Vaylar Rising — IC

[Fialova]

"Not sure where to find any 'round here, but if you got 'em, I got plenty of experience both giving and taking. You don't spend weeks at sea without people gettin' antsy. The drugs help," she continues with a shrug.

[FinalTemplar]

Tristan paused to think about Tone's question, thinking back to his time as part of the Neon Suns.

Mechanics

Connect/cha: [2d6-1]=6-1=5 Tristan spent a lot of time in the Suns, but I guess there's a decent chance he might not know anyone who fits this description but may know someone who does?

[BartNL]

"I can try to pull some strings, and try to find expired and almost expired medicine that's marked for destruction anyway. But it's not really in my alley." John says.

Mechanics

Use administer to find where expired medication goes, and if possible reroute mark some for requisition.
[3d6c1]=11

[Scratcherclaw]

"Got a meeting with my guy in an hour," Sven relays as his contact quickly replies. "Gotta head there in 45. Don't wanna be late when he's doing me a favor."

[ratwizard]

Antoine considers his own contacts. It's been some time since he was doing any long-haul work, and a lot of the veterans of the war have croaked by now. But not all of them. Must be some of those oldheads around who can resell that shit, even at a choice mark-up. Split Joe might know. Or Barry McConnell, if he hasn't been run off-world yet.

Mechanics

Connect/Cha: [2d6-1]=12-1=11

[Namelessjake]

Tristan

While you could easily make contact with a number of street drug dealers, with the quality of their street drugs being rather poor, you doubt they would be able to sell you any medical or military grade stims.

John

Looking through various databases, you are able to find that a number of local clinics and hospitals send any expired medication or stims to a specialist disposal company, based out of a warehouse about twenty minutes away.

Unfortunately the company is privately run, so you are unable to simply divert any of their supply through changes in government paperwork.

Antoine

You recall a fellow long hauler like yourself, who went by the name of Shrimp. A nickname picked up in the military during the invasion, likely due to being from Terai and a dose of irony due to the man's colossal size.

He was one of the pilots who seemed to have the best access to old mil-stims however beyond a few old rumours, you can't be entirely sure of where he is and he is still has a supply.

[ratwizard]

"You figure you'll need company?" Antoine asks Sven. "If not, I might make a few calls, ask around. Might be somebody local who we can buy from."

[BartNL]

"If that fails, I know where meds marked for destruction go. But that's all, so we'd have to bribe someone on the inside or steal a shipment. Feels like more trouble than it's worth, though. Let's go with your guy first." John says.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Backup might not hurt," Sven says to Tone with a contemplative shrug. "But too many of us would look suspicious. Can fly solo or bring one of you."

[Fialova]

"We should go for both, if we got the time. More meds will be useful in other missions, not just this one, especially if they are wantin' us to be armed going forward. Best to take whatever opportunities we got," Em responds.

[ratwizard]

"Heard," Antoine responds. "Tristan, why don't you go with Sven?"

"As for the stims, I used to know a guy. Went by the name of Shrimp. Former military out of Terai. Huge motherfucker. Haven't seen him in ages, but it's a good place to start." He nods toward John. "You think you could look him up? I'm sure you guys got records on near everybody in the system."

[BartNL]

"Will try. I am not going to mess around with military databases though. Anything open to the public, sure, but I am not willing to risk getting flagged for poking around in military files. Is there anything else you know about this guy? Legal name, profession, has he travelled, does he have driving permits or something?" John replies as he starts looking for 'Shrimp' from Terai.

Mechanics

Use administer to find 'Shrimp'. John is avoiding anything military the general public should not have acces to.
[3d6c1]=8

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

You know that Shrimp's real name is Lorin Jaroscak. He was a sergeant in the commonwealth army and would have a pilot's licence due to the long hauling he did after the war. He was still running long haul trips when you left the profession, but you haven't seen or heard from him since.

[ratwizard]

"Right, he wouldn't be Shrimp to the government, I reckon. Sergeant Lorin Jaroscak, Commonwealth Army. If you got access to the pilot licensing database, he should be there. Lapsed, possibly, but there."

[Namelessjake]

John spends a few minutes on his compass following Antoine’s request.

John

You are able to find an up to date pilot licence for Lorin Jaroscak, however his listed address is on Terai and beyond that there’s no further trace of him.

[BartNL]

"Found his licence, but he is registered on Terai. There are some snippets of info all over, but that'll take too much time." John replies.

[ratwizard]

"Still active, then," Antoine assumes. "I got a couple local haunts I know about. Should fly under the radar, headin' to them. I'll ask around, see if Shrimp's on-world."

