Return to “REKT”

Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#542
Alpha

Buck uses the opportunity to take stock of his surroundings in greater detail.

The dimly-lit room is fairly square, with one exit to what Buck has decided to call the "west", two exits to the "east", and one to the "north". Feb Keshor exited through the northernmost exit on the east side of the room, while the trio had originally entered through the door on the west and now stand at the wall roughly SSW of center. Most of the exits are single-wide hallways, leading who knows where. The building may have been used as an office complex at some point (supported by the long rows of close-spaced doors Buck can see through the northern hallway), and this may have been used as, possibly, some sort of common area. Today, however... it's still a common area. There's a few old, ratty sofas right in the middle of the room, surrounding a couple of low tables - and on one of them, all the REKT gear rests.

The edges of the room are more varied and interesting. There's a number of computer terminals (standing only) - cheap tech, mostly - old non-holo models. A couple of the machines look like they're busted. There's also a few VR booths in the room as well - not the cutting-edge skullplug systems that Tartarus Inc. has, unfortunately, but the more standardized "stand in one place with a helmet on and localized gravity fields will give feedback to actions you take and stop you from falling out of the machine while you 'walk around'". Two of the three machines are actually in use at the moment, and whatever game they're playing seems to involve a lot of jumping. It looks pretty silly.

At the left edge of the room, three fysar and a bhezian stand idle near the doorway, talking to each other. One of the fysar seems to be keeping a subtle eye on the REKT inmates, Buck notices (not hard to do, considering the aliens have eyes all the fukc over their heads); Buck wonders how suspicious they are. A hiltorel is lounging on a dirty couch across the room from Buck on the north wall, watching some kind of vid on the screen of a PDA; his face flashes with light. Over several meters to Buck's "east", Savoske (the fysar girl) is still chatting up a rather disinterested bhezian, whom she seems positively enamored with. He either doesn't notice this fact, or doesn't care. Nobody else is in the room. That comes to a total count of eight individuals.

The walls don't seem to have anything in the way of cameras, but there is a wall-mounted auto-turret at the north end of the room. Given enough strength, it could probably be ripped off its mountings, or possibly hacked.

"Now, as Yuuji has suggested," Brom says, "we should look around and take stock of our surroundings. That was my very next plan! You're a quick thinker like myself, Yuuji." Brom's failed to notice that Buck has already thoroughly examined the room. "The first thing we ought to do is find a place that will keep us hidden, in case Mebasha shows back up," Brom mutters, thinking. "After that, possible emergency exits will take priority! Let's try to stay low and out of sight. I don't want an unexpected arrival turning this place into a battlefield!"

Brom looks about as well, noticing for instance that the various pieces of once-lavish furniture about the edges of the room could probably be knocked over and used as cover, as well as noticing that there appears to be alien blood on on the merc suits lying on the table. There don't seem to be any closets in the area, or cabinets.



Beta

Frank (Samuel, rather) is getting awfully tired of Fuhodo station, and glares at the shifty guys across the way. To his surprise, they seem to be startled by its intensity and go back to minding their own business. He wasn't even trying. He clears his throat and then addresses the others with a lowered voice: "The faster we move, the less time anyone has to react."

Cole grunts a response, as an agreement. He's not entirely happy with Frank at the moment, seeing as Frank just dropped a box on his foot. How the hell does a janitor do janitor-work without lifting boxes, anyway? On the plus side, at least his foot isn't broken or something. He doesn't want to jinx it, but he wouldn't have been surprised if it had been.

"And remember, fellas," Saoirse/Estelle whispers, "We're with the Lavloxeri division of FMU, we're looking for the Minas Maniri to get miss Kaquyu Adopan and the password is Dexin Ezagetxa. Got that?"

"Thank you," Nilo says, as the group begins following Saoirse's lead. Then, noticing Cole is starting to lag behind, he asks, "Cole, are you able to move faster, or do you need assistance?"

"Nope, I'm fine, thanks," Cole grunts, limping. "It's getting better. It'll be back to normal in a few minutes, I think."

Frank frowns. "Sorry for the foot, Cole. Should I take the package again before we get to our destination? Just so you have your hands free?"

