Willie follows Tubesnake's instructions, opening the hatch and turning on the drones. Gotta admit, having a few of these on your side is a cool advantage.

He returns to the driver's seat and stretches; a clear and obviously not troubled orc.

(OOC: Just for conversational flow I'm acting as if Tubesnake replied before Bongo spoke up. That also seems fair because Bongo is going to have to shimmy their way back into the space where they can stand up before they can properly interact whereas Paul is right there)

The new dwarves consider Paul's words the probable band member says "Ah fuck. Well I appreciate you putting in some safety stuff. It'd be great to, ya know, get the most outta this stuff. Just, fuckin, run it until it turns into slag. But, without drowning everybody in drek. I can probably be down for a few nuyen. Figure that'll get me a cookie too? "

Abby seems at least a bit distracted by the newcomer. He's heavily muscled, even for a dwarf, with calves the short jeans were not made for, the better to run around with heavy speakers. His friend though dressed the same looks a little malnourished, or at least much less jacked.

However Abby still has smiles for Bongo has he stands up and hands him a plastic cup with some quite sweet tea.

The dwarf sort of stares at Bongo a while after hearing him speak. He then gets a somewhat spaced out look, though he still seems to be intently interested in and facing Bongo. He snaps back into reality and says. "Huh. I guess music can be pretty magical. You know it's a little weird to be playing music on everybody's pipes though? Just a little fuckin odd? That sorta thing ever get you in trouble? "

-----------------

Back at the van a fourth member has shown up for the group. The streets are getting a little on the empty side, so Willie suspects another guy in similar clothing would make five once he gets there. The leader is looking more confident as time passes, smiling as he looks at the van.

Bongo accepts the tea and sips some, giving an appreciative "Mmm" and smiles at Abby. "Thanks. That's good."

He replies to the obvious probe. "Yeah, I've vexed a few people over time. I don't much like authority figures. Sometimes you need to work together, though, for common cause.

Then there's tweaking a nose just for the fun of it. Earlier today a friend of mine and I had to vacate a bar quickly after we preempted a performance by a local musician, Ciarán. Frankly I think he was pissed that we were better musicians."

#####

Willie notes the arrival. He sends a message to Tubesnake. << Numbers growing. No trouble yet. >>

He knows there is no reason for the van to be bothered.

He knows there is no reason for confrontation.

He knows that it is best to let things blow over and keep a low profile in town.

He calmly and surreptitiously sets his SMG beside him by the door, where it won't be seen easily from the outside.

Tubesnake pulls a Kanmushi out of his pocket and sits on the cart so that he can concentrate on the AR. ""'scuse me a bit, folks, got work to do here."" He sends the Kanmushi scurrying up a wall and to the nearest pipe fixture overhead, from which it can act as a relay to the van and drone outside, as well as his worker drones here in the tunnel.

Having done that, which doesn't take long at all, he establishes connections to the daddy sniperlegs in the van, and has them clamber up so that one can cover the interior of the van. He gently eases the top hatch open and the other quietly slips out and takes position on the ladders up top. Then he closes the top hatch.

This done, he pulls out a couple of annelids from the cart and sets them up to go wriggling into the working space. This is exactly the sort of work for which they were made.

The dwarf and the rest, except maybe Paul, listen to Bongo speak. Once he gets to the bit about Ciarán however the potential bandmember gets an excited look in his eyes.
"No shit? Really? Today. Hold on, people love posting drek like that. He starts messing around with his own AR interface, cursing at it profusely as it takes him a while to find what he's looking for.

He then slaps his thigh and shoots AROs out to everyone in the room. "clicking" the ARO takes you to a social media feed from some foodie at the Choptank who has links to the full performance, but the ARO goes to a relatively short clip of just bit of Bongo playing before Ciarán shows up and starts throwing things.

That gets some laughs out of everybody. Though the jacked dwarf drowns out the rest with a surprisingly high pitched laugh and leg slapping. 'Aw that's great. That's great. Ah, that poser. aheheh hee hee. Ah. Oh man. You know you should give playing an actual chance instead of just whacking on things you find around, fun as that can be.

I mean, don't let me distract you from all this drek too much. But sometime after your done, you can give me a call and maybe we can jam sometime. " His comlink isn't in open mode with other details, but Bongo gets an ARO with a comcode.

(OOC: Should have asked for it sooner, but you should throw in an etiquette test, just as a general thing during an interaction. Especially with slipping that vexed in there. Also I should probably have locked down what name Bongo is using at the moment. Presumable the comlink, entry in the union database, and the info Abby was sent would all be the same, but I wouldn't assume it's "him". )


------------

It takes a couple minutes for the other guy to calmly walk over to the group. They've been standing close together and watching the van. Apparently five is enough, and they start walking towards the van in a V formation with the leader at the point.

Willie warns Tubesnake, << Five headed this way. Seems they have a leader now. Want me to just move the van, talk it over with them (!!) or just kill them all?>>

#####



Bongo accepts the contact info and smiles. "Thanks, that sounds good. We might have some things to talk about too." He watches the drones enter the system.

"Looks like the machines have taken over and we have a wait. I have some treats here that are looking for a party. Anybody interested?" He pulls out the bottle of red wine and the cheese.

<<Move the van. We can move it again later. I'll stay on the drones, just in case.>>

While developments continue, Tubesnake lifts a flatworker out of the cart and attaches a grinding wheel to it to start cleaning out the places where he'll be welding, then flops it onto the ground to start slithering off to the utility space.

Willie obliges. He fires up the van, does a U-turn and drives by the five men, closely but not so close as to seem a threat, and waves at them as he passes, ending the wave with a flip of the bird. Universal language, that.

He drives to the parking area by the cafe and waits for further developments.

