The hotel's roof was flat and covered with about 35cm of unmarked snow, but it had drifted higher in some places. There was a water tower and a small building with a couple metals doors up a few metal steps, near the centre of the building, plus vents. Icicles hung from bits of ironwork. The neighbouring buildings showed the same details.

Ken made note of the ski resorts as though he were interested.  Actually in a normal situation he would but now time was of the essence. "Thanks, we'll check those resorts out."  He sippped more of his coffee.  "You don't know what happened to the bar keep at the 'Traveler's Rest'?  A friend asked me to look him up if we were here."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 287):

She raised her eyebrow.

"Yep, like I told your friend, the Traveller's Rest went out of business after the mine closed. Like about 90% of this town."

Anything else of interest back in those mines ?? 

He winks at the girl, Ghost stories, unusual finds, the secret of Twilight's Peak ??  Ancients' artifacts ??

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 289):

She frowned a little, wondering if Blake was being serious.

"What's in the back of those mines? A big hole where the molybdenum used to be, I reckon! Until it ran out, and Frontiers Development found an asteroid not too far out they could mine instead

"So, sugar, you want to order something else?"

The waitress waited expectedly, pen poised over the order pad.

Coffee and whatever you recommend as good 'keep you warm' eatin's.

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 291):

"I recommend the "trucker's breakfast" from ancient Terra: Steak topped with a curried rice pilaf with a side order of naan bread. Funny, don't know why they call it that. Comin' right up!"

Ken nodded at the waitress' words. "I'll have the trucker's breakfast as well please."  He had decided to stop pressing for specific information on the bar tender.  "So how long ago did the mine close up?"

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 293):

"Uh huh. Comin' up!" she replied as she wrote down the order.

Keeping an eye out for other customers, she replied, "they knew the moly was running out a year back. The miners have a good union, they started to relocate workers immediately. Lots of disruption what with whole families moving out, hardly anyone left. They been running a skeleton crew up until about six months ago as they shut the mine down. Good they all or most got jobs right away, not so good for us who gotta stay here, but most other folks made plans to leave, too.

"News crew from one of the stations down in Varnov's Landding (the capital) came up to do a profile on businesses that were affected by the shutdown. Came in here. Come to think about it, they also had a look at that bar you're interested in, the Traveller's Rest. I didn't watch all of the program, too sad."

Ken nodded sympathetically.  "I'm glad at least some of the people made it out with jobs elsewhere.  We've been hit pretty hard ourselves trying to run cargo from system to system what with piracy and the war scare." He looks interested at the mention of the news crew.  That must be the shot that Lorain found. "That's quite a coincidence.  Sounds like a moment of fame for everyone involved.  Where did they move the miners off to?  Did they go off world to mine the asteroid?"

Blake sits back & drinks the hot coffee, letting others carry on the conversation.  Good coffee or bad as rocket fuel, he takes a second.  A scout has to maintain that 'cast iron stomach' attitude.  If possible, he checks out the air raft, partly to make sure no one is oogling it & also waiting for Stanley to show up.  It would be nice to blast thru the mountains & valleys on that bike, feeling the breeze & scenery flash by ... he thinks ...

Casually breaking several traffic laws regarding in-city Grav usage, Stanley scouts the building top to bottom along with several others. Determining that this entire block is probably vacant, he radios the crew, "This entire city is empty and I am betting that no one has bothered installing modern alarms anywhere. Unless one of you has a way in, I am going to Msha'tar the lock. I would place good chips on the prize moving out with its patron."

Barring any commentary from the others, Stanley will try to break in through the back door, after parking the Arrowdrac In any that would block anyone from seeing.

Note that he just used a non-local tech vehicle to conspicuously scout the area. Not exactly subtle, but he is convinced that the population levels in this area are too low for it to matter.

"Not really fame, a dying moment for the town, maybe.

"I think a few of the highest-skilled miners made it off world with Frontiers Development. Others moved on to other sites around the planet."

She looked outside. "Hmm... wonder where Constable Frank's going so fast?"

Outside, they could see the regional constabulary air/Raft that had earlier been at the diner zoom by. It was flying at about 100m and had its lights going.

Linus' phone rang. It was the real estate agent's number.

Meanwhile, out by the hotel, it was quiet but not silent. A ground vehicle motor could be heard not too far away, but then it left.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:42, Wed 27 Nov 2013.

Listening in on Stanley's frequency and then seeing the police raft streak by Ken opened a channel.  "Hey Stanley, it looks like the police here are pretty active right now.  I know you were curious as to what they used here and it looks like you win the bet.  I saw an air raft just like ours go flying past into the center of town toward the hotel just a few seconds ago.  If you are careful you can catch a good view of it."

He turned back to the waitress.  "That's a nice air raft he's driving though.  A friend of ours is quite the enthusiast for those type of vehicles."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:53, Wed 27 Nov 2013.

The Trucker's Breakfasts had been tolerable and filling. The waitress started clearing their dishes away. Not that interested, she looked up, nodding towards their own parked air/raft.

"Yeah. Just like you boys, I see. They come in for coffee about this time, I guess they left just before you got here. The police switched to them grav cars a few years back. Really helps in the mountains. No washouts, snowplowing, whatever.

"You fellers want some more coffee? The Pie is not to bad, made this morning."

Sure, just let me take a quick walk about the building to make some more room. Blake makes an exit & strolls about the building, letting lunch settle in place.  Outside, he makes a mental note to check on that news documentary.

Ken nodded.  "Pie and more coffee would be great."  He wonders about Stanley and hoped that the police weren't after him.

After fumbling with his makeshift lockpicks in his shivering fingers, Stanley hears the warning over the comms. With one pair of hands, he puts away his tools and with another he quickly pulls out a flask and pours some water on the ground near the door. After putting the flask away, he turns around and pretends to re-zip his jumpsuit as he unhurriedly returns to his bike.

He mounts the bike and goes looking for the ground vehicle he heard a few seconds ago, or at least its tracks. The gear I'm wearing is too expensive for the standard Ignorant Savage routine in this neck of the woods," he thinks.

Over the comms, he replies, "Flushed some kind of ground-predator. Want Iggy to guard the nest or track the beastie?" "Iggy" is his common euphemism for playing the Ignorant Alien Savage angle to confuse and/or agitate situations.

Ken sighs as he hears Stanley respond.

[Comm]

"Glad to hear from you Stanley.  No need to ask Iggy to stir from the couch.  Just go track the beasties as you see fit."

In reply to Stanley (msg # 304):

The police air/raft cruised silently down the back alley, stopping in front of Stanley on Arrowdrac and flashing its blue and white police lights. There were 2 constables inside, dressed warmly for the weather. One opened the gull-wing door and climbed out into the snow. He was armed with a revolver but kept it holstered.

"Stop your vehicle, shut it off and dismount!"

"I had better go to keep my appointment," said Linus. "Anyone want to come along as my business partner?"

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 307):

Linus's phone went to voicemail.

"Argh.."

Belated realising it was ringing, Linus frantically punched buttons to catch the call.

Ken frowned as he worried about Stanley.  He hoped their firm friend wasn't in too much trouble.  "I'll go with you Linus.  Blake, maybe you should check on Stanley?"