Futuristic Across Galaxies and Adventures IC

[noil]

A-C3^{- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -}

Ace dropped his arms from their crossed position to flip Ren off for her attempt at placing the responsibility of data collection on his shoulders. Glorified data terminal was decidedly not his thing. The halfer creep could keep it. He was more for the bypassing (and blasting, if he could get away with it) and entering type of networking activities.

It would be easy to do, especially if they were going to hit up a place like the casino the group apparently found themselves talking about now. Places like that all used basically the same security systems, and they rarely allocated budget to actually keep them updated, so it would be a simple enough matter to slide in the old code lines and get whatever or wherever they wanted. But he was not a fan of places full of stuck up rich schmucks throwing money and orders around like owned the world. Even less of a fan of the likelihood of running into a different model of security droid there. No thanks.

He was more comfortable when the conversation left off that option and moved target to the med center in Bylea.

"Perfect, a medical facility, all you freaks can get your heads checked while we're there." It made more sense to start with the place that had contacted them as well.

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

“It actually shouldn‘t take us too long anymore to get there. Coincidentally we were already quite close“, she answered Ann‘s question of when they‘ll arrive. Then Ace just had to say a dumb comment again. „Too bad we aren‘t visiting a mechanic so you could get your head checked. Especially your screws“, she smirked back, happy she had thought of that. Ace really could be a pain in the ass. Right then a sensor beeped telling them, they were coming up on Gliese 667CC. Just like she had anticipated, the planet was red, as well as it‘s sun.

A few minutes later, they had landed in one of the caves that worked like a hangar for ships. And just like in every city, there was immediately a lot of stuff going on. „So are we splitting into groups? I‘ll take Jericho and Harrison with me to the hospital“, she suggested. „Ace already volunteered to stay with the ship and I guess you all can maybe try to find out some more information around the city“. Ren wasn‘t the captain, but since no one else actually said what was supposed to happen and what each member should do, she gladly took over the job. Especially cuz that way, she can annoy Ace by not letting him join anything.

Not really waiting for the others to reply, she got up and walked over to her room to grab her backpack, which she always took with her on missions and changed into different clothes. About 15 minutes later she reemerged in the common room where they usually meet up for missions like those, wearing a T-shirt, some Shorts and converse and waited for the others to arrive as well, so they could start investigating.

noil BackSet Colty thorsayingyeet Nellancholy

 

[Colty]

"Guess we're going to the hospital then" Jericho would say to Harrison before getting up from his chair. A hospital wasn't exactly Jericho's idea of fun, but hey it will hopefully be helpful towards the mission. "I'm gonna go get armed up then I'll meet you and Ren back here. Good luck to the rest of you aswell!" He'd flash a smile to everyone in the room before heading to his room to check his guns and makes sure they are in tip top shape, he'd even replace the poison vial within the big bowie knife. Once he was all done he'd leave his room and stand by the table in the common room waiting for Ren and Harrison to meet him there. He hadn't changed out of his fancy attire still looking like he's going to a wedding. While he waits he sits on the table and twirls one of his throwing knives in his hand. Once Ren returns he'd gaze over to her. "Bringing me along so I don't run off huh?" He'd laugh softly as he stands up from the table and gracefully puts the knife in a hidden pocket on his pants.

Hiuly of Starmoon thorsayingyeet

 

[Nellancholy]

"Temperance, Sir Jericho." Ganryu shook her head. Jericho was a thief through and through, though usually of information than anything particularly vital to other people that they might need to compensate for. Or run away from the owners of. A valuable ally with definite talents, when he kept his head on. "It will be much easier for you to indulge your vices once we have a...sufficient margin."

And now for the rest of the crew. The cities probably had some semblance of climate control, but it couldn't hurt to prepare for a trek on the surface. "Remember, everyone. Arid climate means dress light with proper cover. Those of you who don't have scales or sufficiently cold blood should take care not to expose too much skin. And hydrate adequately." Her own vestments were close enough to those rules anyway, so she'd have little to worry about.

Now for the rest of her equipment. This was going to be an investigation, at least in name. Neither a battle or an expedition, which meant her full panoply would draw unwelcome attention. Among "civilized" worlds, the Septerrans tended to draw very mixed responses, and the Red Rose had long learned to be careful about showing their hands.

She allowed herself her mace, stored neatly in an opaque case on her back. As well as her shoulder pads. If it came to that, she would be able to pass as a miner or other laborer. Or at most, someone's bodyguard.

 

[BackSet]

Detective Annabelle "Ann" Angevin
Role: Information Specialist/Gal in the Chair/Forger
​

Ann grinned up at the significantly taller Ace. "This is going to be fun!"

It was always nice to have company, even if it was sarcastic company. While she had a direct line to the crew while on the ship, comms and all, but it still wasn't the same as having an actual living(?) companion. Aside from the Captain, of course, though whether they counted was a mystery of its own.

She took one of her robot bugs out of her pocket. She always carried them around. That, or she just forgot that they were in there. Either or.

She held out the bug to Ganryu. "If you're going to split up you should take this. Her name is Julie and she should record everything you see. Assuming she doesn't glitch out or the connection doesn't get cut or something else." She pointed to a button on Julie's back. "Press this to activate her. And try to keep her safe." She smiled. "But you knew that already."

Interacting with: Ace ( noil ), Ganryu ( Nellancholy )

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

The first o be back in common room was Jericho. “No, just making sure we don’t loose our entire savings. Granted, they aren’t a lot, but we can still get some resources for it. Besides, this way is also the easiest way to keep your addiction secret from the others. I don’t suppose you want everyone to know, do you?” She said and finished right as the others pooled in.

