<> <> <> <> <> <> <> * Hestia in media res. "So that's the situation. Right now our best option is probably to either trick 'Gene Ashwell' into giving himself away, or track down this place in Red Boston that one of our bidders kept calling." (What type of skullduggery?) Do we have anything more specific than Red Boston? (If we did, it would have been in the recap! *Cough*) (I don't see why it would be.) <> (Ha.) (Oh look at that smarty robotic suit guy.) (The B phone or the Unknown phone?) <> (Okay.) * Chamelaeon gives voice to Kyle (What is up?) (I'm going to go afk and gloat for a minute.) (I have recap handled.) (Thank you.) (It's not my fault Cham is forgetful. :|) (Kyle! What type of skullduggery am I needed for?) (The sexy kind?) (I need more specifics!) (Now I'm going to hold up a red handkerchief, and a blue handkerchief. Whichever one hits the ground first is the plan we follow.) * Zeke states, after a moment, "It seems simpler to pursue the Red Boston bidder, as all we know about Gene Ashwell is that he is likely associated with Mr. Jackson." (CHAM THOUGHT THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN, BUT I SAY THEE NAY.) (oh. noes. my. cunning. plan.) * Tomas nods, "We can at least scope the place out." (Lexi - they're debating the manner of skullduggery now!) (But its related to figuring out who hired you.) Presumably. It's Chinese-ish takeout. (Uh, oh, skullduggery?) (I pasted it to you!) <> (We could have been walking by it every day!) (oh. In that case lets check out the truckstops.) (ORBITAL COW) (Where IS the ship now?) (In the hangar, Hitching Post.) (We're at base, since we're only on one month probation and people aren't freaking out anymore.) * Zeke nods and says, "I will go and ask, then." ...wait, what? (Zeke is very proactive and stealthy.) (Yes, I was about to ask that very question.) * Tomas triple takes, "What?" Maybe somebody lower profile. * Zeke turns to Hestia, tilts his head, and then looks over to Tomas. That is reasonable. (Before getting this role, Tomas' actor had a crowd extra role in Turkish Star Trek.) * Lexi yawns as she enters the ship. "Mornin' Everyone?" I want to be sure that you, who is maybe a foot and 500 pounds shy of a HEX, are going into a takeout restaurant and asking if any suspiciously rich people have ordered from them on a regular basis. This is your plan? 'mornin'. * Zeke looks back at Hestia. "If nobody else would ask, it seems best. Otherwise, I will stay here." We've all been all over the news. A third party would be our best option. The best option is to find somewhere nearby and stake the place out. (Lexi: Assume Kyle has filled you in on the details.) (Not that Zeke is the super special best option, but someone has to go!) I think actually walking in and talking to them is a really bad idea. * Zeke tilts his head. "It is most expedient, if the alternative is waiting for another order." * Lexi flops into a chair. "You want me to call some people and see if I can get someone to help?" (Cham did say it was trivial. If electronic means are able to do it, it seems we should just get it done. ^^;) (I'm not saying it's going to be a heist movie trying to FIND it.) <> * Hestia leans back in her chair. "We could always order something from them, then kidnap the delivery person and torture them for information." * Tomas hmms, "Yes. Bring them to us." ... * Zeke tilts his head. "You are being very confusing." (WHO'S ON FIRST) (Please, god, someone call one of these mysterious two people to walk three blocks for us so we can go forward. :|) <> (Yeah, when are they going to pony up info on the Orchid or the Supernova like I threatened^W^W^Wasked them to?) (They haven't yet! But you could kill two birds with one stone and call them.) (Why kill them?) * Hestia looks between Zeke and Tomas for a moment, then slips her phone out of her pocket. "One sec." Let's dialing. (Which of the two you calling, just so I know?) (You can't expect me to remember these things. I usually can't remember the day of the week.) (Probably the courier.) (Whatever her name is. Mika. Something.) (The captain was Leo Waterhouse, the other crewmember was Mika, the OTHER other crewmember you didn't know.) (Mika 'Chandra' Picton.) <> "Um... hey, Tia." Don't sound quite so thrilled to hear from me. <> "No! No, I... just have kinda been meaning to call. But I forgot." I bet. I need a favor. <> "You know I have horrible aim, right? My hand shakes like I've been drinking." * Hestia actually pulls the phone away from her face for a moment, looking at it, before she pulls it back to her ear. "...I want you to get takeout." * Tomas stares intently at Tia as she talks on the phone. (Sexy.) <> "... look, I know you guys have the dirt on us, but this is kinda stretching the relationship, don't you think?" What the HELL is that supposed to mean? Do you have an egg roll allergy? I'm not asking you to break in... * Hestia suddenly pauses, pinches the bridge of her nose, and starts over: "What do you know that you're