Gangstas do not know how lucky they are to live another day.

Taking in the various looks, as they emerge from the room, obviously not having used it for its intended purpose, Selina giggles slightly and gives Reggie a sly wink, whispering to him: "Come on, you did not really think we were ... well, you know. Night's still young!"

"Good evening, gents," Selina says, as they arrive at the table and take their seats.

She offers a friendly smile to the uptowners and a slightly scolding glance towards the agitated gangers. "You don't seem to like each other very much. That's okay. You don't need to become friends. But you can see this here as a neutral zone, right? Nothing's gonna happen. So, why don't you relax a little and just have some fun? Let's play poker!"

Meanwhile, she looks around a bit, to get an idea about how much money would be appropriate to put down for some chips.

(OOC: Might as well continue here while we sort things out.)

As Willie drives away the leader gives a smile and an upward nod at the finger. Managing to appear just about as cocky as humanly possible, as he casually holds onto the hilt of his katana as he takes a long drag from a cigarette.

But they don't start sprinting, and no vehicles move to intercept. Soon the fairly non-descript van is flowing smoothly through the night traffic in the area. Willie might notice that beyond just the cameras around Federal Hill there are a just a lot of cameras around and drones in the air. None obviously taking any interest in him, nor focused on being above him, just an impressive number for blocks around here in the traffic choke point here between railroads and the Patapsco river.

Though maybe there are just as many to the south, but with the glare from the brightly lit Japanacorp buildings with their advertising signs and holographic displays it's hard to tell from a distance.

 
--------------------------------

(OOC: I'll use Bongo's etiquette roll somewhat broadly. This is the sort of scenario where it's useful. In most situations having the guy that came to fix your pipes suddenly bust out the booze would be...questionable. But Bongo is establishing himself as an unusual guy, and the Federal hill tunnels are an unusual place. So he can pull this off with his skillset. )

Abby gives Bongo a light playful shove "Oh you naughty naughty boy! Well, we all do have to pitch around down here, so I'll go and get some glasses and see if I have anything!"

Both of the other dwarves are still laughing over the antics at the Choptank "Jeez. They really broke the mold with you. " Says the less musical one. "Actually, maybe I could put the word out for some other people to bring some things. Might help with getting people to realize they need to chip in to pay for this stuff. I'm certainly not springing for everything. "

The likely Vex member get in to. "Actually I might know some guys who can make it a party down here. I'll give them a buzz. "


It isn't too long before Paul goes from being the one in the most cramped space to being the one in the least cramped space as the main area fills up from all the people and cheap booze coming down the hatch. Using his magical memory Bongo is reasonably sure all four members of Vex are now present. Two of them have electric guitars and a single battery operated speaker has been brought in that they can. The group starts going into a punkish version of Devo's "Working in a Coal Mine." The performance isn't the best, but everyone is having a good time with it.

Bongo's biggest impediment to joining in is that he has a slightly inebriated Abby in his lap telling him stories of other parties she's been in down in these tunnels. She seems to have a history of being quite the rambunctious host, and really does enjoy red wine.
(OOC: Again, assuming Bongo didn't bust out his unarmed combat skills to keep her off him).


Howls and laughter then burst out as the pump turns on and once again disrupts the failing weld in the fresh water pipe spraying down everyone in the vicinity. Between trying to leap away and the slippery sandstone folks are soon falling all over each other (about half dwarf, and an even split of orcs and humans, an elf, but nothing big like a troll).

The speaker and instruments were off to the side and away from the water, but the music comes to a halt as the vex dwarf Bongo had been speaking with is laughing hard enough that he can't breathe and is slapping the other band members.

------------------------

Regie struggles to maintain his stoic frame as Selina goads him.

Selina gets plenty of looks of plenty of types from around the table as she shifts attention to herself. Mike takes that as her wanting to play. He takes chips from one of the bouncers and then gets another set for Selina. He composes and shoots a message to her (OOC: open but with false ID) comlink <<It's a thousand for the chips. I covered them, but you can shoot the money to me if you want to play to get some winnings for yourself. >>

The gangers have stopped paying attention to the other uptowners. There's a mix of who they're paying attention to as ante's come out and hands are dealt, but at least a couple are trying to stare down Mike and Selina.

Selina doesn't know if Mike could hold his own in a fight. She has her doubts. But they can't crack his controlled calm, as he casually flicks in some more chips to raise. " I've got my back to the dancers. The rest of you will just have to fill me in on how they're doing. "

A big black male Orc says "You're missing out, our girls are the best. And we don't have to pay to get some from outside our crew like some others have to."

His tan counterpart across the table laughs and says "You're just jealous. It's all good in the hood and we're all really one crew out in the hives. Not like your silos. "

The first one replies "Those are our towers. I still can't believe you all really settled on calling them hives. Like you're a bunch of insect sprits over there. " To which the second retorts "Those things weren't around back then, and the name just stuck. But you know anybody trying to mess around with us inside one will find plenty more trouble than Chicago. "

If Selina turns around a little (or gets a report from Fiona) they're talking about the women because they guys don't seem to particularly know how to dance, especially to this music. They just bob and lean trying to look tough and masculine while keeping an eye on each other.

(sort of like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajmI1P3r1w4 , but the uptowners might have to stifle some laughs when those moves are juxtaposed with music more like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5y0hSqO48U )
The women are having a much better time of it. Some are trying to figure out how the heck to gyrate and be seductive to that beat, but more than a few are starting to just have silly fun with it.

Willie circles around a bit, taking note of the surveillance instruments that abound in this area, and then finds a parking spot in front of 3 Beans Coffee. He waits for a call.

