RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 8] Dawning Concerns

[Kai]

As everyone began telling stories, Aerin thought about how to answer Enzo's question. Unlike many other manufacturers, Origin knew their customers liked their privacy, so there weren't any tracking devices on the ships beyond what may have been ordered by the customer. the only bet was to try and trace the ship's computer through dock records and registration numbers, which, with her contacts, Aerin could indeed do.

Once Enzo had finished his story, Aerin finally answered him "I can probably track it, but you'll have to give me all the registration numbers, the computer's product key, date and location of purchase, and whatever docking history you may have for it. Origin knows our customers like privacy, so we don't do underhanded tracking devices like many others do." she explained, as politely as she could.

Aerin was, however, very confused as to why so many of this crew were so suspicious of everything within the diner- Dawn was a very safe place, all things considered, and if anything happened, they did have OriSec officers to call upon.

 

[Nevaraon]

Robert looked over at Zeta. "Oh, ya know what Zeta? You might be right. I dunno where my head is tonight. I'm glad you're keeping me on track. Somebody's got to right?" he gave her a wink and nudged her with an elbow. He turned back to the little Neko. "So which is it? Either way, my advice is the same. Ya are right were you belong."

 

[Gallant]

"It's not that," Naoko said, waving a hand apologetically and offering a smile to the rest of the table, "I like everybody. Please, do not hear me say that I do not, because that is not true. Demo..."

Rising, the little Nekovalkyrja spun slowly, looking around the resteraunt, taking a pretty good appraisal of her surroundings. After a full three-sixty, she stopped again and folded her hands at her waist, politely. "I just feel as if people are staring."

 

[Blackbird Lore]

"Well..." Uriel leaned forward in his chair and untucked his wings from the confines of the chair's back and armrests. In public places unaccustomed to serving his kind this was his traditional means of sitting so as not to cause problems or risk harm to his wings. Now they slowly unfurled and curled around his end of the table. "I could offer some privacy, should it be to your comfort."

 

[Lamb]

Enzo looked around cautiously as he gathered the information from Aerin. It was true, everyone was on edge. It seemed as though even Aerin herself had started to feel uncomfortable. Enzo noted that there were no obvious onlookers, yet everyone distinctly felt 'watched'.

A sigh escaped from Enzo's throat while he typed a message to his uncle in on his communicator; requesting his ship's registration information. The message was punctuated with an easy, 'Cuz I know you got it on file, old man.' With his message sent and his info on the way, Enzo turned back to Aerin.

"I gots the info comin' right away." He told her, using his switchblade to spear for himself a piece of meat on the unattended plate of a neighboring table whose unfortunate owner had taken a restroom break. "Hows about a forwardsing number wheres I can sends it once I gets it."

 

[Luca]

Luca chuckled and smiled at the stories, but as they went on, he started to feel on edge, but he couldn't put his finger on what was making him feel that way, aside from not being fed.
This was furthered by Naoko's observation of everyone staring at her. The truth was that some the patrons weren't just staring at her, they were staring at him and the CEO too.

The captain decided to reach for the pepper shaker, and unscrewed the lid, keeping his grasp firm and steady should he and his crew be surprised.
His body language, whilst appearing calm on a casual glance was tense and ready for a surprise.

His eyes glided around the room, eventually coming level with something, and Sebastian leaned over with a look of concern as he took notice.
"Son, something bothering you?" He asked.
Luca momentarily lapsed in concentration as he nodded in the direction of the offending object, "A familiar shape."

That's when his gaze levelled with someone who'd walked in a minute ago, looking out of place and somewhat overdressed, ordering a tall glass of wine. Discreetly, she seemed to slip something into it. Her appearance had changed from the last time she and the captain crossed, but her habits were still unmistakable.

It was Malice from Nepleslia Prime. Only Luca was able to remember her so well, since he had the most 'involvement' with her. Sebastian was unable to make the connection due to her newer appearance.
That gooey wench doesn't quit, just like that big lug from Mission 4... He made a subconscious groan of misery.

"I don't think this bar has a bottle of liquid nitrogen handy," Luca frowned a little as he watched Malice drink what she just concocted, and made small talk with the barkeeper. Occasionally, she'd glance in Luca's direction, and she knew she was being watched, grinning in his direction and winking.

