Escape Trajectory: Makkuro — IC

[Namelessjake]

Warner

"That explains a lot," Mover says, cracking a smile. "I was straight into flight school after basic, I don't think I've even fired a weapon since then. One that wasn't strapped to a grav flyer or a strike fighter at least, he explains.

"This is the place," the pilot says, pointing to the tunnel entrance to a residential block. A street vendor stands at his cart, frying some questionable looking meat on sticks, just outside the entrance to the complex which itself looks fairly aged and rundown, similar to most of the infrastructure in this part of the station. The interior lights flicker, on the verge of dying completely, and there are many additional pipes and wires running along the hallway's ceiling conduits, tell tale signs of slapdash repairs made permenant.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru shrugs. "That's what good company's for. And a bit of booze, I guess." He looks to Tess as she returns, raising an eyebrow like a judging parent. "Whatcha got there?"

 

[BartNL]

Warner

"Stay behind me fly-boy." Warner replies, also grinning, as he heads in.

[Fialova]

"Yep, got a job, though she left the details unclear for now," Tess responds, at Cass' question. "And a new dress!" she adds, more excitedly, as Hikaru asks one of his own. She opens the box to reveal to him, and anyone else who decides to look, the small black cocktail dress she'd received only moments earlier.

"It's for the job," she continues, closing the lid again once all interested have taken a peek. Which hopefully is just an evening of pleasure and not anything more. I don't need people on this station knowing about my affiliations. Well, old affiliations.

"So what's the plan? Headed to that bougie club Holland mentioned, or you guys have something else in mind?" Tess asks. After today's excitement, a few drinks and some time to unwind with everyone is just what we all need.

Dress

[Namelessjake]

Warner

"You don't have to say that twice. It's 304, we can either take the stairs or the elevator," Mover says as you as he drops back to get behind you.

You make your way down the tunnel, under a sign reading Opal Rose Condominiums, past a couple of apartments and unlabelled doors which you assume are janitorial cupboards or something similar. The tunnel soon opens up though into a foyer area, two more corridors of apartments splitting off to your left and to your right, while an elevator sits in front of you with a set of stairs wrapping around it before disappearing into the ceiling.

[ratwizard]

Cass eyes the dress, nodding approvingly. "Hope it's not dealing with the union," he says, half-jokingly. Shit sounds unstable around here.

"The Orion Lounge? Yeah, I can get on board. Being honest though, as much as we've earned a break, I uh, can't wait to talk shop now that we've got some cred flowing. Got some ideas about the Mak. Let's talk about it over drinks, if the music's not too loud, yeah?"

[FinalTemplar]

Eridas takes a turn looking at the dress, nodding softly before he begins to speak; "S-somewhere to drink... and eat. Please." He sighs. "I need something solid to eat, but I'm ready to talk about our next steps too. I have thoughts about where we go next once we're off station."

[BartNL]

Warner

"Stairs." Warner replies curtly, making it clear that now is not the time for casual talk anymore. Then he heads upstairs, wasting no time.

[Namelessjake]

Warner

You make you way up the stair case, only passing a couple of people waiting for the elevator on the 2nd level. Reaching the third floor, you spot a sign pointing down one of the corridors displaying a range of apartment numbers which includes Mover's.

However, looking down the corridor you can see a member of the station's security detail stood outside one of the apartments - with a glowing yellow caution holo-barrier cordoning off the area around the door to the apartment.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Not bad," Hikaru says with a smirk as he glances at the dress. "Definitely not off the rack. You must've made an impression." Didn't strike Holland as the type for pleasure. Seemed like all business for her. He shrugs to himself before nodding along to his crew. "Yeah. Good foods, good drinks, a bill that'll hurt in the morning. Let's do it."

 

[Fialova]

"Oh yeah?" Tess asks, as Cass mentions his ideas for the ship. "Curious to hear them, I honestly haven't put much thought into it beyond the repairs and new paint job." As the conversation turns back to the topic of food and drink, she says, "yeah I'm parched. It's been a long day and I intend to drink. Though, I guess not too much, since the job's right after. Hopefully that place is as good as Holland said it is."

She pulls up the station info on her compad, scrolling through til she finds the entry for the Orion Lounge, before she begins walking towards the elevator once more. "Let's go!" Time to see what Kate's like when she's tipsy, I bet it'll be a riot. We probably should have invited the others, but they didn't almost get eaten or blown up today, so I'm sure they won't be too upset.