#####

Bongo takes advantage of the general evacuation from the spray of water to extract himself from the attention of Abby. Over by the dry instruments he pulls out his drumsticks and starts playing on any exposed pipes here, or the wall if necessary. He picks up on the beat that was in the song, but embellishes it with a few extra licks. Then he adds in the magic.



"Come on, band. Keep the music going while my buddy stems the tide."

""Sorry there folks, the first work's nearly done. This is how it goes.""

Paul has a flatworker doing the welding while the other one is building up layers of injection plasticrete and rubber for the base. He's also planning to get the valving fixed to prevent all sorts of drama - but without rebuilding the whole system.

While the welder arcs and chips fly, he gets back to Willie. <<You good there, omae? How are things going? You're cruising out?>>

(OOC: Gotta do this fast and get to bed!)

While close to where he just was, the 3 beans parking seems to be the turf of the fellows Bongo and Willie were dinning with earlier. Some in the crew eventually notice Willie in the van and point him out to the others, but at least one of them recognizes him and waves the other guys off, and they go back to keeping an eye on everyone.

-----------

The band starts playing along with him, but after a while Bongo becomes conscious of the din of the crowd having died down and eventually the band members drop the beat. Everyone is just paying attention to him moving around the room, whacking on anything that might make a good note and that Paul isn't trying to work on.

-----------------

As Paul starts getting diagnostics results in he starts putting together a picture of what probably went down here. Improper maintenance, specifically lack of lubrication, led to the bearings wearing out in the booster pump. This has led to the vibrations, which are putting a strain on the whole thing. It would have failed before too long with the continued wear to the bearings and vibrations, but it started vibrating that bad weld and causing the water to come down.

For a time the sump pump in this room dealt with it. But it was running too often for how old it was. The transformer in the power supply was the first thing to go and will need to be replaced or the wires somehow reinsulated. Once the sump died the pool filled up and Abby's home was the next low point for drainage.

Yup, that would do it. Vibrations in plumbing can happen for many reasons, including poor pipe planning producing water hammers, but failing bearings are a classic. Paul uses a portable sump pump to start clearing things out a bit while the drones get to work fixing the pipe. The next order of business will be to insert check valves, either repair or replace failing sections of pipe and also sort out that transformer. The good news is that cutting the transformer out and raising the wires away from water sources is a good safety step any way.

Bongo ends the performance with a flourish. He looks around. "Yeah, my day job doesn't really fulfill me. When I get going and put some magic into my music, that's when things get real."

Paul may or may not have been distracted by Bongo, but the people definitely were. They get snapped out of it as the drones begin the noisy work of installing a check valve.

The muscular dwarf then slaps his forehead "Of course! He actually directed his gift into music! That's why he's a drekking plumber with his sort of talent!"

From across the room Abby manages to slur out "But plumbers are awesome! Hey...urp.... Where did the other one go? "

The asian human male says "Yes yes. Much love for plumbers down here, but what are you talking about Brevis? "

The male dwarf, presumably called Brevis, replies "Right, you guys don't have the sight. Look the kid really has potential, you know, he's just put it into whacking things. Maybe too much time around pipes. Oh! Wait, I haven't shared this video of him yet! "

Brevis starts messing around with his comlink again and this time there are a lot of people getting the notification, though he still manages to laugh over their responses.

The androgynous elf mumbles "I think you're enjoying that a little too much maybe? Anyway darling you really can play. Maybe we can do it together if we focus. Let's try that again and focus on what we're doing. " He takes the microphone and says "From the top! " and then gets back into Devo.

Paul's portable submersible pump would have been a great drone for some tekno savagery, but instead the grrrrrt-swish-swish noises are just the background to the party around the corner.

<<Maybe another hour, including cleanup. That will give my auxiliary pump time to pretty much dry things up before I engage everything again, but for a quick fix job, this is about as good as it will get.>>

Selina gives Reggie a silly wink and whispers to him. "Got you there!"

At the table, she fumbles with her commlink for a moment, partially to hide that one of the gangers is a bit unsettling.

<< Sure, I'll play. These guys here are no pros, I guess, maybe I can actually win some. I will send the money over later. >>

As the gangers trash-talk each other and one of them says they would be more trouble than Chicago's insect spirits, she mouthes "Wow!" towards Mike. These guys really are something. She wonders for a moment, whether they might actually believe that. Surely, they have no idea what they are talking about.

Turning around further to see what they are talking about, she notices that the girls actually seem to be having fun. Not professional dancers by any means, but they are trying. Selina can appreciate that. Of course, she does not quite like how that first ork is talking about them, but she does realize that bringing that up at the moment might not exactly be the best of ideas.

"Not bad. Looks like they are having fun. Probably not the kind of music they are used to. But at least, they are trying."

Since Fiona can just observe from the sidelines, she will keep an eye on the other players, and note any changes in their auras that would come along with excitement, confidence, or disappointment.

Bongo picks up the rhythm and then hold it steady so the others can do their thing. Sometimes the best thing a drummer can do is be the metronome for the rest of the band. And, well, maybe throw in a little riff here and there. 'Cause, ya know, he da artist.

It's pretty easy for Paul to fix the pipe. It might actually be hard for him to do a worse job than the earlier welds. Though at least whoever did it seemed to know they were bad, and so they slathered it on, so at least the pipe didn't fall off entirely.

Though if Paul doesn't do something about the main booster pump he knows it's going to fail, and then it's going to be a "head to head" competition between the pumps feeding into the common tank to see where the drek volcano erupts.

At least everything seems to be holding up against Bongo's ministrations.

The crowds are also blocking out the lights, but that probably doesn't cause Paul much trouble down in his little tunnel. If anybody over there remembers that other dwarves idea to raise some funds with all this there might actually be some money to do something right. But they're pretty occupied at the moment.

