Walter and Vonon and whoever are going to pick up Vonon's HEV and then head to another marina to interrogate one of Ondrac's ex-employees.

Vonon precedes Walter back out into the main club room, and makes a beeline for a table and chairs -- where he recovers from the back of a chair a short-waisted jacket of maroon suede that is only slightly darker in shade than his maroon trousers. With a practiced twirl, the jacket is on, and Vonon leads Walter to the exit.

Once outside on the sidewalk, Vonon pauses a moment to inhale a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

"Ah! I tell you, Sir Walter, the smell of this air is wonderful." Vonon says, waving his right hand to indicate the city around them, "Where I come from, the air always smells 'canned', y'know? It has a slightly stale scent to it that reminds you that it has been filtered and scrubbed, like, a ba-zillion times. But this ... This smells fresh!"

Vonon visibly shakes himself, "Anyway. To the task at hand."

Vonon steps over to the edge of the sidewalk, places the index fingers of each hand to either side of his muzzle, and produces a loud whistle, followed by a shout of "Taxi!" Then he turns to look over his shoulder at Walter.

"Did I do that right? We don't have anything like taxis back on Cassandra's Belt, it's all automated mass transit. And, it seems I can't pucker my lips the way you Humans can, so I have to use my fingers to warp them the way needed to whistle."

Vonon tries to 'pucker up', but he just hasn't got enough lower lip at the end of his muzzle.

"See?" Vonon turns to look up and down the street, "Where's the taxi? I thought they came right away?"

No taxi shows up immediately, but a limo pulls up, and the driver gets out and comes around and opens the rear door.

"Count Cromwell's compliments," he announces. "You have the services of his limosine for the evening."

Once in the limo, the vehicle transports them first to the Gresham Hotel where Vonon is staying, and then to TAS office for Sharik.

During the ride, Vonon accesses the basic Aid program in his comm to search the business database for an "all night" pick-up and delivery service--24/8 Shipping, call them, and make arrangements for his HEV suit to be picked up from where he has it stored, and then delivered to the Seacraft Marina, "at the submersible pier".

Next he'll call the storage facility and inform them of the transport company that is coming their way, then he'll ask them to go and remove the case that holds his HEV suit -- describing the case exactly -- and hand it over to the movers when they get there. He'll give them whatever ID info they need, and he'll even arrange payment for this extra service (i.e., he'll either pay the extra fee and then add 50 credits for a "tip", or he will outright bribe the guy with 100 Credits to do this, if it's not an actual service they normally provide).

Once at his hotel, Vonon will say he just needs a few minutes to change into "working clothes", then asks Walter if he wants to wait here in the taxi (keeping access to the taxi) or if he'd rather wait in the hotel bar. Either way, Vonon will rush up to his room, swallow a couple of pills to get past the alcohol in his system -- Vonon has had 3 rum-and-cokes and a pint of beer -- if his metabolism is anything like mine (or better) he's not plastered, but he is "under the influence"; he's probably been slightly slurring his words -- I said Slightly! -- for the past several minutes, and his attention is drifting just a little. I wouldn't vouch for his accuracy with a pistol, just now, either.

Anyway. Vonon will come down in about 15 minutes dressed in an old Space Patrol black BDU jumpsuit, tucked into functional looking black "ship boots" (nothing special, like "Space Boots", just boots with "grippy" soles for grabbing metal deckplates in low-G) and one of his old Space Patrol black psuedo-leather jackets. The BDU jumpsuit and the jacket, while he wore them while he was in the Service, they now have had all patches and Cassandra's Belt Space patrol marking removed. His dressage looks more like a military uniform than "work clothes", but it just looks like he's wearing a black "uniform", he actually isn't.

Oh, and of course, even though it looks a little out of place, he's also wearing his wide, heavilly tooled, brown leather belt with a big silver buckle...and a holstered 10mm automatic pistol on his right hip, and Blade (basket-hilted Bowie Knife) sheathed at his left hip. Both these weapons hang on the belt "Garrison Style" (up on the belt, like a Cop, not slung low on the thigh, "Gunfighter Style")

Now he's ready to "back up" Sir Walter.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:15, Thu 16 Oct 2014.

Sir Walter headed out with Vonon. "Indeed it is rather nice to smell air that does not reek of lubricants and old socks like a vessel does after being in transit for a week. However, I find myself torn between both worlds as I like to travel but as I have gotten older, part of me wants to settle down. My ex wanted me to leave the merchants but I did not want to at the time. When I finally did, she did not want me around any longer as she was use to me being gone for long periods of time." he said entering the transportation.

Walter waited for Vonon to take care of his business and spied a spacer clothing shop near by that was getting ready to close for the night. "Wait here, be right back." he said to the driver. A few minutes later, Sir Walter returned carrying a bag with a pair of mechanics coveralls and work boots.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 3):

When Walter rejoins him, Vonon notices the duffle.

"Gear for the mission?" Vonon asks, pointing at the bag, "Outstanding!"

"Now, about questioning this guy about Ondrac...here's the way I'm thinking we can handle this." Vonon says as Walter settles himself in the car, "The way you're dressed right now, you kinda got an 'official' look going on. I'm thinking we find this guy and approach him like we're some kind of Investigators who're looking into improprieties made by Ondrac. You look like some kind of gov't official, I look  like some kind of enforcer. We just make sure we don't ever actually say what part of the establishment we're with."

"From what info we have, this guy has a lot of reason to hate Ondrac, so hopefully he'll be happy to answer our questions. But, if he clues into us not being anybody 'official', I'm thinking that then we can try and 'pay' him for information; start at 1-thousand Credits, more if needed."

"What do you think, Sir Walter? Got any ideas on the subject?"

Sharik sidles up behind Walter and Vonon.  "Take in the fresh air now," she quipped off-hand as she waited to pile into the vehicular transportation, "When we are underwater, it'll be recycled air again..."  The diminutive brunette winked at her vargr friend.

"How long were you married, Sir Walter?" Shar asked idly as they waited for Vonon to get 'dressed'.  She seemed keenly interested in the fact that many had actually been betrothed, her own experience with relationships had been much more transient.  It seemed to her that travelling wasn't really conducive to marriage - unless both parties actually travelled together.

Naturally, Sharik was last to get her stuff together.  The trio needed to stop by the TAS hostel in order for her to pick up her items.  Like, Walter, Sharik returned less than ten minutes later to the car with a nondescript duffel bag in tow.  She also had changed out of her riding leathers, and into a dark, pin-striped business suit.  The fabric looked freshly pressed, the crisp pleats of the tailored cut were fairly flattering.  Though when coupled with her designer mirrorshades (especially at night), it did make her look a touch more imposing.  There was a slight bulge under her left arm where a sleek leather holster with a compact stunner lay.  A thin coiled cable tied the sidearm to a powerpack that was strapped to her belt.  Plopping the duffel down on the seat, Sharik slid into the car next to her bag.

"Should I just wait in the car?" the diminutive brunette prompted Vonon when he started to 'talk shop', "You know, back-up to the back-up?"  She seemed at ease with what Vonon had proposed as a ruse, and the secondary plan to potentially bribe the man.  Sharik knew her strengths and weaknesses and if Walter wanted to the talking that was fine with her - if they needed her as a foil or some such, that was fine, too; Shar had had some experience with that as well.  "I'm fine with either play." she noted simply.

In reply to Sharik Kaagira (msg # 5):

"Dressed like that," Vonon answers, "I'm thinking you'll be of more use with us, rather than sitting in the car. Wouldn't you agree, Sir Walter?"