He looks at Em. "You mind splitting that credit stick? In case I find what we're looking for."

OOC

What sort of haunts are we talking about?

Good Bradley's - punky trucker pub, long-running ownership
Alquist Beer Garden - working class pub, but a bit more trendy
Haulstop - cheap, chain bar and hotel for pilots

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

Knowing Shrimp, you suspect he could have been around Good Bradley's. Another strong contender would be the Union House. While the Davonion labour unions were dissolved by the occupation and it no longer serves any administrative function, the Union House has remained as a go-to flophouse and bar for off world truckers to grab a bed and a drink while they wait for customs inspections or flight plan clearance to come through. With the dissolution of the union, it has become a much seedier place, but retained a core customer base of the older truckers who remember how things were pre-invasion.

Naturally both places are located near to the spaceport on the outskirts of the city, around 45 minutes away.

[Scratcherclaw]

Sven gives Tristan a quick nod and shrugs. "Works for me. Shouldn't run into any trouble but doesn't hurt in this scene," the man says as everyone seems to be calling in their connections. Damn, hell of a crew. We're really pulling this off, huh.

[Fialova]

"Yeah, here ya go," Em responds, removing the stick from her pocket and tossing it over to Antoine. "Take what you think you'll need, we can save the rest for later. Never know when some creds will come in handy."

[ratwizard]

Antoine thanks Em with a nod, taking out his burner compad. He pulls a kilocred from the stick and places it on a temporary, encrypted wallet, before tossing the original stick over to Sven. "Keep three kilocred. Never know what your guy might have," he says.

"I'm headed off to Good Bradley's. Might take me a few hours. Don't wait up."

Mechanics

Take me to the spaceport, and then Good Bradley's!

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

With the extra funds in hand, you set off for the spaceport and Good Bradley's. The spaceport's connections are some of the best in the city, but it still takes an hour for you to get there on the metro, thanks to a delay caused by police boarding to check people's fares are valid.

You get off at the stop just before the space port itself and step out on to the street. A low rumble sounds as you do, and you see a cargo lighter rise up into the sky in the distance, bound for either Demeter or a ship in orbit.

Some of the businesses have changed, but these streets are still familiar to you. Hopping down a side street, you soon spot the flickering holo sign of Good Bradley's. It is a squat brick building, covered in layered graffiti. The pounding of a bass line bleeds out on to the street as you approach.

Opening the door and stepping inside, the music gains its other components becoming a recognisable Neo-Vaylan Punk hit from a few years back. The pub is dimly lit and has a linger musty smell of stale ale and cigarette smoke. A number of patrons sit drinking at the bar or at a couple of occupied tables. All the clientele are around your age and either give off old punk or long hauler vibes, or both. In one corner of the pub you spot a man playing an ancient looking holo-slots machine, to varying degrees of losses.

To your surprise a younger woman, perhaps late twenties, tends the bar. Back when you would frequent this place, the owner, Bradley himself, would always be the one tending the bar. The woman has short black hair, and has either a line of makeup or a tattoo across her face beneath her eyes. She is wearing a green bomber jacket and a black leather choker. From here you can see she appears to be chatting to a couple of the patrons sat at the bar.

Another surprise is the flag hung behind the bar. A worn, tattered, and potentially even burned, flag of the Commonwealth hangs amongst the bottles of spirits. You're not aware of the penalty for displaying the flag but you know that it would be measured in years.

Em, John and Jin

You depart the Agiv joint and make your way to the drug disposal company John discovered in his digging. The journey takes about twenty minutes and you soon find yourselves stood outside an unassuming small warehouse. A faded logo painted on the wall by the door appears to have once been a green cross next to some lettering, presumably the company name although it is no longer legible.

Above the door, which sits next to the larger bay door, is a slightly newer but no less dilapidated sign which reads "Visitor and Delivery Check-In".

"So, what's the plan here? Just walk in and ask for some expired stims?" Jin asks the two of you as he crouches down to examine a weed growing through the cracked concrete outside the warehouse, brushing it gently with two of his fingers.

Sven and Tristan

The two of you make your way towards the location given by Leif. Arriving with about half an hour to go until the meeting, due to the continued conversation back at Jox's.

"Hopefully he's early," Tristan remarks, as the gangster leans against an old refrigerator left in the alleyway.

Twenty minutes later a red groundbike with a helmeted rider in a yellow jacket pulls up. The rider acknowledges you with a nod as they dismount and kick out the bike's stand.

"I'll follow your lead," Tristan says, as the rider takes a bag from the bike and starts to walk towards you.

