if any of these cards has any value bigger than a waiter's tip, Maissa wrests them from Gothique's hands.

"We have a saying in my country: charity begins at home'."

"I suggest We find a trader to do an assessment and evaluation", insisted Maissa

OOC: what is the kids' reaction?

Watching the kids actually grab for them but Maissa protecting the things Gothique turns, "Yes that would be awesome.  I am curious what they are?"  Gothique says looking at each one.

The kids are curious, but it doesn't seem to be an obvious thing, yet.  But they re kids and you're spacers from out-system.  They're interested--many reaching to grab them, uncertain if you were offering them or displaying them.

It didn't take long to identify a supply importer with a focus on technologies.  He was an old man with curly brown hair and a half-stubble beard shot through with grey.  Immediately, Gothique felt a certain comfort with him, though she couldn't easily tell why.

He looked over the chips, put on a pair of ancient spectacles and, with their permission, ran it under a scanning device.

"Holographic display chips." he said after a moment.   "Data-storage.  Interface suggests command-relays.  They look sort of like Māo duì lóng chips, but there's no branding on them.  Could have been factory-blanks."

"Hmmm."  he grunted as he offered the chips back to the pair of women.   "I think Lita's used to run Māo duì lóng tournaments back in the day..."


--
Māo duì lóng - Cats vs Dragons
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Tue 14 June 2022.

"We're very thankful for sharing your knowledge, Uncle Importer!", exclaimed Maissa, displaying her smile she took for irresistible. This was an attempt of manipulating old men, and obtaining information for nothing. "Now, please tell us, uncle, who are the Māo duì lóng, and who is Lita, I wonder?", she minced, eyes wide open.

Gothique having no clue what really is going on studies the cards although she does stop to see what the Maissa is doing.  Almost with a curiosity killed the cat type look on her face.  But then when there is a chance to know these tournaments, "Yes that would be awesome to like totally know."  She says her eyes actually matching a cat looking adorable wanting something.

It was mildly disconcerting to be straight ignored by people who were, technically, meant to be under her command. Still, she reminded herself, she did not run that type of ship. It was more a coterie of comrades than a brotherhood of pirates. As she let her gaze roam around the buzzing port of the asteroid, she felt something familiar. It was as if this was her natural environment. There was gravity, sure, but it was lighter than normal. You could still walk with feet on the ground but her body felt more comfortable. There was a hum, a hubbub that enticed her. She knew there'd be games of chance and competitions. She knew there'd be work both risky and illegal. She itched to be at it.

Then she noticed the strange new mechanic and the pilot talking to someone. Frowning, she suspected they were headed straight for trouble. Trouble with a capital 'T' if she didn't miss her guess. Grumbling about her own pleasures put off, she trod down the ramp and up behind the women, "So, plans to tear up the town? Or what?"

Gothique jumping a bit at hearing Bai's voice but only because she was a bit surprised.  Still  a question was asked, "No we plan on going to find out about Māo duì lóng which is one of the things I found on my person.  I am wondering if I used to play it or not."  She answers bringing out the treasures and showing them to Bai and not being to careful who else sees them considering her trusting nature.  It was almost as if that is how she was designed.

"Uncle Importer." the old man laughed at that.  "Nobody's called me uncle in... well, longer'n you been alive."

He leaned forward a bit, nodding briefly to Baylee as she came up.  But there was a sudden stiffness to his features, as if he were suddenly becoming wary.  "Used to be Cats versus Dragons, I think.  Based on Mrrshan Dragara.  Teach critical thinking.  Some variation comes and goes ever generation or so.

And if you're new, well... Lita ain't a person.  She been dead and gone nearly twenty cycles.   But her hostel was the first habitable structure on this rock.  Back when this was a rebel holdout against the Scylla.   You go there and if you can get one of the old-timers to talk, they'll tell you how Lita rallied the belters, held out against vast numbers until peace was declared.   That peace brokered K-Zino it's neutral status.

But the game... yeah.  I remember seeing a console, and three-dimensional creatures fighting.  If you won, you could integrate something from your opponent's creature.  So, they evolve.  So, from cats to dragons?  I don't know.  It was a very long time ago."

He gave Gothique a speculative look.  "If they're treasured to you, keep them close.  If not, I'm sure I could dig up  good appraisal price."  The inference to buy was obvious ,but he wasn't pushing it, either.

Maissa was quite certain she did not care for 3D-games - except flight simulators. The piece about local lore was interesting, though. Also the info about Mrrshan culture. She shelved the knowledge in her vast and empty memory.

