In Character Thread

[thespacekid]

The Plot


The year 2028. Things in the world are more or less peaceful. Small conflicts happen here and there, but not much more. The most significant change to have happened is the rise of megacities. With population and globalisation rising, it was a matter of time before large multicultural cities across the world such as Hong Kong, New York, Mumbai, London, etc turned into city states in their own right. However, the story begins in a shady bar near Baghdad. In the backroom of a converted bomb shelter by the name Incognito, you meet with a certain man, known only to be enigmatic and impossibly wealthy. He has many names, but the one most people know him as is Asheriy Mathore, the owner of multinational corporations like HSO Industrial, Kenai Robotech, and AM Media Networks among others. The magic community, on the other hand, knows him as the powerful summoner, Redshift, and he has found a few runners worthy of running tasks for him.


Through some means, be it passed notes, or quick whispers, you reached Incognito and asked for Redshift. From there, you were taken to the backroom after being frisked thoroughly by a few strongmen and seated around in comfortable room, albeit a little hazy with smoke. With the dull thumping of electronic music playing in the club not making the presence of Redshift hidden enough. As you think you've been stood up on another job by another flaky customer, he appears. Bursting through the door in a flowing white tunic and a deep red jacket-vest, followed by two bodyguards close behind, he walks in with his arms outstretched, as if greeting everyone. Little do you know how significantly this man will change your life in the time to come.

 

[thespacekid]

Chapter One
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The Government's Dogs
​

 
​

The Private Lounge 
​

Incognito 
​

Outskirts of Baghdad 
​

 
​

A dull red bulb hanging in the room is the only source of light in the smoky back room of Incognito. The designer furniture in the room casts stark shadows everywhere, leaving only the middle area around a coffee table surrounded by a few sofas decently lit. The bounty hunters sit on three sides of the table, with Redshift himself sitting on an armchair, flanked by two large bodyguards.


He leans forward, running long wrinkling fingers through his salt and pepper hair. "My apologies for being late. Now, listen up. All of you are here because I've hand-picked you for this bounty I want collected."


The tall man leans back in his chair, resting his hands on the armchair. Turning his head to the bodyguard on the left, he spits, "Get me a whiskey sour. Ask them what they want."


The bodyguard nods and walks towards the bounty hunters.


Turning back, Redshift scans the faces seated before him. "Keep in mind, this isn't any ordinary private bounty. What I'm offering also isn't ordinary. After all, my men have been keeping an eye around and you've been found to be the best in this area.


I am a bounty hunter too, as you may know. However, the difference between you and me is that you are still criminals running illegal bounties."


Fishing at a pocket inside his jacket vest, he pulls out a small electronic card and shows it around. 


"The World Government has started a new scheme in order to combat the rising threat of magicians. Now, powerful bounty hunters get honourary Enforcer ranks so you may start calling me Major Redshift," he winks. "What I also get is the power to run a squadron under me and offer them certain benefits. That way I can collect higher bounties with low effort."


A waiter enters the room with various drinks on a tray and goes up to Redshift first, placing a tissue paper on the table in front of him followed by a whiskey sour. 


Barely acknowledging the waiter, Redshift goes on, "What's in this for you, you may ask. Well, if you complete this bounty, I can provide you with a semi-legal status. The police won't bother you any more. You can collect even better bounties and maybe even get ranked yourself someday."


He grins slyly, "Of course, you all get 100,000 Credits each in addition. Sounds good?"


(OOC:


@Stickdom @Tedronai @Mr Kraz @AtlannianSpy 


Hey guys! First post is up! Get your characters revving because here we go!)

 

[Stickdom]

Monique Renaults


The Incognito


     The atmosphere practically stuck to the walls of her lungs, the smoke weighed heavy in the air and Monique suppressed the urge to cough. That would surely be a sign of weakness, something she couldn't afford here and now especially, but as a doctor she felt it would be appropriate to mention that second hand was as dangerous as inhaling directly. Perhaps another time. She wore her Shooting Star outfit as a symbol of her reputation, holding herself tall and proudly. Wasp-thin legs with heels clicking on the floor beneath, her mask pulled part of the way over her face, only enough to hide her features but reveal her blood-red lips beneath its edge. Intimidation. She wanted to show her worth as a piece in this game, and there was no reason she couldn't go over the top just because she was a woman. 


