Miles To Go: Chapter 1 - Trapped for Cash IC

[The Wanderer]

Miles to Go

The sounds of droids typing away on terminals.

The queue callers declare in their dull plain tone the numbers of parties to go into their designated area to discuss matters relating to that specific group or individuals' issues.

The idle talks of various people.

All of this headache-inducing noise filled the large waiting area. The chairs are uncomfortable plastic with zero cushioning or back support, walls a plain gray color, the metal denoting the entire building was a prefab that could easily be disassembled twice as fast as it was 'built.' This along with many other details easily led to the conclusion that the Titus corporation couldn't care less about comforts if it meant saving on credits despite its heinous scam that it ran with its port in space.

Which leads to your merry band's entire ordeal.

For what had happened was the ship that all of you were on needed fuel and some minor repairs, not that the ship was going to run out or blow up, but that nagging 'what if' question led to a stop at the aforementioned port. Not realizing the fine print's vague wording on the document before a signature was given, the ship was sent in for repairs and a big ol' fee was issued. Or more accurately, a receipt and orders to go down to the planet of Olympia and to the settlement of Prospero after learning of the wait time of several months to talk to someone in Titus' heart of Horizon Heights on the planet.

Boarding a shuttle and heading to the local branch of the Titus corporation, heading inside the office and taking a number. Your group waited for hours, and hours. Before finally a droid called out your number.

"Number Twenty-Four, head to office Four and talk to Regina Mulgrin. Thank you for waiting, next time if the wait is too long, you can sign up Titus Plus to skip the wait time and talk to a Premium Representative." The Droid spoke out before going back to its terminal typing.

Walking down a corridor with numbers on metal doors, the sounds of begging, crying or angry words being exchanged were heard as you all walked past them until you went to the door with a Four on it. The door slid open to reveal a Doll-Droid sitting in a chair, a plastic shell resembling a suit covering its frame, its face being a featureless screen monitor that sparked to life and a woman's face filled it. The screen was a bit too low quality to really see the exact details beyond fair olive skin and glasses and the slight sag from age and the resulting Pretty-Face surgery. Her voice is a droll deadpan tone of that of an uncaring office worker.

"Greetings, Crew of the Slow Comet. You must be wondering what is going on. To put it in simple terms, your ship underwent an extraordinary repair of our finest materials and was given the finest recharge of batteries and fuel. But the cost is a bit high, so it shall be impounded until the fee is paid. Which comes out to be…" The sounds of a keyboard typing away could be heard through the monitor.

"Two point five million credits." Regina said with the excited tone of molasses sliding off a sunday on a cold day. After waiting for the angry words to end, she continued with her report. "And with Coalition rules, this fee won't increase from interest, and your ship shall be stored within the depot at Horizon Heights until the debt is paid nor shall you be forced to work. And according to our policy, I can accept payment now, or take signatures to sign up for work at our many factories and mines on the planet in order to pay off the debt.." The Doll Droid moved its arms to show a pad with an electronic pen for the group to sign.

The lack of signing led Regina to speak up. "If you don't sign, then feel free to go outside and see what other options await you. Take the pad with you so if any funds are gotten, you can chip away at the balance. Which with the pad being given to you, adds to the balance with an additional five-thousand credits."

The trip outside was faster than the trip to essentially get talked down to, the cold wind blowing small snowy fragments around every now and then as the settlement's inhabitants mulled around in the cold, with others going about their business. A few things caught the eye, a group of people huddled near a ramen stand, the faint words of 'job' heard on the wind. A lone man standing in a dark alleyway smoking as he looked around warily. And finally, a mechanic shop with a bus sitting in its dock as someone was working on it.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Grehstone]

Yaatree. Voyager.
Remember the basics of Infiltration...

Yaat was no fool. He knew the odds were against them and the game rigged. Even a few hundred factory workers together would have trouble scraping together a single million, let alone two and a half. They were a much smaller band with much more valuable talents than working on an assembly line. So, Yaat began to plot. And think. His first thought was his mission, the gathering of intel on the greater powers in the galaxy. Could he accomplish his goals here? No. Perhaps if he got some kind of executive job within Titus, he could have something worth reporting, and maybe even access to their corporate network, but... Well, the remote administration robot gave him little hope that such jobs would be open, and even an unpaid internship was probably sought after with hard competition. Even with his programming knowledge, he was unlikely to get a real way in... And his lack of a real diploma would be a sticking point.

The objective could not be completed here. He had to leave. And his best chance was to maintain the established identity he held with the Slow Comet's crew. So... They, as a group, had to start earning money. They needed a job, likely one that paid well for people of action. Yes. Yaatree motioned to catch the attention of his fellow crew as he slunk off to the ramen stand, looking to grab a stool within eavesdropping distance of the group who mentioned a job. He wouldn't necessarily call attention to himself, but he didn't hide the fact that he was listening in, either...

 

[Noble Scion]

Hearts-on-Fire

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL- Grr-. that fuel you gave us wasn't worth half a mil, neverminded five times that!" Hearts would retort, fury palpable in her voice as her tail would angrily lash behind her, all semblance of 'cool' having left her as soon as they got roped up into this scam, and her rage slowly building up along with the dread of knowing that they'd been subject to some sort of scandal.

"Call that 'Wandering Wagon Company', And tell them that if they don't get this sorted then 'Hearts' going to invest the rest of my Lifespan in tearing their company to shreds, and remind them that Draks live a damn long time. Get them to cover most of this and I'll save your shitty little mining planet from my fury as well, with your job coming first, and trust me, I have connections." Hearts would hiss at the doll with truth behind her words before snatching the pad from its hand.

Heading out into the brisk, comfortable cold winds her people adored. Hearts would stand there, eyes-shut, as she'd angrily contemplate how to go about things, her tail having since calmed down a little and moved into tamely writhing, as she'd stew in her foul mood.