As soon as everyone was back in the room she spoke again. “ Okay, is everyone ready? In case something was to happen, or if you found something important contact me immediately. Otherwise, we’ll meet here in about 10 hours earthen standard time.” It was good she started coordinating those missions, or at least enough that they had a rendez-vous point and know when to be there again. She then turned to Jericho and Harrison. “I couldn’t find a map of the city, so we just need to do that the old fashioned way,” she explained, as she started leaving the ship.

The cave the city was in was impressive. It was almost like the cave was a big dome. No wonder they built the space port here. The view was amazing! In the far back, Ren could see smaller ‘arms’ of the cave splitting off, but the city in general was huge. “Alright, let’s start walking,” she stated towards the others and went ahead. The streets were full of people and it was generally really crowded. In the distance, Ren heard some merchants selling food in basic english. That was good to know: that everyone spoke the language they did here.

They walked a bit further until she spotted a small house. It looked really out of place for a city like this, especially since it was embedded between really tall skyscrapers. Ren decided there and then she needed to take a look. “Hey, look at that cute house”, she grabbed the attention of the others. “I’ll take a look,” and with that she was gone. “The Creepy Crow Inn”, she read out loud as she saw the sign with a crow on it. That was a peculiar name for an inn. Right in that moment an old man opened the door. “Oh! A visitor!”, he exclaimed. “Well, I’m more just looking”, she answered and turned to leave. “Oh nonsense. I haven’t had visitors in quite some time. You and your friends can come in for a bit. I still got some food on a table. I insist”, he invited, and Ren knew how rude it was to turn an offer like this down, and the man seemed kind enough. She waved the others over and entered the building.

It looked very comfortable inside. There was a big seating area with a very comfy looking couch and just like the man promised, in the dining area, there was food. Though no one else was inside the inn, though Ren didn’t mind that too much. “Take whatever you want. I have more than enough out”. “Thank you, sir”, she said and walked over to the counter to get some food. Oddly enough there was a lot of earthen food out, but she guessed there were just a lot of people living here that originated on earth, which would also explain why everyone spoke their language.

Interactions: thorsayingyeet Colty

 

[noil]

A-C3^{- - - Hiuly of Starmoon BackSet - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -}

"You don't go to a mechanic to get your CPU checked, dumbass, though I guess I can't hold that against you. Trying to store information in that nightmare you call a brain must be a real challenge."

The end of his return was overlapped by the ringing of the arrival notification sensor, the disorienting slight twinge to equilibrium that signified a drop out of warp taking some of the bite of the comment away from it. It was well enough, their back and forth trades never went anywhere. It would've just gone on with neither ceding ground until one thing or another disrupted them.

The entry into the cave docking bays of the red planet went by uneventfully, and the crew began to gather back in the common area as a shudder passed through the ship indicating their touchdown. At least the little scrap pile made it to the surface in one piece for once. Ace had taken the few minutes between the sensor's arrival indication and actual landing to slink off to his quarters and arm up. A city with a established large medical facility was regrettably too "civilized" to go around bristling with weaponry, he'd have to limit things to what he could stow out of sight on his person. Once satisfied with the quantity of means of destruction squirreled away, he made his way back to the common area where he found Ren taking the initiative to organize their little expedition.

"Hey fuck you, Ren, you can't-" aaand she'd walked out. "She can't tell me what to do," he finished lamely. "Who even put her in charge of this?" Whatever. Let them go on mission without his help, they'd regret it, bunch of incompetent organics.

He gave a distorted electronic static growl reminiscent of a drawn-out sigh and glanced down at Ann. "Right. Fun. Hooray."

 

[BackSet]

Detective Annabelle "Ann" Angevin
Role: Information Specialist/Gal in the Chair/Forger
​

"Oh cheer up, sourbot." Ann said to Ace once everyone has left to investigate the case. While Ann couldn't say she didn't want to join in a little, she was more useful here on the ship. Plus, she might be able to solve Ace's origins while he was there. "As long as you're here, help me find a map of this city. There's gotta be one somewhere on the internet." Then she added cheerfully. "And hey, maybe you'll get lucky and somebody'll try to hijack the ship." It was a little strange that Ren hadn't been able to find a map. She had been able to find so many other details about this planet and its cities so why not a map?

She skipped off to her room and sat down in front of her old three monitor setup. She probably should have invested in one of those neat holographic setups but she was a bit short on cash so she was stuck with what the ship came with. Honestly, she was lucky the ship came with a setup at all. Besides, all things considered it was rather noir-esque.

She booted up the computer and affixed an earpiece to her head, allowing her to hear and talk to the others if she so desired. Which she did. While searching the internet for maps with one hand, she turned on the headset with the other.

"Hey everyone, Ann here!" She said cheerfully. "Do you all copy?" Not very noir but, hey, some things just had to be said.

 

[BuggaBoo]

---

---

"Calli" - The Pilot / Cat Burglar Recon​

And so the interrogation continued. The drama unfolded. And at the end of it, Calli was certain that the unanimous verdict was that the diplomat was, beyond a shadow of a doubt...! "...guilty of wanting to play blackjack." said Calli's translator in perfect deadpan over top of her Felidae M'rawrs speech.

A lone orangey brown eyebrow rose up high, small lips pushed together and puffed out. Suddenly, the little fuzzy orange thing just crossed her eyes then let out a bubbling giggle.

"But whatever, I'd say that this is another case successfully solved."

