[1403, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie was a bit dismayed at the little girl’s violent overreaction, it wasn’t the violence itself (although despite being almost on the streets herself for a few years she wasn’t quite as accustomed to it as some of the local denizens), it was the fact that one of their leads was now a growing puddle on the floor, and after she’d just handed over the medkit too…

She was keen not to lose the initiative though “I agree. You said you had a spirit following the woman involved in Steamer’s snatch? Can you take us there before someone sees fit to remove it from the equation?”

She gathered up her kit before it got any more soiled and then considered the other groaning assailant,

“He’s too big to take with us, let’s just make sure he’s not able to talk to anyone for a little while…” and she pressed the Defiance into the soft spot under the arm of the writhing victim…

[1404, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

As Silkie silenced the moaning troll with a healthy dose of electricity, Maus received news from her spirit.

She has run into orks and trolls. She does not seem to know them. Half are taking her away with them, half are moving towards you. How may I serve?

The smart ones were always good at coming up with suggestions for ways to use up services.

[1404, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

"We need to bounce. Heavy hitters coming our way, probably their friends." Maus sighed before asking her spirit to stay with the woman and her new friends as she hoped to catch up to them with as few detours as possible.

"Half of them are heading back to us and half are taking the woman somewhere. If we don't go now we're going to get caught up trying to explain what happened to their friends, and I don't think they'll stop long enough to listen. Besides, we might lose our opportunity to grab that woman and find your friend."

[1404, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Frizzen staggered to his feet, looking at the tough little girl with undisguised admiration.

"You heard her, people, vamanos!"

He turned and led out in the direction they had been heading, but got no more than three lurching steps before collapsing. As the others rushed to his side, he waved them away with a huge but shaky arm. "I think I just stood up a little too fast."

[1404, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]


Pendulum powers down the comlink and pockets it for later examination. "Where are we headed"?

[1404, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Maus pursed her lips in what might be mistaken for a pout by many but was really something more akin to frustration before she spat a decent amount of blood behind what was left of a shipping palette.

"Your target is close to being led out of the mall, and her new friends, their friends," she nodded to the pair of trolls "Are headed this way. We can double back the way we came in or pick up the pace and clear this hallway before the welcoming committee arrives."

She cast a quick glance up towards Frizzen as she looked to him as the one in charge of this crazy expedition.

"Your call Ace."

[1405, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The ork hauled himself to his feet one more time, and without a word led the way forward, the way the woman had run. Very soon they came to an open intersection, where a few stalls were crowded against the walls and in service alcoves. There were two more passages out of the area, and he looked at the little girl.

She indicated the corridor to the right.

Then he led them to the left, but just far enough to get the four of them - himself, Maus, Pendulum, and Silkie, behind some crates. And just in time to watch a group of orks, all clad in a mishmash of military surplus gear with red star insignia artlessly sewn on, emerge from the right corridor and then make the turn towards where they had left the two trolls.

Finally, Frizzen spoke, breathing heavily: "Okay, now you're clear to go after the girl. But me, I ain't going anywhere just yet. Go on, I'll catch up."

[1405, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie was nervous, she didn't like the thought of pursuing an unknown quarry through the bowls of the Crime Mall without some significant backup. Pendulum was fine but the little girl was an unknown...she'd proved herself more than capable of course but Silkie would have preferred some more muscle. Ah well, no choice if they were going to find out what had happened to Steamer. More Mechanical backup might be inbound but for now they were it...

"Right, let's go then...you want to take point as it's your spirit we're following?" she queried of the little girl... "oh, and I'm Silkie by the way, this is Pendulum..."

[1405, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

"Where is the spirit now? We need a specific destination."

[1405, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

She kept her voice low as she looked over to Silkie. "Everyone calls me Maus." She pointed down the hallway that the group of Orks had just come down for Pendulum's benefit.

"Out that way, heading for and almost to the East entrance to the mall."

As the trio quietly made their way forward and avoided the opposite end of the hall where the Orks stood over where the Trolls laid amidst the carnage, Maus queried her spirit for more information about what awaited their target outside the mall and what they'd be going head first into should they make it that far and before the woman got away.

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The trio headed cautiously down the corridor in the wake of the woman and the gangers that had converged on her.