She had plans. She was going to visit that desert planet and scoured its lands for some ruins, maybe pick up some interesting archeologists for a crew, hopefully cute ones, and then have a month of drinking after some fancy treasure hunting, not playing bounty-hunter in some back-water planet.

Someone was going to pay. She wasn't sure yet, but someone was going to be the subject of the white-hot flame of anger she was cultivating.

 

[Epiphany]

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Vi Enceladus

Current Objective: Obtain 2.5 million credits.

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SA Class ROYAL Interface - 22H-F-HWROY

System Status: Running
SA Oversight Network Status: Offline (No Signal Detected)
SA GAP Chipset Status: Offline (Structural Damage Detected)
SA GAP Reactor: Running
SA GAP Integrated Defense: Paladin-class MK IV Multipurpose Defense Arm (Offline - No Reactor Detected)
SA GAP Integrated PFS: Nyis-class, 22H-F-HWROY variant (Offline - No Reactor Detected)
SynthWeave Integrity: 94%
SynthWeave AR Protocol: Running
Personal Telemetry: Running
Corgi Telemetry: Offline (No Signal Detected)
Time/Date Stamp: Offline (No Signal Detected)

Well, their circumstances could be worse. Celly grimly eyed the snowy exterior of this planet while accessing the manual bypass she'd made to her Synthweave's systems so she can toggle up the climate control, offsetting the cold with a bit of heat bled from the nuclear reactor built into what looked like a gleaming white one-piece skin-tight uniform. The blonde woman with the immaculate makeup acknowledged that at least TItus Corporation hadn't tried to seize any of their personal assets. Not that their culpability in this mess would be excused or forgiven, of course.

The rest of the passengers stranded in the same situation as she is are the only allies she can probably count on. At least, for the immediate moment. If nothing else, their goals in regards to getting off this planet probably align. A surprisingly robust spread of other species in the mix too. Odds were good that if they pooled their intellectual assets, solutions might present themselves.

@Grehstone @Noble Scion
As Yaat motioned the crew to join them at the noodle stand, Celly beckoned them back by flexing her index finger several times. Hearts-on-Fire received a friendly touch along a forearm (given how much taller the 8' sized Drak was) to get her attention. Then Celly spoke loudly enough to be overheard by her crew but not so loud that the various vagabonds hoping for ramen and work might get curious.

"Our circumstances are grave," she began, her voice naturally resonate with a programmed expressiveness to capture the spectrum of emotional nuance. "But we still have our gear. We have each other. We have a common goal. And we have a common enemy."

"This does not appear to be a hospitable planet. We're unlikely to randomly strike it rich by tapping some undiscovered commodity. And I doubt we're going to find much success 'looking for work', either with Titus or independently. I mean, look at these people." She tilted her head in the direction of the people getting noodles and trying to get work, obviously barely scraping by. "We need to find shelter out of this environment, preferably a place we can secure for the sake of privacy and provisioning. We need to secure a means of self defense for those of us who aren't armed. We need to find out who the local players are and figure out where the real money is."

"So here's what I propose. Someone, it can be me, gets an escort and talk to the man in the alley or the mechanic over there, see if we can get a map or a lay of the land. That bus might be ideal, actually, to get us to somewhere that has infrastructure we can make use of."

@Grehstone
"Yaat, you're great with technology right? These pads that Doll-Droid gave us have some kind of access to this planet's financial systems or at least some method where local currency can be placed on it and transferred to Titus. Take a look at yours, borrow mine if you need a guinea pig, see if there's a way of gaming the system here. Maybe send Titus bogus amounts, see if there's a way into their financial systems for us to take what we need since they clearly have no compunctions about doing the same to us. Or maybe see if there's a way of likewise taking what we need from any of the dubious characters on this planet offering lucrative employment for their gain at our expense."

@Wiggin @Noble Scion
"Azir, Hearts, you know what you can do better than I do. If you have another idea, I'd love to hear it. If you don't, I'd ask that one of you stay with Yaat while they take a look at what they can learn from the Titus pad. And the other come with me while I...hmmm, I think I'll try the mechanic out since that bus might go somewhere we'd want to go."

"Sound reasonable?" Celly looked around at any other of the ship's passengers want to join in on her immediate approach. "Other ideas before we get to work bettering our circumstances?"

.

OBJECTIVES

Pending

1. Locate a SA Governance Chipset

A. Investigate the planets of Angichia, Zuthara IV, Vilix, Nykethul.
B. Gain access to a satellite or world-wide communications infrastructure for the purpose of scanning for the SA Governance Chipset's frequency to verify if there's one here.
C. Find one of the Vi Family Blood Royal and obtain their Chipset.​

2. Gather a sum of 2.5 million credits

A. Obtain means of self defense.
B. Secure a base of operations.
C. Profile all significant political and economic organizations on Olympia.
D. Find out if/how taxation is handled on this planet.
E. Identify top earners and build plan to rob them.​

3. Get revenge on Titus Corporation

A. Gain credentials to their systems via social engineering.
B. Gain access to their technology.
C. Get a list and profile of their executives.
D. Turn them against each other.​

Side Missions

1. Collect teacups

A. Find out how many makers of teacups there are on Olympia.
B. Find out how many teacups they each make.
C. Collected: 0 out of ??​

2. Why Corgi telemetry?

.

 

[Wiggin]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Azirafell "Azir" Laguna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Azir was very quiet during the exchange of the ship's debt and the fact that most of the crew needed to find other methods to ship off world. The assassin did not care for such a thing; it was only a minor setback that could be solved in a few months' time. He was here to do a job anyway, assassinating an arms dealer working within the Titus corporation at some point on his visit to this backwater mining planet.

Hearts-on-fire was as intense as ever, Azir having previously met her during a bounty hunting job while undercover as a retired soldier. She was the best way he could get an in on some sort of crew to collaborate. A singular droqon was suspicious without a master, so it would be best to be within a group to mitigate that risk.