Now it was Gothique's choice to part with her baubles for money. The Mrrshan puppet should not be forced to do anything. She also had to be protected from swindle.

Still, Viper wished Gothique would just sell things right away, so she could loan some cash to Viper, who'd just get booze or drugs, which she was longing for, for so long.

---
OOC let's say Gilina is with us. We need someone technical to check if the chips are what their label says... if Rayfe is offloaded (I suggest we keep this interesting character+backstory as a NPC, though)
This message was last edited by the player at 06:32, Wed 06 July 2022.

Gothique looks unsure but turns to Gilly if she is there as well as Maissa, "If we need the money I would be more then happy to part with these to benefit the group.  But if it is OK with everyone I would like to keep them as they may have some clues on the past."  She says making a genuine offer.

She then goes through them all thinking if it is up to her, "If selling some would help I would like to keep this one."  She says holding up the rarest one only because of the colour.

"Thank-you." Gilina said to the man.  "It's more information than we had before."

"Oh, don't stress." he said with a slight smile.  "It'll take me time to find an appraisal on them anyway.  Take them with you.  Come back in a half-rot and I'll see if my agent can dig up any useful information.. I don't even know if anyone here would be interested in them, or whether I'd have to sell them off-the-rock. No hurry."

He turned away from them briefly, and turned back, putting an ancient pair of spectacles on.  They were too small for his face, making him look a little more eccentric than patronly.  And he fixed them each with a short look.

"You're going to want to be careful around here."  he said after a long moment. "There's ghosts that walk the caverns.  And ghost-hunters, too."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:16, Sat 09 July 2022.

Maissa mimicked covering the Mrrshan's ears and laughed. "Our little sister - we're orphans, Madre Lin here is our leader - must not hear this scary tale! What are those ghosts and ghosts fighters, dear Uncle?"

Not sure what Maissa was doing Gothique actually does cover her ears enough to not here as she fully trusts both Maissa and Gili.  While doing so she looks around at the rest of the place almost curious what is going on but figures there is a good reason for all of it.

(OOC - Would have been so much better if she said Mrrshan...earmuffs!)

Baylee raises an arch eyebrow at the 'madre' stuff, but looks away as she lets it pass. She had never felt motherly a day in her life, she supposed, but wouldn't hurt to play along with the ship's ruse. She grinned wickedly as she considered just how Maissa would make it up to her later.

She then noted the young cat-girl, she still hadn't adjusted to that bit of..., well, the naïve girl was looking around about as much like a belter going planet-side for the first time. She tapped the girl's shoulder then pointed to her ears and motioned for them to open up, "Viper was just acting. You need to keep your wits about you in a place like this or someone'll skin you." She chuckled a bit at the wordplay then considered how it might affect Gothique and smiled as warmly as she was able, which was more heat than warmth, and patted her shoulder soothingly.

She gave Gilli a casual glance and smile as well.

The inside of the shop/stall they'd entered was a hodge-podge of materials, gathered from all sorts of places.  There were items that were obviously food, obviously mechanical parts, obviously clothing and several pieces that Baylee couldn't immediately identify.

The shop seemed to be a two room affair, with the front room being subdivided by a metal and chrome countertop. , giving it a right inside/outside feel.  The shopkeeper made a quick gesture, placing two fingers together then tapping his lips twice.



"Place is a cross-roads." he said.  "It took a lot of blood to achieve neutral ground. a lot of people died to make it happen.  Some sacrificed more than that.   For some, it's never enough.  The past bleeds into the future.  You understand what I'm saying? "

Gothique confused by the contradicting requests pulls her hands off her ears and looks around.   "Sorry I thought I should listen but I will pay attention to everything."   She says to their leader making note of everything now just in case danger approaches.

Maissa reflected. She didn't know much anymore about the universe, so she had to attempt an uneducated guess.
"Sacrifices. Yes I understand you are referring for example to Lita, who, among with other Pai-Huai, fought for the Freedom and neutrality of this place and its people. Her, and the other rebel's spirits still are roaming here. But there are ghost hunters, those who wants to subjugate K-Zino to a corporation, such as Zenda-M....". She bit her lip; "...Mervin-Dahl!"