    The man at the table in front of them was experienced, she had seen his type out on the streets, she had dealt with her fair share of corporate moguls in handling her father's medical business affairs, but this man was different. He had a hunger that none of the legitimate businessmen could comprehend, they argued over petty contracts and fought with lawsuits, but this Redshift  looked like he never beat around the bush, the type of man could just as easily murder with a table fork as a bullet. She rather liked him already. At his request for them to order what they wanted to drink, her smooth mask face never took her gaze off of Redshift's face as she almost purred through white teeth and ruby lips, "I'll take a Death in the Afternoon. Straight up." The man taking her order nodded and shuffled off to the next, but she ignored him still. She was hoping her choice would intrigue this man, even the name of it should have been a message, but its ingredients even more so; a combination of near-caustic absinthe and finest champagne. I'm delicate and I have class, but I'm also dangerous. 


     Redshift went on with his proposal, offering them a choice. Work for him and receive sanctuary from the authorities while making a profitable income in exchange for being his personal lapdogs. The price was fair, 100,000 credits was far from pocket change, and Monique could use the resources to fund her research. But there was something more to it, something was missing. "What else" she stated dryly after swallowing a sip of her cocktail, "is in it for us? What security can you provide us that you'll uphold on your end of the deal? How simple would it be to turn us in after we complete your dirty work, you collect the bounties on all of our heads including our work, and then you hire a fresh set of gullible hunters to repeat the process." She sipped her drink intentionally before setting it down on the table in front of her, drained empty. "We'll need more than promises of cash rewards to get our hands dirty in your name. You're a smart man, I can see that, you have all of your bases covered, we can't touch you. So," she leaned forward and ran a finger around the rim of her empty glass, a slight ringing coiling up from her motion into the smoke-filled air, "what else have you got for us?"

 

[AtlannianSpy]

"Now, Now," chimed in Natalie putting on her diplomat's hat on and speaking for the first time. If her potential co-worker wanted to play bad cop than Natalie could work in from the other side.  "Why don't we get into the specifics of the job before we start playing hardball?" Natalie paused to lift her martini glass up to her lips although she didn't actually drink. It was probably unnecessary this time but Natalie made it a point not to drink anything she hadn't watched the preparation of, especially in clubs. It was shockingly easy to slip a little something extra into someone's drink if you knew what you were doing. Actually it was one of Natalie's preferred strategies, most male targets weren't on guard for something like that. 


Natalie crossed her legs. It wasn't really as effective a gesture as it would have been in the sleek dresses she preferred for clubs but tonight she was wearing a different sort of costume. Loose, easy to move in pants with many pockets, sturdy looking boots and a coat with plenty of room for tucking away weapons. The clothes were very practical in their design but their purpose tonight was theatrical. When clients hire someone like a bounty hunter they generally want them to look the part, it makes them feel like they're getting they're money's worth. Of course if Redshift was telling the truth then he already knew exactly what their capabilities were and this whole exercise was somewhat academic but Natalie never missed an opportunity to dress for the occasion.


It seemed like that much was true of the other woman, that bodysuit was unreal straddling the thin line between avantgarde popstar and alien commando. Natalie toyed with the idea of getting something similar for herself but it looked like some sort of disgustingly expensive custom job and she preferred to simply blend in rather than hide her features. 


Wearing a mask gets you noticed, being the mask gets you in. The advice came back to her unbidden and Natalie suppressed a smile, her Father's old words seemed to perfectly encapsulate the two approaches to bounty hunting on display. 


"So then... 'Major'," said Natalie, leaning forwards slightly and making eye contact with the man. "I for one am sure we can come to some sort of equitable arrangement. After all if doublecrossing us was really such a trivial matter then handling your half a million dollar problem on your own would be equally trivial and a lot more efficient then running some sort of elaborate long con on four extremely dangerous people." Natalie paused to smile placidly. "I have to confess to being extremely interested in the details of this extraordinary bounty,"

 

[Best Trekkie.]