[ratwizard]

"She needs a bit more than a fresh coat of paint and a patch-job," Cass says with a smile. "Don't worry, I've made a list. Good news is we stand to gain some cred off what I got in store." He follows after Tess, making for the Orion Lounge.

[Namelessjake]

You make your way back through the Asteria offices and take the elevator down to the fourth floor of the station. You make your way down the main commercial drag which is bustling with activity as commuters on their way home cross paths with people on their way to the restaurants and bars that line the tunnel. Passing the side street you took a few days earlier to get to the ProTec weaponry store, you soon spot the Orion Lounge up ahead.

The lounge sits directly ahead of you at a crossroads where the path diverges around the lounge to both the left and the right, giving it a triangular shape. The word Orion spelt out in large golden letters is affixed above the large double doors of the entrance.

Stepping inside, you find yourselves being greeted by a man in a formal looking jacket. 

"Welcome to the Orion Lounge, do you have a reservation?" He asks, eying your clothes and sidearms.

Behind him the lounge appears to be broken up into three distinct areas. A large circular bar sits in the centre of the room with its shelves of liquor and glasses reaching up to the ceiling in the middle of the enclosed bar area. A number of uniformed men and women,  you recognise from your time on the station as officers of the bulk freighter Alhamdulillah, sit drinking whiskey at the bar.

To the left of the bar, the seating arrangement is as one would expect to find in a restaurant, where you can see several groups seated at tables, including a few couples enjoying romantic candle lit meals. To the right of the bar, the space is more akin to the open layout of the Closest Moon, sans stage, or Element - the bar on on the third floor where you found Maximillian Redgar III before heading to the asteroid mine for the first time - with space for dancing and a number of sofas and booths for people to drink and talk. Curiously, while there are a number of people dancing, from your position at the Lounge's entrance you can hear no music.



 

[BartNL]

Warner

Warner pulls Mover aside. "Security, is it worth the risk?" he then asks.

[greysigil]

Kate glances at the dress in the box, understanding vaguely that it looks fancy, and nods. "Looks good, I'm sure you'll nail whatever Ms. Holland has in store for you." she says, before her attention is caught by Cass mentioning plans for the starship. "I'm sure we can find a quiet spot, or, as quiet as a club can get." She responds, her excitement at being able to talk tech apparent. "Lead the way." Wonder what this place'll be like, probably pretty upscale given who recommended us. I just hope the drinks don't gouge us too bad.

She pinches out the cherry of her cigarette as they approach the Orion Lounge, stepping on it to extinguish it before depositing the spent filter in a waste receptacle, before following the others in, feeling suddenly very aware of her appearance. She hangs back, letting one of the others answer the man's question.

[Fialova]

"No reservation for us," Tess says, stepping forward as the man speaks. She wears a wide grin, ignoring his sideways glances towards their casual clothing and weaponry. "Just the recommendation of Nereida Holland, and an eagerness to see the best club this station has to offer." Glancing around the room, she spots the booths to the right of the bar, where some of the patrons are dancing in silence. "That section looks good. Do we seat ourselves, or will you be leading us there?" she asks, aiming to skip past the pleasantries the man clearly wants to indulge in. We've got creds, you've got booze, just give us a table. No one cares if we're here.

[ratwizard]

Cass stays quiet as Tess handles the bouncer, instead peering inside the Lounge. A silent disco? he considers, noticing the peculiar lack of music. Been a long time since I've hit the clubs for honest recreation and not expanding my chem operations.

He recognizes the crew of the Alhamdulillah, a slight grin of schadenfreude stretching across his bearded cheeks. They were here when we landed, and the way it's looking, they'll be here when we're gone. Glad we don't have shit to unload, save for maybe that Sandthrower. And hell, if even the engineers in the dry-dock set up a picket, I'm betting Kate and I could finish repairs and install ourselves.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru raises an eyebrow as the host gives them all a once-over. Put up a damn sign if you've got a dress code, you pretentious prick. But been awhile since I've played the 'don't you know who I am?' card. Could be fun if it comes to that.

He peers inside, letting Tess handle the man. Every club's gotta have a shtick these days, huh. Least the anti-grav place in Strocho looked fun from the outside.

