Casey saunters into the bar with just enough swagger to indicate she can clearly handle herself as she makes her way up to the bar, nodding to Sax, "Beer."

She glances around again to see if anyone might have a game going at the table. After all, their boy may have come here to fancy a taste of more than a few things. Nonetheless, it was always better to put some money down before you started down certain roads.

After finishing her first beer, she orders a second, "Hey. I'm looking for a friend of mine. He and I have a long-standing bet that I'd like to settle. I'm wondering if you might have seen him or could maybe point me to someone who has. Last I heard from him he was hanging out on the station."

Casey, toss a Communications roll in for good measure

OOG: Because she has such a way with words and people. LOL!

12:54, Today: Casey Khatri rolled 8 using 3d6 with the AGE System with rolls of {3}, 4, 1.  Communications.

The aged eyes of the bartender rise to meet Casey's; so does an eyebrow.  Sax glances in Cho's direction before focusing again on Casey and shrugging, "I see a lot of people in here.  Can't say they always leave an impression.  You should be able to look him up on the station's net."

He pushes the filled mug in front of the ex-soldier.

Fail on the roll and only a 3 on the drama-die; Sax wasn't inclined to be more helpful.

Meanwhile Doris' algorithms continue their work....

"I'll be right back." Tane said standing.

He walked over to the bar and pulled up near the other permanent fixture, (not the hostile belter) Glancing at the bartender he ordered a mixed drink. Turning his head he asked the (wo?)man (you  weren't clear), "So I noticed you're not drinking much, and the bartender doesn't seem to care. So, I'm guessing security?"

Communications roll please

Tane Henare rolled 8 for communications.

Casey shrugged. Glancing at Sax, she chuckled. "I guess I will have to. Clearly he's ribbing me again. Can I get another beer."

She took a hard swallow of the first one and settled in at the bar.

The residents of The Inconsistent Moon prove to be an insular lot.  As Casey receives her drink Tane receives nothing but one word, non-committal answers to his questions.  The group soon finds itself gathered back at the table Doris has setup shop in to nurse their drinks and wait.

Hours pass.

Though the crowd has tripled as works come off shift looking for a few drinks before heading home there's still plenty of room in the bar.  The Earthers and Martians get a few hard stares, often from Belters with obvious OPA tattoos, but more than once you catch Sax waving off any questions and giving a sign that everything is okay.

It's then that the data pad chimes with a 98% match.

The image is from 5 days ago, level 12, section 22.  A quick visual comparison with the image provided by the senior Dardanus and you're certain it's Kai.  He appears to have come out of La Cage.  Doris is able to back track further and confirm that he entered the business 45 minutes prior.  She tries trace his travel leading up to La Cage but cameras loose him after 10 minutes on level 12 when he moves through a section with malfunctioning equipment.

So, no luck getting chummy with the OPA here.  Tane rolled almost exactly the same as Casey, didn't beat the target number and drama die was just an average roll.  Could have been worse, could have rolled low on drama and started a fight!

What does the group want to do?  Try to spend more time tracking Kai's movements?   Or investigate La Cage and see if anyone there knows the target?

Sharing the still version of the picture with everyone over their private ship based communication system Doris updates those still at the table with more information.

It looks like he used to go to a place called La Cage, which sounds a bit french for my taste, but if some of you want to go there I can probably get just as good of a connection to the raw data there as here, and it is probably about time to change uplinks anyways before someone starts to notice the spike in bandwidth.”

Tane frustrated at not being able to get the man to open up, returns to his booth. And when the match comes in, he says to the others over the link, <Definitely. We know he's been there, and yea it might be five days ago, but he was there. Keep running the scan, but we should start there.>

Casey nods, a brief smile touches her lips, "Always best to keep moving unless defending an entrenched position. Given some of those looks cast our way, if not for Sax there this might have become one.

"Let's go check it out.

"If you feel it wise to move and continue from a new position Doris then let's do that. Get you set up and then we'll check out the place."

Casey pulls up what the public net has on La Cage to see if it could give them a bit more on the business.

Making their way to level 12 the crew of the Sommelier finds La Cage to be a brothel in a commercial area surrounded by numerous bars, restaurants and other businesses.  There proves to be a nominal fee for entry but once paid the crew finds themselves in the main lounge which includes a bar and a number of comfortable (and intimate) seating areas.  The rest of the establishment consists of small, private rooms used by the sex workers and rented out to patrons along with their services (TN 11 Income test to arrange these transactions).