Walking out into the chilled air, A gentle hissing could be heard to those who strode past Azir. It was the sound of his internal body temperature regulating itself, warm fluids flowing through his skin as a thing mist rose from his skin. His body was warmer than the air itself, resulting in such phenomena. Honestly, Azir liked the cold, the air reminiscent of the times he visited tundra planets that rarely had any sounds of civilization. They were always quite calming.

The droqon's thoughts were interrupted as a woman spoke up, the processed and feigned inspirational nature of her voice noticeable to an assassin with a similar mind. Even if they had only talked once or twice on the comet in passing, Azir couldn't quite narrow the subset of homo sapien she was, but it was likely one of the more genetically altered sects of the humans. Nevertheless, she had apparently memorized his name upon first meeting and gauged that he was a good asset. An intelligent individual, someone who knew leadership by the looks of it, and someone who could gather information on Titus very easily if given the outlet.

"I would suggest against taking action against Titus itself as that might bring unwanted attention even if they do not know it is us who are hacking into their mainframe. It could cause them to bulk up their security and make it harder for us to acquire credits." -not to mention it would make Azir's assassination much more difficult- "I do believe you have the right idea of using their information to know where we can get cash, and your deduction of us needing a home base is well grounded. Once we have someone to hide out, I think I can gather some knowledge through secure channels with some old military friends," Azir finished his explanation by walking up next to yaatree with his rifle slung slightly over his shoulder. Surprisingly no one had seemed to confiscate it from it, probably due to his fake alias as a veteran military member along with being a licensed bounty hunter.

"I'll gather any sort of information about odd jobs and the like with Yaatree. Hearts, I know you can handle heading to the mechanic with miss Celly." Azir said with a nod, gesturing with one hand for Yaatree to lead the way. It was a good excuse for Azir to gather some more information for himself on Titus and to know the exact location of the arms dealer working for them.

 

[The Wanderer]

Collab Post with Epiphany, Noble Scion, questionable

The approach to the mechanic was an uneventful one, any passerby absentmindedly walking past the group as they approached and any vehicle that drove in front of them continued past, not caring if the newcomers were impeded by their movement.

The shop itself looked to be mostly filled with cars and vehicles in various displays of repair and decrepitude. One such husk looking to be a model from Earth in it's olden days.

The mechanic herself looked to be an elderly human with pale skin and ashy gray hair, at least in the face region. For the rest of her body, she sported massive arms rippling with muscle, fingers thick as a sausage, telltale signs of her being a gene-splicer. Specifically an Ape type.

Wiping her hands on her overalls and shutting the hood of the bus she was working on, she turned to face the group after seeing them in the corner of her eye.

"You with the kid? If so, tell him that repair to the engine is done. If not, what can I do ya for?" She said with a thick accent of one from a Farming background.

Vi Enceladus
On the walk over, Celly tapped on an inset panel of her white one-piece suit and worked out a bit of a pattern before thumbing the small flat plate. A moment later, the white jumpsuit fabric literally rewove itself, extruding lengths of thread and reiterating itself by color and texture. Seconds later, still in motion, Celly wore a long-sleeved coat over a cream shirt tucked into a pair of coveralls, clean but plainly rugged and ready for work. She also increased her pace just enough that, upon arrival, she was visibly front and center, framed by the pair that came with.

Before answering the question, she swept her gaze towards the just-shut hood and gave a satisfied nod. "You do nice work."

"I'm Vi Enceladus. These are my friends, Hearts-on-Fire and Darwin. We're not with the kid. We're the latest in what I'm sure must be an endless line of newcomers dumped out the door by Titus Corporation." Celly paused, sizing up the muscular, aged mechanic. "If I had to guess, you've got your hands full of work and not enough time or hands to stand here answering the same kinds of questions you must get from people all day. So how about an exchange."

"We help out for a bit. Handle any two or three man tasks you need, organize and clean up, any busy work you need, I can even help out under the hood. And while we help you, maybe you can fill us in on the big players on this planet, who you've seen prey on newcomers we should watch out for, maybe hook us up with a map and a ride."

She wipes nonexistent dirt from her palm on her coveralls and steps forward again, hand extended to shake. Her scent profile shifted to 'trustworthy and appealing' on the walk over and the short conversation was hopefully enough to get her primer pheromone production a chance to start working on the mechanic, if compatible.

Hearts-on-fire

Hearts would do her best to relinquish the pent-up anger from being scammed and stuck on a stop-over planet on the walk over. Deep breaths and relaxed shoulders being prevalent among the methods as they'd arrive at the mechanic as she'd calm down, not entirely eager to jump into conversations of work and survival when they shouldn't have been here in the first place, a sulky expression on her face.

Seeing Vi take the reigns, Hearts couldn't help but roll her eyes at the flex of technology, and 'leading' the group at the front. The approach direct, but maybe a little too professional and forward for some backwater mechanic, and 'Friends' was a bit of an overstep, but Hearts kept her mouth shut, more than aware of her own foul mood.

The mechanic's physique was strange to say the least, but she wasn't too intimidated given that she still towered over the woman, but to see a human so muscled was strange to see. Splicers were rare, at least among the bounty-hunting teams she'd been a part of, so maybe the woman was a little more than was being let-on.

"We'll have to pay after. I'm sure you'd be very surprised to hear that we're broke." She'd pitch in with a chuckle, her sulk fading as she'd throw a sheepish smile in the woman's direction.

The elderly gene spliced Mechanic looked the trio over, letting out a somewhat disinterested 'Hmm' to Vi's introduction. But she would let out a nod of acknowledgement to her words. "Aye, that I do. Otherwise folks wouldn't come and pay me to fix things." She chuckled at her words, caring little if they had found her statement funny.

"Nice to meet ya." Was all she said at the introductions but the second they said they weren't with the kid, she nearly turned away since they no doubt didn't have much money to their names, but the offer to work for a little bit of inside information did cause her to pause.

"I could use some assistance with this damn thing's treads and the heater. Client wants the interior to be able to get nice and hot. Not just to fight off the damn cold but make it near sweltering but the output isn't nearly enough to handle such a task. So if you can help out with these two things, I'll tell ya what I know." She shook Vi's hand, her near ape-like hand completely overtaking Vi's hand, the pheromones she put out did make the Mechanic speak up one more time.