not telling me." * Zeke looks to Lexi, while the birdsect watches Hestia, and he says to her, "If you have not been watching the news very recently, our suspension has been dropped to one month." Yup, it's totally sweet. (I have realized signals got crossed between Tia and Mika, but it happened in an efficient way.) "I'm on IO at the moment! You want me to bring takeout to Red Bo... I, uh. Don't know what you're talking about, I don't know ...." <> "We followed the Black Orchid two days ago. They took a passenger to a small planetoid buried in an asteroid field. We couldn't get too close, but there was weapons fire discharged down there." (Yeah, wasn't certain if you were doing it on purpose, so I just ran with it.) ...really. "Yeah. Their passenger survived, but who knows what went on down there." Yeah. Who knows. Tell me about the passenger. * Hestia then holds her hand over the phone and looks at Zeke. "Go ahead and go if you want. I think I have a better lead." (SWEET.) * Hestia pauses, then adds: "Bring me an egg drop bread bowl." (DANCE, ROBOT BUTLER.) (This will not be the first game in which I interrogate a chinese food place for someone's phone number/address.) (... egg drop. Breadbowl. Something in that combination makes my GUT roil.) (Depends on the bread.) (Also fuck now I want egg drop soup.) (This will be the first one where, after you have obtained it, the food place responds with "AND THEN?") (AND THEEEEEEEN) "The passenger was pretty nondescript. Had his own exo, was wearing a black suit, black shirt, white tie. Creepy dude." * Zeke nods and looks about. "Does someone with a... lower profile want to go? There was concern." (Just take Lexi, she has a higher ... ahem. Profile.) (Does that jive with Mr. Whatsisface?) (To a T.) (She has the most talent, yes.) (Maybe change into your casual exo.) (It has shorts painted on it.) (And an open hawaiian vest.) (*jumpkick*) (Get moving!) (I asked a question!) (There are three possible respondants!) (Someone word me!) (I AM ON THE PHONE.) (I'm staring intently at Tia as she talks on the phone.) (... why.) * Hestia bites her lip for a second. "Is that so. What asteroid? Why don't you just forward me what you've got... I've got some secure places on the net for you to get information to me." (He's a creepy mofo.) "Sure, just tell me the info." * Hestia does so! (Earth to Kyle and Lexi?) (So much easier than making it up.) (Sorry, coughing like crazy and trying to explain a few things.) <> "There you go. Like I said, I meant to call, but it seemed like I should wait until the ... heat was off, yanno?" (Well, if neither of Kyle nor Lexi want to stop Zeke, I'll be off!) Yeah, understandable. Enjoy your comet ice or whatever's out there. "Gee, thanks." <<*click*>> <> * Tomas nods as Tia hangs up the phone then follows Zeke. (I'll let them have fun, because I now have something to look at.) (TRIPLE CHANNELS GO.) (I plan to wander off on the way three, for a fourth.) * Hestia sits down and gets out the star charts. Where is this place where they took creepy man. (I'm sorry, I was typing. >_<) (Typing is cool!) (Keep typing!) * Kyle motions. "Hey, Zeke, hold on." * Zeke's birdsect and he both look back at Kyle. I'll go pick up the fast food. You keep tabs on things, maybe you could send one of your spider things as an extra set of eyes or somethin'. * Kyle thinks. "Hey, who's name is the fast food in?" * Tomas spins around as he realizes Zeke isn't going, "You still want company, K?" (It hasn't been ordered yet, Kyle.) * Zeke nods slightly at Kyle and says, "Very well. We don't know the name, just the phone number." (Yes?) (Oh.) <> <> <> (Hmm.) (I don't remember if I asked this about the planet/space we found with the bugs but is there anything on that system or this system in Sleythinpedia?) <> (Well that's just super.) [ MEANWHILE, THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY ] * Hestia looks up from her pad and frowns. "That's 2 for 3 on ships being sent with someone matching the same description to some godforsaken death rock in the middle of Deep Space Nowhere, only to end up firing at something and getting the hell out." That rules out the Orchid as the people either trying to or inadvertently trying to kill us. * Zeke looks to Hestia, since he's THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY, and says, "An interesting obsession for someone to have." Yeah. I'd like to know what they were firing at, but I somehow doubt Captain Jerkass is in the mood for parley. I believe that depends who is asking. (haha. Is that a scene cut for the moment?) * Hestia stretches. "Especially after the nose-tweaking we gave them last time in our rent-a-wreck." (No, it's us paining Cham by overlapping two channels.) (No, keep posing. I'll split it manually later.) (thousands of years ago, before sigorney weaver) (I think you're still to be dealing with Whacky!) * Zeke's holoface glances to Lexi for a moment after his statement, then back to Hestia. * Lexi grins. "Want me to talk