[Namelessjake]

As Tess mentions your lack of a reservation, the man seems poised, ready to deny you entry, however at the mention of the Asteria Corporation CEO's name he eyes widen slightly. "Well I'm sure we can make room for friends of Miss Holland," he says with a smile, tapping at a dataslab, presumably moving around other reservations. "I can take you over to your seats, although I must request you leave your weapons here. We have a strict policy against them here at the Orion Lounge, for the safety of our customers of course. I promise you they will be quite safe."

Warner

"Unfortunately - Yes," Mover replies, moving up closer to you to get a better look down the corridor.

"Ducote's men must have turned my placed over and then a friendly neighbor reported the break in. There's a go-bag stowed in the bedroom air vent, that's what we're here for," he explains.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Solid namedrop," Hikaru whispers with a smirk, nudging Tess slightly. Man must really not wanna get on Holland's bad side if that's all it takes. Guess it makes sense. She basically owns him. Damn, he's literally her bitch. With a smile, he hands off what weaponry he's still holding. Should really get into the habit of leaving these on the ship if we're just going to dinner...

"Thank you," he says, beaming to the host, his smile's innocence betraying his thoughts. I bet she could make him bark like a dog. Stopping his whole world cuz of one name, damn. Have a backbone, dude. Ah well, our gain.

 

[FinalTemplar]

Creed hesitantly hands over his weapons, staring longingly for a moment at his spike thrower. He gives them up though, hoping they don't give him problems when they return. "Alright, ready to go." He says, smiling.

[ratwizard]

Cass relaxes as the bouncer grants them entry at the mere reference of Holland. Good, we're a known quantity around here. He unbuckles his pistol and its holster from his jumpsuit, handing both over to the man.

"I'm sure we won't need them here," Cass says, mostly in an effort to convince himself. If there's a firefight in the station's nicest club, then we've got even bigger problems.

[BartNL]

Warner

"Any of your neighbours old, house full of pets, that kind of stuff?" need a good lie if they start asking questions.

[Fialova]

Tess briefly considers protesting the weapon ban, but decides against it, especially after all of her companions comply without issue. She reaches into the front pocket of her hoodie, first producing her mag pistol, then her laser pistol, and finally her knife, handing them each to their host as they appear. "That's all I got," she says to the man with a smile, eager to take her seat and order. She then turns to Kate, the last of their group to give up their weapons. I doubt we'll need them in here anyway, this place is too nice. A fight here would probably put the whole station on lockdown.

[greysigil]

Kate stares blankly for a split second, confused. I left my rifle on the ship, what are they-- Oh. Right. Sidearm. Her eyes focus as she remembers, and looses her sawed-off shotgun from its place at her side. She breaks it open, ejecting the shells, confirms it's clear, checks the safety, then hands it over to the bouncer. "Safety first." she says earnestly, not realizing how passive-aggressive it sounds.

[Namelessjake]

"Thank you," the man says, taking your weapons and placing them in one of several secure boxes to one side of the entrance, which he then seals shut. A couple of the other boxes also appear to be sealed shut, suggesting you are not the only patrons to have brought your weapons with you to the lounge.

"Now if you'll follow me," the host says, gesturing for you to follow him as he begins to walk you over to the right hand side of the lounge. As you near the dancefloor area the more perceptive of you notice a faint barrier ahead of you that causes the air and light to ripple occasionally, stepping through the barrier the quiet musical ambiance of the lobby is suddenly replaced with loud dance music.

"Here you are," the host says, leading you over to a large booth. "Can we get you any drinks?" He asks, waving over one of the waitstaff.

Warner

"There's a girl with a cat across the hall from me, and then there's a couple of older folks - The Okumuras," Mover says.

"Why? Got a plan?" he asks.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru smiles as he slides into the booth, feeling at home again with such a VIP treatment. Been awhile since I've had a guy suck up to me like this. Last time was that bar back home, Flash Dive. Thought that manager was gonna have a heart attack when those mozz sticks came out with plastic wrap on the plate. He sinks his head back, letting the music take hold of him.

He looks to the host, cocking his head. Wonder if it has to be off a menu or if he'll just jump through hoops to get whatever we want. "Could I do a mai tai?" he says, the loud music and celebratory occasion emboldening him. Fuck it, we're partying tonight. Once his order's taken, he pulls out his compad and sends a message to Marko, inviting him, Martine, and Pia to join them.