As Maus had anticipated, the spirit soon reported their emergence from the east exit, and painted a picture of the scene in her mind:

Blinding sunlight after the gloom of the tunnel. A small group of heavily armed orks, all dressed as the two trolls had been, practically shoved the pregnant woman away from them. "There, bitch, you're clear. Your bike's just over there. We are done."
"Who..." she started to query, clearly shaken.
"Shut it. You tell your boy no more jobs for his lying ass."
And with that, the orks re-entered the corridor, heading back the way they had come, while the woman moved toward her bike on unsteady feet.

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The little blonde girl stumbled a step as her spirit painted a vivid picture in her head. They were running out of time to either catch up to the woman who had the best link to Frizzen's friend, and in turn the promise of actually getting paid. Maus guessed if she didn't catch the woman, the money would dry up faster than the desert. If they all stood around here much longer, many of their group would face a world of pain should the Orks get their hands on them.

"They're closing in on us, if we don't grow now they're going to trap us in between their two teams in a pinch. The woman is about to get away on her bike, she's alone and the Orks aren't protecting her anymore." She whispered to the group.

The girl stole a glance down the hallway to where the Orks were hovering over their friends before she started to creep out from behind the boxes they were hiding behind and started down the hallway in front of them.

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The little blonde girl stumbled a step as her spirit painted a vivid picture in her head. They were running out of time to either catch up to the woman who had the best link to Frizzen's friend, and in turn the promise of actually getting paid. Maus guessed if she didn't catch the woman, the money would dry up faster than the desert. If they all stood around here much longer, many of their group would face a world of pain should the Orks get their hands on them.

"They're closing in on us, if we don't grow now they're going to trap us in between their two teams in a pinch. The woman is about to get away on her bike, she's alone and the Orks aren't protecting her anymore." She whispered to the group.

The girl stole a glance down the hallway to where the Orks were hovering over their friends before she started to creep out from behind the boxes they were hiding behind and started down the hallway in front of them.

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie swore quietly to herself...their lead was about to make off on a bike and then they'd be back to square one... while the small group tried to disappear into their surroundings Silkie whispered to Maus

"Can your spirit stop her getting away, or delay her at least? I'll see if I can get some tech support to follow her for a bit but I'm not going to hold my breath..."

A quick mental tap on her trodes and she sent a rapid message to Briar <<@Briar [Silkie]: Our quarry is about to disappear on a bike away from the mall. I know the chances are slim but can you see if there are any electronic eyes in the area that you can identify her and keep tabs on her until we can catch up?>>

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The orks were in sight now. Like the two trolls earlier, they were all dressed in a mismatched array army surplus-looking garb, and all had red stars displayed prominently.

After testing the strength of some of the shelving on one side of the corridor and finding it wanting, Pendulum gave up trying to climb out of sight and busied himself studying the wares of a nearby chip vendor.

The two girls melted into the shadows of some packing crates, where the blood-soaked Maus answered, "No problemo. I'm not losing this bitch now."

With a thought she commanded her spirit servant to waylay the woman as best it could without killing her.

[1408, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

With Briar feeding her a realtime view of the woman on her bike thrashing at some invisible assailant Silkie pushed her forwards towards the exit, the charged baton clutched at her side

In a voice that expected to be obeyed she said "Maus, stay behind us, Pendulum and I will talk with this lady. Keep an eye on our backs too, if those orcs turn back we want some warning before they are on us..."

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

It took the three only a couple of minutes to navigate their way to the service exit, and upon opening the doors the glare of the early afternoon sun hit them hard after the illusion of ever-night that prevailed in the Crime Mall.

They were immediately able to see their quarry, a visibly pregnant woman in black leathers on the ground beside a bike. She kept trying to get up but each time was tossed back to the ground by gusts of wind that were almost visible to the mundane eye. There was so much gray ash in and on her that each new blow kicked up a fresh cloud of it.

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Pendulum approaches the woman with his hands clearly vislible. He approaches at an oblique angle on the left side of the woman. He stops about 10' away and surveys the surrounding area. Feeling the rythym of life in the area and looking for anything that disrupts the natural rythym.