Her gloved fist pounded down onto the worn table with the Space-duct taped leg as she glanced over at Annabelle, smiled and tossed the other diminutive female an upwards chin nod. "Congratulations on cracking the case of the chaos causing casino comment, friend Info-GatherChair." said the translator coldly instead of quasi-sarcastic teasing giggle that should have laced her words.

Maybe I can teach you how to play while we investigate. Trust me...

"Idea. How about instead, friend Diplo-filtrator, we trust that you do not gamble away the ship." said Calli's translator flatly, very much in stark contrast to her twinkling wink and ponytail bouncing nod at Jericho.

As always, whenever the diplomat and info gatherer seemed to dance together in a 'litigationary tango', Calli's amusement made her purr softly...

Soon after, Harrison would leave the common room, going to place his book back in his quarters before he would return.

...but that all ended as soon as she watched Harrison be the first to pick up and leave. Her head tilted to the side as watched him go. One elbow landed on the table, palm up and caught her chin. The other palm she tossed up in the air as he vanished out the door. With fuzzy chin still resting in one gloved hand, her other one waved without enthusiasm. Oh but the disdain in her eyes as she let out a scoff and allowed the full look of exasperation on her face to say it all; 'don't you even say bye to us anymore?' Well, small consolation prize but at least there was no need for her translator to translate the thumb to her nose and full blown raspberry she let out.

"Uh, hold on for a second. I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, got up and practically ran out of the room and into the hallway, where she accepted the call.

The moment when Ren excused herself, Calli closed her eyes and sighed fondly. A small kindling smile of redemption poked out from between small pink lips as the Felidae pointed with her thumb in the direction of the hallway. "See? That is how you do it. With sweetness. You say something to your friends before you leave. That way you do not hurt Engi-Enforcer's feelings. Hmph."

She looked expectantly at Calli and the Felstari, who always seemed to look away when she approached. "Shall we?"

Speaking of Engi-Enforcer, not even was the upward turn of her querelous intonation complete when the Faeralis female leapt out her seat, and, in a hop, skip and jump, Calli was in front of the large Lizan, looking up keenly, saluting in kind, and yes, invading her personal space as always, "Yes. Yes, we shall. I will not hurt your feelings." said the translator without the breathless and eagerness of the cat-girl's entirety.

Tail fully whipping away! Finger fully pointing up! Teeth fully grinning sharply! "To the helm." said her translator with very much, an anticlimactic monotone.

As she bounded away for her post, as was common place now, Call just could not help but rub up against the immense Sister's leg before passing by.

---​

Calli patted the multi-coloured, blinking thing on its bobble head then bestowed a kiss on its cracked and claw-polish splattered visor. At first the pilot assistant bot was just a screen that showed listings of entered flight paths, FTL calculations, planetary topography, full 360 view of the ship, etc. But no. Calli just had to reprogram it to have pixelated eyes that would make adorable sound effects when it blinked. One yellow. One green. Of course. And she just had to reconfigure the circular heat vent ports into triangle shaped 'ears.' And then paint a black-lined cat snout on it.

And as for the cracks and dents on it? Well perhaps it would help to explain the claw-polish splatters upon it giving it its signature mottled colours. Or 'calico coat' as Calli liked to call it. Well not only was the device a pilot's assistant bot but it doubled as Calli's prop for her feet when she painted her retractable claws. And Calli being Calli, of course she would change colours of her toe-claws as much as she changed her mind. And she would knock the pilot assistant bot over twice as many times as she changed the colour of her toe-claws. Thus the AI in the bot became damaged goods. And yes, it still did work. But it needed to be supervised. That is why it was not called Auto Pilot proper but--

"--Otto Pilot? Who is a good boy?"

"Otto Pilot, good bye. Shutting down connection to astronavigation unit..."

"No, Otto Pilot is good boy. Not good bye."

"Otto Pilot not plotting course for good binary system..."

"No, Otto Pilot please set off for: Gliese 667CC, full impulse. Astronavigator will confirm optimal route and exact coordinates for FTL jump."

"Otto Pilot not a 'Greasy, sick, stick sudden see sea.' Apologize..."

"Oh. Otto Pilot. Pilot Calliope is sorry."

"Accepted. All crew be advised. All crew be advised. Otto pilot firing impulse engines at full in 60 cycles. Destination: Gliese 667CC. Awaiting full optimizations from Astronavigator Val'sharra. FTL countdown will commence shortly thereafter. All crew be advised. Otto Pilot firing impulse engines at full in 50 cycles. Hold onto your butts if you still got 'em, everyone!"

"Oh. Otto Pilot? Who is a good boy?"

"Otto Pilot, not good bye. Awaiting hail from astronavgation unit..."

Calli patted Otto Pilot on its bobble head with a gloved hand then bestowed the multi-coloured thing a kiss on its cracked and claw-polish splattered visor with pink lips.

Spoiler: Otto Pilot

The Felidae smiled fondly at her sidekick one final time. Then waltzed softly off to quarters one final time.

Just before Calli pressed the wonky ID pad beside her door there was a ripple in space/time and a razor sharp blue flash.

"Hello, past me. Time to return that stolen sleeve..."

There were no words. Only a yelp of pain. Another ripple. Another blue flash. There was no trace of where the Faeralis female went.

Calli was out.

For good.

---

---

 

[thorsayingyeet]

When Harrison left, he overheard the conversation of splitting off into smaller groups, sighing for a brief moment when he heard that he, Ren and Jericho would be going together towards the hospital, where the spy had stolen from. Of all the people aboard, Jericho is one that Harrison stands the least.