"Nitrogen? Are you planning something to pull on John?" Sebastian asked, unaware of what he was referring to.
"Either way, let's not start something, not now," The captain sipped a cola drink quietly and the bad taste he had in his mouth was washed away for a moment.
"Son, what are you talking about?" He was genuinely stumped. He glanced towards the kitchen with a smile, "Maybe you should think about things like that back on the ship. Our lunch is inbound."

It looked like everyone's orders were ready and a Waitress with a large trolley containing everyone's orders walked towards the Crew's table with a swagger.
"Alright then, ladies and gentlemen," A different waitress chimed, as she started distributing the food from her trolley to the table, taking a minute to get everyone's orders distributed, "Enjoy your meals!" She then wheeled her trolley away.

As Luca was about to tuck into his steak, he noticed that Malice had moved away from her spot at the bar. He ate unusually quietly, and Sebastian was still very concerned for his son's wellbeing. He always thought that slow, considerate eating means that there's a something troubling going on.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" He asked softly.

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta was watching captain Luca as much as her surroundings. It was very easy for her to spot him looking at something in her direction. She sat right across the table from him, so anything that caught his interest was behind her. Her eyes met his and he looked kind of worried. Luca's father saw it too and started asking questions.

Zeta did something different. She took out her PDA, and typed in big letters: "WHAT IS GOING ON? USE TELEPATHY TO TELL ME," She used big letters so captain could read them. Anyone behind her couldn't even see that anything happened.

As soon as she knew for sure he read her message she pat few random buttons on PDA again and then put it back. Then the food came and She took a spoon and bread and started eating her goulash. She enjoyed it enough.

She couldn't look behind herself, so she concentrated on her listening as she ate. Anything too strange could set her off. Only then she finally got that their waitress changed. And after minute of looking their previous waitress couldn't be seen at all.

Then she looked at Luca with real distress in her eyes. Her mind shouting one big thing. We should get out of here. NOW.

 

[Nevaraon]

Robert looked around at all the serious faces. "I feel like I'm at a funeral dinner or something. C'mon everybody, dig in, smile, be happy." he took his steak and started in on eating it. He glanced around to the faces.

 

[Lamb]

Enzo would be the first to approach Malice; his recent paycheck and lack of any womanly company had enticed him to make his attempt to bed her. He slid his communicator to Aerin with his uncle's response littered on the screen. It included all of the information she'd asked for, minus the docking records.

With his ship concerns taken care of for the moment, Enzo took up his drink and made his way to the bar, Malice in his wandering sights. He didn't realize he was about to hit on a former enemy when he opened his mouth.

"I likes that pretty little dress yous gots on." He said, signaling the bar for a second drink. He let his eyes trail Malice up and down, stopping for good measure on certain areas for a better look. "I was just comin' in to sit downs for a meal with my boss, Luca Pavone."

Enzo let the name drop casually, not even looking to see it's effect. "When I seen a pretty little thing likes yous walkin' up in here, it's hard to stays sittin' down, if you knows what I means."

He looked up at her with a smile and lit a cigarette, 'accidentally' pulling his coat open to show off the revolver in the same action as removing the pack from his pocket.

 

[TeslaTornado]

Vincent's head darted up from behind the massive plate of food he had been served from the tray. Vincent's metabolism dictated he eat as much as possible whenever possible to keep him going, and the ID-Sol was only happy to oblige. Halfway through a 12-ounce porterhouse steak, Enzo made contact with a foreign entity who tripped a few sensors in the merc's memory, and put the enforcer on edge.

One hand moved slowly down to the holster on his lower back and wrapped around the grip of the Hand Cannon. Vincent thumbed the leather clasp on the holster that held the pistol in, slid the hand cannon out, and rested it on his knee, using his free hand to continue slowly moving bloody steak from plate to mouth. His eyes remained locked on Enzo and Malice.

 

[Kai]

Aerin briefly followed Enzo as he walked towards another patron, quietly rolling her eyes, before looking at the datapad. The CEO quickly brought out her own datapad, and downloaded the info. she clucked a little at the lack of dock records, that would make tracking it that much harder, but it could probably still be done- she knew the people at OAW were in the process of the same thing at the time.

She looked up, and noticed that Luca seemed to be on edge, and, after missing the entirety of his conversation with his father, she asked "Is something wrong? Anything I can do to help?"