"As a little cavate, I'll tell ya about the bus and the client and why he needs the damn thing all tuned up. The youngin' plans on running a transport and service type of thing, get money by traveling from settlement to settlement, but he's a solo and far too naïve to be a good one at that, but too naïve to charge ya folks for transport." She stopped to spit onto the snow a bit of blood, the mechanic stopping to reach into her pocket to extract a syringe to then inject herself with it.

"Damn splicing...." She muttered as she put away the syringe to then smack herself in the face. "Ah dammit, forgot my manners. Name's Muriel Tolmbs." She introduced herself before making a face upon hearing they were broke from Hearts.

"Ain't no thang, hon. You three are working off the info, and then some for a job well done, you just need to figure out who's doing what. I need someone to check the treads and someone to check on the heating unit. The third person is gonna be the one checking out the fuel and battery of this bad gal to make sure she ain't gonna bleed like a stuck pig."

Darwin
Darwin was currently in an space suit, with a dark visor to cover their face. The reason? Because he had currently ate through his current host to the point where nothing but the skull was left and he didn't want to infringe on Dr. Who copyright and he didn't want to freak other people. He considered himself quite happy that they were surrounded by understanding companions.

What a pair too, the mix of a young and probably brash drak and what appeared to be a royal blood caste Diplomat type Homo Apicem. The doctor didn't appreciate how they took all the fun out of the discipline, but he could appreciate the craftmanship like a race car maker could appreciate a Ferrari.

"Your genetical alteration, it seems to be quite the shoddy job as one would say. Can I inspect the syringe, I could help stabilise your condition without the need for this further medication. That would count towards the task you would like us to do no?" The doctor offered, though he truly just cared more about the bio-engineering present on this world.

The Mechanic turned to Darwin, looking the slime man up and down in his suit and she didn't seem to bat an eye at him. To her, he looked like someone that just wore their suit all the time.

"Thanks, hon. But this alteration isn't a recent job. Got this done when I was in my prime and kicking ass. But old age with splicing leads to some nasty side effects. 'tuff in the syringe is meant to help keep me from suffering multiple organ failure." She explained to Darwin, before a more nostalgic expression swept across her face. But it quickly left just as soon as it came.

Muriel reached down to the toolbox and opened it up for the trio to go and take up whatever role they wanted. Whatever they did, the progress wasn't difficult, welding pipes together, connecting a wire to another wire and various little things eventually paid off in their work making the bus more likely to function. It wasn't long before someone walked up to the Bus, at first looking like a packrat from all the pouches and such covering his body. Face obscured by a mask and goggles with a safety helmet covering his head, the young man gently knocked on the bus to get Muriel's attention, the Mechanic looking up from her work, her face taking on a smirk. "Well lookie here, the owner I was talking about."

"Hiya." The young man waved hesitantly at the assembled trio, hidden eyes going over all of them, or looking up in Hearts' case.

 

[The Wanderer]

GM Post Part 2 [Collab post between Greh, Wiggin and Macro]

In the alleyway, there stood one individual, looking around at passerbys and whatever else caught his attention. The alley itself was snow covered with few tracks beyond the lone man indicating it was very seldom used, save for the store owners or vagrants too drunk to stand.

Piles of snow covered trash littered the alley, the cold barely keeping back the stench of decay and rot, or grease and hot metal. The stench would flare when a gust of wind brought the smells to full power before fading once more.

For this one, it had been a month since his stranding began. Like the strangers by that very ramen shop, he too had been hunting for any kind of sufficient payment for this level of debt. He was no bounty hunter, unlike many of those here, he was an artisan of sorts, talented with designing weaponry. Technology seemed to speak to him, or even the other way around; but through a string of bad luck, his talents would be limited by a greedy corporation and a planet full of thieves. He was not natural to a land like this; his clothing was pricy, cuffed up with delicate furs and linings.

In his hand was a pale colored vape pen, with a tiny blue flame at the end that briefly vanished with each exhale, more likely a fashion choice than an actual function. Gracefully he turned heel, crunching the snow below his boots, hearing conversation from a group of strangers.

Such skills, and variety, would make perfect for helping him.

With a slow step, he leaned out from behind the alleyway, now staring at this particular group. Brushing away a tuft of hair covering his right ear, he unveiled a pentagon shaped earpiece with a lovely obsidian black coating and a pair of blue lights. Pressing down, the lights extinguished themselves, as something with a minuscule sapphire glow ignited. Its appearance were akin to a cicada from Earth, with far less detail. Whatever bot it was, it fluttered off from the roof of the shop, returning to its owner, whom now waited for a passing glance from them, before granting them a slow 'come here' gesture and walking back into the alley with a final puff.

Azirafell 'azir' Laguna

Azir was the first to glance at the boy standing in the middle of the alleyway, having taken a few moments to stare at the group. He appeared to be eyeing up potential hirelings in some matter for some sort of job given the scouting drone. He was most likely staying outside the main checking area because people who traditionally exited that area were desperate for money to escape the planet, so they would be cheaper to hire.

Whatever the case, there was a beckoning finger to attempt to get them into the alleyway without much suspicion from outside forces. It must've been a shady operation given that this person was attempting to keep it on the down low with the drone. "It appears a job is ready for us..." Azir murmured, patting Yaat's shoulder to get his attention before pointing at the alleyway.

"Be on your guard in case this boy has any other drones watching us, or if this is an excuse to mug us..." Azir warned, striding forward with a hand on the strap of his rifle. He made it look like a casual area for him to place the hand, but if things arose he would be able to take it off at a moment's notice and land a shot between someone's eyes. It would be a messier job than his usual, but it would provide a moment of reprieve and safety if needed.

Yaatree

Yaat had only seen references to the stretchy toys of yesteryear rather than any actual examples, but he still felt a sense of kinship with that Stretch Armstrong fellow as he was pulled in multiple directions at once, more figuratively than literally, but Azir was leading him somewhere now.