Caleb shrugs, but says nothing.

~~~

After leaving the Market, the four inmates travel through a long, wide tunnel towards the palaces, lit only by flickering lights on the walls; the original lighting is long-since dark. It might have served as a roadway for the wealthy in times long since past - probably at least a century - but today it is in a state of decay. Occasional corpse-smelling piles of trash and garbage litter the road on both sides, while unidentifiable alien vermin skitters among the refuse. The pillars supporting the ceiling above are covered in graffiti, as are the walls above the raised walkways on the sides of the road. Every so often they pass exits on the side - dark stairways that go to unknown depths - and wonder what, if anything, might still be lurking there.

As they travel along, more than once they pass black smears and stains on the road - the dried bloody residue of gang wars fought over turf. They begin to notice scorch marks from fire or explosions, and bullet holes pockmarking the walls. All of this gets worse the farther they go - and it's not even that long of a tunnel, only a quarter of a kilometer. If this says anything about the state of the palaces themselves, then the term "palaces" is a very deceptive misnomer. This place hardly feels like it could ever have been owned by anyone wealthy - much less royalty. It's an aesthetic typical of gang-controlled environments... and all that's really missing are the burning barrels. But, on the other hand, perhaps fire isn't such a wise thing to have aboard a space station. The air seems to be low on oxygen as it is.

Beta eventually reaches the end of the tunnel, emerging into a taller, grander area, reminiscent of a courtyard or park, with a curving roundabout in the center. It looks just as bad as the road behind them - or worse, really - but it must've looked beautiful in the distant past. The ceiling houses lovely light fixtures - or used to; most of them appear to have been knocked down. Buildings line the roads that branch outwards from this little patch, with luxuriant balconies replete with lovely hanging vines, intricate and aesthetically pleasing architecture, and tall windows. A beautiful stone fountain in the center of the courtyard beckons lovingly: a human woman sitting side-legged on a little stool, her arm outstretched in a welcoming gesture. Statues ring the little roundabout - figures of men striking classic poses.

Of course none of this is quite the same anymore. The fountain is dry and lifeless, covered with crude red scrawling in a jagged alien script; its lady has been destroyed; her head is gone, as is most of her outstretched arm. All that's left of the hanging vines are shriveled woody cores - and only those too far out of reach to be easily scavenged for cheap fuel. The statues have collapsed - or, more accurately, been toppled at some point in the distant past, and they lie in huge pieces on and near the roundabout. Even the balconies show signs of fire. Makeshift barricades dot the roadway, facing the entrance to the tunnel - all tall enough to provide some form of cover - but these look newer (if cruder) than everything else, almost as if the current inhabitants are wary of visitors.

And it's at this moment that one of said inhabitants makes himself known. He pops himself out from behind cover on one of the lower balconies, aiming a weapon's barrel straight at the four "mercenaries", and shouts something in an alien language: "Niba larbiin! Iin!" He's a fysar, much the shopkeeper, Kiibar, and his grandson Maki. This one, however, looks considerably less friendly. He looks like he's already had a bad day, and doesn't look like he wants to deal with anyone's shit. He's also wearing something that looks like laughably crude body armor.

The four inmates glance at each other. None of them have a clue what "niba larbiin iin" even means.
Have a question? Send me a PM! || I have a Patreon page up for REKT now! || People talking in IRC over the past two hours: Image
Image
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#543
Talvieno wrote:
Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:17 pm
The four inmates glance at each other. None of them have a clue what "niba larbiin iin" even means.
I hope this guy speaks Standard, because he doesn't look too happy to see us. If he doesn't speak Standard, this mission may be a lot shorter than we were hoping. Then again, with the password, he doesn't really need to understand Standard, does he? I rehearse the password in my head before saying it to make sure I don't screw it up.

I call out to the alien. "Dexin Ezagetxa! We're with the FMU!"
Image
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#544
[IC]Saoirse[/IC]
I stop short and carefully put my hands up in what I hope is a universal gesture for "I mean you no harm", knowing it doesn't actually prevent me from using my amps quickly when needed.

I sure hope this is the right gang now Caleb already blurted out the password...
Warning: do not ask about physics unless you really want to know about physics.
The LT IRC / Alternate link || The REKT Wiki || PUDDING
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#545
Not having registered what Brom told me, turn to him and tell him quietly, possibly cutting him off mid-sentence:

"This place looks like it was an office or somethin' before it became an alien shithole. Big corpo buildings like these always have an emergency exit. Look for one o' them fire signs, might have a building plan."

Scowl a bit

"Only problem is, one o' them bug-eyed creeps is lookin' at us."

Turn to the fysar that is eyeing us and ask him

"Hey, there some kind o' vendin' machine 'round here?"

If the thing is ignoring my query or doesn't know what a vending machine is

"You know... thing you put tin in n' booze n' food comes out? You ain't got that here?"