Okay, social encounter to attempt to learn anything useful about Kai Dardanus.  Sky's the limit on how you'd like to approach this but you'll need to improve the staff's attitude to at least Very Friendly.

The adventure recommends possibilities including:
- Communication focusing on either Persuasion or Seduction (though several other specialization could also be used...Gambling could be impressive) (TN 12)
- showing off/impressing someone through Accuracy(Throwing), Communication(Performing) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) (TN 14)
- display of knowledge of an impressive topic using Intelligence perhaps related to Art, Business or Current Affairs specializations (TN 12)
- just being sympathetic and approachable using Perception (Intuition or Empathy) (TN 12)
- bribery using an Income test (TN 14)
- threats using Strength (Intimidation) or Communication (TN 12)

You have an idea of your characters; please describe how they might approach this situation and include the roll you think best represents that method.  Entertaining, inventive or well written ideas always offer an opportunity for a reduction in the TN to succeed.

Partaking of the establishment's services as a part of this effort are fine though no details are needed (the game's neither Mature nor Adult so fade to black when necessary ;) )

ALSO: if any has suggestions for the NPC crew members please speak up; otherwise I'll decide on their approaches
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:15, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

Is there by any chance a piloting simulator? Because I got nothing. The only focuses I have are Pistols, Piloting, and Searching.

After setting up her search program to run on the new bar's local systems Doris uses her own system to quickly build a hologram of the brothel done in miniature and goes about adjusting some of the details to make it both more interesting and more inciting to folks traveling from other parts of the belt, including a few cultural references to other major asteroid colonies without overpowering the local theme.  She then sets the whole contraption on the counter in front of the manager or floor boss, and makes him an offer he probably does not want to ignore even if he opts to not connect it.

”How would you like to see some tasteful improvement options?  I think you will find them quite helpful.”

Not having a specializations doesn't preclude a roll, it just means you don't get the +2 bonus to your roll.

Tane heads over to the pool tables, and begins shooting pool. He seems to go for tricky shots that require dexterous flexibility as he shoots. One particular shot actually required him to bend in a particularly weird angle to get the shot right.

15:39, Today: Tane Henare rolled 15 using 3d6+3 with the AGE System (({4}, 3, 5)).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:40, Mon 22 Oct 2018.

Casey starts casing out the patrons of the bar looking for the largest, toughest looking one of the bunch though not any who look to be surly as she is not out to start a brawl, at least not currently.

Upon determining an appropriate mark, she swaggers over, with a small, confident smile on her lips as she taps their table with a finger, "You look to have a few muscles on those muscles. Care to make a friendly wager over an arm wrestle, loser buys the next round?"

IGA:

22:16, Today: Casey Khatri rolled 15 using 3d6+5 (2 stunt points) with the AGE System with rolls of {2}, 6, 2.  Arm Wrestle (Str+3 with a spec in Might+2).
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Wed 24 Oct 2018.

The Sommelier crew members spread out through La Cage and mingle with the staff and clientele; each making a impression in their own particular way.

Doris just happens to engage the owner, his double-take lets her know immediately he's interested though he tries to keep his cool.  The discussion that follows makes it clear he's been considering some changes to La Cage and turned down 2 designs already.  More than once he asks if Doris is in any way associated with the earlier designers, can't believe the coincidence.  For her part, Doris is able to answer his concerns and make immediate adjustments to the design.  By this point in the conversation he is talking price; its nothing outrageous but a modest sum.  Ade stands nearby, admiring Doris' progress and ready to assist if she requires.
Between this initial success, drama die and stunts Doris manages to strongly impress the owner.  2 levels of success on this path.  Only 1 more needed.

The pilot meanwhile puts his steady hand and keen eyes to the test as he joins in a pool game.  After the second game waitresses are intentionally taking a circular route to deliver their drinks just so they can watch the balls dance at Tane's direction.  There's no serious competition but no one looks upset at loosing.  In fact everyone's clearly having a great time.  Chao can be heard talking about Tane's piloting skill to a pair of patrons and a waitress while the game continues.
Success, drama die showed all reactions were positive.   2 more successes needed on this path.