First, the commanding voice of lady Enceladus tasked him with less than legal financial chicanery with their data pads. Normally he'd have considered crime as breaking cover, but the dire circumstances did justify it, so he gave a quick salute and tried to hook in his Cyberdeck, but that was right before Azir got his attention and tried to lead him off for… Well.

Azir, was intent on finding work of some kind, and clearly of the shady sort. Yaat knew the man was accustomed to that sort of thing, and carried himself with the discipline of a soldier… Or, at least an experienced fighter. He was definitely a man who lived by the rifle on his back, and he overheard Hearts chatting about a job they did. Long before they got stranded, he had the man pegged as a bounty hunter, but the way he went to back alleys rather than a posted bounty board made him reconsider… He was getting distracted. Azir might not've agreed with the plan to hack Titus, but Yaat was about to hook back in and at least look when he caught the buzz.

A very small drone was headed for a young man in the alley. The man Azir was intent on approaching, and who was beckoning for them. Yaat stowed the financial pad and hooked his brain into his cyberdeck, starting a signal sweep without any visible keystrokes. Didn't take long to isolate the drone's control unit and hook his comm antenna into the deck.
"I can jam the signal at any time. All we need to watch is him."
He whispered to Azir, his voice only just audible. He wasn't lying, either. Sure, he could try to take the drones from this guy, but that would take a minute and they had seconds.

"You have something for us?" He called, meeting the stranger's eyes.


Initially, the stranger kept their eyes on them, continuing to puff on their pen calmly. The usual stench of the alleyway was clouded by a refined peppermint scent, making it at least a bit more bearable. With another breath of blue vapor, the stranger turned his back to them, keeping the drone trained on them as he, ominously, tossed the pen into the piles of garbage at the back of the alley, igniting it in seconds. The fire grew before him as he turned only a head partially to look at them.
"One of you are a mercenary yes? Another, a scholar of some sort. Both of you possess skills that can get all three of us places."
Clicking a heel on the cement, he turned to face them fully, prominently planting a hand on his hip, letting the ignited bonfire behind him enlighten his form.
"Regardless if you've been here months or hours, now you have a chance to actually make progress. Not some baby step like working at a dealership for a week, no. There's a drake on this rock that's learned to turn this hellhole into her personal monkey making machine, and if we do a job for her right, we can receive a weighty amount of credits. Enough to satisfy all three of us, assuming we split the reward amongst us, hm?"

Azir looked the boy up and down, he seemed to be in some higher standing considering the tech he possessed and the way he help himself. What would he be getting out of this other than money? Was he some techy who wronged some people and was in debt to a mob boss and needed to pay her back? Azir shook his head, any assumptions at this moment might lead him down a path of conflict. He needed to keep himself on the down low if this guy really was of some higher standing.

The Droqon didn't exactly see the money as being something in high demand. He was here to do his job first and then find an escape afterward. Acquiring money would make it less difficult to assassinate his target though, the thought momentarily crossed his mind as he rubbed his chin. Honestly, this all smelled of bad news, but Azir couldn't exactly deny him outright or risk suspicion. "There are others in the group that just arrived on this planet, would they also be of use? It would also be nice to know what skills are required and what exactly the job is and how it helps you in this case. You seem like you do not need the money by the clothing you have and how disposable that vapor pen was to you." Azir murmured, staring daggers into the man before them with the fire roaring behind him. "It would also be appreciative if you provided us with a name," Azir continued, a hand gesturing outwards towards the boy.

Good lord this little guy was megalomaniacal. Clearly saw himself as the boss already, tossed an expensive trinket to make a point, and started a fire seemingly just to look suitably dramatic. Yaat felt justifiably concerned that merely existing in the same room as him was drawing too much attention… Not that the engineered intelligence operative let it show. Azir seemed calm too, but whether he was simply used to people chewing the scenery or had put on his own convincing poker face was hard to say. Azir's questions were reasonable, too. So Yaat only added a little bit, themself.

"My associate is right. Some names and concrete numbers would be appreciated, friend. I can start: I am Yaatree."

Yaat saw no reason to hide his identity in this interaction, given the bare bones nature of his personal records. He was nearly a ghost, to most galactic communities. Here, on this barren tundra, far from humanity's new core worlds, he might've been even less. Still, his hand was extended to the other man, awaiting a handshake… or at the very least an acknowledgment.


Looking over his shoulder and away from the flames, he finally made his appearance known. Similar to his shape, his face was undeniably feminine. He had taken careful steps towards his looks, no doubt, especially with the makeup he wore. He was undeniably attractive, which made him all the more suspicious to see. After what took nearly an eternity, the man acknowledge Yaat, extending a gloved hand to shake his. "I am Seilen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Yaatree."

This, Seilen, his hands were appallingly warm and comforting to the touch. This man was a living contradiction to expected masculinity of people, say for the slight haughtiness he still held.
Three firm shakes and a first smile, he released Yaat's hand and continued, "The droqen is right, you're not the only people on this planet with these skills. So, you're wondering why I'm requesting you two instead of somebody else, hm? Then I commend you, you have good intuition. There's several mercenaries in this area right now as a matter of fact. One has declined my offer already today, and a few others have in the past week. You two are in close range and from a glance, I believe we can make a brief but ultimately successful exchange. Nothing long term either, just business."

Reaching into his coat pocket, Seilen retrieved a thin phone, that resembled a slab of glass more than anything. With some fiddling, he turned the screen to Yaat's gaze. It was a Bloogle search, showing the facility where each of the crew had suffered a debt from. "These eggheads put you in debt as well, yes?"

Oddly enough there were multiple five star Kelp reviews by anonymous strangers, located just below its coordinates and directions.

The trio would begin their discussion about how to best remedy their debt situation before someone mentioned their objective of finding a decent means of transportation, which led to them meeting back up with the others at the Mechanic shop outside the large bus-like vehicle, where Daniel was busy talking to the group, trying to figure out what they needed as he was followed by a certain lady bodyguard.