If I am still ignored or informed there are no vending machines, shake my head and sigh
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#547
Samuel steps closer to Caleb, anxiously examining the room for more hidden surprises.

"Do you need your hands free?"

As with Hosef'Wa before, this had a good chance to be a situation where Caleb, with his more martial bearing, could be better at negotiating with those people...
Apparently, sometimes stuff might happen.
- - - - - - - -
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#548
((Sorry for the delays, been working on some surprise things))

Beta
Caleb really hopes the alien speaks Standard. He calls out: "Dexin Ezagetxa! We're with the FMU!"

"I sure hope this is the right gang," Saoirse thinks to herself. "Especially now that he's already blurted the password..."

But the alien up on the balcony has already disappeared, chattering on a comm channel as he entered the building behind him.

Caleb shifts the crate uncomfortably in his arms, and Frank, noticing, anxiously asks, "Do you need your hands free?" He figures that perhaps Caleb could be better at negotiation.

As before, Caleb says nothing. He doesn't seem to be in the mood for talking to Frank. But Caleb is saved from having to say anything anyway. At that moment, a couple fysar show up - seemingly from nowhere - and approach the inmates, walking side by side. They seem... high. "Hey, you wanta talk, eh?" one asks, while the other just chuckles to himself and stares at his hands, walking in a strange, stilted manner. "Maybe you tell us why you come-a Minas Maniri? FMU? We work somethin' out, get a cut maybe, an' -"

"Bokna ebida!" someone shouts.

The fysar seem particularly startled and turn around swiftly, regarding the approaching bhezian with what looks like apprehension. "Iill kifes kekra kivae afon koni!" the talky one says, waving his arms about. The other continues to stare lovingly at his hands. "Kika kifes mitito Minas Maniri manen. Kika enabi kibbiih FMU vikiri!"

"Vaka kika iin?" the bhezian muses. This particular specimen looks particularly ugly, with bulging eyes and a mottled gray-brown color. He looks stronger than most, and is fairly well-armed and armored. "Vaka vika mivas ifar kosaba?"

The coherent fysar nods emphatically, while the other one giggles and licks his fingers.

The bhezian seems pleased. "Aran iivasi kokirta jalan akarti hetti kako hasi kebooh, aroko okarto Mikiikahol vonon." He walks closer to the REKT crew, his assault weapon in hand but pointed downwards. In Galactic Standard: "So, you are FMU? You have dealings with the Minas Maniri?" He eyes the crate in Cole's hands; Cole senses the taint of greed in his stare. "You've come to make a trade, perhaps?"



Gamma
Vynkor examines the "chain" connecting her shackles. It's not a chain, it's just a thickly-woven mesh, same as most manacles in 3152. There's nothing particularly interesting about it.

She looks at the floor. It looks pretty solid. Neat.

She looks around the cell for objects and things. But nope - the room is absolutely empty. One has to wonder why they didn't just put them in here to begin with. It's at least brighter, though - there's a light fixture in the ceiling. So... at least that's something.

As she looks around at basically nothing, the two inmates, still lying on the floor, hear the swish-pat of hiltorel footsteps in the hallway outside. Sounds like Irado is coming back with his tranquilizers and splints.



Alpha
"This place looks like it was an office or somethin' before it became an alien shithole," Buck says quietly to Brom. "Big corpo buildings like these always have an emergency exit. Look for one o' them fire signs, might have a building plan." He scowls. "Only problem is, one o' them bug-eyed creeps is lookin' at us."

Raising his voice so the suspicious-looking fysar by the western doorway can hear him, Buck calls out, "Hey, there some kind o' vendin' machine 'round here?" When that fails to generate a response, he adds, "You know... thing you put tin in an' booze an' food comes out? You ain't got that here?"

The fysar hesitates, like he's considering his options, but then waves at Buck. "You follow me, I take you," he says. His voice sounds almost grudging. He says something to the other two aliens beside him, and they step aside, as if to make way for Buck (if he chooses to follow the fysar).
Have a question? Send me a PM! || I have a Patreon page up for REKT now! || People talking in IRC over the past two hours: Image
Image
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#549
Talvieno wrote:
Thu Sep 05, 2019 3:01 pm
"So, you are FMU? You have dealings with the Minas Maniri?" He eyes the crate in Cole's hands; Cole senses the taint of greed in his stare. "You've come to make a trade, perhaps?"
I nod. "We've got a deal from the Lavloxeri group. But it'll probably have to go through Minas Maniri's leader. Maybe we should talk about the details somewhere more private?"

I just want to get this over with...but these guys give me a bad feeling. I at least want to get off the street so that we won't get ambushed by some random guy- and so that we won't be overheard impersonating FMU mercs. Who knows what kind of people are skulking in the shadows around here?
Image
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#550
Throw a meaningful glance at Brom and Yuuji, implying that they're supposed to use this opportunity, though not even sure myself to what end
Grin at the fysar, and say


"Thank fukc someone knows how to treat their guests proper here!"

Follow along, mentally taking note of the layout of the building and any points of interest on the way
Try and make chit-chat with the fysar, but mainly with the goal of extracting any useful intel:


"Must get borin' just sittin' 'round here with a gun the whole day. You ever get any action 'round here? We've had three fights since we've come onto this damn station, n' that's just in the 'nicer' hoods! Well, whatever passes for 'nice' here, anyways."