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Aside from the obvious - the arythymic scuffing and scraping sounds of the woman's desperate attempts to stand, the seemingly random whooshing of the spirit's parries, and the staccato of her panicked breathing - nothing seemed amiss to Pendulum.

There were people around - guards for the vehicles, vendors shifting wares, even what appeared to be a few young mages watching with academic interest from a discreet distance - but as near as the young ork could tell, none were encroaching on the scene. As near as he could tell, the woman was alone.

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Maus wrinkled her nose at the girl’s suggestion that she couldn’t just talk with the woman that had been involved with the disappearance of their friend. Far be it for Maus to argue however, she was more than willing to hang back towards the entrance of the Crime Mall and take a load off her feet by climbing up on one of the crates that littered the outside. She watched with a sense of pride as her spirit kept the woman in black unable to leave as Silkie and Pendulum approached with a display of caution.

Maus waited until the pair were within reach of the woman, at least close enough should she try to take off, before she reached out to her spirit and praised it for its services before she released it back into the ether. She then split her attention between the woman in black and the set of doors just behind her to her left, her fingers itching with the mana that flowed through her, standing at the ready if talking wasn’t going to cut it.

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Her helmet back in place giving her Judge Dred image Silkie conjured every ounce of threat into her voice and threw it at the woman squirming on the ground...

"Stay still and you and your baby won't get hurt..."

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The woman looked up at her captors, eyes darting back and forth between the willowy human in the helmet and the blond ork with green eyes. Though released from the invisible spirit's buffetings, she stopped trying to get up the moment her baby was threatened.

She sat up and scooted to lean her back against a neighboring Jackrabbit, then pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. Waited for whatever came next.

[1410, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie stalked towards the woman, the baton at her side sparking occasionally in the dust motes kicked up off the ground.

"You are going to give us some answers. Our friend was snatched, you had something to do with it. Why did you or your associates take him and where is he going now?"


Silkie briefly regretted they didn't have time for more subtlety but she felt very exposed out here and there was no telling when the military surplus crew was going to turn back...

[1411, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The woman licked her iips and pulled her knees closer, held herself tighter.

"You," she thought for a moment, then shook her head, "you wouldn't understand the why, but I'll tell you where they're going with him. The old Wilkeson Elementary School on 165 near Railroad Avenue. He'll be alive at least until morning."

She looked at her captors. Seeing her clearly now, it was apparent she was at least in her mid-thirties, but looked older. Probably the toll of years in the ash wastes - her respirator looked about a hundred years old, although it was clearly a recent model. Her black clothing was soaked through with dust, and there were raccoon rings around the eyes indicating constant use of goggles.

"Listen, I know how this works…but please…my baby…he's a sixth."

[1411, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

"You, you wouldn't understand the why, but I'll tell you where they're going with him. The old Wilkeson Elementary School on 165 near Railroad Avenue. He'll be alive at least until morning. Listen, I know how this works…but please…my baby…he's a sixth."

Silkie looked down at the woman and softened her voice, letting the subliminals relax so it was less of an assault and more of an insinuation

“I might not understand but I’m sure you’d like to help me understand, right? Who are they? Don’t worry about your baby, if you don’t frag with us nothing is going to happen to either of you…”

She reached for her ‘link and her fingers flew across the AR console while she waited for the woman to respond. First she set going an archive search on the elementary school and then dashed off a message to Briar

<<@Briar [Silkie]: We have a potential lead on our wayward member, Wilkeson Elementary School on 165 near Railroad Avenue, can you get us any recent visuals? Any traffic cams or anything still in the area, worth a try? We’re going to need someone to come and pick up our source too, I’m not dragging her along on a potentially risky op. [Image File Inserted]. As you can see she’s a liability. Some more muscle would be good too if we are going to stick our heads into the hornet’s nest!>>

[1412, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie's magic-tinged words seemed to calm the woman, and as the young boarder dashed off a text, the black-clad mother-to-be made a decision.

"Okay, if you really want to know…um…it will be easier to show you than tell you." Her hand moved toward her jacket, but seeing Pendulum tense up, she stopped. "I'm just reaching for a piece of paper. I'll move very slowly." The ork nodded and she reached into the coat. Fished around a bit. Fished deeper. Clearly surprised, she forgot to move slowly and checked other pockets. Coming up empty, she became frantic, searching herself more desperately. Finally, she looked up. "Listen, I am not jerking you around. I must have dropped it somewhere…"

She looked more upset now than a minute earlier when she'd been convinced she was about to die.