"How about we talk inside the Big Kahuna? It's cold out here." Daniel would say as he shivered. Paying the nice Mechanic lady who patted the young man and nearly knocking him over.

"Take care, kid." Was all she said as she went back inside her shop. Daniel would open the door and enter the Bus, waving the others in, whereupon the first thing that they saw was heat lamps in certain parts of the bus, specifically the driver's cabin.

"So I hear you're all in need of a transport and well I am in need of some....Help with things." He'd explain before realizing that wasn't enough. "I am willing to uh, make a deal. We all work together to do some jobs and split the money. Can negotiate stuff right now if you all want." It was very clear that Daniel was obviously a greenhorn when it came to talking about jobs and so on, and as such it wouldn't take much to do some convincing.

@Noble Scion @Grehstone @Wiggin @Questionable @Epiphany @MacroEatsROCKS @Camleen

 

[Camleen]

Finding work on this ice cube of a planet wasn't so hard. Plenty out there offering credits for (to her) what was menial tasks. Guard this ship. Get this cargo from this place to that place. Keep me safe while I smart talk these goons. Lots of desperate people without much regard for extra credits and to little will or skill to handle things themselves. She wasn't sure what category 'Daniel' fell into, nor did she care to much. She's been landlocked on this world for long enough. The prospects for making credits were plentiful… but most all said jobs were simple and fast… and didn't pay much. But with the money Daniel is going to pay… maybe she can find a ship off this rock. Or perhaps there were other ways of escape…
Always 3 steps behind Daniel and on his right stood there a silent sort. Just an inch or so shorter in stature, but her garb would make her seem to have more bulk. A thick dark green poncho like outfit she wears, and it has multiples of small tears and wear along it's hem. Either side of the poncho like garb remains open, though her hands and body remain hidden under. Good for drawing a gun, perhaps. Its hard to tell just how dirty it really is, being of darker colors. A hood is drawn up to cover her head, it being fur lined. The fur is a lighter shade of brown, and she ensures it does not block her view in any manner. The lower half of her face under that hood would be covered and concealed, too. A dark green mask, mostly for warmth. And slung on her back, a rifle. A rifle that looks like it's been well worn and used, but still in prime shape.
Daniel, and all others on this planet, only know the woman as 'Zeenly'. She has been getting a rep locally as a no nonsense business type. In the time she's been with Daniel, she hasn't had to draw her weapons once. Perhaps her quiet presence always near Daniel is enough to make the 'bad' people think twice?

@Noble Scion @Grehstone @Wiggin @Questionable @Epiphany @MacroEatsROCKS @The Wanderer

 

[Noble Scion]

Hearts-on-fire

Not being in the best of moods considering their predicament, Hearts would hum her displeasure at the idea of being paired with another greenhorn, but it was his van, so she supposed she'd just have to suck it up and deal with, at least his companion seemed experienced, though they didn't seem like they were here for anything more than their job, which she respected frankly, but it wasn't her own style.

She liked to get involved.

She didn't mind the cold really as she made her way into the bus. If anything, the bus was a bit too warm for her liking, not that she'd complain as she'd stoop a little to make her way inside, wary of someone stepping on her tail as she'd quickly take a seat as from from the nearest heat-lamp as she could manage.

"All of our group are in the same boat. Expenses come first, so food, sleeping, and fuel are covered, then we split it 50-50, half for us, half for you and your... 'Friend'. Deal?" Hearts would speak up sternly with a sigh, almost rolling her eyes at how nervous Daniel appeared to be. She didn't feel in the mood for trying to get more out of him for the time being. Really she just wanted a bed to scream into, but she supposed a bus was going to have to do.

Holding out a paw for him to shake, she'd look at Daniel expectantly. She was really hoping he didn't want to try and start talking numbers.

 

[Wiggin]

Azir largely had Yaatree lead their new business partner towards the garage that the rest of the crew had found themselves in, with Azir leading the rear. By the looks of it, they had made a deal of sorts and met a new individual with his own agenda with a bodyguard in tow. She was one of the few mercenaries that Azir had researched, mainly in it for the money and not much else by the sounds of it. Everyone eventually funneled into the new vehicle and out of the cold, Azir sitting next to Hearts due to being one of the few individuals that Azir knew was mostly trustful.

A quick explanation of the situation later and hearts was the one to initiate the discussion as to pay and rules. Azir didn't exactly care what money went where, he was just on this ride as a cover so that he could accomplish his mission. "It should be noted that I am a good hunter and also cook, so food costs can be reduced when factoring in the amount of money needed, and if things are agreed to promptly then you should all know that we have our first job from this gentleman here," Azir stated, standing up and holding onto one of the braces inside of the vehicle. His hand gestured in Seilen's direction and with an expectant look as to details of the job.

 

[The Wanderer]

Hearts-on-fire

Not being in the best of moods considering their predicament, Hearts would hum her displeasure at the idea of being paired with another greenhorn, but it was his van, so she supposed she'd just have to suck it up and deal with, at least his companion seemed experienced, though they didn't seem like they were here for anything more than their job, which she respected frankly, but it wasn't her own style.

She liked to get involved.

She didn't mind the cold really as she made her way into the bus. If anything, the bus was a bit too warm for her liking, not that she'd complain as she'd stoop a little to make her way inside, wary of someone stepping on her tail as she'd quickly take a seat as from from the nearest heat-lamp as she could manage.

"All of our group are in the same boat. Expenses come first, so food, sleeping, and fuel are covered, then we split it 50-50, half for us, half for you and your... 'Friend'. Deal?" Hearts would speak up sternly with a sigh, almost rolling her eyes at how nervous Daniel appeared to be. She didn't feel in the mood for trying to get more out of him for the time being. Really she just wanted a bed to scream into, but she supposed a bus was going to have to do.