if the fysar pointedly ignores me, roll my eyes and mutter something about rude aliens under my breath
Once we reach the vending machines, grab a can of beer(or an energy drink, if there is none) and a bag of chips(preferably, fried chicken-tasting ones)
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#554
BETA
Nilo is worried about an ambush. His eyes dart about the "courtyard" area, scanning for a potential ambush - but he sees no one except his allies and the three aliens present. If an ambush is planned, the perpetrators would have to be well-hidden.

Cole wants to get this over with, but these guys put a bad taste in his mouth. He responds to the bhezian's question cautiously. "We've got a deal from the Lavloxeri group. It'll probably have to go through Minas Maniri's leader. Maybe we should talk about the details somewhere more private?"

The name "Lavloxeri" seems to ring a bell; the bhezian seems slightly disappointed, as though he was hoping it was someone else. "Ahh... Well, it is not good to talk on the streets," he agrees. "Come, I will take you inside. Can I have your names?" He says something quietly to the two fysar - it's just a bit too quiet to hear - and then motions for the inmates to follow, while the two goons run on ahead. "I'm Ses. The boss will want your names..."



GAMMA
Vynkor gestures to Sukava with her fingers, pointing at the door and then sliding her finger across her throat. Sukava understands: Kill the guard when he enters. "Fine," she mouths silently, and moves beside the door.

The pair hears the footsteps (tentaclesteps?) stop. Moments later, the door unlocks with a click; Irado pushes his way inside. "Okay, I got the medical supp -"

But his words are cut short as Sukava leaps into him, knocking him into the wall; her fingers close around his throat. Irado panics, gasping, trying to get away, his small, toothy mouth distorted in fear. His tentacles curl around Sukava's legs and trip her, pulling both of them to the floor, but Sukava never loses her grip around his soft, delicate neck.



ALPHA
Buck glances pointedly at Yuuji and Brom, casting his eyes around the room as if to say "this is your chance!" Chance to do what, he has absolutely no idea, but hey, it's an opportunity to do something, so they might as well do it. Then, grinning at the fysar, Buck follows him. "Thank fukc someone knows how to treat their guests proper here!"

The fysar leads him out the door, and Buck takes careful note of his surroundings. In the halls, at least, there do indeed seem to be something akin to security cameras mounted here and there on the ceilings - he hadn't actually noticed them before, possibly because he thought they were old light fixtures. They're little circular plates, dark and glassy. They don't appear to be wired in - they must be wireless, and attached adhesively. Perhaps not entirely wise (much easier to hack), but then, this place was clearly never designed to be a real base for militarized operations.

"Must get borin'," Buck says, trying to make conversation. "Just sittin' around with a gun the whole day. You ever get any action 'round here? We've had three fights since we've come onto this damn station, an' that's just in the 'nicer' hoods! Well... whatever passes for 'nice' here, anyways."

The fysar huffs. "Nah, what? 'Sittin' around'? We captured a whole shipment of black flake from the docks yesterday. Rebirth's trying to get in on the drug business. Can't have that, so we went in and... well, we took it. That's why there's crates everywhere. Is good stuff, too - had some myself. We'll keep some of it and sell the rest - pay people off, buy better gear..."

Buck nods, only half-listening. He's begun to notice that a lot of people here seem uneasy, as though they're some kind of racial tension - although obviously that's not the case, as there's bhezians, fysar, and even a few squids hanging around all over - many of them sorting through boxes. But there are also some arguments occurring here and there, and some people seem loath to talk to each other. This isn't a big ol' happy gang. Buck's been in rough enough spots in his lifetime to be able to tell when something's amiss, and something is definitely amiss here. In fact, he'd go as far as to guess that if the gang hadn't captured the shipment they had, the mood might be a lot worse.

"Here. Get your stuff," the fysar says, folding his scrawny arms in front of himself and leaning against the wall, next to an old vending machine. It's one of the few things that truly go beyond the confines of culture - no matter where you go, you can always find vending machines. This one is wider than it is tall (and that's saying something); it has glowing lights behind the glass, curving along various "tracks"; the lights slowly cycle through a rainbow of colors and light up the (somewhat depleted) offbrand contents. By modern standards, it's a pretty slummy machine, but that's what you get for going to a backworld shithole.

And - praise fukc - there's beer. Cheap beer, sure, but any beer is good beer. There's chips, too - but unfortunately it's all printed in some alien script - something jagged-looking. Fysar, maybe - looks like something those bugs would write. There's pictures on the bags - one of them shows a skahilla. Buck supposes it's better than nothing, and inserts two two-plat chips into the slot at the top (as per the picture instructions painted next to the slot). Then he taps the glass - first in front of the beer, and then in front of the chips. On the first tap, lights illuminate his selection, as if asking "are you sure?" and on the second, conveyors carry it to the slot at the bottom. In moments, he's holding his beer and chips.

The fysar smiles in faint approval at Buck's choice. "You done?"