Flying through the air at subsonic speeds was normal for Aftershock, but the combination of the random pockets of turbulence and flickering lights were almost to much, even for him.


Suddenly the ship comms. sparked into life and the pilot's voice was heard, "Attention!!! We are entering unknown airspace. the target is in drop range. Prepare to eject!!"


Aftershock sat up and light headedly treaded towards the drop pod" Dropping in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Then the craft shook from an explosion, and the craft began to flat spin out of control towards the distant desert sands that lie below him. Although the spinning only lasted a few seconds, it had felt like an eternity. the flashing lights, wailing sirens, and constant spinning didn't help either. Suddenly the spinning slowed and then stopped, the ship's auto pilot has kicked in and was bringing Aftershock towards the ground safely, or at least he thought it was safely unbeknownst to Aftershock, although they were no longer spinning, the ship was now headed straight for the desert sands at terminal velocity. Then a few moments later the world went completely black....

 

[Tedronai]

Vadius sat back from the table, his eyes darting constantly, trying to take everything in all at once. He ignored the waiters until they took the hint and walked away. He did not drink when working and since demons did not keep regular hours it was easier to refrain entirely. He did however savour the smoke that hung heavily in the air, doing as much to dim the room as did the low wattage of the bulb. He had given up cigarettes what felt like a lifetime ago, and even stale though it was, the smell was ambrosia for his abstinence.


He'd listened to Redshift's proposal and then waited. Silence was uncomfortable and people sought to fill it, to end it, and in doing so often gave away more than they realised. The women's responses told him much about each of them. The first to speak had asked intelligent, cautious questions, questions that had flitted through his mind. Of course the man would turn on them the moment it served his interests to do so, but Vadius was confident that he could deal with that treachery in whatever form it came. That she'd given voice to her concerns in this company told him that they troubled her more deeply. That meant she was nervous, doubtful, likely inexperienced which did not come as a surprise given her age. The second quickly tried to smooth things over, which either meant she too was nervous and looking to avoid a confrontation or she was manipulative. He'd find out which shortly.


"I don't need your protection and I care little for the legally of my status." Vadius leant forward and perched himself with his elbows resting lighting on the sticky table-top, continuing over the top of his steepled fingers. "Frankly, the credits you mentioned are the only reason I'm still sitting here, so are we here to drink or can we get down to business?"

 

[Best Trekkie.]

The ringing of eardrums brought Aftershock back to consciousness. He jettisoned the pod hatch and stepped out and onto the dropship floor. Turning to his right he noticed that the entire front half of the craft was ripped off. "Suit" he spoke "Where the hell am I?" The suit AI responded, "Location Iraq , year unknown." "Figures..." Aftershock thought to himself. hydraulically ripping the door off the side of the craft, aftershock glanced to the left and noticed a crate that was lodged front panel upwards in the sand. The suit hydraulics assisted him with ripping the front panel off and setting it aside. Kneeling now on the dry sand, Aftershock gripped his hands firmly on a Special Ops GAUSS RIFLE. Slinging the experimental weapon over his shoulder, Aftershock's active camouflage setting activated and while turning invisible, sprinted towards a nearby communications tower positioned at least 6 miles away...

 

[thespacekid]

Redshift smiled as the crew perked up with questions. He was scanning them constantly, trying to understand each one as they spoke.


When the fashionable lady asked about a security, his eyebrows went up in surprise. He'd expected questions like this, but not first up. His lips had just parted to reply but he was cut off by the second, more nondescript lady. The gruff scientist went after, yet he noticed that the young biker was silent throughout.


Motioning to Snapdragon, he spoke to the whole group, "She's got a point. You guys are the cream of the crop, sure. However, put crudely, your heads are pocket change to me. It's not money I'm after. But! All this later."


He searched inside his pockets and pulled out a sleek white phone. After tapping away for a bit, he placed the phone on the table and slid it across, revealing the face of a middle aged Iraqi man, sporting a massive mustache. Redshift crossed his legs and picked up his Whiskey Sour, taking a large sip of it.


"This is a magician known as Sabir Khatum. That's his legal name, of course. You might know him as Desert Worm."