"Well Ms. Kaagira, we were married for 4 years and had two children together. My son is 25, in the Merchants and my daughter, 23, is in college studying to become a surgeon. Last time that I saw them was 4 years ago when I got knighted, the ex did not come." Sir Walther said to Shar, with a slight smile at the memory.

While they were waiting, Walter had pulled the coveralls out of the bag, started cleaning any tags off, and then adjusted them to his size so he could fine tune the clothes later. He did the same with his boots.

With Voron back, they headed to TAS to get Shar's gear.  Walter paused for a moment, in thought. "Concerning the former employee, I have a feeling that he might become offended if I was to flat out offer him a bribe. He may just spill the beans if he finds out that someone is looking into their misdeeds. If not, then I may ask to borrow his pen to dot down a few notes and then give him a few thousand credits for "renting" the pen. It is still a bribe, but more "Palatable"". he said

Seeing Shar coming out of TAS, Walter looked her over, and smiled. "I will hazard to guess that your role in this play is going to be my personal secretary." he said. "I would suggest that you come with me but conceal the weapon. A bodyguard would make sense, my personal secretary also "packing" will look like we are not on the up and up or that I am connected with the underworld." Sir Walter said

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 7):

"Oh, I never even thought of that angle!" Vonon said to Walter, "Yeah...trying to make it look like we're with the local Mob, trying to get dirt on Ondrac..."

Vonon shrugs his shoulders, "Oh, well. What you've laid out is probably the better way to go, anyways. First we just ask our questions, then only offer money if he's reluctant to talk."

Sharik nodded curtly to both Vonon and then Walter concerning the matter of her role in the upcoming 'interview'.  "Of course." she intoned dutifully, on the matter of concealing her stunner.  Given the confined space in the vehicle cabin, she carefully slipped off her suit jacket and adjusted the tailored leather harness to fit much more snugly around her torso - pushing the sidearm more tightly under her arm.  With the suit jacket back on, the weapon and holster seemed much more discreet - even if it was slightly harder to draw.

Once that was done, Shar pulled her hair back into a tight, low ponytail which along with her datashades made her appearance much more 'business-like'.  She straightening out the pleats on jacket for a moment.  "Well, boys?" she prompted the two other occupants (well, besides the driver) of the car, "How's that?  Better, right?"  Despite only saying only three short phrases, Sharik's voice took on a noticeable and slightly different vocal timbre.  It was lower and a touch more clipped - which made it sound more official or authoritative, but also both Walter and Vonon could hear a touch of the same local verbal inflection that might have been right at home in Ceruleanne Blue's voice.  The dark-haired dilettante had obviously been observing their blue-haired employer a fair bit.

[OOC:  Gotta love having Deception/3...]

In reply to Sharik Kaagira (msg # 9):

"If you're going for the look of a high-level bureaucrats assistant, you look marvelous." Vonon says, giving a double thumbs-up.

"In fact, my old friend, if you didn't look like a hairless ape, you might even be attractive." he adds, then throws back his head and lets loose with his howl-like laugh.

He quickly recovers, then asks, "Okay, so we're ready, yes? Then lets head for this marina where the gentleman we seek works. The quicker started, the quicker done, as they say."

Sir Walter cocked his left eyebrow in a quizzical expression at the notion of posing as the local mob.  "Our luck, Ondrac has them on their payroll." he said.

With the adjustments to Sharik, he nods in agreement. "That looks rather business like and will do nicely." he said.

"Driver, to the marina." Sir Walter said, giving the name of the marina that the former employee works at.

Quin Follows Sharik from the pub.  Spying the coach and following along to the door of the vehicle.

"Well I know what 'only for expenses' means.  I was just hoping that stipulation might have not been there is all."  She had wanted the advance to be an advance, it certainly would have helped her towards her goals.

So Walter, Vonon, Sharik and Quinzella took the Count's limo to Vonon's hotel, where they pick up his HEVacc-suit, then went to TAS hostel where Sharik picked up her gear. Did Quinzella also need to pick up her gear?


After that, the limo driver is directed to drive to the Harbor Winds Marina. Walter was able to find out that Shindar Oolak was working the evening shift tonight. Being mostly a water world, people tend to use boats to get around about the way other worlds use automobiles.

So there are boats leaving the marina and returning pretty much all night long as people go shopping, visit bars, and return.

It's a fairly large marina, with 12 floating docks and a security building at the entrance to the docks. There's a parking lot just outside the marina.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 13):

Vonon steps out of the limo and immediately halts, blocking the opening. He looks over the immediate area, hand resting on the grip of his holstered pistol -- really playing up the part of a professional bodyguard.

After assuring himself that nobody is paying any special attention to them, Vonon turns to the open limo door and says in a low voice, "All clear, Sir Walter. You take the lead from here and we'll follow."

Vonon makes room for the others to exit the limo, "How you want to play this? You want me or Sharik to ask after this Oolak fella, or would you rather do that?"

Quin got her gear

Quin looks around, "Why not I?"  She scans the boats, "Lot of hiding places though."  She takes the time to charge her rifle, just in case she might need it.  She looked to Sharik, "I think I should wander the docks right quick, be sure we are clear, or am I being too cautious?"

The austere-looking brunette addressed their vargr bodyguard, "Thank you." as she took his hand momentarily and stepped out of the limousine before Walter did.  Even as she scanned the immediate area, her fingers were tapping away on dynamic display of dataglove sheathing her left forearm.  Data began to stream across in one of the background displays in the corner of electronics on the curved surface of the glove.

Sharik gave Quinzella a slight nod of the head, acknowledging the idea was sound.  She tapped her earpiece with a touch, then the hand moved on to straighten her ponytail to tell her friend - as well as the others - to keep their commlinks open and connected.  The others had her comm ID already; so, keeping in touch should not be an issue.

She straightened the pleats of her suit top for a moment and stood waiting for Walter to exit the limo and for them to proceed.

For a moment, Walter looks at Quinzella with an expression of horror mixed with annoyance, but then he pauses and re-thinks his attitude. He was expecting this to be a casual social encounter that could, conceivably, turn a bit ugly, but if Quinzella and Sharik both seemed to think there was a greater probability of violence, he'd be a fool not to heed their caution.

"If you are the one going in with me," he said to Quinzella, "you won't need to bring your rifle. In fact, waving that around might bring the police down on us. It's just not a bodyguard weapon in a city."

"So, Sharik, Vonon, are you two going to secure our retreat, if it becomes necessary, or were you going to join us? If the latter, it might be less conspicuous if we are partiers, looking for a place to party."

"There looks to be more than one guard on duty. Can I leave it to you, Sharik, to occupy that guard's attention so that I can have a little tete-a-tete with Mr. Oolak?"

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 17):

"Sure, Sir Walter, if you want me to hang back and watch the limo, I can do that." Vonon answered the nobleman, "As long as you got Sharik, there, in the guard shack with you, I'm cryogenic with it. Just...if this Oolak fella isn't inside, please don't go off looking for him without me, okay? I'm pretty sure we're not going to have any trouble, here, but I'd feel real bad if there was trouble and I wasn't there to help."

Sharik shrugged slightly and then nodded to Walter.  "I am willing to occupy any guards, Sir Zeller." she noted lightly and easily, "Any way you want to play it, is acceptable to me."  The thin brunette seemed relatively at ease with the fluid situation, though her demeanor remained a touch haughty - most likely due to the power business suit that she still wore.