The Martian Casey challenges looks ex-military, with plenty of gravity grown muscles under his civvies.  With a coy smile he offers her a seat across from his, the pair lock hands and it's on!  If the man expected a quick win with a woman who was trying to pick him up he hid his shock well.  Casey meanwhile kept eyes focused on her opponents...but inside realized he was even stronger than he looked.  When there was no winner immediately his friends think he's taking it easy on Casey.  After a minute they've gathered round and are shouting encouragement.  Staff move to ensure there's no fight, then hang close to watch the growing group....and the wrestlers.  After a full 3 minutes Casey finally manages to press the back of his hand to the table; her muscles are screaming.  Her challenger appears tired but impressed...but his eyes narrow dangerously when someone makes a derogatory comments about his loss to a woman. Addy is nearby, he seems to be scanning the crowd to see where the smack is coming from.
Success, lower drama die though, Casey has a potential situation building.  Will it lead to trouble or can she direct it toward a positive outcome?  Don't forget she as 2 points to spend on the Social Encounters table which may help.  2 more successes needed on this path.


All successes to start.  Again someone needs to reach 3 successes to have La Cage staff friendly enough to answer your questions about Kai.  NPC crew are in place if you want to request their assistance but given your current progress I'm leaving it to the players to bring this home.

Round 2 - post how you'll proceed from here and make the rolls to support.  Feel free to spend any stunt points earned immediately

Rather than engage in to much dialog about the local situation she knows nothing about Doris sets up her system to run an intrusion test of the local security system, doing some prep work while she talks to the owner about how this should work out for his benefit.

”It does not surprise me that you have had some invitations to do improvements.  What you have now is reasonably well done for armatures, but anyone with any professional design, or the slightest training in defense or protection would see this place either as a target or as a victim waiting to happen.  Most would try to take advantage of you to your detriment, but this is your lucky day, I already have a job and I just need your help with it.  For which I am willing to offer you some help in return.”

Once she is done both talking and setting up the assault protocols Doris turns her system's display in his direction to show him the last few seconds of his own security system being hacked and the cameras with the two of them clearly in view show up on the screen, playing what is obviously a real time feed of what should be his secure system.

Casey chuckled, "Clearly it is easy to make comments when hiding behind a crowd of others.

"I am a former marine and this man had the courage and the honesty to not judge me by my gender and given the test he gave me, he'd do well in boot and I'd be proud to stand with him on the line.

"Can you say the same?

"Do you have the courage to test me or are you just going to mutter words anonymously?"

IGA: Using the Social Stunt 'And Another Thing' to call out the mutterer to arm wrestle them.

Nice!  Please add a Communication roll to help determine how well you delivered your words.

OOG: I am still trying to get a grasp on how all of this works and interacts. This wouldn't be a place where I could use my Crew of bonus would it as it isn't really helping another crew member.

15:37, Today: Casey Khatri rolled 11 using 3d6 (4 stunt points) with the AGE System with rolls of {4}, 4, 3.  Communications.

Not sure if I succeeded there but if I did could I use the 4 points to lighten the mood as per the Social test 4 point spend but with the intent to get the crowd to back down while elevating my original opponent's pride/mood as my intent is to raise him up with the compliment.

That way it takes away the mutterer's support from the crowd.

The owners mouth hangs open for a good three count before he takes a deep breath and frowns at Doris thoughtfully.

"Okay, those designs are...good.  Okay they're great.  And I get that our security has some holes in it.  Expensive to keep up with the latest updates; mostly figure, well why would anyone bother really with this place.  So, much as I like all this, what kind of help do you need and what's it going to cost me to give it?"

He waits to hear more.
Owner's a bit cautious but still interested.  Overall this is a success.

Meanwhile a cheer and laughter goes up from those gathered round Casey.  The Marine appears to relax, gives her a smirks and nods, "Hoorah."  A rough looking Belter steps forward amid jeers.  He's not pleased having his words turned back on him, probably been drinking.  The Marine slides from his seat, steel eyes on the Belter and moves to stand at Casey's right.  "Les see wha' yu got yeah?  'ow 'bout we 'old hands?" he mutters though a thick accent.
And another success.  Marine is calmed as is all of the crowd except the troublemaker.   Roll for another arm wrestling contest?

Tane if you have any follow-up actions feel free to post.

Casey smiles but it is the smile of a predator, "Oh... Yes please. Let's do that." she replies with a slight edge of sarcasm. Rotating her wrists then rolling her head around, her neck pops as she settles in and cinches up her grip.

Her grip is firm, tight, and testing as is often the case when a person attempts to dominate in a handshake between alphas.

Today though she feels her alpha and she plays to the crowd as they settle in for the next round.

IGA:

21:26, Today: Casey Khatri rolled 15 using 3d6+5 (4 stunt points) with the AGE System with rolls of {4}, 2, 4.  Arm Wrestle (Str+3 with a spec in Might+2).

If I win, I would like to use the stunt points to do the four point stunt from Exploration Stunts (With a Flourish) to impress the crowd and hopefully make them amenable to opening up.