---------------------

While not at the fore this time, Bongo knows he's doing a heck of a job with some very questionable equipment. The crowd seems to really enjoy the song and the band flows through a couple other songs that have come out recently.

But before too long they end on Wind Rose's "Diggy Diggy Hole." An oldie but one the crowd seems to all know and enjoy, regardless of actually being a Dwarf or not.

There's a cheer as they finish and folks start getting back to talking, drinking, and looking at the equipment as if they have any idea about it or the drones doing things to it. Though maybe a few will learn how to install a check valve if they stay sober enough.

Brevis shouts to the rest after they'd done. "Hey. This guy is pretty good on pipes and all sorts of shit. "

The elf replies smoothly. "Well yes. But you seem rather overly excited about it. "

Brevis looks around at the other musicians. "Don't you guys get it. He doesn't need a drum set. "

The rest of the band gives him a quizzical look. Brevis rolls his eyes "We can finally have a drummer! He can just play anywhere at the drop of a hat and is ready to get the fuck out of dodge at a moments notice! He's perfect!"

At this the rest look a little alarmed and the asian human female is clearly trying to shush him, though this takes the form of a friendly almost hug that boarders on strangling. She keeps a smile on towards Bongo while she does it.


The female dwarf decides to step in. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. But if ya really are lookin to do something more with your music that hit pipes while we work we could jam for a while. "

Brevis manages to disentangle himself from the asian woman and says "For nutty punks you're the most restrained bunch I've ever seen. C'mon! Let's get a little crazy! "

--------------------

Since microdrones got affordable people have learned to keep their cards down. Though in this case it doesn't matter, since Fiona can't read on the astral. She and the other spirits can watch auras though.

As they go through a couple hands Selina finds Mike in particular is good at maintaining a steady aura in addition to his face. Though maybe that's because he's paying entirely too much attention to Selina instead of caring greatly about the game, or maybe that's just his style.

For their part the gangers have enough animosity swirling in their auras to dominate subtler feelings as the trash talk continues, though at a broken pace now that people are focusing on cards, checking, and raising. At least the mood seems to be improving.

Mike doesn't respond to the "wow" but replies to Selina's comment. "They'll figure it out. Learning something new can be a lot of fun, and too much music these days just doesn't have that carefree vibe. "

One of the Orcs decides to take a bit of offence at that "Our girls already look amazing out there!"

Mike simply says "I'm sure they do. Check." and tosses in a few chips

(OOC: Still, you can get +1 for Fiona's help if you want to roll).

As long as the party is continuing for Bongo, Paul won't disrupt it. It's not as if there weren't plenty for him to do.

<<You do what you need to, chummer. Let me know if we have to leave or you want something, but until then I'll keep welding and grinding.>>

He definitely does want to do that booster pump, if only because his conscience rebels against leaving the job so badly half-done. This is why he has the submersible pump - so that the pumping action can continue even while he fixes what should have been in place already. Pump housing comes off, diverter socket goes over the pipes leading too and from the pump, and it's time to do a little surgery.

(OOC: Sorry, I'd missed Selina's roll. )

Different hands go different ways. Everyone wins some and loses some, and folds.

After a while Selina finds herself up five hundred. Mike tends to do well but lost a big pot and is actually down three hundred. The other uptowners are doing the best, one of them even having more than Selina. The gangers are having a bad time of it so far, and Selina is getting the impression they might not lose graciously. They seem to be a lot better at intimidating and getting into showdown than they are at running the odds or concealing their emotions.

(OOC: In addition to the above discussion, Selina could just keep playing and roll again, or she could do something else. First impression is a bit of a stretch for this situation, but I'll allow it. Certainly it would apply though for other social tests she might try on anyone around, I guess except for Mike and Reggie.)

Bongo follows the dynamic and figures it's time to get a ball rolling. Either the ball that gets him in, or the one that gets him thrown out of the tunnels.

"Come on over there and let's talk some music and a playlist." he points to a section of the tunnel down the way a bit and out of earshot of a whisper or two. He makes sure the ones he thinks are part of Vex come, waving hands, a directing hand on a shoulder, and a glowing smile.



Once they are in a tight group, he leans in and draws the others to do the same. He whispers, "Look. Before we set up some more music for the folks, I have something to say. I know you guys came because you heard the tap-tapping, and probably because you got the message in it. The Morse code for V-E-X. This plumbing thing is just a front. I'm looking for a group of people like me. Awakened and not too fond of the powers that be. I wanna take my magic to the next level, and I'm happy to lend my talents to a few 'nose thumbings' and 'up yours's'. I got wind after some legwork that there was a group down here called Vex that fit the bill beautifully.

"You've seen some of what I can do, the way I can get people to stop paying attention to anything but me. But there's a lot more. Help me grow, and I'll help the group, too. If you have to assense me to see the truth of my words, that's OK. Waddaya say?"

Plumbing and electrics and carpentry and masonry might be a front for Bongo, but for Tubesnake they're serious business. And right now, business is spewing tiny globules of hot metal while he cuts and mends piping and conduit. Or, more to the point, his drones do under his direction. While that goes on, he personally takes on the teardown of the main pump. Out come the calipers, and on his goggles he calls up the list of manufacturer's tolerances so that he can do the quickest, dirtiest (literally) remanufacturing job this side of the Yucatan.

Then he pauses a little, and considers the future, and decides to also update the housing with an etched set of maintenance data. Won't take that much longer, and will help the next poor sap. Especially if he isn't well-informed.

Bongo finds it easy enough to get them down into the cooler air a ways down the tunnel.

Getting the news to go over well is a bit more difficult.