[ratwizard]

Well, I can't hear a goddamn thing in here. We can talk shop later, I guess. We're here to have fun. He sits next to Tess, resting hand on her leg under the table, giving her a soft smile.

"Make that two mai tais," Cass adds to Hikaru's order with a shrug and a smirk. I hope Glitter knows what he's getting into, expecting a drink like that out on a barren station like this. Though who knows, maybe this place has rehydrated juice and coconut.
 

[BartNL]

Warner

"Just a back-up. Pretend I am visiting grandma, if I need to push it and she doesn't remember us, I can just leave and tell the security it's her wits. I'll go ahead and try to distract him, tell him you borrowed something of my 'grandma' or some shit." Warner nods and moves up to the security officer. "Good day sir, did anything happen in here?"

[Namelessjake]

Warner

Mover hangs back near the elevator as you approach the station security officer.

"Just a break-in. We've got it under control - nothing to see here," the officer replies, eying your hobo getup with suspicion.

[BartNL]

Warner

"My grandma lives down the hall, this place still safe?" Warner asks the guard.

[Fialova]

Tess smirks briefly at Cass, as she feels his hand carress her leg. So much more forward then before. I guess one night of intimacy is all it took to loosen him up, she thinks, resisting her urge to chuckle towards the man.

"Yeah a mai tai sounds good, add me to that. You two want one too? They're great!" Tess says, glancing over at Creed and Kate. Speaking of loosening up, those two definitely need it the most now. Let's see what the introvert and the newbie are like when their inhibitions are lowered. I bet they're more fun than they let on.

[Namelessjake]

Warner

"It's safe, like I said it's under control," the guard replies, with a tone that suggests the conversation is over.

[BartNL]

Warner

"So you caught the person who did this? That's good to hear." Warner replies, not letting the conversation end on the guards behalf.

[Namelessjake]

Warner

The guard shifts uncomfortably. "Not yet, but we will," he says, puffing up his chest.

[BartNL]

Warner

"Thanks for the effort, want to join me for a coffee at my grandmother's? That would really calm her nerves, you know. She's been declining fast lately."

[greysigil]

Kate is caught, very briefly, at the barrier, looking between the floor and ceiling trying to figure out where the emitters are, before realizing she's being left behind and hurrying to catch up. The wall of noise hits her like a truck, not in a bad way, just intense, and she takes a seat across from Cass.

"Actually, I'll have an amaretto sour, and some water, if I could." She says politely, adding on after the host leaves: "I've never had one, mind if I try one of yours, see what it's like?"

[Namelessjake]

Warner

"I'm can't, I'm on duty. Sorry - Thanks for the offer," the guard replies giving you a slight smile, breaking his otherwise stern demeanour for a moment.

[Fialova]

"Yeah, sure," Tess responds to Kate, somewhat surprised that she had never experienced the glory of a mai tai. "You can have a sip of mine, I'm sure you'll love it!" Must not get a lot of nice bars where she's from, I guess. Such a shame.

[BartNL]

Warner

"Your loss." Warner replies with a polite smile. "Now which number did she live on again..." He mumbles as he walks of, looking for the Okumura's place.

 

[Namelessjake]

Warner

While Mover didn't tell you which apartment is the Okumura's, you are confident you have found it after only walking a few doors down the corridor. While most of the apartment entrances are plain doors, devoid of any personal touches or identifying marks beyond the apartment number, this door is difference. At your feet is a welcome mat as well as a couple of plants in ornate ceramic pots, while the door itself has some sort of metal symbol affixed to it - presumably a good luck charm or something similar from a culture you are unfamiliar with.

[FinalTemplar]

Creed listens to the other's orders, sitting down last. "Whiskey and cola, but I'll get a mai tai as well," He thinks for a moment. "I don't know if I'll like it, but I can splurge a bit. Maybe I'll like it." He says, tapping the table a little nervously.

[Namelessjake]

"Coming right up," the waiter says as they take your order and disappear off in the direction of the bar.
 
"Please let me know if there's anything else you need," the host says, giving you a courteous nod before making his way back to his post by the entrance of the lounge, leaving you alone in your booth.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru can't help but smirk as Cass and Tess both order the same as him. Damn, we're all getting crazy tonight. Hope they don't cheap out on the ingredients. "Sent an invite to the other three. Hopefully they'll join us," the pop star says to the rest of his crew, tucking his compad back into his pocket. Hope they do. Would love to see Marko's moves on the dancefloor.