She mused off-hand, explaining to no one in particular, "I don't expect an ambush really."  Then Shar turned to regard her companions, "But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do our due diligence."  That was the main reason that she agreed that Quinzella should potentially take a look around; but again.  The youthful-looking dilettante looked to the elder noble; she was more than willing to back any play that Walter came up with.

Quin looked at Zeller, "I think it fitting with my social experiences I venture with you.  But no, I did not plan to take the rifle in with me, at least not in view, but give it to Sharik to hold in case I quickly needed it."

She again looked up and down the docks, sure to spot the strange wake of a hiding body, breathing bubbles, etc.  Anything out of the norm she looked out for.

She did lend a glance to Vonon, well more of a glare, unsure how he could continuously forget the woman standing in front of him.

Sharik quickly holds up a hand, begging off from taking the rifle from Quinzella.  "If you look strange toting a rifle..." and she gestures towards her simple business attire with a flourish, "I am definitely not dressed for it."

With a point of her right index finger, she motiones towards Vonon.  "Perhaps," the dark-haired dilettante ventured simply and quietly, "it would be best to leave it with him..."  Vonon was 'guarding' the car.  And more appropriately dressed as the muscle.  Or at least, one more used to physical labor.  Shar, of course, trusted her vargr friend implicitly.  It remained to be seen if Quinzella was willing to do so.  But, all Sharik knew was that she could only introduce them - the rest was up to them.

"For the time being, let us leave the rifle in the limo with Vogon." Sir Walter said, "If needed, Vogon can get it to you. So Vogon is at the limo as back up, Sharik will have a chat with the other guard. You and I will talk to Mr. Oolak. Let's go. If there is any problems Vogon, three times on the horn will alert us." he said, heading with the others to the guard shack.

Sharik gave Walter a quick 'thumbs-up' and then a curt nod to his instructions.  It all seemed easystraight-forward enough; at least, in theory.  But, in her limited experience, Shar knew that things like this always got complicated all on their own.  No help required.  So, she resolved to try and keep things as simple as possible.

She adjusted the sleeves on her suit jacket slightly, running her fingers along the crisp fabric of the pleats for a moment.  It seemed to help center her.

As soon as the others denoted their readiness, the thin brunette moved along side Walter and Quinzella.  She moved with enough casualness that it would take a trained eye to recognize that she was actually moving to intercept anyone that might be coming up to engage the trio.  As per the nobleman's orders, Sharik was more than willing to run interference...

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 22):

"Got it, Sir Walter." Vonon nods his understanding, "I'll have the driver stay inside, behind the wheel, to either honk the horn or be ready to scramble. And you remember to shout out, yourself, if you hit a snag."

Vonon points up as his canine ears, "I'll hear your shout. That, or I'll come running to the sound of gunfire. Hurr-hurr-hurr."

Quin looked at her rifle, then looked at Vonon, "Can you use this even?  I mean if memory serves Sharik can at least."  Then she turned to Sharik, "Can I trust him?  You know my rifle is pretty important to me."

She watched Zeller head off, "Shall we not all go in as one, solidarity and all?"

She turned back to Sharik, "Sharik, you are always dressed to impress in my opinion, the rifle would just complete the look."  She giggled slightly, the first real sign of pleasantness since Sharik and her on the dance floor.

Sharik smiled lightly and looked directly at Quinzella in response to her friend's question about their vargr companion's integrity.  "I would trust him with my life." the thin socialite stated simply and directly; which settled the matter to her mind.  Vonon was more than trustworthy in her opinion.

She 'heh'd' slightly to her fellow scout's assertion that the rifle was 'de rigueur' as a business suit accessory; the brown-haired dilettante took the 'compliment' in the spirit it was given and winked at Quinzella.  But, Sharik was comfortable enough with her current attire and let it stand at that; needless to say, she made no move to take the rifle from Quinzella.  Even to merely transfer it to Vonon.

The security station is a fairly large square structure with windows around most of it. There is a central guard station within that functions like an office. At the back, there is a restroom and a closet, neither of which have windows, but the walkway around the central area goes all the way back to the rear wall, and there are windows there so that the guards can see out the back of the building.

There is an access to the docks on either side of the building, but at this hour, only one side is open.

Members of the marina can leave the keys to their boats in the office; that way, they don't have to carry them around or worry about losing them. There's an ID scanner as you approach so the guards can check who goes out to the docks.

At the present time, there are two guards on duty: Shindar Oolak and another. There are a few other people in there at the moment.

Sir Walter walked up to the security station. "Excuse me, where might I find Mr. Oolak?" he asked.

Her shoes gently tapping on the pavement, Sharik walked and then stood dutifully just in back of and to the right of Walter.  It was as if she were ready to take anything from, or hand anything to, the man should he require it.  Her posture was quite erect and her expression held a slight smile, though it was admittedly a touch distant.  She seemed to be watchful, as any reasonable executive assistant might be.

The thin, brown-haired woman stopped when Walter queried the guard, taking a brief moment to glance down at her dataglove which on standby, but had a datastream display on it making it appear more active than it was.  When she looked up, Shar's right eyebrow was raised slightly, as though momentarily irritated that they had to stop and be delayed, yet her lips remained sealed in silence.  The older gentleman seemed to have things well in hand.

"I'm Oolak, sir," the guard replies. "What can I do for you?"


The other guard is currently dealing with members of the marina who are arranging for guests to be admitted for a party they are having on their yacht.

"I am Sir Walter Zeller, on unofficial business concerning the Imperial Ministry of Trade ." he said "Can you take a break for a few minutes or so, in order that we might be able to talk in private concerning your former employer?" he asked.

Quin had started to hand off the rifle but then she watched as first one then another of her companions walked away.  She turned to Vonon, "I meant no offense by the trust thing, just this rifle is something special after all."

She watched the other two, "I swear it is interesting how I offer to help and am left behind every time, even when tasked as such."

In reply to Quinzella (msg # 32):

Vonon wordlessly takes the rifle when it is offered to him, handling it in a manner which indicates his familiarity with firearms. He reaches into the limo, carefully placing the weapon in a position where it will be safe and secure, but also out of harms way, should everyone have the need of suddenly piling into the vehicle for a hasty escape.

At Quinzellas comment about being left behind, Vonon looks at her, unblinking, for a few seconds, before he answers.

"The plan -- which we discussed in the limo on the way over here -- is for Sir Walter to present himself as some kind of official person looking for info on the Onderac Corporation." Vonon raises a hand and gestures back and forth between himself and Quinzella,

"WE -- that would be me, Sharik and you -- are playing the parts of Sir Walters assistants, to make his performance more believable. Sir Walter felt I would better serve the plan by staying with the limo and protecting our escape route, should we need one. You and Sharik, however, are playing the parts of dutiful personal assistants. And where the Boss leads, the assistants follow..."

Vonon pauses a moment, waiting, then makes a slow sweeping motion with both hands, from where Quinzella is standing over towards the security building, where Sir Walter and Sharik can now be seen through the windows, talking with one of the two security guards inside.

Sharik continued to stand just off to the side of Walter.  Without a word, the dark-haired assistant started to tap away on her dataglove, her fingers gently drawing up various displays.  All seemingly in preparation to begin to record, dictate, or otherwise annotate the upcoming interview.  It was hard to say which, given the high tech hardware.

It was all done quietly and in the background.  Of course, Shar's gaze never actually left off concentrating on Oolak; her eyes continue to study the security guard that stood before them.  For what was not entirely clear; but her demeanor remains very business-like and perceptively alert.

