completely understandable. I know that if anyone murdered one of my friends outside my very own shop, I wouldn't hesitate to act, and wouldn't feel the need to involve the conventional authorities."

Pausing as he looks around the shop, he continues. "There have been a string of murders, with a similar MO to Sylvia's. We believe there is a larger actor in play who is hiring out these thugs. We are trying to find out who that is, and stop them. Any information about who you visited, where they were hiding out, or any other clues you may be able to draw from the spirit world would aid us in our task."

Looking Stingray in the eye, Grease speaks plainly. "You have taken out those who pulled the trigger, but we are hunting Sylvia's murderer."

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:01 PM, July 30th, 2075

"I can certainly point you to the location where I found them, and, for all I know, where you can still find them, although that would require a little excavation. Miksha was very, enthusiastic, in his endeavors." Taking another sip, he pulls out a commlink from behind the counter, and displays a map of the UCAS sector. An ARO appears on the map. "They apparently living in the tenement buildings on the south side of Sagebrush Park." The map zooms in to mark the specific building. "I left them here." Another arrow appears, amidst a clump of trees on the south edge of the park.

"I will admit that I did not question them too closely, so I can't offer you any motive." Fixing the group with a stare and a raised eyebrow, Stingray asks, "As for the larger actor, you think the Yakuza is behind this? Or do you believe someone wants to make it look like the Yakuza is behind this?

[Chrome Head]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:01 PM, July 30th, 2075

"We're deeply sorry for your loss, and maybe finding reasons for why it all happened will help you find closure as I'm sure exacting revenge already did to an extent. At this point in our investigation, we have no idea who is behind this, to be frank, and that's the problem. But maybe things you know might help us. Did you talk to Officer Wright in the days before her murder? Do you know what happened recently in her life, either personally or professionally? You mention the Yakuza, were the four assailants Yakuza? Is that why you suspect them?"

[DrZaius]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:01 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease shrugs noncommittally. "I'm not ruling anything out. I think we're too early in our investigation to start connecting all the dots just yet."

He nods grimly at Stingray. "Whatever does end up happening though, I'll be sure to tell you if we find out who was ultimately responsible. Is there anything else you can think of related to the attackers? What they looked like, what they were wearing, etc. in case we can't recover their bodies?"

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:02 PM, July 30th, 2075

Stingray listens to Grease and Amy's responses, and then says "While they were not wearing Tiger's colors, their heritage and tattoos mark them as related. I do not believe any of them were connected at any high level within the organization, but given where they lived and the tattoos, I would find it hard to believe they did not owe allegiance to the Wakenda." Finishing the water bottle, he throws it into a recycling bin.

"As far as Sylvia's personal life, the only thing that was new at the time was she mentioned a new girlfriend she had. I never saw a picture of her, but Sylvia mentioned that her family didn't approve of the relationship." He holds up a hand to forestall further questions, "And before you ask, I don't know her last name, Sylvia would only tell me her name was Cindy."

"To be honest, I didn't think this was part of a great conspiracy, more of a thrill crime than anything else."

[Chrome Head]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:02 PM, July 30th, 2075

At the last statement, Amy adds "It might be and it might not be. That's why we've been hired to find out."

Grease had a better way with words, and truth be told he seemed pretty quick-witted compared to her, so Amy let him continue the questioning.

[Always Overkill]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075


Drave was satisfied with the team's inquiry, the old ork seemed on the level, it was not the kind of story someone would tell lightly. But thought for ease's sake, he added before closing "Vielen Dank Herr Kollege for all your assistance. I believe you did the right thing, the same thing I would have done if I had been in your place. We will keep this between us, and leave it to the Gods to pass judgement on those they will. By the way, did you happen to get any of the shooters names during your "conversation?" Had you seen them around this neighborhood before?"

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075

"It is not a problem. I can honestly say that I've never noticed them around here before, but I doubt they would have come into my shop anyway. I am sorry to disappoint, but I was not looking for their identities, although I'm sure you can pull some information from their 'links."

[Chrome Head]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Did you take their 'links or do you mean we have to dig them up?"

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075

"In my people's custom, had I wished to honor their bodies, I would have wrapped them in a simple shroud and interred them carefully under the earth, and brought their possessions to their family. In this particular case, I just had Miksa use his abilities to have the earth swallow them whole, equipment and all, and leave them there, about 10 feet below the surface. While their death was not pleasant, it was quicker than they deserved."

[Chrome Head]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Thank you so much for all the information you agreed to share with us, Stingray. Perhaps her death won't be in vain if we can get to the bottom of this. While you took revenge on the killers, we intend to extract retribution on their employers. I'll be sure to bring some business to you if I have a few extra nuyens to burn; it's the least I could do to to repay you. Name's Amy by the way. It was a pleasure to meet you."

