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

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy pitches in. "We've had pretty exhausting days so far, so it'd be nice to relax a bit today, and prepare for the next step. I was thinking that I could call upon some extra spiritual backup today, to be better prepared for events like last night. It would take me pretty much all afternoon but it's very useful. I'll probably need to rest a little bit afterwards and I have plans for tonight. There's a rally held in part by one of my friends, you might have heard about it in the news: it's about cutting down on drug trafficking in the Warrens. I think Overkill was thinking of coming and you're welcome to come too, it's at 8PM."

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

Going over files in his AR while listening to the group converse, Drave's head lifts when he hears Amy mention the rally, "I almost forgot about Chomsky's rally with that woman Greeley from Rebuilding Together. We did tell him we would try and be there."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"A rally about reducing the number of drugs in the Warrens? That seems like it could be connected, especially if this Crimson-Fire thing turns out to be another lead. I can come along and see if anyone in the crowd looks particularly agitated, or seems like they're listening a little too closely. Plus this way we're travelling together; if we need to we can back each other up."

Grease pauses, and gets a devious look on his face. "That reminds me; maybe today would be a good time to work on some disguises for our intrepid set of investigating elves. I could purchase some supplies and then come back here. You'll be recognizable to people who know you, but if someone is trying to pick you out of a crowd I can make you invisible."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"A rally? Oh yeah, I remember reading about that in the Trib a couple days ago." Jack replied. The ork wasn't really much for rallies, often a lot of talk without much action to back them up. Jack vaguely recalled Amy's anti-government humanitarian friends but didn't really have an opinion of them one way or the other. Grease's point, however, was a good one. If the conspirators were willing to kill cops, they probably had little reason to hold back if they felt this rally was a potential threat.

"What kind of security do you think they're going to have there? I mean, if the cabrónes we're trying to track down don't break a sweat over killing cops, why wouldn't they hit a rally of a bunch of poor, mostly SINless folks if they thought it was a threat?"

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"Hey Jack!" Nic called out, now having taken his place behind the shop counter. "I almost forgot... while you guys were out cold this morning, some shifty-looking elf swung by and dropped this off." The troll pulled out a shopping bag emblazoned with the Saks 5th Avenue logo and set it on the counter. "What, you getting all fancy on us and getting a personal shopper? Saks 5th Avenue, huh? Fancy!"

With a frown, the ork walked over to the counter and upended the bag, a pair of armor vests and four cheap looking boxes tumbling out on the counter. "I'm pretty sure this stuff is not in the Saks inventory, Nic. It would be quite the marketing disaster." Organizing the goods on the counter, he called Grease over. "Here's the armor vest you were waiting on, enjoy your new found sense of protection, amigo." Jack also slung one of the boxes to the elf. The cheap box had the poorly designed logo for Meta Technology on it, matching the less-than-stellar design of the commlink inside. "Your new burner comm, should be clean and fairly disposable."

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:13 AM July 31st, 2075


Inspecting the commlinks, Drave added, "Certainly disposable," musing over the shoddy craftsmanship. "But they will work just fine for what we need. You will have to pass another Danke schön to your associate, Jack"

"To answer your question about the security at the rally; Chomsky has a few volunteers who will probably be working security, but nothing I would really call "professional." Rebuilding Together and Greeley, however, should have alot of their staff there. As far as Megacorps go they aren't even on the map, just another small non-profit doing what they can. But they should have some professional security at the rally, for crowd control mostly. To be quite blunt, these people don't usually have much to protect."

Thinking more about Jack's concern, he continued, "But you do raise a good point, Jack. If the dealers in this neighborhood are willing to knock off a whole string of cops to protect their enterprise, they may not shy away from the idea of taking a run at a bunch of do-gooders gathering and talking about cutting in to their business."

Standing for full effect, Drave made a request of his comrades, "If you guy's don't object, I would like to treat tonight as if we were on the job. This is all too close to home for comfort. We go in there, set up shop, and lock that place down as well as we can until the rally ends. I will put in a comm to Chomsky, offering him our services for tonight. Grease could set up Overwatch on the area, while I keep the Matrix under wraps and Amy does the same for the Astral. Jack, you take the lead in physical security, Chomsky and Greeley are prime targets, and shouldn't be left unguarded. They are the figureheads of this movement, and if they want to put a stop to it they will be the first names on the hit list"

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:13 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack tried his best not to sigh heavily, but failed miserably. So much for taking it easy today... I don't even want to think about how much effort it's going to take to develop a physical security plan for a fraggin' public park sight-unseen in nine hours.