 

[ratwizard]

Cass nods. "Good thinking. We got paid, the least we can do is buy a round for the crew, too."

He wants to enjoy the night, forget about his troubles, but he finds himself squirming in his seat. Nah, no days off with this shit. I can't afford to lose what we've built so far.

"Listen," he says over the club music. "Before the others arrive, I had some ideas. Three, actually. You, uh, guys cool to talk shop? I don't want to kill the vibe. If we just wanna get fucked up and dance and not think about running a tub, that's okay too." The tech looks to the others, his eyebrows raised in a look of concern.

[BartNL]

Warner

Warner knocks on the door.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru leans back into the seat, resting his head back against the cushion and crossing his arms. "May as well before anyone gets too wasted. Can save the real party for when the others show up." He sits upright, looking to Cass expectantly. "Lay it on us." Dude must be excited about this if he's really gunning to talk about it. Hope it's not something fucking dweeby like increasing our net capacitor efficiency by adjusting our nominal HVAC returns or some BS.

[ratwizard]

Cass nods. If he of all people wants to hear about this shit at the club, then I guess I've got the green light. He takes a breath, looking around to make sure there aren't too many listening ears from outside their table.

"Right, so we need to hire more crew. I don't think that's a surprise. If we're taking more jobs like that last one, then some muscle and a medic are a must-have. And turning our half-a-skeleton crew into a real skeleton crew means we need another comms agent and a pilot. If we take one step off the Mak, we need to know it's in safe hands, and that nobody's on double-duty. Hiring will ensure that."

"Next, and this is the nitty gritty shit — Chief, listen up — the flak cannon we have? Wasted potential. It's taken a hit before, and even when it was operational, that thing was under-performing. I say we ditch it. Sell it for salvage. Even on a backwater station like this, should net an easy ten kilocred, maybe twenty or more. That'll go handsomely toward maintenance, new personnel, life support... you get the picture."

"And, last, with two of us engis on board and all this down time between ports, I say we reinvest a scrape of that hard-earned cred. Reigning idea's to section off a portion of the cargo bay, turn it into a workshop with a full kit of tools. That way, we can put some of that, uh, recent salvage to good use, make sure we're kitted up for whatever we take on next. A frigate-sized workshop won't run us too much. Maybe... five kilocred? Easy."

[Scratcherclaw]

"Not bad. Can tell you've stayed up late, scribbling all this in a notebook til you get bags under your eyes," Hikaru teases with a smirk. "That's dedication." He shifts in his seat slightly, eyes looking up as he considers all that Cass unveiled. "After the hell we just went through on that asteroid, definitely making the executive decision to get more crew. Don't think we need to talk much more there. Seems like a no-brainer as long as our hires aren't asshats or psychos." Would rather not be stuck in space for weeks with someone I can't trust, that's for sure.

"As for the flak cannon..." He shrugs. "That's out of my wheelhouse, but if it really sucks as much as you say, then my vote's to can it. Can help pay for that workshop of yours, and maybe a hot tub if we're really feeling bold." He chuckles a bit to himself, a portion of him entertaining the idea.

"But yeah, all three sound good. If we've got extra cred too, might not kill us to get some decor, spruce up the place. Really make the Mak feel like home, ya know? Don't know about you, but military-industrial chic is gonna get soul draining real quick."

[greysigil]

Kate listens intently, leaned forward over the table to make sure she catches everything the other engineer says over the music. "I'll leave the personnel calls up to y'all, but more bodies couldn't hurt, long as we don't go over capacity on the ship." She says, putting more of her weight on her elbows as she settles in. "As for the technical things: yeah, flak ain't real good against, well, any kind of armor, and depending on our trajectory, we might be wanting something with a bit more oomf. They ain't bad for a cheap gun, and it can help in some edge cases, but by and large it's just wasted space, so if it's all the same, scrapping it for some credit and putting that towards making sure our personal gear is in top shape? Sounds like a solid plan to me. I dunno the prices out here off hand, but yeah, a good set of tools shouldn't set us back that much, well less than what we should get from the gun."

She leans her weight back a bit, straightening. "I dunno anything about interior decorating, though, I got used to minimalism back in the day and I guess it's just stuck with me. But, if it helps morale, could be something to look into."