[1412, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Watching the human and metahuman flotsam and jetsam move through the doors of the Crime Mall from her precarious perch on a set of crates, Maus had almost forgotten about the woman in black let alone the piece of paper that was now burning a hole in a pocket in her oversized leather jacket when the woman started to panic.

Interesting, wonder what the piece of paper is worth to her…

The little blonde girl couldn’t help but make the jump to valuating the otherwise worthless list in her pocket, it’s what Callen had taught her, it’s how she had enough cred to buy two bowls of ramen this afternoon, it’s what was earning her extra cred helping out this random group as they sought out their friend.

Maus jumped off the crates with little effort, leaving one teetering precariously in her place as she moved over to where Silkie and Pendulum surrounded the woman.

“That piece of paper. What’s it worth to you?”

[1412, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The woman's eyes fixed on the approaching girl.

"We…I need it for something…personal. It's worthless to you. Can you let me have it please? I mean," and she looked at her other captors, "if you're really going to let me live…"

[1400, August 4th, 2075; Outskirts of the Mechanicals' Complex, Puyallup]

Gunner woke up with a start. Sitting up, he pushed his palm against his aching head. Nightmares, again. He had been having those the last few nights.

I need a drink; this headache is killing me.

As he reached for the bottle, he noticed a flashing sign on his commlink. It was from Frizzen, and it contained an AR feed. He decided it could wait 30 seconds while he woke up with the help of his incredibly cheap beer.

Why do I keep drinking this stuff, it tastes awful.

Of course it did, it was the cheapest money could buy while still being digestible to the human body. Barely digestible. It was the only thing that kept Gunner going lately, well, that and the fights he could get into one without endangering his friends.

Talking to no one in particular, he said "All right, let's see what's going on now. Please let it be interesting."

He picked up his commlink and put on his AR Glasses. He first noticed the message and decided to read it before checking the AR feed. It didn't seem directed to him specifically, but rather a public message.

<[Frizzen] Steamer has been snatched, we're currently at the Crime Mall chasing down a lead. AR feed is attached, requesting backup.>

Steamer, Steamer. That name sounds familiar. After a few seconds the name suddenly came to him. God, he was slow today. Gunner switched to the AR feed, and he suddenly started looking much more alive and awake as he saw the chase and fights going down.

All right, now we're talking. I'll gear up and head out. Gunner noticed that someone named Silkie had also responded to the call for backup. He looked at the time in his feed. 1405. Damn, he'd slept in.

He picked up her commcode and sent:

<@Silkie, @Frizzen - This is a fellow Mechanical here, I'm on my way to help. I should be about 6 minutes to join you guys. Keep the AR feed going, I'll be there soon.>

Keeping the AR Glasses on, Gunner decided he should pack light. Unlike some of his fellow Mechanicals, Gunner refused to steampunk any of his gear. It just brought too much attention to himself. He fitted the Hidden Gun Slide onto his right arm, and put his beloved Beth, his Ares Predator V, into the slide. He put on his Armor Jacket, tucked a couple of extra clips into the pockets, and took a Respirator, just in case. Attaching a micro-transceiver to his ear, he jogged out of the door towards the Crime Mall. There was a noticeable difference in his step; he looked much more alive than he did a mere 5 minutes ago.

[1411, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

<@Silkie, @Frizzen - I'm here at the Crime Mall. I'm coming to your position; you had a lead you said? I know the place, not well, but I know the School. I'll be at your position in a minute. You can call me Gunner; you'll recognize me. When I approach, I'll say the passcode "Osha is our leader.">

Gunner noted their position in the AR feed, and when he stepped into their view he said in a calm, but low voice, "'Osha is our leader.'"

[1412, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Silkie looked back at Maus and whispered to her "Do you know anything about this paper she's on about? I'll give you a finder's fee of 50 'yen? Plus a free pass to the Mechanical's kitchen and that has to be worth far more! We look after our friends!" she made sure that she kept her voice reasonable and low without lacing it with her magic despite the temptation to do so. She also glossed over any implied threat about people who weren't their friend...