The ork rubbed his temples and said, "Before we get too ahead of ourselves, why don't we have Amy make the call to Chomsky? She already chatted with him in a round about manner concerning what we're up to, right? Just let him know that, based on our investigation, we're a bit concerned about their safety and would like to offer up some help and see what he says."

"This late in the game, we may be doing more harm than good. Granted, they may not have even bothered with matrix and astral security, so I am sure they would welcome some help and if they didn't have a rigger, Grease could certainly pump up their surveillance net. But they probably have some form of physical security plan, so the last thing they need is someone to come in to bust it all up nine hours before the event, especially considering such a challenging place as a public park. Instead, if I can get briefed on their plans, I may be able to plug any gaps they have."

"If Chomsky even agrees to us helping out..."

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Listening to Jack's concerns, Drave replied, "I am in agreement, I am not proposing we go in and commandeer the security already in place. Its more like you said, Jack; we go in, examine the security plan, and find any ways that we can help shore it up. I know what I am asking is no small task, augmenting the security for a public rally in an open park will take a lot of work. If necessary, I will pay you all for the night's work, out of my cut for the job with Ramirez. Amy can make the call to Chomsky, and see if he is open to the idea of having a few extra pairs of eyes watching his back." Turning to Amy, he continued, "Inform him of the situation and our concerns. Odds are he would appreciate the help, and should be able to put us in contact with the current Security team to get us a brief on their setup."

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy had listened to what everyone had to say and she was in general agreement. "I'm glad you feel that way about the security for the rally, that means a lot to me. I was going to provide magical security pro bono just by my being there and because I don't want anything to happen to Chomsky. "

Although I'm not sure if I mind that anything happens to that preppy elf friend of his.

<<@Chomsky [Amy] Oy, chummer. Give me a call as soon as you get a chance.>>

"He's gonna call me when he gets a chance." Responding to earlier comments, she adds "Grease, disguises are a good idea, thanks. And thanks for getting the burners, Jack. And has anyone looked at the news this morning?" She opens up the Tribune for today and immediately spots the story with the kid. "Oh! Overkill, is that kid missing because of you?" She had her fists on her hips like a mother reprimanding a child. "This is not gonna help with not getting noticed. Maybe they're the ones looking for us, you know, and it has nothing to do with the conspiracy after all."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack chuckled inwardly. We must be coming together as a team if we're doing the whole share and share alike thing...

At Amy's exclamation, Jack called up his AR feed again and checked out the news article. Sure enough, now that he had it pointed out to him, the elf in question could very possibly be Overkill. "Oh man, Overkill, what the frag did you do, amigo? Hey Grease, at least that gives us an opportunity to get Brandy out of our hair. She might be able to try to pass off a murder in a house, but a dark-haired pedo-elf?"

Putting aside the gallows humor, Jack said, "Thanks for placing the call Amy. Now what are we going to do? Head over to the apartments? Buzz on by and check with Jill at Schaefer's? Do some more shopping for gear?"

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Hearing Jack and Amy's comments about the Tribune article, Drave instantly dropped what he was doing and pulled up the morning paper in his AR. Reading the story, his face goes in a flash from normal to red to pale. "Oh shaisa..." he says in a barely audible voice.

Feeling the need to explain himself, Drave addresses the crew's questions, "We were talking to some kids trying to get info on the Manuel shooting, the little Arschfotze was being a punk, so to teach him some manners, I bricked the wertlos kind's link..." His conscience obviously getting the better of him. "Now I have to add tracking down kidnappers to the list."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack struggled to keep from laughing and managed a sharp snort. "Oh man... you bricked some kid's commlink for being a pendejo and he gets kidnapped on the same day? You have the worst luck ever, amigo." The ork felt bad for the kid but doubted the kidnapper wouldn't have tossed his commlink anyway. At the same time, Jack figured it probably wasn't a terrible thing that Overkill blamed himself; the guilt might make him more cautious.

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

"Well, it's true he was a rich kid and a prick, so he kind of had the bricking coming... Anyway, should we do something about this?"