He paused for a second, "The bounty isn't just on him. It's actually on him and his gang. You shouldn't find them too hard to beat, but the man himself might pose a challenge.


We know his alleged location but not much more about him. If you choose to take this job, I'll give you the information, I'll provide the transport and I'll buy you lunch, but get your own weapons and gear.


When you complete the bounty, 100,000 credits each are guaranteed. You might choose to take up my additional offer or you may not."


Turning to face the Professor directly, he said, "You may not desire the protection I provide, but remember, it's the only way to ensure you're not on the list someday." He leaned to a side to face him, swirling the ice in his glass with a wink, "You never know, I may be the one the collect your bounty, if you ever do get that powerful."

 

[Best Trekkie.]

Reaching the radio communications tower Aftershock scrambled up the service ladder and ripped off the access panel. "I hope that someone gets these coordinates to my location." Aftershock thought. "All I have to do is connect my suit AI to the main frequency and There!!" "Got It!!" Aftershock then began to start the distress message. "Attention, this is Head.C.Feildmire, of the Worlds Elite GAUSS Division. I am the only survivor that I know of. I have just crashed in what my suit AI says is Iraq. I need assistance and support. Here are my coordinates. 59, 1650, 1890.043. I repeat the coordinates are. 59, 1650, 1890.043.  "AI Voice Transmission ended..."

 

[AtlannianSpy]

...

"Well it all sounds very exciting," said Natalie with a thin smile, studying the sagging features of the picture and memorising them. Normally Natalie's instincts would have her playing a little harder to get, haggling was customary in this part of the world right? But truthfully there wasn't a whole lot of room to bargain, Redshift had already done his own intel gathering and settled on his price based on that so he wasn't likely to budge. More importantly while a hundred grand for one job was a good payout the notion of getting in on this enforcer racket was far more tantalising to Natalie. Almost nothing on earth was more profitable than a large organisation trying to solve a problem they don't really understand. The government was an immense organisation and if it knew anything about magic it would already be using it. Getting an enforcer rank, whatever that really meant would be a start but the real money would be in up-scaling, brokering and standing in the middle. Redshift had the right idea, if he was able to pay them all a hundred grand how much was he making off of this little deal himself? Natalie wanted to be where he was standing as soon as possible, before the easy money dried up.


"So what are we getting into exactly?" Natalie asked, kicking off a barrage of questions as the practical concerns of how to handle the job in front of her pushed aside grandiose dreams of future wealth. "How many people are in this "gang"? And where are they? Holed up in some compound or are we going to have to go thug hunting all over Baghdad? Also what's the time frame on this? Usually I do my own information gathering but from the preparations you've made it almost sounds like you want to ship us off in the next twenty minutes. And finally..."

Natalie paused briefly to flash a devious smile. "Where are you taking us for lunch?"

 

[Tedronai]

Vadius sat back from the table and appraised the man sitting opposite him, watching through the haze of smoke that danced in the cone of light cast by the single the dim bulb. Redshift had bitten and in doing so he’d confirmed his suspicions. This was a marriage of convenience and it would be annulled the moment Redshift saw a benefit to be gained in turning on them.


Everything about this setup was intended to intimidate them. From the oppressive lighting, to the muscled henchmen in attendance, the implied threats, all of it was intended to make them pliable to his will. However all is efforts had done was to put him in Vadius’ sights. Of course, if he could take some of his money first that was just good business sense.


The conversation continued around him: the second woman, the one he was yet to make his mind up about was asking more questions. Let her, every word she uttered was information that went towards the profile he was forming. As he listened he sat back into the gloom, allowing a carefully managed smile to touch his lips and yet left his eyes untouched. For all this Redshift’s talk of hunting him if he ended up on one of his lists, Vadius found himself wondering just how many of his former selves had done just that?


"Where are you taking us for lunch?"


At the last question Vadius’ eyes rolled before he could control himself. “Oh for the love of…” he muttered, standing abruptly, his action causing both of Redshift’s guards to suddenly tense, their hands moving towards concealed weapons.