Despite having said too much, Maissa decided to trust the importer and hopped into her train of thoughts. "But spirits can now be kept in Cortical Stacks, rights? If Lita's memories were stocked in a stack, her personality could be copied into another body..."
Maissa couldn't help to cast a glance towards Baylee. Could it be that the imposition of a colony founder's personality lead to the commanding attitude of her captain? How could the former inmates be sure of who they really were?
Anyway.
"By the way. We need to have seeds of... our former abusive family... removed. Uncle Importer, could you please recommend someone? We don't have any money, so if you have some job for us, we'll do it, even if it's illegal. The Holy Lady of the stars is full of forgiveness."

As the older man exited the ship, his arm gave a twinge of pain, in remembrance of the pain when he had boarded.  But it was merely a momentary distraction.

One heartbeat...  Two...  Three...  Four...

He took an unsteady step away from the ship.  Another...

His footsteps became steadier, his face more certain.

He was needed, or would be needed.  His feet knew the way, though he had no memory of this place.

His empathic senses felt the ebb and flow of emotions from the others around him.  And, as if hearing distant echos of familiar voices across a crowded room, he felt distant echoes of emotional familiarity from the crewmates who had preceded him.

He quietly observed his surroundings as his feet carried him forward, content to see just where this path would lead him.

After a bit of walking, he saw a junk shop nearby...

Chang Sheng-Xin

As Sheng-Xin came up to the Junk Shop, he couldn't help but notice the four men in ceramic body-armor outside the shop.  Their faces were hidden behind opaque visors but one of them--slightly shorter than the others--made definitive gestures of instruction.

He couldn't hear them, so presumably they were speaking helmet to helmet.  But he did see a brief flash of a hologram that looked too much like Baylee to be a coincidence.

They hadn't been on K-Zino long enough to have caused any trouble.  So, the armor was probably precautionary.  But...

But then Sheng-Xin saw that all four of them were armed with PEPs.  Rifles with reinforced stocks instead of pistols.  Likely heavy-bore.

One of the bigger guys nodded and took off across the courtyard space into one of the rabbit-warren tunnels that dotted the chamber.

The short one--Sheng-Xin was convinced it was a woman--and one of the others took up position on either side of the entrance, while the biggest one brought a hand to his mouth.

The courtyard was, Sheng-Xin noticed, curiously empty.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:39, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

Baylee, Gothique, Viper

"No." Uncle Importer said.  He slammed a fist down on the table before him.  "This isn't a game!"

He sighed heavily and faced Baylee directly.  She could tell that the direct gaze was uncomfortable for him. "If you're her ghost, you must have reason to come back.  Is this something we need?"  He motioned at the data-chips Gothique held in her hand still.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:11, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

Y'all can roll Notice(+2) to see if you're aware of the comparative sudden silence outside the shop.

Failure will mean a you get a one-shot Surprised Aspect applied until the the first round of exchanges is complete.

Success means you're aware that something's different and probably not right.

Success with Style allows you to prepare for combat.  If you feel that any of your Aspects gives you permission to be prepared, let me know.

Also... I say "exchanges" because it might not be combat...

As soon as the older man glimpsed the hologram, he casually shifted direction toward the nearest tunnel as he activated his communicator, speaking conversationally while subtly monitoring their movements...

{In Chinese}"Three armed soldiers are about to enter the junk shop seeking you, Captain.  A fourth soldier is departing.  What are your orders?"{/In Chinese}

"Sān míng wǔzhuāng shìbīng jíjiāng jìnrù jiù huò diàn xúnzhǎo nǐ, shàngwèi. Dì sì míng shìbīng líkāi. Nǐ yǒu shé me mìnglìng?"
"三名武装士兵即将进入旧货店寻找你，上尉。 第四名士兵离开。 你有什么命令?"

This message was last edited by the player at 06:39, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

18:38, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Notice +2. So, success. Plus, Casks warning?

Baylee looked at the man and blinked; being an amnesiac was inconvenient at times. She was beginning to suspect that she was recognized here to some extent. Or, she began to suspect this was not her first time here or among these people. Too much made sense, but not enough sense.

Something was crawling up her spine like death walking over her grave. She kept her eyes on the uncle though, steady as a heartbeat. She counted three long breaths and then looked back toward the door ready for heat. "Wouldn't know about them things. Saw them the first time just now. Pero if these blokes about to walk in this door aren't the friendly type, I'd suggest ducking. Ni Jidao ma? (You understand?)" She made a motion warning Viper and Gothique to be ready to find cover while she bounced on her feet a bit and smirked at how the gravity felt.

Briefly she considered what Casks had asked, then mumbled into her transceiver, "Well, are the hostile FEELING?"