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack picked at his tusk and asked, "About what? Lone Star looking for the two of you? Not much we can really do about it now. Like Grease said, we can mock up some disguises for the two of you. You probably shouldn't go too close to that part of town for a while, but the heat will probably blow over in a little bit. I mean, we know the two of you weren't actually involved so hopefully they'll turn up some real leads."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:16 AM July 31st, 2075

Grease nods, looking over the Tribune on his AR display again. "Besides, I'm not sure the kid got snatched. It just says he didn't respond to his 'link when his parents buzzed him. Well; we have a good explanation for that. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

He pauses, looking over Drave's distinctive long black hair. "Still. A disguise probably wouldn't hurt."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:16 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack nodded, "That's true, although if he went missing that close to the Arsenal, kidnapping might have been a blessing... Either way, it's not really our concern at the moment."

Jack tugged on a tusk and said, "Here's what I'm going to suggest: Amy and Overkill hang out here while Grease and I hop out to pick up something to mock up disguises for you two. While we're out, we can swing by Schaefer's and see if Jill can connect the shooter in the Jackson murder to the driver in the Newton murder. We head back here and all take a trip to the scene of the Thomas murder. We should hopefully finish that all up by no later than 2PM, which would give us six hours to take care of personal biz before the rally."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:17 AM July 31st, 2075

Dressed in more casual wear than the previous few days, Grease rubs at his lower back. "I want to pick up a holster too; my suit normally has one in it but if we're going to dress down for the warrens I should get something so I can carry without the gun slipping out the back of my pants."

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:17 AM July 31st, 2075

"Sorry, but the summoning I want to do will take me a long time, and I'll need to rest afterwards. My plan is to get ready, eat more food, and then concentrate on my summoning starting at 12:30. I should be done by the end of the afternoon, but I'll need to rest a little before leaving. If last night taught me anything, it's that I have to be better prepared when it comes to my job as magical support for the team. So count me out until the evening, it's a necessary precaution."

Nodding to Amy, Jack replied, "That's prudent. I think we should put off the Thomas murder investigation then and just take the rest of the day off so you and Overkill can do whatever you need to do before tonight. Thomas was the one murdered with magic, so I think you'd probably be a good person to have when we take a look at the scene."

[DrZaius]

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 12:12 PM, July 31st, 2075

After a nail-biting trip to the UCAS sector, Jack gets an opportunity to catch his breath as they purchase some supplies. It's unclear why Grease felt the need to travel at speeds approaching the sound barrier for such a simple errand, but it's possible he was trying to lose a tail. Maybe he just drives like that all the time. Either way, an investment in some heart medication wouldn't go amiss.

Around 11:30, Grease looks down at his commlink, and thumbs out a few responses as he's driving. Text-and-Driving laws became overwhelmed with the advent of full ARO displays, but you'd still feel safer if he paid attention to the road and avoided that school bus a few seconds earlier rather than replying to whatever pressing business he had.

"Looks like Crimson Fire is Los Mags distribution only. We may need to look into that angle again. My guy tried to score us some but came up empty. Said it was dangerous though, knocking people out of the game entirely. A bad batch would mean a lot of dead junkies, and maybe the attention of people higher up if it killed someone important."

Grease enters "Weapons World", and you are again taken aback to find out that yes, the proprietor knows him, probably better than you do. How the heck does this guy know everyone here? Quickly purchasing a concealable holster, he pulls the L36 out of his waistband and secures it to his lower back inside the holster underneath his jacket. If the owner was concerned that Grease just pulled a probably illegal throwaway piece in his store he doesn't seem to indicate it beyond flipping the page on his AR-zine.

Moving on to a corner shop, Grease kibitzes for a while with the next owner while Jack stands awkwardly at the door, feeling slightly out of place. Eventually the concept of making a purchase dawns on Grease, and he buys a variety of dyes, brushes, wigs, powders and other sundry goods you take to be the makings of a disguise ensemble. The cashier rings him up with a smile, and you're on the road again.

Arriving outside of Schaefer's Diner, the inside has a fairly decent crowd given the lunch rush. Your heart is just starting to return to normal operations when Grease turns and asks, "So what's our play? We go in to follow-up, see if she can ID the guy off the trid?"

[Jack VII]

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 12:12 PM, July 31st, 2075

Just glad to be stopped, Jack takes a moment to get his bearings. Focusing on the flickering neon "N" in the OPEN sign hanging in the window, the big ork allows his heartbeat to slow down a touch before answering.