[Lobo0705]

Stingray's Fetishes and Foci, UCAS Sector, 4:04 PM, July 30th, 2075

"It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Amy. I look forward to your patronage of my shop." He nods to Grease and Overkill, "Gentlemen, have a good day." He walks back into the back room, and closes the door behind him.

[Lobo0705]

[/color][color="#FF8C00"]Grease's Taxi, UCAS Sector, 4:05 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease sits in the front of Grease's luxury vehicle, with Amy and Overkill both in the back seat. The car is still in the market parking lot, and the team has some new info to mull over before they meet back up with Jack.

Overkill says, "I'll be a moment, I want to get the video footage from the camera." He leans his head back against the headrest, and leaps into VR.

<<Overkill's angelic form races up and away from the market, looking down on this area's VR profile. While not as dazzling as the Hub, the area certainly had more to offer than the bleak VR wasteland of the Warrens. Avoiding distractions, he brushed aside the protective barrier between the public grid and the local one, and continued his journey toward the large building-sized Host that contained the files he needed. Two quick circuits around the building told him it would not be easy. The Host teemed with automated defenses, and virtual UCAS soldiers guarded each door. Fortunately, he was able to reach a high window, and with a green glowing glass cutter, make a hole large enough for him to enter. Knowing he had precious little time before he would be discovered, he ducked a patrol, and stopped at a virtual computer station. His fingers flying over the keyboard, he quickly brought up the file he needed. A few more virtual keystrokes, and he would be in... until the screen went black, and then flashing red. He felt a searing pain in on his cheek as a bronze star etched itself into his skin, and then the world exploded into chaos. With a smooth throwing like motion, a group of 1s and 0s formed a virtual hand that flew across the room and closed the door to the office. He continued to try to hack his way into the file, as he heard footsteps from down the hall. The door shuddered once, and then again, and then flew open, shattering off the hinges as a giant man-shaped piece of IC came through the door.

The IC closed the distance quickly and reached out a huge paw to grab at Overkill. Quick as a cat, Overkill ducked under the blow, and typed a few more keystrokes -he did it! He could see the file up on the screen. He was now faced with a dilemma, should he stay and crack the file with the IC in his face, or decide discretion was the better part of valor? Even as he was making his decision, he could hear more sounds coming down the corridor. Gottverdammt, he thought, and ducked another swing by the IC, ran out the door and dove through the hole in the window he had made, out into the Matrix. Flying back to his body, he shifted to AR and then out again.>>

"I'm sorry my friends, the security was much tighter than I anticipated." Overkill frowns and massages his temples.

[Chrome Head]

Grease's Taxi, UCAS Sector, 4:05 PM, July 30th, 2075

"All right, the hacking will be for another time I guess. It's not a big deal that we have no footage, since our other lead in this case seems pretty solid. I guess we might as well split up at this point? We can all go back home and wait until Jack is done with his meeting to decide what to do next. Overkill, can I hitch a ride on your bike again?"

[Always Overkill]

Grease's Taxi, UCAS Sector, 4:05 PM, July 30th, 2075


"Of course, Meine Liebling, I need to rest for a bit, then I will begin work on tracking down Lynx and his crew. I should have something put together by the time Jack gets out of his meeting and we resume our work."

Bidding "Auf wiedersehen" to Grease, Drave then got out of the Taxi and led Amy back over to his Falke, helping her on and then driving away back towards the Warrens from whence they came.

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 4:55PM, July 30th, 2075

Having finished his reading, Jack typed out a message on his commlink to the team.

<<@Team [JustJack] Hoi amigos. I spent the last hour and change pouring over the notes I collected from the M Case. Here's the basics, from what I gathered. The notes cover the last year of M's career, seems like he was good at what he did. He frequently worked with others; pertinent to our work, he was partnered with VH, SJ, and GT. For the majority of the time his work focused on the discrete delivery of certain substances from the Sioux Sector to the UCAS, but not the other way around. Guess they weren't too concerned about that... Anyway, one thing that is evident is that he didn't get along with LT Calvin Bradshere and it was a situation that grew progressivly worse as it approached present day. The most recent case (#5427) indicated that M wasn't receiving the resources he needed. As a result, he apparently requested a transfer to the division that we were initially told he was working. Once we meet up, I'd like for anyone who wants to put another pair of eyes on these files to give it a shot. I could have missed something, there's quite a bit here. I'll call when my meeting is concluded. Despedida>>


Although Jack had told the taxi to get to the Seafood house at 4:45, an accident and some rubbernecking by other drivers causes a delay. To make matters worse, the taxi arrives at the restaurant parking lot and proceeds to drive around for several minutes, looking for the best parking spot. Jack clenches his teeth while he waits for the car's dog brain to select a final parking place, and then exits the vehicle. He walks to the restaurant, passing the open air dining area to his right, knowing that for Honeypot, that isn't an option. Too exposed for her, she'll be at a booth inside where she can see the door.