"It's been a little while Sven," Leif says as he pulls off his helmet and clicks it to his belt.

"So, what are you after?" he says as he starts to open up the bag. "Nothing big I hope, I can't fit that stuff on my bike," he adds with a laugh.

OOC

FYI I've NPC'd Tristan for now as DIO has decided to step back from this game for the time being.

[ratwizard]

Antoine grows anxious as the police board the metro, nodding to the officers with a clenched jaw that loosens only once they've departed the station. They shouldn't expect anything yet, he reassures himself. I've made it almost thirty years through this shit and I ain't getting caught now.

He sighs comfortably as he sees the holo sign for Good Bradley's. Lotta things change, but some things never do. His nostalgia is interrupted, however, as he steps foot in the pub and finds many things are indeed different.

The long-hauler eyes the Commonwealth flag coolly, and the young woman beneath it. See, this is the type of shit to beg for a Diktat raid, showing that stupid, fucking flag in a place like this. If I get tossed in a cell... He shakes his head, dismissing the thought. He sits at the bar a few seats away from the woman. Let's make this quick, lower the risk. At least I don't have to worry if they're sympathetic to the cause.

"Hey. I'll take a Greener's, when you got a moment." He eyes the pub casually, looking for signs of Shrimp — or anyone he used to run with. "Bradley around these days?"

OOC

Should I roll something to survey the patrons? Notice? Connect?

[Scratcherclaw]

Sven returns the nod to Leif, passing a glance toward the bike. "Has been. Bike's looking sleek as always," he says, stepping up to the man and crossing his arms. "Line shunts," he adds plainly, eager to get right to business. "And other hacking tech if you've got any. Discreet is better so should fit in that bag of yours." He turns to Tristan, asking, "Anything else? Maybe holodisc player for the road?" He cracks a smirk, hoping his supplier has what they need.

[Fialova]

"I guess so," Em responds with a shrug, glancing towards the shady-looking facility. "Unless one of you has a better idea. This ain't exactly my area of expertise." Worst they can do is say no, right? Not like they have any reason to suspect us of being more than junkies.

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"Not been round here for a while then?" the woman says, as she steps over towards you. "One Greener's coming up," she adds as she grabs an upside down glass from the bar and tosses it into the air, catching it as it spins upright, with the ease of a practiced motion. Sticking the glass under a tap, she begins pouring you drink. 

You hear some sudden cursing from the man gambling on the holo-slots followed by a bang as he hits the machine in frustration. "Hey Asan! You break that and you're going to be out more than just a few creds," the bartender shouts across the room, continuing to pour your drink as she does. The patron mumbles something of an apology, before returning to his gambling.

"Here you go," she says, setting your drink down in front of you, once it is fully poured. "Anyway my Da', Bradley, died a couple of years back. He hung that up and a few days later some of Kenau's bootlickers dragged him out of here," she says, pointing at the flag behind her. 

"They were just arresting him but someone got over zealous and threw him to the ground too hard. Cracked his head on the curb, so now I run the place."

Mechanics

Notice/Wis to simply survey the patrons from your spot at the bar, Connect/Cha works if you want to spend some time going around talking to them.

Em, John and Jin

"Stamps has talked his way in and out of harder situations already the last couple of days," Jin replies as he stands up from examining the weed.

"If they say no we can always then try breaking in," he adds with a shrug, before looking to John, awaiting his input.

Sven and Tristan

"Thank you, she's the only woman I need in my life," Leif says with a chuckle, giving Sven a wink.

"Oooo up to no good are we?" he says with a smirk as he takes a look at what he brought with him. "In that case I've got a few line shunts, couple metatools, couple dataslabs, I've got a storage unit and a couple remote links back on the bike too," he says, rattling off his inventory.

Jug

After the others make their plans and head out, Lynwood eventually returns to his office, for the remainder of the day, however the time eventually comes for him to leave for the night. After giving you an affectionate pat on the shoulder, he turns the lights off and steps outside into the corridor. You hear the door to the office lock behind him, but you are now alone at least until morning.

[BartNL]

"Breaking is too risky. Too much riding on us not being locked up for burglary." John replies."I can see if I can cook something up, can either of you help me find what meds to go for?"

Mechanics

Can I use administer to forge a recall form for some specific useful meds? Maybe Em/Jin can use heal to help find the good stuff?

[ratwizard]

"Sorry to hear about your old man. Damn shame," Antoine says with a nod of deference for the man's unnecessary death. Stupid way to die, over a flag. Over the abstract. Course, I might have said the same thing about me and this resistance cell, a few weeks ago.