"I think that's the smart move. Amy and Overkill made it sound like Jill was really concerned about this particular Star, so I think she'd be willing to help. If we show her the message, I bet she would be willing to take a look at the pic. Of course, that would tie us to Amy and Overkill if we're too obvious about it, which might not be that great of an idea at the moment. We should at least be discrete about it, maybe get a table, grab some 'kaf, and then do the ask when we pay and tip..."

GEAR

[ Spoiler ]

Streetline Special [APDS] w/2x Spare Clip [Regular] (W)
Flash-Pak (W)
Armor Vest
Horn Rim Glasses w/Flare Comp, Image Link, Vision Enhancement (2) (W)
Earbuds w/Audio Enhancement (3) (W)
Hermes Ikon (5) w/Subvocal Mic
Meta Link (1)
Bio-monitor (W)
Medkit (3) (W)
4x Standard Credstick
Fake SIN (4) [Diego Sanchez]
Fake License (4) [Augmentations, Concealed Carry, Firearms]

Cyberware
Internal Air Tank (3) [Alpha] (W)
Muscle Replacement (2) [Alpha]
Skilljack (4) [Used] (W)
Skillwires (4) [Used]
Skillsoft: [Disguise (1), Pistols (4), Running (3), Sneaking (4)]
Smartlink [Alpha] (W)
Handblade [Alpha]
Wired Reflexes (1) [Alpha]

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:17 AM July 31st, 2075


"Its alright Amy," Drave replied, "you need the time to do what you attempting Der richtige Weg. I will wait here for you two to get back, then the 3 of us can check out the Thomas scene."

Still dumbstruck by the results of his mischief, he added, "Regarding the kind." noting to himself it was the first time he hadn't added a derogatory remark in addressing him, "Grease has a point, this is fresh and overreacting parents often embellish the severity of the situation, he may turn up on his own. If he doesn't, its something I will have to deal with on my time; I don't want to tie-up our efforts with my Missetat."

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:32 AM July 31st, 2075

<<@Team [Amy] I just heard back from Chomsky. He says they'll have some staff on hand, but nothing compared to us he says, as we expected. He was grateful that we'd be there, and their own security people will be informed to assist us if things go bad. I don't think we're in charge officially, but we'll become in charge if it comes down to it. I hope that's okay with you. If not, it'll be only my responsibility and that's fine too.>>

[Lobo0705]

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 12:15 PM, July 31st, 2075


As Jack and Grease enter the diner, the waitress comes over to seat them. Both Jack and Grease recognize her from Amy and Overkill's description, and she treats them no differently than she did the other two members of the team. With a warm smile and a friendly face, she welcomes them both to the establishment.

"Hello you two, come on in." She walks them over to a table near the window. "Is this okay?"

Grease smiles and says, "Only if you are the one taking care of us, darling."

Jill laughs, and gives Grease a playful swat on the shoulder, "Oh stop that, you.", but she clearly appreciates the attention. After they have a seat, she says, "Can I interest you in a cup of soykaf, or are you ready to order?"

[Jack VII]

Inside Schaefer's Diner, 12:15 PM, July 31st, 2075

Jack gave a tusky grin and, checking her nametag, says, "Thanks, Jill. Soykaf for the both of us, please. Some friends of ours recommended the 'kaf here. We had to come by and try it."

As Jill took her leave, Jack checked his commlink. The message indicator had lit up while they were driving, but the ork thought it was a bit much to focus on both a text and his speeding, impending, fiery doom. Now on solid ground, he read through Amy's messages.

"Frag... look's like we're confirmed for that gig tonight. I'm not really a fan of going in at the last minute to figure all this bulldrek out. After we get done here, do you want to swing by the park and take a quick look around in the daylight? I figured you might want to set Rhex up somewhere for fire support or as a sharpshooter."

[DrZaius]

Inside Schaefer's Diner, 12:15 PM, July 31st, 2075

"Sure, we can scout it out. I can send some fly-spies up, get a lay of the land." Grease pauses to take a sip of soykaf, adding, "RHex is good fire support, but he ain't exactly "legal". I like to keep him under wraps unless I'm pretty sure I need to do some damage. We'll see if we can put him someplace safe, but in the meantime let's plan to just have a loose perimeter. Volunteer security is good and all, but are we actually expecting anything to happen?"