The restaurant is still mostly empty given the early hour, with only a few elderly couples taking advantage of the light crowd for an early meal. Sitting in a booth, as he had expected, Honeypot sees him the instant he walks through the door. She nods at him, and Jack walks past the hostess stand without a word, strolling up to the booth. Honeypot slides over to him and gives him a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. "Hello, Jack. Hungry?"

[DrZaius]

Outside Stingray's, UCAS Sector, 4:10 PM, July 30th, 2075

Watching Amy and Overkill speed away on his motorcycle, a slight frown crosses Grease's face. He wouldn't let them know in person, but having worked with them a few days he's a little worried over their well being.

I need to figure out what the drek is going on, and if I'm playing both sides on this thing...

Grease taps out a message to one of his contacts, and drives his BMW to a diner to get some food while he waits to hear back.

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 4:55PM, July 30th, 2075

Catching sight of Honeypot, Jack couldn't help but grin. It would be one thing if she were just very attractive, it was quite another that she was also involved in the biz and smart to boot. Jack hadn't ever quite figured out her ethnic ancestry. Her skin gave off a Haitian vibe, but she didn't have any hint of a french accent to go with it. Always a mystery, he thought to himself. Coming from a pretty tough set of circumstances, the elf had managed to use the customer base she had built up over the years to create a network to buy and sell goods in the shadows.

Returning the friendly peck on the cheek, Jack slid in opposite Honeypot in the booth. "Great to see you, bonita. Thanks for meeting me for dinner. I am a bit hungry and I hope you are too. I'm sure I can trust you to let me know if anything looking like trouble heads this way. I haven't quite yet been able to afford installing eyes in the back of my head."

Smiling he continues, "How are things? You mentioned you were busy, hopefully that's a good thing?"

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 4:57PM, July 30th, 2075

She tsks her tongue at his mention of eyes in the back of his head, "Now Jack, that's the kind of trust that is liable to get you killed one day. I've got your back, just be careful who else you trust watching it. Before we get to biz, I'm starving. I've taken the liberty of ordering for the two of us." She sends puts an ARO up indicating that the table is ready for their meal, and a waiter arrives carrying a large dish, covered in seafood.

"Here's your dinner, Acqua Pazza for two."

Jack pulls it up on the menu, and it is billed as 'A a dish with plump pink shrimp, inky-black mussels, flaky striped bass, al dente slips of squid and preserved-lemon potatoes. The tumble of food is stewed in a vibrant white-wine-and-garlic sauce perfumed with sweet fennel and poppy hot chilies.'

A moment later a nice bottle of white wine arrived at the table, and the waiter poured, letting Honeypot taste first, and then leaving the bottle. She samples some squid from the platter and sighs contentedly. "Real food. Its the one thing I truly enjoy spending my money on." She sips some wine, and then puts the glass down. "I know you aren't as much of a foodie as I am, so I'll get to down to business. As promised, I've got your two vests and the contacts. After dinner we can make the exchange at your car - the vests were a little bit bulky to carry in here. You know the routine, corps need people like you, and you need people like me." She delicately eats a piece of shrimp after dipping it in some of the sauce. "Speaking of which, I'm glad for your business, although I'm a little concerned that you need the extra protection, hopefully nothing too dangerous in the near future?"

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:00PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack took in the massive repast in front of him. Madre de Dios! His mind whirled with all of the food in front of him. Considering the soy and krill substitute food he had largely subsisted on since waking up in the burning helicopter, the meal in front of him was quite a sight. Even the earlier lunch at Rita's hadn't prepared him for this.

Jack listened attentively to Honeypot and waited for her to finish before speaking. "Well, I hope you like spending my money on real food as much as your own. As the conditions of our meeting stated, I'm picking up the tab tonight, chica. I really appreciate everything you've done for me so far and, truth be told, I expect to probably contact you again before this is all over."

The ork paused to pour himself a glass of wine. Given his current living accomodations, he wasn't much of a wine connoisseur, but found that he enjoyed it on the rare occasions when it was offered. Not even pretending to have any of the techniques used to discern the quality of wine, Jack merely took a sip before continuing. "At this point, the gear is mainly to allow us to stay protected while maintaining a bit of discretion. The job's interesting, but is taking us all over the place. Small crew, I know two of them from the Warrens and there's a new guy who I'm not quite sure of yet. Let's just say the relationship didn't start well. But he's proven to be useful, even pulled together a few vehicles for the team's use. Although apparently they're not all that reliable... sorry about being late."

"Anyway, small crew but a big job. We're looking into a series of... incidents. Incidents of the fatal variety. So far, we haven't run into any hostilities, but better safe than sorry, right? The incidents all seem to be related to a drug smuggling operation from one of the neighboring sectors over here. The drug itself seems to be the newest, hottest drek on the streets, so I'm not holding out much hope that we're going to finish the job without a little lead flying here and there."