He eyes the Davonian flag again, a moment longer. Still, she keeps it up. Must not be scared of anything now, after she lost him. The psychic can't help but feel a wave of shared grief and fury wash over his mind, like a bucket of ice-water.

After taking a necessary pull from his drink, he turns around in his seat to survey the rest of the pub for a moment.

Mechanics

Notice/Wis: [2d6-1]=3-1=2

Well, I will be onto a Connect/Cha check soon.

[Scratcherclaw]

Sven cracks a smirk back at Leif's comment and wink. "That so? Must be a hell of a ride then." He chuckles back before crossing his arms, mind turning to business.

"When has being up to something good ever been fun?" Listening along, he considers what he might need for the job ahead. Not after any data this time. Just gotta crack their system, yeah? "Couple line shunts, a metatool, and maybe a dataslab should do it. Think you could swing those my way?"

He looks to Tristan a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Think that should cover us?"

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"Thanks," the woman says. "What's your story then?" she asks, seemingly intent on continuing the conversation despite your turning away from her. 

"You seem like you probably came here quite a bit, but I'd recognise you if it'd been anytime the last few years." 

Mechanics

Examining the patrons from the bar, you aren't able to gauge much more about them than your first impressions.

Em, John and Jin

"I'm not the one to ask there," Jin says, looking over to Em.

Mechanics

John - Make a Administer/Int check to forge a recall form.

Em - make a Heal/Int check to determine what drugs you will ask for.

Sven and Tristan

"Not really my specialty - but that sounds good," Tristan says with a shrug. "If a door needs kicking down rather than hacking open, I'm the guy," he adds with a chuckle.

"Cool, I could do all that for 900 credits," Leif says. "Those line shunts are hard to get a hold of these days," he explains.

[BartNL]

Mechanics

Administer/Int to forge documents: [3d6c1]=9

[greysigil]

Jug remains still, starting to become accustomed to their false sleep act, but the pat on the shoulder causes a twinge of some kind. This one =/= your play thing, your toy, your property. They suppress any reaction, and simply wait for the man to leave.

Once they are sure they are alone, Jug surveys the room, their focus landing on the desk as the best place to initiate any investigation, and they move over to it as silently as possible. They begin their search on the surface of the desk, looking for anything left out that could be of interest, before moving on to searching the drawers.

OOC

Specifically, Jug is looking for data on the Juggernaut series, the Iron Tide, or any hidden or important looking documents.

[ratwizard]

Antoine turns back to the bartender, disappointed but unsurprised he doesn't recognize any of the old gang. "Yeah, been a while, to be honest. Looking for an old friend from work. Figured Good Bradley's the best place to start."

He eyes the young woman for a moment. Bet if she knew what I was up to, she'd probably turn a blind eye. No real harm, asking for info. Not like she's gonna call in a Diktat black squad with that flag still flying.

"Fella by the name of Shrimp. Real, real big guy, military type from Terai. Heh, you can hear it in his voice. You happen to see him around lately?"

[Fialova]

Mechanics

Heal/Int: [3d6c1+2]=3+2=5

Expert reroll: [3d6c1+2]=10+2=12

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"Oh you know Shrimp," the bartender says, a hint of surprise in her voice. "How come you're looking for him?" She asks, leaning in towards you.

Em, John and Jin

John is able to pull up a blank official recall form and with Em's help is able to fill it out, faking the appropriate authorisations. The form provides a list of potential drugs to recall, and Em is able to identify a brand of Lift stims that should still work once expired, albeit at a reduced effectiveness.

"That looks legit as anything official I've seen," Jin says, admiring your handiwork on John's compad.

Jug

Lynwood's desk is impeccably tidy so you quickly move to the drawers. Rooting through the desk drawers, you find two items of interest. In the top drawer you find a spare staff key card, and in the bottom drawer you find a physical file which appears to be plans for the security for outside the museum for the party.

The plans show that the guests will have to line up outside to enter after having their tickets checked and after walking through a security scanner.

[BartNL]

"I've no idea what we're asking for, but the forms look good enough. We'll walk in, I'll just hand this in and see what happens. You're hired muscle to carry stuff. Does that works for you?" John asks.

[Fialova]

"Yeah, fine with me. Not like I'm any good at talkin' to important folk," Em says with a shrug.

[ratwizard]

"Was a time I ran shipping lanes with him all across the system," Antoine explains, almost bored in tone. He shows little reaction to her prying question. "Got some work lined up actually. I think I owe him a favor, soon as I can find the man. He come by anytime?"