"*sigh* Sure, I've got a minute to spare," Oolak replies to Walter. "But I've already told the authorities everything I know, which isn't much. I'm sure that's one of the reasons I got fired, along with being blamed for the misappropriation of funds. Since they couldn't prove it, they couldn't have me arrested."

Though business-like in tone, there was a touch of compassion in Sharik's voice.  "Don't worry, Mr. Oolak," the dark-haired assistant noted with gentle reassurance, "We are not here to interrogate or arrest you."  It was a remark made on the heels of Sir Walter's more general request; as though she were readily filling in details that any personal assistant worth their salt might do.

But even as she said that, Shar continued to tap away on her dataglove's dynamic virtual keyboard.  She feverishly input a number of search parameters looking to see if there was more on public record about Mr. Oolak and Ondrac Biocorp within the local justice system.  There was always a chance that there had been a public complaint filed - especially if, as the man had indicated that the authorities had been informed and there had been a previous official investigation of some sort.

"In fact," Sharik noted off-hand, "We believe that you may be due some compensation for your troubles.  There are some irregularities in the circumstances surrounding your dismissal that we would like to corroborate..."  She figured that if he thought they were on his side - as beleaguered as the man seemed - that it would improve his disposition potentially and make for a better, or at least more willingly open, interview.

And Shar wasn't really lying; that is what made the statement so easy to make.  They had some potential compensation for him.  Even if it wasn't official ...

[OOC:  Greetings, Mr. Oolak.  These aren't the authorities that you are looking for...

  10:05, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 6 using 2d6+3. Investigate/Int Check: Oolak vs. Ondrac Biocorp? (+0 Investigate, +2 Int, +1 Program) - as necessary.
  10:06, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 8 using 2d6+2. Advocate/Int Check: Oolak vs. Ondrac Biocorp? (JoAT/3, +2 Int) - as necessary.
  10:07, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 12 using 2d6+1. Diplomat/Soc Check (or Persuade/Soc) - as necessary (JoAT/3, +1 Soc).

No difficulties included.  And if EDU is the more appropriate characteristic on the Investigate or Advocate tasks, then the check will be one less, since her INT has a higher DM]

Heading off to a place to speak quietly, Sir Walter nodded in agreement to what Sharik has said. "There is some concerns from Imperial businesses that your former employer was playing fast and loose with trade laws to the point that Ondrac BioCorp has come to my attention. While they might have had you sign a non-disclosure agreement, they do not apply when crimes have been committed. With your former position, you might have been aware of a few incidents, such as evidence tampering or false testimony that was given in a court of law." he said, waiting for a response from the former employee.

Sharik doesn't find out anything new about Oolak and Ondrac though she notes that one reporter thought that the whole incident was some sort of cover-up.


Oolak replies to Walter: "I've already been compensated by Ondrac. My attorney told me that since they couldn't prove I was guilty of any wrong-doing, that was all I could reasonably expect until and unless they were proven guilty of something. It was called 'severance pay' in lieu of giving any cause."


He seems sincere, but his words also sound a touch... rehearsed, almost like he's reading from a script. He was a professional, however, so he may have picked up the jargon from his job.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 38):

Vonon held his two-handed gesture for a moment, then gave a little sigh and shrugged his shoulders; allowing his arms to drop back to his sides.

Placing a hand on his holstered weapon, Vonon begins watching the general area, keeping and eye -- and a nose and an ear! -- out for potential trouble.


OOC:
Vonon Ronkunu made an Intellect Roll for "Perceptual Observation" and rolled rolled 6 using 2d6+1. His Auditory & Olfactory senses are sharp enough to be included in this, but his eyesight is less effective in dimmer light.

Quin lowered her gaze at the one that sought her trust but would not return it, nor even act with decency in mind.  Her arm snapped quickly back to her side with the rifle in hand, as she had never released it.

"I gave you a chance to appeal to me as well as from Sharik, but instead just the gesture of an open hand you spat in my face!"

She turned to the other two and slowly began to stride up, eyeing the guards to see how defensive they might get upon seeing this late advancer to the party.  Hoping she could get all the way up to Sharik at least.

The two guards are not armed, and they seem to have noticed Quinzella coming from the limo just like Walter and Sharik did, so Quinzella has no problem approaching the guard house/office and reaching Sharik.

As she approaches the building while still carrying her rifle, she realizes one of the truths about laws: while a policeman would stop her and ask her for credentials, most people that see her carrying a rifle just assume she has a right to do so.

Sir Walter listened to Oolak "Your mouth says one thing and your body says another." he stated. "If the compensation package was so good from Ondrac BioCorp, why are you working here? There is more than meets the eye and now your former friends have abandoned you along with the social status that you use to have. While I have not meet you, I would hazard to guess that after the incident, your wife took the house and kids over something that you had nothing to do with. Would you not like to have your day in court in order to clear your name or at least have the satisfaction that they got their just deserts?" he asked

"Oh, do you have a pen that I can borrow?" he said, holding his hand out.

As Walter continues to try and push Oolak's buttons, he comes to a crazy conclusion: things aren't what they seem.

Walter bases this on the wrong reactions he gets from Oolak. Everything Walter tries to entice Oolak with produces just the opposite reaction. It's nothing that Oolak says, or even his facial expressions, but it's in his eyess. When they should display elation, instead they narrow every so slightly. When they should flash with anger, it's like they are smiling at Walter's silly suggestions instead.

It's almost like he realizes Walter has no idea what's going on.

He does hand Walter a pen when he asks.

Sir Walter looked him over, "Something tells me that the information I had received concerning your former employer is incorrect nor is the article on the web concerning the incident correct. What is going on?" he said, playing with the pen.

Quin looked over Sharik's shoulder, in an obvious manner.  As if to point out that they were more or less doing the same thing, it was for both of them.  She whispered to Sharik,

In reply to Quinzella (msg # 45):

Outside, by the limo, Vonon continues to watch the local area -- frowning and mumbling to himself, as he obsesses over his most recent encounter with the crazy human smuggler.



OOC: had to explain that failed Observation roll somehow ^_^

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Oolak replies to Walter.

He does seem to be getting a bit nervous, but it's fairly obvious Walter isn't pushing the right buttons. He's probably got some other motivation driving him. Walter will have to overcome that if he wants any answers.


Out at the limo, Vonon suddenly spots two 'suspicious' characters. It's 'sudden' because they weren't there a minute ago, though Vonon does see where they could have stepped out from behind a corner. Although he doesn't see any weapons, the two men are dressed in black: slacks, shirt, vest, deck shoes. They have the look of hired muscle.

They weren't together when Vonon spotted them, but they appear to be moving toward the security station.


In the security station, Quinzella not only spots those two men, but she spots two more approaching from the dock side. They might have come from a boat.

If Sharik was the least bit surprised by the appearance of Quinzella over her shoulder or her fellow ex-Scout's words in her ears, she did appear to let on.  The dilettante-cum-executive-assistant continued to tap away at her dataglove, watching more data stream by, before she murmured quietly over her shoulder, "Mister Oolak was going to explain to us about the apparent discrepancies in the various testimonies ..."

Though discreet, she made sure it was loud enough for the four participants to hear.  Shar glanced in the direction of the security guard and then back to her male companion.  Walter had taken the lead on this one, but Oolak seemed to be a tough nut to crack.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 47):

"Hey, buddy," Vonon quietly calls into the limo, to the driver, "Start the engine. Stay here and keep the motor running. There's a really slim chance there may be some trouble in the next few minutes, and if there is, the Count'll pay you double. Got it?"