Brevis looks pissed. "So....it's all been a scam to get at us?! " He then looks at the rest of the group "He pretended he didn't know who we were, but really did. I don't know how he knew it, but this guy could be working for any number of pissed off corps or agencies! "

The most of the group gets a little amped up at this, but the elf seems perpetually calm and speaks with the usual long drawn out tones they employ when not singing. " But they were up front with it. Tapping out in morse code and all, you could have just not come if you wanted to remain incognito. "

Brevis sputters. "Well who the fuck knows morse code! We were just bored! "

The human male adds "In any case, while perhaps it seems a little on the nose, that could be something a hired gun would try. Though I wouldn't be all up front about it while alone, but maybe he just thinks we're really dumb? Regardless it sounds like he's offered something of a solution."

Brevis looks at him. "Assensing isn't reliable and you know that. He's a decent musician. Maybe his soul yearns to play free and he'd like to put a boot all the way up his boss's ass. You wouldn't be able pick up hardly anything on any read, but he'd still sell us out. Not that it's ever reliable anyway."

The human raises a hand and indicates the Asian female human. "Ah, but that's where Thuy comes into play. Since he volunteered."

The group turns to look at her. She's well under five foot, much shorter than Bongo, but comfortable moving in the cave around the band members to get to bongo. She doesn't say anything, but slowly reaches out her hand toward his head.

Well, Bongo. This is it. Is she going to fry your brain? Nah. She's gonna read your mind. Mind Probe, or something like that, right? What the Hell.

Bongo leans forward to put his head at a more reachable level and looks directly into her eyes.

(OOC: It's possible I'm too harsh on mind probe. I make them re-roll at -2 after every complex action probing, though only resisting drain once. It might have been fun if they rolled hot enough to get deep into Bongo's unconscious but no. Still, they managed an impressive four dips at the 3-4 level then two at the surface. That would find what they're looking for, unless Bongo resisted at which point there's a very real chance he'd have been able to at least keep her at surface level thoughts.
But if he's playing along I'll leave what she finds up to him. She's looking for employment, affiliations with the powerful, and selling people out. Surface emotions are whatever he's got brewing. There's stuff you could draw from just from the charm city campaign, but, especially to the extent he isn't up to some of that recently, it'd be finding stuff maybe from earlier campaigns or backstory. I'll let you decide on those details and play it out, since the exact details she's hunting for aren't there. )

Thuy finds no resistance from Bongo. He is here to make a connection and is willing to give her as much as she can dig up. Scenes flash before his mind's eye, without a hint of subterfuge or reticence to share:

The escapade at Club Rojo in Toronto, in disguise and distractingly musical; and the woman at the Rex afterwards.

The little scuffle he and Willie got into with a Boston gangster trying to move into Baltimore, including Bongo's use of his Voice.

Early disappointments with school and his distaste with government and corporate headhunters at same. Oh, the disappointment in his parent's eyes.

The raucous good times with Johnny Winnipeg and Runs-With-tricks, and the ensuing hangovers.

The hurling of a cymbal at a particularly obnoxious patron of the arts, and the devastating effect it had to the man's dentures.

The unfortunate circumstances that made Bongo and Willie decide it was a good idea to cross the continent from Seattle to Baltimore.

The memorizing of the contents and layout of a pawn shop in Seattle, and his detailed recounting thereof to his team at the time.

And overarching it all, his deep desire to find the heartbeat of Gaia and to play it one day. One day.

As she finishes she says "Well, I'm pretty confident he doesn't have any job relating to coming after us, but he is a shadowrunner. Seems like he's been bouncing all over the UCAS. Never really locked anything big down. Mostly I think he wants power." Then she adds. " The magical sort, more than the being a boss sort."

The female dwarf butts in "Well, can't entirely blame him. And I'd buy that it's more than that. If it was just that, his talent probably wouldn't be in musical stuff. If anything maybe we're worse for our abilities. "

Brevis says "Ahh, but the running around is where it's at! Think he can keep up? "

Thuy replies "Well, he has his tricks, but he's been a Shadowrunner for a while, and that probably means he's had to make a lot of very serious getaways. Oh, and he's got some weird thing that was hard to lock onto as a concept about "finding the heartbeat of Gaia" or something. "

The elf drolls "Well, I've never heard of anything like that. But if Gaia has a heart it seems like we ought to be closer to it down here. "

Brevis suddenly jumps in. "You know, I just kinda got to know the rest of the pansies. We never got to do, like, a real initiation thing! Like we should have him do something cool. Or maybe all together but he has to do the craziest bit or something? Ohhhh, fucking A this could be fun! " He starts rubbing his hands together.

Bongo jumps right in. "You guys are musicians. How about I write a thesis/masterpiece theme song for the group? Like the main theme of an action trideo that could be played whenever a Vex action takes place. Who knows? It might catch on with the public."

The elf says "Whoa Whoa Whooooa. That's some enthusiasm darling. I can appreciate that. But you're getting a little ahead of yourself. I'm not sure what trouble Brevis is thinking of, but you haven't even joined up yet. You don't have the vibe of the group to make something like that. Relax a little. " It takes him a while to get all that out at the pace he speaks, while lounging on the slow of the cave wall. Though, being the only one in the group over five foot six does make the space more of a challenge for him.

The male human notices Thuy is smiling, so he smiles too. "Look. For now let's just play a set of jams and see if we can't get some folks to cough up some funds, and then we'll see where we go from there. "

Looking at her slowly growing stack of chips, Selina wonders, if that is the thrilling feeling that gamblers seek out. Of course, she also sees the dread of those that have their chips diminish, the other side of the coin. Except for Mike, who probably does not care about losing a couple hundred Nuyen (and if so, the prospect of losing will probably bug him more than the actual money), or at least he does not show any signs of it. Good poker face. How was the saying? Quit while you are ahead. That seems like a good strategy.