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"He's here occasionally. I can let him know you're looking for him if I see him," the bartender says, her tone evasive. "What did you say your name was again?" She asks.

Em, John and Jin

"Works for me," Jin says, before you head towards the door to the warehouse and try it.

Finding it unlocked, you step inside and find yourselves in a cramped reception area. A couple of tired looking chairs take up most of the available space on this side of the desk, where a lone receptionist sits, apparently playing a game on her compad. As you file into the room she looks up at you briefly but quickly returns her attention to her compad. Atop the desk, an electronic sign, showing the number 7, sits next to a dispenser with another sign telling you to take a number.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Buy me a drink sometime and you've got a deal," Sven says, flashing a slight smirk back towards Leif. "Fair game?" He fishes out his credstick, waving it in his fingers as he waits for the seller to decide.

[ratwizard]

Antoine nods, holding his disappointment in tight while keeping a neutral expression. "Yeah, alright. Tone's the name. Got some cred with his name on it, if he ain't retired."

The psychic gives her a thin smile of gratitude. "Appreciate it."

Mechanics

Trying to determine if the bartender is covering for Shrimp, or knows him better than she's letting on. Notice/Wis: [2d6-1]=3-1=2

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"Tone, got it. I'll let him know if I see him,"  the bartender says before pausing for a moment. "Right, I need to go change a keg. Enjoy your drink," she adds, standing up fully from her position leant against the bar. She gives you a nod before making her way further down the bar to a door. Before the door closes behind her, you see that a staircase leads down.

Mechanics

You find it hard to get a read on the bartender.

Sven and Tristan

"Then it's a deal," Leif says giving Sven a wink. He pulls out the gear from his bag and hands it over to you, taking the credits in return. "A pleasure doing business with you as always," he adds with a smile.

Mechanics

-900 credits

+2 line shunts
+1 Metatool
+1 Dataslab

[ratwizard]

"If it ain't tonight that you see him, don't trouble yourself," Antoine explains. "Business keeps moving and all. You get it." He raps a knuckle on the bartop, standing up and stepping away from it the same time she does.

Heading outdoors with his beer in hand, he slips a lighter from the pocket of his army jacket and lights up a cigarette. Runnin' out of sticks. Maybe I really should go back to those damned vape-guns. Not a lot of ways to buy fresh packs when I'll be layin' low.

He leans against the wall of the patio, smoking for a while, as he plans for another plan of attack.

OOC

Unless anything of note happens, he'll head back inside in about 10 or 15 minutes.

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

You are about to head back inside the pub when you hear footsteps.

"Well it's been a few years," Shrimp says, his voice announcing his presence before you can turn to face him. You recognise his voice, but turning towards him, he looks older and one of his arms has been replaced by a prosthetic.

"You back hauling? Last I remember, you got out, on Cyrana right?"

[BartNL]

John straightens his clothes, and walks in clutching the papers under his arm.

[ratwizard]

Antoine flinches at the man's deep register, almost dropping his cigarrete. "Shit, Shrimp, almost had me there." He cracks a smile, reaching out to clasp the man's hand. "Yeah, Cyrana. Odd jobs, since. Whatever keeps the rent paid, you know. Based out of lovely Kasi'Mela again these days." He notices the feel of the prosthetic and nods toward it. "Tell me about that. You what, enlist again?"

[Namelessjake]

Antoine

"Not exactly," Shrimp replies with a slight chuckle.

"It was a loading accident though. A crate slipped and fell on my arm. It had a faulty mag lock which switched on and crushed the bastard for good. Not an experience I'd recommend," he explains, with another laugh.

"Now there was something said about some cred?"

John, Em & Jin

As you walk in the receptionist continues to pay you no attention. Continuing with her compad games.

[ratwizard]

"Damn, it's always those mag locks," Antoine replies. "Had a few close calls myself, working the docks on Cyrana. Sorry to hear. Hope you caught some sort of settlement from that."

At the mention of cred, the psychic nods, taking another pull from his cigarette. He continues, his voice lower than before. "Yeah, man. Remember those stims you'd sling, back in the day? Still got a hookup for that sort of thing?"

[BartNL]

"Sorry to bother you, but I've got a recall order." John says, before dropping a small pile of papers on the desk.
John pulls out some specific papers, requiring signatures. "Could you sign here, here and there, and twice on the last page?"

[Scratcherclaw]

"Likewise. Let's not wait so long for the next time," Sven says, giving a wink back at the man as he starts packing away his new purchases. He gives a quick wave before turning to Tristan and nodding. "Guess that's that. Hope the others were as lucky."