Harrison entered his private quarters to place his book back; inside would be a single bed, plants which would help 'spice up' his quarters should anyone come inside to visit him, a desk, and next to it, a bookshelf containing all the medical books he had collected over the years. It would be somewhat tidy, aside from some notes and other junk that was spread across his desk. His room also contained a oval-shaped window; what everyone on the ship doesn't know is that Harrison likes to gaze on the stars, helping him relax and to clear his mind if he was ever stressed out by anything (he shows almost no emotion most of the time).
After placing his book away, he would go on to give his desk a quick tidy up. As he did so, he glanced outside of the window, noticing that they have finally landed inside a hanger bay. Quickly, he went over to his wardrobe by his bed, which also contained his weapons, which was mainly a handgun and a knife. He gathered his gear, before heading out back to the common room.

He was one of the first few back from gathering their gear, waiting alongside Jericho and some others before everyone else arrived. He checked that he had everything else necessary; a small earpiece, which he fitted into his right ear, and ammo for his handgun, although he could always look for spare ammo. He nodded when Ren asked everyone if they were all ready, before beginning to head out of the ship, following behind Ren and Jericho.
"Everyone be back here in one piece." Harrison called out to everyone, looking at everyone inside the common room before finally departing with the duo.

Harrison placed his thumbs in his pockets as he walked alongside Ren and Jericho, taking in the the sights of the cave city they've set foot in. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and seeing many humans that live here gave him a feeling of being at home. Although it felt like he hadn't left Earth for long, it felt nice to see familiar beings.
After walking for a bit, Harrison looked to the small house Ren pointed out. It was indeed odd; why did a small house belong here in such a big city?
"In my experience, a place like that usually meant a hideout." He spoke, folding his arms as he inspected the appearance of the small building. Once Ren said she was going to check it out, Harrison felt the need to put on his big brother-ly act. He trusts Ren enough to be able to look out for herself, but then again, it's a big universe.

"Alright. Jericho and I will be waiting outside, but don't be in there for too long. If anything goes south, contact us." Harrison made sure his words got through to Ren before watching her depart, following her closely until she entered inside. He checked to see if Jericho was still following them, before waiting outside of the building for Ren to come back out.

Hiuly of Starmoon Colty

 

[Colty]

"Temperance, got it. Don't worry I'll do just that for " Jericho would say to Ganryu before they both went off to get the equipment they needed.

"More like getting us more money actually" He'd remark while looking around to make sure no one else is here. "Who really cares if they know, they'll only see me winning us hundreds if not thousands of credits. I think your honestly just worried about me" Jericho would utter while giving her a playful grin before Harrison walked in to the room. "So we're basically going in blind and hoping we find the right place Harrison. I'd just keep close to each other and we should be okay" He'd say while looking over Harrison looking to see if he's prepared. Once Ren was on her way out of the ship Jericho would follow along behind her.


Jericho would look in amazement while they walked through the streets. It's been a long time since he's been around humans specially tons of them walking around. He'd stick close by walking along side the two. If he didn't have a mission to do he'd gladly go off and explore a bit to get the general sights of the place. Culture as a very important part of Jericho's job as culture can mean the difference between an all out brawl and a wonder party. He almost looked like a little kid as he looked at everything around him. "Wow...this place is so sprawling and massive. It's been years since I've seen a city of this size. Maybe after we got our mission done and over with he just stay here for a few days and explore a bit. Maybe we can find some more work for us." Jericho would look to Harrison and Ren. "We could easily find ourselves a club and-" He'd be pulled from his thought when Ren pointed out the "cute" looking house. He'd examine it and look confused...cute? He'd wait with Harrison for the time being, but is listening for Ren calling for them. He'd look to Harrison and smile softly "Excited to be a new place too? It's refreshing after we've been on a ship for so long" Jericho would ask looking around the city. "It's nice not to be cramped in a dingy old spaceship"


thorsayingyeet Hiuly of Starmoon

 

[noil]

A-C3^{- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -}

"Ugh, fine." Ace's head tilted down slightly as he brought up a search function over the ship's networking array. He let the search run in the background as he slouched his way through the ship, trailing Ann back to her base of operations. Public records like city maps usually took a few minutes, especially over the outdated connections that this ship boasted. Now that they'd landed, he could potentially patch in directly to the city net, but that was an extra step he couldn't be bothered with. He was already connected to the ship's system.

He followed Ann through the doorway to her room, passing behind the diminutive girl as she situated herself at her monitors to sprawl himself on her weathered couch. He brought the search back to the forefront of his processing to find... nothing?

"Paranoid assholes," he grumbled to himself, fingers twitching slightly midair as he dismissed the search. There wasn't any point to hiding city plans behind encryption. No self-respecting ne'er-do-well would waste time fucking around trying to hack the municipal department records... Nevermind the fact that that was exactly what he was now doing.

"They've locked their maps," he let Ann in on his findings, reaching over to tap on the monitor closest to him in the cramped space as he projected his data feed onto its face. "Something about their security council."

There was a lot of shit here attributed to the mining guild that had been contracted in tunnel infrastructure and city expansions. He supposed that made some sense for the tight hold on the schematics, the underground structure would need tight controls to keep freelancers and opportunists from accidentally collapsing everything. However it also meant his inbuilt permissions weren't going to be much help getting through. Soteira probably didn't foresee miners having much need for bodyguarding.

He threw some publicly available info on the mining guild onto Ann's screen alongside the data feed for good measure and then flopped back mostly horizontal on the old couch to continue picking at the encryption.