 

[Luca]

"Oh, really?" Malice replied, appearing interested Enzo's roguish charm, "It must be an honour to work alongside him!" She leaned over in interest, listening to every word the rogue had to say. She then looked at the cigarette in his mouth and asked politely, "May I have one?" She motioned to the cigarettes sticking out of his pocket, or sleeve, or somewhere on his person.

Luca, meanwhile, gave a nod in Zeta's direction with the following message, That lady Enzo's chatting up? It's Malice. You remember her. I certainly do. He then made a few glances around to survey the area, We can't attack her here, it's too public, and I don't want any collateral damage.

He didn't notice Aerin for a moment and smiled in her direction when he did, "Don't worry, nothing too major," He gave an assuring smile in her direction. He was only able to pass as confident since he knew what he was up against.

At this point, Luca was finished with his steak, putting the plate aside, he then said, "That was a great meal, eh guys?" He smiled, wanting to keep the image of relative normalcy going. It seemed like drinks were taking more prominence on the table.

Sebastian nodded as he took a swig of beer, "Indeed," He said knowingly, now a bit more cluey on the situation. Melissa was busy downing a drinking glass of vodka without a second thought.
"Too bloody right!" Melissa hiccuped with a grin.

Luca then had an idea, after watching Melissa's drunken swagger. He sent a telepathic message in Enzo's direction, Hey Enzo, be a charming sport. Buy the lady a drink or two. He then gave him and Malice a wink in their direction with a cheeky grin.

 

[Lamb]

Enzo shuddered visibly in response to the telepathic message. He swore he'd never get used to it. Putting his reservations aside, he reached for a cigarette and his lighter, sliding them both towards Malice, the cigarette rolling softly behind the lighter. It wasn't long before he had a glass of wine for himself as well and a seat next to Malice.

"I gots news for yous, lady," he was rambling on about the last mission, "There's Mishu out in that space, an' theys aint friendly, see? So's I gets ups on the turrets an this guy withs a tentacool hand tries to grabs me, so's I shoots him up real good an' then I jumps on top of him a blows his brains out point-blanks, see? An' that's hows I saved the day, part one. There's more to the story. Stick around, lady, an' I'll tell you sometime. Anywhat, what brings a pretty little lady like yourself into such a campy establishment such as this one? Business, or personal?"

 

[Nevaraon]

Robert caught Luca's grin towards the bar and saw Vincent's tightened reaction like he was going to shoot somebody. He finally clued into the fact that somebody they didn't like was he and at the bar. Slowly, he used his peripherals to take a glance over to the bar and saw Enzo talking to Malice. He slowly reached down with one hand and loosened his knife from it's sheath. Then to continue the converstation he asked "Does Origin do follow-up work on cybernetics?" he raised his left hand to display his arm. "I was thinking something along the lines of a storage space or something."

 

[ShotJon]

Oh I certainly do remember her. Thought Zeta. Darn there is not much to do except buying captain some time should a fight start. Her high-caliber revolver should slow Malice down making her put her good together again. But Zeta had only 10 rounds. Well there was not many chance she will get to reload anyway. And then all she has is a knife and her fists. That is no good. Darn if I had my Fatman with me. I bet energy gun coul do damage her. Well sod it, my energy pistol would be better too. She thought as she finished her meal. It was delicious but she couldn't enjoy it knowing that there is a monster set on revenge sitting right behind her chatting with Enzo.

 

[Luca]

Malice giggled a little at Enzo's story, "My my, you sound like a very capable man, as does your captain!" She gave a glance to Luca with another cheeky wink. Luca returned the favour in kind.

"I'm just having a lunch break from work," She said as she intoned to all of the other employees from Origin and other establishments large and small that'd taken root on the station.

"Maybe when we have time, I could show you the store. It's just stylish clothing," She gave Enzo a wink as she put a card down on the table with the place's location and details. This quaint little store was called: 'Silky Stitchings'

As she passed the card to Enzo, she had a glance at her watch.
"Oh, my, look at the time," She giggled, "I must be going," She gave Enzo a little peck on the cheek and swiped her money card at the register, "Be safe~"
She then left the bar as quietly as she came, giving Enzo a good look at her legs.