“It seems that your alleged ‘cream’ are more interested in a free meal, Redshift. Wine and dine them if you wish, I will acquire this Sabir. Of course, if I manage it alone I will expect their shares too.”

 

[AtlannianSpy]

“It seems that your alleged ‘cream’ are more interested in a free meal, Redshift. Wine and dine them if you wish, I will acquire this Sabir. Of course, if I manage it alone I will expect their shares too.”

"Hmmm," Natalie sounded amused more than anything else and she let a cat like smile curve her lips. "Off you go then, you don't sound like you'd be very good company anyway."


It wasn't really in Natalie's nature to antagonize people but she was getting a little tired of the openly calculating  stare the man had been giving her for most of this meeting. If he wanted to unravel her secrets he'd have to employ a little more tact  than that. A little bit of stirring seemed was in order, Natalie decided.


"Of course if you were really capable of that would the rest of us even be here I wonder? Still feel free to try. Once you've gotten yourself killed the rest of us can split your share between us when we finish what you started. On a full stomach naturally."


Natalie was mostly joking of course but she really did have little intention of passing up a free meal, she'd spent far too many nights penniless and starving for that notion to hold any romance. Power isn't really power if you have to skip lunch to maintain it was Natalie's way of thinking. Of course the group as it currently were really Natalie's idea of good company. The other woman seemed like she'd have a few interesting stories to tell and picking Redshift's brain would be wroth paying for the meal but the last biker looking guy was taking "strong and silent" a little too seriously. As for Foureyes well, Natalie got the feeling he considered any food that wasn't some sort of flavorless nutrient paste gross inefficiency.


The things I'll do for money thought Natalie, pretending to take another sip from her drink.

 

[Best Trekkie.]

with the distress signal sent and possible help on it's way Aftershock leaped down from the tower and with in human speed, sprinted towards the dropship. Halfway back however, his foot became caught on a round dome of metal sticking out of the sand. "Computer, Identify the buried object." The AI responded with a shocking answer, "Identifies as registration 045009743BCA sir." After digging around the buried object, Aftershock discovered that the dome was in fact a helmet, connected still to it's corresponding power armor suit. Opening the back of the suit, ftershock took the power cell from his personal AI combat suit, inserted the Power core, uploaded his suit's AI into the armor and then powered the suit up. The suit said in a craggily static male voice, *Welcome Captain"...


The power suit Aftershock found > 

 

[Tedronai]

Vadius glared at the woman, but inside he was anything but angry. Had his earlier appraisal been correct, and she had just been seeking to avoid a confrontation she would not have disagreed with him. Though he was not so foolish as to base a theory on a half proved hypothesis, the balance of the evidence so far gleaned weighed in on her being manipulative. He still needed to prove it, but it was an interesting nugget that he filed away for future use.


His outburst had gained him knowledge but it had left him in a predicament. He had forced an ultimatum upon their benefactor with no way of knowing which way Redshift would side. Would he be as keen as himself to get this Sabir or would he also try to prove a point?


The thought of cutting his losses crossed his mind. The Credits would be more than useful to his work but he'd been here too long already, and was growing more uncomfortable with every minute that passed. Unbidden his mind wandered enough to wonder where she was right now? She would be looking for him, that much was sure. She did not rest and had the worst habit of turning up at the most inopportune of moments, and he'd been forced to had over his weapons to be granted this audience. No, worrying about that now would get him nowhere. He needed to keep his mind on the business at hand, and that meant turning Redshift's inevitable decision to his favour.


"By your same logic, if you were capable of capturing this Worm by yourselves Redshift would not have extended this contract to me. I believe that leaves us at something of an impasse. Which is it to be, Redshift? Have you brought us here to work, or because you enjoy our charming personalities?"

 

[Best Trekkie.]

Of course, getting the suit to walk was fairly simple. Getting it to fly however, that was very different. With the suit jetpack coils fried, he could only manage short hops. However though, the suit did have one massive advantage. It had sensory equipment. That meant he was able to find heat signatures from quite the distance, and the suit had picked up a large number of heat signatures from a city in the sky. "Well, here goes nothing." Said aftershock as he ignited the suit jetpack and it lumbered into the sky. "Jetpack,  don't fail me now!!!"