 

[PixelSymphony]

While the others had their round of discussions in the common room, Val trekked off to the pilot cabin to begin her navigational duties. The astronavigation console on this particular ship was not the newest she'd ever seen-oh who was she kidding, this thing would be outdated in a museum display. The good news was since it was so old, she didn't have to worry about the various safety systems that would try to route her further away from a star or an asteroid field than she wanted to, and because of this, she could easily shave off more than a few par-secs from most travel lanes... at the risk of navigating them straight into a solar flare or a pesky meteor that just happened to be meandering on through a system at that time. But well, life was nothing if not full of risks, and given the price of fuel and the lack of funds this operation dealt with, she'd err on the side that let her eat something other than reconstituted soy every week. Besides, if either of the two unfortunate event occured, well, she wasn't going to have to worry about anybody complaining about it to her afterwards anyway.

Gliese 667CC was thankfully situated in a relatively calm sector of space, so even without recklessly putting the entire ship in danger just for the chance to eat ramen, they would be able to make good time. Val brought up the course plotting software and began hashing out their path, which, barring one cheeky slingshot around a convenient gravity well, was mostly straightforward. She nodded to Calli and her "assistant" who were firing up the engines, a rote "Roger, finalizing calculations," her response as the navicomp did the math, a small green indicator on her screen indicating the route was acceptable. "Course finalized, locking in, aaaaaand... locked. We are go for hyperjump. Standing by for post-jump reckoning." And with that the points of light in their canopy lengthened into streaks, and the hyperdrive told physics just were exactly it could go.

Some time later, as the hyperdrive powered down and the world returned to something comprehensible to the mortal mind, Val actuated the navicomps sensor suite. Galact Positioning Beacons began to show up on her screen, and after a few moments of alignment, Val nodded and confirmed their coordinates before opening the PA channel. "Okay guys, looks like we're good; we should be there in a couple minutes." As she killed the mic, she turned to give a thumbs up to the ship pilot, only to find the small android sitting along in the pilot chair. Eh? Where'd Calli go? A quick peek outside of the cabin failed to turn up the wayward Faeralis, as did a hail to her personal quarters. "What in the..."

The sensation of the ship making planetfall forced Val to halt her search, and to her own quarters she proceeded, taking one last glance back towards Calli's. From what she'd overheard, this was going to be an investigation first and a hunt second, so she'd lead with her incognito outfit first. A nondescript nun-outfit went over a bodysuit, slung with several hidden pouches and harnesses to allow her to carry the necessary equipment needed for the mission. In particular, two handguns went into shoulder holsters beneath the ecclesiastical robes, to be concealed until they inevitably became necessary. Finally, an oversized wimple went atop her head, masking the presence of her horns and hopefully at least slightly prolonging the amount of time she was able to stay on planet before people got suspicious.

She reported to the common room and saw the imposing figure of Sister Ganryu already prepped as well, the large container she bore presumably holding her weapon as Val failed to see it anywhere else on her person. Hopefully those who saw the pair would think "missionaries" and not "mercenaries", but only fate knew the answer at this point. "Well, Sister Knight, are you ready to proceed?"

 

[Nellancholy]

The way the Felstari addressed her always seemed to carry a certain air to it, like she was showing some kind of interest while also keeping her distance at the same time. The senses of the species were something Ganryu was never all too clear on, but she was of course used to covering up Septerran symbols in their presence. Perhaps, someday, if she were to get to know Val better, then hopefully whatever "holiness" was on her gear wouldn't have rubbed off on herself and made her repulsive. "I am prepared to get to the bottom of this, Miss Val." At some point, she'd absent-mindedly crossed her arms while waiting. As a concession, she let her arms rest at her side, all the better to look more approachable.

"And for what it's worth Ace, you have MY permission to follow along." Ganryu liked to believe that below the captain, the structure of the crew was pretty egalitarian. In a situation where everyone had to contribute equally, trying to make unilateral decisions would just be cause for tension. Still, she knew the android enough to know that he'd probably just stay on the ship now for the sake of going contrary to what she said. Nothing to be done about that, though if he was really needed, he'd probably come in guns blazing anyway.

The other group had proceeded to venture into the city, disappearing into the bowels of who-knows-where. "Quite the employers these people are." She sighed. "Wanting us to apprehend a thief but not even sharing the very basics. Such as their address." Ganryu and Val would have to wade into the mass of humanity in order to get where they were going. Ganryu sucked in a breath through her nose, carefully retracting her frill and curling her tail in so she wouldn't jab someone by accident. It'd been a while since she'd been in such a dense location. The sensation of liveliness was equal parts suffocating and refreshing.

"Hm..." As they squeezed through the crowds, Ganryu slowed for a few seconds. "...ha!"

Her scaly hand tightened around the arm of a child who was seemingly in the middle of reaching for the pouch on Ganryu's waist. The two locked eyes for a moment, the child doing their best to seem defiant. Of course no civilization was without crime. Least of all one dominated by corporatism and industry like this.

"..." With her other hand, she reached into her pouch. "Child, you could have just asked." Taking out what she would consider an...adequate number of credits for the next couple of days, she dropped them into the kid's hand before letting go.

With that matter out of the way, Ganryu scanned the skyline of the city. "Miss Val, as much as your flight would help, it might be impertinent to take off in the middle of everyone here." This city may have been hollowed out from the heart of the soil, but that didn't make it perfectly even and smooth. A relatively flat plateau overlooking the city wasn't too far away, levelled out from what was a probably a colossal stalagmite.