[1412, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Keeping one eye on their captive, Pendulum acknowledged the newcomer with a fist-bump and handshake.

As the girls carried on their discussion, the ork quickly brought the smaller human up to speed, concluding with, "Glad you're here, chummer, cuz this location we got, it's bad places. Heard you know the P-Barrens like no one else - might lean on you heavy."

[1413, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

"I might know something about it, yeah." Maus shrugged her shoulders as she flexed her hands inside the pockets of her too-big jacket and continued talking with Silkie. "Your offer is icy chica. We're all good."

She spun her attention quickly to the additional guy who had joined Pendulum and seemed chummy, before turning back towards the woman in black. "If the piece of paper is so important to you and whomever else you're protecting, then you'll help my friends and I navigate safe travel to this school you mentioned so we can get our friend back. Then, I'll tell you where you can find that piece of paper."

[1413, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The woman didn't hesitate. "Of course, yes. If you'll give me the paper, I'll take you to the school myself."

She started to rise, paused to see if any of her captors would stop her, and got to her feet. "My name is Nana."

[1413, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

After being informed of their situation by Pendulum, Gunner replied, "Sounds bad, chummer. I've been around a time or two, but no one can know all of Puyallup. I'll help how I can."

Gunner paused to listen in on the conversation with their captive, catching just the end of it. Looks like we have a deal. I just wonder if we can trust her; she might be faking all this nonsense about the paper and be leading us into a trap.

Gunner decided to act on his paranoia, but he doubted that Pendulum could give him the answers he was looking for. He didn't know who the blonde girl was, but he knew Silkie was trustworthy. He sent:

<@Silkie [Gunner] - Do you trust this woman? I don't know how much this paper is worth to her, but I don't want her to bluff us into a trap of some sort.>

Gunner tried to relax himself and find some comfort in the situation. He stood back with Pendulum and waited to see how Silkie and the strange blonde woman would act.

[1413, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

After a brief out of ear shot conversation with Maus Silkie went back to Nana...

"Ok, we have your paper and it's clearly valuable to you. We're not about to give it up but here's proof that we've found it..." and she unfurled an open ARO before snapping it shut after only the briefest of glances

"Now, why don't you explain what these scribblings mean to you and perhaps we can return the original?"

On receiving Gunner's text she flashed back a quick response

<@Gunner [Silkie]: Not as such but I can be fairly persuasive so I think the information she's given us so far will be fairly accurate as she understands it. I'm not about to let her come with us though, the Tribe can look after her until we establish what the hell is going on>

Turning back to Nana "So, are we going to deal? I'm sure you'd rather deal with me than wait until we get you back to the Tribe!" and she left the unspoken threat hanging

[1413, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

The woman licked her lips in indecision, but it was hard not to answer the ganger girl. There was just something about her, so tempting to open up to.

"Listen," the woman began, her voice so quiet the others were tempted to lean in to hear, "it's the validation. Without it, the…the work…the work will….it means nothing. I mean, sure, what's real is real, but if that were all there was any heathen idiot would have the power, right. The strength lies in the being, but also," and she looked over at Maus, "in the knowing."

She breathed a sigh of relief, as though she had completed an arduous and long-procrastinated task, then looked at Silkie for approval.

And that was when Frizzen lurched out the mall exit, looking a bit better than he had before. He gave high fives to Pendulum, Gunner, and Silkie, and a nod to Maus. "Just heard from the command center. Our transport is two minutes out."

[1414, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Maus' eyes narrowed at the way the woman looked at her and for an instant she felt a pang of self-doubt rush through her. Wondering in her haste to conjure her spirit to follow "Nana" if she might have missed something when she tried to read her. When Frizzen rejoined the group she gave him a slight nod, but she couldn't shake the odd statements of the woman they were holding, nor the chill that seemed to wrap around her despite the coat she wore.

She already didn't trust the woman in black, but replaying her words in the little blonde girl's head just tallied up the black marks against her. A good portion of her common sense was telling her that she should go back into the Crime Mall, go back to the upstairs stalls, maybe even get another bowl of ramen later. But she had to admit the promises of cash, and food, and more importantly feeling like she was included in a group kept her feet rooted in place.