Luca then decided to send a telepathic message to Aerin, What do you know about that lady Enzo was just chatting up? Did she move in recently? He then thought for a moment and made an addendum, Don't worry, it's nothing untoward.

To whit, he decided to talk to his crew, "Alright guys, looks like the meal's wrapped up," Luca smiled a little, rubbing his hands together, "Now let's go shopping!" His smile broadened, since he knew this would lighten the mood for both him and his crew.

Sebastian swiped his card at the register to pay for all of the food and drinks, which would total to about 120 KS.
"Alright, ma'am," Sebastian asked Aerin, "Lead the way, please?"
Melissa interjected with a broad grin, "I 'ope you got a test range fer yer stuff we could use!"

 

[Kai]

Aerin was taken aback by the telepathic question for a moment, but figured that Luca had a good reason for it, and accessed the Station's database, bringing up the pertinent information, and then giving it to the Action Hero. "It seems that she has been here several weeks, but her store has not had too much traffic. in fact, records indicate it is usually closed, and she has never ordered more stock. However, she pays her rent on time, so there is nothing wrong as far as we are normally concerned here at Origin.

"Of course" the CEO answered Sebastian with a smile, winking at Melissa, as if to say that she meant it for her question as well. "I can take you to a shop, or I can show you the production lines if you'd like to have a hand in making your own weapons. Although, anything you may want can be ordered wirelessly over a communicator or other information terminal."

******

"I think we'll 'ave us a look at wot you got available!" Melissa grinned wickedly, whilst Luca had the same sentiments in mind.

"Oh, and I hope you do repairs," Luca mentioned offhandedly as he remembered that two, maybe three of his GP-ORV's were in serious need of fixing.

******

As the doors opened, the entrance to this store was flanked with many Origin related products, starting with quaint clothing and lifestyle items that the company had produced.

The centre of the open-planned two storey building was dominated by a spiral staircase leading downstairs to Origin's ODM and OMC showroom. The downstairs showroom had a healthy and well presented inventory of weapons and transport.

In particular, scaled-down holograms of Origin's publicly available frames were on show, with purchases being made to order.

A team of store attendants and shopkeeps made their rounds across the huge store, answering to queries and customer concerns. They were very happy to see such a large group walk in.
"Somebody pinch me," Luca said as he smiled at the sheer quantity and quality of stuff on offer. His wish was answered when Melissa gave him a firm tug on the sideburns, "Ow!"

 

[Lamb]

Enzo followed the crew into the store with the newly acquired business card tucked behind his ear. With each step, his head turned to a new item in the store. Nothing was really lootable, and the security on Dawn Station was too tight to get away with a giant holographic projector in broad daylight. You can't just stuff those things down your shirt. Without his usual type of shopping available, Enzo was left with the worst possible alternative: spending. He found himself fascinated with the vehicles.

"Do yous guys gots any airbikes?" he asked, leaning over the counter to look at the various things one display, "I gots dis inkling that I'd use one of 'em somewheres for fun or profit. What abouts test drives? How abouts lettin' a guy ride one of 'em?"

 

[Nevaraon]

Robert walked in behind Aerin and looked around in amazment. He looked at all the shops and vendors. He turned to Aerin, "Do you happen to have that new civillian military grade Power Armor here? I can't remember the name of it. But it just came out."

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta walked out of restaurant first ready to blast Malice if she was waiting for them. Luckily nothing happened. She got into driver seat of Lucas car again. First thing she did was trying to figure out how to turn auto-pilot off should something happen. Luckily nothing happeden and they got to Origin shop.

Zeta was looking at all the stuff in the shop. First there was some normal things like clothing. Zeta was still in need of clothing, she didn't manage to get something to wear on their last mission so she still had only that military-like stuff seh owned.

Showroom was much more interesting. Zeta looked at frames in awe. There was no deadlier piece of machinery than that. But it was too big for her. She wanted just a PA. She had compelte theoretical knowledge of using them with her programming.

Zeta turned to Arin and said. "I would like to bus Impulse and some weaponry along it. Preferably something with serious punishment. Something that will tell 'sod off! to anyone I will point it to. I was thinking that if you gamma ray vulcan could be jury-rigged so he would be fed from Impulses power-pack that would be brilliant. But if there be something smaller I would like that too. Maybe some tough energy rifle or something."