Without waiting for an answer, Vonon moves off for the security building. He is trying to be stealthy, but he is not "sneaking around"; he's aware that there are civilians moving around the marina, and him surreptitiously dashing from shadow to shadow would be suspicious. So, he's not so much "hiding" as he approaches the building, he is simply trying not to be noticed, to not stand out, as he casually walks towards the security building. He's not even trying to "intercept" the two guys in black; he's just trying to get closer to the building in case any trouble starts.



OOC: Fri 05 Dec 2014: Vonon Ronkunu rolled 8 using 2d6-2 ((-3 No Skill) + (+1 DEX) + (?DM for dark clothes/nighttime/dim lighting)).
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Fri 05 Dec 2014.

Quin lowered her voice further, assuring only Sharik would hear as she mentioned the suspicious characters seeming to come from the water, and assuring to add her readiness to assist.  She calmly pushed her hair behind her ears and refocused to the conversation at hand, allowing her eyes to scan over the display, or seem they did, that Sharik had up.

"I have a feeling that you have been set up as bait in case someone comes sniffing around."Sir Walter said. "I am sure that you do not wish to die for your former employers now do you?"

OOC:Persuade-1 +1 for skill, +1 for INT, -2 difficulty (just to be on the safe side)22:41, Today: Walter Zeller rolled 4 using 2d6. Persuade. Oh well. 

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 51):

At one point in his casual stroll towards the security office, Vonon stops and takes out his comm and types a quick message -- then sends it to his companions.

[POSSIBLE INCOMING BOGIES. TOO MUCH COINCIDENCE. WE WERE EXPECTED. BE CAUTIOUS.]

Sharik nods her head just slightly in response to Quinzella, hopefully enough for her fellow ex-Scout - who is closest to her, after all - alone to see.  She shifts her dataglove display a touch to afford her friend a better view of Vonon's text message.

She shakes her head as Oolak is apparently in on the action here - not bait, really.  "A plant.  A plant for the overly curious..." the thin dilettante growls softly, then adds softly over her shoulder, "Looks like your rifle will come in handy after all."  Shar sighed slightly, then stepped to her left to give the woman with the longarm a directly line of sight to the unarmed security guard; there seemed little need to keep the man around, as he stilted the odds in the favor of the enemy.

Quin silently chuckled to herself for what Sharik said about the rifle coming in handy.  She stepped forward to Zeller, "Uh, excuse me sir, we seem to have a problem you should be made aware of."

She held up her own smaller display and typed out that there appeared to be bogies stalking around, "Matters seem to be leaning more to chance than in our favor, sir.  Sorry for the intrusion."

She then stepped back to Sharik.

"I am not in any danger," Oolak replies to Walter. "If the situation was even remotely like you think it is, I would hazard that you would be the one in danger."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."


With Vonon keeping an eye on the two men that were approaching the marina entrance and Quin keeping an eye on the two that were approaching from out on the docks, it is somewhat surprising that none of them actually approach the guard station.

The two on the street stop just before the entrance and lean on the railing. One of them points to one of the yachts, and the two appear to be discussing it.

The two from the docks reach one of the closer yachts and climb aboard and vanish from sight.

Sharik frowned at Oolak's self-dismissal, but she let the man go.

Then the other four 'bogies' seemed to disperse without incident.  Something wasn't right, and she would be the first to admit it.

Once out of earshot, Shar hrumphed slightly.  "We are missing something..." the dark-haired dilettante ventured quietly, "Something big."  Though for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what that was; the ex-Scout couldn't put her finger on just what it was that was setting off the hackles on the back of her neck.

They were getting paid a lot of money for being off-worlders willing to do something seemingly redundant, no questions asked.  It didn't add up.  She leaned in towards both Walter and Quinzella.  "Are we done here?" Sharik prompted, "I'm getting a kind of black-cat, bad luck feeling about this job..."

The bogies didn't actually disperse; they are still there, but their actions are inconsistent with your original 'interpretation' of bogies. No one is actually close enough to get a good look at them right now, so you can't really see facial expressions or body language.

Sharik's jaw quivered for a moment, her eyes darting back to where Oolak had disappeared a minute ago.  She took a deep breath, which made her slight frame shudder slightly.  After a pause, she spoke again.

"He said that they called it a 'severance package'." Shar brainstormed, mulling the words over in her head; the she smiled slightly.  Her head shaking as if in momentary disbelief.  "Of course," she sighed, "they might call it that.  But he never left the company."

She glanced from Walter to Quinzella and then back offering a sort of explanation, "If it were official bureaucracy, I'd call it the witness protection program."  A slight smirk crossed her burgundy lips, "But since we are dealing with more private, and less savory, organizations... it is probably best called, 'laying low'."

She grimaced, as they had tipped their hand, "Oolak is an Ondrac loyalist.  And the two pairs we tagged are his insurance."  Sharik severely hoped that she was wrong.  But, somehow, she doubted it; the hackles on the back of her neck were tingling.  And that was never a good sign.

"Vo," the dark-haired dilettante muttered into her comm, "See if you can get a better view - or even better, a picture of the two bogies on your side."  For her own part, Sharik moved to see if she could get a better sighting of the pair that Quinzella had spotted; she was pretty sure that one of her own advanced electronic gadgets, either her comm or her dataglove, had a decent camera cum recording device on them.

Let's see what we can see... Shar thought to herself...

In reply to Sharik Kaagira (msg # 58):

"Vo," Sharik's voice muttered quietly from the comm-dot in his ear, "See if you can get a better view - or even better, a picture of the two bogies on your side."

*...Get a better view!...* Vonon thinks with a frown, glancing over at the two dimly-lit 'boat-watchers', *...what's she think I've got here, a Mark-Nineteen sensor suite?...gotta use the flash...crap...well, maybe they'll believe this...tho' I sure wouldn't...*

Vonon pulls his comm from its pouch on his belt, then turns his back to the pair of dark-clad men he'd been watching, and raises up his hand with the comm -- activating the built-in camera and flash. He sets up the shot so that it looks like he's taking a 'selfie', but is actually focusing over his shoulder on the two dark figures.

*...here goes...*

Vonon presses the button, and there's a bright flash from his comm while taking the image. He drops his arm and looks down at the tiny screen to review the image he'd captured; to outward appearances ignoring the pair several yards behind himself, but actually focusing very hard to listen for any sound of approach by them.

With only a cursory glance at the image, Vonon sends it to Sharik, confident that she probably has a means of cleaning up the image, if needed.



OOC:
Vonon Ronkunu rolled 7 using 2d6+1 for "Listen/Observation"

"I agree Ms. Kaagira." Sir Walter said after the guard left. "I have a feeling that we are getting set up for a fall and need to get back with the others. Of course, we can say thanks for all the information to Mr Oolak and let the goons sort things out for us." he says with a sly smile.

As they headed out, he stopped by the guard shack and seen the others there. "Thank you for being forth coming with your former employers misdeeds. Mr Oolak.  The offer of Imperial protection still stands if you are cooperative but you will need to come with me. For your safety." he said, with an evil grin.

OOC:21:15, Today: Walter Zeller rolled 12 using 2d6. Persuade. .
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Mon 15 Dec 2014.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 60):

OOC: Oh!  Oh!! That is...that is...that's just Evil! I like it ^_^

Sharik nodded to Walter's assessment.  She shared the wry smile with him, when he brought up thanking Oolak, a slight chuckle escaping her lips.

