The Battalion is the local dive bar. The sign outside is a holographic projection of an old US military tank battalion rolling through what was likely some part of Germany. Once you're inside the smell of two day old smash, cigarettes and who knows what assaults your nose. There are a few booths along the eastern wall, the bar is along the western wall and the towards the back wall is an old pool table that actually works.

Barrage, the owner and barkeep is an older man in his mid 40's to early 50's. Hard to tell these days and he doesn't make it any easier, being fit and a pair of large chromed cyberarms. A bald man with a missile tattoo starting in the back and ending just above his forehead. He has a ginger red goatee and a pair of data ports behind his left ear.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Wed 02 Oct 2019.

Prodigy would walk into the Battalion, with the others in tow, and oddly did not give her usual small wave to Barrage. Instead she just walked to her usual spot, dropped her pack on the table and sat down.

Barrage looked up from the bar, raising his head a slight bit to Prodigy as he dried a mug before placing it back. He grabbed a can of slam from a cooler below him and slid it towards some poser near the end of the bar.

Back in the back of the Battallion a trio of boosters are shooting some pool, drinking and being loud.

Around the rest of the room it seemed pretty dead, a couple tables were full, including the table next to where you usually take a seat.

The walk to the Battalion wasn't long but only as friendly as things could be in the southern slums of Night City.  Gargoyle walked along casually with his sledgehammer propped up on one shoulder keeping to sub-vocal small talk with Prodigy.  Anyone that gave Prodigy more than a cursory glance caught the glare of an over protective brother from him.

He frowned at the reminder that Prodigy was near a decade younger than him.  It made him feel old, which is funny for a guy in his mid twenties.  She was smarter than him and seemed to have her shit together.  But she was forced to grow up fast just like he was in the Combat Zone.

Maybe being back down south wouldn't be as horrible as he initially thought.  It was a good reminder not to get soft.  Did he get a little soft being in a downtown street rat?  He wasn't sure, but the scenery and luxuries were definitely better.
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Entering the Battalion directly behind Prodigy, Gargoyle gave the bartender a polite nod and followed her to her table and sat down, resting his sledgehammer propped up against the table.

He knew the place, well he did ten years ago but it didn't look like it had changed much.  Only back then he was a nobody street thief named Tommy.  He hoped no one recognized him from the old days because he was a troublemaker back then.  Well, he was a troublemaker now as well, but a little more discerning about his fun these days.

After sitting a moment he pulled off the earpiece he'd been using to hear Prodigy and looked at the battery indicator on his phone and shut it off.  "Conserving battery," he said to her as he put the phone and accessory back in his inside jacket pocket.  "If we're gunna be running together a while, I should probably try to score a mastiod commo to make this whole talking thing easier.  I think that's the most I've used my phone in a couple months."

He pulled a small wad of bills from the same inside pocket and after counting it he frowned.  He didn't remember having so little cash on him.  He'd need to fix that quick if he wanted to eat.  He asked Prodigy, "what's good?" and then immediately shook his head.  He was already used to just talking to her and having her talk back through the ear piece.  He laughed at himself quietly and then slid the eighteen eurobucks over to his new friend.  "Nevermind, you figure it out.  That should be enough to get us something to eat and drink."  If nothing else she would know what's good these days.

Prodigy finally looked at her hands, which were shaking as the realization that she had killed not one, but multiple people. It hit her hard now that she was sitting down, and relaxing and actually had a chance to think. When she was trying to help everyone escape, or even walking through the streets of the Combat Zone her mind did not have a chance to dwell on it, but now.

It was him sliding the money over to her that jar'd her back to him. To listening to him. She started to say something, then noticed his earpiece wasn't in his ear. She cocked her head to the side, before she realized after all that time his battery may have died. She sighed, then nodded. Taking the money, she went up to the bar.

Barrage looked up from the cleaning he was doing "Where ya been? It's been like a week."

At the mention of being gone a week, that brought a look of startlement from her! Then she swallowed hard as the look on her face grew more sullen. He could see her hands were shaking, worse then when she first showed up at his door. Still, she managed to point to her ears, then made a talking motion with her hands. Showing she'd talk to him through to his commo like usual.

Once setup up, he could even hear the trembling in her voice.  Then she paused for a moment.  That's likely when it became obvious, there might be a bit of blood, grease from the doors and elevator shaft, and other dirt all over her and her clothes.

Barrage looks at you, taps on his ear piece. He shrugs his shoulders at Prodigy's comments and respond out loud "Them's the breaks kid"

She audibly sighed out loud, unsure how to take that statement before replying.  Then she considered for a moment.  There was a good thing, at least, and she managed to see it.

Speaking of Gargoyle.  She said, holding Gargoyles money in her hand tightly.

He shrugged again, grabbed a couple glasses from under the bar and filled em from the Smash on tap. "On me." As he slides them over. "What ye want to eat? Same shit as usual. And it's still just a shitty"

She smiled at the free drink.  Then after a moments thought, she shrugged about the food.

Sitting at the bar, Blanquito watched the comings and goings with interest. Well, as much interest as he could muster these days. Unemployment had its perks, he got to spend his days here, but had its downsides, he mostly nursed a couple of drinks to make them last for the day.

He looked over his shoulder as a kid he had seen before entered. Not being particularly bright, he could still follow her gestures to the bartender. So Barrage was indeed some kind of fence. Or maybe not. He did tend to read too much into things sometimes.