~~~

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Brom and Yuuji poke around at the computer to see what they can find. They don't really know what Buck expected them to do.

It isn't long before Feb Keshor comes back into the room, muttering something about the same Kinorvan from earlier. He takes a seat on the couch again, pulls out a PDA, and starts looking through it. It's hard to tell from the angle, but it looks like he's looking at pictures of ships and spaceship parts - as though he's doing it for fun, perhaps to calm himself down. He doesn't look very happy - at least, as far as something that looks like a mutated insect-thing with six eyes and sharp teeth actually can.
Have a question? Send me a PM! || I have a Patreon page up for REKT now! || People talking in IRC over the past two hours: Image
Image
Image
Post

Re: REKT: BTE Mission 2: Fuhodo Station

#555
Talvieno wrote:
Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:27 am
The fysar smiles in faint approval at Buck's choice. "You done?"
Nod, satisfied

"Well, I ain't orderin' no dessert from this thing, so I'd say I am."

Put the bag of chips under my arm, open the can of beer and start drinking on my way back

"Rebirth... That's the squids from the planet below, right? The ones tryin' to pretend they're just honest folk, scrapin' by?"

Chuckle

"Sounds 'bout right. The ones that try n' play the most nice n' innocent have the most shit they're tryin' to hide."

Start regaling a personal anecdote

"There was this one feller I knew, ran a charity, gave medical supplies to hospitals for free. Everyone called him a hero n' good citizen of the community. I remember that smug bastard, givin' rousin' speeches 'bout the power o' good n' charity n' all."

Chuckle again

"What most folks didn't know is that it was all just a ploy. Used those supplies to smuggle in smack - hell, I think it might have been Black Flake, too. Used some kind o' weird mix o' chemicals, n' dissolved the stuff in it. Nobody at customs suspected anythin', n' once the stuff reached the planet, they'd do some fancy science crap to evaporate it, n' voila - the stuff's there, n' one one's the wiser. It was actually pretty smart - until some idiot mixed the crates up, n' the product ended up bein' given to actual hospitals. As you think, that ended that gig."

Shake my head

"I swear, after meetin' all the people I did, I trust an honest thief much more than some fancy speakin' do-gooder any day o' the wekk."
Image

Online Now

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests

cron