Holding out a paw for him to shake, she'd look at Daniel expectantly. She was really hoping he didn't want to try and start talking numbers.

Azir largely had Yaatree lead their new business partner towards the garage that the rest of the crew had found themselves in, with Azir leading the rear. By the looks of it, they had made a deal of sorts and met a new individual with his own agenda with a bodyguard in tow. She was one of the few mercenaries that Azir had researched, mainly in it for the money and not much else by the sounds of it. Everyone eventually funneled into the new vehicle and out of the cold, Azir sitting next to Hearts due to being one of the few individuals that Azir knew was mostly trustful.

A quick explanation of the situation later and hearts was the one to initiate the discussion as to pay and rules. Azir didn't exactly care what money went where, he was just on this ride as a cover so that he could accomplish his mission. "It should be noted that I am a good hunter and also cook, so food costs can be reduced when factoring in the amount of money needed, and if things are agreed to promptly then you should all know that we have our first job from this gentleman here," Azir stated, standing up and holding onto one of the braces inside of the vehicle. His hand gestured in Seilen's direction and with an expectant look as to details of the job.

Daniel looked up at Hearts as she spoke before he would immediately grab her hand to shake. "That's sounds alright!" He said in a cheerful tone, indicating that he wasn't exactly great at negotiating or talking numbers, Hearts' tone buying him over near instantly. He would also shake her hand for a bit longer before letting go, his hand felt slightly colder to her despite the glove he was wearing. Notably slightly less than other humanoids she had encountered.

When Azir spoke up about his skill set, noting his hunting ability as well as cooking. But what caught his attention was when Azir mentioned a job. "O-oh? Nice! We can talk about it inside the bus." Daniel would wave em into the bus, choosing to be the last one in before the door sealed. The inside was very clearly modified. The seats were reduced to simple chairs bolted into the side near the windows, with the back half being more cots and hammocks. The wall closest to them when they entered would be a decent workbench with decent tools and a terminal hooked into something. The back also clearly had an extra room, the sign indicating a toilet and the other door was originally a module for the now defunct cannon on the top, but the sign that hung over it said 'Needs repairs.'

The front was sectioned off into a cabin for the driver, muffled music playing inside of it and heat clearly coming through. Simply being near the cabin would make someone think 'This is a bit much.' Despite not being in the cabin.

"So what's this job about, is it transporting supplies or something?" Daniel would ask, innocence woven into his voice and tone.

@Grehstone @Questionable @Epiphany @Wiggin @MacroEatsROCKS @Noble Scion

 

[LazTheSpazz]

The gentlemen that Azir spoke of observed the vehicle's interior with abject horror. Despite having been stuck upon Olympian soil for months, this 'friend' could hardly bear the sight of such a drab ride belonging to this mercenary he negotiated with. Was he wrong about this 'Azir?' Seilen banished his thoughts, his disdain had to abide alone awhile, as the lad seated himself on one of the hammocks in the back. Kicking up crossed legs onto the nearby secondary hammock, and with steepled hands, a somewhat haughty Seilen gave his offer,

"Greetings, I am Seilen. It appears all of us are at a disposition, so I will not delay things. I have a job that needs more power than just myself, and.." This, Seilen, hesitated upon sighting Daniel crossing the door. ".. Most of you, are especially fitting for the criteria.." Just as he had finished another sentence, he had his thoughts interrupted by Daniel's questioning. Seilen refused a sigh, speaking again, "Simply put, this is an assignment to free the living workers of a Titus factory. Details were brief; be efficient, do not allow any of the assets die or suffer crippling injuries, or risk a lower fee. Sound simple enough, hm?"

 

[The Wanderer]

[GM Post]

Daniel would nod at Seilen's job offer. A slow one at that as he processed it and did his best to understand it. Freeing workers from Titus ran the risk of attracting attention, especially if it was Titus. He had heard stories about kill-teams being sent out to deal with problems to Titus' bottomline and anything that just generally annoyed them. But the addition of 'living' made Daniel think folks were trapped somewhere or if bad enough, were being held hostage by another Corporation or one of the bandits out there which could get them some brownie points with Titus.

"Oh dear, well...We can get on that as soon as we're able." Daniel said as he climbed into the front cab, the door opening up and a blast of heat filling the rest of the interior of the bus. Music would fill it too.

Taking a seat at a control board akin to that of a hybrid between a car and a forklift/tank. Daniel would start up the bus proper, the engine roaring to life as he flipped a switch to disengage the brakes and he could carefully steer the bus out of the mechanic's shop and down the snow covered streets, a snail's pace to best avoid running over someone. But eventually they would get out of the town and be on the outskirts.



Once the bus stopped at a checkpoint where Daniel exchanged information with an armored up guard who looked over the passengers and was not impressed, scoffing at the sight of Seilen before clearing the bus to pass. The crew would watch as the bus picked up speed to a relatively nice pace. Not the snail's pace from before but not zooming down the well-trodden road. Minutes would pass and the town was little more than a silhouette on the horizon. The music still playing as they rode along.

Daniel would be singing quietly along to the music as he seemed to be exuding nothing but optimism. But he was not quite enjoying the peculiar silence between everyone so he would attempt small talk.

"So what's everyone's story? If you don't mind me asking." Daniel would speak as he would turn down the music to hear everyone's response.

@Noble Scion @Wiggin @LazTheSpazz @Epiphany @Questionable @Grehstone @Camleen

 

[Camleen]

Days before the bus pulls into another settlement..

The snow filled streets are sparse of people, this being late at night. Illumination orbs are near every corner, but it is still a dark place. Despite the white near glow of the snow, it still feels dismal. Oh there are people trudging about, but for most this is out of need and not want. This world, it seems, is a sort of galactic crossroads. Many happen upon it merely looking for work. Others simply have no means to move on.
And those 2 things are the reasons this little robot stands in the snow.

She is just over 5 feet tall, and in another time she would be of immaculate design and construction. But the time that was has long since passed. But now she seems to be just another citizen. Another looking to make things better for themselves.