"Gentlemen, it was fun. I think, I will cash in my stash now and leave you to it before my luck runs out."

She grabs her commlink and sends a quick text over.

<< Do you want to keep playing for a while, and win those chips back? >>

"OK. OK." Says Bongo. "I don't know the protocol of these things. Yeah, once I get an idea in my head, I do try to run with it." As he talks, Bongo looks around at the crew and makes note of their appearances. "You know I run with another crew here in Baltimore, and when the fixer calls, then I have a job to do. Aside from that I'm free to do other things. Like now, for example. So, what's the next step?"

Mike smiles. "Well, enjoy the chips everyone. I do enjoy poker, but I have my priorities" he says obviously looking at Selina as he gets up.

Despite winning the other uptowners, looking more than a little nervous now that they aren't deliberately keeping up a poker face also get up. One of them somewhat weakly gets out a "lots to do up here."

The gangers are looking at each other with animosity, seeming to want the other to say something first. However Mike, as casually as he can, interjects. "You might want to try out some dancing, maybe the side rooms, while you can for a while. It's only so long before the cops "bust" the joint for staying open too late. Don't worry they never actually hassle any of the customers. "

That does give the gangers a relatively easy out for the situation, and with a few more exchanges regarding being like bugs spirits or being tougher than them they break it up and start going for the dance floor.

Mike messages to Selina <<Probably good to get out, I was getting some bad vibes. And you were ahead! If you want to play more, maybe we could play for clothes later. >>

Out loud he says. "You know, I kinda want to show them how it done. What do you think. Something flashy to show what's possible, or maybe some easy moves they could pick up? "

----------------------------------------

The human male says "C'mon. The next step is the next set. "

The elf says "Oooh. I like that. Maybe we can work that in somewhere. In the meantime let's think of songs OTHER than songs about caves and mines. I've had quite enough. Maybe some new stuff for a while."

(OOC: It feels like a good time to spin time for Bongo, Paul, and Willie, while the crowd parties and Paul gets things done.

One thing is the crowd does cough up some dough, so Paul can either finish up patchwork repairs and give them a line of credit for future work at the union, or replace or add something more substantial down here. Another thought might be a high signal node for diagnostics.

Eventually Bongo would get the names of the group via small talk, though they're still a bit cagy on any details, but he could give them all comlink info for him.

Male dwarf : Brevis
female dwarf :Teres
Androgynous elf. Bem
female human : Thuy
male human : Binh

<< They don't seem to know much else... >>

Since Mike is happy to end the game and move on, Selina gets up as well.

"Oh, you know that I love dancing. Sure, let's go for it. To the dance floor!"

Starting slow is probably a good idea, but Selina also likes the thought of getting a little wild with their moves.

Paul thinks briefly but hard about the options. Realistically, these aren't folks who want to go back to the union on a regular basis. What they do need is ways of understanding the mess that they have. The right thing to do is to add pressure, flow rate and level gauges and then add a descriptive panel that stipulates what things are and where, as best possible, they go, and perhaps a few specifications so that amateur plumbers have a fair chance to figure things out.

He gets out a flat chunk of PlastiBoard and lays it down. Then he gets a flatworker to engage an engraving bit, and lays out a design for it to engrave with the data on board. While that happens - gauge installation time! Fortunately, fittings are easy and standard sizes.

Bongo plays along with the crew, trying to gauge relative skills and who plays what instruments. During a lull, he messages Brevis.

<<Here's my contact info which you can share with the others. I know you are all being cautious, and that makes perfect sense. >>

As things wind down, he tells the group, "Thanks for the jam session. If you guys feel ready to let me in on the next step, let me know. Brevis has my contact info."

He checks in on Tubesnake. "How are things going here?" He sees the drone etching a guide of the plumbing system. "Cool. Multi-talented these little guys!"

#####

Willie whiles away the wait by scanning matrix training sessions on the use of blades of various types. He is ready at a moment's notice to leap to the service of his teammates.

Mike starts out with a fitting dance, but, as much as he seems to act like he doesn't care about anyone but Selina he's soon looking around at the gangers, who still are mostly sort of bobbing near their women. Most of the uptown folks aren't getting into it either, also finding it awkward.

He just stands there and rubs his chin. Eventually he says to her. "Ok, before I start let me explain. I work on armor professionally. Our stuff is among the best I think, and we have very nice rigs for concealed anything. However even then it can be a pain."

He moves to wrap Selina up in a slow foxtrot to get close and quiet. " I think they're wearing stuff that, well, isn't exactly designer. Besides that, I've noticed a lot of them are wearing combat boots, or boots too bulky for combat, to the dance floor. Also lots of dance feels like it's about showing you're light. It's right there in "light on your feet." Even if they were, I don't think these guys would want to be called light...and they aren't."

He stops speaking for a bit to dip Selina, but then gets back to it.

"Also they don't seem to have the idea of couples dancing down exactly. That takes some planning. So I'm trying to workshop ideas. Maybe it could be a whole thing someday. Armored dance class. Anyway I'm thinking the first rule is you always have to have one foot planted. I mean actually planted, no twisting on it while the other foot can't bear weight, those treads are made for traction. Then I'm thinking about limited mobility in ankles and hips. And then maybe nothing entirely silly. Maybe those are the biggest factors. Oh, and maybe half tempo? At least for the feet. Let me cook for a while here."

He lets Selina go, and starts trying to do a planted foot Charleston.

It looks pretty clumsy and awkward, and even though he's going slow he nearly manages to lose his balance.

"Ugh. This should be easier, but I guess it's always harder to unlearn things. "

But he does keep going, though if he gets to many stares he'll throw in an elaborate flourish and get closer to Selina.