As they passed the security guard station and after Walter said his piece, Shar paused and snapped a quick still of Shindar.  "For your file, sir." she intoned curtly, accepting any pose that she caught the man in.  "To tie in with your testimony." she explained, "The judge will need it..."

Turning to follow Walter and Quinzella, the dark-haired assistant continued to busily tap away on her dataglove's dynamically-configured input register.

Oolak doesn't seem to be concerned about Walter's ploy, and even poses for Sharik's little 'photo shoot'. He waves goodbye to the group as they leave and he grins with an almost sinister look.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 63):

Vonon falls in-line with the others, as they head out and back to the limo.

"So, I'm guessing from the frowns and the annoyed pheremones that that didn't go well?" He asks Sir Walter. "Well, then, fine. We tried doing it the smart way; trying to gather intel on our opponents. Now, maybe we should..."

Vonon stops cold, about a meter from the open door of the limo, his jaw hanging open in the Vargr equivalent of a frown.

"Shar'r....you said that this felt like a set-up -- what if it is? What if this is a double-blind scam? So far, we've taken everything that Miz Blue told us as absolute truth, but, when you did your checking, did you check her?  Or did we even double check her story? I know you looked up the two companies she mentioned, but did you check the legal record to see there actually was a court case over this stuff we're supposed to 'secure'?"

"What I'm wondering is, what if the bad guys have actually hired us to hit their own facility, so that we can be blamed for 'wrecking' the data on behalf of the folks we think we're working for?"

Vonon shakes his head to clear his thoughts.

"No, no, wait. If that were the case, then this Oolak fella would have given us all kinds of encouraging information to make us hurry out to the lab, if he were still working for his old employers." Vonon places his right hand over his eyes and heaves a deep sigh.

"This is why I left the Patrol. Abouve the rank of Commander they expect us to be able to follow all this crap and figure it out, but I'm just a simple Patrolman! I want somebody else to point me at my target!"

Vonon looks back and forth from his friend Sharik to Sir Walter and back again for a few seconds, then drops his jaw in another frown.

"Alright, I admit I'm no good with the sneeky, underhanded, double-back, twisted way of thinking in the business world, but I do know the military world. And with the intel we just gathered, my military training is telling me one of three things is going on right now..."

"Possibility One: this Oolak guy is acting strange. Maybe this means he's part of some plot that was expecting us, or someone like us. But he didn't feed us any real intel. All he did was affirm that his old employers hadn't treated him badly; almost like he was implying they aren't the bad guys in this scenario. But the hard fact we come away with is that he was ready for someone to come looking for him; someone was expecting our fishing trip. That means they know we're coming and already have a response in place."

"Possibility Two: the bad guys aren't, yet, expecting any trouble, but they set this Oolak fella out as a trap in case anyone does come snooping around for intel, like we just did. In that case, there isn't a trap set for us yet, but once Oolak reports that he was just pumped for info, a trap will be set for us."

"Possibility Three: I know all this sounded reasonable back at the club, but I'm now starting to wonder why all this is taking place at such a 'last minute' hour? The courts -- supposedly -- are going to order all this data-and-whatnot turned over tomorrow morning! Our employers say that they are absolutely certain this will happen. Well, if that's true, it's reasonable to assume the people who have the data now also know this, yes? Why would they wait until the very last minute to destry it and clean up their involvement? Why hasn't that been done already?"

Vonon shrugs,

"In a military scenario, all three of these points indicate we're walking into a trap. The military solution to a trap is to either by-pass it -- and I don't see how we can do that, in this case, and still get paid -- or to hit the trap so hard you overwhelm it."

"Now, I'm starting to sober up -- which means I'm starting to get bored, and I want to wreck something. So, I'm thinkin we just jump on board the transport, get out to that damn dome ASAP, and hit is so fast they won't know whether to shit or shoot back. We grab everything but the personnel, and scram. By tomorrow night we'll either be flush with cash or wanted men. And women." Vonon finishes with a nod to Sharik.

Sharik chuckled slightly, as Oolak mugged for her picture.  So, she played into it.  The thin dilettante rubbed her chin, giving the man an appraising look.  Then she straightened his collar, very professionally, and smoothed the pleats of his jacket before step back and giving him a curt nod.  And snapping another picture.

She resumed tapping away on there dataglove even as she turned back to the others.

Once clear of the guard station, Shar tapped her earbud to her p-comm.  She took a deep breath and nodded.  Then looked at Vonon as he spoke.  She shook her head, "I think that it is less of a set up.  Oolak was an operator for Ondrac that got caught.  He must have been valuable enough that they want to retain him..." she glanced back at the guard station, "he's laying low here until they can quietly reintegrate him."  Sharik took a deep breath.  "He never left Ondrac.  Loyal through and through.  He's probably reporting us right now..."

"To which..." and she held up a finger, "we may have a window into..."  Sharik tapped some more on her dataglove's dynamically configured input array and whispered something to her agent software before continuing to narrate softly, "I was able to get a commdot on Shindar before we left."  Her lips were pressed into tight in an expression of concentration, "if I can get the guardhouse computer to act as a receiver and repeater..." the implication was obvious.  They could hear what was going on with Oolak.

"But you are right, Vo." Shar agreed as she worked, "He's a honey pot.  Someone set him out there to attract flies..."  And they may have just been caught, whether he was set to catch them specifically or not.

[OOC:  Hmm... can we extend some range on that commdot?

  21:07, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 8 using 2d6+3. Computer/Int Check: Can we hack an antenna? (Intellect/1, +2 Int).

Sharik will take her time, if allowed, to get a +1 DM on her task check. *crosses fingers*]

There's no immediate or instant way to come up with an antenna, but that's not the issue anyway. It's how much power can be fed to the commdot. Even then, too much power would likely burn it out.

Another option, however, would be some sort of directional receiver, such as a parabolic dish receiver. That could conceivably pick up the signal from much farther away.


What is everyone else doing?

Sir Walter heads back to the limo and pours himself a glass of whiskey on ice. "Yes, this is giving me a headache." he said as he polished off half of the glass in one swig. "Maybe we are over thinking this and can try low tech. Sharik, could you hack into the local phone system and pick up what the receiver hears or better yet, use that to receive the commdot signal? That might help." he added as he finished off the glass and poured another one, this time sipping it much slower.

"I understand your frustration there Vonon. A lot of this does not make any sense and I hope we do not end up having an extended stay at the local grey bar motel.I think that we need do it the old fashion way and start talking to people, maybe buying drinks to loosen their tongues. Lets head to the star port" Walter added.

"I'm on it." Sharik noted, her tone slightly beleagured as she piled into the limo across from Walter.  She motioned to the mercantile nobleman to pour her a drink as well, while she worked.  Tapping away on the holographic input keypad of her dataglove, the thin dilettante started to send out the various tendrils of virtual agents via her own personal aide program to try and see if she could manage what Sir Zeller had asked for.

Shar pursed her lips, pulling a bobbie pin from her hair, allowing it to cascade down in front of her face for a moment.  Chewing on the errant hair piece, she contemplated aloud, "Finding and high-jacking into the output signal of her commdot could be easy or hard depending on the state of the local technology.  Let see what we can hear..."

Her patchwork hack pretty much done, the young cosmopolitan socialite took in a deep breath to try and calm herself and then crossed her fingers (only metaphorically speaking) and patched the audio into the small speakers of her own local p-comm for general dissemination.

[OOC:  14:07, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 9 using 2d6+3. Computer/Int Check: Local network hacking for commdot signal (Intellect/1, +2 Int).]