Barrage caught him looking. Blanquito decided to smile at the bartender. Worst thing, those shiny arms would throw him out. Best case, maybe Barrage would read too much into the smile and give him a free drink.

Gargoyle watched as Prodigy walked to the bar and then very quickly realized he wasn't going to follow the conversation.  Now he knew what it must have been like for others in the corp compound when he and her were talking.  He laughed at himself and shook his head.

After a moment he wiped his face with one hand, and grumbled to himself.  He was tired and wanted something flat and cushy to lay down on.  Yeah, food and a nap sounded good.

While he waited for Prodigy, he turned his attention to the boosters in the back playing pool.  Quietly he watched and observed there game and antics trying to decide if they were jut kids having fun or some hard nosed bastards blowing of some steam.


OOC:
19:58, Today: Gargoyle rolled 22 using 1d10+15 with rolls of 7.  Awarenes/Notice focusing on the boosters in the back playing pool.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 13):


You recognize the boosters as part of the Piranhas, they just like to have fun and are relatively low threat if you leave em alone. They seem to be having a good time in the back, setting small wagers on shots and who can drink the most....

In reply to Blanquito (msg # 12):

Barrage looked over at Blanquito, raised a glass to ask if he needed another? Meanwhile he took Prodigy's cash and put in the order for the food. "It'll get over to your table when it's done."

Blanquito smiled. 'Well, I won't say no!... Keep'em coming and if you have a job that needs doing, I'm here...'

He threw this line to the bar in general a couple of times each day. Maybe someone, some day, would bit and would be in need of something getting done...

 Prodigy said with a meek smile and nodded. She would then grab up the drinks and carry them over to the table with Gargoyle.

She'd set one in front of him, and took the other to her seat and sat down. After a brief awkward silence she would then pull out her small tablet and pen. -Barrage said the drinks were on him. All we had to pay for was the food. Got us both a burger and some fries.- She then shows him the note, and passes back any change if there was any.

From outside the bar there is the distinct whine of AV engines in descent mode, followed a few moments later by the different, but no less distinct sound of them powering up for liftoff before fading away.

The Salaryman entered The Battallion with the same calm demeanor she'd exhibited throughout the recent ordeal.  Whatever dust and dirt may have managed to get on her suit seemed mostly gone and her exterior self was as put together as her interior once again, though she still seemed to be favoring one leg, so she obviously hadn't gone through any miracle transformation.

She moved with purpose to the table where Prodigy and Gargoyle were and gave the pair a shallow bow of greeting before taking a seat herself.

"I do not yet know to whom we are indebted for our recent train fares, but I may receive word if one of our fellow passengers locates the proper party to which a thank you card should be sent if so wished."  The Salaryman informed the pair, forgoing the etiquette of preamble and small talk, which she wasn't very good at anyway, and getting her primary piece of business out of the way.

Gargoyle took the drink happily and raised it to Prodigy, "to surviving another day in hell," and then took a drink.  "How you holding up?  I didn't notice it til you got up but you looked a little shaky on your way to the bar."

And in the asking he realized the futility of the complicated question without comms.  "Sorry, got too used to just talking to you."

Thankfully Salaryman walked up in time to keep him from feeling too awkward about it.  Once her heard what she had to say about there previous predicament, he nodded, "yeah I'd love to send them a thank you gift for the hassle."  He then gestured to a free chair, "might as well pop a squat."

Quick walked into The Battalion and gave a little smirk toward one of the boosters playing pool. Quick didn't know the choomie, but let him figure that out. It was really just a way to take in the room without looking around like a total greenoid.

Quick's eyes did make out the person who fit Gargoyle's description from what Cytherea had told him. So the medtechie sauntered by that table on his way to the bar, and gave the man a slight nod before passing by the table.

Leaning in on the bar, Quick gave a similar nod to Barrage. "Burger and fries, if you don't mind." Quick requested. "Soy is fine for both if that's all you got. And something archaically good to drink, like Soviet beer." The medtechie slipped a 20 euro credstick across the bar. "I'll just grab a seat over here."

Having placed the order, and hopefully squelching any eyes that lingered on him too long, Quick sat down at a table next to Gargoyle and the others. "Cytherea said that maybe I should check in with her running mates if I hadn't heard from her in a couple of days. She had me hold onto a little something for her."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:29, Thu 07 Nov 2019.

Barrage gathered up the cred-stick, nodded as he went back to work. A couple minutes a young girl in a low top, short skirt and high heels walks over to the table sets down the food in front of each of you and a beer for Quick. She winks and walks back to the bar to talk to some dude at the end of the bar that looks a bit small but seems to make her laugh...

Prodigy looked at Gargoyle a moment, cocking her head to the side. She would hold up her drink to his toast and toast him back. Then when he was done speaking, and they were done toasting, she would write him another note. --Don't feel awkward that you can't hear me. I can still communicate, so just talk to me like normal. It will just take me longer to respond.--

Then she thought about his question, and finally wrote more. --Not good. Always thought about what it would be like to kill those that killed my family. But today...I actually did kill people, for the first time ever. I just don't....-- The note just stops suddenly, ending in a small squiggly line that drifts off.

She just looked at her food for a moment as it was sat in front of her. Letting the note just sit there seemingly unfinished for Gargoyle, and by default TheSalaryMan to see.

Overrider limps into the bar with a blood soaked bandage on his right leg.  He waves off the look from Memphis, the current bouncer and moves up to the bar.  He puts an Armlite 44 on the counter, grips towards Barrage.  Hey boss.  Crazy Jane in yet?  he says gesturing towards his leg.