At one point he says "You might be able to have quite different criteria for the ladies, but they seem to be managing on their own."

It takes him quite a while, and a few drinks, but he eventually seem to get some dances sorted out that he seems to enjoy, don't look horrible, and follow his criterion.

At that he goes over the to DJ and has a short discussion. The first song is "Posin'" by Peggy Suave, but the underlying four on the floor beat has been boosted, acting like a 120 beats per minute metronome. He steps into the middle of the dance floor and starts doing his planted foot Charleston, with the more sweeping motions he prefers broken down so a foot is always tapping on the beat or every other. It does lack a certain something over the real dance, but it does start getting some of the guys subtly tapping out parts of it near the wall.

He seems to not want to mix it up too much at this stage, but he seems a little awkward all alone, and gives Selina an "I could use a little help out here" look with his eyes.

------------------------

Brevis gives Bongo a nod "I'm still not sure what I'll get up to, but I'll definitely ping you at some point soon. You've got it being a little boring down here on your side. Maybe work on mad beats to get shredded to. I need some muscle in addition to mojo"

The band might have chatted more, but Bongo (OOC: Again unless he dodges) takes an impact from Abby from the side. "Oh, this is just wonderful! I had a great time, and didn't wind up having to burn all my money to get this problem fixed. However can I thank you? Oh, I'd really appreciate it if you'd come and check out my house to make sure everything is find despite all the leaking and whatnot." she says running a finger along his clavicle.

The band members make a hasty exit while chuckling.

Paul would notice on his drone feeds that while basically everybody is gone now except Bongo and Abby there are a couple guys staring at what his drones are up to. Their clothes are stained with the peculiar sandstone mud you find down here. One of them asks the other "What part do you think this big thing is. They're really carving it up. " But the second just shrugs.

--------------

Outside Willie finds it somewhat difficult to take care of Paul's van. The driving is easy as you please. Out here the roads are in good condition, all the lights work, he hasn't run into anyone double parked yet, and there aren't even any go gangers randomly tearing up the joint.

However what he'll occasionally pick up with his sharpened senses is one of the local goon squads giving anyone who doesn't look like they fit in a hard time. They like to make certain people aware they don't belong, or block roads to indicate they better head north into downtown Baltimore instead of South to the Japanacorp peninsula. He hasn't seem them engaging in outright violence yet, their intimidation tactics seem to be working just fine.

Willie probably isn't the only one who has noticed cameras are everywhere. The thing about privately owned cameras is the owner decides which snippets of the recording to share with law enforcement, and how much nuyen to send along to enhance the image.

Paul lets his sense of humour get the better of him. He sends along a shankworm, creeping along on its stubby little legs, to join the drone crew and then perform a little dragon dance for them. Happy lunar new year ... or whatever. Hey, it's dancing!

Really? Months of drought and now when it rains it pours. With hail stones, too.

"Uh, yeah, it's going to take some time after the fix here for the dripping into your place to stop. No point looking now. Once it does stop, you will have some cleaning to do, I'm sure. Thanks for us is a job well done, m'am."

Bongo hopes that last honorific will dampen Abby's spirits a bit. Geez.

(OOC: I appreciate the new years reference! I was out all yesterday and slept in until noon today, so I'm only now getting to things).

The guys smile and laugh at the little shankworm. That has the advantage of getting them to stick around if Paul wants to try to entertain them until it's clear what the first drone is building (presumably by etching in pictographs of pumps, pipes and such).

Abby hasn't noticed the dancing drone. Bongo can see the gears working a little on that lest sentence, but she seems to be getting the message that he advances aren't being reciprocated.

Eventually she says, a little crestfallen, "Well, it take it you're saying that eventually everything should be fine in my place one I clean up the water. So...well, I guess I'll head there. Feel free to message me if you have issues with payment or anything else. Or drop by." She picks up some of her previous confidence as she speaks, and as she turns to go she throws in a little swing of her hips and a swat on Bongo's tail (OOC: Again assuming he doesn't throw some dodge dice).

Whew. Dodged a bullet named Abby. The tap on the behind is a small price to pay for release. Bongo nods to her as she leaves, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

he gives his attention to the drone show. <<Any ETA on when we can leave? I've gotten what I can today from the people I wanted to meet.>>

<<Fifteen to finish etching in the results, we can start packing up what I've finished so far, and we can hit the mean streets above in half an hour. Willie, would you be able to bring the van back around?>>

Willie replies, <<I'll be there.>> He continues his studies until it is time to go pick up his teammates, and then he pulls out of the parking spot and heads back to the park. He (sorta) hopes the same thugs are still there. Sorta. This is mostly Bongo's parade, and why rain on that?

The board seems to have intrigued the guys in the tunnel. They don't seem to think to ask Paul or Bongo about it as they try to figure the thing out amongst themselves (OOC: But Paul could spend a little while filling them in if he wants). Otherwise things are cleared out and the union tab in the system reads as paid.

Outside, the goons from earlier are still around somewhere probably, Willie has spotted them in the distance a couple times as he drove around. But they're moving around versus camping out at an empty parking spot. So Willie won't have a problem parking for a while. He's pretty confident he'd find them in a few minutes of driving around looking though.

Selina listens to Mike's ideas. She does like the general idea of giving them something else to focus on. Dancing is as much about training as it is about improvisation, and with her experience, Selina is quite capable of trying something new and having it look not overly awkward.

"Alright. Let's see what we can come up with."