Again being left in the wake of those she was supposed to be a companion to, Quin followed along.  Though pulling Sharik aside for a moment, "You spoke for the Vagr, I trust you, therefore I was willing to leave my rifle in his hands, until he tried to pry my weapon from my hands.  You know this rifle is special to me."

She then looked over to the docks were she had seen the fellows of suspicion, "Sharik, do you object if I wander a short moment over there and see if something lies in wait for us?"

As it turns out, there are still a few 'antique' cell towers in the city; most of the comm signals are handled through satellites. There's one about a half-mile from the marina that Sharik is able to hack into, mostly because of its antiquated systems and security.

Because its range is so limited, it is actually able to pick up the commdot's signal as if it was a cell phone with only one bar. Still, it picks it up and transmits it.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 67):

"...Lets head to the star port" Walter said.

"I don't really have any objection to that course." Vonon shrugged, settling into the seat of the limo, "But I thought the plan was that, after we got whatever intel we could get here, we were to meet up with the others at the submersible? What're you thinking we'll find at the starport?"

"We have two options in gathering information. We can see about a local port bar to see if anyone talks about the dome or we can try the starport to see if anyone talks about the company. Heading back to the starport also might be a better option so that they think we are leaving."  Walther says, handing Sharik a drink.

Shar ruefully shook her head to Quinzella's story about her interaction with Vonon, but she remained quiet - not defending the actions of either party.  At some point, the two of them were going to have to work it out on their own.  Sharik found it ironic actually, the two of them should probably get along quite well.  If they didn't kill or maim each other first.

"Do it." the thin socialite-cum-executive assistant noted with a curt nod to Quinzella's request to run recon, before adding quickly, "but don't take too long.  We should go."  She glanced back at the guard station, intimating that they still had some appearances to maintain.  It would take her attempt at hacking the remote feed a couple of more minutes (at least) anyways.

A few minutes later, in the back of the limousine , she sat up a little straighter and straightened her hair slightly; though her eyes were still glued to her display.  "Heh..." Sharik mused idly, taking the tumbler from Walter with a salute for acknowledgement, "they still use portions of the mid-range radio broadcast band for personal communication device contact..."  She looked up and tapped one of her dataglove displays.

The small speaker on the computer began to relay the feed from the commdot before she spoke again softly, "Beowulf has a patchwork of cellular networking towers.  A couple of iterations behind the standard Imperial tech..." which her dataglove and own personal comm network was a couple of steps above, "but I was still able to get my commdot signal to piggy back on one of those receiver towers..."  Shar seemed reasonably happy with what she had done, but was well aware that it took her a while to get there.

The diminutive dilettante flicked the speaker off as there was currently only low level white noise.  "I'll have my personal agent monitor the feed." she narrated, before turning her full attention back to the conversation at hand.

Sharik nodded curtly to Walter, "The starport is as good a place as any to be until the rendezvous time..."  Like her fellow nobleman, she could see it going either way.  And they need to get gone for a bit.

"We just need to wait for 'Q' to get back." she noted since her fellow Scout had wandered off to investigate something.  And had yet to report back.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 72):

Vonon flicked his ears back-and-forth, then shrugged.

"Like I said, sounds like a plan to me. I'm not a trained investigator -- back in the Patrol I was trained more to 'Observe first, then Assault'. And I'm always up for a good carouse, Emperor knows!" Vonon said, "But we're looking for information to help us find a secret lab facility hidden a few hours travel from here -- do you really think we'll find info like that at a starport bar?"

OOC: I'm not sure which direction Quinzella is going... the security station is actually on a floating dock, and the two 'thugs' on the docks were farther out on the other floating docks to which the various boats were moored. They appeared to 'vanish' by moving onto one of the boats.

The other two 'thugs' were on the street/wharf. Since that is the direction the group was now heading to get back to the limo, I'm guessing that is the direction Quinzella is going?


If Quinzella goes farther out onto the docks looking for those men, both of them step off a boat, acting as if they are security.

"Cabin locked?" one asks the other.

"Yep. Anchor's down, lines are moored. The Lady Serena is all secure," the other one replies.

"Must have been a false alarm, or maybe just a prank call."

They glance 'casually' at Quin, but otherwise ignore her, walk past and enter the security station to 'report' to the guard there.


If Quinzella heads up to the limo ahead of the group, she sees that the two 'thugs' up there have moved on down the street a ways... not too far. They seem to be window-shopping the boats they can see from the wharf. While they are going through the motions, Quin can tell from their body language that they are 'alert', not so much ready to pounce as to react if something happens.


Sharik is, of course, able to pick up the conversation that the two 'thugs' and the guard have.

"Problem?" the one asks.

"Nah, don't think so," Oolak replies. "They aren't tourists, but... I'm not sure what they are. Wanted some dirt on Ondrac. Don't know why they thought I had some, but even if I did, I wasn't about to bite the hand that feeds me."

"Should we follow them?" the other one asks.

"No need to stir up trouble," the first one replies. "Words don't bother us. We're here in case things get rough. Besides, I know pullin' guard duty is a pain, but that's our job. Let someone else deal with it."

"So we're going to report to HQ?" the other one said a bit too eagerly.

"Nah," the first one replied after thinking about it for a few seconds. "Nothing to report, really. It's no secret that Oolak worked for Ondrac. They was just asking questions. Nothing the authorities didn't already ask... and got nowhere."

"Good job, Oolak. Keepin' your head down's the way to go."


As they others reach the limo, it's not a problem standing around 'discussing' your plans, as you wait for Quinzella to resolve her excursion.

Quinzella, following the street bound 'thuglifes', ducks behind a corner, sending a message via text to Sharik, 'All four that were about seem to still be.  I am inclined to keep an eye on the ones in our travel path until it is no longer needed.  I can keep up my ruse, and ought to still be hidden.'

She kept a watch out, and well listening in case she might hear their voices on the wind.

Her thin burgundy lips were pressed into a tight thin line for a moment.  "++Q.++" Sharik's voice chirped over the comm link, her tone clipped and rather business-like, "++Come back in.  We have what we need.++"  Oolak and his watchers were still on the payroll.  She played back the snippet that she had been monitoring in the back round.  Shar didn't know how long Quinzella would need to get back, but there was no point in wasting any more time here.

The diminutive dilettante sipped from her tumbler idly as the recording played out, letting Vonon and Walter draw their own conclusions for the moment.  "Guess that settles that." she broke the silence, "we aren't the first to come looking."  Sharik stated the obvious, but seemed to feel that it needed to be said.

"Someone at Ondrac has put some forethought into this play." Shar said rather distantly, her gaze turning to look our the tinted window for a moment.  She seemed lost in thought for a pregnant moment.  To her, it seemed rather reminiscent of a past mission, but she was having some problems putting her finger on it.  It was just a niggling feeling, gnawing at her memory.

It was rather annoying actually.  The thin socialite pursed her lips, then turned her gaze back to the others to see their reactions.

PM

Quin bottled an exasperated sigh at the reply Sharik gave her.  She fired back another text, "You know how I get when I am working, no time spent on recon is wasted.  Besides you are the only one among our little group, those at the bar or car, who has made me feel like anything tonight.  If the most comfort I have is working...well that is expected.  They are talking about our crew, they seem recon for the other side.  These guys do not appear to be threat like alone, but they appear to have further contact with a third party."

She grinned slowly, "Permission to take them out?"  It was half a joke, but half not.  While she did look forward to thwarting the other side, it would also be a personal joy if she could.