The hike up to said plateau wasn't difficult for the pair who were used to exertion, and soon they had a good look over many of the buildings of the city. Finally, it was time. Taking out the communicator Ann had given her, Ganryu pressed the button on "Julie's" back. "We copy, Sister Ann. We could use some help, in fact." Turning Julie so it could face outwards, she drew its lens slowly across the skyline of the city, allowing Ann to see what they could see. "Do you think you could narrow down any...hospital-like buildings here? Not just from any records, but perhaps you could get into cameras, population movements, all that. And...maybe figure out any places that would make good hiding places, too. Let us make sure our so-called 'data thief' might not actually be off-world yet."

BackSet noil PixelSymphony

 

[BackSet]

Detective Annabelle "Ann" Angevin
Role: Information Specialist/Gal in the Chair/Forger
​

Well that was both expected and unexpected. Ann had expected that the maps would be locked under encryption but she never expected that they'd be under encryption on what appeared to be military level. Not that she'd ever seen military level encryption, that's just what it looked like to her. Just what in the galaxy were they mining there?

Ann scrolled through the publicly available information Ace had shot her way. According to the documents they mined Auralite, an important component in multiple medicinal products, but they weren't a particularly large supplier of it. Certainly not a large enough supplier to justify this much security.

Suddenly, her earpiece crackled with Ganryu's voice. At the same time, a live view of the city skyline presented itself too her on the third monitor, which had thus far been black, indicating that Julie had been activated. Ganyru was requesting information about the hospitals as well as hacking into the security cameras around the city. The first one was easy, the city actually did advertise the locations of their hospitals for obvious reasons.

"There are two hospitals in the city." Ann informed Ganryu. "One on the east side of the city on East Fleet Street and one of the west side on West Fleet Street." Either the people who built this place were British or they were really into British culture. "You'll recognize them based on the giant medical signs. As for the security cameras, I can't hack those remotely. You'll have to either hook Julie up to a terminal of some sort or hook her straight up into a security cam. Either works. The terminal would probably also send information to me but I don't think there's anything you could find in those things that Ace hasn't already sent me. That bot's a genius."

Nellancholy

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

A while later Ren walked out of the inn and up to the other two who had stayed behind before. The food had been really good and the man was really nice too. She grinned sheepishly as she walked up to Jericho and Harrison. „Well, we‘re kind of invited to stay the night. All 7 of us. He had been really kind and we kind of started talking since I was the only one inside. Long story short: he ended up inviting us and I couldn‘t decline the offer, since it would have been really rude. I told him we‘ll be back in the evening, so we still have some of the day left to find out more about our thief,“ she explained.

She then also called the others to tell them where their new rendez-vous point was going to be as well as filling them in on them sleeping there for a few nights. „We‘ll take the one on West Fleet Street. According to the signs around us, we‘re already on the west side, so we should be pretty close“, she informed Ann and Ganryu, when she had heard the conversation the two were having. „See you guys later and good luck!“ she ended and started walking in a direction she hoped was right. „After the hospital, we could see if there‘s a casino here“, she said to Jericho. He was tagging along with Harrison and her, so she only found it fair to go to a place that was his expertise afterwards.

BackSet Nellancholy Colty thorsayingyeet

 

[noil]

A-C3^{- - - BackSet Hiuly of Starmoon - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -}

It was another few minutes before Ace was able to suss out a workable backdoor to find the records they were looking for. Turned out present day data control was pretty heavy handed, but skip back a couple years and they'd been employing a much simpler set of safeguards. Easy enough from there to skim through some common access key formats and tadaa! Shitty old records. Nothing detailed, they probably had the full master schematics moved to the newer system, but there was a basic overview of the city's main districts and its surrounding tunnel network from a defunct earthquake mitigation project. They could combine that with whatever Ann's little creeps picked up and have plenty to go off of.

He dismissed his data feed from Ann's screen and tossed the city schematic up in its place, standing and moving across the room to hover over her shoulder. She had drawn up the mining company's records, and a live feed overlooking the city was just blinking to life from Ganryu and Val.

The terminal would probably also send information to me but I don't think there's anything you could find in those things that Ace hasn't already sent me. That bot's a genius.

"Fuck yeah I am," he said, finally bothering to patch in to the group's comms, "goes without saying. But do say it again though in case anyone wasn't listening."

Judging from the comm signals, the two groups had split off to either side of the city sprawl. Nun brigade was overlooking the East side of things. Ren and co. to the West where they were apparently finding lodgings for everyone? Talk about useless.

The condescension was laid on thick to his words, "Distractible much? Need someone to come hold your pathetic little hand and show you were to go?"

 

[PixelSymphony]

Val nodded in return to Ganryu's statement. "Right then, let's move." The nun gathered up her things and set off down the exit ramp, her long skirt flapping with every step she took like the sails of a ship at sea. As they made their way into the city proper, conversing about the job, she muttered in response, "I am hoping that discrete investigation will win us the details we lack, but be prepared for the worst. Anything involving a corp has a bad habit of going sideways in a moment's notice."

Indeed, her words appeared to become prophetic but a few moments later as Ganryu snatched up the arm of a street urchin. As the Lizan held the kid up with barely an effort, Val adopted a thoughtful pose while she awaited her companion's reaction. When the much larger woman reached into her pouch to offer a few alms to the poor, the disguised demoness fought to suppress a smirk., instead merely pressing her hands together in a gesture of prayer and bowing towards the child. "Go now, with the grace of the Creator."

