Tess
"Hey hot stuff," the guard says with a smirk, clearly enjoying being able to boss you around. "This way," he says, gesturing to the right with his rifle. Standing up you follow him to a larger holding room where he tells you to wait, before he disappears back down the corridor towards the other cells. He soon returns bringing three more prisoners one by one. The second of which you recognise as an acquaintance, Hikaru Tsukiakari, a member of NTER5TELLAR.
Cass
"On your feet junkie," the guard says, half pointing his rifle at you. He motions for you to leave the cell and step out in front of him. He leads you down a corridor away from the other cells which soon opens up into a larger room. A young women stands in the room, also cuffed you assume she must be a fellow prisoner. He brings through two more prisoners, the last of which you recognise as Eridas Creed, a smuggler.
Hikaru
"Let's go Strocho," the guard says, flicking his gun upwards indicating for you to stand. Without any further conversation he leads you out of the cell and down a corridor to a larger room where two other cuffed prisoners stand. One of which you recognise as Tess, the courtesan turned friend who your band mate once hired for you.
Eridas
"Come on Chuckles," the guard says with a smile, you recognise him as one of the men who originally arrested you. He motions for you to stand and then follow him with his rifle. He takes you to a larger room down the corridor from the cells where three other prisoners in handcuffs stand waiting, one of which you recognise as a drug dealer called Cass you've met a handful of times.
Once the guard finally returns with the fourth and final prisoner, he looks over the group before moving to a door. He swipes his wrist over a pad next to it and the door hisses open. "Inside and take a seat," he says, gesturing with his weapon once more. Making your way through the door, you find yourselves in what appears to be an interrogation room, with the back wall covered by a presumably two way mirror.
A large table dominates the center of the room, with four chairs on your side of it. In front of each chair is a pile of personal effects, one pile of which you recognise to be yours. A large tattooed man sits on the other side of the table, busy with something on his compad. He too gestures for you to sit down, as he continues typing.
A few moments pass and once the four of you are seated before the man finishes whatever he was doing and lays his compad down on the table in front of him.
"Welcome, the name's Marco Bao," the large man says. He moves to speak again but the guard who pulled you from your cell interrupts with a cough.
"Of course," Marco replies to the cough. "One moment," he says to you as he picks one his compad once more. After a few taps the guards checks his own and after a nod to Marco he throws a key on to the table, which lands near the large man, and leaves the room with the door closing behind him - leaving the four of you alone with Marco.
"As I was saying, I'm Marco Bao. I'm... an influential figure in this area of the city," the large man continues, seemingly choosing his words carefully. "That key there guarantees your freedom," he says gesturing to the key the guard tossed on to the table. "Although it does come at a very reasonable price. My operation is under threat from another rival operation and I believe one of my right hand men has betrayed me. You all seem to have skills which could be useful, and most importantly I know I can trust you as I don't know you, which is why I've arranged this meeting," he says, picking up the key.
"Now I'm hoping I've chosen well and I can rely on the four of you to solve this problem for me. I'm even willing to pay you handsomely for your services. The alternative, of course, is our friend comes back in and takes you back to the cell you were rotting away in leaving you to the Diktat's mercy, but I feel like I've made a very reasonable proposal. I'm a busy man, what do you say?" He asks, waggling the key in your direction.
