QUICK INTERLUDE 2 - START!!

Luca looked out to his group, now with new codenames and aliases.
"Well, that was interesting." Luca said, nodding to Hitori, "I guess I could do with some retail therapy too." He called out to John, "Hey! Get the shuttle ready!"

"Right right." John said as he walked over to the shuttle and opened the Airlock, "And gimme the key to the Gun Locker! My .45 is in there!"
"Sure!" Luca pulled the keycard out of his top pocket and passed it to him, John took a step and caught it in his hands.
"Thanks! By the way, your flame throwers in there too!"
"I was wondering where that went!" Luca said as he got his motorcycle, turned off the power and wheeled into the base for safe keeping, in the makeshift armoury.

Luca then came out of the base and looked at the rather drunk Michio, "Hey Mitch," He called out, "You don't need anything, do ya?"
Luca hopped into the shuttle, entered the Pilot's compartment and sat down in the Co-Pilot's seat, buckling himself in. John had his .45 in his hand and slid it into a black leather holster.
"There are a few places to park these things down here in Funky City and they cost a bit," John started as he began pushing buttons and getting everything going, "But thanks to that money you've raked in, it shouldn't be much of a problem." He smiled at the thought of money then resumed a straight face and looked over to Luca, "What are you going to buy anyway?"
"A couple of guns, some ammo and maybe some furniture, I guess." Luca replied while he heaved a sigh on the events of today. He was a bit tired through all that had happened to him, but he didn't plan on resting, "Maybe a few other things to spruce up the base too."

Hitori nodded and got aboard the shuttle shortly before Luca. She decided to stay around back for a while. No need for Luca to be asking any questions so soon. The Geshrin sat in a chair somewhere trying to find something to do.

Luca didn't think Mitch was going to be able to come along in his chemically inconvenienced state. He just shrugged, knowing he'd miss out on some good stuff.

"Ah, perfect!" Jim said as he boarded the shuttle with his backpack over his shoulder and sat down on a seat which was facing Hitori, dumping his backpack on the seat next to him.

John quickly picked up the Comm. headset and put it on, putting the channel to the passenger's cabin.
"Right, is everyone here?" He asked, "Good. Because we're off. Stand clear of the Airlock."
He pressed a few buttons on his panel, and the Airlock began to close. He then took the controls and began to get the engines and everything else running. Then the shuttle took flight, ascending into the late-afternoon skyline of Nepleslia.

John opened a communications channel with the local Aerospace Control Tower.
"Funky City Control Tower, This is the ISC Phoenix, requesting locations for shuttle landings within Funky City."
"ISC Phoenix, this is Funky City Control Tower," A voice on the other side of the line started, "We've landing places at the following locations in Blue." A map of Funky City came onto John's HUD with various dots on it, "Secure locations are marked Red. Choose a location."
John took a look at the various locations, and then picked one somewhere on the eastern side of the city.
"ISC Phoenix, you are cleared for landing in that area. Follow the path given to you."
"Aye aye." John said as he began steering the shuttle towards the location traced to him on the map, and advancing, "Advancing towards area now. Over and out."

The Shuttle took a short ride before going to a rather crowded area of town, over to one of the Shuttle Carparks. He descended down onto a free spot which was designated for the shuttle with a crunch. There were a few others in the parking lot, some expensive and some rather cheap.

"Okay folks, we've landed." John told the crew over intercom as he opened the airlock, "I'll stay here. You enjoy your shopping or whatever."

MEANWHILE, BACK AT BASE...

Cranebeinn and Mitch were left at the base, to keep things in check and to try and keep things hospitable. There were a few jobs they were able to do. This included doing something about that hole in the wall in the second floor, re-activating the toilet on the second floor in the bunkroom's mini-room and un-boarding the windows.

While they were sitting out in the yard on the porch of the base, someone could be seen coming towards the base on foot.
Mitch was too drunk to make out who it was, but as it came closer, a feminine outline began to form.

She was roughly 5"9', had black, long hair tied in a ponytail and a fair complexion with blue eyes and a small nose to compliment the look. However, seeing her eyes was a challenge for she was wearing a pair of green tinted goggles, and a nice pair of C's. She was wearing a brown leather jacket over a white tank top and khakis with a pair of ankle-length leather boots. A messenger's bag could be seen slung over her right shoulder and a rifle of sorts and a .45 in a holster. She didn't seem at all hostile towards the two.

She walked through the gate of the base, strode across the yard and approached Cranebeinn and Mitch, "Excuse me," she asked nervously, looking around, "Is that man, 'Wolf' in here?"

Though she didn't seem to be hostile, Cranebeinn thought he should be safe. "What's it to you?" he asked over the noise of Mitch's drunken wolf whistles at the mention of 'wolf.' "Don't mind my friend," he added, "he's had a little to drink."

The woman wasn't fazed by Mitch's whistling. She just took a look at him, then turned to Crane, "I understand." She said, "You see, I've just heard of 'Wolf' from the News. He bought in that Death Doctor just before..." She took a breath, "You see, I want to assist him."

She pulled the messengers bag out from over her shoulders and hauled it to the ground with a loud clunk. She crouched, down unzipped it and began digging through. Mitch managed to get a good view of her breasts and let out a whistle. Crane gave him a dirty look.
"I'm a builder of sorts." She pulled out a Crowbar and looked at one of the boarded-up windows.

The clunk had alerted Dad, who came outside. "What's all the commotion?" He asked as he looked about, then spotted the woman with the bag.
"...Nina, is that you?" He asked when he looked at the tools, "Gone small time, eh?"
"Huh?" The woman took a look at dad, and gave a wry smile, "Who's Nina?"