Of course there are those that just don't know how to do that, or recognize when the chance is there for such.

Snow clings to some of her body, making her tarnished shell seem that more ugly. It's been years since she had a really good oil bath, so all of the byproducts of repairing or constructing or engineering machinery cling skill to her, as does the snow. The blotches of black and rough gunk conceals the pristine finish under. A pristine that hasn't seen the light of day for years. But it truly doesn't bother her. It doesn't effect her performance (yet), but it is unsightly. And makes her seem a bit more pathetic in this light.

So, for an hour or so she has been standing across the street from a small tavern in the colony. She has been staring at one particular spot… a pipe leading from the ground into the side of the building's wall. She has been warned multiple times to keep her distance. She doesn't understand why.

There is a fault in the pipe, which requires repair. She can 'see' it clear as day with her enhanced vision and sensors. Maybe the owners of the building know about it too, but it isn't enough of a problem to be worth paying for its repair. And so it is still in disrepair. And so the small robot has been fixated on it.

Finally, she proceeds across the street. Her eyes glow a soft pink, locked on the pipe. Stopping close to it, she knows precisely what she needs to do in order to repair it. She would access the building's monitoring systems to request its aid in this repair, but she would not get that chance. She jumps a little, her gaze whipping towards the corner of the building. A large red alien stands there in the snow, shouting at her. He is almost lizard like, his eyes shimmering in this dark. "Hey! I've told you to stay away ya little scrapheap! Now git!" He motions her away angrily. She just stands there… looking towards the pipe, then back to the alien, then to the pipe again. Her right hand starts to reach for the pipe… but she abruptly finds herself falling into a sitting position following the sound of a very loud clap noise. The alien holds a slug throwing pointing at her. He shot her, and that is why she is suddenly in a sitting position, having been knocked off her feet with the force of impact. Her now white eyes widely stare at him… she can not emote as well as most of her kind, but the shock in her is obvious. There is now a 2 inch long crack on her breastplate (about where the collarbone would be on a human, right between collarbones) from the impact of the gun. The alien, for a moment, seems to feel bad for shooting her, but he feels he is justified. He starts to lower the weapon as he speaks, as others around the building now look in it's direction, attention caught from the weapon's loud sound. "I have told you and told you. I do not have the credits for a repair droid. So no doing anything to my building, ya got it? Maybe sometime I'll be able to hire ya, but that time ain't now! Now git!" He raises the weapon again towards her, and she scrambles to her feet. Still staring at him, she takes a few steps backwards… and then turns and runs.

And runs. Her mind is racing, she is confused. The damage to her breastplate isn't that much of a big deal to her. It's more the fact he shot her, that's what has her so confused. She just wanted to help the building…

Almost a half hour passes and she finally comes to a halt. She looks over her shoulder to see if anyone had followed her. Of course no one did. Moving towards the nearest building, she presses her back to the wall and slides down into a sitting position. She is at the opening of an alley, and she now just sits there slumped down. If one didn't know better, it would look like she was sleeping. And it's there she would remain, just sitting there unmoving for the next couple days….

 

[Noble Scion]

Hearts-on-fire

The notion of hunting for food hadn't even crossed her mind, though taking a look out the window, the idea of natural creatures being on the planet didn't seem promising, but she'd keep her tongue held regardless.

As for their mission, the intricacies weren't very interesting to her anyway. She liked adventure and improvising. It's why she was called 'Hearts-on-fire' when she fledged after all.

Watching the human almost buzzing with energy despite the planet he lived on. The music in her ears not to her taste, though she wouldn't mind it all too much considering how novel a sight it was to see such enthusiasm as she'd rest her chin on her palm, lazily watching him.

It was very apparent that this 'Daniel' didn't get many visitors.

Though her daydreaming would be interrupted by his question as she'd perk up.

"Mercenary, and the universe's best pilot." Hearts would answer after a beat, a smug grin glimmering on her face at her own boast.

 

[Grehstone]

Yaatree, the voyager
Cover identities.

That bus might've been roomy and able to hold quite a few passengers, but the ever increasing entourage strained its capacity just a tad, and Yaat found himself seated next to Seilen, taking the Aisle seat and focusing in on the finance pad rather than the warm and soft boy right beside him… it was a big, daunting number, wasn't it? And with each new hand in the group who wanted fair pay but wasn't necessarily part of the ship's stranded passengers, it seemed farther away. But Hearts or Lady Enceladus could negotiate with them. For now, Yaat was focused on three distinct projects.

The first was the fact that Yaatree did not fancy their chances hunting enough meat for a party this size. So, he turned back to the puzzle of that intern gopher account… It wasn't hard to get in and gain access. But the amount of money in it was significant… Too bad it was restricted to purchasing food from the company store. At least drone delivery was free.
"Got food resolved for the moment… If you're willing to eat drone delivery meals."

The second thing to do was answer their driver's question. It wouldn't be polite to say nothing, but he surely couldn't tell the truth. So…
"Graduated from a tech school a few earth-years ago, thought I'd freelance in programming, cybersecurity, maybe even electronic engineering while I traveled abroad… Then Titus happened."
Succinct, but it would do. It was the same lie he told everyone. Well, except the bit about Titus. That was true.

His third project was the job. Freeing the workers was probably the ethical thing to do, but something told Yaat that it couldn't be for purely do-gooder reasons. However, his main concerns were tactical and technical.
"Seilen, what is the facility's name? Doing some research and I need it."
He hoped desperately for a largely automated facility with plentiful defense systems and lots of surveillance. Because even with good cybersecurity, Yaat was likely to break it. And better yet, the artificial hacker had yet to hear a deadline… if they had as little as three days, Yaat could slip into the system and turn it against its users without any trace of the group's involvement. Any less time, and Yaat could probably still do it, but less cleanly. Any more? He might be able to spoof a false transfer and get a transport to just walk the factory men out without a drop of blood or any awareness anything went wrong until they were long gone. But, he needed those details… and that meant knowing which factory they were after.