"My my, a true paladin," she mused to Ganryu as she watched the would-be thief scamper off. "Perhaps there is hope for the Church after all." She took a moment to check her own belongings, amusingly her purse being her least of her worries, before the duo continued on, making their way through the remainder of the city. "Ah, I fear there has been some misconception," she responded with a bit of embarrassment as the sister knight spoke of her presumed aerial abilities. "My wings are suitable only for controlled descent. For anything upwards, well..." she trailed off, carefully showing the reptilian humanoid her arm mounted escalation device while keeping it cloaked from the general populace. "Regardless, yes, I agree there is a better time and place for this, so..." A plateau jutted out from the cavern-side some minutes walk away, and Val motioned towards it. "There. We should set up observation on that ridge."

Their journey up to the plateau was thankfully uneventful, and while Ganryu reported in to Ann, Val began to scan the the city-line with a pair of macrobinoculars, withdrawing them from beneath her vestments. Her hidden earpiece crackled as Ann got them the info they needed about the hospitals they were looking for. "East and West Fleet Street. Got it. One sec." Just as Ann said, the medical facilities were thankfully brightly advertising their services; a few moments later Val had their locations locked into her wrist-worn commo device and was already plotting a path to the closer of the two. "If it's a matter of hooking your little pet to a camera, I think I can handle that. Just push a map of the security stations to my pad and I'll handle do the rest."

 

[Nellancholy]

"I copy, Ren. Good job securing us planetside accommodation for the night." There was the slightest hint of a sigh in that second sentence. As much as that was a good thing, Ganryu couldn't help but worry. It'd be better than needing to walk to and from the ship if said investigation took more than one day, but they might not have even until sundown. Detective work wasn't exactly Ganryu's area of expertise, but they were hunting for a thief who had the audacity (or desperation) to target a large hospital supplied by several major corporations. It was pretty clear that they probably weren't going to stay in place for long, and the last thing Ganryu and the crew should want is to be bogged down sifting through details when their target had already long rocketed offworld.

Not solving the case meant the truth behind it would never get out. If the thief was actually in need, it meant they wouldn't be able to protect them. And a fairly close third concern, of course, was that they wouldn't get paid. If nothing else, Ganryu would prefer the convenience of being on a ship that was intact, fueled, and hyperspace ready.

But the only thing to do now was keep following the threads that they were already tugging on.

"Miss Val, let's keep moving. Wouldn't want our thief to slip away." As always, there weren't many words to be exchanged between Ganryu and Val. Val seemed...appreciative of Ganryu's tact and duty to her oaths, though Ganryu couldn't help but worry that simply being in her presence would discomfort her. That was yet another mystery to unravel, but one that had to wait.

The journey down the ridge and back through the streets was just as uneventful, though the throngs of people travelling between places of business had barely thinned. Ganryu relaxed, letting her arms swing a little as they made their way to the hospital on East Fleet Street.

The building they approached was prominent, practically a fixture of the area. Ganryu felt she could have noticed it on her own, if she'd just have looked in the right direction. But it certainly didn't hurt to check with people that had more info. "Here we are..." Just then, a few gleaming, high tech trucks hummed past, bearing a valuable cargo of refined auralite into the hospital's loading bay. And the logo on their side...two tailed orbs, blue and green, arranged in a formation that Terrans might say resembled a yin-yang symbol, or a taijitu if they were more cultured.

That logo...

Astra Heavy Industries.

Ganryu felt her breath catch. The memories of that time...of all the other times the Red Rose had failed to help despite their best efforts. The times when good, faithful Sisters were lost to the perils they bravely faced. They weren't hard to forget, but when they came back, they could bubble up like tar, suffocating and almost impossible to get back down.

"Ha...I..." She blinked, shaking her head. "I...apologies, Miss Val." She turned Julie around in her hand, passing it to Val as she peered around to look for covert entrances. "Shall we find a terminal or a camera?"

PixelSymphony Hiuly of Starmoon BackSet

 

[Colty]

Jericho would be chatting with Harrison while they waited for Ren. He'd mainly talk about how big this city is and how new all of this really is to him. He was just a humble blue-collar worker who just so happen to enjoy gambling. Well that's what he would say to him while keeping all the other stuff about ya know...made for infiltrating and destroying things from the inside. He'd just shoot the shit with him till Ren finally came back out.

"We were invited to stay for the night? How nice of him...what's the catch Ren" Jericho would ask with a concerned look. Nothing is free in the galaxy and if anyone says somethings free they are just conning you. "As long as he didn't offer it up for free we should be good then, what did you two talk about in there?"

Jericho would stand and listen to Ren talk to the others before she headed off following alongside her and Harrison. "Perfect, It would be good to show Harrison what I'm capable of" He'd say with a wink before cracking his knuckles. While they walked Jericho's eyes were always on a swivel keeping an eye out for this hospital, casinos, and/or any would be threats to the three. "Ever been in a city like this before Ren? A place underground and hidden from the skies above"


thorsayingyeet Hiuly of Starmoon

 

[BackSet]

Detective Annabelle "Ann" Angevin
Role: Information Specialist/Gal in the Chair/Forger
​

Ann listened to the comm chatter, filing away all the information. They had lodgings for the night, good for them. She was almost a bit jealous. As much as she loved the ship she had to admit sleeping on it was not the most fantastic experience.

When Ace dismissed the data feed and shot a few schematics her way she cheered, spinning around in her chair.

"Woo-hoo!" She held her hand up. "Up high, Ace."

Regardless of whether Ace reciprocated her high five, she turned back to the computer screens and began typing away. Val requested a map of the security station. She couldn't quite do that but she could do the next best thing. Among the schematics Ace had found was a map of the hospital. She sent it Val's way.