to him?" * Hestia looks at Zeke for a moment, then at Lexi, then back at Zeke. "Yes, *Zeke*. Would you? And with or without her bra?" I believe that is her decision to make. You inferred. If you had eyebrows, you'd have waggled them. * Zeke tilts his head. "I was merely referring to her." (Have I mentioned I love Zeke?) * Hestia gives up and turns to Lexi. "You're probably the one he actually WOULD talk to. All we need to know is if it was Bugs they were firing at out there. If he asks how you know where they were, lie." (I was only glancing!) * Lexi nods and sends out a request to open coms with captain jerkface. * Hestia takes some tea out of the microwave and sips it carefully. "Wonder how they're doing with the takeout place." (Lexi did send out a request for open coms!) <> "Hallo. I am Don Fernando, and you have reached my public relations line. If you would like to contract us for a job please contact our broker. If you wish to join my fanclub please visit my site at pub:net:don.fernando.is.muy.caliente. If you think you are worthy of speaking to an operator you may stay on the line." (Man, Don Fernando.) It seems likely they can order takeout. One hopes. * Zeke pauses, then adds, "They had to move quickly at the end, but it seems somewhat successful." * Hestia decides now is the best time for smalltalk. "So tell me about the horrible disfiguring mutation that puts you in the suit all the time. Is there pus? I bet there's pus." Sip. <> <> * Zeke looks down at Hestia, him and his birdsect both, then says, "It is... not something I wish to discuss." * Lexi stays... on the line. Sounds like a yes on the pus front. * Tomas arrives just in time to end the ensuing awkward conversation. <> "Hello! What business do you have with Don Fernando And The Crew Of The Black Orchid (tm) today?" (Ahahaha please tell me she says 'trademark' sotto voce) (Yes.) (Yay.) They deliver the food to some converted lofts on 364th. * Lexi shrugs and simply says. "This is Lexi Calhoun." * Hestia raises both eyebrows, which she has because she's not a pus-covered monstrosity in a suit. "Wow, good work. You didn't beat anybody up to find that out, did you?" <> "I have your name in my files, Ms. Calhoun. As an Anathema To Society, I'm instructed to tell you to burn in the furthest reaches of hell, unless you have come to beg mercy of the Great Don Fernando And The Crew Of The Black Orchid (tm) in the hopes of receiving the smallest part of their largesse." * Tomas looks slightly abashed, "I had to leave your egg drop bread bowl, but I figured it a necessary sacrifice." (Ohhh that was particularly bad, I bet he has naughty thoughts about you alone at night, Lex.) S'alright, the things are terrible, I just wanted to annoy Zeke. Alright, let's find out what's on 364th. (I am being a total dick this session but it's sort of fun.) (How do we know they're fighting again?) <> * Hestia typeity type! Who owns eet. (Lexi: They WERE fighting. They were on an asteroid, and one of your spies was watching. She knows there was weapons fire but not what Don Fernando et al were fighting.) (Presumably now they are no longer fighting.) (Aha) <> * Hestia squints. Well that doesn't make any sense. * Tomas ?s * Lexi smiles. "Awww... he's a sweet heart. Anyway I was just hoping maybe we could chit chat. I wanted to trade some information about our jobs, and since -we- aren't allowed to take jobs for a while I thought maybe he'd be interested. But since he's not I suppose I will just give the information to someone else." * Hestia holds the pad up and turns it around, showing the Floofy company homepage. "The owners." I..they..odd. I understand of course. If -I- was humilated as badly as he was last time we met, I wouldn't want to talk to me either. (...hahahaha.) (Alexis Calhoun, Master Diplomat.) <> "I'm authorized to consider that as throwing yourself on the mercy of Don Fernando And The Crew Of The Black Orchid (tm). Please hold." <> * Zeke nods slowly. "Floofy. They were quiet." (That name always makes me think of the episode of Get Smart with the 'Tijuana Tin'.) What, at your gala meeting with all the mucketymucks and GalReg? Yes. * Hestia looks back at the pad. Does Floofy fund their own chainjumpers like ATC, Calhoun, and Dunno? <> Hm. Little company, bastard stepkid of the Mars corporate culture, limited chainjumper success and no big ticket discoveries. <> "SO! You have come to apologize, and to beg mercy, perhaps? This is what my answering service has told me." Why would they contract out their best intel? (When your products are generic compared to Dunno, you know you've dropped off the map.) (Is she in another room?) (If she's smart she is, Don Fernando seeing US would probably be bad.) (Hearing us as well.) (DON FERNANDO!) They wouldn't. They MIGHT try to sabotage someone else's chainjumpers, though. * Zeke shakes his holohead. "Lower exposure." They eschew the publicity? <> All of this seems likely to be related to on reduced corporate exposure. (-on) * Tomas hmms, "I suppose people would get suspicious of where they're getting their intel." * Lexi giggles. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Donny. Anyway... I hear you had some combat on one of your recent jobs? There can't -possibly- be another pilot out there as distractingly beautiful as me. So what happened?" That's a possibility. If they have the info we have, and it became public, there'd be a lot of really uncomfortable questions. Prophecy of Ultimate Doom, remember. but as far as the public knows, we're just mercs working for all different clients. <> "PREPOSTEROUS! No one would be as much of a fool as you, to challenge the great Don Fernando!" (This guy is best.) (I love "D. Fernando" like he's an SNES RPG boss whose full name is over the character limit.) (Man, he's awesome.) (We need som pix contracted.) (He'll come back from the underworld as R. Fernando.) (He'd totally be a boss in Super Mario RPG.) * Hestia sips her tea and crosses her legs in her chair. "I'd ask how they got *their* copy, but if you think about it, all we did was bribe the right people, and we're not even a corporation." (ha. He would.) (He does kind of have that vibe.) It's true it is incredibly foolish to call you by that ridiculous name in any sort of official challenge. Now beating your ass at a mission... that was genius. But you're dodging the question. What were you fighting out there? What awakened Donny's rage this time? Some Plutonian Strippers decide to swing by and give your men a lapdance? "We were attacked by a RESURGENCE if you must know! And of course we handled it ourselves, without our altogethers flapping in the breeze like leggings on wash day!" <> (Wow, he's just giving it away.) (Down at your local record store.) * Lexi shakes her head. "Then you are definitely doing it wrong. Not that I expect you to do anything right, really." (That's because he's an idiot.) (More and more like a Mario RPG villain.) But a -resurgence- WOW... that had to be intense. Well, the obvious thing to do is to break into their loft. Was there any more information on the other employers? 'course, 'cuz we haven't gotten caught yet. It's peculiar that our biggest investor wasn't one of the major corps. So who wanted you dead so badly that they decided to feed you to bugs? You think so? I wondered that too when I suspected ATC, but the more I thought about it, why the hell would they bother? Well besides me, of course. Man I wish I would have thought of that. They have one up on me. I'm sure even the most incompetent ATC or Dunno team has a ship that could fly circles around us. * Tomas nod nods, "And they are big enough that people would just believe that they can gather the intel, so they wouldn't need to hide." "I am assured it was a coincidence, and the man who came with was merely observing our exceedingly PROFESSIONAL demeanor which WHY AM I EVEN TELLING YOU THIS, you trollop?! Begone off my communications device before I am well and truly angered!" (When did he regress to Shakespearean theatre?) (Angry makes him silly.) (Angry makes him a Mario RPG villain. Complete with speach funnies.) But Floofy isn't big enough to pull that, are they? Then again, they HAVe been paying us. (He has a spanish accent okay it totally makes sense if you read it like that) and making far more than they've invested, so further missions aren't out of the question. * Lexi holds back laughter. "Yes... I would hate to see that. I'm shaking in my thigh high leathers." Then she raises a leg. "Want to see?... Just kidding." She sticks her tongue out. "See ya, Donny!" <> * Lexi heads back down to the longue. "There ya go, T." * Hestia reads the transcript or recording or whatever accompnies 'there ya go', presumably. Them too, huh... I wonder about the Supernova. You think someone orchestrated the supernova? Isn't that a little difficult? There's somebody out there who knows where the bugs are sleeping? (Supernova's the name of the third ship, Lexi) (I believe that's another ship) Not *a* supernova. The Supernova. It's the third ship. (Yeah, I was about to say.) I think we need to pursue Gene next. If this guy has that kind of info. wow. (Have we actually tried to find anything on Mr. Jackson?) (Not that I am aware of.) * Lexi blinks. "Oh." * Zeke nods slightly, and says, "And Mr. Jackson has become the only visual link." It's entirely possible Gene Ashwell and Mr. Jackson are the same person. Do you think we were their first? I recall Jackson being very spooked by the bugs. (Zeke in one of these = comedic gold: http://www.eddiestrickshop.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/n0418.jpg) (*snort*) (Indeed.) Good question, and there's damn near no chance we'll be able to ask Don Fernando about it. We're lucky Lexi was able to get this much. (I always wind up with the weirdest fucking tabs open after I run this game.) (Ha ha ha.) (HAving said all that: 12am x_x) (Indeed.) (Yeah, sorry.) (Over in Amadeus land.) (Rock me Amadeus.) (I am rocking, thank you.) <> <>