She wrinkled her nose and started to wonder about the baby Nana was carrying and if she could see just why the woman in black was willing to put her life on the line for it.

[1414, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

As they waited for their ride back to the compound, Silkie took a few steps away from the group and sat down on the hood of a wrecked car to take her first close look at the strange flow chart she'd digitized from Maus's original.

Lines, branches, names, pairs of dates. It was immediately obvious that this was someone's family tree. It went back several generations, apparently, and would quickly have gotten too large for the sheet of paper, but it was clearly tracking a single line of descent, with other branches allowed to drift off of the page.

She didn't immediately recognize any of the names, but it was clear that every branch in every generation had lots of children, at least five, but often more than ten. That put her in mind of orks, and checking the birth and death dates, sure enough, few made it past forty, and they were starting these huge families in their mid-teens. Definitely some sort of ork clan, and probably not from the Barrens, or they wouldn't have had such good records going back so four generations - heck, all the way back to goblinization.

Well, Steamer was an ork. Coincidence?

Since the tree was tracking one specific line, she started at the end point - someone called Leon Tsukas, who'd be 21 by now - and traced back, looking for patterns. Leon was tenth of twelve children, and his father had been eleventh of eleven, and his father the ninth of thirteen. She tried to find a sequence there but got nowhere. And then an idea came to her, and she counted again but ignored all the female names. There it was - Leon Tsukas was the seventh son of a seventh son of a seventh son.

Wanting to discuss her discovery, she looked over at Frizzen, who was leaning against a wall and twirling something gold on the end of a chain. A locket of some sort.

[1414, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Putting aside the weird cultish vibe coming off the genealogy Silkie approached Frizzen and gently touched his arm

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him back!” noticing the locket, “I don’t recognise that…is it something Sprogget made for you…?”

[1414, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

Frizzen looked up, startled out of his reverie. His eyes were different - he was different - than when Silkie had seen him in compound's food hall yesterday. She knew he'd seen his share of dust-ups, but the hail of machine gun fire, the carnage in the small dark hallway, it had shaken him somehow.

"Nah, this was…is…Steamer's. Kettle found it on the ground where those pendejos grabbed him." He handed it to her.

Opening it, she found an digital slide show. All the images seemed to be of an ork family, spanning years and generations. Looking closely, she recognized a young ork that must have been Steamer, usually surrounded by what appeared to be brothers, sisters, cousins, parents, whatever. Instinctively, she tapped the tiny screen with a fingernail, and sure enough, captions appeared on all the pictures. It was the Tsukas family album. And Steamer was Leon Tsukas.

[1415, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall, Puyallup]

A motley collection of three vehicles - old, but artfully embellished with various steampunk accoutrements - came up fast on the small group.

Familiar faces collected the wounded and secured the captive, and soon the whole group was on its way back to the compound.

[1415, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall Puyallup]

Gunner relaxed himself, Silkie seemed to have the situation under control. He let out a big smile when he saw his fellow Mechanical's arrive. The steampunking may be obvious, but it was fun.

Then he remembered why he was here, and the smile left just as quickly as it had appeared. He helped escort Nana into the vehicles and then sat behind her, his eyes on her the whole ride. After he was sure she was securely being escorted into the compound, Gunner headed towards his rundown residence and picked up his medkit. Hopefully Steamer wasn't wounded when they found him, but it couldn't hurt. He sent to his favorite Ork, Jess. She knew where all the spare supplies were, and he was sure she would be willing to help.

<<@Jess [Gunner] We think we may have found where Steamer is located, but we're going to need some supplies. Think you can get them for me?>>

Attached: Medical supplies list

Gunner walked out the door and headed towards the main complex. He had a few questions he wanted to ask Nana before they left, and he had some time to burn while he waited for Jess.

[1446, August 4th, 2075; Crime Mall Puyallup]

He and his companions, Silkie and Maus, found the pregnant woman in a spare but clean and functional room. No windows, unfinished plasboard walls, a cot with a plastic mat, no bedding, a toilet and sink hastily installed. Gunner knew the cell had been in place for this sort of occasion for some time - it just seemed thrown together because no one had had much interest in polishing it up. What would be the point?