Sharik gently pushed her earbud into her ear so that she could hear Quinzella's response more clearly.  An eyebrow arched at the end of the first sentence and remained raised for the duration.  A thin crooked smile touched her lips, a touch of tooth showing.

When prompted for a further - more direct - action, the thin dilettante paused for a moment, sitting stock still.  She pushed her mirrorshades down off the crown of her head and over her sparkling brown eyes, sharing them.  The intervening silence, both of her friends knew well.  While, not a trained statistician, Shar could hold her own with mental calculation - and she seemed to be performing one right now.

"++Negative.++" the former corporate operative quipped curtly and with some finality, "++Return home.++"  Jeopardizing the mission was not worth it; no matter that the deal already stank.  Sharik knew that extra blood on their hands wouldn't make it smell any sweeter at this point.  And she left it at that; besides it was time to share more details.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 78):

Vonon settled back into the comfortable seat of the limo and closed his eyes.

It was looking to be a long wait.

Quin recieved the message, a visible frown over her face.  She began to head back, never turning her back on the two men.

A text transmitted as she moved toward Sharik and the vehicle, You know I can style it.  Be stealthy, make it look like an inner dispute, make it seem to be self defense, etc.

She was now in sight of the car, likely in yelling distance, easy enough to be picked up even if the car passed by.

"Well Voron, it might be that someone had came from off planet to bring parts for the facility or maybe had heard a local talk about something strange that happened, you never know." Sir Walter said

"We can wait a while for Q to check the place out but unless this is where they leave for the facility, this is a dead end." he added.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 83):

Without lifting his head or opening his eyes, Vonon responds,

"Oh, I'm not discounting the possibility of a lucky find." he says, "Stars abouve! Quite a number of claim jumper raids, back in Cassandra's Belt, were based on Intel gained from comments overheard at various port bars."

"And like I said, I'm all up for another round of pub-crawling." Vonon raises an arm and pulls back his black jacket sleeve to reveal his wrist chrono, "I just want to point out that, between me and Shar'r going to change our clothes and the drive out here for the crap amount of Intel we got, we've already used up almost half the time we have, before we're supposed to meet-up with the others."

"And, frankly, I am stumped for how to proceed at this point. The Intel source we were going to pump turned up nothing useful, but maybe the others will have better success. My simple Patrolman's brain can only think to head out to the target area and assist in the search for the secret lab."

Vonon finally lifts his head a little bit, as he drops his arm back down to the seat cushion, and cracks open one eye to look at Walter,

"And, while I find the potential business opportunity of hooking up with you all to be quite interesting, remember that I am actually here on vacation. All this criminal-type action on a planet where said actions aren't illegal is just some vacation fun, for me. I'm taking it seriously, mind you, but it's still all fun and games to me."

Sharik took an idle sip from her tumbler, then as slight chuff escaped her lips as Vonon made his pronouncement about this being his vacation.  The sounds was actually highly reminiscent of a vargr sound, it would seem that more than a touch of her vargr companion's mannerisms were available to her.

"Dahling," the diminutive dilettante intoned with an almost syrupy sweet inflection in her voice, "you know me.... I have been 'on vacation' for more than a decade now..."  And it was true; she'd been on her 'Grand Tour' of the sector for more than twelve years.  In that time, living off of family revenue, investment dividends, odd jobs, working passages, grav-cycle racing contracts and tours, and just about any other method that she could manage to garner (though not necessarily keep) income.

As for the seriousness of the situation, Shar had always seemed to take everything with a certain amount of weight.  Vonon was well aware that the youthful-looking socialite took her recreation (of which she might actually count many of those 'odd jobs') with determined seriousness that sometimes bordered on obsessive single-mindedness.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Sharik often seemed to have little else to obsess about.

Or, perhaps, as her long-term friends knew it was something fairly deeply ingrained in her base personality.

A gentle tap game at the window closest to Sharik, it was Quin returning.  Her face still mattered with concern.

"Sharik, things just do not feel right.  You know what I mean?  What did others find out?"

She remained standing where she was and did not enter the vehicle until it was shown she was welcome.

Sharik popped the door for Quinzella, her internal reverie broken by the short rap on the window.  She gestured for her friend to come into the more cozy quarters of the limousine.  She wasn't about talk shop with the window open.

It was then that she realized that she hadn't weighed in on their next destination.  "Bar is fine." the dark-haired dilettante noted simply but rather noncommittally over the rim of her tumbler, "but so is the rendezvous point."  Shar obviously didn't feel that they needed to be there bottleneck timing-wise when it came to rendezvous.  They might as well get a move onto the next destination if there was nothing left here.

Having heard Darrel's beckons, she tried to make sure that Quinzella entered the cabin quickly.  She wanted to get him on the line as quickly as possible, but would not do so with either the door or the window open.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:36, Tue 13 Jan 2015.

Vonon snorted in amusement without coming out of his relaxed position.



Again, with a lazy conservation of motion, Vonon's only reaction is to lift his hand and give a non-commital wave before dropping the hand back onto his chest.

Quin slid into the car beside Sharik, still not sure about the others.  Behind her she closed the door and made sure the window was up.

Deep in thought about the incident, Sir Walter took another sip from his glass and looked around. Noting that the group was in the vehicle, he gave a sigh. "Lets go and meet with the others." he decided. "To the rendezvous point." he said to the limo driver over the intercom before finishing the drink.

"What were your observations?" he asked the group

Walter is probably more used to the convoluted politics of court, or the layered shell game of corporate machinations. Here on Grendel, there's not so much of that. It's still a rather backward planet, but those sorts of things just take place on a much smaller scale. Instead of 20 hidden interconnections, here there may only be 3.

Certainly the current situation is a bit more than it appears (though it was meant to look as it appears), but it's probably not as convoluted as he was expecting.

Quin shrugged, "The Vegr is gruff, the people here are more than they say or appear.  That we were followed, that smatterings of information are being traded already about us."

She looked at Sharik, "That I could not stop."  She chuckled, trying to show she was not truly upset about this.

She turned back, "And that are chaotic little tribe is much too big for such a simple event."

Sharik patched Darrel into the feed, since he had prompted the entire group for feedback.  She simply nodded to Quinzella's summary, then Shar summarized her own findings, "Oolak is plant.  The two pairs that we marked..." one of which was the pair that Q had been watching, "... also continue to be on the Ondrac payroll."  Her thin fingers tapped out a rhythm on her dynamic dataglove display and a repeat of the commdot capture was relayed to everyone assembled, even Darrel, if he is still on the line.

"We can't stop them from relaying our actions to central." she concluded, giving a pointed look at Quinzella, "the alternative of trying to either immobilize or eliminate them would have been outside the mission parameters."

"Be careful, Count Cromwell." the diminutive dilettante noted, after taking another sip from her tumbler, "Del Vinian could also be a plant.  It is a little too convenient..."  She took a deep breath, for the implication was still all too clear to her.  They were being setup as convenient patsies.  Not necessarily expected to fail, but potentially expendable off-world assets.

All the guys receive a comm from Sam

"New development means we have an earlier deadline to meet as well, at Midnight. We need to be at the Submersible no later than 2200 to have a chance of meeting this. Don't be late! Sam.".

ooc

posting this in case yr not following my thread, hope that's ok?
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 17:44, Tue 20 Jan 2015.

No one else is following your thread--they can't even see it as it was set up as a private thread for Sam and Ikram.

So the limo is directed to take them to the Seacraft Marina. I'll start a new thread so that the others can join in as available.