"Here's a map of the hospital." She said. "It's a bit outdated but I doubt the location of the security station has changed."

PixelSymphony noil

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

“I know that there’s a catch, since he actually invited us for free”, she said, sheepishly, confirming Jericho’s suspicions. “I just don’t know what, but the offer was too kind to turn down. Though we should definitely keep our eyes peeled for weird things”, she said.

“Other than that I kept it rather vague. So, mostly about what was going on the galaxy and mentioned we were a family who were here on vacation. Which is why he invited all of us“, Ren explained as she started walking.

“No, not really”, she answered Jericho’s last question. “I’ve been to some of the lower levels of earth before, but haven’t been traveling too long yet, so I haven’t been to a lot of places yet”, she swiftly added, leaving out the fact, that she had connections all over the galaxy. “Have you been in a place like this before?” she finished.

Colty

 

[Colty]

Ren would see a frown on Jericho's face, a look that was very uncommon for him to show as he ways all smiles around the crew. "I'll keep my eyes open for anything "weird" " His frown would quickly disappear as they walked. "So we're a big happy family? Am I the cool uncle who everyone likes?" He'd ask in a cheeky manner while shining his signature smile to her.

"Me either, luxury planets are my forte since I grew up around the so called "Vegas lifestyle". I've mainly stuck to human colonies since my line of work...is at best off and on and I usually couldn't afford to go to alien planets anyway." While they walked Jericho would take notice of the unusual amount of what he thinks are the police of this planet walking around. With his training he'd already begin to see the signs of how this planet is run through observing the passerby's. Like how the people moved quickly to give a wide berth to the police and how some of them were keeping an eye on him, Ren, and Harrison "We're being watched, don't make eye contact with the guards." Jericho would say in a whisper to Ren.


Hiuly of Starmoon

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

"So we're a big happy family? Am I the cool uncle who everyone likes?"

"Sure, if you want to. I was actually quite tworn between saying we were just a bunch of friends on vacation or a family, but decided to go with the latter in the end, cuz that way you can explain the age gap between Ann and Ganryu the easiest, as well as why we're all different ages", Ren explained. "Most people will likely also not question this too much, honestly."

"Me either, luxury planets are my forte since I grew up around the so called "Vegas lifestyle". I've mainly stuck to human colonies since my line of work...is at best off and on and I usually couldn't afford to go to alien planets anyway."

Ren grinned a bit at that and wanted to say something about her life being a bit similar, when she remembered the last part. Most here in the crew grew up barely being able to eat dinner. She looked at her feet, feeling a bit embarrassed for thinking she could compare her life with the one the others had, though she found comfort in knowing they didn't know. "If you ever get the chance to visit an alien planet, go to Iria. It has nice beaches there", she said, rather quietly and bitterly, remembering the last time she had been there. Especially the gala her parents forced her to attend and forced her to meet the prince, who turned out to be a total creep.

"We're being watched, don't make eye contact with the guards."

So, hearing that sentence from Jericho was very relieving to her, because that gave her something else to focus on. "Maybe they just know us from our line of work and are just careful?" Ren suggested. "I mean, they don't know why we're here and maybe we want to steal a valuable painting or something. In that case, I find it good that they keep an eye on us, since that means that the law and justice system still works here."

Colty

 

[Colty]

"Sure, if you want to. I was actually quite tworn between saying we were just a bunch of friends on vacation or a family, but decided to go with the latter in the end, cuz that way you can explain the age gap between Ann and Ganryu the easiest, as well as why we're all different ages", Ren explained. "Most people will likely also not question this too much, honestly."

"I..I was mainly joking, but I can definably pull it off. I'm just unsure what to say for Ganryu" He'd say before pondering what to consider her as. "We could just say Ganryu is a bodyguard hired to protect us while Ann is well....a young child...a very smart young child" He'd chuckle softly.

Ren grinned a bit at that and wanted to say something about her life being a bit similar, when she remembered the last part. Most here in the crew grew up barely being able to eat dinner. She looked at her feet, feeling a bit embarrassed for thinking she could compare her life with the one the others had, though she found comfort in knowing they didn't know. "If you ever get the chance to visit an alien planet, go to Iria. It has nice beaches there", she said, rather quietly and bitterly, remembering the last time she had been there. Especially the gala her parents forced her to attend and forced her to meet the prince, who turned out to be a total creep.

Jericho would be keeping an eye on the guards around them to notice her demeanor change. "Iria huh? Sounds like a pretty nice place, maybe if we get lucky we could all go there sometime." He's never heard of Iria before so he was gonna have to do some research on it sometime. "After we get an amazing payday anyway" Jericho snickered to himself before he noticed the eyes on them.

So, hearing that sentence from Jericho was very relieving to her, because that gave her something else to focus on. "Maybe they just know us from our line of work and are just careful?" Ren suggested. "I mean, they don't know why we're here and maybe we want to steal a valuable painting or something. In that case, I find it good that they keep an eye on us, since that means that the law and justice system still works here."

"Maybe...but notice how the people treat them? It looks like their frighten of them" Jericho would keep his eyes down to not make eye contact. He learned his lesson back on Neovis where he "accidently" picked a fight with the wrong thug and got his ass handed to him. He'd laugh to himself thinking back on how he got back at the guy by leaving a very colorful message on his skybike before he left planet. Either way he has to try not to start something yet. "Just don't walk off on your own or get in their way for now till we get to the location. I just don't very good vibes" Whenever they got close to a guard Jericho's hand would go to his jacket pocket where he kept his laser pistol and gripped it tightly.


Hiuly of Starmoon