The woman had her black leather duster off now - it lay folded in a corner, her beat up respirator lying atop it. She was on her bed, back against the wall, knees tucked up - as far as her belly would allow, anyway - the same pose she'd adopted leaning against a car in the Crime Mall parking lot.

The sentry shut the door behind them.

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

As Gunner looked around the room, he almost couldn't believe his eyes. Sure, he always knew this room existed, but to throw a pregnant woman in here? This was harsh for a normal individual, and no one messes with the Mechanicals, so that was fine. However, Gunner found that he had come to a line with his moral standards, he couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Nana.

As the doors close, he speaks up.

"Here's the deal, you have information we need to rescue our friend, and we have the paper you want. I know you have had a long talk with my associate," he gestures in Silkie's direction, "So you know how this could go. Answer our questions, and when we get our friend back, you will have your paper, and you will be free to go. Got it?"

Dammit, he had a job to do, and he was supposed to play hardball. He just couldn't. He added, "If you cooperate with us, I'll see to it that your stay here is a little more ..." Gunner struggled as he searched for a word that wouldn't alarm her. "comfortable."

He knew he would probably have to call in most of his favors, and that his companions would think he's crazy, but Gunner didn't care. She might be a spy, but a pregnant woman deserved some respect and compassion. Neither of which was present in this dismal room.

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

She looked at Silkie, her eyes still seeking approval.

"Yes, yes, of course, I already said I'd help you. What are we doing here? We have to go save your friend. I'll take you there - he doesn't have long!"

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

Gunner glanced at Silkie; they shared the same thought. Nana couldn't be trusted to not lead them into a trap if she was physically present. The alarm in her voice was concerning though.

"Let's just say, we are not sure how well you can keep up with us if everything goes to hell. Given your ... condition."

Damn, that probably wasn't very convincing.

After a brief pause, he continued, "You said he doesn't have long? Our best chance to save him is in any information you can give us. Now, what can you tell us about our friend's captors? How many of them are there? Do they have surveillance around the school? Do they suspect anything?"

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

Under the half visor Silkie's face hardened into a rigid mask. Her voice came out in harmonics, almost as if there were four or five people were speaking. The volume was low but somehow heard throughout the bare room

"Answer our questions truthfully! I have seen this paper, I have some inkling of what you are trying to achieve with your breeding program, but I want to hear it in your words"

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

The woman looked back and forth between the two interrogators, apparently not sure where to start, but ended up looking first at Silkie.

She licked her lips. Silkie had seen her do that a lot, and had already identified it as her tell, something she did when she was thinking carefully before speaking. "Breeding…you make it sound so crass, the elevation of the septordinal, the cultivation of the ideal. The child within me will approach the divine, my next will touch it, and he will lay the foundation for even greater glories in the generation to come. But when such gifts are wasted, thrown into the genetic morass by chance and lust and the dirt of the new races, then the power must be taken, and rightly so." She spoke with confidence now, and turned to face Gunner. "He has until morning, the seventh hour. By the old reckoning, that is. But they'll be ready for you, I mean, if I don't return they'll know something is wrong. I should call them."

[1448, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

Gunner stood there, stunned. He had no idea what she just said, but it sounded wrong. He was having second thoughts about the whole "innocent pregnant woman" image.

<<@Silkie [Gunner] I don't think we are going to get much more from her. At least, I won't. I have no idea what she just said, but she said he has until the seventh hour. It's 2:28, that sounds soon. I don't think we'll be able to sneak our way in, at least, not the whole way. Her phone call might help, but it might also alert them. Thoughts?>>

[1447, August 4th, 2075; Mechanical's Complex]

Silkie let her gift read the moment, finding the Pattern, then in the merest moment when the woman looked away from her she soundlessly crossed the gap between them and loomed...

Feeding the distaste and anger into her Voice she allowed it to reverberate through the room

"You will tell me who They are, and how many of them are at the school. You are not calling anyone, it does not matter to us that they know we are coming only that we know what to expect. Be assured you and your child stand surety on your word. I am not proposing harm to either of you, but that may mean that I will not allow you to harm your child with the perversion of your programme..."