Since Mike is going with the idea of being fairly stationary in what he does, Selina will join in with two different approaches. First, she also dances on the spot, just opposite of him, going a little back and forth, but overall pretty slow, until she has figured out the rythm and increases the tempo a bit. Occasionally, she moves into a second set of dance moves, that let her circle around him, like a satellite, or a moon, or whatever else comes to mind. That part is clearly more light-footed, but her own outfit is also clearly more suited for something in that direction.

Paul takes a moment to stop by and point out the key: ""Hey chummers. This is a water pipe - this icon means sewage water, this is clean. Here are flow rates, here it says what the pipe material is. This icon is for check valves, this is for manual valves, this is a pump. These are electrical lines, and this is the voltage and amperage. If you want to do it yourself, you should be good but don't hesitate to call in a union worker to do it. I gotta vacate, see you all later.""

Bongo joins Tubesnake and walks back out with him. Willie is there in the van, waiting.

As the evening goes on Mike seems to note with increasing satisfaction that some of the guys are attempting to subtly and not so subtly copy his moves. He changes them up within the repertoire he had been working with Selina earlier.

Occasionally going a couple songs where he really pushes himself, perhaps a bit more than he'd enjoy, but he's quite the dancer when he focuses on it. Selina's lithe and graceful form helps a great deal in making him look good with lifts.

(OOC: You could roll if you wish Selina to attempt to be particularly extravagant herself, but she can buy hits to keep up. )

However he doesn't do that for too long, and soon goes back into teaching mode. He doesn't actually attempt to offer any unsolicited advice, and keeps his attention on Selina, but she can tell that he seems to be taking some pride in others copying his moves. It's rather obvious they are. Without knowing the traditional dances, they wouldn't know that these are new and not just common. However even out of the corner of her eye every stompy step or flat footed foxtrot sticks out like glaring neon.

The other uptowners surely notice, but they don't appear to be saying anything about it, some even mess around with it themselves.

(OOC: FYI I do partly mention all that because my interpretation of the perception skill is a strong tendency to keep one's head on a swivel and to continually scan the environment. You'd have to say if you really wanted to give someone obviously undivided attention. Selina doesn't have the highest perception, but she gets a decent pool from her stat and specialization, before other modifiers.)

Besides being able to increasingly share the dance floor, Selina notices some of the security and magical personnel from the two gangs talking. Presumably about her, as they glance at her and Mike, until Reggie takes note, which is never too long.

Selina's moves are more complex than the ones Mike is trying to teach. However the women are generally picking things up much faster. Though some are more interested in looking tough than dancing. There's an odd balance between tensions growing and relaxing. For there part there are actual coolers that the club has brought in, that do a competent job of moving in when things seem a little too hot, and offering drinks or distractions to cool things down. However Selina still suspects the gangers are more concerned ultimately with her group. Fiona doesn't think any of the club guys have magic, and not much if any cyber. The gangers might have the same read.

When someone shouts that the cops are here, some of the gangers act like they're ready to throw down. However reassurances from management fly rapidly, and the uptowners are clearly unbothered as the place empties out. There's a last bit of silliness as people slam down their last drinks and hustle out the door.

Mike gives Selina a little wink as they head out and ducks down to his table to get a last swish of hastily prepared Absinth as they head out.

----------------------------------


Bongo has a couple days, but does get messages from Rose and Brevis in the next days.

Rose says <<Hey there Mr. Professional! Just checking to see if you found any talent you want to work with. I've been bouncing around the local college. There are some folks that are eager if not entirely exceptional. >>

That does pose a slight problem as Bongo isn't overly impressed with the musicality of Vex, from a technical skill standpoint. Though he hasn't seen them play in anything resembling a properly set up stage either, and a sandstone hole full of more people than any fire marshal would approve of aren't the best for acoustics or hearing either.

Brevis sent <<Hey. The guys would be Ok with jamming sometime, now that we know about it we could meet up in the pump room. They also took a big steamy dump on all my awesome initiation ideas. Seems they're worried you'll get yourself shot up. Also we don't want our hoops on the line if you frag up the getaway. So you can pick a place for a little solo. Make it cool, get it on trid, but don't get caught. The rest want you to pick something where you know you can pull it off, and are willing to be there to help just in case.

But, you could fucking push it if, ya know, ya wanna. >>

(OOC: I'm not looking to make that a whole adventure. Pitch what you'd like to do, roughly and I can help with specifics as needed. Make some legwork rolls to get a bead on how difficult it might be (i.e. the threshold you're looking for with running and gymnastic tests). Then it's a performance check and athletics rolls.)

-----------

(OOC: Since Paul went to the whole bother of getting something figured out for a drone for Angel I figure RPing getting that thing fixed and to her is his next short thing.


I don't know of anything on tap for Willie. He could attempt to develop contacts a bit from his run, or the Boyz outside the how, who he already has made an impression with after his inital edge fueled escapades. )

Selina is fine with not letting things go out of hand on the dance floor. With their experience, they are miles ahead of the others there, already. It's interesting to watch the dynamics.



As they rush out before the cops come looking for the noise complaints, Selina giggles. "Look at us, stealing away into the night, like some criminals ... wait, I still need my coat!"

Once they have retrieved that, it is time to get to the car. Of course, Mike has one waiting for them. "That was quite a fun evening! Thank you!" She cozies up next to him on the backseat and it does not take long for their lips to meet in a few kisses. They are both clearly in the mood.

Back at the Tourmaline, they take the elevator up to his place. He takes her coat, like a gentleman.

In the meantime, Selina plays with the straps of her dress, pushing them over her shoulders, which essentially makes the whole thing slide down to the ground. "Oops! Looks like you won't need those cards after all..." she says coyly.

As he leads her further into his apartment trying hard to not let his grin grow even wider, Selina casually remarks: "You would have lost anyways..."

With nothing else going on, she is happy to stay for the whole night this time...