"Oh, nevermind." He said while folding his arms with a sigh, "Anyway, whaddaya want?"
"To assist." She replied as she walked over to one of the boarded windows with the crowbar in hand, wedging it behind one of the planks and pulling it out with a good tug, "I was looking for Wolf. Any ideas where he is?"
"He's gone out. Y'want me to call him?"
"Sure." She replied as she removed another plank.

Dad pulled out his Communicator and rung up Luca. His face eventually came on screen.
"Wolf, this is Big Bad Wolf here." Dad started, "I've news for you."
"What is it, Dad?" Luca asked as he looked about, "Did the roof fall in?"
"No. We've got a guest who wants to meet you."
"A... guest?" Luca pondered his notoriety, "Hmmh. Put her on the line."
He passed the communicator over to the Woman with the crowbar, who'd just managed to remove all of the planks, letting a ray of sunshine into the lonesome kitchen. Mum was wondering what was going on and peeked out the window.

"You're Wolf?" She asked Luca, "You look just like how the report described you..."
"Yep, the one and only." He replied with a smile, "What's your game?"
"I'm a builder, and a sniper." She replied as she took off her goggles, revealing her blue eyes, "The name's Melissa, at your service."
"Lovely." Luca replied with a nod, "I'd like to continue this, but I've got some shopping to do. In short, welcome aboard."
"Thanks, Wolf." She replied as she handed the communicator back to Dad, who flicked it shut.

"So, you're in?" Dad asked, "Well! Then codename, please! Keep it to an Animal!"
Mel took a moment to think of something sharp, which reflected her personality, "How's Gazelle do?"
"Yep, works fine! You're in!" He replied as he pointed his thumb into the dank base. "Now let's get a move on! We're gonna have company to assist you in half an hour!"

He took a look at Mitch and Crane and pointed to them, "You too, ladies!"

During Luca's conversation over the communicator, Jim got a glance in sideways at the woman on the other line. From what he could see, she was pretty and had a nice voice as well. He thought he might have to get to know her better once he returned to base. But first, shopping. "Alright guys, I'm going to go look at some drivable machinery first, namely a hoverbike. I've always wanted one of them, and now that we are doing missions here in the Neps backyard, I thought it might be useful to have one. Anyone else have any shopping to do near thereabouts?"

Hitori had remained inside the ship, but she could still here all of what had just occurred. So, she thought to herself, We have a newcomer aboard. Hopefully she won't get in the way. The Geshrin wrapped her cloak around herself as she waited for everyone else to get done greeting the newcomer. Talking to people that she didn't know or have information about wasn't her thing.

John opened the airlock of the shuttle and leant back in his chair. "I'll stay here and keep the shuttle company." He said as he heaved a yawn, "Come back when you're ready."
"Righto," Luca said as he unbuckled himself and got out of the co-pilot's seat. He advanced through the Passenger's compartment and stepped out of the shuttle and took a look over the edge of the Shuttle Platform. There were very few people on the streets.
"Looks like a storey above ground." Luca said with that wide grin across his face as he took several steps back, "I'll land it easily."

He took a large breath in and breathed out, then stood for a moment to concentrate. He figured that he'd use his Gravity Control to help him take the fall better. He then began bolting forward and took a jump over the railing with a somersault and made the mistake of landing flat footed. The shock went through his body and made his legs feel like jelly for the next half hour or so.
"Ouchouchouchouch..." He groaned while rubbing the backs of his legs and taking a look at the city before him, street level.

This portion of Funky City, was, well, gritty, just like the rest of it. However, around here, the grit was a bit more in the people rather than the stonework and construction, but the usual compliment of Graffiti never changed. There were quite a few shops around, which sold guns, ammo, porn and whatever else you could think of and probably even more. Pubs, bars, drinking dens and such were scattered about liberally too. People walked through the street, minding their own beeswax and doing what they had or needed to. A couple took odd glances at Luca and his stunt, but dismissed it with a shrug.

A buy-and-build furniture shop stuck out like a sore thumb, much to Luca's amazement. However, he had some other priorities before furniture.

Just down the street, a large, broad-shouldered figure propped himself against a wall, sucking on a burning stub. The long duster that shielded some of his form betrayed the large hilt of one of two HHGs on his person.

This man was Vincent O'Malley.

When he caught sight of Luca's 'stunt', he pushed himself off the wall and tapped the ash off the butt of the cigarette, then flicked it into the road. He crossed the area separating the furniture shop and the street corner in a matter of seconds and approached Luca, holding his hands at his sides non-threateningly.

"'Ello, sir. Vincent O'Malley. Just saw yer little stunt and figured that a strapping fellow like you could use some brute force. Happen to have a ship?"

Jim stretched as he walked out of the shuttle, he was still a little sore from the mission. He decided that he would take the same route as Luca, as it did give fast access to the ground level. However, he opted to float slowly down and softly touch down. He walked away as if he did nothing out of the ordinary and with nary an expression crossing his face the whole time. He yawned as he walked. I will need some directions if I am going to have a single clue about where I'm going.

He stepped unoffensively into a passerby's way, and asked, "Do you know the nearest place I could buy a hoverbike?' The man he was talking to might have been in a gang, judging by all the tatoos and symbols on his body. He looked like he had something in his left pocket that might or might not have been a gun. In either case, Jim did not fear him at all. This was like a walk in the park compared to his last mission, after all. If anything, Jim seemed bored. A nice, fast hoverbike will be a nice way to relax."